Chapter 332
Ignoring the intense stares around him, the Mechanical Police headed straight for the center of the square. Opening the Body Bags, they skillfully picked up the human bones and corpses of Satina Church followers and placed them inside. They remained oblivious to the crowd that was gradually approaching, and made no attempt to consult the Electronic Eye or use the footage to determine whether to take people away in batches based on the damage they had caused to people and property in the incident.
Are they blind?
"Can't you speak properly? Clearly, you're selectively blind. Didn't you see how professional they were at picking up broken bones from the ground? Thanks, Qin Su, now I don't have to write those 30,000 words, hahaha."
"Keep your voice down, or you'll get arrested and regret it."
"Catch him my ass! Didn't you see someone squatting next to the Body Bag, studying the wreckage with the Mechanical Police... Holy crap, he's even talking to the Mechanical Police, unbelievable."
The Mechanical Police's indifference turned the initial unease of the onlookers into a burning passion for gossip. They seized the opportunity to do things they wouldn't have dared to do before, and each Mechanical Police was surrounded by citizens who kept asking "a hundred thousand questions".
"After we collect these bones,"
"Hey, when you replenish your energy, do you charge it or drink it?"
"I've always heard that your Mechanical Police are controlled in real-time by a real police officer via Optical Brain. The real officer can see everything the Mechanical Police see without leaving their office. Is that true? Hello? Are there any real people seeing us right now? If so, have you all received Qin Su's orders to stop arresting us?"
"Hey, hey, hey, if you're not going to answer, then don't answer. Why are you rolling your eyes at me? I knew it, you have someone backing you up! Don't bring your personal emotions to work. Hasn't your boss ever used manipulative tactics on you?"
"Let's make a deal. I'll help you collect bones, and in return, could you come to my company, arrest my boss, and dump him in the Leichakan's Most Difficult Place?"
[I'm laughing so hard I'm spitting out laughter! They're all such talented people, skipping class to just hang around here.]
[Leichakan (Blessed by the God Su):? When will this ever end? Why are we always the ones who get hurt?]
[Qin Su is really giving them preferential treatment! This is so unfair to the Satina Church! Isn't there supposed to be freedom of religion? Qin Su is violating the Federation's principle of freedom of religion.]
[Qin Su (with a cold expression): So?]
[So what? Please respect our freedom of belief, OK? There are always crazy people out there, but especially so many in the comments today. Wait until you're walking down the street and Satina Church says it's for your own good, for your evolution, then catch you and feed you to bugs, then you'll behave.]
[Where did this rumor come from? They all operate based on input data. Only the bosses of each department have the authority to access them; nobody else can touch the backend of these frontline police systems. Of course, they roll their eyes because each department boss implants some human emotions into them according to their personal preferences. For example, in our department, our boss implants a little emotion that triggers whenever someone urinates in the street, forcing them to lick the person's head clean. If you question it, just say it's a bug and tell them to go argue with it.]
[Wow, these little emotions are great, but is it really appropriate for you to just sell out your boss like this?]
According to the Urban Public Security Management Law, all this requires is a public apology posted on social media. Which planet, city, and unit is your boss from? I want to report him.
[Warning! Warning! Indiscriminate urination and childish behavior in the comments!]
[Am I the only one who thinks their acceptance of human bones is too advanced? (Thinking) If a human bone were thrown into our city center, the whole city would be under martial law, and most people who saw it would be trembling with fear.]
[So, can anyone tell me why Lawrence and his group died? It's so inexplicable. Why doesn't Qin Su explain this? I'm so anxious!]
[What else could it be? Didn't you see everyone's speculation posts? Are you on the same website as us? Of course, it's because Qin Su knows that this sacrifice was orchestrated by Lawrence and his group to smear the people of Class 6). They were the masterminds, and Qin Su exposed them as a warning to others.]
But their names were also on the list of those who were sacrificed for atonement.
[Naive, that's just a way to deceive you. Do you believe in God Su or someone else?]
[I'll fight you IP planets that are close to the Federation's central planet! What kind of good life do you live every day? (gritting teeth) You have no idea how painful it was for us to be forced to witness mass sacrifices at least three times a week. We saw piles of corpses and didn't even need to investigate the cases; we recorded them all as sacrifices, even if there wasn't even half a bug in the vicinity... Huh? Why is the screen black???]
