99: Chapter 99: Animals are not afraid of death, only humans are.

As Jiang Zhe finished his series of remarks, the livestream room fell into complete silence.

After a long while, it was flooded by an overwhelming barrage of comments.

"Holy crap, I have goosebumps all over my body."

"So our involution and anxiety were all freaking pre-programmed?"

"Suddenly thought of a possibility, maybe our involution was carved into our genes; maybe if we didn't compete, we'd be abandoned or starved to death?"

"Suddenly feel so sorrowful, a sense of melancholy is rushing over me."

"Do animals really not fear death? But my husky is terrified of going to the vet!"

"To the person above, pain, fear, and calm acceptance are not on the same level."

"Human civilization is all a resistance against death. Damn, this angle is so tricky, I can't even refute it!"

"Listening to this makes me want to cry, but it also feels so intense!"

"Brother, drink some water, continue, don't stop, I love listening!"

Massive amounts of bullet comments drowned the screen, followed by a deluge of gifts flying across.

On the other side, in the staff residential area of the University of History.

Philosophy Professor Wang Shouren leaned back on the sofa, his eyes carrying a hint of weariness: "Very profound!"

Having studied Eastern and Western views on life and death, he fully understood the weight of Jiang Zhe's words.

"Animals accept death as a transformative process of nature, while humans view death as a challenge, a challenge that must be overcome."

"This is actually the dividing line between the primitive and civilization."

Having said that, he looked at his three old friends, "Xiaoyu's brother interpreted this dividing line as a [Design Boundary], which is very interesting and thought-provoking!"

Professor Chen Runzhi kept flipping through the historical documents in his hands, "All religions in history have a pursuit of eternal life; they are indeed all resistances against [Death]."

"If human civilization has truly been programmed with [Death Pre-awareness]—then what kind of resistance result does the one who set it want to see?"

Old Qian rubbed his chest, feeling his breathing becoming a bit labored:

"In my spare time, I have studied both domestic and foreign mythology. In all creation stories—humans are either created by gods or endowed with wisdom and the like; there has never been a myth saying that humans evolved naturally."

"Even among many scientists studying life, disagreements are increasing; the support rate for humans being a product of natural evolution is declining every year!"

"The universality within this is somewhat self-evident."

Old Liu on the side took a deep breath, his expression very complex: "I work in ecology. From the perspective of survival strategies, if a species fears death too much, it will lead to excessive self-protection within the population; thereby reducing risk-taking, which in the long run is actually detrimental to the spread of human genes."

"But humans are just the opposite. Our fear of death has actually spurred adventure and creation towards death..."

"This truly does not conform to Darwin's evolutionary logic!"

On the other side, inside the living room of Qingfeng Temple.

"Simply absurd!" Zheng Ming stood out and quickly retorted: "Mammals certainly feel fear and anxiety. Herbivores being hunted feel terror, and mother apes losing their young feel depression!"

Before he could continue to argue with his limited knowledge, he was stopped by a hand gesture from Dr. Zhou Ming:

"Little Zheng, you are truly wrong this time; what you are describing are animals' [Biological Stress Responses to Immediate Threats], which is a completely different matter from human [Conceptual Anxiety about Death itself]."

Zheng Ming frowned, "What's the difference?"

Zhou Ming did not answer immediately, but instead cited a case:

"There is a very famous study abroad: a female gorilla named Koko who learned sign language from a young age and learned a thousand gestures from her keeper."

"It could express sadness—when the kitten it raised passed away, it signed: [Cat, sleep, Koko, sad]."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Ming immediately straightened his back.

Dr. Zhou Ming would not lie; it could only mean it was serious.

"It could also express longing—when the keeper's child went to school, it would sign: [Friend, gone, miss]."

Suddenly!

Dr. Zhou Ming's tone deepened, and his expression gradually became serious:

"But one time, the keeper suddenly asked it: [Koko, are you afraid of death?]"

At this moment, even Celestial Master Zhang cast his gaze over with great interest.

"As a result, Koko replied in sign language: [Not afraid, Koko, know, death, time]."

"Meaning: [I am not afraid of death, I know when I will die]."

"Then the keeper asked again: [Then after death, where will you go, are you not worried?]"

"Koko's gesture was very simple and plain; it pointed directly at the ground."

As the words fell, the living room fell into silence.

Zheng Ming and Celestial Master Zhang were full of gravity and contemplation.

"Its meaning was naturally: [Return to the earth]," Zhou Ming took a deep breath, "Koko had no deep speculation about the afterlife, no panic about the end of existence, and no anxiety about not having enough time; she accepted death just like thunder and rain in the sky—it is a very natural thing that will happen, and she knew when her death would occur, and that after it happens, everything returns to the earth."

After hearing this, Zheng Ming wanted to speak but stopped, unable to utter a single word.

