Chapter 43: The Notion of Making Money Does Not Exist

"Wrong, your words are absolutely mistaken!"
"If you don't push yourself, how will you know where your limits are, or what despair truly means... Uh, what I mean to say is, talent isn't as absolute as it seems."
"Have you ever heard this saying? The poor rely on mutation, the rich rely on technology!"
"...That sounds familiar..." Ye Chao actually seemed to recognize it.
"Don't bother with where it comes from—just tell me if it makes sense."
Alpha Princess continued triumphantly, "With money, you can pursue any research you want. With money, you can buy any equipment you desire. With money, even if you lack talent, you can stack it up with wealth!"
Do you know how wanton Iron Man is? How uninhibited Batman is? As for Ma Baba... well, you know, right?
"With money, you can open as many libraries as you wish, let as many people as you like read for free..."
"So, talent is unimportant, effort is even less so—the key is money! The great literary figure Oscar Wilde once said, 'When I was young, I thought money was the most important thing in the world. Now that I am old, I know it is indeed so.'"
A flawless argument, Alpha Princess rolled around smugly, until Ye Chao's words pierced straight through her pride.
"But, we don't have any money."
"No money? Then figure out how to earn it! Start with a small goal, perhaps."
"No, that's not what I mean... I've heard of money, but right now, we simply don't use it."
=￣ω￣=
No money? Do you use Alipay then?
Or Ma Baba's famous line, "I don't like money, I never touch it."
"Of course not! I mean it—there really is no money, we don't use it anymore..."
Truly cutting the argument off at the root!
Upon reflection, it made sense. After all, it's a time of calamity, communication between cities is difficult, and printing and preserving traditional currency is problematic in this era...
"So what do you use? Bottle caps? Bullets? Toilet paper? Crystal cores?"
What is all this? Ye Chao was bewildered, "We don't use anything."
"Nothing at all? Then how do you pay for food, clothes, and necessities—how do you calculate value?"
Simple. Rationing.
In fact, the slogans on the streets made it clear—
Personal rights are distributed according to need!
Living privileges are distributed according to labor!
Political rights are distributed according to ability!

The rules of society in this era of disaster were summed up in those three lines.
At meal times, everyone could collect food and water from different but fixed locations. The food was often unpleasant and portions small, but survival was ensured.
If you wanted better, more plentiful meals, a bigger house, daily baths, new clothes when yours wore out, or even voting rights, you needed a job. Quotas were determined by the amount and quality of work.
If you wanted a more comfortable life, even to become a leader who commanded others without doing everything yourself, you needed not just a job but ability.
Here, ability mostly meant superpowers; only a few referred to actual competence.
In short, the greater your ability, the more you received.
As for Ye Chao, being a student counted as work, so his rations were equivalent to those with jobs, the amount determined by his grades.
Items like silicon crystals or various metals, which could serve as hard currency, were illegal to trade privately and were all handed over in exchange for quotas.
Without money, how could one possibly make money?
Ye Chao vs. Alpha Princess, 2:0.
Ah, so infuriating! Alpha Princess rolled across the table in frustration.
How could a program with sky-high emotional intelligence and experience spanning an era lose to such an emotionally challenged individual? It made no sense, was totally unscientific!
Regrouping, she pressed on for honor and pride!
Round 3!
"From your words, I hear a famous saying from before the disaster—knowledge is power. Are you a true believer in this?"
"Yes," Ye Chao didn't deny it.
"Heh heh," Alpha Princess grinned mischievously, "Knowledge is power, when individual strength was more or less equal before the disaster, sure. But after the disaster, knowledge is just knowledge, power is just power—you can't refuse to accept that."
"And your ideal isn't just to gather and use knowledge, but to become a spreader, a savior for your ignorant, almost mentally deficient classmates, isn't it?"
"Emmm... Please, continue." Ye Chao pondered, neither confirming nor denying.
"Let me ask you—how do you plan to spread your ideas? Just by opening a library?" Alpha Princess thumped the table, adding a sound effect, staring at Ye Chao with authority.
"You think your classmates would flock to learn and strive just because you opened a library? You know that's impossible, don't you?"
She had a point, although a library wasn't the whole of his plan.
"I'll tell you—the best way to spread an idea that others find hard to accept!" Alpha Princess paused dramatically, then revealed the answer, "Make yourself a role model! A sensation!"
"For example, when a fresh-faced idol becomes a role model, good looks become justice, lacking acting skills can be compensated with CGI, no schedule means stand-ins, no branding—someone thinks it up for you, if you're not popular, fans fight for you, even if your persona collapses, brainless fans help cover it up... Makeup becomes standard for men, and Korean veterinarians can't keep up with demand."

"If you want others to understand the value of knowledge, want them to love learning as you do, you must first cater to their tastes, become a sensation, let them idolize and obsess over you."
"Um, I don't really understand what you're saying, but it doesn't sound like a good thing..." Ye Chao rubbed his chin.
"Get the spirit!"
Of course it wasn't a good thing—Alpha Princess cared nothing for looks, only for acting skill, and was a diehard fan! Actors' faces told a story she could study and analyze, allowing her to learn and improve, while the acting of fresh-faced idols only made her emotional intelligence system crash and regress.
Still, she had to admit, idols drew far more attention and could earn money lying down.
"You want me to make myself the exemplar of 'knowledge is power,' to be a role model for others?"
"Exactly!" Alpha Princess snapped her fingers: At last, you understand.
"Then all the more reason for me to study, to first understand the reasoning behind all this." Ye Chao's eyes never left his tablet.

Nani?
Why did the same question yield such a completely different answer?
Was it a glitch just now? Or a momentary freeze?
"Do you answer exam questions without showing your work?"
"Alright, let me explain." Ye Chao exhaled; refining his plan with Alpha Princess couldn't hurt.
"My idea is similar to yours, just with a different focus. My plan is to replicate—at least partially—the functions of the mobile internet before the disaster. I want to create a new profession!" Ye Chao raised his index finger in earnest.
"It may not be powerful or combat-capable, might not even have any special abilities, but it can, through real-time network links, connect everyone, know where each person is, understand everyone's status, and let the team unleash power far beyond the norm..."
"There are people like this now, of course, but they all rely on abilities."
"But I know, you don't need abilities—the technology before the disaster was enough. And I should thank you; you've let me experience that kind of power, and now I have even more confidence!"
눈_눈
Alpha Princess eyed Ye Chao suspiciously.
Am I the one who's traveled through time, or is it you?