The moment the screen went black, Temple, who had been hiding in the Warship above the city and fearing that the enraged citizens would mistake him for a true follower of the Satina Church, saw the Optical Brain Temple front of him, which had been in an abnormal state, return to normal at the same time.
"!"
Regardless of whether He Muzhi needed it or not, Temple immediately sent everything recorded during the abnormal state to He Muzhi.
After the mission was completed, Temple looked at the other group of people he had noticed during this time, who were clearly sent by other (Class 6. He saw that many of them were doing things that were not much different from his own.
Shortly after the message was sent, Temple received a reply from He Muzhi.
At the same time, watching the screen go black and completely end the live broadcast, the group of Class 6) who had been watching closely from behind the screen and dared not be distracted, moved their eyes away from the large screen in the center, which had no image, and looked back. While calmly scanning the expressions on the faces of the students opposite and to the left and right, they quickly replied to the message that their friends had just sent.
Although it is just a projected image, the simulated touch and appearance are a one-to-one replica. Even if the real person is not in front of you, you can judge the other person's current state by the micro-expressions in the projected image.
Naturally, the group of students in Class 6, who were used to being suspicious of everything, were also very clear in their minds that even if they could see things very clearly, they could not rule out the possibility that everything they saw was what the other party wanted them to see. They could not believe it all, but could only use it as one of the bases for judgment.
The silence lasted for an unknown period of time. Most of the Optical Brain skins that had been opened in front of everyone were now closed, seemingly ready to resume their joint dialogue.
Finally, someone in the video channel couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "So, what does the Class Monitor mean?"
Once the first voice was heard, the others, who were not very patient to begin with, couldn't wait to follow suit.
"I think the Class Monitor didn't really abandon us. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stood up this time. You know, if the Class Monitor hadn't intervened to stop this sacrifice, even if our people had successfully stopped it according to our wishes, and we hadn't shown up, in the eyes of others and the Satina Church, the reason for the failure of this sacrifice would still be attributed to us. Then, we would still be a thorn in the side of the Satina Church, and they would only hate us more. In the future, even without Lawrence and the others' instigation, there would be more sacrifices, and those sacrifices would still be attributed to our (Class 6. The more people 'die because of us,' the worse our reputation will become."
"But the fact is, the Class Monitor action. Fearlessly, in front of the whole world, the class monitor publicly executed Lawrence and his group, who had instigated the sacrificial ceremony under the guise of atoning for our (Class 6's sins, and then equally killed the insects that ate Lawrence and his group. Finally, taking advantage of the hatred of the citizens at the scene towards the Satina Church, he killed all the Satina Church believers who originally intended to make the sacrifice. In short, all of their deaths were the Class Monitor's doing. For our sake, the Class Monitor concentrated all the malice that would have been directed at us onto the Class Monitor himself. I knew that our (Class 6 still held some place in the Class Monitor's heart!"
"You forgot to mention the most important point. Originally, there could have been an 'endless' series of sacrificial incidents to smear us, but now that the Class Monitor has personally made an example of us, including Lawrence and his group from our (Class 6, those who were killed... also include Lawrence and his group who went out from our (6) class. As for the others who were hiding in the shadows and hadn't had a chance to deal with us yet, seeing how ruthless the Class Monitor was, even slaughtering the people from (Class 6 indiscriminately, let alone them? I'm sure that those who were secretly plotting against us will stop all similar plans against us from now on."
"The Class Monitor is so considerate of us. Thinking about how I was a little... resentful before, I really deserve to die."
"Ever since the Setini Palace incident, I've been cautiously maintaining the image of Class 6, which is favored by the Class Monitor. But after this incident, I can finally relax and continue to brag... no, I mean, confidently tell the truth to outsiders."
Many people in Class 6) were saying things to each other to prove that Qin Su favored Class 6), but they never saw He Muzhi and his group say anything about Qin Su truly favored Class 6). The little flame that had just been lit in their hearts dimmed a bit, and they looked at each other.
After exchanging knowing glances for a moment, someone took the lead and chose Raymond, who seemed to have the best temper and the most to talk to, and who was likely to get a response.
"Raymond, why haven't you said anything? Aren't you happy about what happened?"
Out of recent 'professional habit', Raymond inwardly complained that his classmates were 'picking on the weak,' knowing he was relatively easier to talk to than Sophia and her group who loved to imitate Qin Su's cold demeanor, which was why they asked him. But when he heard himself being called on, he still habitually tugged at the corners of his mouth, a forced smile, and began to think about which line to say, "Perhaps because silence is golden?"
