Universal Love and Mutual Benefit

"We are real, and then, the 'seed' of inner strength has truly appeared... I caught hold of it."

Xiang Shan looked very pleased.

Of course, expecting a single halting command to break through every virtual reality would be underestimating the progress of human technology.

If he really were a brain in a vat right now, then the computer connected to his brain could use memory management to eliminate any simulator that might consume massive amounts of resources.

Visually, that would look like the "Turing Machine vanishing."

Of course, simply vanishing into thin air would be far too abrupt.

If this "virtual reality connected to the brain" were designed a little more intelligently, it would be more like "a missile, meteor, or thug suddenly appears and destroys the Turing Machine." Every time you tried to build a Turing Machine, you would fail because of some accident.

Of course, if Final Destination-style tricks kept happening to the Turing Machine, even the dullest person would realize something was wrong.

A smarter approach would be for the virtual reality to directly give you an illusion, making you believe, "The verification succeeded, so I dismantled the Turing Machine myself."

If the local computing resources held an overwhelming advantage, brute-forcing it would also be possible.

All of these were possible.

What was more, the Turing Machine Xiang Shan had built did not possess such capabilities—it was only a prototype, not a finished product.

Therefore, beyond understanding the Turing Machine, Vagrants had another important skill—visualizing the Turing Machine.

By reshaping ancient visualization methods, they controlled their inner consciousness and directly constructed the halting command within the biological brain.

The mathematical structure of a biological brain might surpass that of a Turing Machine, so a Turing Machine could not directly hack into a biological brain. It could only deceive it through existing "input ports"—in other words, by stimulating nerves related to perception.

For Xiang Shan, who had lost his memories, this was a necessary ritual.

By assembling a machine with his bare hands, Xiang Shan had obtained an object for visualization from his past memories and reconstructed it within his subconscious.

And the final result of that visualization was a seed of inner strength.

Or rather, the "halting command" that truly cut through the illusion was not the pile of scrap metal before Xiang Shan, but the "seed of inner strength" he had built through that mechanical Turing Machine.

The instant the mechanical Turing Machine "froze," it reignited within Xiang Shan's mind. If this were virtual reality, then at that moment, the world in Xiang Shan's eyes would definitely have developed a flaw.

All he needed was an efficient integrated chip to serve as the Niwan. Once intent merged with the tool, and the tool merged with the spirit, code would arise on its own, and divine abilities would form naturally.

A virtual reality no more advanced than human civilization could not deceive a Vagrant who had mastered inner strength.

Xiang Shan reactivated his hearing and vision.

The world was still there.

"We've more or less finished what we needed to do out here. Let's head back."

That was what Xiang Shan said.

"Oh..." Youji nodded, then froze. "That's it?"

"Yes." Xiang Shan nodded and turned to leave.

Youji hurriedly grabbed Xiang Shan. "Xiang Shan, wait! Aren't we going to talk more about Vagrants?"

"We just did," Xiang Shan said.

Youji stamped his feet anxiously. "No, not that... Me! Me! Aren't you going to teach me anything?"

Xiang Shan turned around and looked at Youji with amusement. "What I just taught you is enough to serve you for the rest of your life, kid. There's still a network in this world. If you master this, then in a few years, you may have the chance to become a martial artist yourself—what more do you want?"

Youji gritted his teeth. "I want to become a Vagrant too."

Xiang Shan asked with interest, "Why?"

"Because..." Youji clenched his teeth. "Because Vagrants are cool! They're powerful."

"Oh." Xiang Shan nodded. Clearly, that answer had not moved him.

He had only seen Vagrants showing off, not Vagrants getting beaten up.

From what that tax official had said, the conflict between the authorities and Vagrants in this era was no small matter. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, Vagrants were weaker than the authorities.

Youji thought again. "Maybe becoming a Vagrant would let Mom and me live better lives!"

Xiang Shan laughed. "Then I advise you to give up that idea, brat. Becoming a Vagrant will not necessarily make life better for those around you."

People driven to rebellion did not have much room for gentleness, courtesy, thrift, or humility. Among Vagrants, there were plenty who were disloyal, unfilial, or cruel—even Xiang Shan himself was not sure what kind of person he had been in the past.

There was nothing to be done about that.

Youji wore a miserable expression. "I just want to be one!"

Xiang Shan crossed his arms. "No reason? How can that do? Becoming a Vagrant is a lifelong matter. Once you take on the color of a 'Vagrant,' the authorities will see it as a stain that can never be washed away for the rest of your life."

"But I suddenly feel like, if I can't become a Vagrant, then... then..." Youji clutched his head. "I can't explain it. It's just... after hearing what you said..."

