Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 343 PUA

"Your guesses are correct," the Virgin Mary said gently, "I can see some of Murphy Darkholm's thoughts and ideas through the mental coordinates."

"This man is the most selfish, arrogant, and despicable soul in the world."

"In his heart, he can't let go of anyone but himself. He doesn't care about others, or even the world. He treats this place as his playground, the stage for his story. He sees himself as the protagonist, while you, me, and all of us are just supporting characters in his grand adventure."

"I have seen the minds of countless people, but this man's extreme selfishness and arrogance still shock me."

"Tom Riddle, in your eyes, he seems to be a respectable teacher?"

"But that was just his performance."

"He is an excellent actor, a brilliant screenwriter, and an outstanding director, but he is also a conman, or even a genius among conmen."

"What you see is always the image he wants you to see. In your eyes, he is a mentor, a prophet, a great idealist, but in fact, that is just a facade he has woven to accomplish his selfish 'great cause'."

"He has no interest in saving the world, nor does he care about the fate of humanity; all he wants is endless power, and the endless authority that comes with that power!"

"And you, poor Tom. You are now nothing more than a tool for him, a plaything."

"Look at what you've become. You've lost your ambition, like an animal caged in a cage, kept by him, a slave to be driven at will. You've lost your original great destiny, willingly becoming his appendage. You've even abandoned your identity, even become a girl, a pitiful, homeless ghost, all because of his lies."

"Tom Riddle, didn't you ever have a doubt?"

"Your fate is being controlled by him; you have become his puppet..."

"Are you done?" Lucas suddenly interrupted the Virgin Mary. "You'd better say something I don't know. We don't have much time to waste on you. And don't call me Tom Riddle anymore, I'm Lucas now."

"Foolish, utterly foolish... You've been blinded by lies..."

"Let's go, teacher."

They left the corridor where the Virgin Mary was imprisoned and came to Athena's machine room through another hidden passage.

In the temperature- and humidity-controlled server room, hundreds of black server racks are neatly arranged side by side, and countless signal lights flash regularly, surging with a data flow far larger than the sum of the nascent Internet outside.

"I wrote a neural network model on Athena," Murphy said. "It has about a billion parameters, and I tried to make it as close as possible to the structure of a real neural network. It's the best brain-like software system we can make with the current computer architecture, but it's untrained and certainly can't match the sophistication of the real brain."

"However, after you switch to it, you can adjust and optimize the parameters yourself. I think it should be at least better than the notes."

"Thank you, teacher," Lucas said softly, his head bowed.

Murphy turned around. "Look up, Lucas. Look at me."

Lucas slowly raised his head, looked up at Murphy, and their eyes met, but he unconsciously looked away the next moment.

"I guess you have something to say to me," Murphy said.

But Lucas remained silent for a long time. After a while, she said, "We should complete the transfer. Time is running out."

"That's why we need to address the most pressing issues first."

"Shouldn't the most pressing issue be getting rid of the Virgin Mary?"

"It's somewhat of a nuisance, but I have a pretty good idea of ​​what it's really like," Murphy said. "At best, it's probably just a watchdog."

Lucas suddenly frowned. "Then, what am I, Professor?"

Sure enough, the Mother's words had a great impact on her.

We need to appease them.

What do you think?

"No, don't ask me that again," Lucas said.

"..."

Murphy frowned, wondering if it was just his imagination, but why did Lucas seem like a teenage girl?

Although—she does seem to be.

"You can't push this question onto me. You brought me out of the orphanage, you taught me what love is, you brought me here, you revealed the future to me, you gave me that mission. You single-handedly shaped who I am today. You can't ask me how I feel, because everything I believe in is given to me by you, isn't it?"

Lucas looked up at him, and for a moment, Murphy almost thought she had discovered that the story was a lie.

He panicked a little and almost wanted to throw a magical spell at the other person, but something in the other person's eyes softened his heart, and he decided to have a proper talk with them.

"Do you think I've deceived you, Lucas?"

The latter's gaze softened, and he fell silent.

"Fine, so you think what the Holy Mother said is right? You're my slave and puppet?"

Silence remained.

"Perhaps you also agree with what it says: that I am an extremely selfish and arrogant madman? A self-deceiving liar?"

Lucas looked up. "I didn't say that."

Well, it's good that there's a response.

Murphy smiled slightly. "But you still feel like I've used you as a tool?"

Lucas sighed. "I just want to know what you really think of me."

Murphy raised an eyebrow.

This is clearly not the kind of thinking a subordinate has for a superior, and it even goes beyond the feelings a student has for a teacher. However, thinking about it, it is normal. To some extent, Lucas may have regarded him as a guardian, an elder, or even a family member.

He suddenly remembered a long time ago, when he was reading the memories in the diary at the very beginning of creating the story of Lucas, he saw Tom's affection for Dumbledore.

He probably understood.

After all, this is a child who lacks love.

As Lucas's creator, he had a special affection for Lucas to some extent, and Lucas was clearly different from his other subordinates.

However, he did not want to have a son or daughter, because that would mean responsibility and obligation, and a heavy emotional burden.

Right now, Murphy feels like he's playing a simulation or dating game, and this is a crucial dialogue branch.

If he makes some promises or gives more positive feedback, then the relationship between the two will take a step further and become a close one; otherwise, it will retreat to a suitable distance.

Admittedly, the former may be easier to manipulate, but toying with other people's feelings is truly despicable.

"Lucas, you're important to me." Murphy decided to be honest, "but to be honest, I don't want to be responsible for your future. Although as your teacher, I will guide you, give you advice, and help you, I hope you can make your own decisions about your life."

"I am not your creator. Perhaps I sometimes want to guide you, but you are not my creation. You may have been influenced by me a lot in becoming who you are today, but what determines who you are is still that 'spark' within you, the essence of your soul."

"Maybe I've lied to you, maybe not everything I told you was the truth, and sometimes I might have had my own agenda," Murphy said, coughing. "Like that guy said, I might actually have some histrionic personality traits, and I might use certain words to influence other people's decisions. Maybe I really am a super selfish control freak without even realizing it."

"However, no matter what, you can be yourself without having to follow the path I set for you. My words are not important; what matters is what you heard. It's not that I taught you what love is, but that you learned to love; it's not that I revealed your mission to you, but that you chose and accepted it yourself."

"You are not a puppet, Lucas. Believe me, even if the whole world is deceiving you, even if you are living in a complete lie, you can still choose to be your own master."

"Don't entrust your fate to anyone else. Including me. I hope we can be comrades-in-arms moving forward together, but I don't need blindly obedient puppets."

"You want to know what I think of you? Hmm..." Murphy smiled. "You're my student, and I hope you'll become my partner. Other than that, I don't have any preconceived notions about you."

Lucas seemed to relax, and she looked at Murphy. "So... can I be your friend?"

"A friend?" Murphy was a little surprised. "Hmm...that's fine. So, as a friend, could you tell me why you were feeling down before?"

Lucas's expression darkened again. "I killed someone."

"Later I found out it was Sirius Black. I knew he was Harry's godfather."

In fact, the protagonist is not engaging in psychological manipulation. He may think he is, but he is not. He is certainly trying to influence the other person, but he still respects and encourages the other person's independent will.

I hope everyone will encounter someone who says similar things to you, and I hope everyone will treat the people they love with gentleness.

(End of this chapter)