The North American Gourmet Demon Handbook

"These platforms are rife with conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and extreme viewpoints, and constantly reinforce the binary opposition of 'we are the ones awake and they are the ones asleep.'"

“When you start thinking independently, you’ll find yourself different. That’s okay, you have your companions here. We are like-minded, and we see truths that others cannot see.”

"This is the instructor's classic line from the third session."

Li Shanze found it difficult to tell whether the person who said this was a public school teacher or a cult leader.

"The effect is that students become sucked into information cocoons, exposed only to information that aligns with their newly formed counter-mainstream beliefs. They become hostile to anyone who questions their newfound understanding, viewing them as part of the brainwashed herd."

Li Shanze nodded. This was a typical information cocoon echo wall.

"The fourth stage is the carnival of nothingness."

"At the end of the course, students are asked to submit a 'Personal Truth Statement' outlining the 'truth' they have 'discovered' through 'independent thinking'."

"These 'truths' are often a mixture of absurd conspiracy theories, pseudoscience or extremist ideas."

"For example, some claim that the United States is controlled by lizard people; some believe that there is a conspiracy group such as the Freemasons that firmly controls the world; and some believe that the heroes in history books are all demons."

"The instructor would give it high praise and emphasize that this was the 'highest achievement of independent thinking.'"

"Congratulations! You have broken free from the shackles of thought and become true independent thinkers. Remember, there is no absolute truth, only the truth you choose to believe in. Go spread your light!"

"Although the mentor said so, at this stage, most people are already useless. At least they will definitely not be qualified wizards."

"They will sink into complete nihilism, not believing in any objective truth, but believing in and taking pride in the most absurd heresies they choose to believe."

"They become extremely easy to be incited because any anti-mainstream speech can easily gain their approval."

"This kind of brainwashing of the masses using independent thinking as a slogan is more terrifying than direct ignorance."

"Because it doesn't make people stupid directly, but makes them 'think they are smart but become stupid.'"

"It makes people feel like they are the only ones who are awake, part of the minority, and they see everything. But in reality, they are simply being led into a maze of countless fallacies and heresies, from which they can never find the exit, and can never truly understand the world."

“It creates a group of independent thinkers who are hostile to any authority but believe in any absurd statement, thus undermining social consensus and making society more vulnerable to division and manipulation.

"All of this shows that humans can be tamed. I've always despised the witchcraft of the Delusion Society, because the Delusion Society must use witchcraft to achieve things that humans can do without witchcraft - this is tantamount to asking a wizard to admit that he is more foolish than ordinary people."

Finally, Jennifer concluded somewhat reluctantly.

Li Shanze finally understood why Jennifer seemed to be particularly disdainful of mind control witchcraft—even though she herself was from this school.

"Since you don't like the Delusion Society, why did you choose this school?" Xia Li asked curiously.

"The Delusion Society is a secret society. Once you join, it's not easy to leave." Jennifer gritted her teeth. "As for why I joined, you'll have to ask that old man Cyrus Morton."

Li Shanze now had some understanding of where Jennifer's resentment towards Cyrus Morton came from.

Is this also a tragedy caused by parents not respecting their children's wishes when filling out their applications?

"I understand the US government's widespread obscurantism." Li Shanze nodded slowly. "But, shouldn't we have a proper chat about you?"

Jennifer was shocked when she heard Li Shanze's unfriendly expression, and her tone was particularly panicked: "My business? What's wrong, Master?"

Li Shanze narrowed his eyes. "You speak so differently today than you did the day we first met. Back then, you were completely disorganized and illogical, unlike today, where you speak so clearly and logically. What's going on? Hmm?"

Jennifer's face turned pale instantly, and beads of sweat oozed from her forehead. She subconsciously wanted to shrink back, but Li Shanze's eyes were fixed on her, and she could only force out a smile that was uglier than crying.

"Master, Master...you, you are talking about..." She stammered, her eyes wandering, obviously feeling hurt.

Li Shanze snorted coldly and said nothing. He just looked at her quietly, his eyes seemed to be able to penetrate her soul.

Jennifer finally couldn't bear this silent pressure anymore. She took a deep breath and lowered her voice with a hint of imperceptible bitterness and self-mockery.

"Master, you are right... I was... indeed like that before. Confused, illogical, and even lost the most basic judgment." She paused, as if she was organizing her words, or as if she was recalling an experience that was too painful to recall.

"Because I was going through an existential crisis—it was just in the early stages, not fatal."

Jennifer's voice was filled with fear.

Li Shanze nodded slowly. He felt that Jennifer's explanation was more reasonable.

