At sunset, the Ruin Primary School’s first class on "The Analects of Force" concluded.

  The afterglow of the setting sun dusted the immature faces of the children with gold. They didn’t run around wildly like they usually did after school, nor did they bury their heads in cheap electronic game consoles. They gathered around Confucius, their eyes holding something they had never possessed before.

  "What did you learn today?"

  Uncle George, who had come to pick up his grandson, asked nervously. In the past, when he sent his grandson to public school, the kid would only say, "I had fun today" or "The teacher said I'm the best." That kind of so-called "Happy Education" was like a thick layer of sugar coating, wrapping up the bitterness of reality, letting the children live in a fake fairy tale.

  But when that fairy tale shattered—like when schools closed or they got bullied—the children would discover they had absolutely no ability to face reality.

  His grandson ran over with his schoolbag, his small face serious and earnest.

  "The teacher told us today that 'Virtue' isn't given by others, it's made by yourself."

  "Teacher said, if someone hits your left cheek, you don't offer your right cheek. You grab his hand and ask him, 'Why did you hit me?' If he can't give a logical reason, then you let him taste what it feels like to be hit."

  Uncle George was stunned. Was this still the kid who would only cry for his grandpa?

  "Is... is that what the teacher taught?"

  "Yeah!" The grandson clenched his fist, mimicking Confucius’s posture. "Teacher also said, only when you become strong will people listen to your logic. I used to think those bad guys were scary, but today... I think they're just idiots with a bit more strength."

  This was the first lesson Confucius brought to them.

  He didn't build dreams for the children; he didn't tell them, "The world will be gentle if you are kind." He tore that hypocritical dream apart directly, telling them the truth of the world:

  The world is cruel, but you can become strong.

  This education had no sugar coating. It was bitter. It was hard.

  But it allowed the children to stand firm in the ruins.

  "This teacher... he's got something."

  Auntie Mary nearby also heard her daughter’s words. The little girl, who usually only dreamed of being a princess, actually volunteered to help her mother carry the vegetable basket today, saying: "'If you can't sweep a room, how can you sweep the world?' Teacher said I have to learn to take care of myself first."

  The parents looked at the old man in the green school uniform, who was still sitting on the rubble drinking cola and reading a book. The skepticism in their eyes turned completely into awe.

  They didn't need a babysitter who only knew how to coax children.

  They needed a Mentor who could teach their children how to survive in this man-eating world.

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  One by one, they stepped forward, pulling out the best things from their homes.

  "Teacher Kong, this is home-cured salted meat, take it for your drinks."

  "Teacher, I knitted this scarf. The ruins are cold at night, please wear it."

  "Teacher, these are eggs just laid by my hen..."

  Confucius did not refuse. He smilingly accepted these gifts, which weren't worth much in money but weighed heavy in heart.

  "The Master said: 'From the one who brings a bundle of dried meat upwards, I have never denied instruction to anyone.'"

  Confucius waved his palm-leaf fan. "As long as you bring a greeting gift—even if it's just a few eggs—I will teach. You parents are much more sensible than those nouveau riche who just throw money and dump their kids on nannies."

  [Clinic Second Floor, Temporary Conference Room]

  John Doe sat at the table, staring at the numbers frantically jumping on the iPad, feeling like he was in a dream.

  [System Alert: Massive influx of high-purity 'Willpower' detected.]

  [Source: Residents of the 13th Street (Parent Group + Student Group).]

  [Pain Point Resolved: Education Disillusionment + Survival Skills Deficit.]

  [Merit Revenue: +5000 (Daily Settlement).]

  [Current Available Balance: 6,975 Merit.]

  "Five thousand..." John rubbed his eyes. "This makes more money than livestreaming sales?"

  "Because this is a real 'Rigid Demand'."

  "Boss, you might have underestimated the value of 'Sobriety'."

  "In this era filled with consumerism and cheap dopamine hits, the vast majority of people live in a massive lie. Schools tell kids 'You are special,' and media tells adults 'You deserve the best.' The result?"

  "The result is that when kids grow up, they find out they are actually 'waste products' or 'buggy code' who can't even find a job. That gap in reality is the most lethal thing."

  Grace pointed to the parents outside who were spontaneously helping to repair the walls.

  "And what Teacher Kong did was break this lie. He gave the children the scarcest things—Critical Thinking and Survival Instincts."

  "Although the parents don't say it, they know it in their hearts. In the slums, 'Happiness' is a luxury, 'Survival' is a necessity. You solved this anxiety for them; of course, they are grateful to you."

  "Five thousand a day..." Bone counted on his finger bones. "That's 150,000 a month. After paying the interest, we can save a lot. At this speed, that 500,000 debt... doesn't seem impossible to pay off?"

  John looked at his two non-human teammates, his eyes shining.

  He took out a blank sheet of paper and started drawing a diagram.

  "Let's review this model."

  John wrote three words on the paper: [Pain Point], [Scavenging], [Targeted Solution].

  "Before, we were passively taking orders. We solved whatever trouble came up. Low efficiency, high risk."

  "But this time is different. This time, we proactively discovered the community's pain point (Shattered Educational Dreams), and then went to the 'Bargain Bin' of the Hell App to find the cheapest but most suitable expert (Confucius) to precisely solve the problem."

  "It's like..." John snapped his fingers. "We acted as an intermediary for 'Resource Optimization' between the Underworld and the Human World."

  "The Underworld has a massive amount of idle Heroic Spirits who can't find employment due to various reasons (weird tempers, outdated concepts). And the Human World has a massive amount of messes that can't be solved due to poverty."

  "As long as we can connect the two..."

  "We can create maximum value (Merit) with minimum cost!"

  "That's called 'Dimensional Poverty Relief'!" Bone summarized.

  "Exactly!" John stood up excitedly. "The 13th Street has many more problems. Waste disposal, medical hygiene, even mental health... Behind every problem lies a massive Merit mine."

  "As long as we find the right Heroic Spirits, this place can become our 'Gold Mine'."

  "And," Grace added, "the more problems we solve, the stronger the community cohesion becomes. By then, this won't be a slum waiting to be slaughtered, but an... Iron Bucket Fortress."

  John looked out the window.

  Night had fallen, but lights were on in the Ruin Primary School. Parents had spontaneously strung up wires and lit bulbs.

  Confucius was telling stories to the children under the light, his laughter carrying far.

  This street, once dead silent and shrouded in lies and despair, had this grounded, earthy breath of life for the first time.

  "This path is the right one."

  John gripped the iPad tightly.

  Though the debt remained, though the enemy remained.

  He had finally found the fulcrum to turn the tables.

  "Starting tomorrow, we continue 'Scavenging'." John ordered.

  "We are going to transform this place abandoned by the world into the city's most enviable... 'Special Zone'."

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