I will be stronger after the remake

Tang Ping immediately recalled that before she communicated with the Arhat statue, Ling Chong had pricked it with a needle, and she thought that the needle was the "key" to break the restriction.

Ling Chong continued, "Fourth-level psionicists can't possibly make a move. After all, you've experienced the effects of the Arhat statue; it's just so-so. At most, it's attractive to first- and second-level psionicists. So, they want to eliminate our Security Department first, and then steal the key to lift the restriction from us. Then they can move the Arhat statue away safely and escape abroad before the other official psionicists can react."

Tang Ping asked in confusion, "How did the Guiling Sect manage to keep the news about Guiyuan Temple hidden for so long, even from the authorities, until it was leaked due to internal strife?"

"You reacted quickly and grasped the key point immediately," Ling Chong praised. "According to the criminals' confessions, the former head of the Armed Forces Department and his cronies defected to the Guiling Sect, giving them information about the Five Hundred Arhats as a pledge of allegiance."

"There's actually another link in the chain."

"It's not hard to understand. After all, he defected from the country and must be afraid of being hunted down by the country. Ordinary small countries would not dare to protect him. Guiling Sect is one of the few options he has. Moreover, compared to other organizations, Guiling Sect is known for its love of exploring mythological ruins, which makes it easier for him to sell the information about the five hundred Arhats for a good price. In contrast, national organizations such as the European Union and the United States are not interested in this kind of information."

Tang Ping recalled: "I remember that there was some kind of treaty on mutual non-exploration of mythological relics."

Ling Chong nodded and said, "That's right. It was proposed by our country that any mythical ruins that appear within the corresponding territory of our country can only be explored by the psychics of that country. Unless the psychic organization of that country issues an invitation, privately exploring the mythical ruins of another country will be regarded as an invasion, and no one will be held responsible for killing anyone who does so."

"China's psychic community is the strongest. This treaty is actually protecting the interests of other countries. If anyone does not abide by it, we will take reciprocal retaliation. The one who will suffer will be the one who suffers. Only cults and other organizations without official backgrounds dare to act recklessly."

Tang Ping thought for a moment and asked, "Why is the Guiling Cult so keen on exploring mythological ruins? I remember their main goal is to eliminate all psionicists, let spirituality return to its source, and awaken the great primordial spirit to return to the ancient ancestor. It seems to have nothing to do with mythological ruins."

Ling Chong laughed upon hearing this and said, "Without factions within the party, there are all sorts of strange things. Guiling Sect is the largest cult organization in terms of the number of members. How could it possibly unify the thoughts of everyone?"

"Moreover, the Church of the Spirits has only existed for no more than twenty years, which means it has not stood the test of history. And the psionicists are a group of people who have mastered power, and they would not believe in the existence of an omnipotent god."

"A typical example is the former head of the Armed Forces Department. He joined the Guiling Cult only to seek refuge. How could he possibly believe in any great primordial spirit?"

"In my opinion, only a small group of people truly believe in the doctrines. The rest are just using the name of the Guiling Sect to do whatever they want. For example, the treaty on mutual non-exploration of mythological relics that I just mentioned. Due to the restrictions of the treaty, it is inconvenient for official organizations of other countries to take action openly. So they simply send people to infiltrate the Guiling Sect and do some shady things under the guise of the sect. When they are caught, they say that it has nothing to do with them, just like international mercenaries."

"Of course, we still need to shout slogans on the surface, such as that mythical relics also contain spirituality, so destroying mythical relics can accelerate the awakening of the great primordial spirit, but we should just listen to these kinds of words."

Tang Ping had spent too little time at the psychic training base, focusing entirely on learning about psychic abilities, and hadn't actually read any news about it. Seeing that Ling Chong seemed to know a lot, she asked, "If this is the case with the Guiling Cult, what about the other four major cults?"

