by <unknown>
Li Yao took a long breath in relief and said in respect, "One conversation with you is worth ten years of reading. Grand Guardian Xu, your words make so much sense. I have never thought of them before, and it was impossible for me to!
"Thank you for resolving the dilemmas and confusion in my mind. Previously, although I knew that I was doing the right thing, and I made up my mind to stride forward fearlessly again and again, I almost couldn't help but imagine the same horrible picture in my head…"
Xu Zhicheng asked curiously, "What kind of picture?"
After a brief hesitation, Li Yao confessed dutifully, "I seem to envision that in the boundless space, planets are devoured by machines one after another. All the mines and factories are devoid of human beings, with only the spiritual puppets working there in silence to produce even more spiritual puppets as well as fully-automatic starships. Duplicating and expanding at an exponential speed, they eventually constitute an overwhelming army that sweeps across the three thousand Sectors and destroys the civilization of mankind…"
"Hahahaha!"
Before Li Yao finished, Xu Zhicheng had already burst into such great laughter that he was blushing and could barely catch his breath. Holding his belly, he remarked, "E-Excuse me, Fellow Cultivator Li. That is really an incredible picture, something that only a 'superman' like you can come up with."
Li Yao blushed and said, "I know that my ideas can be a little bit crazy. This is perhaps what they say 'concerns lead to apprehension'. If your kids can blow up a hill with one punch or remain safe and sound after sitting in the magma for a couple of hours, you will certainly be overwhelmed and have a lot of peculiar thoughts, won't you?"
"Exactly. Concerns lead to apprehension. Every parent is the same."
Xu Zhicheng retreated his smile and said, "I don't know if your random vision makes sense, but for me, I really don't care whether or not the 'civilization of mankind' is destroyed."
Li Yao was dazed. "Why not?"
"Because the 'civilization of mankind' is too far away from the humble underground hominoids like us!"
Xu Zhicheng's voice gradually turned cold. "Hehe. 'Civilization of mankind', what a lofty, great, and glorious phrase, but does it have anything to do with us, the ants? It is said that the Immortal Cultivators have built high, magnificent, ceaseless cities on the surface of the planet, where there are a plethora of goods, the most unimaginable magical equipment, and the delicious food that can never be eaten up. The Immortal Cultivators can also create starships dozens of kilometers long to roam and conquer the sea of stars. What a brilliant and spectacular civilization it is. But have the underground hominoids benefited in the slightest from it?
"The only radiance of civilization that we ever felt was when the people like Li Minghui exploited us under the slogan of 'all for the civilization of mankind'. 'All for the civilization of mankind, the productivity this month must be increased by 30%'. 'All for the civilization of mankind, let us work harder and persist another two nights'. I've seen countless companions pressed to death under the burden of the 'civilization of mankind', including my first son.
"Although the Immortal Cultivators don't admit it, we are humans who are capable of feelings and thoughts too. Even though we have not read many books or experienced much, and our ideas may be simple and naïve, sometimes we can't help but wonder what this damn 'civilization of mankind' is exactly, and why we have to be devoted to it and sometimes even sacrifice our lives for it.
"Or maybe, there is not an overall 'civilization of mankind', but a lot of divided civilizations among human beings? At the very least, there is the civilization of mankind of the Immortal Cultivators, the civilization of mankind of the Cultivators, the civilization of mankind of the Covenant Alliance, and naturally, the humble, barren, insignificant civilization of the underground locals? If the civilization of mankind that is to be destroyed by the information life is that of the Immortal Cultivators, Fellow Cultivator Li, do you think we will feel sorry about it or cheer for it and even give the information life a hand?"
Li Yao was completely lost for words. He began to feel that his hesitation and dilemmas in the beginning made him look like a complete fool.
"Getting to the bottom of it, the distant, impractical stuff like catastrophes, destruction, and universe are what the 'supermen' like you who do not worry about their food and clothes have the time to think and concern yourselves with."
