Chapter 16: A Time Paradox that Shocks the Entire Audience

Inside the leadership conference room.

Everyone gasped in unison.

Their perception of Jiang Zhe had reached a whole new level!

One must understand why a paradox is called a paradox.

Naturally, it involves proposing a paradox within the bounds of reasonable logic that no one can explain.

For example, asking why 1+1 cannot equal 11 cannot be called a paradox; the logic is not self-consistent.

Beyond that, it is very difficult for someone to propose a new paradox!

Old Zhao looked at everyone before him. "Proposing his own paradox—this is practically the level of a science professor or a philosophy professor!"

This time, Old Zhao was deeply certain that their Television Station had found a treasure.

Everyone present, as well as Old Qian on the other end of the phone, showed looks of amazement.

At this moment, the online livestream room was flooded with a massive number of bullet comments.

"For some reason, I actually believe he can really propose a new paradox."

"The Bootstrap Paradox really doesn't exist on the internet. If he can explain the logic behind it, I'll definitely watch this show from now on!"

"+1"

"..."

Listening to the constant stream of emotion points in his ear, Jiang Zhe became increasingly aware that although this world was in an era of paradox explosion, many paradoxes had yet to emerge.

If he wanted to boost viewership and grow his reputation in future programs,

he could perhaps occasionally propose paradoxes from his previous life and provide explanations.

In addition, he could even introduce some unsolved mysteries to add flavor to the show.

Jiang Zhe's answer also stunned the third questioner.

"Excuse me, what exactly does the Bootstrap Paradox mean? To be honest, I'm a philosophy student."

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly and explained, "The Bootstrap Paradox can also be called the 'Ontological Paradox'."

"It refers to a paradox where an object or a piece of information is sent back to the past, creating an infinite loop where the object or information has no origin—it exists without ever being created."

As the explanation concluded, those with a keen eye brightened up; this was indeed a paradox they had never heard of.

Yet, it seemed to have some connection to the Grandfather Paradox, as if it were a type of space-time paradox.

"I've never heard of this paradox."

"It's the first time I've heard of it too. It seems this paradox is also a space-time paradox. It feels quite interesting."

"I don't understand. Can the host explain it further?"

"..."

The philosophy student asked curiously, "This seems similar to the Grandfather Paradox—a piece of information or an object goes back to the past, resulting in that object not existing on the timeline; it's a bit blurry. Could you please explain it? You don't have to solve the paradox; the other viewers and I just want to hear something new."

Hearing this, Jiang Zhe nodded slightly. "Of course. I'll divide it into two versions: one is the Ontological Paradox version, and the other is the Third-Party Paradox version."

The viewers who were about to turn off their TVs suddenly felt their boredom vanish and leaned closer to the screen to continue listening intently.

"1: The Ontological Paradox—"

"As everyone knows, 'hamlet' is a book written by William Shakespeare."

"Without discussing what kind of book it is, let's just assume a possibility."

"In 2024, Xiao Ming buys an English copy of 'hamlet' at a corner bookstore in Kyoto. After stepping out, he immediately travels back in time to the Renaissance period."

"Xiao Ming finds hamlet—no, he deletes the date and name in advance and, without a word, gives this book to William Shakespeare."

After receiving the book and browsing through it, William Shakespeare exclaims, 'Amazing!'

"So, with an idea in mind, he takes the book to a publisher and has it printed on a large scale."

"Over time, this copy of hamlet successfully becomes one of the most valuable books of the era!"

At this point, Jiang Zhe smiled slightly and posed a counter-question: "So, here is the problem—hamlet was originally written by William Shakespeare. During this time, Xiao Ming took the original author's book back to 1599 and presented it to William Shakespeare, and then the paradox emerged."

"Was this book written by Xiao Ming or by William Shakespeare?"

"Was it written by Xiao Ming? No, Xiao Ming just took a book from a bookstore to the past and gave it to William Shakespeare!"

"Was it written by Shakespeare?"

"It seems not, either. This is Shakespeare plagiarizing the book Xiao Ming gave him!"

"In that case, where exactly did 'hamlet' come from?"

As Jiang Zhe's series of explanations concluded, everyone was instantly dumbfounded.

...

"Where exactly did hamlet come from?"

