Seized by the System

When Fang Ning began to focus on his task, he already had an idea about the pitfall of the Heavenly Axiom as mentioned by Sir System.

He discovered a key point from among those complicated reports.

The Chief of the American Special Event Investigation Bureau… Hook.

He painted a mental picture of the man; A middle-aged Caucasian, hook nose, high cheekbones, strong jaw, average looks. In the eyes of the Chinese, he was no different from other white men.

This fellow was the perfect candidate as a secret agent. His average looks made him easy to blend in with the crowd and did not require additional makeup.

In reality, handsome men like James Bond were not suited to be exceptional secret agents. They attracted too much attention.

An agent would be exposed if he got too much attention. His trail and actions must be discreet.

Fang Ning remembered Hook as the latter was present the last time when he converged the Heavenly Axiom of the arcane realm. Hook died at the hands of the alchemists.

However, based on the latest reports, Hook got a mechanical body and resumed his position as Chief of the Bureau, as if nothing had happened.

This was nothing out of the ordinary, as a lot of people had ideas to save their own lives, especially important and powerful figures like Hook.

What was extraordinary was Hook’s relationship with the Moon Goddess from the Upper Realm after his revival.

Fang Ning knew that this woman was a representative of the Upper Realm deities. She might be the one targeting the Heavenly Axiom.

In addition, she interfered with Vigilante A’s plan of barricading the Space Passage in the past.

This insider information was not gathered personally by Fang Ning but summarized by Anderson via the internet.

Many of the key figures had their respective profiles to ease the investigative process.

These reports were either sourced from the shared info at the Truth Department in China, uploaded by some followers of Vigilante A as part of their daily tasks, or published by some allies on a special, covert website operated by Sir System.

For example, William and Robert were allies so they would publish some insider info.

Previously, Fang Ning did not know about this secret website, and he was too lazy to care anyway. It was only recently that he found out Sir System had done a number of things behind his back…

When he thought of this, Fang Ning spoke. “Sir, we can’t allow the body double of the Moon Goddess to roam about freely, she poses a major threat to the Axiom Daddy. You need to find a way to suppress her and I’ll draw first blood.”

“Eh, there’s no point in doing so.” Sir System replied in a disappointed manner.

“Why?” Fang Ning was confused.

“Do you understand the concept of a mirage?” Sir System did not answer him directly.

“Oh, I get it. You mean that the body double of the Moon Goddess isn’t real, but merely a projection of her true self from the Upper Realm?” Fang Ning gasped.

“Exactly, that’s why I didn’t do much to control her. Last time at the cafe, I didn’t suppress her, but I talked a lot of bull, just like you.” Sir System responded helplessly.

“I see. How does one suppress a projection then?” Fang Ning was stunned.

The Upper Realm deities had all sorts of abilities. Despite the restrictions of this realm, they had the crisis to protect them. The strength of their powers allowed them to use many kinds of unimaginable tactics and it was not easy to tackle them.

Among the three Upper Realm opponents that they have faced, with the exception of the body double of the Golden Deity, those who tried to play tough met their match and Sir System had them sent to the Draconic Penitentiary. The other two who used their wits instead were not easy to defeat.

“Looks like we can only start with Hook.” Fang Ning said solemnly.

“This is easy. His body was provided by Black Robe. Someone as scheming and crafty as Black Robe will definitely have him monitored, just like how he monitors those drider laborers. And now, for some unknown reason, he’s willing to obey us and should be able to help.” Sir System proposed.

“Haha, you’re so naive. He isn’t obedient, but he wants us to face the deities while he reaps the benefits. Very smart of him. However, since he’s on the same side as us for now, there’s no need to be so calculative. It’s only by identifying our real enemies that we can gain the upper hand and yield quick and effective results.” Fang Ning reprimanded.

Sir System listened and felt dejected. “When you start being serious, you often reprimand me. You might as well stay at home and play games, that’ll be easier on me. I gave a good solution and you should give me some reward.”

“Cut the crap and take me to Black Robe now. I want to talk to him.” Fang Ning ordered.

“Hey, aren’t you about to push yourself? Why do you still need me to seize you? You do know how to fly.” Sir System did not want to move.

“What do you know? You’re now a driver, get it? Your boss wants to push himself and you still want him to drive on his own?” Fang Ning demanded.

“… I don’t get it. I just feel that I have been demoted again. I used to be the owner of half of this body, and now, when you push yourself, I have become your lackey.” Sir System remarked sheepishly.

