What’s going on?
Club Q, who finally snapped back to his senses from shock, turned to look around.
Everywhere in this room inside the Mil Emperor Building were servers and computers; it was also the eting place for him and Spade Q.
Not long ago, due to a failed plan, Spade Q had already left to handle another matter, signaling Spade Q’s utter defeat.
Club Q looked behind him at the display wall, where countless screens all showed the sa words—
"I am Zero."
The sight of these densely packed, identical words on so many monitors filled Club Q with an instinctive fear.
A hacker? A hacker stronger than himself? Impossible... such a thing didn’t exist!
If it were just a simple hacker, how could they breach his information defense technology, which was years ahead of humankind?
It wasn’t just pure information defense. If Spade Q had been preparing for a long ti to beco a monster by collecting Evil Fallen from various places and using Rotten Stitching to create the ultimate monster... then he had been preparing for even longer.
Through information technology, he had obtained nurous important personnel details and had begun together with Spade Q to control the human elite, influencing various policies since a few years back.
At the sa ti, assuming multiple identities, he published papers as a researcher to remodel so regions.
It could be said that the real chanical Descending God wasn’t a hacker’s ga but a revolution of human technology.
To achieve this, he and Spade Q had been manipulating the world all along, occasionally sharing so technology far ahead of the tis.
The aim was, of course, not to benefit humanity but to maximize terror when the ti ca for chanical Descending God.
Even if human hackers possessed talents ahead of their ti, they could not penetrate these systems they never even knew existed in such a short period.
Spade Q’s goal was to control the military and governnt to spark conflict between humans and the forces inside the mist.
But his own thoughts were more comprehensive, using Spade Q to enact a technological reform.
This also made it possible for the chanical Descending God to bring all-encompassing fear to humanity.
In aspects of life, work, and even military.
But why... did things turn out this way?
Finally, there was a change in the text on the monitors.
"The chanical Descending God begins."
Seconds later, all the monitors switched to different places around the world.
And the supercomputer in front of Club Q displayed Galaxy Plaza in Sanchez City.
As the countdown reached its end, he had thought that the giant screen in the plaza would display the scene of destruction, but now—Club Q could only stare in astonishnt.
Because on the huge screen appeared a virtual image.
A 2D character with a smiling mask popped up on the screen.
"Hello, people of the world, my na is Zero, or you can call ’Light Arrow Knight.’"
At that mont, all the people who were shocked by the bright lights a short while ago burst into celebration.
...
...
The technological reform, for humans, ant that in these few years, Club Q had brought devices like those from an alien civilization into this world.
They were so far ahead of the tis that they couldn’t be cracked in the short term.
But for Zero, it was like a modern person taking a calculator back to an era where calculators were still made of beads and wires.
Especially the technological reform, which gave Zero a great advantage because rely controlling information wasn’t enough; without the corresponding hardware changes, many things could not succeed even if the software would allow it.
A clever chef can’t cook without rice.
And in order to achieve the chanical Descending God, Club Q and Spade Q had spent many years unwittingly doing the work for Zero...
How does the saying go again? If you have a tool working hard and you don’t exploit it, are you even human?
So, Zero exploited it.
Behind Club Q, huddled outside the house, were people from all around the world who, after being terrified by various supernatural ho appliances in the past few days, had beco convinced that the farther away from the internet one was, the safer it would be.
The mont the lights suddenly ca on, they thought the terror hadn’t spared them and had followed them like a shadow.
But in this mont, as the virtual avatar, "animated-style Zero" with a mask appeared, the gazes of the people instantly shifted.
Zero’s voice was virtually identical to that of the virtual Zero.
"In recent days, many bizarre phenona have appeared, instilling fear in everyone. Talk of the apocalypse and an approaching distortion has brought imnse panic. But you all need not fear,"
"because it’s all over now. Next, I will tell you about your current situation; there is no need to fear. You must understand, 700 years ago, before the descent of Hei Wu, Sheng Country experienced what you have. No, it was an even more brutal ordeal."
Zero spoke calmly, and upon finally reaching the scene, Bai Wu, hidden in the shadows, didn’t even know what to do. He could only watch as the virtual avatar that Zero ntioned before really appeared, wearing the mask that only he and Lin Rui possessed...
His emotions were complex.
He thought... that probably in the future, this mask, if turned into rchandise, would sell like hotcakes.
Bai Wu remained silent.
Over the past half-year, people outside the mist had experienced too much fear, and continuing to hide it now was not very aningful.
Zero’s approach was the correct one: to lay everything out on the table and at the sa ti, bring hope to humanity.
The virtual Zero began to relay the twisted events brought about by Hei Wu.
And on a distant small island, Zhao too was watching this scene unfold.
