Psychics don't die from gunfire

Chapter 807 Granting Land and Boundaries
Level 0 event, "human intelligence dissolution".

After the Science Ethics Committee rang the doomsday pendulum, this became an urgent issue for several forces, including the Enlightened Ones.

The problem lies not in attitude, but in the specific handling strategies.

Whether it's a science ethics committee, an enlightener, or even setting aside political entities, no one, from the individual level of figures like Chaclok Vaughan and Yvette Gregory, would allow such a thing to happen. This touches on a fundamental issue: if the minds of living beings are manipulated at will, then the ideals they uphold become meaningless.

To be precise, it is meaningless to the manipulated organism.

"I offer everything for the moment of Zen."

As time went by, the Alosa region, where Zenryoshitsune resided, seemed to be shrouded in an opaque veil, making it difficult for outsiders to see what was happening inside.

The Scientific Ethics Committee wasn't the only organization sending agents inside; the Security Bureau, major corporations, hired mercenaries, and even Song Shi himself had instigated VE to secretly peek inside. However, almost every single one of the agents ended up trapped inside, their fate unknown.

The very few agents who managed to escape were also diagnosed with a range of cyberpsychotic disorders, including cognitive impairment and behavioral pattern collapse, a sight too painful to behold.

There were even instances of people, itching to investigate, forming a kind of "consensus" to see what was going on. In the process of trying to delve into the minds of these agents for "treatment," some were also infected and suffered cognitive breakdowns. As a result, those with this "consensus" below the third level are now strictly prohibited from contacting infected individuals.

As a fourth-ring psionicist and the King of the Abyss, VE is not afraid of these things. Although she is not a [Consensus], there are too many miscellaneous things in the [Abyss], and there are quite a few things similar to cognitive memes. She has rich experience in dealing with this kind of thing.

But she was still injured.

Because she faced Zenraṇī directly.

With the technology of the Abyss King and the psionic energy of the Fifth Ring's [Consensus], the influence of Zenryusha has been building up over this period, permeating even the most inconspicuous corners of the Alosa region. Electronic devices, prosthetics, biological entities, androids—everything has become an extension of her vision.

The moment VE sneaked in, Zenryu Setsuna noticed and retaliated. Song Shi watched as the other party suddenly let out a howl and rolled on the ground, clutching his hair, not long after entering.

In this brief exchange, VE was clearly at a disadvantage. Fortunately, they had taken various mental precautions beforehand and decisively severed the connection, so no major problems arose.

"I quit! I really quit!" VE yelled, taking a deep breath. "Wow, Zenryu is getting scarier and scarier. If you want to cause trouble for her, go find her, but whatever you do, don't come after me. I don't think even if Desheng wins the resurrection match, he might not be able to beat her, sob sob."

Song Shi tried to encourage her: "She is the Queen of the Abyss, and so are you. Don't be afraid!"

"Is she in the fifth ring and am I in the fifth ring? Does she own a giant company and do I own a giant company? Does she wield the power of faith and do I wield the power of faith?"

Song Shi pretended not to hear the retort and continued, "From a technical point of view, do you think it is possible to cut off the entire media channels of the [Dust Contract Generation]? Not permanently, just for a period of time."

“I know you want to cut off the spread of cognitive memes, but that’s difficult, extremely difficult.” VE tugged at her messy hair. “Let me think.”

She sat cross-legged, pressing one foot, and after a moment of contemplation, said, "Do you know what cancer is? It doesn't develop until you go to the hospital for a checkup and see the diagnosis report."

"By the time you realize that something seems wrong with your body, those diseased cells will have been lurking and fermenting for who knows how long." She shook her head. "The Chenqi Generation has been in the media industry for so many years, the arrangements and backup plans they could have left behind... Just thinking about it makes my scalp tingle. Do you know what it means to be ubiquitous and insidious?"

"In short, a complete severance is impossible. If we had to say, partial prevention is possible." VE shrugged. "Minimize some losses, reduce the number of people going insane, and besides, you don't seem to care much about that." "If possible, I don't want to see widespread bloodshed," Song Shi said. "But 'waiting for future possibilities' is definitely not the right solution. If even I can't do it, how can anyone else? If even we can't do it, how can we expect future generations to do it?"

"Be careful what you say, or Desheng will come looking for you tonight," VE grumbled.

Song Shi said calmly, "So Dwight Brooks lost."

“Killing Zenryu Setsuna now will kill many people, but if we don’t kill Zenryu Setsuna now, even more people will become mentally unstable in the future.” Wisps of crimson light appeared around Song Shi, swirling endlessly: “Clearly, whether now or in the future, they are all victims of the bloodshed caused by Zenryu Setsuna.”

"Non-stick pan, huh?" VE pouted.

“I’ve been thinking about this these past few days. As long as my True Spirit [The Present World] is fully unleashed, I should be able to trap Zenruksha – or at least greatly reduce her interference with the outside world.” Song Shi traced the flames with his index finger, drawing a perfect square on the ground.

VE blinked and said tactfully, "Isn't it a bit risky for you to go alone?"

"Adventure?" Song Shi laughed: "I don't do things without risk."

"Then it's up to you. Let me make this clear beforehand: I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely will not help you fight Zenryu Setsuna." VE raised his hand: "When two strong forces clash, the first priority is to fight the one who helps the other. Putting aside whether you can beat Zenryu Setsuna, even if you do beat her, what if she drags me down with her before she dies? I'm not sure I'll survive."

“I don’t need you to go to the front lines,” Song Shi replied. “I only need you to promise that while we are fighting against Zenryusha, you will assist others and do your best to stop the spread of cognitive memes.”

VE lowered her head, and after a long while, she raised her head: "If that's all, I can help you."

“After this, you will only die after me, that’s my promise.” Song Shi made a decisive statement: “—as long as what you do doesn’t cross my bottom line.”

Bottom line?

VE wants to laugh whenever she hears those two words.

“No need to worry.” Song Shi tapped the ground: “My bottom line isn’t that low, nor is it that high.”

After listening, VE remained silent for a moment.

She stared at Song Shi for a long while, then suddenly said, "What you need to do next..."

"Corporate organizations, anti-corporate groups, neutral parties, all sorts of forces, corporate alliances—this haphazard hodgepodge has been going on for a very, very long time. Don't you think it's been a bit too long?"

As VE watched, the square on the ground was sliced ​​in two along its central axis by an index finger. Accompanying this was Song Shi's calm voice.

"We want to carve out our own territory and establish our own borders."

(End of this chapter)