Chapter 53: Focus on the big picture, bah!

"What does that mean?" Cheng Jinyang asked.

"The ideological imprint of the Wang family, once successfully stamped, will result in an absolute distortion of the target's psyche," Cui Jinqi raised a finger, speaking earnestly.

"The irrevocability of the ideological imprint does not mean you cannot betray it, but rather that the thought of betrayal cannot even arise in your mind."

"For example: if you promise her 'to never eat meat again,' you will instinctively reject meat from the depths of your heart, even if you don't know why. When meat is presented to you, you will instinctively refuse to eat it."

"Because of this, one must carefully consider the requests made by members of the Wang family. Demands that are vaguely described, such as 'looking out for' someone, can lead to countless possibilities, which can be as binding as losing one's life. Suppose one day, Wanrou says 'she has a certain need, so she hopes you can commit suicide,' and mentions that this is also part of 'looking out for' to you, what would you do?"

Upon hearing her description, Cheng Jinyang immediately felt a chill in his heart, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

"Don't listen to her lies." Wang Wanrou didn't say anything, but Xing Yuanzhi couldn't bear it and reminded him, "The ability of Mind Steel Seal cannot have unlimited additional requirements. If you don't believe me, ask Wanrou."

"Wanrou, is it really like this?" Cheng Jinyang immediately asked.

"No," Wang Wanrou calmly replied, ignoring Cui Jinqi's hinting gaze.

"Ah, well, actually, it's like this," Cui Jinqi sighed as her lie was exposed on the spot.

"If the seal placed on you originally was a vague command, then when she supplements the command details later on, she needs to persuade the Mind Steel Seal in your mind."

"It's specific to the computational power of both parties. If the Wang family's computational power far exceeds yours, then they can distort logic to add new content details into your mind. Conversely, there's no way to add them."

"So, a relatively safe approach is to never have a Mind Steel Seal placed on you," she said with a smirk, wagging her finger.

"Otherwise, if your computational power is inferior to the other party, just wait to be tortured to death by various deceptive and distorted additional commands."

"It's not as terrifying as she makes it sound," Wang Wanrou shook her head as if she was finally unable to tolerate her exaggerated threats.

"The Mind Steel Seal can be removed."

"However, lifting the seal also requires the seal bearer to operate," Cui Jinqi hurriedly added, "If the seal is stamped, you can only wait for the seal bearer to lift it. What if she changes her mind and refuses to lift it?"

Wang Wanrou smiled slightly,"You can use a time function. Add a time variable when sealing, for example, declare 'to be lifted on X date and time, after that, there is no need to continue adhering to the content of the steel seal.'"

Cui Jinqi: ...

"You're no fun, Wanrou," she complained, leaning back on the sofa.

"Let me scare him a bit."

Cheng Jinyang: ???

"Don't joke about demonizing the Taiyuan Wang family," Wang Wanrou warned her.

"Okay, okay, I know," Cui Jinqi waved her hand.

"So, I should just beautify it, right? Right??"

"Little brother Cheng, as I just said, 'never let your mind be stamped with ideological steel seals' is a relatively safe measure," she said mischievously, blinking her eyes. "So, what is the absolutely safe measure?"

"The answer is to be stamped with a steel seal in advance."

Cheng Jinyang pondered for a moment and asked, "Is it because... a person can only be stamped with one type of steel seal at most?"

"Exactly."

Cui Jinqi looked surprised, as if she didn't expect him to guess so quickly.

"The steel seal causes a huge distortion to the mind, so each person can only have one type of steel seal in their mind."

"If you've already been stamped with one seal, then when other Wang family members give you another seal, there will be a fierce conflict in your mind, causing you intense headaches."

"As a consequence of the headache, the constraints of both seals will be relatively weakened during the conflict, allowing you to quickly return to the family to seek help!"

"The conflicting seals in your mind will attack each other, competing to see whose algorithm is more complex and thorough, fundamentally a confrontation between the sealing parties' computational power. The party with higher computational power will eventually devour the opposing seal, rendering it ineffective, which is also a form of violent seal-breaking."

