Ke Ling froze and said nothing. She suddenly had a feeling that Zhang Ye's next words might bring about a revolutionary change in her.
“Whether it is researching new magic, new Combat Techniques, or developing new magic devices, isn't the ultimate root of all this to serve humanity?”
Zhang Ye slowly turned around and looked at Ke Ling with a smile.
“But you have already deviated from this ultimate root.”
“All of your research is merely researching for the sake of research. Even if you develop a magic device that is extremely beneficial to humanity, you only research it because of a topic, a concept, or an idea, rather than truly caring about humanity.”
“Do you know what this means?”
Ke Ling did not speak. She only shook her head gently, the rate at which her pupils dilated and contracted speeding up even further.
“It means betrayal!”
“You have already betrayed and deviated from the fundamental philosophy of pursuing magic research.”
“What was originally a spacious, bright, and majestic path leading to the future has been forcefully crashed into darkness by your sudden sharp turn!”
“Why do you say that?” Ke Ling asked.
Zhang Ye smiled. “Because all research without a purpose can only exist as a concept, and researching for the sake of research cannot serve as a purpose.”
“Because it is not reality.”
“Since it is not reality, you cannot use it to create a true reality!”
“Just as you said, research only needs an opportunity. Yet it is precisely this kind of thinking, this mindset of yours, that limits the appearance of this so-called opportunity.”
“Researching for the sake of research? When you reach the point where there is nothing left to research, your vision, your path forward, and your future will be completely blocked off by your own doing. At that point, what will you use to research? What will you even research?”
Zhang Ye's words were like a sharp awl piercing into Ke Ling's heart, poking a hole through the firewall she had set up in her mind!
A roar echoed in her mind. At this moment, she felt an unprecedented coldness!
The coldness of darkness!
The coldness of confusion!
Zhang Ye had actually shattered the belief she had held onto for so long with just a few sentences!
Because she suddenly realized that her firm belief... was actually a dead end?
Unable to research, with nothing to research—such a life was undoubtedly like a dark swamp, and just the thought of it made her suffocate.
She clutched her chest and fell to her knees. Cold sweat poured from her forehead, making her already pale face look even paler.
She panted heavily, the confusion and bewilderment in her eyes growing deeper and deeper.
Why?
Why was it like this?
There was clearly nothing wrong with her body, so why did she suddenly have such a reaction?
This feeling... was too painful...
She could endure researching alone in solitude and silence for dozens of days and nights, yet she did not want to endure this kind of feeling for even a single moment.
The frequency of her pupils dilating and contracting reached its peak, and her pupils were actually tinged with a hint of red light.
It became eerie and crazed.
Zhang Ye looked at her, then slowly continued, “Do you know?”
“Actually, the so-called ultimate root... is actually a lie.”
“Because beneath the root of a root lies another root, and the same goes for the ultimate root of an ultimate root.”
“It is a cycle.”
“The so-called root is actually just a concept of humanity, a final explanation for things that cannot be explored or understood.”
“Because there is truly no way to delve into a deeper level.”
“Therefore, it is a hoax.”
“Beyond the ‘ultimate root’ I told you about, there is a ‘deeper root,’ which is your hope of breaking the deadlock.”
“That is what you truly need to research and develop.”
“What is it?” Ke Ling looked up like a drowning person clutching at a lifesaving straw, her voice carrying a trace of hysteria.
Her half-blue, half-red eyes stared intently at Zhang Ye. Though incredibly beautiful, they made one feel chilled to the bone.
Zhang Ye was indeed startled by Ke Ling's reaction.
Honestly, he hadn't expected his words to cause such a violent reaction in Ke Ling. It was as if she was constantly negating herself in the most extreme way possible, as if she wanted to... destroy herself?!
This thought filled Zhang Ye with lingering fear.
His original intention in saying those words was merely to change Ke Ling.
To make her... more like a human.
Instead of a machine.
But at this moment, Zhang Ye knew he had to proceed. Otherwise, Ke Ling might truly destroy herself in extreme self-negation!
His heart trembled violently, but his surface remained as steady as a mountain.
He slowly squatted down to look at Ke Ling at eye level.
“Emotion,” he said.
“What?” Ke Ling heard him clearly, yet she repeated the question. This was a behavior she had never exhibited before.
Highly valuing efficiency, she never asked twice about words she had already clearly heard when talking to others.
“Emotion,” Zhang Ye said again. “Human emotion!”
“This is the most fundamental root among all the roots I have discovered!”
“Do you know why humans were able to discover fire?”
“It was because their fear of the darkness forced them to pursue light, which led to the discovery of the use of fire.”
“Why do humans continuously explore the path of magic?”
“It is because humans desperately want to become stronger, which is also a manifestation of emotion!”
“Because of love, because of hate, because of fear, because of vanity...”
“It is precisely these things that have kept humanity from ever stopping their exploration of magic, thereby driving the progress of human development.”
“What I previously referred to as ‘serving humanity’ is the manifestation of emotion.”
“Look over there.” Zhang Ye pointed to a magic device.
“Its precision is extraordinary, and it can do things most people in this world cannot. But... if you just leave it there without setting a magic program, will it work on its own?”
“It will not, because it has no intelligence, let alone emotion!”
“It does not know what it should do or when. Only with human intervention can its value be fundamentally realized!”
“Without humans, it cannot work, let alone invent and create.”
“And the difference between humans and it lies in the fact that humans possess both intelligence and emotion.”
“Intelligence makes humans imaginative, while emotion makes humans proactive.”
“Only when all of these combine can a person possess creativity.”
“If a person only has intelligence and no emotion, then they are destined to be incomplete.”
“They are destined to be limited. Ultimately, they will only drown in their own rich imagination, unable to touch true reality.”
“The root of research is to serve humanity, and the root of humanity is emotion.”
“Only those who possess emotion deserve to be called human!”
“Now, do you understand?”
Ke Ling looked at Zhang Ye. The confusion in her eyes was disappearing, and the red color that had covered half of her eyes was slowly receding.
“Do I need emotion?” Ke Ling asked, as if talking to herself. “Isn't emotion the very wall that limits my research?”
“It will make me inefficient...” As she said this, she seemed to grow uncertain, her voice turning softer and softer.
“Emotion is a limitation, a shackle. But as long as you break through those shackles, you can see a bright future, and even go a step further to create the future!” Zhang Ye looked at her and said.
“Whereas if you have no emotion, although the shackles are gone, your future can only be darkness.”
“Therefore, you need emotion.”
“It allows you to feel more and experience more, thereby obtaining more opportunities.”
“You must make yourself whole in order to go further!”
Having said all this, the red in Ke Ling's eyes completely vanished, replaced by clear blue eyes.
“Then, how do I obtain emotion?” Ke Ling asked.
Zhang Ye shook his head gently and smiled. “I cannot give you an answer to this question, because after all, I am not you.”
“This requires you to establish a research topic of your own, and then research and develop it just as you do with magic devices.”
“I believe that when you discover and obtain it, what it brings you will be a sense of satisfaction like you have never felt before.”
Zhang Ye reached his hand out to her. Ke Ling looked at him, and after a moment, she extended her hand and placed it on Zhang Ye's warm, large hand, allowing him to gently pull her up.
Ke Ling's hand was very cold, like cold machinery.
But Zhang Ye believed that one day in the future, she would possess warmth.
This was his original intention.
...
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