Chapter 9: Executing Justice, The Mechanical Heart

"Sin. Purge."

The robot had also scrambled to its feet; its hands, shoulders, and mouth all sprang open simultaneously. Muzzles extended from these various parts, all aiming directly at Zhou Yan, glowing with a dangerous light.

The next second, a deluge of firepower poured out, instantly turning the ground where Zhou Yan stood into a spray of dust and debris, completely engulfing his form.

As the dust settled, Zhou Yan was seen standing steadily in place, his arms crossed in front of him. His armor was stained dark and grimy by the smoke and fire, yet he appeared completely unharmed!

Underneath his helmet, the corner of Zhou Yan's mouth curled upward. The artillery hit he had taken on the robot's back earlier had revealed that although this massive machine looked formidable, the technological weapons it generated through its own special ability were limited by its power output—they felt inferior to genuine heavy-duty military hardware. Other than blowing him backward, they hadn't actually injured him.

Thus, he suppressed his instinctive fear of firearms and decided to try tanking a concentrated barrage. The result was exactly as he had expected.

With the bonuses from his Super-Fusion, his Ghost-God transformation, and the harvesting circuits activated by slaughtering so many ordinary "Desirers," his current combat physique had exceeded "400." While perhaps not precise, it could be roughly equated to having the physical strength of forty men combined. His body was incredibly resilient, and his surface-level Tyrant-Ghost armor contained the inherent hardness of his Life-Suit, resulting in an absurdly high defense. He could likely withstand the blast of high explosives at close range, let alone the explosive power simulated by the robot's "Force of Desire."

Beyond this basic defense, his Life-Suit also provided a bonus from his "Armor" class. While the hardness of his suit was further enhanced, he could significantly reduce incoming damage by assuming an active defensive posture at the precise moment of impact!

Facing the unscathed Zhou Yan, the robot did not hesitate; its various muzzles glowed once more.

The next instant.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, the robot's glowing muzzles all went dark. The robot’s entire midsection arched backward. Its glowing red electronic eyes looked down to see Zhou Yan—a mere speck in its perspective—having closed the distance to its abdomen in an instant, his small fist punching solidly through the police car armor it had crudely mounted.

The next second, Zhou Yan kicked off violently, ripping the entire vehicle armor right off as he leaped backward!

"Beep! Beep! Beeeeep—"

Amidst the shrill, piercing alarm, Zhou Yan did not flee. Instead, he continued to leap and dart around, taking the robot apart bit by bit as it clumsily tried to grab him. Eventually, he had dismantled the giant machine until all that remained was a large sphere wrapped in various mechanical components.

The sphere was about three meters in diameter, with countless gun barrels protruding from its surface, firing a ceaseless stream of ammunition at Zhou Yan. Throughout this process, Zhou Yan gained an even deeper understanding of the power of heavy weapons versus his own ability to endure damage. Facing the rain of fire, he simply crossed his arms before him with indifference, tanking the assault to launch his final strike.

"Wild Walk!"

As the technique activated, Zhou Yan felt his body flooded with a unique energy, his senses sharpening dramatically for a short time. His feet moved in a high-frequency blur, leaving a long trail of afterimages as he dashed forward. With a single charge, he seemed to teleport right in front of the metal sphere.

His left fist, radiating a strange light, coiled at his waist.

"Ghost Fist!"

Zhou Yan stretched his entire body, and his terrifying left fist, wreathed in shimmering light, smashed heavily into the metal sphere. The next second, his fist—embedded deep within—released a massive burst of energy that gathered and compressed inside the sphere, then—exploded!

Hum—

Time seemed to stutter for a moment. The entire area went silent amidst the detonation of the Ghost Fist energy. The massive metal sphere shattered into fragments, exposing the "Justice" robot, which resembled a Terminator, within.

Zhou Yan’s left fist was buried in the robot’s broken chest. Cracks spread across the machine’s body as it began to disintegrate rapidly. Amidst the continuous fracturing, Justice’s perfectly circular electronic eyes stared straight at Zhou Yan. Its mechanical mouth opened and closed, emitting Justice’s original human voice.

"You are... that night... the small plaza... the strong one..."

The red light in its electronic eyes gradually dimmed.

"I was foolish... rampaging... damnation..."

Its mechanical head also began to crack.

"Thank you..."

Justice’s electronic eyes went dark for good.

[Killed "Great Desirer," gained 4022 Spirituality]
[You have obtained "1-Star Runes — Physique, Sharpness, Spirit"]
[You have obtained "Mechanical Core: Modified"]
[Killed six "Great Desirers" (2/6)]

Hmm!

