I will be stronger after the remake

[Imperial Decree from the Underworld: Omitted]

[Rebirth After Tribulation: For some reason, you abandoned all your cultivation and closed your heart. Only by facing yourself can you regain your former glory.]

When the spiritual information surfaced in her mind, Tang Ping was startled: Sure enough, she wasn't the only one with mutated spiritual power!

He had previously searched for relevant information in the library of the psionic training base, but found nothing. Now that he thought about it, either the higher-ups deliberately blocked the information, or people with mutated psionic abilities were very rare and had all chosen to keep it a secret.

After reading the description of the mutated psionic energy, he was completely speechless.

An unknown power lies dormant within him, which can be awakened simply by facing himself. What kind of protagonist setting is this in a shonen manga?!

You've wandered onto the wrong set, haven't you?

Chapter Twenty-One: The End

The Public Security Bureau successfully apprehended Han Lin, but they couldn't just leave like that. After all, someone had died at the scene, even if Han Lin had already killed that person, leaving only an empty shell at the scene.

To outsiders, however, it would seem as if the person had died accidentally during a confrontation with the police.

Of course, if it really was a terrorist, then death is death, and everyone will just applaud and cheer.

Hu Ze had already reported the operation to his superiors. Soon after, local police arrived to clean up the scene and asked the people present to delete the video, warning them not to upload it to the internet on the grounds that "there may be other terrorist members."

"It's actually an electronic communication blackout. I thought they would use a memory-erasing magic."

Tang Ping was somewhat disappointed.

"Eliminating memories is a second-tier spiritual technique, while precisely eliminating memories is a third-tier spiritual technique. Both are very difficult to learn, and very few people can master them. They are generally not used unless absolutely necessary," Hu Ze explained.

"It's enough for a battle of today's scale, but what if there are multiple casualties and the site is severely damaged?"

"They usually use gas cylinder explosions or natural gas pipeline explosions as excuses, and then have social media marketing accounts post a few videos of similar accidents that have happened before to cover it up."

"No wonder similar news has been appearing more and more frequently lately. This is such a shoddy job. Aren't they afraid of being exposed?"

Hu Ze said confidently, "Under the influence of psionic energy, as long as there is no solid evidence, even false information can be believed without a doubt."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ping immediately recalled the other party's psychic ability, "Three men can make a tiger," which was undoubtedly the best way to cover up the truth in the age of internet information.

No wonder someone who isn't a combat-oriented spirit can become a leader; in the information age, the "lobbyist" psychic ability is indeed more practical.

Some people may not understand how a rumor can form a logically consistent chain of evidence.

One of the simplest methods is to pollute the database, mislead AI searches, and then use AI to mislead more netizens. Netizens then spread rumors, further polluting the database, thus forming a closed loop.

Many people regard AI's answers as gospel, unaware that current AI technology lacks the ability to analyze the truthfulness of information. Even if the information is blatantly false, AI will believe it if there is enough data.

A more complex method involves fabricating false information that is difficult to verify or investigate.

The most typical example is a Chinese high school girl who fabricated a million-word history of Russia on Wikipedia. It went undetected for 10 years, and many professors and students who studied Russian history cited her fabricated history during that time.

Even more absurdly, the person who exposed it was not a professional historian, but a novelist who discovered the discrepancy while searching for references for his historical novel.

No wonder some people lament that the human world is just a huge makeshift operation, lacking rigor and riddled with bugs.

"Today's operation has come to a successful conclusion. Everyone must be tired. Those who want to rest can go home and rest."

The prisoners had not yet been handed over, and Hu Ze did not plan to hold a celebration banquet today. After returning to the supply and marketing cooperative, he announced its dissolution and went to report to his superiors himself.

When old classmates met, Tang Ping and Ma Yiming arranged to have dinner together. They found a self-service barbecue restaurant and chatted while eating.

"I never expected to run into a classmate. I thought that since I was in this line of work, I would have to live under an assumed name in the future."

Ma Yiming was very enthusiastic.

"It can't be that bad. Usually, there's a public identity to cover it up. For example, I can say that I'm a formal employee of the cooperative supply and marketing cooperative. Anyway, we're all on the payroll, and the benefits are even better. Outsiders can't tell the difference at all."