The person who had been quietly listening. "...?"
Are you crazy to be joking around with them like that?!
Ignoring the twitching expressions on the faces of his classmates, Raymond continued rambling, "Of course we're happy, but we might be a bit reserved right now, or perhaps too shy to show it too obviously, in case we get laughed at."
The person asking the question, "..."
How dare Raymond claim to be modest?! Shameless!
[Haha, I can tell everyone is trying really hard to resist the urge to roll their eyes at Raymond. Even the Mechanical Police has that freedom, I hope Class 6) will too (doge)]
[That won't do. Don't be fooled by the way this group looks all together like a close-knit family. In reality, everyone has their own agenda, scheming to find something to use against each other to increase their own leverage. If they keep rolling their eyes like that, people might start talking nonsense outside, and that would change the whole situation.]
Raymond does indeed reply most of the time, but let's ignore what he replies about and just talk about whether he replied at all.
Hearing Raymond silence everyone with just a few words, Sophia and the others kept their eyes down, trying their best to maintain a 'cold face' while silently casting their gazes at He Muzhi.
Among this group, Raymond is known for being 'easy to talk to,' and He Muzhi is known for being 'a nice guy.' Based on past experience, it's He Muzhi's turn to be asked the question now.
He Muzhi: "..."
'Is it possible that Qin Su did this not out of concern for Class 6), but simply because he was displeased that someone had disrupted the path he had arranged for Class 6). Even if someone from Class 6) was among those who disrupted his plans, he would ruthlessly eliminate them as long as they ruined his arrangements? Therefore, how could Qin Su's actions this time not be unrelated to Class 6), but only related to his own mood?'
Thinking of the voices he had heard before, which used firsthand accounts to convince him that "Class 6) was not abandoned," He Muzhi thought to himself, but even when he came into contact with Sophia and the others' secret gazes, He Muzhi shamelessly pretended not to see them and continued to remain silent. He did not want to pour cold water on the situation at this time and incite hatred among his classmates. He secretly prayed that everyone would not ask him anything.
"Brother Mu." Encouraged by the looks of his classmates, Anthony looked at He Muzhi with curiosity.
Anthony's voice wasn't loud, but everyone was staring at He Muzhi, the 'troublemaker' in Class 6. Before Anthony could finish speaking, everyone's eyes were fixed on He Muzhi.
He Muzhi: "..."
'You prayed well; maybe we should just skip that next time.'
He Muzhi sighed inwardly and glanced at Anthony, who had spoken to him. He was afraid that Anthony, who was easily swayed and manipulated, would get involved with him. He was worried that he might accidentally say something wrong in front of so many classmates. His voice was deliberately low and indifferent. "Hmm?"
Anthony didn't think much of it and simply asked, based on the previous conversation, the question he was eager to prove, "Do you think the Class Monitor still treats us the same as before?"
Qin Su, who was eavesdropping. "..."
Well, you thick-browed, big-eyed Anthony, you didn't ask anything, but when you did, it was astonishing. Considering that he deliberately created an unusual situation with He Muzhi during the time when he was trying to ride on the popularity of Class 6) and the protagonist, in the hearts of many people in Class 6), He Muzhi is the person who understands his thoughts the most.
In other words, if He Muzhi answers "yes" now, then if he does something in the future that "treats Class 6) differently than before", those who heard He Muzhi's words today will not dare to blame him, but will blame He Muzhi; if He Muzhi answers "no", it is equivalent to offending many people in Class 6) right now.
If it were anyone else, Qin Su would suspect that he was deliberately trying to make things difficult for He Muzhi with such a tricky question. But since it was Anthony who asked the question, Qin Su could only respect and understand, and silently wish He Muzhi good luck. In addition, he secretly turned up the volume of this channel, intending to watch the drama unfold.
In the video, many people couldn't help but raise their eyebrows and reveal a hint of excitement in their eyes after hearing Anthony's words.
He Muzhi was taken aback by Anthony's words, his mind racing, but he remained outwardly calm, his eyes fixed on Anthony, who looked completely innocent and had led him into this mess. He replied in a calm voice, "That depends on whether we are the same as before."
So, if everyone is different, isn't it only natural that Qin Su would treat them differently?
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he absolutely could not answer with "yes" or "no," as this would sow the seeds of future trouble or bring him immediate problems. Since he couldn't resolve the issue of being suddenly blamed, nor could he deal with the people who created the blame, he could only shift the blame back onto them.