Ling Chong rarely had the chance to show off in front of Tang Ping, so he spoke eloquently: "The Creation Society is too mysterious. We can hardly see any of their people and they have little presence. But every time they make a move, it's a big deal. For example, last time they made a move, they summoned the Yellow Springs Kingdom in the Japanese Illusion Realm and opened the gate to release countless evil gods. The official spiritualists in Japan are still racking their brains about how to deal with the Yellow Springs Kingdom and often ask their country for help."

"The mission of the Spiritual Progress Research Society is very clear: to abandon all moral bottom lines in order to study psychic energy. Its own system is also very loose. However, its problem is that it has received support from many wealthy people, and even many heads of state have secretly provided shelter and experimental materials, such as those anthropomorphic creatures in Africa."

"The New Territories Alliance is similar to the Church of the Spirits, but it only accepts psychics, making it relatively pure. Moreover, its racist slogans are very inflammatory, and psychics are the beneficiaries. Therefore, many people feel that if the New Territories Alliance fails in the end, they will not suffer any loss. If it succeeds, psychics will become superior people, and they will become a privileged class, which is not a bad thing. So they simply turn a blind eye."

Tang Ping, who was undercover in the New Territories Alliance, was naturally more concerned about this one, so he asked, "It sounds like there's no reason for the New Territories Alliance to be classified as a cult."

Ling Chong said, “Their actions in the Illusionary Realm are indeed no different from those small civilian organizations. They are simply bullying the weak and fearing the strong, seeking profit and avoiding harm. But their actions in the real world are those of lawless madmen. Since they believe that psychics are superior, they can take whatever they want from ordinary people, killing and robbing them in broad daylight, and raping other people’s wives and daughters. When they are pursued, they hide in the Illusionary Realm. Sometimes, they will even carry out terrorist attacks in retaliation.”

"While the vast majority of psionicists wouldn't mind creating a world where psionicists have privileges, it's a different story if their relatives and friends are murdered and raped by the New Territories Alliance. So in the end, they also become cults, hated by everyone."

Tang Ping thought to herself, "That sounds just like feminism."

Feminists are making baseless accusations to gain special privileges for women. As an ordinary woman, I neither support nor oppose them, and I'll just quietly enjoy the benefits. However, if Didi were to introduce an option for female passengers to choose female drivers, as a female driver, I would resolutely oppose it because it would harm my interests!

"It sounds like heinous crimes, even worse than the Guiling Cult, but there seem to be very few crimes related to the New Territories Alliance in the country."

"Now that you mention it..." Ling Chong recalled seriously for a moment, then nodded and said, "Indeed, the most recent incident dates back to five years ago. Although there is strict control in China, it is not easy for major cult organizations to place people, but the New Territories Alliance has almost disappeared in China. They may have made an internal decision to give up sending people to China to cause trouble."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ping became even more puzzled about Zhou Canglan's true purpose. Judging from his words and actions that day, he seemed to have no sense of belonging to the New Territories Alliance and only wanted to use it as a shell.

But given the terrible reputation of the New Territories Alliance, why doesn't it use another shell? What are the reasons behind this?

These questions were clearly beyond Ling Chong's ability to answer, so Tang Ping kept them to himself for the time being, deciding to investigate them secretly in the future.

After Ling Chong returned to the mortal world, Tang Ping practiced the "Zen Sea Sword Technique" in the Illusionary Realm. He had no problems with the seven moves: Cloud Thunder Drum Lightning, Rain of Sweet Dew, Universal Illumination of the World, Wisdom Sun Breaking Through Darkness, Brahma Flame Eradicating Karmic Obstacles, Compassionate Body Precept Thunder Shock, and Compassionate Intent Wonderful Great Cloud. He not only perfectly deduced them but also made adjustments according to his own qualities. However, the ultimate move, "Zen Mind Illuminates Three Thousand Kalpas," was limited by his spiritual power cultivation and could not be used. Even though he had mastered the method of channeling energy, it was useless.

