Zhang Xiaoman, upon hearing his mother’s words, unconsciously flipped through his notebook. When he looked at the technical jargon scribbled on the pages, he felt a wave of headache washing over him.
"Mom, I study multimedia; how am I supposed to understand all this stuff you wrote?" he said, his face twisted in frustration.
"I recognize each word, but putting them together I just can’t make sense of it! Look at this, it’s practically like a professional paper!"
His mother looked at him helplessly, "Then what should we do? I gave you the manual, but you can’t understand it. It’s not like I can lecture you on every single point, right? I’m only just on summer break; I don’t want to start tutoring again."
Zhang Xiaoman brightened up at her words, "That’s right! How about this, Mom, you should just quit your job and help me strategize full-time! I’ll handle tricking people, and you can manage everything else!"
His mother was stunned, a bit slow to catch on, "Are you saying, quit my job at the school and run off to mess with that Star Alliance with you?"
Zhang Xiaoman slapped his thigh enthusiastically, "Exactly! Didn’t you say before, if we had money why bother with classes? Our family isn’t short on cash now, right? I’m saying you should just up and quit during this break—it’s too tiring clicking all the way there every day."
He grew more excited as he spoke, "And with you handling some matters of the Star Alliance, I would feel more at ease. At this stage, we can’t find anyone else to help, so I can only rely on you!"
His mother frowned deep in thought for a long time before suddenly glaring at him fiercely, "Now I know why this sounded increasingly wrong. You mean after I quit my job at the school, I won’t be coming home to relax but to work for you! Are you itching for a beating, you little rascal?"
Zhang Xiaoman immediately cried out in his defense, "No! Mom, how can this be called working for me? Look at your hand! On your right hand!"
His mother looked at her hand, puzzled.
"What’s wrong with my right hand?"
Zhang Xiaoman replied morosely, "The ring! The ring I gave you! That’s one of the seven Star Rings, ’Master of the Mind’, it’s a symbol of the leader of the Star Alliance! You’re one of the seven Star Lords! How can you say you’re working for me? This is your organization too!"
"Leader? Star Lord? When did this happen? I didn’t know about this, you didn’t tell me when you gave me the ring."
His mother examined the ring again, puzzled, "You mean, this is the symbol of leading the Star Alliance? Seven leaders?"
Zhang Xiaoman coughed, "Well, that was something I’ve just been thinking about. Of course, having seven leaders is just a figure of speech. In reality, the six would assist me; after all, I’m the Master of the Stars...haha..."
His mother thought deeply for a long time again before saying, "The structure you’ve described isn’t impossible... Establishing the Star Alliance initially could give the members a goal, providing them with a motive to aspire. Once the organization stabilized, this goal could transform into a belief, serving as an idol for new members, enhancing passion and cohesion..."
"However, you need to be careful with your choice of words. In the future, those who possess a Star Ring should not be called ’leaders’. It might be fine in the short term, but over the long term, it could dilute your control power, which is very important!"
"Moreover, you must ensure that you have veto power. The title ’Star Lord’ that you’ve conceived is appropriate. Since your ring is called ’Master of the Stars’, it naturally exerts dominance over the others, always reminding them that you are the Boss, subconsciously driving them to be more loyal..."
Zhang Xiaoman grimaced and wiped the sweat from his forehead, his tone helpless, "I say, Mom, aren’t you planning too far ahead? Now there’s talk of dominance and loyalty..."
His mother interrupted him, "Don’t take this lightly; I’m talking about very significant aspects of interpersonal psychological interaction. It may just be a title, but its impact is huge! It might not show now, but over time you’ll see how these changes subtly influence everything! If you really want the Star Alliance to grow, you must do as I say."
Zhang Xiaoman gave her a reassured look, "Don’t worry. I’m not dumb. And besides, you are the expert with a PhD and you’re my mom—whom else would I listen to? Plus, if they dare disobey later on, I can just take back their rings directly, no need to worry about any rebellion."
His mother was taken aback, "What? You can forcibly take back the rings?"
Zhang Xiaoman thought about the item worth 150 Star Dust in the Gang Store, then nodded and said, "Yes, although it comes at a cost, it certainly can be retrieved."
His mother breathed a sigh of relief, showing a relaxed expression, "Well, that makes it much simpler then. With that in mind, you’re already invincible. Any title will do."
After that, Zhang Xiaoman went downstairs to let the dogs out, his mind drifting away, consumed with thoughts about the Star Alliance and Enlightenment Array.
When he returned home, he found his mother watching TV on the couch. Seeing her son come back, she muted the volume with the remote control and turned to him, "I left the notebook on the desk in your room. Though I’m here, you should still take a look when you have the time; it might expand your perspective a bit."
Zhang Xiaoman’s spirits lifted upon hearing this, delighted, "Mom, does this mean you’re planning to quit your job soon to help me? I mean, your school is so far away, you spend an hour on the road every day, quitting sooner means relaxing sooner..."
His mother responded irritably, "You think I can just quit like you? Quitting a job at the school isn’t that simple. We might not be worried about money now, but I can’t just abandon my students like that... But don’t worry, at most it’ll take a few months. I’ll still help you in the meantime; it’s no trouble."
"Alright then, take care of yourself too, don’t overwork yourself. By the way, didn’t you want to buy a house? I’ve converted the money to cash, and it’s in a bag in the room. Use that when you buy the house."
Zhang Xiaoman said this, then prepared to return to his bedroom to practice the engraving of the Enlightenment Array Technique using the Starry Stone to return to the Original Realm.
"Wait a minute!" his mother suddenly called out.
Zhang Xiaoman paused.
"I’ve been so caught up thinking about quitting my job, I forgot the important matter. Didn’t you go to Dragon Sleep Mountain today? And you got a lot of medicinal herbs and stones from there."
"Did you ever think why they would give you so many things?"