Seized by the System

“Where does the future of humans lie? What is our goal, and how do we achieve that?”

Fang Ning began to search wildly in the System Space while he asked Anderson to collect advice from everybody.

He had never considered a question as large as this…

He had thought of the simple things for when the System had finished cleaning up monsters and criminals, like being able to walk on the streets at night without any fears, watching horror movies or reading thriller novels and not having to worry about ghosts lurking behind his back, and be a homebody without any worries…

These goals had been met in the unveiled areas in China after the System’s highly efficient purge…

This could be seen in the largely reduced workload of local Special Affairs Department, in some cities, some of them were even starting to merge.

Most Chinese citizens had experienced the benefit of the new era, like the development of cures for previously incurable diseases, the hope for longer lives, higher production power, an increase of societal wealth, the rise of the vitality industry, and the sharp decrease of unemployment, among others.

On the other hand, before the System went outside of the country, many places were in peril as evil monsters roamed the face of the earth.

Destruction and massacres were always much easier than construction and nurturing.

With that contrast, it was easy to see why the Truth Department trusted Vigilante A so much, ignoring his many quirks, and even helped him clean up the mess.

However, the System was not omnipotent. As was mentioned, many supernatural things had needed the local authorities and their associates to handle.

The System did not have the patience nor the brainpower to find the source of these enigmatic occurrences and formless apparitions.

They either hid inside the hearts of the people or was evolved from some strange maxims and will only manifest in certain specific situations. All these would have made the System incredibly powerless against them…

…

Everyone could see Vigilante A standing there, seemingly spaced out without any expressions or responses.

Park Deokhwan was smug. ‘As expected, the science labs and think tanks of the USA is the leading authority in the world. It’s not that Vigilante A is unbeatable, but his presence is useful to the states as well.

‘However, he cannot be the representative and symbol of the Heavenly Punishment. How else would the states be the upholder of justice in the new era?’

The crowd was anxious as a whole, and everyone was drilling their brains trying to think of an answer to the question. The answer to the question exists, but everyone had their own version of the answer, and the same goes with every organization and nation.

Good people naturally wanted a paradise to exist on Earth, while people with ulterior motives would want a sin city where laws could not be executed.

…

[The System is evaluating…]

[The System is evaluating…]

[The System has decided to uphold justice…]

Fang Ning was speechless. “Sir, can you please have a little patience? This is a tricky question to answer, we’ll need some time to sort out.”

He was stressfully filtering the answers he had gotten from Anderson and the inmates of the Draconic Penitentiary. The answers came in all sorts of colors, there were weird ones that proposed some really head-scratching concepts, and there were really logical ones with a noble goal.

However, Fang Ning felt that those answers were stressful to even look at, not to mention carry out.

For example, someone said the goal for humanity was of Great Unity. Everyone would have a long life expectancy with birth control, everything would be ideal, and people interact with each other with respect and friendliness…

The way to achieve that would be for everyone to unite and work toward resolving the unknown problems in the new era. The human powerhouses would be on the same page as each other and congregate the powers that needed to come together.

This was an exaggeration, but the rest were almost similar in their approach.

Fang Ning did not believe in even one of them being able to succeed. ‘There were fewer variables in the olden days, but still the world still could not march toward a utopian lifestyle. It was all a fantasy even in those days, let alone now with the plethora of variables that appeared…

‘Don’t even mention the others, is long life expectancy so easily achievable? How much resource does a person require to chase immortality, would that even be enough? Wouldn’t it require fierce competition which creates rivalries, and that, in turn, creates hatred and resentment. This would only create a vicious cycle…’

The System asked impatiently, “Billionaire, can you make up your mind soon? Such an easy question, do you have to dilly-dally for so long?”

Fang Ning was quipless. “You tiny system barely even a year old, how dare you claim such a thing as easy? Why don’t you answer it then?”

The System replied, “It’s easy, just say, ‘Where the future of humans lies, I don’t know. What is the human’s goal, I don’t know as well.’ ”

“Pfft!” Fang Ning almost spat blood. “I knew you would say that, it’s so you to say that.”

The System said indignantly, “But I knew what to do.”

Fang Ning was enlightened after hearing that. He stopped the System from continuing its speech and said, “Okay, you don’t have to say anything, I understand how I should boast—I mean, how I should give my speech.”

The System said, “Rich Host, you always steal my results to boast but never gave me any money.”

It was Fang Ning’s turn to reply indignantly, “You use my body daily but you never paid me as well…”

The System quipped, “I was taking care of your body, you should be paying me custody fee…”

Fang Ning had no comeback. He said, “I don’t want to talk to you now, I have to go out and get this issue sorted out with the three idiots.”

