Amidst the excitement of the viewers,
the live stream continued—
though the appearance of the image became increasingly infrequent.
With the advent of modernity, 'Happiness'—Mr. Qi's consciousness grew less frequent.
What it could do, also grew less.
Even sometimes,
when it woke up, it would sit in place, lost in thought.
Though merely a fixation, it began to develop a bewildered consciousness.
It sat in a busy plaza.
Looking at the tall buildings before it, watching people bustling between shops;
watching a little girl holding a candied hawthorn follow her mother, saying in a crisp voice: "Mommy, walk slower."
Watching the street vendors, soliciting customers.
In its ears,
music, voices, and the sounds of machinery intertwined.
Noisy, yet it displayed another kind of liveliness and prosperity.
"Miss, would you like some cotton candy?"
At this moment, the cotton candy vendor noticed the young lady beside him.
She sat on a public bench in the plaza, appearing to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
Wearing light makeup, a white shirt paired with off-white wide-leg pants.
She just kept looking ahead, as if waiting for someone, or lost in thought.
Since no one was buying cotton candy for the moment, the vendor casually asked.
"..."
The lady slowly turned her head and glanced at him.
Shook her head.
Then stood up and left.
...
'Happiness,' following the original owner's memories in its mind,
took a taxi by the roadside, paid the fare.
Returned to the residential area.
It watched the people hurrying along.
As it walked inside, it felt confused.
People nowadays had enough to eat and wear.
Convenient lives, safe living environments.
But why...
why did they spend more time feeling worried and pained than happy?
Why were there more people with troubled expressions than joyful ones?
Why was the air filled with a low pressure, negative emotion?
Were they...
unhappy?
Despite possessing all these wonderful things.
Despite possessing... everything the people of Xiangshui Village did not.
Suddenly, a person with a face full of irritation walked towards it.
It instinctively stopped the person and asked:
"Why aren't you happy?"
The woman who was stopped was wearing a black business suit, her steps hurried.
Her mood was already agitated.
Hearing this inexplicable question, she rolled her eyes.
"Who are you! What's it to you?"
Then she directly bypassed 'Happiness' and walked straight ahead.
"..."
Watching the woman hurry away, 'Happiness' remained silent.
It could only hear the woman muttering resentfully as she walked:
"Tuition fees, tutoring fees, class fees... Wang Beibei, how much you cost me in a year! And you dare to mess around at school!"
"See if I don't teach you a good lesson this time!"
...
'Happiness' withdrew its gaze and continued walking into the residential area.
Halfway through,
a tall, thin man, talking on the phone, ran past.
"Hey Mr. Wang, I'm coming right away, I'm coming right away!"
"Okay, okay, I'll resolve it immediately!"
It continued forward.
Entering the building where this body resided.
Before entering the house, it heard a dispute from the next door.
"Mom, I told you I don't want to go on blind dates! I don't want to go on blind dates!"
"If you don't want to go on blind dates, why don't you bring a boyfriend back?! When you're twenty-seven or twenty-eight, I'll see who wants you!"
"Is it okay if I don't get married! I won't get married!"
"You don't get married... how can a woman not get married, you, you'll be old, who will take care of you!"
"I'll earn my own money and go to a nursing home!"
Bang—!
A loud door slam came from next door.
"..."
'Happiness' paused, then opened the door before it.
Entered, closed the door.
Sat in front of the sofa, looking at the various modern furnishings in the room.
Mobile phone, television, rice cooker, refrigerator...
This era was indeed very good.
But, it seemed unrelated to happiness.
Why were they not happy?
Could it be... it was wrong from the start?
Had it taken the wrong path from the very beginning??
What should it do for everyone to be happy?
A great sense of confusion began to envelop it, layer by layer.
...
...
"I say... does any of this look familiar to you guys?"
At first, the viewers hadn't noticed.
They were still wondering what 'Mr. Qi' would do this time.
But as they ventured deeper into the residential area, they gradually discovered...
It seemed they had been here before?
No, it seemed they had seen it before?
"Huh... isn't this Happiness Residential Area? It seems like a few months ago? The streamer came here."
"I remember, at that time there was a [Spirit] here that would influence people and create a wrong view of happiness!"
"Wasn't the streamer also influenced then?"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"
With one comment after another,
the viewers quickly recalled that incident.
No wonder, no wonder when 'Mr. Qi' first entered the residential area.
They felt the words 'Happiness Residential Area' were somewhat familiar.
It had been quite popular online back then.
Firstly, because of the streamer's mission,
and secondly, because of the special nature of Happiness Residential Area, which was beneficial to some people with depression.
Later, when the special nature of Happiness Residential Area disappeared,
the miserable state of the original residents—chasing wives, begging bosses.
The viewers had followed and gossiped about it for quite some time.
"Wait... things don't seem simple."
Some quick-thinking viewers sat up straight.
"The [Spirit] in Happiness Residential Area back then was capable of making people feel happiness.
Mr. Qi also said things like: how to achieve happiness.
And now, he has also come to Happiness Residential Area!
Are these two things merely coincidences?!"
—If it were a coincidence, it would be too much of a coincidence!
"Holy crap, big shot, now that you mention it, it really seems so!"
"Among too many coincidences, there must be some inevitable connection!"
"But... these two seem different?"
Some viewers agreed, while others were confused.
Mr. Qi had been continuously imparting knowledge and benefiting the people.
His actions were indeed leading people towards happiness.
But before—
The [Spirit] in Happiness Residential Area, although its goal was also to make people feel happy.
It was a wrong view of happiness.
It made people directly give up their efforts, directly slack off.
Entering a brief, self-deceiving happiness.
These two were completely different!
"Could it be that they are from the same school, but have different development paths?"
"Possible."
"In an instant, there are a million possibilities~~~"
"Talent, you can even sing about this."
...
Unlike the viewers' occasional serious analysis and silly remarks.
In the Underworld.
Within the Eighteen Halls.
Xu Nan watched the scene before him, his expression solemn.
The turning point was about to arrive.
...