"Is this the new ntor you’ve acknowledged? Why does he feel like a lodramatic teenager..."
"Boss, you must respect him!" Jiang Ling said earnestly.
Not long ago, this girl had been in a state of "if my boss finds Zero, won’t I beco useless?"
But just before Club Q was about to perform chanical Descending God, Zero took the initiative to contact Jiang Ling.
It was right after Bai Wu had left for the cruise ship, when Zero had assigned Bai Wu the task of stopping the cruise ship. He then began looking for a "servant among n."
When the words "I am Zero" once again appeared on the computer monitor, Jiang Ling was both fearful and excited, tentatively probing:
"Are you the sa... the Zero from last ti?"
Zero began to speak with Jiang Ling.
Although he wasn’t particularly interested in humans, because he needed a qualified tool, soone who could understand the language of machinery to the greatest extent, Zero was still earnestly starting to explain.
As the explanation went on, many concepts that Jiang Ling couldn’t understand erged, but as a top-tier genius hacker, she felt a sense of shock and beauty that made Zhao’s top female hacker, a girl whose highest mission was to assist her boss, beco Zero’s first fan.
A fanatical one.
Zero also assigned many tasks to Jiang Ling, and for better cooperation, she ended up watching the whole process of the counter-invasion of Club Q.
How to describe this feeling?
It was as if a small beast that had just grown fangs witnessed a tiger wreaking havoc in the forest of information.
The impression Club Q gave to Jiang Ling was that of an invincible tiger.
But when Zero appeared... it was like a titanic eye erging from the vast mist.
She couldn’t see the full extent of Zero, this monster that seed even more imnse than the entire information forest itself, not even its outline could be fully discerned at a glance.
But she could feel that, whether it was herself or that tiger, they were both far too insignificant in its presence.
How could a computer enthusiast ever believe in deities? Mathematics was her understanding of the world.
But now, she believed!
Zero was the deity of machinery!
Apart from witnessing an almost crushingly decisive information war that spanned countless eras, Jiang Ling also received a very simple yet tedious task.
Utilizing Zhao’s production team, accurate samples were taken in a short ti, establishing the most realistic architectural models from around the world, as well as human models.
With Zero’s help, there was no need to worry about the massive data sampling. A team produced a "explosion simulator" within a short ti.
It could simulate the scene of areas being destroyed by missiles. In fact, there was no need for this. When Jiang Ling asked for the reason, Zero said:
"It’s not necessary, but it can kill both body and soul."
And so, after more than ten days—
Club Q witnessed the scene of countless missiles bombing Johnson Island... In fact, it was just a simulation.
A hollow joy provided by Zero to a tool.
The leaders of various countries did experience a crisis and fear, but soon after, mbers from the defense departnt brought news—all missile wells were disard, and the crisis was averted!
But from that mont on, every image that Club Q saw was no longer real.
Zero was like a master of illusion, letting Club Q imrse in the delusions he loved, thinking he controlled everything.
If Bai Wu hadn’t appeared at the normal ti, Zero could have let Club Q be happy for a while longer, making the soul-crushing blow more effective when it ca.
He didn’t mind letting Jiang Ling simulate explosions in places like inan, Aulora, and Fuyue Old Island for Club Q to appreciate, making Club Q believe he had instilled fear in the whole world.
However, Bai Wu was quite successful; before the explosions on Johnson Island had finished, Bai Wu had already reached his destination.
...
...
In Sanchez City, Galaxy Plaza, more and more people were pouring into the square, eager to witness the great Light Arrow Knight.
They all gathered under the giant television advertisent wall, not quite worshiping as one would a deity, but definitely with the look of gazing upon a savior.
Zero narrated the tale of the twisted invasion, how humanity fell into fear ti and again, but this fear was quickly dispelled by Zero himself.
"In the following ti, I will have my team collaborate with to start manufacturing Evil Fallen detection devices. The pranks involving so-called twists and doomsday that troubled everyone a few days ago have been completely eradicated by .
At the sa ti, any object that can be controlled through remote networking devices will have a certain intelligence feedback capability. If Evil Fallen is detected, an alarm will imdiately be triggered, and I will also receive the feedback."
"When facing Evil Fallen, your location will first be sent to all local surveillance, and my team will arrange a rescue as quickly as possible. Don’t panic in the face of Evil Fallen, because panic is what they love most."
"Stay calm and wait for rescue. Next, I hope that all those who gained superpowers in this twist yet still retain a human form, I will be sending out invitations gradually not long from now. If you accept the invitation, you will join in becoming a hero to protect humanity. Together, we will form an alliance and crush the source of the distortion."
"Of course, I respect your personal wishes as well. You can refuse such an invitation, but my partners and I will never give up on protecting you."