"..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Su paused his gaze on the screen in front of him, then slightly turned his head to look at the video screen of Class 6) in the lower left corner.
Clearly, He Muzhi's answer was outside the range of what Anthony, the one who asked the question, had expected. His expression went blank for a moment. Sophia, upon hearing He Muzhi's words, raised an eyebrow and looked at him with admiration. Raymond, on the other hand, glanced at the others who were encouraging Anthony, and couldn't help but raise one hand to support himself on the table while covering his mouth to stifle a laugh... Many of the others who were encouraging Anthony were obviously not satisfied with He Muzhi's answer. Their brows furrowed subconsciously, but they quickly adjusted their facial expressions as if afraid of being seen by others.
A seemingly simple question, but actually full of traps, yielded unexpected answers, and the students reacted in various ways in an instant...
From before graduation until now, the mutual reliance and mutual wariness among classmates has never stopped.
Qin Su withdrew his gaze and scanned the series of relational diagrams spread out before him.
Initially, his malicious plan was to make all the students in Class 6 act independently and fight tooth and nail for the Presidential Election.
When they thought they couldn't guarantee victory, but they also wouldn't suffer a humiliating defeat, in the final step, they made everyone they had coerced and lured follow their orders, against their own will and stance, to choose He Muzhi, the protagonist of the Comic World's Protagonist Group. This allowed He Muzhi to follow the trajectory set for him in the comic book and achieve the 'perfect' ending set by the comic book.
By 'controlling the protagonist's fate', he ensures that as long as He Muzhi is alive, people in the Comic World will think of the crucial final step He Muzhi took on this path, which is closely related to him, thus achieving the goal of maintaining popularity even if He Muzhi doesn't appear.
He always believed that hatred lasts longer and is more intense than love. He would grit his teeth and stay up all night in the middle of the night, dreaming of the other students who participated in this election. They would realize that from the beginning, they had all been doing useless work. They would hate him from the moment everything ended, just as he had predicted. They would hate him for having already chosen He Muzhi and still watching them struggle in their death throes. They would remember him for a long time and spread his "badness" everywhere, creating conflicts with those who were not "hurt" in this election and naturally did not hate him.
Even though he's infamous, he's still famous; the clash between the two doesn't diminish his popularity.
Now...
Qin Su recalled the scenes of his classmates giving their all for this election, and couldn't help but put himself in their shoes, causing his established plans to waver.
If, on what he believes is a fair basis, he goes to great lengths to scheme and plot against others, he will only realize later, in hindsight, that the winner has already been predetermined...
Qin Su: "..."
He'd be so angry he'd remember everyone involved and blow them all up.
Thinking of this, Qin Su stared at the network of contacts in front of him for two seconds with a dark look in his eyes, took a deep breath, and closed them without any hesitation.
Anyway... based on his current understanding of Class 6) and the members of the Federation Joint Council, as long as He Muzhi doesn't do anything reckless during this period, the final result will not change even if he lets it go unchecked.
What can change... is that he might get much less attention, but...
Qin Su looked at the progress bar, which he hadn't been able to see the exact amount of Life Points for a long time.
Given his current Life Points, he can afford to let his classmates have a good time, given the connection they shared with him in Class 6.
At this moment, he sincerely hoped that everyone in Class 6 would get the results they had painstakingly planned and schemed for.
[Why did it shut down?] As a system that had been bound to Qin Su for a long time, no one knew better than 777 how many days and nights Qin Su had worked hard to ensure that He Muzhi would become president, and how he had been paying attention to the actions of these people at all times. Now, at this critical juncture, he suddenly stopped paying attention, which 777 found very hard to understand.
Qin Su's voice was calm and even. "Because I discovered that I had briefly grown a tiny bit of conscience."
He made a plan and selected Class 6) to start. He kept telling himself that this was just a comic. Everyone in this world except him was a paper doll or a tool. As long as he could achieve his goal, he could use them however he wanted.
The truth is, while he kept his distance from them, he only maintained a superficial distance to achieve his goal. In private, he wanted to investigate everyone thoroughly and understand them completely. Through this understanding, he did indeed manage to get them quickly onto the path he had arranged for them.
However, he also inevitably saw all the efforts they had made along the way, their yearning for the future, their ambition, and their despair and resentment after failure... All these emotions were realistically displayed before his eyes, and he could no longer treat them as lifeless paper figures.