“Good that you know. Let’s go now, don’t delay the great Detective Fang Ning.” Fang Ning checked the time on the computer and declared. “It’s now the first month and fifth day, 12 pm. I wish to meet Black Robe ten minutes later.”

“We’re already here.” Sir System replied grudgingly.

“Hey, drivers like you are rare in this world. You’ve brought me to my destination after I’ve finished speaking.” Fang Ning remarked and requested for the body.

He looked up and realized he was inside Black Robe’s American-style villa. He was also standing in front of Black Robe in his study.

“Vigilante A, you always arrive uninvited and barge into other people’s homes. Don’t you think that’s rather undignified of you? Besides, I can exercise my rights of self-defense in this country.” When Black Robe noticed Vigilante A’s appearance, his expression shifted and gave a snide remark.

Although his master ordered him to assist Vigilante A in order to resist the Upper Realm deities, this did not mean that he had to welcome him with open arms.

Not only would that be superficial, but it hurt his dignity as well.

“If this were a normal residence, I won’t come uninvited. However, this is the residence of a devil, so I’ll come as I please.” Fang Ning replied sternly.

Black Robe was at a loss for words. The truth was he was busy preparing for something that was neither noble nor evil.

This was part of the reason he did not want Vigilante A barging into his residence.

“Eh, Richie, your fast-talking abilities have greatly improved. You didn’t cultivate the “Atmospheric Morality Technique” for nothing.” Sir System was impressed when it saw Black Robe’s reaction.

“I guess so.” Fang Ning was also pleased with his own actions.

Black Robe resumed speaking after a while. “So, what brings you here?”

Fang Ning answered, “I’m tracking down someone and you should know about him.”

“Who?”

“Hook.”

“Oh, him. What a coincidence, I was also about to look for him.” Black Robe grinned suddenly.

“What for?” Fang Ning asked emotionlessly.

“Hmph, he took our most sophisticated mech technology and decided to work with those Upper Realm lowlifes. Does he think he can steal resources left, right and center? He doesn’t understand the real meaning of a ‘devil’ yet.” Black Robe responded coldly.

“Oh, what do you intend to do? I remind you that if you harm any innocents, our current relationship will be over.” Fang Ning emphasized.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just give him a slight punishment. Also, if you’ve seen his recent actions, I probably don’t have to take action.” Black Robe said confidently.

“Then you’d better let me have a look.”

“As you please.”

Black Robe lifted a finger and Hook’s tracks appeared at once in the study. It was like watching a 3D film in the cinema.

This was the disadvantage of being monitored. Although Hook was average-looking, someone could have planted a bug in his body.

There were scenes of him being transformed into a mech, scenes of him purchasing magical energy points from the Magical Energy Bank, and also recent scenes of him discussing and striking a deal with the woman in white.

Hook clearly stated his need for depending on the Upper Realm deities. He wanted to retain his self-consciousness while controlling the Earth’s Heavenly Axiom.

“How dare you withhold such a piece of important information from me?” Fang Ning was puzzled.

Normally, Black Robe would not disclose this information to him in the first place so that the former could take matters into his own hands.

“No point telling you.” Black Robe answered. “If he’s going to converge the path, that Moon Goddess won’t look for other representatives. If he dies, she’ll just look for someone else who can’t be monitored by me. Currently, he’s at a crucial stage of converging and the success rate is quite low. He’ll also waste a lot of time, so there’s no need for me to waste this monitoring opportunity.”

“Oh, how do you know that his success rate won’t be high? You must remember he’s someone chosen by a deity.” Fang Ning could not make sense of it.

“It’s simple, he doesn’t have the tolerance for it. Earth isn’t that big, but it has sustained life for millennia. Thirty-eight billion years of forlorn seas and songs of sorrow are not something that could be withstood by Hook alone.”

A figure seemed to appear in Black Robe’s eyes as if he was the only one who could swallow the entire universe.

“Really? It looks like I don’t have to interfere after all?” Fang Ning replied.

“Absolutely, but you can stay here and watch. See how he fails to converge the path. You can learn a thing or two from it.” Black Robe smiled wryly.

“Huh, since when did this fellow become so kind?” Sir System was surprised.

“Hmph, he just wants to traumatize us and make us give up the idea of interfering with the Earth’s Heavenly Axiom. These devils will never display kindness to strangers.” Fang Ning told the System mentally.

“I see, but speaking of this, no one has traumatized me except you. I’m usually the one who leaves others with unpleasant memories.” Sir System was confused.

“Eh, that’s not very nice. System, since when have I harmed you?” Fang Ning defended himself.

“You just did so.” Sir System emphasized.