Xu Zhicheng said, "For the underground hominoids who are as humble as ants, it is already exhausting enough and takes our everything just to figure out a way to make ourselves and our families live on, even for only one more day.
"Every day is our doomsday. We fall like grasses being cut. We are trodden upon like ants. We perish in the dust and darkness when the civilization of mankind is glowing in splendor. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, but nobody remembers any of them.
"Then, you come to me, asking how I view the destruction of the civilization of mankind several hundred years later. Isn't it too hilarious?"
Chapter 2423: Real Humans in the New World! |
Xu Zhicheng's words made Li Yao think of a lot of things. He said in embarrassment, "Excuse me, Grand Guardian Xu. I was indeed too… condescending just now."
"Don't say that. There are few good guys like you among the 'supermen' who sincerely regard the ordinary people as their compatriots and who fight side by side with us wholeheartedly. It's just that you can never sense some of the pains in person."
Looking at the spiritual puppets that were busy working not far away, he grinned. "We thank you from the bottom of our heart. Of course, we are grateful for the two lovely kids too. You are Xiaoming and Wenwen, right? Thank you very much for everything you've done for the workers of the Great Iron Plants and their families.
"We are all shortsighted, unrefined people who are incapable of foreseeing what will happen hundreds of years later. I only know that you've done us a great favor. If you hadn't invaded the Spiritual Nexus and controlled so many spiritual puppets, it would've been impossible for us to occupy the Great Iron Plants and find the assets that could feed tens of thousands of people.
"Be nice to whoever is nice to us, and fight whoever regards us as ants and weeds when we can't hold it anymore—I believe this is the simplest universal truth, right? We don't really know what strong artificial intelligence or information life is, but we will never forget your life-saving favor.
"Favors must be returned. If you ever need help one day, as long as you do not despise our insignificant strength, please trust that the underground locals will stand by your side!"
"… Thank you, Uncle Xu."
The two kids extended their heads from behind Li Yao's back. Their faces were full of confusion at first, as if they were more or less shy to admit their identities before human beings. But after hearing what Xu Zhicheng said, they smiled genuinely, with four shallow dimples spreading out on their chubby, red cheeks.
"Fellow Cultivator Li, do you know how synthetic food is created?"
Not quite done, Xu Zhicheng went on, "To feed so many workers and their families, the Great Iron Plants boasts its own affiliated synthetic food factory. So, I know a thing or two about how the synthetic food is manufactured.
"It can hardly be called a healthy food from any perspective. It is often made by the most worthless fat, bones, and offal, mixed with all kinds of bizarre fibers and drugs, before they are condensed and shaped under high temperature and pressure.
"In order to save the cost, sour and rotten ingredients are sometimes adopted, and in order to kill the bacteria and viruses in the ingredients and to lengthen the duration of storage, a lot of bactericides and preservatives are also injected. Eventually, the synthetic food that is created can be preserved for years or even decades.
"It's not hard to imagine how much preservatives are contained in the synthetic food that can be preserved for a hundred years! Such a food is certainly not beneficial for the body if taken for a long time an
d will significantly increase the obesity rate and the odds of chronic diseases and even malign tumors.
"From the long term, synthetic food is not anything good. It is something that even the underground hominoids know.
"However—
"Imagine you are faced with a group of disaster-stricken people, who have been hungry for five days and five nights and are about to be starved, and you have abundant synthetic food that can be distributed in relief, but you withhold it or even destroy it in front of all the people, under the excuse that 'synthetic food isn't healthy'. What kind of behavior would that be?
"There are a lot of ordinary people in the Imperium of True Human Beings today who live in sufferings and hopelessness just like the underground locals. Below the ground of the capital planet, on the mines of the resource planets, inside the bottom-level cabins that are filled with wasted gas and radiations… Aren't all the tortured and exploited ordinary people the starving people waiting for relief?
