Only at the Mahayana Stage Does the Reversal System Appear - Chapter 227

Chapter 227 Unsolvable Problem

Du Ming was extremely satisfied with his current life. As the creator god of a particular world, he enjoyed the blessings of all. According to the Buddhist principle of suffering in this life and happiness in the next, no matter how much suffering one endured in this life, he would likely not be able to endure such happiness in the next.

“In fact, in the past thousand years, we have discovered the existence of the soul.”

“Soul?” Du Ming repeated, outlining the concept of civilization possessing souls, but his existence remained unproven. It seemed that the real world had developed rapidly over the past thousand years.

“Yes, the soul is the basis for determining whether a person is alive or dead. Without a soul, they are corpses, while with a soul, they are living. Feitian Company’s claim that they can live for 200 years means that after 200 years, the person will die and their soul will ascend to the underworld.”

Jiang Li hadn’t lied to Du Ming. He was well-versed in the study of the soul, and this was his conclusion.

The soul and thinking ability are closely related. The absence of a soul does not necessarily mean the absence of thinking ability; the presence of a soul necessarily means the ability to think.

The remnant of the Great Dream Monk was considered to have thinking ability, but not a soul.

The Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal invigorates spiritual treasures, imbuing them with the rudiments of a soul, allowing them to think, and over time, develop into a true soul.

Several years have passed, and those enlightened treasures have all developed true souls. This

shows that the ability to think is a prerequisite for the formation of a soul.

However, the Gou Le civilization has not yet developed enough to grant programs the ability to think. This involves creating something out of nothing, creating a soul. This is impossible without reaching the Immortal level, so the virtual personality is simply a program.

“Are you saying that Du Ming is indeed dead, and I am now Du Ming’s virtual personality, and my current actions are all programed?” Du Ming’s pupils constricted, startled by the news, but quickly returned to normal, though his tone tinged with a hint of loss.

“So that’s how it is. I thought I was living a different kind of life, but I didn’t expect…” Du Ming shook his head. “No, it’s not that I didn’t expect it, I just deliberately avoided thinking about it.”

“Gone?” Bai Hongtu glared.

He had imagined how Du Ming would react upon learning the truth of his death: confusion, screaming, heart-wrenching.

But he hadn’t expected it to be so calm, as calm as drinking a glass of water.

“Dead or dead? It’s the real Du Ming who died, not me.” Du Ming shrugged.

“Besides, the real Du Ming was mentally prepared before entering the virtual world. He died without regrets. If time could be turned back, he would make the same choice.”

Jiang Li didn’t know how to refute. In Du Ming’s shoes, he couldn’t make a better choice for him.

Du Ming was a microcosm of the millions of Goule people.

“What surprised me most wasn’t the death, but the real existence of the soul,” Du Ming said. Although he was a virtual personality, his reaction was no different from the real Du Ming.

“Have you ever wondered why our Goule civilization only discovered the existence of the soul in the last thousand years, while the concept of the soul existed before that?”

The people of Goule civilization are generally well-educated. Even though Du Ming’s education was limited to a small clerk’s job, he studied humanities and social sciences in school and pondered these issues in depth.

Du Ming expressed his own perspective: “Because it’s not death that humans fear, but the loss of consciousness.”

“Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Death is like the extinguishing of a light, everything vanishes. That’s what humans fear. That’s why they invented the soul, believing that consciousness persists after death, to provide some comfort to the living.”

Du Ming chuckled, “I never expected souls to truly exist. This news actually feels like a pleasant surprise.”

“The real Du Ming is dead, but he still has a soul and consciousness. I’m happy for him.”

“I’m unconscious and can only act according to programming. But consciousness is a very ethereal thing. Even if you say I’m unconscious, I still feel like I am conscious. It’s just a little off-putting at best.”

Du Ming’s openness left Jiang Li and the others speechless.

“I remember you saying that Feitian Company forced you to work, so you found the virtual world wonderful. If you could work easily in the real world, or even not work at all, and find love, would you choose to stay in the virtual world forever?”

Jiang Li had looked up Du Ming’s position at Feitian Company. Given the technological level of the Goula civilization, it was a position that could easily be replaced by a robot.

Instead of using robots to ease Du Ming’s workload, Feitian Company deliberately increased it.

This forced Du Ming into the virtual world.

Jiang Li also discovered that most of the duties within the Gou La civilization were redundant and could be performed by machines.

Du Ming pondered for a moment and said, “After some hesitation, I’ll still come to the virtual world. No matter how free the real world is, it’s nowhere near as free as the virtual world. In my world, I can freely manipulate the world, create everything, and even adjust time. For every minute in the outside world, a hundred years can pass in the virtual world. Compared to the real world, the virtual world appeals to me more.”

“If I find someone I like in the real world, I can also bring her into the virtual world. There’s more to do in the virtual world.”

The two of them fell silent. It seemed that Feitian Company’s deliberate increase in workload was simply to accelerate the implementation of the euthanasia program. Even if it weren’t, people would eventually choose to enter the virtual world.

This was an unsolvable problem.

The holographic simulator held a firm grip on people’s hearts, forcing them to accept it.

From a personal perspective, no one could resist the virtual world. If Jiang Li hadn’t been a Human Emperor or a Mahayana cultivator when he first crossed over, he would probably have spent his entire life in the virtual world.

Only a ruling class, taking a holistic view, considering the greater good and desiring the advancement of civilization, could justify rejecting the virtual world.

However, the ruling class of Outline Civilization, Feitian Company, which should have been concerned with the greater good, was the one who had personally facilitated this outcome.

Therefore, the entire Outline Civilization’s entry into the virtual age was inevitable.

Was this a tragedy or a cause for celebration?

The two said goodbye to Du Ming, intending to consult others to gauge their opinions. Du Ming, after all, was a one-sided opinion. As

Du Ming watched them leave, he felt a pang of discomfort at the thought that he was merely a virtual personality, a program without the ability to think.

This discomfort was a program, not a real feeling.

He had no real feelings.

“If I were a living person, I shouldn’t be able to modify my memory, but I’m a program, so why can’t I modify my memory?”

Du Ming acted on his thought and found that he could indeed modify his memory, so he deleted the memory of meeting Jiang Li.

“Huh? Why am I here?” Du Ming scratched his head, finding himself in the big world, but he couldn’t remember why he was there.

“Who cares? Lisdell and the others are waiting for me.”

Du Ming returned to his small world and continued to live the life of a retired hero, carefree and free.

(End of this chapter)