Chapter 47: An Open Letter "To the Future"!
"Joint strangulation."
This single phrase precisely defined the current predicament of Longhai University.
More than a dozen of the country's most elite institutions of higher learning—their very names acting as weighty, golden signboards—represented unquestionable authority and history.
When they jointly issued that statement, its sheer weight was enough to crush any fledgling institution.
"Degrees will not be recognized."
These six words served as a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of every prospective student and parent. Simple, brutal, yet hitting straight to the core. It negated the most fundamental reward of education, portraying Longhai University as an illusory trap that swallowed futures.
Risk.
A risk that no family could afford to bear.
In an instant, all the voices that had previously held expectations, curiosity, and even yearning toward Longhai University were drowned out by this massive wave of skepticism.
On the internet, some gloated, some sighed in regret, and even more looked on with cold detachment.
Everyone was waiting.
Waiting for the response from that young president, He Yu.
How would he defuse this unprecedented crisis of trust? Would he hold a press conference for emergency PR, or release a new promotional video showcasing even more astonishing technology?
However, He Yu's reaction once again exceeded everyone's expectations.
Inside the Longhai University command center, the atmosphere was depressed to the point of near-freezing. On the massive circular screen, negative public opinion from across the internet refreshed like a waterfall, each comment acting like a sharp arrow aimed at the heart of Longhai University.
He Yu sat quietly in front of the master control console, his back straight.
He did not look at the aggravating data, nor did he pay attention to the anxious gazes of his team members.
He chose silence.
Yet this silence was not helplessness; it was the quietness before a sharp blade was drawn from its scabbard.
He was well aware that at this moment, any flashy promotional video or depiction of a future campus had lost all meaning. In the face of the Elite University Alliance's absolute authority-laden "Joint Statement," any imagery would appear pale and feeble.
What the opponents were attacking was not Longhai University's hardware, but its foundation—its legitimacy, its future value.
This was an ideological war.
To win, one had to use even sharper weapons on the exact same battlefield and deliver the most thorough counterattack.
He Yu's gaze shifted to the virtual operating interface before him.
A translucent window, visible only to him, floated quietly.
[System Mall]
His gaze swept over the balance in the upper right corner.
[Reputation: 125,800 points]
This was the rich capital he had accumulated over this period through a series of world-shaking operations.
His finger swiped gently through the air, precisely clicking open a category.
[Skill Exchange]
The dazzling list of skills unfolded, glowing with varying tiers of light.
He Yu's gaze did not linger for a second; he locked directly onto an option emanating a purplish halo.
[Grandmaster-Level Copywriting Master]
[Effect: Grants the user ultimate mastery over text, the ability to perceive the deepest psychological needs and emotional resonance points of the audience, and the power to detonate the strongest emotions with the most concise language. Every single word of yours will become a weapon that strikes directly at the soul.]
[Reputation required for exchange: 10,000 points]
Without the slightest hesitation.
"Exchange."
He Yu murmured inwardly.
[Confirm consumption of 10,000 reputation points to exchange for skill: Grandmaster-Level Copywriting Master?]
"Confirm."
In an instant, a majestic torrent of information surged into his mind.
That was not merely knowledge, but a "feeling" bordering on instinct. In a single moment, he seemed to have read every touching chapter in human history over thousands of years, understood the rhythm of language and the power of structure, and comprehended the emotional codes linked behind every single word.
He felt the pulse of the text.
He grasped the scepter of language.
He slowly raised his hand and created a new blank document on the master control console's keyboard.
Everyone in the command center held their breath, watching as their excessively young president finally made a move. They did not know what he was about to do, but that composure and focus invisibly pacified everyone's anxious hearts.
The cursor blinked quietly on the pure white document like a lonely heartbeat.
He Yu's eyes were deep, reflecting the subtle glow of the screen.
What he was going to write was not a cold, uninteresting PR draft, nor was it a hysterical piece of self-defense.
What he was going to write was a battle manifesto.
A letter written to the future.
Exactly at eight o'clock that evening.
Longhai University's official website, official Weibo, official WeChat public account, and all social channels updated simultaneously after lying dormant for an entire day.
No videos, no pictures, just pure text.
The title was as sharp as a blade.
"To All Futures Bound by Fear and Prejudice"
This open letter, personally written by He Yu, detonated silently like a depth charge in the noisy online world.
In the letter, he did not attack any opponent, nor did he even mention the four words "Elite University Alliance."
He offered no self-defense whatsoever, nor did he list any achievements Longhai University had already attained.
With the sharpest and most sincere wording, he simply drove the scalpel precisely into the deepest, softest, and most fearful part of every candidate's and parent's heart—a place wrapped in cotton wool called "a sense of security."
Then, he issued a deafening question.
The words flowed across countless screens:
"...They tell you to choose 'heritage' and 'history' because that is 'safe.'"
"But they didn't tell you that true heritage is not honor sealed in dusty piles of old paper, but the courage to create the future."
One line of text, one paragraph.
Minimalist typography, yet delivering an unmatched visual impact.
"They use the rules of the past to define your future;"
"While we want you to define your own future with your own hands."
"Which one do you choose?"
This was no longer preaching, but an interrogation that struck straight at the soul.
"They intimidate you with the 'risk of non-recognition,' making you curl up within established tracks."
"Yet my friend, have you never considered that a life of following conventions, one whose end you can see from the very beginning, is the greatest risk in this world?"
At this moment, countless young students sitting in front of mobile phones and computers, feeling lost about their prospects, felt their hearts gripped fiercely by an invisible, massive hand.
Risk?
What on earth is a true risk?
Is it the risk of a new university being "unrecognized," or the risk of locking away your own decades of future life inside an uneventful, unsurprising cage of "stability"?
He Yu provided no answer; he merely lit the fuse.
"Longhai University cannot promise you a stable future 'recognized by everyone.'"
"What we can promise is to give you the most fertile soil, equip you with the most elite tools, and offer you a chance to see the future."
"As for what kind of person you will grow into, how far you can walk, and what you can create..."
"The future is in your own hands."
The power of text was displayed to its absolute limit at this moment. It penetrated all skepticism, mockery, and clamor, shining like a light into countless young and restless hearts.
The end of the letter was an invitation, and even more so, a clarion call to battle.
"Come,"
"If you are unwilling to be mediocre,"
"If you yearn to create,"
"If you believe in the future."
"Come to Longhai, and together, let us become the future itself..."
When the final word fell.
The entire internet plunged into an eerie, dead silence lasting dozens of seconds.
It was like that brief, suffocating calm after a storm passes.
Immediately followed by a volcanic eruption.
Shock.
Unparalleled shock.
Everyone who saw this letter—whether candidates, parents, or ordinary onlookers—had their psychological defenses completely pierced by the vitality and idealistic brilliance akin to wild growth contained within the text.
The netizens were utterly shocked.