"Why is that?"

The boy furrowed his brow. "It feels like you told me that not understanding inner strength has huge drawbacks, but I never felt like there was... anything wrong with that... But when I think about it carefully, maybe it really is a huge problem? If I never even felt there was a problem..."

Xiang Shan wanted to smile. But he had no facial muscles now.

Good.

This boy was indeed worth teaching.

"Then sit down first."

Xiang Shan looked at Youji, wanting to say something. In that instant, so many things surged through his mind that he did not know what to express first.

"There's a lot to say." Xiang Shan held his forehead. "I need to think about what I should tell you first..."

When teaching others, a person first needed to understand what exactly he wished to impart. Thinking one understood something did not count as "understanding." Only when one knew how to use declarative language to completely convey what one knew to another person could one be said to have truly "mastered" a concept.

Therefore, teaching others was also a deeper form of learning for the teacher himself.

That was also why so many scholars busy with research were willing to teach courses at institutions called "universities." Part of it was certainly due to the institutional requirements of modern universities, but on the other hand, "passing on knowledge" also helped scholars organize their own thoughts.

Xiang Shan was currently in such a state. Many things had been awakened within his mind, while many others existed only vaguely. He could not grasp those chaotic concepts.

But teaching someone else required him to use "language" to capture those hazy meanings and turn them into things that could be clearly explained.

Teaching Youji some skills did contain elements of repaying a debt and nurturing him, but it would also be greatly beneficial to Xiang Shan.

That was also an important reason why he wanted to "cultivate an assistant." It was his own form of "rehabilitation therapy."

"Youji, what I'm about to tell you will lead you into an entirely different realm. I am unfamiliar with this era, and I cannot tell you what it will mean. It is possible that after hearing these words, you will find it difficult to live as peacefully as before—once you know certain things, you can no longer imagine what it is like to live under the premise of 'not knowing them.'"

This was the "curse of knowledge."

Some knowledge could indeed compel people to do things that ignorant fools could scarcely imagine.

The sages of the classical age who wished to keep the masses foolish had considered this very point.

Youji showed no hesitation. "I want to know!"

"You must think this through. This is your last chance, child," Xiang Shan said. "Living ignorantly in a peaceful world, unaware that you are enduring suffering, may not necessarily be a kind of 'misfortune.' Pursuing a bright ideal while forever trapped in the suffering of unattainable desire may not necessarily be good either."

"Xiang Shan, the things you've said today are all hard to understand." Youji scratched his head. "But I've always felt that knowing a little more is really good. I know you're a good person, Xiang Shan. I know Vagrants aren't completely violent thugs—those are things I didn't know before. It makes me happy. It's like... like... I can't explain it either. It's like I might have another choice in the future, a way to live a life... a life different from Mom's, Doctor Schultz's, and everyone else's. That kind of life might be very... very..."

"Free?"

"Yes! That's the word! Freedom!" Youji clapped his hands. "That word is so obscure! It's in the chip's built-in electronic dictionary, but I've barely ever used it."

"Very good. Since you have chosen freedom, then perhaps you really are suited to being a 'Vagrant'!" Xiang Shan nodded. "Vagrants are a group of people born for 'freedom.'"

Youji's eyes lit up. "Does that mean Vagrants can do whatever they want?" But he quickly grew embarrassed. "That might not be very good, right, Xiang Shan...?"

"This is the first principle I want to explain to you, Youji." Xiang Shan closed his eyes. An echo from the past reverberated in his mind, urging him onward.

Why... is there such... glory and pride...

"Vagrants do not exist so they can 'do whatever they want.' Vagrants exist for everyone's freedom." With his eyes closed, Xiang Shan followed his memories as he spoke. "I do not deny that many Vagrants chose this path for 'their own ideas.' But Vagrants were born for the freedom of all people."

"Since ancient times, powerful things have bullied weaker things. The flesh of the weak was treated as food by the strong. Some said this was an inborn human nature, just as strong animals preyed upon weak ones. But that is wrong. Since entering the age of civilization, humanity has formed communities of the mind and gathered material strength together, ultimately becoming a force in nature that could not be ignored."

"One could say that humanity follows the rules of civilization."

"But the essence of the strong devouring the weak is the trampling of the imagined community of humanity. It is wrong. Yet for a very long time, people all over the world failed to recognize that error. Humanity remained divided and war-torn, suffering greatly."

"At that time, an extraordinarily, extraordinarily remarkable person stepped forward. His name was Mozi. He said that this was wrong, that we should love everyone and deal with one another on the basis of 'mutual benefit'—that was 'universal love and mutual benefit.'"

"Mozi?" Youji was astonished. "So Mozi was a person too?"