Mental Illness Evolution Manual - Chapter 82

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The Holy Healing Church, of course, was not a good thing. It encouraged people to praise suffering and submit to fate. It must have been pleased with the current situation.

What could bring more suffering to people than war?

Besides, the more people suffered, the more fertile the ground for religion to grow. If everyone was happy and content, who would believe in God, who would seek solace in the intangible realm of the spirit?

Azberto’s purpose was clear. He wanted to carry out genetic optimization, to execute those he deemed useless. The church, of course, wouldn’t mind turning the whole world into a large-scale experimental field.

As for who was useless, it could be deduced from his past words and actions, a man of obsessive nature.

He hated people who were overly emotional, believing that this behavior was due to their brains not being fully developed. He advocated for reason above all else. He hated people who were overly indulgent, believing that they couldn’t even control their physiological reactions, their bodies, how could they control their lives? He also hated short-sighted, stupid, unambitious, and self-indulgent people. He blamed them for hindering the development and progress of society.

In Azberto’s mind, only the talented, the ambitious, the truly capable people could survive and lead the human race to a brighter future.

As for the bad parts, they needed to be removed, like a festering wound that needed to be cleansed of its rotten flesh to heal.

Regardless of the current citizen class, he used the church to give everyone a completely fair starting point. He carried out the first screening—willpower.

The modified green mist didn’t have as much killing power, there was no risk of immediate death, but the damage to the body and the torment and destruction of the spirit were not reduced.

A truly capable person might not be mentally tough, their strengths might lie elsewhere. But a waste, they would never be able to survive the erosion of the green mist.

In this regard, he was actually like a law-abiding, orderly person, and he believed in absolute equality.

It’s just that his screening didn’t care about humanity, it didn’t care about reason. It was based solely on his own personal will, and there was no chance for repentance.

A good person might make mistakes, a bad person might also reform. The greatest virtue of humanity is it’s tolerance, it’s forgiveness.

But in Azberto’s world, those two words didn’t exist.

So he ordered the clearing of Kurtz City’s underground establishments because he believed that anyone who could mingle among them must be parasites, scum, they didn’t have the spark he wanted to keep.

If he could, he would have had the legion clear out the underworld and release the potion at the same time. But considering that the people in the legion might not all pass the screening, he was forced to abandon this idea and instead act separately.

However, Azberto didn’t believe that any of these social pests would be able to slip through the screening.

After the Great Cleansing Era, the world was in ruins. The war had left many uninhabitable radiation zones, and the population was far less than it had been, almost a quarter had been lost.

The Federation divided the existing population into ten districts, each with a legion.

Because the government was now unified, the army was not large, after all, there were no external enemies.

After Azberto was promoted to general, he had control over three legions. The other legions were led by other generals.

A large legion, hundreds of thousands of people, not everyone was a die-hard fan of Azberto, supporting his ideology. Most of them were ordinary people.

But he was so confident that these soldiers wouldn’t mutiny, that they would always obey his orders. It wasn’t because of his charisma, but because of a small chip.

The church was indeed very experienced in controlling people’s hearts. Walnut Town was not their only experimental area.

The Insect Master had indeed told the truth, but a person’s perspective is limited by what they can see.

How could a frog at the bottom of a well imagine the vastness of the ocean? How could a mayfly, living only for a day, know the beauty of the changing seasons?

The true nature of the church was not something that the Insect Master, a latecomer and a hired thug, could fathom. It had the support of the masses below and the tycoons above. Its depth and foundation were far beyond what a small fry like the Insect Master could imagine.

The prisoners captured in Walnut Town had all died as soon as they were connected to the brain-computer interface. They died before they could even be interrogated.

Before they died, they all shouted, “Never betray the church,” which startled the interrogators.

They examined the bodies, there were no external injuries, no signs of poisoning, they had simply died of brain death. Such an inexplicable and mysterious death was most likely related to abilities.

The church also had mental ability users.

The Resistance had always considered the church their greatest enemy, precisely because of this. They couldn’t get any useful information from the church members who were captured. And the words of those who, like the Insect Master, intended to betray the church, were too one-sided.

Using religion and faith to control people, using the fanaticism of believers as insurance, was much more reliable than simply bribing them.

After all, bribery couldn’t make people willingly die, but faith could.

The Resistance’s understanding of the church was always limited, although the church felt the same way.

This time, Azberto rebelled, and the church was involved. What about the Mechanical Holy Land?

After all, Azberto’s initial reason for going to war was to wipe out the Mechanical Holy Land. The interrogation information he reported was also true. This organization must have played an important role.