At this moment, all the viewers in Su City watching the live program were stunned.

Many self-proclaimed smart people had wanted to see Jiang Zhe make a fool of himself. Who would have thought that after solving one shocking paradox, he would propose another world-defying one!

No matter how much those people racked their brains, they could not find the source of the answer.

"hamlet—damn it, where exactly did it come from?"

"Holy crap, with Jiang Zhe's explanation, it's like this copy of hamlet has no original author. If there is one, it doesn't seem to be Xiao Ming, and it doesn't seem to be William Shakespeare either. Damn, who exactly wrote it?"

"Holy shit, this show was worth watching. I'm really learning something!"

"..."

Many people could even imagine that a world-defying paradox would emerge in the scientific and paradox communities—one proposed by Jiang Zhe tonight!

...

At this moment, the studio hall was dead silent.

Everyone looked at each other, seeing the shock and horror on each other's faces.

Especially the interviewees; they were completely numb now.

They had previously thought it was amazing enough that Jiang Zhe solved a paradox, but who would have thought he could actually propose a new space-time paradox!

Even though they were all paradox 'experts', they were now deeply mired in doubt.

"This seems even more advanced than the Grandfather Paradox!"

"As another space-time paradox, I'd call the Bootstrap Paradox the 'Plus' version of the Grandfather Paradox!"

"Incredible, I'm literally kneeling to you!"

...

Inside the leadership conference room.

Everyone looked at each other, and finally, their eyes focused on Wang Lin's face.

Wang Lin gave an awkward smile. "Stop looking at me, uncles and aunts. I really don't know."

Then, everyone turned their curious gazes toward the phone in Old Zhao's hand.

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, with the occasional sound of a sharp intake of breath.

"Incredible, incredible!"

"This paradox is truly incredible. Your Television Station has really recruited a treasure!"

"With his thoughts and ideas, it's a real shame he isn't a screenwriter contributing to the national film and television industry!"

"I've decided. I don't need him to write the script anymore. As long as your Jiang Zhe posts a notice on his personal Weibo afterward saying: [I am willing to give the solution to the Grandfather Paradox and the idea for the Bootstrap Paradox to Kyoto's Qian Youdao], I will personally transfer these 3 million to Teacher Jiang's card."

"I am confident that if I turn this creative idea into a movie, it will definitely win awards in the future!"

With Old Qian's confident guarantee, Old Zhao naturally wouldn't refuse.

With a face full of smiles, he accepted on Jiang Zhe's behalf: "No need to wait. Our operations department knows his Weibo account, password, and even his bank card. I'll send them to you right now."

In less than 30 seconds, Old Qian transferred 3 million directly.

"The money has arrived. I'll wait for your good news. I have to hang up; I must write the script overnight!"

...

At this moment, in a residential area far away in Guangzhou.

An adult woman wearing black-rimmed glasses was shocked by Jiang Zhe's paradox.

She was the third questioner.

"This paradox is just too brilliant!"

"I simply can't find an excuse to refute it."

"In this way, this book will become an unsolved mystery, involving neither who wrote it nor who plagiarized it; it's as if it appeared out of thin air."

"It's bizarre yet extremely logical!"

"Holy shit!"

Even as a refined woman, she couldn't help but swear.

"This really is more high-end and powerful than the Grandfather Paradox!"

"Can he really solve the Bootstrap Paradox he proposed himself?"

At this point, she picked up the phone and asked impatiently, "Is there a second example, Teacher Jiang? Could you tell us about it?"

On the TV screen, Jiang Zhe smiled and shook his head gently. "There is, but I'll save it for the next livestream—provided I successfully become a permanent employee, of course. Besides that, I'll mention the second example in the next episode."

"Alright, it's getting late today. We'll see you next time!"

As he finished speaking, the TV screen cut to the familiar evening commercials.

"Damn it, don't end the broadcast!"

"Don't just leave like that! I've already taken off my pants, and you tell me you're done? Is that really okay?"

"Come back! If it's not enough, I'll pay more!"

"Come back!!!"

"..."

Seeing that Jiang Zhe had truly ended the broadcast, many viewers spontaneously organized to call Suzhou TV Station.

At that moment, the Television Station's customer service department was nearly overwhelmed with calls.