Although cooperative supply and marketing cooperatives sound like an obscure topic, archives aren't exactly popular either, so Tang Ping didn't feel anything about it.

"Your Security Section is better off, since you're responsible for the security of the mortal world and need a public identity. Our Armed Section mainly deals with the monsters in the Illusionary Realm, so we're basically all staying there. It's not easy for us to come out, and we have to sign all sorts of confidentiality agreements."

"I'm curious about one thing: why exterminate the monsters of the Illusionary Realm? What would happen if we just left them alone?"

"Ordinary monsters are fine, we can leave them alone, but great monsters are different. Great monsters will affect the mortal world. Their existence will interfere with fate, amplify low-probability events, and cause various accidents to occur frequently."

"Therefore, if a great monster appears in the location of a corresponding major city in the real world, the Armed Forces Division must be dispatched immediately to eliminate it, or at the very least, drive it to a remote mountainous area."

"In addition, if there are too many ordinary monsters in a region, it is easy for them to breed into powerful monsters. Therefore, we must monitor the monster density on a daily basis. Once we find that the density in a local area exceeds the warning line, we must eliminate some of them."

Tang Ping picked up a slice of beef and asked, puzzled, "Can't you kill all the monsters? Aren't they renewable resources?"

"You can't kill them all. Monsters are fantastical creatures, originating from human thought and civilization. As long as humans are alive and can build civilization, monsters will continue to be born."

Ma Yiming took a sip of cola, felt the taste was off, glanced at the bottle and saw it was Tianfu Cola. He shook his head helplessly and continued, "Our country has always faced great pressure to maintain stability because of our large population, long history, unbroken cultural heritage, and the world's fastest rate of monster births. This is a huge advantage, which means that although our country has the strongest spiritualists, we don't have much spare capacity to help foreign countries."

"I never imagined that cultural heritage could one day become a weakness," Tang Ping remarked.

"There are advantages and disadvantages. Psionicists from regions with a rich cultural heritage have a higher probability of awakening uniqueness. It is said that the number of unique psionicists in our country is more than thirty times that of the United States. Of course, in terms of the overall strength of psionicists, the United States is not a strong country. It would be difficult to even be in the top five. There is nothing to be proud of if we are stronger than them."

How powerful is the great demon?

"Extremely strong! It is generally believed that only monsters that have reached the third level can influence fate, and they are all unique individuals. So, in terms of spiritual energy alone, they are at least equivalent to unique third-level spiritual energy users. As for their spiritual power cultivation, they are even stronger, generally more than five times that of spiritual energy users of the same level."

"According to the Armed Forces Department's regulations, if the plan is to eliminate a level 3 monster, at least three level 3 psychics must be deployed, or two level 3 psychics paired with five level 2 psychics."

Tang Ping exclaimed in astonishment, "One great demon is equivalent to three psychics of the same level!"

Ma Yiming shook his head and said, "It's not calculated like that. The strength of a psionicist is not easy to express with data, and it's difficult to compare combat power. If there is a counter relationship, a psionicist can also defeat a great monster of the same level in a one-on-one fight. The Armed Forces Department stipulates three times the number to ensure the success rate and minimize casualties. It's like the police catching robbers; they don't talk to the other party about fair confrontation."

"Understood, saturation operation."

Chapter Twenty-Two: NPC Monsters

"Are all great monsters devoid of intelligence? Since monsters originate from myths and legends, logically some of them should possess rationality."

"Yes, and powerful monsters with intelligence are even more difficult to deal with."

"With wisdom comes communication, and with communication comes the possibility of cooperation. Has no one ever tried this?"

Upon hearing Tang Ping's question, Ma Yiming adopted a serious expression and reminded her, "Some people have tried it, but it was all a lesson learned in blood. You must never have the idea of ​​cooperating with a great demon. According to the summaries of our predecessors, demons are a kind of NPC. They strictly adhere to the settings in myths and do not have the ability to think outside the box."