If the church and Azberto both had their own motives and interests driving them, why did the Mechanical Holy Land get involved?

They had always wanted the consciousness upload technology. Would a chaotic society allow them to achieve their goal?

Unless, they were fishing in troubled waters, they had another purpose.

Lu Mingqiu’s mind raced, she suddenly remembered a rumor. The rumor was that although the consciousness upload machine had been destroyed, the blueprints had been preserved and were kept by the current president of the Federation.

After all, no matter what, this technology was the crystallization of human wisdom. If it was completely destroyed, wouldn’t that be a waste?

The machine was indeed destroyed.

But with the blueprints, it wouldn’t be difficult to build another one.

Were these madmen planning to attack the presidential palace in the chaos? Lu Mingqiu thought it was absurd, but then she thought again, maybe not. Did cyber maniacs care about logic or reason?

The president’s death and the disintegration of the Federation would probably be insignificant to them.

The moment she understood, she contacted the other party. A veteran politician of decades, he grasped the connection instantly. He hung up, immediately calling his secretary. In a low, grave voice, he instructed, “I need to see the President.”

At that time, Azberto’s outrageous actions had just been reported. The president wouldn’t be idle watching the live broadcast. She first mobilized the army to suppress the rebellion. Then she ordered people to evacuate civilians, provide disaster relief, and control the prices of daily necessities, so that the social economy wouldn’t collapse.

Then the internal communication rang, the Minister of Finance wanted to see her.

There must be something that wasn’t convenient to say over the communication.

The president of the Federation looked very old. She had a somewhat plump face, but she didn’t have a kind air. Instead, she was imposing and had a lot of presence.

After the Minister of Finance entered the room, he leaned over and whispered these guesses in her ear.

The president’s expression remained calm after listening. She ordered three more guards to be deployed.

Since he had explained the situation, he was about to leave. After all, whether it was controlling the economy or providing logistics for the army, it was something that he, the Minister of Finance, should be concerned about.

Thinking about this, he couldn’t help but curse Azberto.

Everyone was doing well in secret, why did you have to overturn the table?

Is having a family history of mental illness so great? Can you just go crazy?

He was already suffering every day, trying to find ways to make money from the tycoons. This money wasn’t for him, it was all spent on the people’s livelihood.

War was even more expensive.

And the various problems that came with it made him want to stab Azberto, who didn’t play by the rules, to death.

Lu Mingqiu hung up the communication, she wasn’t idle. She first went online and used the Shadow Empress’s official identity to post a communication, urging everyone to stay safe.

Then she ordered the Resistance members to start retreating.

Mobilizing the legions took time, but Azberto had the upper hand. He started to advance from north to south.

He captured Malishan City first, he moved into the Federation’s office building without a care. Then he ordered that all those who had a criminal record in the city be killed.

From petty theft to robbery, no one was spared.

The blood in the city stained the snow red. The stench of burning corpses permeated the entire city, lingering for a long time.

The soldiers were like iron statues, they didn’t blink an eye as these people cried and begged.

Whether they were cursing, angrily scolding, or sadly begging, using tears and wails as walls, they couldn’t stop the reaper’s blade.

The once prosperous city instantly turned into a hell on earth.

Such a tragic scene could not be described in words.

The inhumane massacre lasted for a whole day. The roar of artillery fire drowned out their cries.

The army that came to suppress the rebellion had arrived.

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The war was raging, the suffering of the common people was invisible to the upper class.

Dingyang City was even holding a banquet, it was Theresa’s engagement party. The omega she had chosen was the daughter of another tycoon family, she was gentle as water and very beautiful.

An invitation was sent to Yan Xianchuan. She went, but Lu Mingqiu didn’t.

When she was at home, Lu Mingqiu didn’t shy away from dealing with various matters in front of her. She could hear everything about the stalemate of the war, the people’s protests, and the treatment plan for the five cities that had been poisoned.

Although Dingyang City was still peaceful, the air was thick with the smell of an impending storm.

But when she arrived at the banquet hall, the guests were all chatting and laughing, holding wine glasses, whispering softly. Occasionally, a few words about the war would be brought up, but they would be quickly diverted to other topics.

—Why talk about this, it’s not interesting. I got a pair of exquisite cranes through connections yesterday, I’m keeping them in my garden.

So everyone started talking about the pets they kept, how they were picky eaters, how they had bad tempers. It was called complaining, but it was actually showing off.

Yan Xianchuan was usually very interested in this kind of gossip. It was a way to pass the time. How could she spend time at a banquet without listening to gossip, without listening to their sarcastic remarks?

But lately, she had heard too much of Lu Mingqiu’s analysis of the situation, all kinds of worries. When she looked at them, she couldn’t help but feel a little bored.

