Humans Cannot Understand One Another

Seeing Andrade's excited expression, Lin Li no longer brought up his vision of human society. Some of this Little Boy's actions appeared similar to his own, but the logic behind them was worlds apart.

Through this Little Boy whose behavior resembled his own, Lin Li came to see himself clearly. He turned and began walking back.

Andrade hurried after him, puzzled as to why this wealthy man had suddenly ended their conversation. As he understood it, there should have been further arrangements for him afterward.

A tycoon like Lin Li surely did everything with a purpose, all for his own benefit. Otherwise, how could he have made so much money?

Walking ahead, Lin Li read the child's thoughts and finally understood where he had gone wrong.

He had wanted to teach Andrade altruism, so that, like himself, he could maintain good relationships with others while enjoying a high-quality life. He would not need to hurt anyone; he could earn vast sums of money through his own efforts alone.

But other people were not nearly as free of desires as he was. Once their desires were satisfied, their craving for material things would expand further and further, growing ever larger.

Likewise, Lin Li had been born with an exceptionally intelligent mind, one beyond the reach of ordinary people. It allowed him to easily master advanced knowledge, stand out from the masses, and gain recognition from the elite, who would willingly share benefits with him because of his value.

All mutual benefit rested on knowledge beyond that of ordinary people and the social status that came with it. Without that value, Lin Li's lifelong altruism would have been a joke.

This was Lin Li's own unique advantage. In the past, he had not understood any of it and had merely used those theories to disguise himself.

But now, through Andrade, he saw why he had reached his current position. That intelligent brain was the source of his achievements. If his exceptional learning ability were stripped away, he would become nothing more than an ordinary autistic child in an orphanage.

"This wisdom made me who I am today, yet I wanted to separate it from myself and teach him to be a good person using nothing but so-called altruism. Perhaps that, too, was a kind of arrogance."

To bind others with the shackles of morality, one had to be part of the elite oneself. Only equals could possibly achieve mutual benefit.

All altruistic behavior ultimately only served to better protect one's own interests.

Lin Li led Andrade back into the crowd and watched the blond boy softly apologize to the child he had hit with the rock. In just a few words, the Little Boy's hatred was completely dissolved.

He bid farewell to the staff and promised a one-million-dollar donation. Amid the thanks of the children and adults, he left the orphanage.

Lin Li did not return to the newly purchased villa. Galina, his wife, was enjoying a massage with several rich young women she had just met. He took a self-driving car back to his old luxury apartment.

After pushing open the door, he ordered the smart housekeeper to play soothing music. Looking at the densely packed photographs around the room, a feeling unlike anything he had experienced in past years rose from the depths of his heart: nostalgia, a familiar warmth.

He stared at the photograph taken when he had joined the company. At the time, his adoptive parents had already passed away. After receiving a large inheritance, he had sold their old property and joined Infinite Game Company.

Looking at his smile in the photograph, Lin Li smiled as well. He murmured to himself, "I'm doing very well. You don't need to worry about me."

Only then did he feel a trace of sorrow at losing his family. Perhaps his adoptive parents had noticed his abnormality over the years—he had acted too perfectly, too outstandingly. That perfect persona had allowed the parents who lived with him every day to see through his disguise. How could anyone be energetic, sunny, and positive every single moment?

He looked again at Aierxue's photograph. This fiery, stunning beauty had become his nominal girlfriend on the second day after he joined the company. When they broke up, Aierxue had told him, "I can hardly imagine you truly falling in love with anyone."

Lin Li kept recalling the past. They were no longer the emotions he performed every night while sitting here, but his genuine feelings. They were no longer the delight and curiosity from the beginning, but sorrow and sadness that had arrived years too late.

When the song ended, Lin Li turned and left the apartment covered in photographs. He took a self-driving car to Times Square in Manhattan.

The exteriors of the skyscrapers here lavishly used the latest 3D imaging technology. Huge images of celebrities and stars floated above the crowds, and if one looked up, one could even see the fine wrinkles on their faces.

Every one of them wore a confident, sincere smile as they loudly explained their ideals and called upon the public to follow them. In this day and age, the boundary between celebrities and politicians had begun to blur. Everyone loudly promoted their own ideology to win the people's votes.

A major star was promoting feminism. She had played the leading female roles in many blockbuster films and displayed an even more powerful presence than the male leads, earning the fervent support of countless feminists.

"I believe feminism represents a pivotal turning point for our era. More and more people are joining the ranks of those who defend women's rights."

"An equal nation where women can enjoy the same sense of autonomy and security, as well as the same freedoms, whether in society, at work, or at home."

