Chapter 82: Why Not Ask Mr. Ajef?

Chapter 82: Why Not Ask Mr. Ajef?

True change begins with thought!

That night, the light in an apartment on the sixth floor of the slums of Jiu Long remained lit until dawn.

No one knew that a seed of great thought had been planted here.

It might blossom and transform the world;

Or it might flicker out, leaving not a ripple behind.

"Mr. Aji De, stay! We need you—only you can lead us to victory!"

The old mechanic had never seen such pleading on Cowboy Ben Keming’s face before.

He had always been resolute and brave, fearless in the face of adversity, cutting through thorns and overcoming hardships.

In the old man’s eyes, Ben Keming was the embodiment of freedom, a conqueror of fate!

Yet now, this natural-born hero was pleading with a young man to stay.

The old man didn’t find it strange—in fact, it seemed only natural.

If Ben Keming was the flame that lit the path, then Aji De was the lighthouse guiding the way forward.

A flame could be extinguished, but a lighthouse must not!

"Compared to me, they need you more. You are the true leader. Go forth boldly! I will watch over you from the shadows, and when you truly need me, I will appear again."

Yu Sheng’an patted Ben Keming’s shoulder, donned his gentleman’s hat, opened the door, and strode away with the bearing of a dragon and tiger.

Cowboy Ben Keming froze for a moment before instinctively chasing after him.

But the hallway was empty.

He sprinted madly, knocking over countless people in his path, yet Aji De seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Ben Keming burst out of the apartment and suddenly stopped, his eyes scanning the gradually bustling street. His breath was heavy, his gaze hollow and lost.

An aged hand patted his back. The old mechanic remained silent, unsure how to comfort him.

"This... was divine revelation!"

After a long pause, Ben Keming murmured to himself, his eyes gradually blazing with dazzling light!

……

……

Within the Divine Palace Ancient Castle in the deep sea, Yu Sheng’an observed Ben Keming through the Divine Perspective, his expression calm and contemplative.

The primary domain’s air had an anti-magic property, making it extremely hostile to magic.

This meant that even if he could teleport a Magic Tower here, it wouldn’t be able to draw mana from the atmosphere.

The moment the mana ran out, the tower would fall.

Even if he built a Church, he worried it wouldn’t withstand the combined assault of this world’s deeply entrenched Four Primordial Gods.

Even just the conventional firepower of this world would be enough to give him a hard time.

After much deliberation, he concluded that the best way to seize control of this primary domain was through strategy.

Ben Keming was his perfect pawn.

Advancing, he could test the deeper forces of this world;

Retreating, he could remain hidden in the shadows, biding his time!

Of course, he could also spread the internet on a large scale. Given its convenience, he could retain a significant number of users—

Especially the desperate.

But the cost would be the Four Primordial Gods resorting to extreme measures to suppress the internet’s spread.

Surveillance, collective punishment, massacres... Yu Sheng’an cared little for these consequences, but the name of the Internet God would be forever tarnished.

For the vast majority of ignorant commoners, the internet would become a taboo—something only those with no other options would dare to open to learn from.

This was something Yu Sheng'an refused to accept.

At least, not before he had exhausted all other schemes. He wouldn’t take such a hardcore path yet.

While waiting for Ben Keming’s efforts to bear fruit, there was one more thing he needed to do: steal knowledge!

The steam technology of this world fascinated him.

However, because steam engines involved divine techniques, their core principles couldn’t be easily replicated or stolen in a short time.

Even substituting divine techniques with magic runes wasn’t something that could be solved quickly.

Still, things like bicycles could still be copied.

Using his Aji De avatar, Yu Sheng'an wandered through the factories of Pu'en, the port city, meticulously recording the detailed structures of various mechanical parts using ultrasound.

Meanwhile, back in the Divine Palace of Duofei City, Ajef—his divine projection—bid farewell to Aphnora, preparing to return to Keville.

"You’re leaving?"

Aphnora’s expression was one of abrupt surprise upon hearing Ajef’s departure.

"Yes. Send me a message if you need anything. Cowboy is on call."