Such a big thing had happened in the outside world, and there were so many undercurrents. They didn’t know or care, they only focused on their own little patch of land, like peacocks showing off their wealth all day long, calling it the foundation of the upper class.

So ignorant, so narrow-minded.

Yan Xianchuan didn’t stay long, she left.

When she went back, Lu Mingqiu was staring out the window.

“I need to do something,” she said softly, “I can’t stay here anymore.”

“Azberto’s army has set up a battle line between Lipe’a and Malishan. Their military supplies are being transported from Kurtz City continuously. Neither side is showing signs of fatigue, they might fight for a long time.”

“In this kind of war, one person’s strength is like a drop of water in the ocean, it can’t make a difference. But we can’t just sit back and wait to die.”

“The poison gas in the five cities, led by Absolute Winter City, has been absorbed, but the church has released it again in Yulu City. Their goal must be to cause chaos inside and out, to make us overwhelmed.”

Lu Mingqiu’s face looked a little tired, but her eyes were bright, “Interfering in the war is like hitting a rock with an egg, but causing trouble for the church is what we’re best at, isn’t it?”

The church is the tycoons’ lapdog. If they want to do something, don’t think twice, just stop them.

Yan Xianchuan didn’t say anything about whether it was dangerous or whether they had a chance, she just said, “I’ll go with you.”

Before the other person could speak, she continued, “I remember there’s an ability user who can transform into many people. Let her come and take my place.”

Because of the war, the Yan family’s business was actually doing better. Everyone was on edge, who wouldn’t want to buy more weapons and stockpile them for a rainy day?

Even though the Yan family had doubled their prices, they gritted their teeth and paid.

The business in Dingyang City continued as usual. There was no news from the main family. If Yan Xianchuan simply quit, wouldn’t all the effort she had put into creating her image be wasted?

The ability user who could change her appearance was Mirror. She had made a great contribution in the Walnut Town incident, and she hadn’t had any missions since then. She was currently free.

Besides, if she came, she would definitely be able to handle things more resourcefully than Yan Xianchuan, the original owner.

Yan Xianchuan couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t smart, she was just too impulsive.

Lu Mingqiu pondered for a moment and agreed to the idea.

Yan Xianchuan was so happy that she ate two extra bowls of rice that night. She didn’t have to pretend to be a decent person every day, she didn’t have to be hypocritical with these people.

When Mirror arrived, she was as close to her as if she had met her parents again. She was about to beat a drum and celebrate.

It was Yan Xianchuan who brought her back. There was no reason, no justification. She was an alpha, she brought someone back, did she need anything else? No.

Mirror, with a restless face, walked into Yunmeng Terrace without a care. She was taken directly to the top floor.

The face she was using now was beautiful and alluring, she didn’t know whose face it was.

She was using the identity of a member of the Wanderer family.

She knew the details, so as soon as she entered the door, she transformed into Yan Xianchuan.

Yan Xianchuan: !

Yan Xianchuan: “It’s so similar!”

Mirror looked at her and slightly adjusted a few details. Now the two of them looked like they were carved from the same mold, they were completely identical, there was no coincidence.

She was also very meticulous. She just followed Yan Xianchuan around for an afternoon, and she learned quickly. Even the small movements and habits that Yan Xianchuan herself didn’t notice, Mirror could imitate perfectly.

The next day, Lu Mingqiu left Dingyang City on an airship, using the excuse that she had business at the entertainment company. She would escape when she got to Nanjin City.

When Mirror had observed enough, Yan Xianchuan drove her away again.

When they left, there were two of them. When they came back, there was only one—Mirror, disguised as Yan Xianchuan.

Yan Xianchuan took the opportunity to leave and boarded a car to Shangyuan City.

The church used high-altitude bombing to release the mutated potion. The potion was heavier, so it would naturally descend directly, without mixing with the air too much. As for the small amount that did spread, it was normal loss.

To carry out high-altitude bombing, you need corresponding flying equipment. Whether it’s an airship, a helicopter, a drone, or a fighter jet, you need to apply for permission to fly over a city, and it must be approved by the relevant department in advance. You can’t just fly around without permission.

So the Ministry of Transportation received an order from above to submit a list of all reported flying objects from the past week.

Yulu City was the victim, they didn’t have the manpower, but it didn’t matter, they could get the data from the main system.

They had to compare each one with the surveillance footage, one by one, to find any suspicious flying objects.

After searching through them, they found nothing. All of them were within the scope of the reported use.

Lu Mingqiu wasn’t disappointed, she said, “Apply to check the satellite surveillance footage.”

