Chapter 59: The Smile Gradually Became More Unrestrained

At this point, Jiang Zhe picked up the whiteboard and a charcoal pen.

On the whiteboard, he drew two stick figures, A and B, with completely different appearances.

He circled the heads of stick figures A and B, and then swapped them—

Moving A's head onto B's body, and B's head onto A's body.

He held up the whiteboard, aimed it at the camera, and explained:

"The Brain Theory suggests that wherever your brain goes, you go, even if it's into someone else's body."

"Now, A represents the viewers in front of the screen, and B represents me."

"Please imagine the following scenario—"

"A highly skilled neurologist kidnaps you and me off the street on a dark and windy night."

"Then, after a series of brain-swapping experiments..."

"When we come out, we don't notice anything unusual; we're still walking on the street."

"And then..."

"We each go back to our own homes!"

"It's only when you and I return to our respective homes that we realize something is wrong."

"Because our families don't seem to recognize us, both you and I would find it strange."

"My family asks me, Jiang Zhe, 'Who are you?' I'm bewildered and try my best to explain, 'I'm Jiang Zhe!'"

"But the family will insist, 'You're not Jiang Zhe. You're not nearly as handsome as Jiang Zhe. Get out of here, or I'm calling the police!'"

"At this point, I finally realize something is wrong."

"So I immediately rush to the bathroom, only to discover that the person in the mirror isn't me, Jiang Zhe, but you viewers in front of the screen."

This casual example made the male viewers in the livestream and in front of their TVs twitch their lips.

Good grief, he's indirectly saying we're not as handsome as him, isn't he?

Many male viewers weren't convinced and took their phones to the bathroom mirror to compare.

It would have been better if they hadn't; once they compared, the gap really became apparent.

Jiang Zhe's beauty had no blind spots.

Whether looking at him lying down, sitting, from the side, or upside down, nothing could hide Jiang Zhe's damn good looks!

"Damn it, he's so handsome it makes me feel ashamed of my own existence!"

"Quick, someone get a scientist to swap my body with his; I don't want this fat otaku body anymore."

"..."

Amidst the viewers' banter, Jiang Zhe's explanation continued.

"The same example would happen to you—"

"After you return home, you'll face questioning from your family because they won't recognize you."

"To some extent, if your family has seen my show, they might be surprised: 'How did Jiang Zhe end up in my house?'"

"But in reality, your brain and mine have been swapped."

"Whether it's you or me, intuitively speaking: you are still you, and I am still I. We still possess our original personalities and memories—it's just that I'm living in your body, and you're living in mine."

"So the Brain Theory posits: wherever our brain goes, we go."

Jiang Zhe's explanations were simple and easy to understand.

The viewers quickly grasped the essence of it.

It's always the 'brain' that dominates 'oneself,' not the body.

No matter how much the body changes, or even if only a brain is left, as long as the brain exists, 'I' still exist.

In the livestream, bullet comments flew by rapidly.

"I get it! Even if the body is gone, as long as the brain is there, we're still here, right?"

"That's right."

"Then can I understand it as not the organ of the brain, but the data within the brain that's at work?"

"By 'data,' do you mean consciousness?"

"Yes, consciousness. Can I also say that as long as 'my consciousness' is still there, no matter what I turn into—even if I become a dog, a turtle, or a panda—I'm still me? That's how it's written in stories, right?"

"This... Jiang Zhe is giving a science lecture, and you're discussing web novels? Is that appropriate?"

...

Meanwhile, in the auditorium of Kyoto University of Science.

Professor Hua Yunfeng said with a pensive look, "The Body Theory is unreliable, and looking at the current situation, the Brain Theory doesn't seem very reliable either."

Old Feng asked curiously, "What do you mean? Do you know a lot about this?"

Professor Hua Yunfeng pointed at the playful expression on Jiang Zhe's face. "Look at his expression; he looks like he's sure of victory. As soon as we agree with the 'Brain Theory,' he'll bring up another theory to refute us. Currently, the most mainstream ones on the market are the Body Theory and the Brain Theory. Besides those, there are some lesser-known theories."

Old Feng couldn't help but twitch his lips. "I thought it was your actual knowledge, but it turns out you're just reading his face."

While the two elders were discussing, the philosophers in the audience couldn't help but sink into thought.

"From the Brain Theory, there's an advanced version."

"What advanced version?"

"It's about copying your consciousness exactly into my brain and copying my consciousness exactly into yours. Then, for the sake of brain memory, we clear everything that was originally in your brain and mine. I let your consciousness live in my empty brain, and you let my consciousness live in yours. This way, it becomes even more obscure and difficult to understand. This is a theory proposed by a foreign philosopher and biologist last year, called the Data Theory. I haven't looked into it too deeply."

"When you put it that way, it really does seem a bit obscure. It would be impossible to tell who is who!"

"Yes, theoretically speaking, that's exactly right!"

"..."

Just as some of the old philosophers had guessed.

In the next moment, Jiang Zhe indeed mentioned the theory they had brought up.

"Alright, the Brain Theory is what 50% of people believe."

"Next, let's talk about the various theories that the remaining 10% of the audience believes in."

"I've specifically chosen one theory: the Data Theory. This theory posits that you are not determined by your physical body, nor by your brain, but by the data within your brain."

"Let's continue with the example from the Brain Theory."

"However, we need to change direction and characters. Let's use me and Old Wang from next door."

"Old Wang is the head of our Monitoring Room and the father of the Late-night Radio host, Wang Lin."

As he spoke, Wang Lin, in the leadership conference room, couldn't help but frown. "What's going on with you and my dad? Is there some unspeakable secret?"

In the Monitoring Room, Old Wang stared at his phone screen, feeling that something was wrong. "Am I going to die in this theory?"

"That mad scientist captured me and my neighbor, Old Wang."

"That mad scientist didn't swap our brains. Instead, he connected both our brains to a super-powered computer via data cables."

"Then he copied all the information from my brain and Old Wang's brain into each other's, bit for bit, and then erased all the original information in our brains."

"Then, when Old Wang and I woke up, our 'brains' hadn't been swapped."

"But 'I' ended up in Old Wang's body, and 'Old Wang' ended up in mine—Old Wang's brain already contained my thoughts, memories, fears, hopes, dreams, emotions, and personality."

"Old Wang's brain and body, carrying 'my' data, would ultimately give my family a shock."

"However, after some diligent explanation, my family would accept the fact that 'I' am still alive, just living in Old Wang's brain and body."

"And Old Wang's data is living in my young body."

At this point, Jiang Zhe suddenly looked up toward the Monitoring Room, and a brief smile played on his lips.

He thought to himself, 'Sorry, Old Wang, I need to liven up the atmosphere and use you as an example.'

"As everyone knows, I have no family. I'm a single man with no responsibilities."

"Using Old Wang's body, I can do anything I want."

"On the other hand, what about Old Wang?"

"He can't do anything with my former body."

"He's married, and he's living in the body of the young Jiang Zhe—that is, my former body."

"After spending some time with his wife, their relationship will experience a second spring."

These words were a bit subtle, but there were plenty of experienced drivers in the livestream.

The viewers were stunned for a moment, and then the smiles on their faces gradually became unrestrained.