Chapter 146: Joy Hidden Deep in the Soul

Humans have no sense of belonging to Earth?

This statement left the experts and audience feeling puzzled and unable to comprehend.

"Humans have no sense of belonging to Earth, did I hear that right?"

"Jiang Zhe did indeed say that, but what is the reason for saying so?"

"It feels a bit like science fiction, but I'd like to see why he says that."

"..."

Some sensible audience members looked at Jiang Zhe with a scrutinizing gaze.

From the other end of the phone, a woman's voice came through.

"Teacher Jiang, how do you explain that? Why do we have no sense of belonging to Earth?"

Jiang Zhe pondered for a moment before offering an explanation: "I don't want to use a long-winded speech to explain this issue, nor do I want to trot out various viewpoints and evidence to explain the meaning of life to you and others."

"Before I answer your question, I would like to ask you, as well as the audience in front of their televisions and in the livestream, one question—"

"When do you truly feel happy?"

"The [Happiness] here refers to the moment when you let go of your worries; carefree, unrestrained, and unconstrained by rules."

"This moment could be in a specific scene; a specific state of mind, a specific..."

He thought for a moment, then continued: "A specific time!"

"Please think carefully and tell me your answers!"

As he finished speaking, everyone began to ponder and discuss.

Inside the lecture hall.

Professor Hua Yunfeng and Old Feng looked out at the audience.

"Everyone, please speak freely and discuss as you wish."

The audience immediately began to discuss amongst themselves.

"[Happiness], it seems to be when you get a promotion or make a fortune, right?"

"I don't feel it's about promotions or fortune; I feel it's about contentment. Just like the moment when one of my research projects is solved; that's when I'm truly happy."

"It doesn't seem so; after your research project is solved, you will likely gain a fleeting happiness. This happiness might make you proud for a while, but then, after the answer to your research project provides an explanation to the public, as time passes, this happiness will be forgotten."

"What you say seems to be true; if that's not it, then I don't know."

"..."

Professor Hua Yunfeng looked at Old Feng, and Old Feng pondered before speaking: "Happiness, laughter, tears of joy..."

Suddenly, Old Feng's eyes lit up, as if he had realized something.

"Perhaps Teacher Jiang is not asking about this superficial [Happiness]."

"Because 99% of us will shed tears of joy after being [Happy] at some point."

"I don't understand why we humans shed tears of joy."

"It's clearly a very happy moment, but in a split second, that state of [Happiness] ceases to exist, turning into sad weeping."

Once these words were spoken, all the experts fell into deep thought once again.

Indeed!

Suddenly meeting an old friend you haven't seen in many years.

At the first moment, you are all smiles.

At the second moment, the joy is doubled.

At the third moment, when it's time to part, a wave of sadness inexplicably arises.

If you think about it deeply, the state of shedding tears of joy is—

Sentimentality!

Because the old folks who have lived for decades all know a truth: every time you see some people, it's one less time you will, until you never see them again; or perhaps you are separated by heaven and earth.

Ultimately, it seems it can be attributed to: [Death].

From the moment humans are born until now, we are constantly trying every possible way to fight against [Death].

In physics, this means humans need to eat, drink, wear clothes, and satisfy various physical/psychological states to maintain body temperature.

When negative states appear, they must be eliminated immediately.

Ultimately, it is indeed because humans fear [Death] and must also fight against [Death].

Gradually, the experts stopped talking, each face revealing a hint of pessimism and sadness.

In the livestream, the audience's train of thought was different from that of the experts.

"I feel that the time I am truly happy is when I return to my familiar hometown. When I am bullied or treated unfairly in the outside world, only by returning home and seeing my parents can I feel safe and truly happy."

"To the person above, you are right; but when you see your parents' graying hair, can you still be happy?"

"This... I can't be happy anymore."

"Damn it, what exactly is true happiness? Could it be when we humans are in nature, returning to our most primal hunting days?"