"I feel that one needs to advance to the second stage to be qualified to use it, and even then, it has to be at the late stage of the second stage. This move consumes too much spiritual power."

Furthermore, even though Tang Ping used the Zen Sea Sword Technique, which was more suitable for him, its destructive power was still inferior to that of the scarred monk. He could only attribute this to the unique nature of the spiritual world, which amplified the power of the moves.

After exhausting all her spiritual power, Tang Ping returned to the mortal world.

As soon as I got back to the hotel, my father said, "We're going back to our hometown tomorrow to sweep your mother's grave. You should come with us."

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Tang Ping's mother's death. Every year, Tang Zheng comes to sweep her grave, sometimes with Tang Ping, sometimes without.

"Mm." Tang Ping had no reason to refuse.

……

“I, your father, funded the construction of this road back then, so the villagers named it Zhengzheng Road. Back then, money was quite valuable. To build this road, I sold my house and spent all my savings. Fortunately, there were government support policies at the time, otherwise I would have had to borrow money.”

“I hear it every time I go home, and I’m so tired of hearing it.”

"Haha, it hurt my heart to spend that money, so I remember it vividly."

Tang Zheng took his son to his hometown. He grew up on the kindness of many families. Although he moved away from his hometown more than ten years ago, he always kept this kindness in his heart. Every year he would bring back big bags and small packages to give gifts to the elders who had helped him and chat with them.

"Sigh, there are more and more elderly people and fewer and fewer young people in the village. Even the nearby schools are starting to be closed down."

Tang Zheng sighed deeply.

"This is an inevitable trend, there's no way around it. People naturally gravitate towards better places. Big cities are more convenient than rural areas, and you can earn more money there. The only way to retain people is to follow the example of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in developing new rural areas. But Jiangsu and Zhejiang can do that because their economies are developed and attract people from other provinces."

Comparing this to the development on Earth in his previous life, Tang Ping realized that this trend would not only not slow down in the next few years, but would intensify, especially with the decrease in newborns and the increasing frequency of school closures and mergers.

"That's true, but... wait, why are there lights up ahead?"

Tang Zheng sped up and drove over, only to find that a car and a truck had collided and caught fire, and the front of the car was stuck, making it impossible to open the doors.

"There are still people inside the car, son, help rescue them!"

Chapter 173 Good Deeds Be Rewarded

Tang Zheng slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching against the ground. Once the car stopped, without even turning off the engine, he quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, pulled the handbrake, opened the door, and ran towards the burning sedan.

Some passersby had stopped and stood around, their faces filled with helplessness. Some covered their mouths, unable to believe what they were seeing. Some took out their phones and frantically dialed for help. Many wanted to rush forward to save people, but were also afraid, since a car on fire was no longer an ordinary traffic accident.

As Tang Zheng approached, a pungent smell of burning filled the air, and the fire grew increasingly fierce. Through the car window, he saw that the driver of the car was unconscious, with blood flowing from his forehead.

In the back seat, a woman tightly clutched her baby, her face filled with terror. When she saw someone approaching, her eyes instantly lit up with a glimmer of hope, and she cried out desperately, "Save us! Please!"

Tang Zheng tried to pull the car door, only to find that it was severely deformed from the impact and wouldn't budge no matter how hard he pulled.

Seeing this, the woman inside the car looked on in despair. She pressed a button in frustration, but nothing happened.

Tang Zheng exhaled a breath of stale air, his face showing no anxiety or panic, and turned to say, "Son, it's your turn to make a move."

"Don't sound like the coach is sending out an ace player."

In the emergency, Tang Ping was too lazy to operate carefully. He stepped forward and pressed down on the car door. He unleashed his hidden strength, and even though half of the car was pinned down, it still shook. The car door made a sound like metal breaking, and then fell down with a "bang".

The woman inside the car was stunned, not realizing what had happened.

"What are you spacing out for? Come out here!"