Zhou Yan looked at the information before him with interest. As a Great Desirer, the spirit reward for this guy named "Justice" was more than double that of the "Sandman" he had killed earlier. Moreover, he had hit the jackpot—not only three "1-Star Runes" but also an item he had never seen before.

He reached out and grabbed the remaining shattered mechanical head to examine it.

[Great Desirer (Desire of Absolute Justice)]
[Type: Host of the Butterfly of Extreme Desire]
[Description: Pathologically chasing a certain desire has triggered the special power of the Butterfly of Extreme Desire, allowing the user to turn "Desire Matter" into a conceptual ability suited to themselves.]
[Rating: 1-Star, Rank 0]
[Attributes: Physique 71, Sharpness 65, Spirit 73]
[Note: Obsessed with justice but ignoring the despicable vermin—truly foolish.]

As expected, it was a 1-star monster. It seemed that among Great Desirers, those strong enough could reach 1-star, while the weaker ones were only 0-star, rank 5.

Zhou Yan stored the head in his Ghost Gourd and began to review the spoils of victory. He immediately installed the three basic attribute runes. At this rate, he only needed seven more runes to advance his Life-Suit. If the subsequent Great Desirers were all at the level of "Justice," he would surely achieve an advancement, perhaps even exceeding the number of runes required.

Then, he turned his attention to the unfamiliar item.

[Mechanical Core: Modified]
[Type: Mechanical Accessory (Core)]
[Description: After the Great Desirer codenamed "Justice" rampaged and transformed into a mechanical lifeform, he gained the ability to merge with machinery, alter its form, significantly enhance its performance, and control it at will—after being modified and purified, this mechanical core has been converted into a special accessory usable by an Order Walker.]
[Effect: Fusion — By installing the Mechanical Core into a mechanical construct of a lower rating, you can alter the construct's form and significantly enhance its performance, while allowing it to be controlled by the Order Walker’s will (consumes 30 Life-Suit durability per second while active).]
[Rating: 1-Star, Rank 0]
[Note: Communication devices, firearms, land, sea, or air vehicles—as long as it’s a machine you can imagine, you can try stuffing it inside.]

Good stuff!

A joyous look appeared on Zhou Yan’s face beneath his helmet. He hadn't expected to acquire such a highly versatile item.

*I really want to try it out immediately... but.*

Zhou Yan looked at the countless bizarre-looking Desirers surrounding him in the purple mist.

*Let's clear out this trash first!*

His Tyrant-Ghost armor entered the Ghost-God transformation state again. "Wild Walk" activated, and his entire body instantly turned into a blur.

Next, it was time for a massacre!

* * *

Half an hour later, under the wary gazes of curious onlookers and federal police officers surrounding the area with guns drawn, the purple mist slowly dissipated. What greeted everyone was a landscape littered with the remains of Desirers and the scars of explosions. Naturally, there were also plenty of human limbs and blood.

As for the members of the "Truth Association" who had "triggered" this disaster, aside from the shooter Qi Yu, who had voluntarily stayed behind to be detained by the federal police, everyone else had vanished.

However, after the police force conducted their cleanup and investigation, and following the interrogation of Qi Yu, the former federal officer, a few facts were basically confirmed.

First, the leader of the Truth Association, "Justice"—the giant robot that had appeared in public—was in all likelihood killed.

Second, other than Justice, the only surviving member of the Truth Association was the "Shooter" Qi Yu, who had been detained; another girl, a swordswoman codenamed "Sword Master," was missing, while all other members were confirmed dead.

Third, according to information provided by Qi Yu, the powerhouse in red armor who appeared at the end was the most likely person to have killed Justice, and his name contained the character "Zhou."

Fourth, also based on Qi Yu's information, although Justice was the fuse for this incident, there was a person or organization called the "Pope" operating in the shadows behind the Truth Association. The black powder that could spread and stimulate the desires of the parasitized, causing them to rapidly mutate into Desirers, was the handiwork of that mysterious organization.

With this, the Desirer riot at the Civic Plaza came to a comma.

Yes, a comma. Because the incident—from its forewarning to its progression and the subsequent upheaval—was too shocking; it was no longer a level of news the federal government could suppress. It wasn't just the citizens of Longing City who were enraged; the entire nation where Longing City was located had erupted in a massive wave of debate.