A wizard really shouldn't be as crazy as Jennifer was before, as if he couldn't learn any lessons at all, couldn't learn anything, his logic was confused, and his thinking was not even coherent.

Seeing Li Shanze nod, Jennifer's tone became much calmer and she continued to explain.

"In fact, the so-called public education I just mentioned is actually very similar to the methods used by the Delusion Society. By tampering with memories, twisting logic, and sowing mass madness, they reshape the world into a carnival of collective hysteria."

"The wizards of the Delusion Society are both tyrants of their thoughts and prisoners of their own cognition. Every act of mental manipulation feeds the black hole of nothingness within them."

“When you can rewrite all your cognition, how do you prove that you are not an illusion created by others?”

Li Shanze found this philosophical question quite interesting.

"Yeah, how did you prove it?"

"How to prove...?" She repeated Li Shanze's question in a low voice, as if talking to herself.

"Master, you may find this ridiculous, but for a wizard of the School of Delusion, when your ability can easily distort the cognition of others, and even your own memories and perceptions may be doubted, this problem becomes extremely real and fatal."

She took a deep breath, her tone filled with an almost morbid honesty. "Before... my life was too good. It was too smooth, too comfortable, with almost no setbacks or pain. I could easily get whatever I wanted, and I could easily erase from my consciousness anything I didn't want to face."

Her smile was filled with bitterness: "When everything is too perfect to be true, when the edges of reality are smoothed out, when pain and struggle seem out of reach... I often begin to wonder if I am just dreaming a long and beautiful dream?"

"So, Master, you asked me how to prove... it was you who pulled me out of that 'too good' dream in the most direct and brutal way. Woof woof woof!"

She looked at Li Shanze with a complicated look, some resentment, but deeper down, there was also a hint of relief.

Oh, so you, woman, instead of enjoying your good life, you drive yourself crazy.

I treated you like a bitch and abused you, but you came back to your senses, right?

You are born with the physique of a bitch!

Li Shanze looked at Jennifer, who was kneeling on the ground and crawling towards him like a bitch, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

311 New Crisis

As Jennifer crawled towards Li Shanze, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became weird.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Charlie quickly interrupted.

She stopped Jennifer and said, "Ah! In short, someone used spiritual magic to force everyone to accept that everything was Theodore Lancaster's doing, right?"

Jennifer stopped obediently and did not continue crawling towards Li Shanze.

"Yes, madam, that is so. And I think it is most likely the work of Marco Giuseppe Romano."

While answering, she even rubbed her face against Charlie's ankle in a flattering manner.

Charlie shrank back uncomfortably—it was obvious that Jennifer's corny way of showing submission didn't actually please her.

"Why are you so sure that it was Marco Giuseppe Romano who did it? Do you have any evidence?" Li Shanze quickly came to Xia Li's rescue.

"That's right, Master. According to Miss Iko's crawler data, Theodore Lancaster's 'confession letter' didn't even cause any waves on the Internet."

Hearing Li Shanze asking about serious matters, Jennifer quickly answered seriously.

Li Shanze was not so easily convinced by Jennifer's argument. "Is that why? Controlling the internet has never been a difficult task, especially social media."

"On social media, people appear to have the freedom to speak, but they severely lack the freedom to listen."

"People can say anything on social media, but not everything they say is going to be heard."

"Everyone can post content, but whether it can be seen by others depends entirely on complex algorithms, the number of followers, and the 'eye-catching' degree of the content itself."

"The voice of an ordinary user can easily be drowned out by the massive amount of content from 'big Vs', 'influencers' or algorithmically recommended content."

"Those 'opinion leaders' with millions of followers can instantly spread their words and create a huge wave of influence, while ordinary people, even if they offer insightful opinions, will hardly be heard."

"It's like a giant megaphone, and only a few people have the loudest voice. People are not equal on social media."

"A user can shout loudly, but how far his voice can be heard is not up to him."

Li Shanze doesn’t think that social media is more difficult to manage than traditional media at all - the chaotic and seemingly vibrant Internet is actually just an illusion.

"The algorithm can accurately identify a person's tendencies based on a few likes or comments, and thus precisely control the volume of that person's voice."

Speaking of this, Li Shanze recalled the infamous "Avalon" system of a certain Internet platform in his previous life.

"Take the most extreme example: someone shouts out 1+1=2, and because it doesn't conform to the anti-intellectual tendencies of 'diversity,' they are blocked by the system. They themselves can see that their social media post has been successfully published, but no one else can see what they said."

"Therefore, because those who spread the truth don't meet the needs of the platform—or even just a few of the platform's reviewers—they can't spread their words, no matter how correct they are, and they can't resonate with anyone who shares the same feelings."

