years old...
Upon hearing this, Xiang Shan fell silent for a mont.
What does three hundred years an? Three hundred years before Xiang Shan was born, the Republic did not yet exist, and the East Asia continent was still using "Kangxi" as the era na.
Since Xiang Shan’s birth, only a little over three hundred years have passed.
However, Xiang Shan still spoke: "Actually... you can’t say that. Theoretically, the natural human lifespan is already four hundred years. With various lifespan-reversing dical technologies, breaking through a thousand years is very hopeful. Even if you’re three hundred years old, by our generation’s standards, you’re just entering middle age."
"Xiang Shan died young. How do you say that in Chinese? It’s easy to preach from a standing position." Niyaguti exclaid.
"I... Well, Xiang Shan died young, but spiritually we’re the sa generation."
"You’re not normal," Niyaguti crossed her arms, "an outlier three steps ahead."
"I’ve recently realized that perhaps what truly limits our breakthrough beyond the Homo sapiens mindset are our inherited ’Ancestral Legacy’. We might be just an ’enlightennt’ away from a cognitive revolution."
Niyaguti sighed: "’Ancestral Legacy’, ’Enlightennt’... such nostalgic terms. I wonder if you rember, Xiang Shan... Xiang Shan himself rarely ntioned these terms by the 22nd century. Leaving that aside, what’s your plan to abandon the ’Ancestral Legacy’? Annihilate an entire generation completely? Oh, I almost forgot, even before the killing started, you and that bastard were already birds of a feather."
Xiang Shan was montarily tongue-tied before saying: "This... pursuing ’Enlightennt’ should be an active process. The foundation of knowledge, ditation training, pharmaceuticals—our past research has already revealed such possibilities. And I think, in more traditional cultures, there is actually content that aligns with it."
Niyaguti turned her head, eyes wide: "Are you really Xiang Shan... do you really share the sa personality as Xiang Shan?"
"Jeez, is it that surprising? Am I that uneducated?"
Niyaguti shook her head: "To you, ’traditional culture’ is only valuable as ’a flavor enhancer in popular culture’, right? Or is it a matter of mory source? Is the main perspective of the mories you inherited Ingrid’s?"
Xiang Shan rubbed his forehead: "What a terrible prejudice... Haven’t I used Hero culture to shape our image?"
"But that seed to be because it beca part of popular culture and you saw it as promotional assistance."
"Forget it; the prejudice is too deep. It’s useless to say anything." Xiang Shan waved his hand. "With a mind unbound by obstacles, without fear, free from delusional dreams—first break the limitations from external stimuli and existing visions, then reconstruct one’s cognition. This underlying logic in culture is quite valuable. Ancient philosophers were also exploring the the of ’how to achieve happiness’. Although limited by their understanding, their conclusions are not ’scientific’, but definitely ’useful’."
"That segnt indeed sounds like Xiang Shan’s logic." Niyaguti shook her head, "Yet I still rember the days you had global religious leaders playing in your talk shows."
"Can we not dwell on this issue anymore... anyhow, I’ve made so minor discoveries recently in my research on myself and other Martial Gods." Xiang Shan waved his hand, "For those of us with sufficient foundational knowledge, who have been training our Inner Strength through prolonged ditation, and who understand enough about brain chemistry and know how to dicate, changing one’s cognitive mode isn’t as difficult as we might imagine."
Niyaguti seed a bit surprised. She stayed silent for a mont before saying: "Are you really Xiang Shan?"
"Haven’t you asked this question already?"
"But no Xiang Shan likes another Xiang Shan."
"Changing one’s thinking might just be a single step away, not as difficult as one imagines."
Niyaguti asked: "So, your ’mind without obstacles, free from delusional dreams’, do you have any papers on that?"
Xiang Shan paused before replying, "Not much of a clue at the mont, but I’ve collected very rich data records. I believe I’ll be sharing so findings with you in the near future."
Niyaguti nodded.
"By the way, rember Ola Freeman?"
"Ola Freeman? Full na? There are quite a few with that na..."
"The one from over two hundred years ago."
Niyaguti really pondered for a while this ti. Asking her to recall things from the first half of the 21st century was like asking soone from back then to recall events during the Kangxi era. It’s like a lifeti ago...
No, nearly three hundred years span three to four Homo sapiens lifetis.
"Dr. Freeman, huh." Niyaguti tapped her head. It was just an image—this action had no real effect on her brain, but tactile sensory signals could still be simulated. She said, "Such a nostalgic na... why ntion him?"
"I t him a while back," Xiang Shan took out a storage device, "Dr. Freeman has been living underwater, maintaining a small civilization made up of whales—I believe those whales are now as intelligent as humans."
Niyaguti flashed a hint of surprise: "Whales?"
She genuinely thought those creatures were extinct.
"Yes, whales," Xiang Shan said, "Didn’t you and Yog try to save large mammals during the infection incident?"
Niyaguti nodded, "Right, Yawgmoth beca abnormal during that ti, I guess."
"That project, Dr. Freeman kept it going, with quite a few dolphins and killer whales," Xiang Shan said. "Dr. Freeman continues to study whale language, cognitive abilities, and brain activity. These whales need prosthetic bodies to survive well, but our developed prosthetic systems are for humans. Dr. Freeman hopes to find prosthetic systems more suitable for whales through this research. I stayed underwater to help him a bit. He hopes I pass this data to you. He thinks you might... well, at least he thinks you’re suitable to keep this data."
Niyaguti looked at the storage device. The cara turned, the lens focused, staring intently at it. In the virtual image, the woman’s expression was complex: "He truly is an incredible person. A project Yawgmoth abandoned... such a pity..."
—too late.
This was probably the half-sentence she left unsaid.
By now, even knowing this information, Yawgmoth won’t reverse the behavioral patterns entrenched over two hundred years.
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