…

As everyone was worrying, Park Deokhwan opened his mouth again. “How was it? If the Venerable One couldn’t think of an answer now, you can still be an elder. I believe, with your unmatched combat power, it would be easy enough for you to deal with the threats.”

The other people glared at him furiously even though they were thinking the same thing. The Venerable Dragon God would take the place as the leader of the alliance, but he would still be in charge of the demon-slaying. The other things would be handled by them. However, some things should never be spoken!

Would that not be looking down upon the Dragon God himself?

At this point, Vigilante A opened his mouth.

He said calmly, “Where does the future of the human lie? I don’t know. The humans will need to look for this answer themselves.”

“Hm?” The crowd was stunned but also admired him in that instant. Someone who could admit his own shortcomings freely had to be wise. The Venerable One’s breadth of mind was as wide as the sky and the sea.

“What is the human’s goal? I don’t know as well, this will need to be decided by humans themselves.”

“Oh.” The others nodded and were not surprised. Vigilante A had always been seemingly aimless, flying everywhere all the time…

This was him giving the power of choice back to human, that was the true wisdom!

When everyone still marveled at him, a spirited voice rang out!

“However!” Vigilante A spoke in a more demanding tone. “I know what I am supposed to do, and that was to uphold justice and always be vigilant, eliminate sinners like you, and leave the bright skies and solid earth to the other creatures of the world! Whether or not humans will turn to the good, I don’t know, whether or not they will achieve their peak, I cannot guarantee, but the future of humanity will never take a turn for the worse!”

“Nice!”

Duke Yun immediately applauded.

He thought, ‘I finally have a chance to show my support for the Venerable One.’

“That’s a good speech!”

The other people followed. There were only several dozens of people, but they managed to produce a thundering applause. As expected, whatever Extraordinaires do, they would create a more extraordinary effect!

Right at that point, a magnificent music played above everyone’s head. At the same time, countless flower petals showered the entire crowd!

A glorious, majestic gold-plated door slowly plunged in front of everyone as petals accompanied its descent.

“It’s the Heavenly Sense! The Heavenly Axiom had recognized the speech and granted us with a miracle! The Venerable One is indeed the bearer of the heavenly decree! The leader of the Alliance just has to be you!” Seeing that, Officer Zhang quickly called out in order to finalize the process.

Park Deokhwan was horrified witnessing that. ‘I can’t believe I would mess this up and allowed Vigilante A to be directly acknowledged by the Heavenly Axiom!

‘That door, could it be that it leads toward an arcane realm gifted by the heavens?’

He had seen the research report of the American science researches and found out about arcane realms. That was an existence comparable to invaluable treasures!

Before he could even think about how his American employers would punish him, he saw a white shadow whipping at him. The two ghosts he had depended on behind him had disappeared all of a sudden.

Following that, darkness took him as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

“I’ll leave the human crimes to humans. I only handle non-humans,” said Vigilante A matter-of-factly.

“As expected of the Venerable Dragon God, the Pharos of the East! With the righteousness he possesses, it was no wonder the heavens would grant him this miracle!”

After the annoying Goguryeo people were driven out, the environment immediately warmed up.

“That’s right, the three petty people thought they were intelligent, but they picked on the wrong person and allowed Vigilante A to express his truth, which was acknowledged by the Heavenly Axiom.”

Everyone was praising Vigilante A as if trying to raise him high enough to go into the sky.

Then again, they were all praising him in mid-air anyway…

Fang Ning enjoyed the contentment in successfully pulling off the boast. The System could no longer take it and reminded him in jest, “Sir Alliance Leader, please enter now and stop wasting time.”

…

Vigilante A gestured and everyone quietened.

At that moment, the people of the Truth Department, Vigilante A’s animal followers, and people from friendly nations all looked at him with an eager gaze.

From his exclamation before, they understood that this hero would uphold his righteous nature and leave the choices to humans themselves. He would not behave like other powerhouses and keep humans in captivity like a herd of sheep with his mystery and position as a threat.

This was the best answer.

The hero had rarely spoken out, but he actually had wisdom!

Vigilante A said with his deep voice, “Let us all adjourn into this god-given miracle and continue our first meeting of the Alliance of Justice and Order.”

“Let’s do that,” everyone agreed.

The great green insect zoomed out of the giant eagle’s feathers, got in front of everybody else, and attempted to push open the door.

It looked at it in confusion and muttered, “Why does this door smell familiar?”

Immediately after, it felt a chill run down its back and shut up.