What surprised him even more was that he thought that although he had solved the problem for his classmates, he had also taken the lives of Lawrence and others who came from Class 6). Since his classmates all came from Class 6), they should be afraid of him and stay away from him.
Unexpectedly, he could see a trace of fear in his classmates' eyes at his ruthless actions, but more than that, they saw an urgent desire for him to "return to Class 6 as before," which made his feelings indescribable.
[Ha?]
As a system that outputs the same result as the input, 777 was a little confused by Qin Su's riddle-like words.
"Perhaps, he has no conscience?" Qin Su didn't have the habit of exposing his thoughts to others, and even though it was just a system, he resisted it, replying perfunctorily, "I just feel tired, I should rest for a while?"
777 was completely shocked when she heard Qin Su genuinely say he was tired for the first time, "[The sun is blazing today...]"
Qin Su felt a pang of melancholy, strongly suspecting it was because he hadn't seen his family in a long time. Not wanting to argue with the system any longer, he casually gave it something to do. "While I'm gone, please keep an eye on them for me. The details of how to do this are in Folder QS5329. If you encounter keyword searches and find an answer, follow the instructions; if not, remain still and record the questions. I'll be back for an hour each day, and then..."
Upon hearing the first word "Qin Su," 777 immediately selected the screen showing the people from Class 6, which she found most interesting, from among the many pages. She didn't listen carefully to what Qin Su was saying at all; instead, she kept muttering to herself based on what she saw while recording Qin Su's words, "[I don't know why, but I seem to see very familiar shadows in many people from Class 6. Who do they look like with their suspicious expressions?]"
Qin Su looked over and saw that the students of Class 6) had finished the video call, but less than a second after it ended, they immediately opened different temporary communication pages in groups of three or five. According to the real-time statistics of the small progress he wrote in the upper right corner, the 716 students in Class 6) who had just finished the video call now have a total of 1,132 communication routes, and the number of routes is still increasing. The students were thinking wildly, switching back and forth between speaking and choosing routes and muting their microphones.
In that brief moment, he saw a classmate not quite thinking clearly and speaking on the wrong channel, which caused the other students on that channel to secretly open a new communication route for that classmate.
Qin Su: "... Goodbye!"
After bidding farewell to the system, Qin Su quickly left the Comic World.
He bears an undeniable responsibility for the students' tendency to scheme against everyone except him. It's strange that during his time at the Fourth Military Academy, he repeatedly led them down this path of inevitable mental and physical exhaustion, even though he knew they were misunderstanding him. After all, once the desire to pry begins, it's impossible to stop.
But he doesn't regret it.
Given the current situation where many people are eyeing their classmates with hostility, even the slightest misstep could lead to Abyss of no return. To ensure that no mistakes are made, the only option is to keep everything firmly in one's own hands. This naturally requires a strong desire to spy on, control, and suspect anyone other than oneself.
It's always better to be cautious.
As for why Lawrence and his companions died, judging from what he overheard in multiple communication channels of his classmates in Class 6), it won't be long before a series of evidence of Lawrence and his accomplices planning this sacrifice will be released in various ways.
Given his current powerful position, he can simply act recklessly, and naturally, people will rush to "explain" for him.
[Ah! I see. Like you, host, no wonder I've been infected by you; I see your influence everywhere... Huh? Where did you go?!]
777 realized who the people in Class 6 looked like, and discovered that Qin Su had already left for quite some time.
With no one speaking to it, the system fell silent in disappointment, sighed, and opened the notebook where it had recorded Qin Su's instructions. After reading it, it found the folder Qin Su had mentioned and opened it.
The moment it opened, 777 looked at the densely packed, categorized text, which seemed tens of thousands of times longer than the jumbled data it spewed out. It only scanned the beginning before quickly closing it without a second's hesitation. After a two-second pause, it opened other folders one after another. Apart from the documents that it couldn't open due to lack of permissions, it saw that the content of the opened documents was no different from the first one it opened. 777 was startled and immediately refuted its previous statement: [Laughable, you're flattering them. It's like they've only opened a few communication lines for 716 people in Class 6 so far. How is that like the host? It's not even a fraction of the host's control freak and paranoid devil. It's not even a little bit like the host!]
It knew that seeing its host come back every day after leaving was unusual. What kind of good person would voluntarily come back to work for a period of time every day during their vacation?! Only its seemingly normal but actually rational and long-deranged devil host could do such a deranged and bizarre thing!