Psychics don't die from gunfire

Chapter 829: The Aftermath
Song Shi had a dream.

It really was a dream.

When he woke up, he found that he had no concrete memory of it, only vague images. When his thoughts wandered, he seemed to be able to figure them out, but when he actually wanted to go and see for himself, he couldn't see them at all.

It felt like a severe hangover.

My head is throbbing badly.
Are there any long-term effects?

Song Shi opened his eyes.

The first thing that came into view was the white ceiling, but upon sniffing, the air was quite clean, without the distinctive disinfectant smell of a hospital. Song Shi sat up, stared at the digital clock on the opposite wall for a few seconds, and then suddenly spoke.

"A textile machine?"

"I'm here." Then the TV on the other side lit up, displaying a very lively emoticon.

"time."

"Twenty-four days have passed since the death of the 'Awakened One' Zenru."

"It's been a little less than a month since I slept here, so it's been alright."

Song Shi rubbed his temples and gave a quick assessment of his condition. It was neither good nor bad; he currently had about 60% of his peak strength.

The final blow from Zenryu Setsuna was more like a "wear and tear" than an "injury." If you were to think of yourself as a plant, you would have your water drained and withered by the sun. You would need some time to recover and wait for your green leaves to bloom again.

“Ms. Yvette asked me to inquire whether you can confirm the complete death of ‘Zenrajana’.”

Song understood.

Although both are "consensus" of the fifth ring, if Paddy Morse had died, Yvette Gregory would never have asked this question, because the former was focused on reshaping reality and substituting his own will for the will of Heaven.

Zen and Vairocana are different.

Hackers are masters of hiding their tracks, and [Consensus] is a master of running away. So it's obvious that this "Awakener" is a top-notch player who can both run away and hide.

Even those "Consensus" beings far inferior to hers are still recognized as being extremely difficult to kill completely. Their thoughts can transform, they can multiply into countless forms, their thought entities can return, they can be corrupted by myriad demons, and they can split themselves. Throughout history, thanks to the persistent efforts of various "Consensus" masters, similar psionic techniques have long been so numerous that they are dazzling.

Given Zenraksha's demonstrated mastery of the spiritual power of consensus, such methods could be readily employed.

It should be noted that when the Buddha suppressed the Heavenly Demon, there were many instances in the history of the Eastern Continent where, on the surface, nothing had changed, but in reality, the demon had been corrupted and replaced.

"—No need to worry."

Song Shi shook his head, his expression calm.

"Two points. First, she can't do it. I have the True Spirit 'Survival' to seal off the inside and outside, so she won't be able to escape even for a moment. The final blow, 'Annihilation,' is an image of the annihilation of all things, so nothing can survive."

"Secondly, even if they manage to escape..."

Song Shi paused, glancing out the window at the bright sunshine.

“She wouldn’t do that either.” “This decision doesn’t fit the personality model of ‘Zen Ryusei’.”

Song Shi chuckled and looked back at him: "Are you sure you can build a personality model of the fifth ring [Consensus]? Or are you going to take the most traditional route?"

"A personality model based on data and algorithms," he sighed, "but how can it compare to the heart-to-heart talk in a life-or-death battle?"

Song Shi rolled out of bed: "Send this message to Yvette, she'll understand."

"receive."

"What happened while I was asleep?" Song Shi stretched his limbs. "Give me a summary, the shorter the better. Also, what about Chakro and the others now?"

"Mr. Chaklo is on the front lines. The Corporate Alliance has temporarily reached a cooperation agreement and launched a crackdown on us. At the same time, foreign forces, including Ye Nan and the Academic Council, have taken the opportunity to intensify their offensive against the Corporate Alliance."

"Currently, the enterprise alliance—the original territory of the enterprise alliance—is gradually entering a state of full-scale war."

"Ye Nan." Song Shi tapped the marble windowsill with his index finger. "It's normal that you can't hold back. It's a good thing for us."

However, Song Shi's tone immediately changed, becoming sinister: "Ye Nan signed an agreement with us, so we can call them allies, but what is the Academic Council? Daring to stick their hands in? We'll have to cut them in!"

"The intensity of the war between the Pan-Eastern Continental Alliance and the Vanpusta Empire is also constantly escalating." The textile machine said in a serious tone, "Just seven days ago, the president of the Eastern Republic, 'Feng Lian,' ended his seclusion and reappeared in the public eye. He briefly exchanged blows with the commander of the [Light Abyss] Knights from the Empire for five minutes, and it seems that he has broken through to the third stage of the True Spirit."

"Furthermore, regarding Zenryusha," the textile machine said, "we have contained most of the 'human-degrading,' but its scope and the number of people involved are too wide, and the effects are still unfolding. Due to the shortage of medical resources, most of the 'human-degrading' victims we have taken in can only receive conservative treatment for the time being, with the focus on alleviating their symptoms."

“Related support groups and discussion communities have all reacted strongly to Zen Setsuna’s death. For example, we recently solved a heinous case in which a group of extreme fans kidnapped a 17-year-old girl, surgically altered her appearance to resemble Zen Setsuna, and attempted to overwrite her memories and create a simulated personality by instilling a large dataset of 'Zen Setsuna' behavioral patterns.”

"They called it 'Christmas,' and fans uploaded complete and highly feasible technical manuals to social media, which circulated widely, leading to cases of imitation crimes in various places."

"There are also some extreme fans who have launched suicide attacks in the New Order Federation, which has had an impact."

"This is truly a heinous crime." Song Shi couldn't stand it anymore and gritted his teeth: "Zen Ryusatsuna."

"With things in such a mess, where is the National Security Bureau? This is their responsibility—"

"Within the New Order Federation, remnants of forces, including corporations, criminals, and the bourgeoisie, are attempting a final counterattack, which is greatly diverting the Security Bureau's attention. The Security Bureau is under severe manpower shortage. Although several rounds of recruitment have been conducted, the training and replenishment of staff will still take some time."

"The Security Bureau's current strategy is to focus on appeasement and win the support of local forces that have been involved in the past, in order to maintain stability in the first place."

"Make it clean and efficient."

Song Shi interrupted.

"Take advantage of the chaos to negotiate and make promises? They have no right to do that." Song Shi said each word slowly and deliberately, as if the entire room had been burned by crimson gold: "In this new order, there is no room for negotiation. They have only one choice: either obey or die."

"They've already invaded our doorstep, where do we find the time to slowly clean up our own house? Tell the security bureau to unleash a thunderous attack and sweep across the entire territory as quickly as possible! Kill those who deserve it, and kill as many as you can, even those who don't!"

I will take responsibility for any consequences.

　Happy birthday to myself

　　
　
(End of this chapter)