novelraw Chapter 641: Lecture and Purpose
Chapter 641: Lecture and Purpose
Chapter 641: Lecture and Purpose
The Mist Capital Exhibition Center was located on the western side of the city’s central axis. It was a sprawling Baroque-style building.
Four Corinthian columns were embedded in the creamy white marble exterior walls. The acanthus leaf carvings on the column capitals had turned a grayish-yellow due to the perpetual smog. Above the main entrance hung the Spirit Medium Association’s emblem—the open eye in the palm of a hand—gazing down at every person who entered from beneath the gray-white sky.
Jie Ming followed the flow of people into the exhibition center’s main hall.
He was dressed very plainly today. His dark gray coat had been washed until it faded, and the heels of his leather boots were somewhat worn, forming a sharp contrast with the well-dressed gentlemen and ladies around him.
In this city, the Official Spirit Medium Association’s public lectures were open to everyone and entirely free. On the surface, it seemed ideal for those with little money.
In reality, however, the exhibition center was located in the heart of the wealthy district. Just the cost of taking public transportation to reach this affluent area was something ordinary civilians were unwilling to bear.
The wealthy, on the other hand, could arrive in private cars or stroll over casually under the pretense of taking a walk.
Moreover, the lectures were always held on regular workdays. Almost no civilian would risk losing their job to attend a basic lecture.
Therefore, those who could actually attend were mostly people with some assets. At the far end of the main hall was a pair of double oak doors. Behind them was a tiered lecture hall that could accommodate hundreds.
The seats were covered in deep red velvet, with foldable writing tablets on the armrests.
At the front of the hall was a wide stage. On the wall behind the stage hung a large blackboard for writing and displaying diagrams.
Jie Ming sat down in a seat at the edge of the third-to-last row. The view from this position was not the best, but it was close to the exit, making it easy to leave at any time.
People gradually filled the lecture hall.
By the time the lecture officially began, the hall was almost full.
Jie Ming roughly counted over four hundred people.
Among them were well-dressed middle-class individuals and young people who looked like students with notebooks. There was not a single bottom-level resident dressed as plainly as him.
A middle-aged man in a dark blue uniform walked onto the stage. The Spirit Medium Association emblem was embroidered on the left chest of his uniform, and three golden bars adorned his collar.
According to the information Jie Ming had gathered recently, this represented the rank of “Senior Lecturer.”
“Good morning, everyone,” the middle-aged man’s voice was not loud, but the amplification system in the lecture hall carried it to every corner. “Welcome to this public lecture on common Strange protection knowledge. I am Victor Raine, a specially appointed lecturer of the Association. I will be explaining today.”
He turned and wrote several words on the blackboard. The chalk produced crisp sounds against the surface.
“Basic Characteristics and Evolutionary Patterns of Stranges.”
Jie Ming leaned back in his chair in a somewhat relaxed posture.
He had come to this lecture mostly out of a “while I’m here” mindset. However, when Victor Raine spoke his first sentence, Jie Ming sat up straight.
“First, I would like everyone to pay attention to a certain phenomenon,” Victor pointed at the first line on the blackboard. “Stranges of the same type will change their forms as the times develop.”
The lecture hall fell quiet.
“Let me give an example.” Victor turned to face the audience. “The Ghost Ship Strange. Has anyone heard of it?”
Several hands rose in the audience.
“The Ghost Ship Strange is a very ancient type of Strange. The earliest written records date back twelve hundred years. In those ancient records, what did the Ghost Ship look like? A wooden sailing ship. The hull was decayed, the sails tattered, and the vessel covered in barnacles and seaweed. It would appear on the sea, lure passing ships closer, and drag both the ships and their crews into the deep ocean.”
Victor drew a simple outline of a sailing ship on the blackboard.
“Then, three hundred years ago, the image of the Ghost Ship in records changed. Wooden sailing ships began to decrease, replaced by a new type: metal-hulled steamships. The hull was covered in rust, black smoke billowed from the chimneys, yet that black smoke carried no heat.” He drew a simplified outline of a steamship beside the sailing ship.