"So, if you accidentally get stamped with a thought seal, you can go back and communicate with the family. The Taiyuan Wang family will arrange for a high-ranking member to come over and forcefully break the seal through the method of overriding sealing."

Having said that, Cui Jinqi leisurely stopped and took a sip from her tea cup.

"Oh, this tea tastes quite good," she said, staring in surprise at the murky surface of the tea.

"The quality of the tea leaves at home is indeed poor, showing poor hospitality," Xing Yuanzhi said, knowing she was being sarcastic, and spoke calmly.

"Never mind, we didn't come here just for tea," Cui Jinqi put down her teacup, revealing a triumphant smile.

"So, little brother Cheng, have you figured out the purpose of our visit today?"

Ah, wasn't it to celebrate my successful induction into the Shendu Cheng family?

Cheng Jinyang was momentarily startled, then immediately realized something was amiss.

If it was merely a celebration, why bother explaining the various effects of the Wang family's 'Ideological Thought Seal'?

[T/N: Taiyuan Wang families bloodline ability is 'Mind Steel Seal' and 'Ideological Thought Seal' ia a algorithm of the Taiyuan Wang family.]

Reversing the perspective, if they went to such lengths just for me to understand the Ideological Thought Seal better, then it should be for...

Noticing Xing Yuanzhi's serious expression beside him, Cheng Jinyang confirmed his judgment and said, "You... you're here to imprint me."

"No, I'm just here to offer you a choice," Wang Wanrou said calmly, "a choice that might be riskier but potentially more advantageous for you."

"Is the Shendu Cheng family planning to imprint Jinyang?" Xing Yuanzhi suddenly asked.

"Yes, indeed," Cui Jinqi said with a smile.

"Hmm, it seems they are very distrustful of your loyalty, little brother. Entrusting the Wang family to carry out the imprinting, it's as if they want to ensure your allegiance is solely to the interests of the Shendu Cheng family. This is the kind of imprint usually reserved for rebellious descendants who go against their family's wishes."

Cheng Jinyang: ...

His expression almost contorted in anger, "Acting in the best interests of the family" - how does that sound like a demand for death knights? Are they really planning to treat me as a complete tool?

Xing Yuanzhi quickly caught on and asked, "Wanrou, is it true?"

"No," Wang Wanrou said frankly, "It's actually 'not to engage in actions harmful to the family's interests.'"

Cheng Jinyang's face eased slightly. After all, the idea of "not harming the family's interests" is much easier to accept than "family interests above all"...

Bah! What do you mean by easier to accept?! Why do other commoners get naturalization without a seal, while I have to be stamped by you? This discrimination is too obvious!

Of course, from the family's perspective, on one hand, he is the "son of a criminal," and on the other hand, he was brought in by Princess Nankang.

Plus, he sneaked out with Ah Zhi this afternoon, showing little affection for the family.

It's understandable that the Cheng family would be wary of him.

But if he were to convince himself to accept the fact that he would be stamped from the family's perspective, then he would be a complete idiot.

Why should I consider it from the family's perspective?

For example, a certain company, due to recent business downturns, requires employees to start working "996" without pay starting next month.

[T/N: I don't know what "996" implies here. If someone knows please tell me.]

Some employees protest and express dissatisfaction, while others say "the company's recent operations have been difficult," "it's not beneficial to anyone if the company goes under," and "we should consider it from the company's perspective" and decide to accept the arrangement of unpaid overtime.

So, as protesting employees gradually resign, those who "consider the company's perspective" begin to work tirelessly.

A month later, with the company's situation improving, what will the boss do? Will they announce a suspension of the 996 schedule to let these "company-oriented" employees take a break?

The painful historical experience suggests that at this point, the boss is more likely to act impulsively, believing that "996" is the suitable company culture, so they'll probably say, "Keep going with it!" Or maybe they'll try a more efficient "007"...

[T/N: 007?]

So, although Cheng Jinyang understands why his family is wary of him, he definitely won't just passively accept it, or else the family might escalate their control measures if they see him being too compliant.

"I understand, thank you for letting me know in advance," he earnestly thanked the two girls, then asked, "So the solution you're suggesting is for me to preemptively establish a higher-level ideological imprint to resist or even override the one the Cheng family will impose on me?"