Celestial Master Zhang closed his eyes and opened them again, sighing: "In that case, what Xiaoyu's brother said is not false."

"All living beings are within the Dao, only the human path is skewed—"

"Skewed in knowing death and fearing death; fearing death and seeking life; seeking life and creating karma; creating karma and asking about the Dao."

"So this is what the Taoist predecessors meant; everything is based on [I am afraid] [I am terrified] [I am worried]."

In an instant, Celestial Master Zhang seemed to have reached a higher level of understanding of the Dao!

"Thank you, Layman Zhou!"

Zhou Ming shook his head slightly, "As long as it helps your Dao."

In another place, Yangcheng, in a library teacher's office.

A girl wearing glasses listened for the first time and felt it was too exaggerated!

"Teacher Chen, he is too exaggerated, too unorthodox; could it be that all our human efforts are actually out of fear of death?"

Zhang Yu excitedly refuted the girl: "But don't you think it's very insightful?"

"Animals fear pain, fear losing their young, but they certainly don't worry in their prime about what will happen when they get old."

"We start worrying from the age of eighteen. Some people who didn't go to college, after finishing high school or middle school, they have already started to feel anxious, worried, and fearful about every second of the future!"

Teacher Chen Min did not rush to refute this time, but walked alone to the window, looking at the bustling night scene outside.

"I used to raise a big yellow dog, a sturdy big yellow dog, who accompanied me for seventeen years."

"In its final days, it would wobble while walking; but every day it insisted on going out to bask in the sun."

"One morning, it didn't come to nudge my hand to go out as usual; it just walked to my feet, gently nudged me, and then walked out by itself."

"Then I secretly followed it."

"It ran to an uninhabited place at the construction site behind my house, quietly curled up there, ignoring the sound of car horns in the distance; it didn't open its eyes, nor did it even move its ears; just stayed there quietly."

"Just as I went up to call it, its tail moved... and then it never moved again."

"In the end, I buried it in a vegetable garden behind my mother's house."

He turned around, his face very complex:

"Because the big yellow dog knew the time had come, without struggle, without fear, just calmly accepting it."

"And what about us humans when our loved ones are dying? Resuscitation, intubation, doing everything to prolong a painful life—only then is it considered [Filial Piety]!"

Chen Min let out a deep breath, "Why?"

"Why can animals accept it and calmly merge into that great cycle?"

"While we humans have to define death ourselves, and then use every method to resist that [Great Cycle]!"

A thin boy said with a melancholy face: "Because... we are smarter?"

"Smarter?" Chen Min shook his head slightly: "The brain-to-body ratio of dolphins is closer to humans; elephants have complex social structures and emotions; crows can make tools and are also smarter—they are not stupid."

"But they have never built the Great Wall, the Pyramids, nor written 'Journey to the West' or 'Dream of the Red Chamber', and they have never tried to fly to Mars!"

Chen Min walked to his seat, his voice sounding somewhat relieved.

"My previous refutation might have been wrong."

"Perhaps Xiaoyu's brother is right. We are indeed smart, but smart enough to be directed in a different direction from the beginning—our intelligence is not used to better adapt to the cycle, but to question the cycle, resist the cycle, and even jump out of the cycle."

"The starting point of all this is the thought carved into the bottom layer of our consciousness, which animals do not have: [I will die, I am very afraid of the fact of death, so I must do something to resist this death imposed by the Heavenly Dao]."

He still wanted to say...

After humans are near death, the definition of life will reach a higher level!

Many near-death patients, after returning from the hands of the Grim Reaper, become no longer afraid of death, and even super optimistic!

He felt that Jiang Zhe was correct, and those who have died once and returned are the true [Humans]!!!

Those alive now are all freaking walking corpses!

As the series of words fell, Teacher Gao Yuliang in the office and the other teachers, Zhang Yu and others, all fell into deep thought.

The truth, undeniable!

At this time, the bullet comments in the livestream room were still pouring out like a tide.

But Xiao Yu had been silent for a long, long time.

Finally, she raised her head; there was no more confusion in her eyes, but instead they became exceptionally clear.

"Brother! I have thought about it carefully. Animals feeling fear, sadness, and heartbreak when losing loved ones is all normal—but they certainly do not feel anxiety or worry while alive about the fact that [In the future I will die]."

"They live within the cycle, while we humans have jumped out of the cycle, acting as bystanders, or even destroyers of the cycle."

Xiao Yu took a deep breath and asked another question again:

"Brother, if we are so special, and our bodies are full of various design flaws..."

"Can the Theory of Evolution really still explain us humans now?"

Her question fell.

In the livestream room, the netizens who were originally thinking about the difference in the perception of death between organisms and humans.

Before they could react, they were urgently pulled into the next line of thought.