“And in modern times, in records from the past fifty years, the Ghost Ship’s image has changed once again. Steamships have also decreased, and what has begun to appear…”
He paused and wrote several words on the blackboard.
“Metal cruise ships. Large, modern luxury ocean liners. Brightly lit, but those lights do not flicker or change. They shine with a constant glow, as if imitating some kind of ‘living’ illusion.”
Low murmurs rose from the audience.
Jie Ming’s gaze rested on the blackboard. The simple lines outlining the different ship types connected in his mind into a clear evolutionary trajectory. The Ghost Ship Strange’s form was not fixed. It evolved in tandem with the development of human shipbuilding technology.
It was imitating.
Or rather, it was “learning.”
It seemed this lecturer had real substance.
Victor’s voice continued, “What does this phenomenon indicate? It indicates that Stranges are not unchanging dead things. They change their own forms as the times develop. More precisely, they ‘borrow’ the most representative symbols of human civilization to shape their own images.”
He wrote a word on the blackboard.
“Symbolism.”
“The images Stranges present are often not random, but carry certain symbolic meaning. They choose wooden sailing ships because they represent the ‘ancient ocean.’ They choose steamships because they represent the ‘industrial era’s conquest.’ They choose metal cruise ships because they represent ‘modern prosperity and luxury.’”
“Behind this symbolism lies a deeper question: Why do Stranges imitate? Where do the objects they imitate come from? How do they know that new types of ships have appeared in human society?”
Victor put down the chalk, turned around, and swept his gaze across the entire lecture hall.
“The answer may be complex, but today I want to share with everyone the currently most mainstream hypothesis in academia: Stranges have a considerable connection with intelligence and sentience.”
Jie Ming’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Everyone should know that the “Night” does not affect animals. At night, the cats, dogs, and mice in your homes can move freely in the darkness without suffering any harm.”
“Similarly, in many records of Strange events, cases of surviving pets are common. An entire family dies, yet the household cat is still alive, walking around the corpses as if nothing happened.”
“Why?”
Victor paused, giving the audience time to think.
“Because animals lack intelligence. Or rather, the level of animal intelligence is far lower than that of humans. Stranges… at least most Stranges do not attack animals, do not attack plants, and do not attack living beings without self-awareness. Their targets are humans. More precisely, human intelligence.”
Jie Ming narrowed his eyes, becoming even more attentive.
“From this, academia has proposed a hypothesis: the birth of Stranges should also be related to intelligence. They are born from human intelligence, feed on human intelligence, or rather, use human intelligence as ‘soil.’”
“When large numbers of humans live together in one place for a long time, they form an invisible, unmeasurable ‘intelligence field.’ Once this field reaches a certain critical point, it will give birth to Stranges.”
“This is why there are far more Stranges in cities than in villages, and far more in villages than in the wilderness. It is not that Stranges prefer cities, but that cities have large populations gathered together, colliding thoughts, and intertwined desires… all of which provide the most fertile soil for the birth of Stranges.”
Jie Ming leaned back in his chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the armrest.
He had already learned some basic knowledge about Stranges from the bandits’ memories, but that knowledge was fragmented and lacked a theoretical framework. What Victor explained today, while it might at most broaden ordinary people’s understanding and teach them what Stranges were, how to avoid them, and what to do when encountering danger, was extremely valuable research material to him.
These theoretical frameworks could directly accelerate his research progress on Stranges.
One could say this was the summary and induction of thousands of years of coexistence between the humans of this world and Stranges—a crystallization of experience tested by time and practice.
Jie Ming looked at the blackboard with the words “Symbolism” and “Intelligence,” especially at the enthusiastic lecturer, and nodded inwardly.
For an ordinary lecture to have such a knowledgeable lecturer delivering it—one could see the bigger picture from this small detail. It seemed the reason this world could still maintain a normal society without collapsing, and even develop a decent level of technology, was largely thanks to the Spirit Medium Association.
The lecture lasted approximately two hours.
