Chapter 703 A Bustling and Clamorous Peaceful Life

“That’s why I originally wanted to be a Dark Knight, just lurking in the shadows and killing a few evil people now and then. It wouldn’t have been a hassle like this, with so much to do all day.”

The backstage staff, of course, heard Su Zhou’s complaint. Naturally, no one dared to chime in, but they were quite understanding.

Having followed Su Zhou all the way from the recovery ship back to Zhengguo, they knew he had only stopped for a brief meeting with the Shao siblings, who came to the Celestial Capital specifically to welcome him. They had only talked for a few minutes. Su Zhou gave Shao Shuangyue a vial of sterilized Moon Soil, then they parted ways again, and he rushed over for the press conference.

Although Su Zhou had chosen the time for the press conference himself, it was just as he said: he had other matters to attend to and could only wrap this up as quickly as possible.

[But if you did that, you wouldn’t be able to openly obtain the intelligence needed to eradicate those evil people who pose a grave threat to the world. You’d only be able to deal with petty, local crimes and would have to face the world passively.]

Just then, the Artifice Sage’s calm voice sounded from the terminal Su Zhou was carrying: [And the results of you taking the initiative are plain for all to see—the Continuous Prayer Meeting has waned to the point of disappearing, thanks to the heavy losses it suffered before the Spiritual Energy Revival. Meanwhile, you wiped out the Spirit Summoning Association, and the sole member of the New Dawn Association completely vanished a few days ago.]

[Ah, I remember now. You were one of the Zhengguo citizens kidnapped in the Shan Country… Haha, come to think of it, the fall or decline of the Three Great Mysterious Organizations is, in one way or another, connected to you.]

[Su Zhou, these are the opportunities you would not have had if you’d remained in the dark.]

“That’s not necessarily true, Artifice Sage.”

Su Zhou contradicted him out of habit. Already quite used to the omnipresent Artifice Sage, he just smiled and then said seriously, “Has the Yu Saint said anything? I was just about to come find you.”

[I know. A vehicle is ready for you. Just come.]

Nodding, Su Zhou walked out of the press conference hall. Sure enough, with the soft purr of an engine, the black luxury sedan from the New World Exploration Department pulled up in front of him.

The AI-controlled door swung open, and Su Zhou settled into the car, completely at ease.

[Would you like a beverage?]

“Orange juice this time. Got to get my vitamin C and boost my immunity. By the way, where’s our destination?”

[████. You will need to transfer to another vehicle upon arrival.]

“Oh, a top-secret location, huh.” Taking out the orange juice and snapping off the cap, Su Zhou took a sip. ‘My clearance isn’t even high enough,’ he mused. ‘It must be one of those secret underground labs… Don’t tell me the Artifice Sage has already guessed what I want to talk to him about? That’s surprising.’

“What’s more surprising than that, Su Zhou, is that you still wish for a peaceful life at times.”

While they were en route to the undisclosed location, Yara, hidden away in Su Zhou’s Personal Space, made a rare observation. It was coiled around the clearly catatonic Wisdom Tree Branch, its voice lazy. “I still remember a few years ago, right after you signed that contract with me—back then, how much did you want this world to be a little more exciting?”

“I’ve always enjoyed a peaceful life, Yara. But that doesn’t conflict with my love for excitement.”

Communicating with Yara telepathically, Su Zhou leaned back in the private car’s rear seat. He stretched, the casual movement of his limbs containing enough torrential power to completely destroy a skyscraper. He replied to the Snake Spirit’s teasing with a laugh. “How should I put it? I really do like a more exciting world—giant fighting robots dozens of meters tall, all kinds of strange aliens, Transcendents and Immortal Gods who can Call the Wind and Summon the Rain, ancient super-ruins, and colossal Giant Beasts the size of mountains. I really do love all that stuff. I’m dying to see it all for real.”

“Back then, I tried summoning a Demon, threatened a Pen Immortal, went to sleep in places rumored to be haunted by Evil Ghosts, and performed the Bloody Mary ritual in front of a mirror at least twenty times in the middle of the night—but I never succeeded, not once. Of course, there were no Demons, Pen Immortals, or Evil Ghosts. If it weren’t for Qiming and Little Shuangyue keeping me company back then, I probably would have died of boredom.”

“But I want these things to appear in a good way. A super Monster shouldn’t show up and cause a huge ruckus, disturb people, or even kill them. Aliens shouldn’t visit with malicious intent and a fleet of warships…”

“Sigh… I know that’s a naive way of thinking, but since they’ve all really started showing up, I have no choice but to reluctantly give up my peaceful life and go take them all out. I mean, who else is to blame? I’m the one who wants the world to be this exciting, yet also a place where I can live a peaceful, everyday life.”

As Su Zhou spoke, his expression was one of pure longing.

He genuinely thought this way. He wanted the world to become like the ones in novels, comics, and all kinds of fantasy films. He wanted to live in a world that was lively and bustling, but where everyone lived perfectly normal, peaceful, and quiet lives.

As for those who didn’t want others to live in peace, they were, without a doubt, just beings with incredibly bizarre ways of thinking and exceptionally strange dispositions. In other words, whether it was the leaders of the Spirit Summoning Association, especially the Silent, or that Silver Slime Monster whose name he couldn’t remember…

They were all Monsters.

And Monsters, when they are killed, they die.

As for Kroessel, the new Leader of the Continuous Prayer Meeting, on the surface, it seemed Su Zhou had spared him only because he was willing to accept being monitored.