"For the past two hundred thousand years, men have always been the favored ones. But believe it or not, they have truly reached the end of the road. Cast your vote—women must fight for themselves!"

Enthusiastic cheers erupted from the road below. These elite women in suits passionately supported the star. With her considerable financial power and sharp, distinctive views, she had won the backing of most female citizens. Perhaps before long, she would become the next Secretary of State.

Lin Li walked through them, their thoughts laid bare before him. He knew clearly of the selfishness and powerful aggression hidden beneath those glamorous slogans. In their hearts, rights and obligations had never been equal.

After crossing that intersection, he reached the next one, where a middle-aged white man with close-cropped hair stood. He carried an iron-blooded air about him and raised his fist as he shouted:

"Compatriots, those politicians have stolen the wealth that belongs to us! Those black-skinned pigs are leaving filthy offspring on our land! Our bloodline is being eroded, yet those hypocritical politicians are still calling for racial diversity and opposing racial discrimination!"

"I say no! This land belongs to us white people! Only white people have the ability to rule this country! Those hypocritical politicians endlessly betray our interests, trying to pollute our noble souls with that filthy black blood!"

"Resist! Awaken! Take up your weapons and follow me! I will drive every last one of them out!"

Thousands of white people had gathered there, cheering as they raised signs bearing the anger buried deep in their hearts. The endless campaigns against racial discrimination had ignited their resistance. Racial conflicts that had long been suppressed had finally become impossible to contain, splitting the people of this nation into several groups by skin color.

After 2035, Hong Alliance's communications and artificial intelligence technologies surpassed those of the Free Business Alliance. By 2045, even the military strength that this vast alliance of one billion people and dozens of nations had always taken pride in no longer held the advantage.

The years of economic and military confrontation between the two behemoths finally caused the hidden contradictions to erupt. Immigration policies created to combat population aging had reduced politicians' anti-discrimination slogans to ashes in the fury of the native population. Interest groups of every kind began relentlessly tearing this vast alliance apart.

Lin Li walked to the next intersection. In the image high above, a middle-aged woman in a sun hat sadly stroked a dead little snail. She loudly condemned certain people's cruel abuse of animals and called on everyone to protect nature and wildlife.

The people gathered here looked saddened by the images. Some who were particularly sensitive even wept softly as they wiped away their tears.

Lin Li walked past them and crossed all of Times Square. In this small place at the center of Manhattan, celebrities loudly promoted their slogans every day, and citizens came every day to support the leaders they admired.

Along the way, the thoughts and emotions of tens of thousands of people intertwined in his mind. These chaotic thoughts revealed entirely opposite, fiercely conflicting emotions, along with even more complicated personal desires hidden beneath the slogans. Those who shouted the same slogans might harbor completely opposite thoughts in their hearts.

Countless groups with different demands shouted resounding slogans in this square every day.

"Humans cannot understand one another."

Lin Li understood the reality of this world more deeply. Having seen into people's hearts, he knew clearly that the contradictions within them had only ever been suppressed by force and rules, never eliminated.

NYPD drones periodically flew overhead. Officers wearing Third-Generation Exoskeletons stood at intersections holding Electromagnetic Rifles to maintain order. Not far away, tanks marked with SWAT insignia stood silently on guard. These light tanks, used to suppress terrorists within cities, could exceed one hundred kilometers per hour. Their vicious machine guns and main cannons ensured that ordinary people of flesh and blood could only keep all their fury on their lips.

Looking at everything before him, Lin Li suddenly found it all rather dull. He began to miss his former, emotionless self. Back then, he could blend into the crowd without knowing or feeling anything, pretending to be an elite while satisfying his only desires: hunger and sleep.

Now, he could feel emotions. But love and hate, liking and disgust, had always been two sides of the same coin. The grief he had finally felt for his adoptive parents after so many years, along with the chaotic hearts before him, made him begin to hate this world.

These people almost all had healthy bodies and prosperous lives. They could freely experience the emotions innate to humanity, yet from their hearts, Lin Li felt only greed, rage, jealousy, and hatred. They wanted only to push interest groups unlike themselves into the abyss. Malice and murderous intent stained even that tiny bit of positive emotion black.

"Understanding and goodwill are merely fleeting blossoms. Malice toward others is the eternal theme."

Lin Li felt that the pure altruism he had spoken of not long ago had become a joke. Humans could not understand one another. How could there possibly be an ideal society like those in storybooks? Compared to world peace, Civilization ultimately heading toward self-destruction was far more in line with reality.