Victor Raine covered the basic classification of Stranges, avoidance methods for common Stranges, emergency measures when encountering danger, and the Association’s alarm and assistance channels.
The content was detailed, well-organized, with both theoretical depth and practicality.
Jie Ming noticed that the student-like attendees listened particularly attentively. Some were even taking notes in small notebooks.
Finally, Victor concluded the lecture with one sentence: “Everyone, Stranges are not frightening. What is frightening is knowing nothing about them. Knowledge is the best protection. Thank you all.”
Applause rang out. It was not particularly enthusiastic, but it was sincere enough.
After the lecture ended, Jie Ming did not leave immediately.
He remained in his seat, observing the movements of those around him.
Most people stood up and began chatting with those beside them.
The atmosphere in the lecture hall quickly shifted from “listening” to “socializing.”
The well-dressed gentlemen and ladies gathered in small groups of three or four, exchanging business cards, exchanging pleasantries, and occasionally letting out restrained laughter.
As expected, just as Eric had said, this kind of lecture was more of a gathering for upper-class individuals to network and expand their connections. Most people did not come for the lecture itself, but for the social segment afterward to meet people, discuss business, and build relationships. Once they had socialized enough, they would leave in small groups to continue their networking at nearby restaurants or clubs.
Some people glanced at Jie Ming. Their gazes swept over him without pausing, as if looking at a piece of furniture that did not belong in the lecture hall. No one came over to talk to him.
Jie Ming did not mind. After all, he had not come here to socialize.
He leaned back in his chair and waited patiently.
Soon, most people in the hall had left, but some remained.
Jie Ming observed these “remaining people.”
They were scattered in different parts of the lecture hall—men and women ranging in age from their early twenties to their fifties or sixties.
Their clothing varied—some were refined, some plain.
But regardless of who they were, their “aura” was similar.
Each person carried a certain “edge.”
Like a steel blade that had been repeatedly quenched and forged. Even when lying quietly in its sheath, one could sense its sharpness.
These people were not the same kind as the upper-class individuals who had been chatting and laughing during the social segment.
Jie Ming sat quietly in his seat, waiting.
A few minutes later, a waiter wearing a black vest walked out from a small side door in the lecture hall.
He gave a slight bow toward the “remaining people” without speaking, then turned and walked back through the small door.
People began to move.
Those scattered throughout the lecture hall stood up one after another. Some carried briefcases, some had empty hands, some were alone, and some were in groups of two or three. They headed toward the small door in a scattered manner.
No one looked at each other. Everyone seemed to tacitly follow some unspoken rule.
Jie Ming picked up his small suitcase, stood up, and followed at the back of the group.
Behind the small door was a narrow corridor.
The corridor walls were exposed red brick, and the floor was paved with gray stone slabs, forming a sharp contrast with the luxurious decorations in the lecture hall. An orange-yellow lamp hung every few meters overhead, casting mottled light and shadow in the corridor.
Jie Ming followed the crowd through the winding corridor for about five minutes.
The corridor turned several times and passed several intersections, but the people ahead seemed very familiar with the route and showed no hesitation.
Finally, at the end of the corridor appeared a pair of double oak doors.
The doors were open.
Behind them was a spacious hall.
This hall was even larger than the lecture hall outside.
The floor was paved with dark wooden boards, polished smooth and gleaming with a warm luster under the lights.
Over a hundred chairs were casually scattered throughout the hall, as if deliberately arranged to feel “informal.”
Several large oil paintings hung on the walls, depicting various Strange images that made one uncomfortable just looking at them.
At the front of the hall was a slightly raised platform. On the platform was a long table covered with deep red velvet cloth.
On the wall behind the platform, the Spirit Medium Association’s emblem had been enlarged several times, nearly covering the entire wall.
People walked into the hall in scattered groups and casually found seats.
Jie Ming chose a position against the wall on the right side of the hall. After sitting down, his gaze swept across the entire space.
It was obvious that the atmosphere here was much more oppressive than in the lecture outside.