Li Yao knew that Xu Zhicheng had gotten the wrong idea. His two "children" were truly different from the "children" of ordinary families. However, Li Yao did not know how he should explain it to Xu Zhicheng after pondering for a long time. He could only say drily, "Grand Guardian Xu, you still don't understand. They are really … really different from ordinary children …"
"Maybe I don't understand it, or maybe you care too much about it. As a father myself, I know that in the eyes of parents, their children are absolutely unique and different from other children. But in fact, is there really such a big difference?"
Looking at the two little fellows, Xu Zhicheng smiled and said, "You talked for a long time just now about 'strong artificial intelligence', 'virtual life', and 'self-interaction and upgrading of big data'. I didn't understand any of it, except for one thing, which is that the two children are born with unbelievable techniques and are very powerful specialists in hacking and tampering the Spiritual Nexus. They are also experts in manipulating spiritual puppets. Is that what you mean?
"But, so what?
"I've seen the specialists of the Spiritual Nexus once from afar. There are quite a few experts in the Black Iron Group who are good at manipulating spiritual puppets. Even if the two children are a hundred times stronger than them, is there any essential difference?
"If we have to talk about 'essential difference', there are countless powerful espers in this world who all boast bizarre and marvelous superpowers. Some of the espers can blow up a mountain with one punch, some of the espers can create vivid illusions to hypnotize other people, some of the espers can grow claws, scales, and tails at will, and some of the espers can even survive in the high-temperature magma for several hours. Yes, the espers I'm talking about are exactly the trainers like you. Is there not an essential difference between the Cultivators and the ordinary people?
"Right. After absorbing the brainwaves of countless Nepenthe believers, my spiritual root was awakened, too, and I became such a superpower. However, I've been an ordinary person for my entire life, and I'm still more used to seeing things from the perspective of ordinary people. For ordinary people like us, the high-level trainers, superpowers, or rather, 'supermen' who boast extraordinary abilities are really no different from … information lives.
"Fellow Cultivator Li, you should know very well how the Immortal Cultivators view the ordinary people. In the Imperium, the Immortal Cultivators call themselves' true human beings', and the ordinary people are called 'hominoids'. What does it mean? They don't even acknowledge that they're the same species as us! We're just 'half-humans', 'inferior humans', and 'dummies' who are slightly more advanced than apes.
"The Immortal Cultivators do not regard us as human beings. Naturally, we are not qualified to regard the Immortal Cultivators as our own kind. You can even say that the ordinary people have long been used to the life of being enslaved, suppressed, tortured, and slaughtered by the 'alien species'. So what if a new alien species named 'information life' suddenly pops up? Can they be worse than the Immortal Cultivators? How much worse can they be? "
Li Yao was rather stunned. He felt that a brand-new gate was slowly opening inside his brain. Xu Zhicheng's words truly enlightened him.
Although the guy's computational ability and deduction ability were far lower than his, he had been a high-level trainer, or a "superman", for too long. No matter how he claimed that he represented the interests of the ordinary people and fought for them, he was not a real ordinary person after all and could not understand the pain of the ordinary people. Naturally, he could not learn to view the world from the height of the ordinary people.
Yes. For the ordinary people, the trainers whose spiritual roots were awakened were "supermen" and "aliens" to some extent. The ordinary people in the forty thousand years of Cultivators had actually long been used to or had enough of living in the same world as "supermen"!
"It seems that you've understood it."
Looking at Li Yao's eyebrows that were gradually relaxed, Xu Zhicheng smiled and said, "I've read a lot of books under the enlightenment of the Serenity Seraph in the past two years. I learned from the books that there used to be a lot of large animals on the continent, such as elephants and dinosaurs.
"Although I have never seen a real elephant or a dinosaur, I know that dinosaurs were once the dominators of many habitable planets in a certain era. They even developed a brilliant civilization. In comparison, elephants were much less impressive and 'gentle'.
"What I'm saying is that, whether dinosaurs or elephants are stronger, more brutal, and more brutal, the question is meaningless for the ants living under their feet.
