Chapter 33
The adult world was highly complex.
For instance, Cecilia would never have imagined that this opponent who kept spouting nonsense about “game equity” hadn’t actually sat down to play Tetris against him hand-to-hand. Instead, he had smoothly coded a program while chatting with him, and then let this AI program replace him in the match.
No matter how powerful an Evolver was, could they really outmatch an AI?
Especially in a game as simple as Tetris.
Three days was the absolute physical limit for Cecilia as an Evolver, but it was far from Wen Zhiyi’s limit.
During those three days, Wen Zhiyi and his team had already made the corresponding arrangements with the border Special Operations branch. They had even dispatched several tactical squads to stroll around ASEAN and American territories, openly plundering some Evolver potions along with other research data, and smoothly liberating a few “experimental subjects” along the way.
A classic case of tit-for-tat—consider it their way of returning the “hospitality” they had received lately.
The ASEAN and American factions hadn’t anticipated that China would be this ruthless this time around. By the time they realized something was wrong and wanted to recall their personnel, they discovered that they had completely lost contact with [Sage] Batu.
The Sage Tower.
“I didn’t expect that you all would deploy personally to deal with me this time,” Gentleman said, gripping his cane, staring warily at the uniformed men before him.
They were all members of the Special Operations Department, but the equipment of the central headquarters was fundamentally different from that of the local branches.
Only the highest-performing Evolvers at the local level could be selected to join the central headquarters.
As a populous nation with a talent pool that was arguably the number one in the world, how could China possibly lack a reserve of S-Class Evolvers?
On the contrary, their absolute number of S-Class Evolvers was the highest in the world.
Otherwise, how could they have made several nations unite to counter them in the past?
As a fellow S-Class Evolver, Gentleman naturally comprehended exactly who these “old friends” appearing before him were.
The two S-Class Evolvers from the [Sacred Staff] organization who had perished previously had been hunted down and terminated by this exact group of people.
“We merely escorted Director Yuan on her business trip along the way, and we’ll be heading back afterward,” the leading man noted evenly. “Our country is fundamentally different from yours; the head of state over there can be assassinated at any moment, with a fresh replacement stepping up at any time. Our schedule is exceptionally busy. Do not bring unnecessary trouble to our doorstep; just focus on developing yourselves properly.”
Gentleman tightened his grip on his cane.
Laurent and the others had already suffered severe trauma.
Batu, meanwhile, was huddled in the corner, trembling uncontrollably.
His sensory capability allowed him to comprehend with absolute clarity exactly how terrifyingly powerful this group was. He also realized that he had ultimately enraged this eastern dragon, and they were playing for keeps now.
They had originally assembled in this sector with the underlying intent of ambushing Bai Hewei, never anticipating that Cecilia’s link would suddenly drop. Right as they were preparing to launch a raid, they ran straight into an S-Class squad from the Special Operations Department instead.
“Don’t worry, the mission objectives we received this time do not include terminating you,” the man smiled. “You carry the neutralizing antidote on your person, don’t you? Hand it all over to us. Batu will remain here to be handled by us, and the rest of you will depart our borders immediately. We won’t kill you.”
“Is… Is that true?” Laurent couldn’t help but inquire.
Although she could resurrect, she had zero desire to lock horns against this group of people.
“Of course. Unlike you lawless rogues, we do not easily terminate lives without explicit orders,” the man waved his hand. “Hand over the items, beat it early, and don’t disrupt our work.”
Gentleman, Laurent, and the others exchanged glances, swiftly mapping out their current predicament.
They genuinely could not fight these people.
Left with no alternatives, they could only hand over all the potions on their person. Following that, Gentleman led Laurent and the others to tear through a spatial rift, fleeing at frantic speed.
Batu wanted to flee alongside them, but who would bother carrying him?
He was merely a jumping clown.
“Captain, we deployed so many personnel this time; it wouldn’t be a problem to completely eliminate them all,” a nearby team member couldn’t help but mutter. “Releasing the tigers back to the mountains will only bring trouble down the line.”
“The higher-ups didn’t issue an order to terminate them, so we cannot move a finger,” the captain delivered a sharp thud to his team member’s head. “Stop screaming for slaughter all the time; we are a society governed by law. Besides, if we terminate this squad of S-Class Evolvers from different nations, it will only make those countries unite more tightly to counter us.”
The more powerful an entity was, the more constraints it faced instead.
“Batu, right?” The man stepped forward, squatting slightly to look at Batu with a warm smile. “You should be capable of perceiving my supernatural ability, right?”
Batu shuddered, staring at the man before him with intense fear. A long moment passed before he finally managed to squeeze out a single word: “Yes.”
“If you can, it shows you still have a bit of utility,” the man smiled, patting his cheek. “Remaining alive carries value for you. When Bai Hewei makes his move later, you will thoroughly help us perceive his ability profile.”
This deployment to the border was merely a play by the higher-ups to observe exactly what supernatural ability Bai Hewei possessed, along with his personal mindset.
Certain nations leveraged medication to control Evolvers, while others used material interests to shackle them.
But their country, aside from leveraging benefits and honors, preferred above all to cultivate this group of Evolvers’ devotion and loyalty toward the state.
The more critical the crisis, the more it tested human nature.
Only then could one observe the true color of a person’s character.
An Evolver possessing capability but lacking virtue could be exploited by them, but would absolutely never earn their trust.
And everything Bai Hewei had done up to this point actually scored exceptionally high marks in the eyes of the leadership committee.
It wasn’t as if only those Evolvers aiming to carve out a magnificent career were considered assets.