"Exactly, when I experience filth in the mortal world, I place myself in nature—golden wheat fields, emerald forests, boundless wilderness—and I can let go of all my worries and feel unprecedented happiness."

"Yes, yes, yes, I feel that we humans belong to nature, not to these pigeonhole apartments and a society with a bunch of broken rules."

"So, to the person above, are you trying to nuke the world's civilization?"

"This... anyway, it's online. If I were given a [Nuke Button] that could destroy all human civilization without harming lives, okay, I would be willing to press this [Button] and let everything return to the initial stage."

"Hiss, you are terrifying!"

"I feel like drugs make me happy."

"To the person above, where are you? I'm going to report you!!!"

"..."

Some audience members defined [Happiness] on a primitive level of material needs: the satisfaction of survival.

In the wilderness during the time of our human ancestors, it remained at the needs of being well-fed, warmly clothed, and having women.

But some audience members had different needs, and the direction of their discussion was not the same either.

"I have satisfied my basic physiological needs, and now I am striving for [Power]. I like the feeling of controlling others; I should be at the second level of needs."

"Me too. I'm a minor leader in a listed company, and I want to climb to a high-level position to command more people."

"I can see it now. You are all at the middle level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Like Norman Bethune and some internationalists, they are at the top level of [Self-Actualization Needs]."

"Right, people of every class with different needs will reap [Happiness] when satisfying the needs of their respective levels. To sum it up in one sentence: get a promotion, make a fortune, lose your wife/husband, have a happy family with many descendants, live in harmony with neighbors and relatives, and die without regrets."

"If we go a level higher, some people think that leaving a mark in history and carrying forward one's spirit is also a kind of [Happiness]."

"..."

Audience members of different classes and with different needs had vastly different understandings of [Happiness].

However, they all had one thing in common: [Satisfaction].

The word "satisfaction" permeates the lives of 99% of people.

The remaining 1% are Taoists, monks, and theologians.

The [Happiness] they understand is one level higher than [Satisfaction].

Completing the suffering of this life to add a rich stroke to the next life.

Commonly known as: suffering in this life, wealth in the next.

Listening to the continuity of barrage comments broadcast by the backstage director in his earpiece, Jiang Zhe understood that the [Happiness] spoken of by people of different classes was not the same.

He faced the camera and nodded gently, "Undeniably, everyone's definition of [Happiness] is different."

"But!"

"You have also discovered through discussion—"

"The [Happiness] you speak of is actually built upon [Satisfaction]."

"When your current needs are met, you will feel [Happy]."

"But what happens after this [Happiness]? You will feel a sense of loss again."

"Meeting an old friend sparks a momentary [Happiness], but when it's time to part, the sense of loss strikes again; just like how some people cry while laughing."

"The scientific explanation is: the hormones that made you feel happy have dissipated in your brain, making it difficult for you to accept for a while the sense of loss and regret after just returning to calm from a state of [Happiness]."

"That is why people always say [Happiness] is always fleeting; it is exactly as they say."

The audience nodded silently; they could understand and empathize with this emotion.

Neither joy nor sorrow is the normal state of life.

Positive emotions are difficult to maintain at all times.

At this moment, Jiang Zhe suddenly looked serious, pondered, and retorted: "But I must say, in fact, none of you have touched upon the main point."

"The [Happiness] you speak of only remains far on the surface."

Facing the camera, Jiang Zhe's expression was exceptionally solemn as he held up a finger, "And what I want to talk about is true [Happiness], [Eternal Happiness], not fleeting [Happiness]!"

Watching Jiang Zhe's unprecedentedly solemn expression, the experts and audience frowned, sensing something amiss.

It was as if, in the next moment, an earth-shattering answer was about to spill from Jiang Zhe's lips.

Sure enough, Jiang Zhe did not disappoint them.

Jiang Zhe said with neither joy nor sorrow: "True [Happiness] has never been on the surface of the body; true [Happiness] has actually always been..."

"Death!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes, feeling unprecedented disbelief.