Bai Wu felt a touch moved when he heard this.
Zero usually held contempt for humanity, so these words were not easily spoken.
"It seems that you’ve invited here just to appreciate your ’virtual image’?"
[I am not too willing to appear in front of humans. Having just a virtual image is not enough; I still need you to be my physical presence.]
Bai Wu smiled, thinking, so I don’t even need to take action?
When he heard Zero speak of the crisis occurring while on the cruise, Bai Wu was worried that Zero couldn’t handle it...
But now, it seems that this Q... is perhaps the unluckiest of them all. Not only did he choose Zero, the strongest existence, but he also chose to compete in what Zero is best at.
This is akin to competing with the captain over who is shorter, isn’t it asking for death?
...
This chanical Descending God orchestrated by Club Q was completely dismantled by Zero. It can be said that Club Q was the most disastrously defeated among them all.
The thods he used to scare people were all remodeled by Zero into ans to protect them.
The technology reforms that he spent years controlling the high-level officials of various countries to complete beca a wedding dress for Zero.
Even the tactic planned at Galaxy Plaza to spread fear beca a ready-made location for Zero to inspire the people.
Club Q was definitely a god of information in this world, manipulating it as he pleased.
But at this mont, when he suddenly looked up, he realized that a gigantic hand covering the sky had appeared in this vast world. His every action was but a futile struggle upon this palm.
The cheers of Sanchez City were so loud that even within the well-insulated Mil Emperor Building, one could hear them clearly.
As Zero slowly dissected the situation for Club, the punk-styled hacker crumbled like corrupt software.
Shaking his head with a quiver, as if dancing a chanical routine—it was, in fact, because he couldn’t accept the reality.
"Now that humanity’s understanding of distortions deepens by the day, the alliance fighting against them is swiftly forming, thanks to your technological revolution. I’ve been able to spread this Evil Fallen detection network to every corner of the world."
"Not only that, but later on I will extend it further. Before the distortions completely cripple human technology, I aim to establish a new system of technology that humans can use in a distorted world."
"Since your defeat, your actions will beco even more difficult. The mont there’s an Evil Fallen sighting, my people will be the first to know, even faster than you."
"Data feedback suggests you have another partner, who likely has realized our existence and is seeking more powerful distortions—perhaps soone above you, like ’k’?"
Club didn’t speak, still unable to recover from the fact that he’d been utterly defeated.
"It doesn’t matter if you don’t speak, for her actions are precisely what I am hoping for. She will serve as my bait to find K. But you, you no longer have any value."
Hearing this, Club finally lifted his head and asked the screen:
"Who exactly are you? How could you possibly possess such advanced knowledge?"
This question brought a smile to Zero’s face in chanical City. He recalled Bai Wu’s words—how does one strike at the heart?
Although he had already utterly destroyed his opponent’s plans, there seed to be an even more aggravating way of drawing a line under everything.
So, in this mont, Zero took a page out of Bai Wu’s book:
"I am Zero. Isn’t this level of expertise standard for a programr?"
Club started coughing violently.
The room was plunged into complete darkness.
anwhile, on the massive pedestrian television wall of Galaxy Plaza, Bai Wu made an appearance.
Countless people captured this mont with their caras, their eyes gleaming as if they had seen a true savior.
At the sa ti, the virtual Zero began his conclusion.
"Next, we will face more and even stronger enemies. But the tragedy of Sheng Country seven centuries ago will not be repeated because I am here."
"The apocalypse will never co."
The last sentence whipped the whole plaza, even the entire world, into an uproar.
Zhao was also moved by the scene, filled with a sense of elation and comfort, as if his path was not a solitary one.
Tang Jing knew the true identity of the Light Arrow Knight. As the "container" of the Light Arrow Knight, he clenched his fists, overwheld with excitent.
...
...
Stepping into a certain city, another man who witnessed the shocking broadcast also revealed a smile.
With a cat perched on his shoulder in a western enclave, he appeared sowhat short, but the serenity in his eyes concealed a sharpness.
"The apocalypse will never co, that’s wonderful. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, and he’s caused quite a stir, hasn’t he?"
"Shall I take you to et a friend?"
The man turned slightly to speak to the cat on his shoulder. The cat squinted lazily, with a look that said you make the call.
...
In another city, a woman so beautifully alluring that it stoked desire in watchers, saw the sa scene unfold.
She was so ravishing that even people exhilarated by the hero found their attention forcibly diverted by her charm.
Even the beauty mark at the corner of her eye did not detract from her allure but seed to serve as an embellishnt.
But when soone attempted to approach her, the woman with the beauty mark gave a look that sent a shiver down their spines.
She was a rose with thorns.
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