"These trusts, which effectively monopolize digital social interaction, actually exacerbate the situation of dividing people into silos."

At this point, Li Shanze concluded, "So, I might place my hopes on some traditional media outlets publishing certain news due to uneven distribution of spoils or lack of timely attention, but I have absolutely no hope in the internet."

"Maybe when dealing with a judge, a doctor, or even a congressman, Internet opinion can be of some use, but when facing a behemoth like the medical complex, I don't expect the Internet to be of any use at all."

"And indeed, there was absolutely no buzz on the internet."

Li Shanze shook his head.

In fact, Li Shanze did not completely lose hope in the Internet. Li Shanze once wanted to rely on Tiktok to become a gap in tearing open the United States' cognitive hegemony and public opinion hegemony, just like in his previous life.

The company does not need to follow China's pace, it just needs not to follow the United States' pace.

However, the results in practice disappointed Li Shanze, and there was no splash on Tiktok either.

I don't know what's going on with Tiktok in this world...

Li Shanze frowned secretly.

After Li Shanze finished his long speech, Jennifer said weakly, "Master...actually, it's precisely because there's absolutely no voice on the internet that I'm sure it was Marco Giuseppe Romano, a master of manipulating public opinion, who took action."

"TikTok, in particular, is not a traditional social media platform that adheres to American 'media discipline.' Silencing TikTok would require widespread consciousness manipulation."

After Jennifer said this, Li Shanze became excited.

He straightened up and asked with interest, "Huh? What's going on? I mean, TikTok, what's the origin of this company?"

"TikTok is TikTok..." Jennifer looked confused, as if she didn't understand what Li Shanze was asking at all.

"Tsk." Li Shanze probably knew why Jennifer couldn't answer this question. It seems that TikTok in this world is still a Chinese company.

He asked tentatively, "I mean, which country is TikTok from? Singapore? Malaysia?"

Li Shanze casually gave several countries that might be Yangcheng Lake.

However, Li Shanze's question left Jennifer stunned.

Jennifer was stunned for a long time before she murmured, "Yeah, I hadn't even thought about this question before. Which country could a social media platform that doesn't abide by American media disciplines come from?"

Li Shanze already had a rough idea, but he still asked cautiously, "Jennifer, in your impression, which country is TikTok from?"

Jennifer thought for a long time, feeling distressed. “Uh…TikTok seems to have appeared out of nowhere, a global, new-age phenomenon.”

"I've always thought it was an application developed by an international tech giant, or an anonymous innovation team, or even just a product of the natural evolution of the internet."

"TikTok is TikTok itself, a pure, non-national entertainment platform."

"It's strange how I never thought about where this social media platform came from."

At this point, even Xia Li understood what the TikTok platform was all about.

Charlie looked at Jennifer thoughtfully, then at Li Shanze, her expression unconcealedly happy - I am the only one who knows where my dear hometown is.

However, at this time Jennifer suddenly became crazy.

Her face, which had just contained a hint of self-mockery and helplessness, suddenly twisted.

Those eyes, which were filled with confusion a second ago, suddenly widened, as if suddenly realizing something, and the pupils contracted violently, as if they had seen something extremely terrifying and extremely absurd.

She took a sharp breath and screamed, the sound as sharp as nails scratching on glass, piercing the eardrums.

"Damn it! I knew this wasn't true!"

Her voice was no longer low or bitter as before, but suddenly rose, becoming sharp and piercing, with a hysterical despair.

She suddenly hugged her head, clutching her hair tightly with both hands. Her body, lying on the ground, began to tremble violently, like a sieve, as if being shaken by an invisible force and would fall apart at any time.

"It's all fake! It's all fake!" She began to mutter to herself, her voice getting faster and faster and more and more fragmented, and her eyes scanned the room frantically, as if every corner was hiding an illusion that was deceiving her.

She pointed at Li Shanze and then at Xia Li, her fingers trembling violently with a mad feeling of betrayal.

She began banging her head against the floor of the RV.

"You! You're fake too! This contract! This pain! This isn't real at all! The pain I felt, the lucidity I thought I felt... that was just another, deeper dream! A more perfect lie!"

Her voice was tearful, yet filled with anger and paranoia, and every word seemed to tear her soul apart.

She stood up suddenly, and the chair made a harsh friction sound when she hit it, leaving a mark on the ground.

She stumbled back a few steps, her eyes vacant, as if she would fall at any moment. Her breathing became rapid and disordered, and her chest rose and fell violently, like a bellows out of control.