Chapter 137: Fill in the Blank_1

Thirty-Six Dao said, "The thickness of life is not infinite; once it reaches a certain threshold, the force carried within the origin of life will be exhausted.

"The Trisolarans live in such a harsh environment that they have to evolve desperately in order to survive.

"As a result, their life form has lost the power to advance further, and can only look to us for clues."

This was a reasonable explanation, but Jiang Yu always felt it was somewhat unbelievable.

It was like when he first heard Jiang Shiliu talk about the 'Information Convergence Point,' feeling it was nonsensical, yet somehow it made sense.

Jiang Yu then asked, "So according to your theory, can we find the genes related to dinosaurs in our own genes?"

Thirty-Six smiled, "If we could fully utilize genetics, of course 'genes' are just a concept given by humanity so far.

"Within genes, there may be deeper structures or even more profound concepts, but we currently do not understand those concepts, so we can only refer to them as 'genes.'

He paused and then said, "Theoretically, we could trace back through genes to the life forms before our species emerged from the ocean.

"Following this track farther down, the life forms of dinosaurs, insects, and other ancient creatures could be clearly seen."

Jiang Yu grinned, "This would be good news for paleobiologists."

Thirty-Six shook his head, "But that step is too far off for us. According to public biological information, at present we can only use genetic technologies to treat inherited diseases and become more attractive.

"The theory of artificial chimeras is not yet fully developed and is facing tremendous public pressure.

"With the technology of modern humanity, we can't even unlock the shackles of genes, let alone understand their 'past lives and reincarnations.'

Jiang Yu nodded, "I can provide you with a biological research team to work on this area."

But Thirty-Six shook his head, "For the next ten years, I want to immerse myself in the world.

"The diversity of human life is also an important component of this world, as the saying goes, 'Without leaving the house, one knows the world; without looking through the window, one understands the heavenly way.'

"Many fundamental logics of this world are hidden within ordinary life.

"Not engaging with the world is not an option."

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "Come to me anytime in the future with your plans, and I'll help facilitate your conditions as much as possible.

"But you have to be careful about your safety; if the Trisolarans find your thoughts threatening, they will surely try everything to kill you!"

Thirty-Six shook his head and smiled, "No, I've thought about this problem years ago.

"Even if my guesses are all true, the human world is unable to confirm it, let alone transform these guesses into power.

"So the Trisolarans won't care."

Jiang Yu said, "Still, don't be careless; I'll arrange for someone to protect you!"

In the midst of the three's conversation, they arrived at the airport and took a connecting flight back to the country.

After getting off the plane, Jiang Yu took Thirty-Six to try the specialty Peking Duck in Capital City.

Thirty-Six devoured the duck greedily, consuming dozens of rolls by himself.

Jiang Shiliu, who had already tasted plenty of delicacies, commented that it was not as delicious as he had imagined.

Jiang Yu didn't mind Jiang Shiliu's show-off attitude, thinking the flavor was still quite good; the duck was fat but not greasy, crispy on the outside and tender inside, paired with cucumber and scallion, plus a dab of sweet bean sauce.

The deliciousness of the meat, combined with the refreshing taste of cucumber and the fragrance of scallions and sauce, left Jiang Yu's taste buds very satisfied.

After a fine meal, the three chatted casually over tea.

Jiang Shiliu said he was ready to "change careers." Under Sophon's surveillance, there wasn't much future in artificial intelligence, so he planned to turn to biological research instead.

If that didn't work out, he'd just hibernate for a few years to see if, after an overall technological advancement, there was any "juice" left to squeeze out.

Jiang Yu, on the other hand, planned to continue hibernating after some time, as he had already given the various project teams new direction, the resources were on their way, and most of the problems had been basically solved.

Waiting for them to make breakthroughs wasn't very interesting, he might as well continue hibernating.

Originally, he had planned to wake up in the eighth year of The Crisis Era, waiting for the Wallbreaker to break through Tyler's Wall so that he could clean up the mess Tyler left behind, but he was attacked by the Wallbreaker himself first.

So would Tyler's Wall still be broken by the ETO?

No one gave a definitive answer.

However, what Jiang Yu did not expect was that the several project teams he had established were actually quite competitive and had made significant progress.

This made Jiang Yu look forward to the kind of surprises his project teams would bring him the next time he woke up.

After some idle chat, Jiang Shiliu boarded a flight back to Shanghai by himself.

Jiang Yu and Thirty-Six took a private jet to Lanzhou.

After switching to a helicopter, amidst the roar of the engines, Jiang Yu and Thirty-Six silently watched the landscape outside the window, not communicating through their headsets.

Thirty-Six was used to silence, while Jiang Yu was contemplating the role of interests in modern society.

He had been pondering this issue since his return flight from America.

At first, using interests as a guide was just one of his concepts, but the more he thought in this direction, the deeper Jiang Yu found the subject to be.

As he thought, he remembered the "fill-in-the-blank" question once posed by Kong Xiang.

Several years before, he got the complete file of the "Poison Apple Project" from Jiang Shiliu, and Kong Xiang's theoretical analysis of modern society left a very deep impression on Jiang Yu.

Kong Xiang's theory presented modern society with two lines, one determining the underlying logic: survival.

The other line caused modern society to develop faster and become increasingly unbalanced.

However, Kong Xiang only had a vague concept of this line; he tried to explain it with economics, wealth, and technology, all of which made sense, but were not comprehensive.

Back then, Jiang Yu felt like he was trying to solve a "fill-in-the-blank" question left by his teacher.

Next to the question, the teacher had already tried to give an answer, but none were precise enough.

Now, Jiang Yu filled in this "blank" with interest.

The more he looked at this answer, the more fitting it seemed. It was a major driving force in the formation of modern society and a reason for the imbalance in human society.

The concept of interest completed the upper logic of current society, making the complex human world clearer and easier to understand.

Having realized this, Jiang Yu believed that in the future, he could use interests more as bait, to guide humanity onto the correct path.

With this logical insight, many things became simpler.

After all, very few people truly have their own pursuits, their own principles to adhere to; interests can almost solve most people's demands.

Of course, the prerequisite is that Jiang Yu has enough interests to be divided among most people.

With this thought, Jiang Yu smiled slightly; this was not an issue to consider now. He would wait until Beck's mission was completed.

As they were about to reach the location of Black Square, Jiang Yu was just about to point out the window and exclaim, "Look over there!" to appreciate Thirty-Six's surprised expression.

However, upon arriving, he discovered that "Black Square" had already been covered by a curved concrete dome.