A “mundane personality” like Bai Hewei—who abided by order, loved peace, remained content with a modest lifestyle while harboring a tiny bit of greed for cash, and thoroughly loved his rest—was, in their eyes, the absolute finest asset one could ever find.
Loving peace and preferring stability was spectacular.
Only with this profile would he continuously exert effort just to safeguard his current life.
“This Evolver Potion formulation—once you inject it, you can never break free from the neutralizing antidote for the rest of your life, unless a massive breakthrough triggers in technological advancement down the line to thoroughly purge the toxin for you,” the man noted with a pleasant smile. “Moving forward, your neutralizing antidote will be purchased from us. May we have an amicable partnership.”
Batu remained silent for a long while before slowly extending his hand. “May we have an amicable partnership.”
He comprehended that following today, he would likely cease to be the [Sage] of his nation, and every shred of his ultra-luxurious treatment would be stripped away.
Even if he hadn’t harbored thoughts of betrayal, he had no way of explaining his stance anymore.
On the other side, inside the border Special Operations branch.
The perimeter surrounding Dormitory Building 1 had been completely cleared out, but the entire leadership committee had already assembled on-site.
“It’s been three days. The Research Institute stated that this was the exact window,” a director ran a hand over his hair. Sensing the widening gap along his parting line, a wave of sorrow well up in his chest.
These three days had genuinely been grueling for them.
On one hand, they had to coordinate with the central headquarters; on the other hand, they had to manage the daily operations of this branch.
Because Dormitory Building 1 couldn’t be breached, a mountain of personnel had no way of returning to their quarters, forcing them to be reassigned to cram into other dorm structures, which naturally bred a mountain of friction.
Furthermore, they had to manage public opinion, ensuring no rumors leaked out.
The higher-ups required them to compile data logs twice a day; they had lost track of how many times they had revised the reporting materials alone.
Fortunately, the three days had finally passed, and the clouds were finally parting to reveal the dawn.
The gaming loop encircling Dormitory Building 1 dissolved inch by inch before everyone’s eyes.
The containment was officially lifted.
Inside Dormitory Building 1, Bai Hewei watched Wang Zhengrong and the others regain consciousness.
“Why am I standing here?”
“Didn’t I lose the match?”
Including Wang Zhengrong, the five individuals who had previously lost to Cecilia woke up completely.
“You didn’t commit a single mistake throughout the entire match, and your inputs didn’t even slow down! You cheated, you absolutely cheated!” Cecilia screamed, unable to believe that he had suffered such a sweeping, absolute defeat.
“But the system didn’t flag me as a cheater, because I similarly leveraged my own capability to beat you,” Wen Zhiyi’s voice sounded exceptionally flat. “You deployed your supernatural ability, while I deployed my intellect. Both actions relied strictly on our own baseline attributes without enlisting external aid, so naturally, my victory stands.”
Cecilia couldn’t find a single argument to counter him.
Yes. If the adversary before him had truly leveraged someone else’s strength to compete, the system rules would have absolutely triggered a restriction.
The fact that no restriction triggered implied that this setup was entirely a manifestation of the opponent’s individual strength.
“Those Evolvers standing behind you—can they not regain consciousness?” Bai Hewei couldn’t help but inquire. “I assumed they would be liberated alongside everyone else.”
“They perished long ago; it is merely their profiles and capabilities that remain inside my game matrix,” Cecilia’s face was deathly pale. He knew that after losing consecutive matches, he carried zero leverage to resist anymore. “The moment they lose the game, their physical bodies dissolve into a comatose sleep. Did you honestly believe the Evolvers of every nation enjoyed the exact same treatment as you all? Even if someone suffers critical trauma and turns into a vegetative state, do they still get to be cared for inside a top-tier Evolver hospital?”
No. For the vast majority of nations, an Evolver was merely a disposable consumable and a highly destructive element that bred instability.
The moment their consciousness was lost and they couldn’t be reawakened, they ceased to possess any utility value.
Cecilia had suffered an utter defeat. Once his game failed, he was stripped of any offensive capability.
In reality, he was merely a minor who did nothing but play video games.
Catching sight of the lack of trauma on the boy’s body, Bai Hewei felt a trace of relief inside.
At the very least, it couldn’t be logged as him bullying a minor.
“The leaders are all gathered outside; they’re telling us to hurry out,” Wang Zhengrong said, checking his watch, which was completely packed with missed calls and messages.
“Secure him. The Research Institute will step in to take custody of his profile later,” Wen Zhiyi instructed.
“Furthermore, we have already lost a considerable amount of time. Let’s depart quickly to avoid keeping the personnel outside waiting in anxiety.”
Wang Zhengrong and the others swung into action immediately, fishing out a set of handcuffs from who-knows-where to securely bind Cecilia.
The moment they stepped out of Dormitory Building 1, they were met by a dense wall of personnel encircling the structure.
Not only were they fully armed, but transport helicopters were also hovering in the airspace above.
The surrounding tanks, rocket launchers, and artillery arrays were fully in position.
The moment one stepped outside, they could sense that their physical forms were completely locked down by multiple targeting grids. A single command could reduce someone to a literal honeycomb.
The surrounding forces stood in strict battle readiness, deeply terrified that the entity stepping past the threshold might be a hostile S-Class Evolver.
A scene of this scale was something Bai Hewei had only ever observed within high-budget action films or military parades.
Staring at the display, Bai Hewei subconsciously held up both hands.
Me! I am a state-certified Outstanding Youth—an absolute law-abiding citizen!