Speaking of investigating satellite surveillance, it’s impossible not to mention the war during the Great Cleansing Era. There were originally many satellites in space. Every country with the power to do so would launch a satellite into space to show off its international status.

Some major countries had more than one.

But after the war began, satellites were the first thing that every enemy country wanted to destroy. If you have a satellite, you can take pictures of anything on the ground. Wouldn’t everyone see my military movements?

There are now three satellites in space. They were launched by the Federation after it was established.

Departments that need satellite maps, such as the meteorological department and the transportation department, will receive automatic real-time information feedback from the system. The right to use the three satellites is entirely in the hands of the president.

Even if the Investigation Department wanted to apply to investigate surveillance footage, they would need to go through layers of approval, which was extremely troublesome.

The Minister of Finance received the news and got up from his chair again. He went to see the president of the Federation to talk in private.

Lu Mingqiu quickly received the surveillance footage. It was a drone, a clearly modified model. Its flight altitude and load capacity had been significantly improved.

After completing its mission, it landed in an inconspicuous truck. The truck eventually drove into a meat processing plant in Shangyuan City.

So Shangyuan City was their target.

Besides themselves, Lu Mingqiu called three other ability users to form a five-person team.

After they met up on the road, Yan Xianchuan discovered that these teammates were all familiar faces. There was Jinhuan (Gold Ring), who could control metal, the bard, Wandou, and the druid, Ge’er.( TL: OK the others are using their real names)

The first one was an old acquaintance, the latter two had met Yan Xianchuan during the Walnut Town mission.

On the way to Shangyuan Town, Lu Mingqiu stated their purpose, “Our main goal is to investigate, to find a way to catch the church red-handed.”

“Try to find the storage location of the mutated potion, if there really is one here.”

The expressions of the people who came were very serious. Jinhuan didn’t have the mood to discuss gossip about his superiors with his companions.

They didn’t say much along the way. Yan Xianchuan observed their expressions and whispered to Lu Mingqiu, “We’ll succeed, don’t worry.”

Lu Mingqiu shook her head and replied, “I’m not worried about that, it’s just that… too many people have died.”

Isn’t death normal? Even without Azberto’s rebellion, people die every day. Now it’s just a little more.

But everyone dies anyway. They’re skipping a few decades of hardship, isn’t that good?

Yan Xianchuan thought this in her heart, but she wouldn’t say it. She was crazy, not stupid. If she said that, Lu Mingqiu would definitely be unhappy.

Lu Mingqiu’s gaze was heavy, she sighed softly.

To be honest, with the Resistance’s current number of ability users, could they directly attack the homes of the major tycoons without regard for the consequences, and kill all the relevant people?

There would be a lot of casualties, but they could do it.

Why not do it? Because it’s useless. If one tycoon falls, another one will rise. It’s just a change of personnel, there’s no fundamental change.

The exploitation would still exist, the existing oppression wouldn’t disappear, it might even be worse.

After all, these people would think, my predecessor was wiped out by these commoners, no, I’m going to take all their money, so they won’t have any money to rebel, they won’t have any money to think about anything else. They’ll just be thinking about how to make money and how to survive.

What was the difference between Azberto’s actions and those of these tycoons? They were all people in positions of power, arbitrarily shaping those who were lower than them based on their own preferences and desires.

If Azberto was a homeless man, would he have this destructive power?

At most, he would kick over a trash can and urinate on the walls.

The harm that a person in a position of power can do to the people is immeasurable.

The Resistance wanted to eliminate the tycoons, they wanted a fair social environment, they wanted a way to survive with upward mobility, not the current chaotic state.

Azberto thought that the common people were born guilty, he thought that they couldn’t escape their current situation because it was their fault, because they weren’t capable enough.

But weren’t the tycoons who blocked their path the real culprits?

If everyone could have a decent life just by working hard, who wouldn’t want to live a good life?

It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they can’t.

They don’t even have the right to learn to read. It’s already difficult to survive, how can they have the time to think about morality and ethics?

In this situation, to demand that these people have never done anything illegal or immoral is like splitting hairs.

Lu Mingqiu’s heart was filled with concern for the people and society. When these words reached Yan Xianchuan’s ears, they were instantly transformed.

Yan Xianchuan: She must have seen so many people die, kind Qiuqiu can’t stand it anymore!

She pulled out her backpack, opened the zipper, rummaged through it for a while, and pulled out a purple-wrapped candy. She stuffed it into Lu Mingqiu’s hand.

Then she leaned over and whispered in her ear, “My treasured candy, grape-flavored. It has a filling.”

“Here you go.”

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