"Fellow Cultivator Li, you said that the… information lives can possibly change the Imperium or even raise a world-transforming storm in the sea of stars. It is just like the synthetic food that can help all of the disaster-stricken people to live through the famine. So, just save everybody's life first. If everybody dies, would there still be a civilization at all?"
Li Yao felt that his cheeks were burning. Five words suddenly popped up in his head—"Why don't they eat meat?"
He said in great embarrassment, "So, Grand Guardian Xu actually understood everything I said just now."
"In many cases, it doesn't matter if one understands something or not."
Xu Zhicheng said, "The starving people can knead soil into balls and swallow them when they are in desperation. When the underground locals decide to rise up after having enough of everything, we can even join the Covenant Alliance or the extraterrestrial devils. Soil is not edible, and neither the Covenant Alliance nor the extraterrestrial devils are anything decent. Do we really not know that? But even if we know all the reasons, so what? Can they keep us alive?"
"I understand it now."
Li Yao's eyes were sharper than ever first, before they slowly deepened and darkened until they were as gloomy as an ocean. "Grand Guardian Xu, just now, you said that the civilization of mankind is not an inseparable whole but many different parts. There's the civilization of mankind of the Immortal Cultivators and that of the ordinary people. That is very reasonable. It would certainly be great if we can destroy only the civilization of the Immortal Cultivators in an accurate strike.
"But you have to know that should the day of eventual destruction come, it may not be that accurate. What if all the civilizations of mankind have a certain… irreversible change?"
"I can't say for other people, but I can answer you with a moral that has been passed below the ground for ten thousand years."
Xu Zhicheng smiled and said, "Our 'civilization' has survived below the ground for ten thousand years, and more ancient tales have been kept here than there are on the ground and in space. One of the tales says that in the ancient times a long, long time ago, there was a tyrant who regarded himself as 'Solar King' and treated the people in the most violent and horrible ways. The people, having enough of it, often gnashed their teeth and cursed at the sun—'When is the wretched sun going to die out? If there is a chance, we would like to die together with you!'
"This is my answer. I'm just speaking for myself and not representing anybody, but as long as the civilization of the Immortal Cultivators can be destroyed, I can believe in and join hands with anybody. The Covenant Alliance, the extraterrestrial devils, the gods, the information lives… It doesn't matter who they are as long as they can bring forth a tiny bit of change! Things can't be any worse than they are right now, can they?"
Li Yao mumbled, "I didn't know that you were even more radical and extreme than me."
"If I hadn't been radical and extreme, I wouldn't have become the Grand Guardian of Nepenthe at all!"
Xu Zhicheng burst into laughter, with every wrinkle on his face shining. "In the eyes of the Immortal Cultivators, people like me who are disobedient, undevoted to the 'glorious civilization of mankind', and seek changes and subversions no matter what the cost is, are naturally most extreme, dangerous, and evil. We are even unpardonable traitors and fiends!
"But I don't really care. The heroes for some people must be fiends for somebody else. All you need to figure out is whose hero and whose fiend you are.
"On many occasions, it is not a bad thing, but unparalleled glory, to be condemned by some people as fiends. The roars and curses of the Immortal Cultivators are the best compliments for our cause. Perhaps it is the same for Fellow Cultivator Li, right?"
"I totally understand it now."
Indescribable brilliance beamed out of Li Yao's eyes as he said delightedly, "It seems that I should've come and talked to Grand Guardian Xu sooner, which would've saved me all the time when I was bothered by the unimportant matters!"
"The ants are small, but they can see a lot of things that elephants and dinosaurs can't."
Xu Zhicheng said, "The Immortal Cultivators will never give up their pride and consult 'ants' for their opinions sincerely like Fellow Cultivator Li does. It is perhaps one of the reasons why the Cultivators will certainly defeat the Immortal Cultivators."
"I hope so."
Li Yao said, "No, it will be so!"
"Uncle Xu."