"Cowboy? Alright then… goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Yu Sheng'an mimed tipping a nonexistent gentleman’s hat, placing it over his chest with a slight bow before vanishing into the portal.

In that moment, his usual playful smirk was gone, replaced by a touch of gentlemanly demeanor.

Watching Ajef disappear completely, Aphnora felt an inexplicable emptiness in her heart.

Even though, as a deity, teleporting to him would be simple with coordinates, she couldn’t shake the melancholy of separation.

Damn scoundrel’s trap!

Aphnora’s eyes flashed with irritation as she bit her lower lip lightly.

……

……

Keville Empire · Willis City

One week after Ajef, the empire’s renowned figure, returned from his diplomatic mission to Vias, the Magic Forest was designated a restricted zone of Felix Magic Academy.

With the Magic Forest’s central building as the focal point, a radius of two hundred paces was fully integrated into Felix’s magical defense system.

Eileen, Ajef’s chief assistant, was also exempted from the apprentice mage examination due to her "Special Magical Contribution Award," directly granted the title of mage.

Now, Felix’s most dazzling mage was organizing a discussion among her magic apprentice assistants.

Recently, the Magic Forest had encountered a challenge.

After successfully cultivating superior crops, Eileen, following Ajef’s teachings, turned her attention to magic plants.

But the moment research began, trouble arose.

What were magic plants?

Plants that had undergone magical interference or enchantment through arcane means could be called magic plants.

Mature magic plants typically followed a complete set of enchantment rules.

When Eileen attempted to interfere with them through trait separation or even induced mutations, everything descended into chaos.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t cultivate superior magic plants.

In fact, using the time rain farm and the exhaustive method, she could easily screen for exceptional specimens.

But replicating these magic plants proved far more difficult.

"Eileen, I think it's very difficult to mass-produce magic plants using conventional methods. After all, magic plants have already undergone magical interference, making their foundations unstable. If we try to screen them further on this shaky basis, wouldn’t that just add chaos to chaos?"

"Exactly!"

"I think our main focus should still be on ordinary plants."

The discussion had barely begun when a group of magic apprentices started backing down.

They preferred order and despised chaos.

The erratic behavior of magic plants left them at a loss, naturally breeding aversion.

"Ordinary plants can be cultivated—there’s no reason magic plants can’t!" Eileen insisted stubbornly.

"But experiments have already proven the inherently chaotic nature of magic plants, haven’t they?" The magic apprentice’s words deflated Eileen’s spirits.

"Eileen, why don’t you go ask Mr. Ajef? He might have a solution," one of the magic apprentices suggested.

At this, a flicker of hope appeared in Eileen’s eyes, but it was quickly overshadowed by frustration and dejection.

Mr. Ajef had entrusted the Magic Forest to her, yet apart from mechanically repeating his methods, she seemed incapable of any real innovation.

She couldn’t even accomplish the task he had assigned—improving magic plants—and now she had to go ask him for help. The thought made her feel ashamed and deeply discouraged.

"What you should be discussing is how to stabilize the traits of magic plants, not whether this research direction is even possible."

The sudden voice plunged the hall into silence.

Eileen turned sharply toward the sound.

Unnoticed by anyone, Mr. Ajef had appeared at the entrance of the hall!

He strode forward, his gaze sweeping disapprovingly over the magic apprentices before settling on Eileen with a mix of pity and disappointment.

He hadn’t expected to return only to witness Eileen’s incompetence firsthand.

A leader of a research institution shouldn’t simply accept subordinates declaring something "impossible"—they should carve out possibilities where none seem to exist.

Clearly, Eileen’s personality was still too weak.

"Mr. Ajef!" Eileen called out in delight, but her expression quickly turned uneasy when she saw the look in his eyes.

"I recall the Magic Forest also recruited a group of ordinary assistants. Are they here?" Yu Sheng'an asked Eileen.

"Yes, they’re all at the time rain farm."

"Have them pause their work and join the discussion."

Yu Sheng'an spoke calmly, a vague idea forming in his mind—one he needed his main body to verify.

This was also a good opportunity to test the ordinary assistants. If they passed, he had decided to dismiss these magic apprentices.

Those whose minds were completely shackled by rigid thinking had no place in innovative research.