The people smiled in silence and most did not overanalyze. ‘The door was gifted by the heavens, and it condenses the Heavenly Axiom. As a Lake-level powerhouse, the great green insect was able to obtain the enlightenment of the Heavenly Maxim so it would sense a familiarity with the door.

However, no matter how hard it pushed, the door did not budge…

“Strange, why can’t the door be pushed open? Could it be that it’s a pull-door?” The great green insect began to pull on the handle.

The door still did not budge.

“A-ha! It was a miracle gifted to the Venerable One, so other creatures must not have been able to open it,” guessed Officer Zhang.

As expected, when Vigilante A approached, the door swung inward by itself…

“This wicked door.” Feeling unfair, the great green insect swooped in.

“Oh, this place is so beautiful!”

“There are really fresh fruits! Apples, bananas, oranges, longans…”

As the rest of them heard the joyful expressions of the great green insect, they also saw Vigilante A’s expressionless face changed as he ran in.

Fang Ning regretted as he thought, ‘Darn it, I just kept showing off and forgot all about the great green insect and its appetite. Please don’t mess up the meeting hall I spent so much time setting up.’

When everyone else had entered, they were stunned…

The trees were scattered across realm with a cornucopia of fruits hanging on their branches. Green grass swished about as butterflies fluttered by them. A stream flowed in a relaxed pace into the distance. The realm was as opulent as Xanadu.

Scenery like this was littered everywhere in the outside world, but this was an arcane realm!

Complete arcane realms at the current stage were beyond rare, and even more so for those that could cultivate living things.

The people immediately gave Vigilante A looks of envy, but no one was able to feel greedy about owning it. After all, this was an arcane realm gifted to him by the heavens, its ownership was determined by the Heavenly Axiom, no other people could have questioned it.

A palm-sized green insect was flying around the fruit trees as it stared at them with its googly eyes. Finally, it asked Vigilante A in a begging tone, “Great Green Dragon, can I help to eat some of these? The fruits will fall from the trees on their own when they’re ripe enough, and they would go bad if they hit the ground.”

Fang Ning was happy to hear that. The great green insect could really hold back its appetite as a sign of respect for him.

The value of these fruit trees had expired the moment they had been seen by the people.

He said, “Eat as you like, but remember to leave some for the guests.”

“Great Green Dragon, you really do keep your words of letting me feast if I come over!”

The great green insect jumped excitedly onto a huge apple and started gnawing at it, much to the surprise of those who knew it—it had always swallowed everything whole.

Everyone laughed. Would they mind not having some fruits in their positions?

The arcane realm must have been recently born. These fruits were evidently regular fruit and not vitality fruits.

Walking in front, Fang Ning stood at the foot of a short hill, only about three to four meters tall.

“This hill is not tall, but it symbolized the solid ground. Without taking the small steps, we would not have walked thousands of miles; without the converging on streams, there would not be rivers and seas; without the collection of dust and sand, there would not be Mount Tai. So today, we will have our first meeting here.”

An applause immediately roared out from the crowd.

…

A few hours later, the newly-minted leader of the Alliance of Justice and Order appeared on newspaper…

“Latest news, the Alliance of Justice and Order has been officiated beginning from today with the Pharos of the East taking the leadership. Heavenly Axiom recognized this leadership and granted him an arcane realm as the headquarters of the Alliance.”

On the other side of the ocean, a group of white men with a wide age range sat together in a shade-filled square. They read the newspaper and were chatting casually.

There were no one around them. Far from them, some men dressed in black suits and sunglasses were on the lookout.

“The plan failed, but it wasn’t surprising. After all, Vigilante A was not only one person. Those words probably belong to the other spirit in that body. What was surprising was that it actually triggered the Heavenly Sense that rewarded him with an arcane realm. Could he actually be the Son of Heaven?”

“The Son of Heaven will only appear in the states, and will only be a white person. I don’t know why the heavens will grant this miracle to them, but it was nothing. Our own arcane realm should be found soon enough, and it won’t be worse than the Land of Heritage in China.”

“It’s a shame that they managed to set up that Alliance of Justice whatever. Vigilante A’s combat was is inhumanly strong, none of the battle scenarios we’ve emulated were favorable to us. If we miscalculated, he may even obstruct our plan.”

“It’s not that bad, only a minor setback. His behavior had been well-studied. We would be fine as long as we don’t kill or threaten public safety. Even if he was flying right on top of us, we should be safe. As for the other things, we can just set up another organization to split up the work. Let the others handle the dirty work. As long as there’s money, plenty of people would want to work for us.”

“That’s true. At least this Alliance of Justice and Order could help us maintain the status quo and prevent the lambs from descending into chaos and affect our harvest.”

The crowd looked at each other and suddenly started to laugh simultaneously.