Chapter 82: We Are Not Easily Frightened!

Compared to Lin Tianjing and Ren Guang, Zhou Shu was rather composed about the prospect of “becoming an idol”—after all, his abilities spoke for themselves.

Beyond being the chief director of the “Super Soldier” enhancement project and the youngest monster slayer in the Demon Suppression Bureau of Dongyuan City, today he had gained even greater fame thanks to his new companion, a super tabby cat. His thoughts now centered on finding Bai Huayue and eliminating this lurking threat.

Yesterday’s sudden incident marked a new phase in global monster activity, intensifying his desire to strengthen himself, especially his skills for detecting hidden monsters. Becoming an “idol” brought resource advantages, but also targeted attacks from monster organizations, even assassinations meant to undermine human confidence. Risk and reward went hand in hand, yet those so-called benefits meant little to him, since his path to power was unlike that of ordinary superhumans.

For him, it was more effective to slay monsters, absorb energy, then enter the virtual battlefield for training—and afterwards, directly enhance his abilities. He had no intention of visiting the Demon Suppression Bureau’s morgue anymore; his current energy income sufficed, so he avoided anything that might reveal his trump cards. Especially as monster activity would only grow more frequent, he couldn’t let them discover his unique power.

After breakfast, he didn’t choose to sleep. Instead, he logged into the Bureau’s database to research monster information. The more he learned, the tougher he could make his new virtual battlefield. The fiercer and more brutal the simulation, the greater his training returns.

From the records, today’s mutant monsters were, to the ancients, real “demons.” They could transform, devour humans, and ordinary people were helpless against them—what else could they be called but monsters? Many familiar legends likely originated from actual monster events, embellished over time. As for tales of romance between humans and monsters, there were probably prototypes for those as well.

Judging by Huahua’s existence, not all monsters were man-eaters; some could coexist peacefully with humans. With physical attributes over 1.1, Zhou Shu could stay up all night, so by seven in the morning, dawn had come.

As people rose for breakfast, official organizations and news agencies began broadcasting updates on yesterday’s incident. Some cited netizen reports, others had journalists on the scene, and some referenced official information. Yet these were mostly scraps—the truly valuable news was the announcement of a “Central Secretariat Press Conference” scheduled for ten a.m.

As the highest authority of the Great Qin Empire, the Central Secretariat’s press conferences carried the utmost credibility. When word spread that a conference was imminent, everyone’s spirits lifted. Not only the Qin citizens, but even foreign nations watched closely.

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The influence of the Great Qin Empire was immense, and the timing was ideal. Those who broadcast earlier lacked its reach; those with comparable impact were still in the dead of night. Its eastern neighbors—the Eleventh District and New Korea—did have some international sway, but were too busy to hold their own conferences. With three major metropolitan areas comprising seventy to eighty percent of the Eleventh District’s population, and half of New Korea’s people living in its capital region, both places had been hit by sudden monster assaults and were overwhelmed.

Even if they held press conferences, there would be little to see—just a few ceremonial bows, with no real solutions offered.

While people awaited the press conference, news of attacks from around the world continued to flood the internet. Though the first wave had subsided, the operation to clear monsters hidden within cities persisted. Sometimes, monsters escaped the authorities, only to inadvertently expose others that had been in hiding all along.

Many were horrified to discover their neighbors were actually man-eating monsters. Only when special forces demolished a neighbor’s house did they realize it. The neighbor had a drug habit, and people were familiar with their reactions after using, sometimes even laughing at their antics on the street. But today’s events revealed the drugs had changed.

Had this not been discovered now, next time it might not be them watching their neighbor make a fool of themselves, but their own relatives looking at their funeral portrait.

Videos like these sent waves of panic through the populace. Even those who previously dismissed their neighbor’s drug use as trivial immediately reported them.

And then, there were follow-ups. In one video, a squad of fully armed soldiers raided a residential house where a group of young people were partying, music blasting and smoke filling the air. As the soldiers shouted “open the door” and burst in, the youths weren’t afraid at all—instead, they cheered.

“There’s no monster here; we made the report ourselves!”

“We just wanted to see if the hotline was real—can’t believe you actually came!”

“Wow, this is so cool! Let’s party!”

But as they celebrated, one particularly wild youth began convulsing, trembling more and more violently. Someone was about to compliment his “robot dance,” but before they could speak, his form suddenly twisted, and he started wreaking havoc among the crowd.

At this point, the video was censored, but viewers could easily imagine the carnage.

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With people everywhere on site, the soldiers initially dared not fire, but when the monster charged at them, someone lost control and opened fire.

The video ended there, leaving viewers uncertain whether the monster was killed, or if stray bullets had harmed innocents.

Yet the impact of this footage was immense, casting a shadow of fear over all. People realized that a terrifying “new era” had arrived.

With these thoughts in mind, everyone was eager to see how the Great Qin Empire would respond. As one of the world’s most powerful nations, if the Qin had a solution—combined with efforts from other major powers—humanity still had hope. If even the Qin failed, the other nations would likely fare no better.

Perhaps humanity’s end had truly come.

As ten o’clock approached, the Central Secretariat’s press conference hall was packed with journalists from around the globe—these were permanent residents of the capital, well versed in both Qin news and their own countries’. Even before the conference began, they exchanged information and worries, their anxiety heavier than most.

All hoped for good news from this press conference.

At exactly ten, several officials in various formal attire took their seats beneath the blue screen. This conference was hastily arranged and the situation was extraordinary, so some less crucial formalities were skipped. The spokesperson opened by defining the attack as a terrorist incident, and the organization behind it as a terrorist group.

Their tone was solemn and resolute. After reporting on casualties and battle conditions in more than a dozen attacked cities, the spokesperson moved to what everyone wanted to know: how effective was the Qin Empire’s combat power against monsters?

Noticing the somber mood, the spokesperson promptly presented footage of “Super Soldier” powered exoskeletons unleashing their full firepower in battle.

“The monsters’ surprise attack caught us off guard, but I want to tell those monsters: if you think you can scare us with such tactics, you’re delusional!”

“We weren’t raised to be cowards—the only thing you’ll receive from us is our fiercest retaliation!”

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