Tang Zheng quickly pulled the person out of the car, while Tang Ping went to break down the front door.

This scene caused the surrounding passersby to widen their eyes and burst into a gasp of amazement.

"Wow, what kind of force is that? It actually pulled the car door off!"

"It's just like in the movies."

"The young man doesn't look very strong. Could he be a defective product?"

Several hesitant passersby were encouraged by what they saw and ran over without hesitation, ready to lend a hand at any time.

The woman only came to her senses after her feet touched solid ground. She hugged her child tightly and cried out, "My husband is still up there! Please save him!"

"Okay, we'll rescue him soon. You should get away from here quickly, the car could explode at any time."

"But, but..."

The woman kept her eyes fixed on her husband inside the car and refused to leave. Passersby tried to persuade her to leave, but to little avail.

This wasn't the first time Tang Zheng had encountered a similar situation, and he knew the best course of action. His face immediately darkened with anger, and he roared, "Get out of here! Don't get in our way and delay our rescue! Get out of here!"

"Oh? Oh!"

The woman was startled and quickly ran to the roadside with her child in her arms.

Tang Ping entered the car and found that the driver was trapped. Forcibly pulling him out would only worsen his injuries, but this did not deter him. He violently dismantled the seat, tore off the steering wheel, and then, together with his father, lifted the person out of the car.

Several passersby wanted to help, but couldn't get a hand in it, and were so anxious they were scratching their heads.

Just as they moved the people to a safe area, the car suddenly burst into flames with a loud "bang," engulfing the entire vehicle and emitting thick smoke. Onlookers gasped in shock and took out their phones to capture the thrilling scene.

Tang Zheng had learned first aid. After laying the unconscious driver flat on the ground with his son, they asked passersby for water and towels to stop the driver's bleeding.

"Thank you so much! If you hadn't appeared in time, my whole family wouldn't be alive. You are our saviors!"

The woman handed the child to a passerby and knelt down to kowtow.

Tang Zheng quickly stopped him, saying, "I appreciate your kindness, but there's no need for you to kowtow. Your husband looks fine from the outside, but we need to check for internal bleeding. Now, let's wait for the ambulance."

Even after the woman got up, she continued to express her gratitude.

Passersby were full of praise, and some even came up to ask Tang Ping how she did it, wondering if she had practiced martial arts.

After a while, the ambulance arrived, lifted the driver into it, and asked Tang Zheng and his son if they were injured and if they needed to go to the hospital for a check-up.

The woman extended a sincere invitation, saying she would cover the examination fees.

"No need, we're not injured. You should focus on getting treatment."

Tang Zheng did not respond to the other party's request for contact information, and quickly pulled Tang Ping away in the car.

While sensing the increase in Lingge's interpretability, Tang Ping said, "Didn't you say that if you did a good deed, you should announce it to the whole world? Why did you choose to do a good deed anonymously this time?"

"Nonsense, do you think I don't know I'm a reporter? If you stay any longer, you can forget about visiting your mother's grave today. You can't exactly sneak into the cemetery at night, can you?"

Twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the cemetery.

The father and son entered carrying a fruit basket. The security guard glanced at them and then looked away without asking any further questions.

Tang Zheng arrived at his wife's tombstone, arranged the flowers and fruit, lit candles and incense, and then took out a stack of paper money from the bottom of the basket, burning it in three piles.

Burning paper money is not allowed in cemeteries. Usually, three large iron buckets are placed at the entrance, and family members are required to burn the paper money inside.

But today is neither the Lantern Festival nor Qingming Festival, so the gatekeepers are too lazy to care. After all, modern cemeteries are all made of cement, so it's difficult for a fire to break out. They simply turn a blind eye.

As Tang Zheng offered incense, he murmured, "Xiao Shuang, we saved a few more people today. Don't worry, your son is no ordinary person. We're not in any danger..."

Then, Tang Ping also lit incense, praying that his mother could rest in peace and that she would bless the father and son with safety, and so on.