"Right now, the ordinary people living in the Imperium of True Human Beings are like ants living under the feet of elephants. The elephants can stomp the ants to death easily and are doing so. Even if a dinosaur that is larger, more brutal, and more dangerous than an elephant does break in, so what? Is there any difference for the ants? The ants can even vaguely hope that the dinosaur can bite the elephant to death and slightly change their situation! "
Li Yao took a long breath in relief and said in admiration, "Listening to your words is better than reading books for ten years. Grand Guardian Xu, what you said is too reasonable. It's all reasons that I've never thought of before and could never have thought of before!
"Thank you for resolving the conflicts and puzzles in my heart. Before this, although I knew that what I was doing was right from a rational point of view, and I consolidated my belief time and time again, deciding to march forward fearlessly, I couldn't help but picture in my head emotionally. A rather terrifying picture …"
"What kind of picture?" Xu Zhicheng asked curiously.
After a moment of hesitation, Li Yao said dutifully, "I seem to see that, in the boundless sea of stars, all the planets are swallowed by machines. All the mines and factories are empty, but countless spiritual puppets are working in silence to produce even more spiritual puppets and fully-automatic starships. The speed of self-replication and expansion is exponentially higher. Eventually, they constitute an overwhelming army that sweeps across the three thousand Sectors, destroys the civilization of mankind, and causes the final catastrophe …"
"Hahahaha!"
Before Li Yao finished, Xu Zhicheng burst into laughter. He laughed so hard that his face was red, and he was out of breath. Holding his stomach, he said, "I — I'm sorry, Fellow Cultivator Li. It's truly an unbelievable picture. Or rather, it's a picture that only a 'superman' like you can come up with."
Blushing, Li Yao said, "I know that my idea is a bit exaggerated, too. This is probably what they call 'too much concern leads to confusion'. If your child can blow up a mountain with one punch or sit in magma for a couple of hours in safety, you will certainly be overwhelmed and have a lot of weird ideas, right?"
"Yes, too much concern leads to confusion. Which parent is not like that?"
Xu Zhicheng's smile was gone as he said, "I don't know whether or not your random thoughts make sense, but for me, I really don't care whether or not the 'civilization of mankind' is destroyed."
Li Yao was dazed. "Why?"
"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 word. But what does it have to do with the ant-like things like us? It is said that the Immortal Cultivators have established high, magnificent, continuous cities on the surface of the planet. There are all kinds of goods, ever-changing magical equipment, and inexhaustible delicacies in the cities. The Immortal Cultivators can also build starships dozens of kilometers long to travel in the sea of stars and conquer the universe. What a brilliant and glorious civilization it is. But what benefits have the underground hominoids gained from such a civilization?
"The only 'light of civilization' that we have ever felt is when Li Minghui and his ilk often exploit us with the slogan 'everything is for the civilization of mankind'. 'Everything is for the civilization of mankind. Our output this month must be increased by 30%'. 'Everything is for the civilization of mankind. Let's hang in there and work overnight'. I've seen countless partners being crushed to death by the words' civilization of mankind ', including my eldest son. Wasn't it the same?
"Although the Immortal Cultivators do not admit it, we are human beings who have feelings and thoughts. Even though we are not well-read and knowledgeable, and our ideas are too simple and naïve, we can't help but wonder on many occasions what the f * cking 'civilization of mankind' is exactly. Why are we working so hard for it and even sacrificing our lives for it?
"Or is it that there is not an entire 'civilization of mankind' at all but a lot of divided civilizations of mankind? 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 Holy League, and of course, the humble, barren, and insignificant civilization of mankind of the underground hominoids? If it is the civilization of mankind of the Immortal Cultivators that is destined to be destroyed by the information lives, Fellow Cultivator Li, do you think we will feel regretful, applaud, and even give the information lives a hand? "
Li Yao was rendered speechless. He felt more and more like a complete idiot for his previous hesitation.
"If we get to the bottom of it, catastrophes, destruction, and the universe are all unsubstantial and too distant things that only the 'supermen' like you who do not have to worry about anything have the time to consider and worry about."
Xu Zhicheng said, "For the underground hominoids like us who are as humble as ants, it is exhausting enough for us to consider how to keep ourselves and our families alive, even if it is just one more day.
"Every day is the day of our doom. We will be cut down like grass and trampled like ants. Under the illumination of the civilization of mankind, we will be obliterated in the dark dust. Thousands of people will die, but not a single name will be left.
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