The Creator's origins

"Underground Association? Religious fanaticism?"

Lin Yu was slightly surprised by Stiller's words.

Under the promotion of universal values in the City That Never Sleeps, the general Values of City That Never Sleeps residents are almost all "pragmatic".

Although this is the world where "Deity" are most active and have the most direct impact on the social system, however...

This world doesn't actually have a "religion" in the true sense.

The "Deity" are more like a kind of internal "totem belief" among the Five Great Families.

Or rather, the ability to be "devout" and "faith" is a top-tier luxury reserved for the very Noble in the City That Never Sleeps.

Given this environment and intellectual climate, Stiller actually claimed that "Supreme Evolution" is a company with a "religious" nature.

If Supreme Evolution itself were just a small, niche company with only a dozen or so people, located on a roadside, then so be it.

Unfortunately, this company was extremely large, and at its peak, it was almost a giant.

More importantly... this "religious fanaticism" is clearly not an act—if it were still in power, it would be one thing for employees to pretend to be "fanatic" based on "interests," to cater to the preferences of superiors, or simply to integrate into the corporate culture.

Now that the company is bankrupt, and even though other companies may have extended olive branches to them... a large portion of them are still operating in the form of an "underground Association," secretly rebelling against the Three Great Corporations.

Even though Lin Yu trusted Stiller now, he couldn't help but look at him and raise his doubts.

Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?

Stiller nodded. "Of course, boss... these are conclusions reached by President Paris's intelligence department—and I also have reliable evidence to support them when I was reviewing this relevant content."

"Admittedly, in the past five or six years, there have been many times when the so-called Remnants of 'Supreme Evolution' have been captured, but they were actually mercenaries from the Outer City acting in their names, or simply people with Divine Power and Universal posing as people... Well, actually, we've impersonated them too."

"But... fanatics for the Supreme Evolution still exist."

"When I first Security Department, it was probably my fourth mission. I was in the Outer City, secretly disposing of alchemical test subjects who should have died for the Qinglu Family, one of Paris's allies and shareholders of the Truth Company. In the City That Never Sleeps, only Royal Nobles families have the right to arbitrarily use death row inmates, Great Wilderness People, and vegetative patients who have given up treatment for live experiments. The 'quota' of normal Noble families is simply not enough to support the 'consumption,' so they will make illegal purchases..."

"Because this kind of thing would be big news if it got out, it was a secret operation... It's just a pity that word still got out."

"That was the first time I'd ever seen someone who had reached the Supreme Evolution," Stiller said, his breathing quickening slightly despite being a seasoned veteran of the Security Department and having experienced countless unimaginable battles alongside Lin Yu in the Ten Realms. "They were more cunning than the Great Wilderness People, more fearless than mercenaries... and their technology and equipment might even be more advanced than those of company employees."

"Three men against four of our fully-equipped elite field teams—seventeen dead, nine severely wounded."

"After realizing that their escape was hopeless, the three men decisively committed suicide... by self-destructing due to the overload of their alchemical devices, destroying all the Alchemical Equipment and circuits on their bodies."

Stiller recounted the story, Lin Yu's expression turned solemn.

"So it seems... they are indeed some 'extreme fanatics,' but why would such a group exist in City That Never Sleeps, and why would it be so influential?"

"This isn't recorded in the documents, and it remains a mystery—even those who secretly sheltered its members didn't figure it out..."

"However, President Paris has a 'personal guess'."

Lin Yu nodded. "Tell me about it."

"President Paris believes... perhaps it's because of their Founder, the 'Creator,' who might be a highly charismatic individual, skilled in brainwashing and oratory, much like the Founder of the Saint Orchid Family, and those Commoner and minor Noble who rose to the position of Speaker through the 'Council,'" Stiller said in a low voice. "From the very beginning, he built the company with the ambition of creating a 'one-man show.'"

"After all, the Creator is indeed a 'genius'—his ability to create Alchemy and even overcome the technological barriers that the Three Great Corporations couldn't solve already speaks volumes."

Even the Divine Power Group that worships the 'God of Life' has not developed 'Artificial Humans' technology in such a long period of time. They have no way to create complex, functional life forms directly from scratch, bypassing the process of Maternally Reproduced, let alone create 'humans'...

"However, the Creator did it—the reason I and other Artificial Humans were able to be born, although it was inseparable from the help of the Divine Power Group, after all, on the surface, I was a secret 'order' privately commissioned by President Paris to the Divine Power Group."

"But in reality... without the 'Creator's' Core Technology, the Divine Power Group simply couldn't have built it."