After the paper money had burned out, Tang Zheng extinguished the candles, kicked away the remaining ashes, and drove back.

The car had barely started moving when the sky suddenly darkened, and large raindrops began to pelt against the car windows. Soon, the rain blurred the view.

"Look, the rain came at just the right time, right after we finished sweeping the tombs. This is a good reward for doing good deeds," Tang Zheng said proudly.

Tang Ping glanced at him and said, "What you're saying is so unmaterialistic; you don't even believe it yourself."

"Haha, one cannot live too pessimistically; one must always have some hopeful expectations. Bentham and Mill, among other utilitarians, advocated the 'maximum happiness principle,' believing that the value of moral behavior lies in the sum of its utility. If good people do not receive good rewards, it may mean that the overall social welfare has not reached its optimal state. However, this does not negate the legitimacy of the behavior itself. The 'tragedy of the commons' phenomenon in modern game theory precisely confirms the necessity of a systematic reward mechanism."

What is the tragedy of the commons?

Tang Ping is quite knowledgeable compared to his peers, but he is still far behind his father, who is the type who spends all his time in the library after going to university.

"The tragedy of the commons is an article published by American scholar Harding in the journal Science in 1968. He said that there was a land system in Britain where feudal lords would set aside a piece of uncultivated land in their own territory as pasture and open it to herders free of charge. This was originally a good thing for the people, but because it was free grazing, each herder raised as many cattle and sheep as possible. As the number of cattle and sheep increased without restraint, the commons pasture eventually became barren due to overgrazing, and all the herders' cattle and sheep eventually starved to death."

Tang Zheng answered the questions as fluently as if reciting a text from memory.

Tang Ping pondered, "Judging from the ending of the story, good deeds may not necessarily be rewarded, or even have a good outcome. This is not something a selfless person should say."

Tang Zheng laughed and continued, "In contrast, there was the infamous enclosure movement."

"I know that, sheep eat people, it's written in the textbook."

"But what the textbooks don't say is that after the growing pains of the Enclosure Movement, the British were surprised to find that the pastures had improved and the British as a whole had increased their income. As land ownership was established and land changed from public to private, the owners managed the land more efficiently. For the long-term benefit, the landowners would do their best to maintain the quality of the pastures. It was from the Enclosure Movement that Britain gradually developed into the British Empire."

"Are you saying that evil deeds can lead to good results? No, from the perspective of the nation, a stronger nation is indeed a good result, but from the perspective of the herders, they become the sacrifices, which is not a good result. Child laborers in the Victorian era, whose average lifespan was only 15 years, would certainly disagree with this statement."

"Indeed, good and evil are judged by personal morality, but at the national level, it is difficult to judge them by good and evil."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

"As a father, of course I hope my son will be a good person who does good deeds. But as a journalist, I also know very well that being a good person does not necessarily bring good rewards. In today's materialistic society, it may be easier to become a superior person by eating other people's flesh. But what kind of father teaches his son to do evil?"

Tang Ping said thoughtfully, "Dad, I haven't heard of the tragedy of the commons abroad, but I know about Fan Pang's tragic death in China."

Tang Zheng was slightly embarrassed upon hearing this, but still continued, "I just want to tell you that when you do good deeds, don't have the idea of ​​'good reward' in mind. Either be more pragmatic and ask for compensation after doing good deeds, or be more noble and do good deeds only to achieve success without seeking anything in return. Only religions advocate 'good deeds will be rewarded' because it is easier to brainwash people, or rather, it is easier to make people feel at ease."

Tang Ping asked, puzzled, "Then why did you just say that rain is a good reward for doing good deeds?"

Tang Zheng said, "Because I want to put my mind at ease."

However, you yourself don't believe it.

Tang Ping recalled the feedback from the lie-detecting psychic ability earlier and was momentarily at a loss for how to react.

Suddenly, Tang Zheng slammed on the brakes.