Countless citizens were frantically discussing the event online and offline. For a time, terms like "Black Pupa," "Desirer," "Mutation," and "Truth Association" were in the headlines. Large numbers of citizens organized protests, demanding that the federal government disclose the truth and provide a plan to deal with the mutations and the rampaging Desirers as soon as possible.

Facing immense public pressure and additional international scrutiny, the federal government issued an announcement on the national news channel the following noon. The federal leader would appear in the national metropolis in one day to explain the situation to the citizens and the international community.

On the very day this announcement was made, Zhou Yan—who had gone into hiding with Long after killing "Justice" and the many Desirers—was already driving a motorcycle modified and controlled by the Mechanical Core, heading toward the nation's capital: the Metropolis.

He anticipated that the members of the so-called "Church of Extreme Desire" were already on their way to the Metropolis as well. That would be the final battlefield where everything would be settled.

* * * *

Two days later, the Metropolis. The day agreed upon for the federal announcement.

The press conference was held at the Parliament building in the heart of the capital. By now, the area outside Parliament was already packed with crowds of all skin colors. Much like the Civic Plaza in Longing City, there were many banners and flags, and a large number of people shouting various slogans.

However, since this was the Parliament, the scale and number of guards deployed were much higher than the small police force in Longing City. The citizens shouted their slogans fervently, but none dared to break through the blockade to rush the Parliament. After all, one could storm the Civic Plaza, but if you dared to storm the Parliament, the federal security forces would truly open fire.

Amidst the dense crowd, Zhou Yan, wearing sunglasses and a mask, drifted along with the current, holding the hand of a girl dressed similarly. This kind of attire was common among the crowd, and they didn't attract any attention at all.

"My Lord." Amidst the noisy clamor, Long leaned close to Zhou Yan’s ear and asked, "Do you think the Church of Extreme Desire will really show up?"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but look at the heavily armed soldiers and police officers in front. Two days ago at the Civic Plaza, she had seen the police use firearms firsthand. She knew that with her own strength, if she were surrounded by these ordinary people with live ammunition, the outcome would likely not be good.

In Long's view, in this world, besides an invincible powerhouse like Zhou Yan, anyone surviving under that kind of firepower would at least need to be at the level of that giant "Justice" robot. Could it be that the Church of Extreme Desire possessed monsters comparable to "Justice"?

Zhou Yan smiled slightly: "They will come. And after the Civic Plaza incident, the fact that the Parliament is actually going to disclose the inside story in just two days..."

"It makes me think even more that the Church of Extreme Desire is pushing this from behind. Such an opportunity is rare, and it's hard to get a second chance, so they certainly won't let it pass."

"I understand." Long nodded quickly. Regardless of what happened, as long as she stayed close to Lord Zhou Yan, it would be enough. No matter what the opponent was, Lord Zhou Yan was invincible.

Zhou Yan patted the girl’s head.

Then, amidst their idle chatter, time gradually slipped away. Shortly after, amidst a sudden roar of noise from the countless masses, Zhou Yan took out a foldable tablet, logged into the official live stream, and watched it with the girl beside him. The tablet in his hand was visibly different from the phones or tablets of those around him, both in shape and display, feeling like it was a generation ahead.

It was the product born after Zhou Yan "fused" the Mechanical Core with an ordinary mobile phone.

In high definition, he could see the Parliament hall filled with a large number of people—mostly journalists with long and short lenses, as well as officials from various countries sitting in the front row. On the stage sat a row of high-ranking federal officials, the one in the center being the federal leader Zhou Yan had specifically researched before arriving.

At this moment, the middle-aged man, dressed in a suit and tie, began to speak with a stern expression. He first thanked the representatives from various countries for coming to hear the announcement, as well as the journalists present, and then concisely moved to the main topic.

In a very short time, he completed the statement covering matters such as "admitting the existence of the Black Pupa and Desirer incidents" and "explaining the latest progress on the riot at the Civic Plaza."

Immediately following that, he said with a serious face: "Regarding the risk of Desirer rampages, citizens need not worry. After urgent research by the federal government, a new type of vaccine specifically targeting desire suppression has been put into production. It will soon be transported to the infected Longing City—"

"BOOM!"

Before the leader could finish his sentence, a world-shaking explosion was heard.

The screen instantly went dead.

Zhou Yan, who was keeping watch outside the Parliament building along with countless other citizens, watched with his own eyes as a violent explosion caused a large portion of the Parliament building to collapse.

Terrified screams erupted immediately.

Amidst this sudden chaos, Zhou Yan patted Long on the shoulder and said calmly.

"Look, they’re about to take the stage."