Chapter 603 50: World Peace, Everyone's Responsibility

When the other man extended a hand with a smile, Su Zhou reciprocated. But the moment he grasped the friendly youth's hand, Su Zhou knew something was off—the man's entire physical structure was only human on the surface! His muscle tissue, bone structure, internal organs, and various obvious biomechanical constructs all clearly told him that what lay beneath the soft flesh was completely artificial!

But when the man spoke his true identity in a young voice that was somehow both familiar and strange, Su Zhou's surprise gave way to understanding. "Artifice Sage? So this is your real-world cybernetic body…"

The Artifice Sage had long ago abandoned his physical body and merged with one of Zhengguo's central Spiritual Qi supercomputers. This was essentially an open secret among the higher-ups.

But at the end of the day, the Artifice Sage was still a 'person' living in human society, and there were real-world matters that required a physical body. Take the national assembly of the Thirty-Six Saints, for example. He couldn't just appear as a projection, like for an annual summary—this was an event for the public to see and required a more formal presence.

So, the Artifice Sage would use a cybernetic body of his own creation as a vessel for his Soul in the real world.

"This cybernetic body was built on the fly at the European Union embassy, so the model isn't quite standard—I still prefer the one with the beard."

"Being young is nice, too. It's handsome. You look very clean-cut and amiable."

When it came to arguing, Su Zhou could be silver-tongued, but judging whether clothes were fashionable or matched well was completely beyond his abilities. After all, his own everyday outfits depended on whatever his parents bought, or what the Shao Family siblings picked out for him.

"Once again, you've truly exceeded our expectations, Professor Su. You have a real knack for surprises."

In his cybernetic body, the Artifice Sage was a little more animated—or rather, a little more human—than when Su Zhou usually communicated with him through electronic devices. He and Levler seemed to be heading to the Demon Realm to do something, so after exchanging a few more words, they prepared to leave. "Get some rest for now," he said. "The Harmony Bureau's reward will be nothing short of generous."

"You can say that again," Levler said with a shrug and a friendly smile at Su Zhou. "I'm just afraid it won't be up to Professor Su's standards."

"How about a free black card for all of European Margarine's Three Stars restaurants?"

"Given your appetite, I'm afraid the Harmony Bureau's budget would be deep in the red."

But before they left, Su Zhou couldn't restrain his curiosity. "Artifice Sage, what exactly are you two going to do? If it's about the Spirit Summoning Association, haven't I already wiped out most of them?"

This was his attempt at modesty. A more accurate description would have been 'almost completely wiped out.'

But the Artifice Sage shook his head. "Perhaps in terms of their physical bodies, that's more or less true. However, we still have some important matters to attend to."

This wasn't information that needed to be kept from Su Zhou, so the friendly youth continued, "It's true that all the Executors may have been killed or captured, but we still don't fully understand why they were so determined to enter the Demon Realm."

"Moreover, the 'true core of the Spirit Summoning Association' has not yet been eliminated. I came here precisely to handle this matter."

"The true core of the Spirit Summoning Association?" Su Zhou repeated the words, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What exactly is that?"

Levler turned his head and exchanged a glance with the Artifice Sage. Evidently, neither of them felt there was anything to hide, so the high-ranking Harmony Bureau official cleared his throat and said, "If you don't mind your dinner being a little late, then come and see for yourself."

After a moment of deliberation, curiosity ultimately won out over his appetite, and Su Zhou followed the two of them back into the Demon Realm.

Along the way, Su Zhou learned why the Artifice Sage had come.

"The Controller isn't just a master of luck, Curses, and brainwashing. She's also a powerful Transcendent hacker. Most of the specialized network viruses you see on the market are her creations, made in collaboration with a few other powerful hackers."

"The method the Controller uses to brainwash the members of the Spirit Summoning Association is essentially a form of viral infection and data overwriting. Standard Soul Searches and memory readings don't work on them, which is why we need a special type of Transcendent to 'hack' into their souls and brains."

As they walked through the battlefield, still thick with the smoke of battle and the smell of roasting flesh, Su Zhou listened to the Artifice Sage's confident explanation and asked doubtfully, "Hack?"

"Yes."

In response, the Artifice Sage's youthful body assumed a rather elderly posture, clasping his hands behind his back. "To put it bluntly, the human brain is nothing more than a carbon-based computer. The essence of the Soul is simply the specialized computation of Spiritual Essence—it's a cognitive organ."

"Precisely because we are Transcendents, we don't engage in the Divinization of certain bodily organs. A sufficiently skilled Transcendent specialist can bypass layers of defenses using methods far more powerful than any Illusion Technique or Soul Secret Technique, finding the information they seek within an enemy's brain and Soul."

Soon, the Artifice Sage reached a private room that had been prepared for him. Inside, Su Zhou saw the Spirit Summoning Association's only remaining Leader: the Spirit Summoner, who had surrendered immediately.

The Spirit Summoner's Spiritual Power had been completely Sealed, and her Soul forced into a state of slumber. Her body was covered with electrodes and neural links. The Artifice Sage looked at the delicately beautiful woman with the dispassionate gaze one might reserve for a circuit board. He took a massive, helmet-like visor from a nearby assistant, then pointed a single finger directly at the Spirit Summoner's head.