Tang Ping thought for a moment and said, "That's not right. If we strictly follow the story's setting, shouldn't those gods who like to travel among humans, punish evil and promote good, and help the poor and needy cooperate with humans?"

Ma Yiming said, "You should also know that 'monster' is actually a general term. Among the mythical creatures born in the Illusionary Realm, there are gods, demons, monsters, ghosts, spirits, and monsters, but there are no immortals."

“There are no immortals…” Tang Ping frowned in thought, “Could it be because immortals are essentially human, therefore they don’t exist?”

"I don't know. Many scholars have made conjectures about this, but they all lack evidence. In the fantasy world abroad, there was a goddess of fortune called 'Fortuna'. In Roman mythology, she is the goddess who is in charge of happiness and opportunities for mankind. As long as someone gets close to her, she will bestow good luck upon them. Without a doubt, she is a benevolent goddess who is friendly to people."

"Sounds great, looks like there might be a twist later?"

Ma Yiming nodded slightly and said, "If Fortuna had appeared in a sparsely populated town, the foreign psionic world would not only not have attacked her, but would have even protected her instead. However, her territory corresponds to the city of Athens in the present world, which has a population of nearly 3.8 million and is the eighth largest city in Europe."

"Initially, the psionicist tried to persuade Fortuna to leave through negotiation, but she ignored him completely. When forced to resort to force, she accused the psionicist of being ungrateful and insubordinate, and at the same time reversed the good fortune she had been given to her into misfortune. She then went on a killing spree without any mercy. The first encounter ended in a crushing defeat for the psionicist."

"According to normal logic, since humans have already offended her, she should treat them as enemies and attack them directly the next time they meet. However, as long as they are not psionicists who participated in the last battle, Fortuna will still grant them good luck when she sees them. She will only turn against them and defend herself when you make a move. This is the main reason why everyone thinks that monsters are NPCs."

"Currently, it is generally believed in the psionic community that blessing humanity is Fortuna's design, not out of her own will. She must abide by it. Although her existence will bring disaster to humanity in the present world, as a god who is high above, she does not actually care about the life and death of humanity, which is why she refuses to communicate."

"To get God to compromise, you would have to create a myth where He is willing to sacrifice Himself and humble Himself for humanity."

While eating meat, Tang Ping digested what he had just heard. After a while, he asked, "Couldn't we just capture Fortuna and force her to leave?"

“We tried, but it was no use. God’s pride does not allow Him to submit to humanity. He will continue to resist until He dies. The reason why the psionicists do not destroy Him is that they want to obtain good fortune from Him. If He refuses to cooperate, it will be meaningless. Besides, destroying the great monster can obtain a lot of divine seeds. So in the end, we still took action.”

Tang Ping had seen the concept of obtaining Dao Seeds by defeating monsters, and the stronger the monster, the greater the chance of obtaining them. However, he had never heard of obtaining multiple Dao Seeds by defeating a powerful monster before.

Combined with what Ma Yiming said earlier about the absence of naturally born immortals, this explains why immortal-type Dao seeds are so rare, as they can only be obtained from powerful demons who have ascended to immortality—such as demon immortals.

The two ate and chatted, and time flew by.

Nowadays, people in Tangping no longer have the mentality of having to eat their fill at a buffet; they eat until they are about 90% full and then decide to stop.

"You participated in our security section's operation today, how did you feel?"

“Hmm…” Ma Yiming was trying hard to think of the right adjective, “High efficiency, high security, and unpretentious.”

Tang Ping laughed: "Haha, compared to the battles in the Illusionary Realm, it is indeed very simple and unadorned."

He now understands why young psionicists are unwilling to join the Security Bureau, because the power psionicists can exert in the real world is too limited.

In today's arrest, if we disregard Han Lin's ability to astral projection, only three or four armed police officers would have been needed to capture him.

If we disregard capturing him alive and simply draw our guns and shoot, Han Lin's performance wouldn't be any better than that of an ordinary robber.

Of course, on the other hand, it is precisely because there are one or two psychic powers that can be used in the real world that psychic criminals are particularly troublesome, and can only request the intervention of the psychic power management bureau.