The two kids who had been listening for a long time interrupted and looked at Xu Zhicheng full of expectations. Li Xiaoming was the first to ask, "Can we ask you a question too? Are information lives real human beings in your eyes?"
Looking at the two kids like a kind, amiable old man, Xu Zhicheng grinned. "I'm sorry, kids, but I'm afraid I can't answer your question because even the 'hominoids' like us are not real human beings for the Immortal Cultivators.
"When my workmates and I worked for three consecutive days in the deep, dark mines, until we were melted with the black rocks and the only things visible all over our bodies were our teeth, we did not know if we were humans, ghosts, or hairless monkeys when we observed each other in a trance, either.
"But however the Immortal Cultivators demean us, deep down in our hearts… we still crave to be real human beings, and we are unwilling to be defined by anyone! Are we really not human beings but some sort of human-shaped animals just because the Immortal Cultivators claim we are 'hominoids'? Do the high and mighty lords and emperors have the ultimate say in whether or not I am a human? What is the reason for that?
"I am unwilling to let other people decide if I am a human being, so I'm neither qualified nor willing to define whether or not you are a human being. Since the living people like us have been exploited and modified into tools by the Immortal Cultivators, why can't tools be turned into humans? Does it violate any law?
"Kids, you are still little, and there is a long way ahead of you. Don't care about what other people say, and don't be defined by anybody else. Just grow, flourish, and bloom following your heart while you destroy the old world and create a brand-new one. No matter how you are viewed in the old world, you will be the well-deserved, real human beings in the new world!"
[ol][li data-annotation-id="053b331c-9f97-4c7a-8693-5b7d2f9c86c9"]Note: "Why don't they eat meat" is an idiom from ancient China. An idiotic emperor, after hearing the report that his people were starving in a famine and did not have any wheat or grains to eat, remarked, "Why don't they eat meat?". It's a sarcastic expression for the people who are too condescending to know what the people in need really think.[/ol]
Chapter 2424: The Future Heroes |
"We will."
Feeble ripples spread out of the central databases of the two kids, which quickly turned into accurate countenance on their faces. Their eyes were slightly red as they said firmly, "We certainly will!"
"Well…"
While it was a nice conversation, and Xu Zhicheng's words did make a lot of sense, Li Yao couldn't help
but feel—was it overly reasonable?
Now that he thought of it, the two kids were rather… poor. Their original data came from Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan. After they came to the Imperium of True Human Beings, they witnessed the cruelest and darkest side of mankind. Then, they met such a dad like Li Yao and such an aunt like Long Yangjun, before they heard the life lessons of such a representative of ordinary people as Xu Zhicheng.
What would happen if they met their "mother" Ding Lingdang and received her "wholehearted tutelage" a few years later?
Li Yao suddenly felt unconfident again.
"Right—"
Xu Zhicheng's slightly zealous face turned normal. With warmth shining on his face, he said, somewhat in embarrassment, "This is the first time we've ever met, and you've already done us such a great favor. Grandpa Xu really doesn't know how to thank you. There are a few toys that I crafted personally with wasted iron in my house. I-I can also make very beautiful slingshots, those with rails and scopes and everything. Can I offer each of you one as a gift?"
"Wonderful!"
Naturally, the kids did not care about toys, but the gesture of the kindness and acceptance of ordinary people overjoyed them.
"Grand Guardian Xu…"
Li Yao was slightly dazed. Knowing the significance of the toys for Xu Zhicheng, he was about to turn it down.
"It's alright."
Xu Zhicheng waved his hands and said, "Toys are only significant when they are played by kids. Does it have any point to hang them on the wall and let them be covered in dust? After I give them to the two kids, I'll be happy when I think how happy they are playing with the toys.
"Fellow Cultivator Li, you don't need to worry so much about kids either. It's typical of every parent to think that kids are too ignorant and naughty and will mess up everything, so they need to take care of everything for the kids. My father was exactly the same when I was little. He sighed that my generation was too incapable compared to his. Whatever I did couldn't satisfy him at all.