Lin Yu seemed to be deep in thought.

Lin Yu had great faith in Paris's business acumen and intuition.

Therefore, he nodded slightly. "President Paris's analysis is probably very close to the Truth... but he may not have considered everything."

"After all, he has never left the Barren Realm, so his 'vision' is too limited."

As Lin Yu spoke, Stiller blinked.

"Boss, you mean...?"

"That 'Creator' might not be good at 'oratory' or using personal charm to brainwash people," Lin Yu said in a low voice. "He might be good at 'brainwashing' in the literal sense."

Stiller looked at Lin Yu and immediately realized what was going on.

"Yes... if that's the case, then everything makes sense!"

"Even the miraculous rise of the 'Supreme Evolution' makes sense now."

"Thinking about it this way, the 'mysterious' origin of the 'Creator' seems to actually become a kind of evidence."

Lin Yu was somewhat curious.

"A mysterious origin?"

Stiller nodded. "Yes, boss, you may not know this... even now, no one can say for sure about the origin of the 'Creator'."

"Although everyone just felt that the Creator's identity had actually been clear for a long time, but the official announcements from the Three Great Corporations hadn't made it public... in reality, everyone at the highest levels knew perfectly well that no one knew where this Alchemy came from."

"Because when he died, he also chose to overload all his 'Alchemical Equipment' before being captured, completely erasing his alchemy aura and even biological characteristics, making it impossible to trace where he was from."

Some say he's the son of a fallen Ducal Family; others say he's the apprentice of an alchemy professor expelled from the company, taken in by the Great Wilderness; still others say he's a top alchemist secretly trained by the Five Great Families who defected; and yet another says he's an explorer who received 'Divine Revelation' in the Life Forbidden Zone in the Great Wilderness...

"The most absurd theory is that he's actually Otherworlder from the 'Gate of Boundary' —which now seems to be the most likely possibility."

Stiller explained.

Listening to Stiller's analysis, Lin Yu stroked his chin and said, "He really was a legendary figure... It's a good thing he's dead."

"However, the 'extremists' he left behind are enough of a headache," Lin Yu sighed. "And this time, I'm not going to wipe them out or fight them, but rather investigate their former 'partners' and try to extract some 'Core Technology' from them..."

Stiller's mind raced. "Core Technology? These... you don't necessarily have to start with the Remnants of 'Supreme Evolution,' boss."

"Many of these technologies have been divided up by the Three Great Corporations, and President Paris has acquired quite a few."

"If it's just about acquiring the technology, you might not have to deal with those lunatics at all."

Lin Yu nodded. "I noticed that when you mentioned it earlier, and I did have that plan in mind—to negotiate with Paris first."

"However, I'm not really optimistic... Even though most of the technologies of 'Creator' and 'Supreme Evolution' have fallen into the hands of the Three Great Corporations, and even though Paris has mastered a considerable portion of the 'Core Technology,' I still don't think the technology I'm looking for has been obtained by Paris or the Three Great Corporations."

Stiller asked curiously, "So, what... could it be, boss?"

"'Authority'... the technology related to Authority."

Lin Yu said calmly.

Stiller now knew some knowledge about the "Deity Domain," and upon hearing Lin Yu's words, he immediately understood.

"That must be... not easy to handle."

"After all, the fact that President Paris is still alive and in a high position already indicates that he most likely doesn't possess this kind of technology."

"If he really masters it... the Nightless Sky Family probably won't allow him to live."

"At the very least, he shouldn't be allowed to continue his public activities."

Lin Yu sighed.

"Yes, so ultimately... we still have to rely on ourselves."

"However—it's still worth getting in touch with Paris."

"After all, you yourself said that he knows quite a bit about 'Supreme Evolution'."

"Moreover, he understands Supreme Evolution, and you understand him."

Stiller understood Lin Yu's meaning.

"Boss, you mean you want me to get close to President Paris, but after what happened last time..."

Lin Yu sensed Stiller's concerns.

"It's alright, Stiller. This time you didn't approach him using your status."

As he spoke, Lin Yu stretched out his hand with his five fingers spread, and a small pink Octopus jumped onto Stiller's body.

"Quack! Stiller, it's our turn to work together again!"

Then, a long sword was thrown into Stiller's arms.

"You'll be playing the role of 'John H. Arthur' next."

Stiller realized what was happening.

"Me? This role... wouldn't it be more suitable for Old Zheng?"

Lin Yu laughed.

"You're talking about 'Schreiber'... I had you play Supervisor Arthur, not Schreiber."