For ordinary people, Han Lin's astral projection is unsolvable. Not to mention capturing and shooting him, they can't even find out his identity after he possesses their body.

"Would you like to transfer to our security department?"

Tang Ping knew that Ma Yiming was not a person who liked fighting and killing. He didn't even play games with strong combat elements, preferring management simulations.

Ma Yiming thought for a moment, then said with some difficulty, "Let's forget about it. The people in the Armed Forces Department have taken good care of me. The fact that my spiritual cultivation has progressed so quickly is also thanks to their support."

"Your so-called mentorship doesn't mean sending them on frequent missions, does it?"

When Tang Ping was at the psionic training base, she had already inquired about it. Although the Armed Forces Department was very busy, it wasn't to the point where "it was not easy to even get out of the house." They also emphasized the balance between work and rest and had days off. Ma Yiming's situation was clearly that he was being exploited like a beast of burden.

"Everything is done to serve the people."

After much thought, Ma Yiming could only offer this statement as a way to defend himself.

"As long as you don't hold a grudge."

Tang Ping smiled, not forcing the other party, as if it had just been mentioned casually.

The next day.

After arriving at work, Tang Ping immediately approached Hu Ze and asked, "Director, would you like to increase the number of staff in the department?"

Hu Ze's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he eagerly replied, "Of course I would! Do you have any wild psychic users you could recommend?"

What do you think of my classmate from yesterday?

Hu Ze's excitement vanished instantly, replaced by disappointment. "You want to poach our armed forces? Give me a break. You experienced our security operations yesterday. Do you think a normal young person would give up the extraordinary fantasy world of the Illusionary Realm for real-world brawling?"

Tang Ping nodded and said, "Normal young people certainly wouldn't, but my classmate isn't normal."

Yuan Ji, who happened to be passing by, yawned and said, "I think your classmate is much more normal than you. At least he doesn't think about retirement at such a young age."

"If I told you that he would agree to anything you asked him to do, as long as it was law-abiding and within his ability, would you still think he was a normal person?"

Chapter Twenty-Three: Undermining the Foundation

"How could such a person exist in reality?"

Yuan Ji's first reaction was disbelief.

On the contrary, Director Hu had a different opinion: "There are still such people. In the past, when workers were in charge and collectivism was advocated, such people were not uncommon."

"That's too outdated. Besides, times have changed. What we advocate now is Chinese-style values."

Tang Ping asked, "You don't believe me?"

Yuan Ji scoffed: "No one would believe that. It sounds fake that he would agree to anything you ask. Besides, it doesn't make logical sense. What if the two requests conflict with each other?"

Director Hu guessed, "Perhaps it's a matter of first come, first served?"

Yuan Ji persisted: "What if two people simultaneously make conflicting requests to him?"

Tang Ping said helplessly, "People aren't fixed programs. They have the ability to think, know how to make choices and compromises, and won't crash because of bugs. That's why I suggested to the director that we poach him. That way, even if the Armed Forces Department wants him to stay, he will make a choice based on his own wishes."

"You mean, if no one asks your classmate to switch jobs, he'll stay in the Armed Forces Section even if he's unwilling?"

"Logically, that's how it is, but in reality, it's hard to say. For example, one day his father might call him home and ask him to inherit the family business, and he might go back."

"That sounds very procedural. Could it be that your classmate is actually an intelligent cyborg who passed the Turing test?"

"I don't know what his true identity is, but I assure you that he is exactly the kind of person I just described."

"I still don't believe it."

"Let's make a bet."

"I'm not afraid of you, so what's the bet?"

Seeing that his two subordinates were arguing, Director Hu quickly interrupted, saying, "Hey, hey, hey, our government agencies must adhere to core values, promote positive energy, and reject all bad practices that violate public order and good customs. We can't gamble with money or goods."

Tang Ping originally planned to suggest that whoever lost should imitate the classic Declaration of Independence line, "OK, brothers, all eyes on me, look at me, look at me, I have an announcement to make, I'm a moron," but it contains profanity and personal insults, so it might not be approved.

He thought for a moment and then said, "How about this, whoever loses has to imitate an anime character, strike a classic pose in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, and shout out their lines."