Chapter 137: Mercy

All the farces that took place at the Nanling Chamber of Commerce were tracked and observed by Fan Bei.

He was the only one who knew the whole truth of the matter; after all, possessing both the perspective of the Sword System and the Butler System, he could directly view the causes, processes, and outcomes of critical events.

Everything unfolded right under his watchful eyes.

The three evil entities that Lin Zhong青 could effortlessly wipe out with the system's assistance felt like the sky was falling and the earth was cracking to those beings. They were panic-stricken day and night, even resorting to the trick of substituting one thing for another to avoid incurring the wrath of other evil entities.

This filled him with deep emotion: history was repeating itself once again.

During the late Qing Dynasty, high-ranking officials who regarded foreign gunboats and cannons as myths had no idea that these things were merely a technological gap.

Just like now, the true assistance the system provided to Lin Zhong青 was merely imparting the cultivation methods of advanced evil entities and the techniques to temper spiritual power. From beginning to end, it never bestowed power upon her out of thin air.

The formidable strength she currently possessed was entirely built upon her own aptitude, hard work, background, and wealth.

Relying on the most advanced cultivation technology provided by the system to organize and integrate these assets, she unleashed a power that far exceeded anyone's imagination.

This was the technological gap. When the gap reached a certain degree, people had no choice but to call the other party a god.

Having obtained this "Father of Systems" for over half a year, Fan Bei had begun to completely mystify it, and by now he had mastered it quite profoundly.

Coupled with his growing understanding of evil spirits—most of which came from interrogating Xiao Bai, as well as the Butler System's interrogations of Xiao Bai and its peers—this had led to the massive mess currently at hand.

He gradually discovered that almost every functional module unlocked by this "Father of Systems" had its shadow visible among advanced evil spirits; none of them came from nothingness.

For instance, the system space and cultivation method exchanges were the most direct examples, as the adversaries possessed similar capabilities themselves.

The only seemingly ungrounded feature, "leveling up and allocating stat points," was actually nothing more than completely exhausting the potential of one's own physical body. Among those advanced evil entities, this was no secret; they possessed such means as well.

Stat point allocation had a limit, and this was the best proof. One could not turn a human into Ultraman through mere point allocation.

As for the guaranteed drops from defeating monsters, it was likewise just a technology—a technique to extract the spiritual essence of evil spirits, which ultimately boiled down to a means of extracting spiritual power from the ectoplasmic world.

The Butler System had spent 100,000 points to exchange for a method for Lin Zhong青 to extract spiritual power and artificially manufacture a spiritual core. This was also the reason why the opponent did not care about the closure of the evil spirit mine.

Relaying on the system, Lin Zhong青 had bridged the technological gap with her opponent. Now that both sides stood at the same starting line, what truly mattered was logistics and consumption.

Just like in World War II, when both sides fought into the middle and later stages, what ultimately determined victory or defeat was logistical consumption.

And right now, whose logistical power was stronger was a matter that was clear at a glance.

Although Fan Bei tried his utmost to create favorable conditions for the Butler System, the accumulation time had simply been too short.

Fan Bei shook his head, indicating that he was not optimistic; perhaps the best outcome would be running away.

Just at that moment, Da Bai barged in from outside, rolling a sphere along with its paws.

It said happily, "Master, Xiao Bai has rolled back."

"Uh, Xiao Bai, where have you been? We've been worrying sick about you these past few days," Fan Bei said with a completely straight face and steady heartbeat.

"Oh, Lao Fan, I just went out for a trip. But the wind outside has been too strong recently, so I came home to take shelter first," Xiao Bai replied, equally unfazed and calm. "By the way, Lao Fan, who on earth is that Compassionate Supreme Being you worship? Could you tell me His title to see if I knew Him before?"

"Seeing that you are asking for guidance so sincerely, I might as well tell you," Fan Bei said with a deadpan expression. "His Elderly Majesty is none other than the Lord of Stars, the Benevolent Luminescent One, the Creator of Fairy Tales..."

This title was not something he fabricated out of thin air; it had been personally extracted through interrogation by the Butler System.

There were weirdos everywhere. Even among the Asuras, who were notoriously evil and vicious in mythology, there were daughters of Asuras who defected to Buddhism.

This entity was similarly eccentric, playing the game of a farming simulator.

The only difference was that He treated the NPCs of His farming simulator far too well. Not only was there no slaughter, but He also catered to them meticulously and with utmost care.

Every single one of them was raised plump and well-fed, and many alien life forms resembling humans actually believed they were living in a fairy tale world—a reality that was unmistakably true.

Although quite a few advanced evil spirits mocked Him in private, He did not care and found joy in it.

Much like humans playing video games, some people liked to slaughter NPCs, destroying families and razing cities, while others preferred to be friends with NPCs, cherishing and trusting NPCs far more than their own kind. It was just that human games lacked excessively high NPC intelligence, making it impossible for such affection to truly deepen.

This entity was the same. Compared to the treacherous and fiercely contested ectoplasmic world, He preferred simple and controllable NPCs.

Fan Bei believed that even if the other party knew he had falsely claimed His title, He would kindly understand his hidden difficulties...

"Hiss... I always thought you were lying to me, but I didn't expect it to be true," Xiao Bai muttered to itself.

Of course, it knew very well whose identity this title referred to, as such intelligence was something it had to master in its capacity as a military strategist.

"I've read so many books, how could I lie to you?" Fan Bei said righteously. "Take you, for instance. You previously swore to go through fire and water for this Great Supreme Being for generations, but look at you now—hardly half a year has passed before you go off gallivanting and traveling instead of doing your job properly."

"Alas, I was wrong. Didn't I come back now? By the way, can you communicate with that Great Supreme Being and ask Him to come over and mediate? Let's avoid all this bloodshed. Things have finally settled down here; wouldn't it be nice for everyone to live in peace?" Xiao Bai cajoled.

Reminded by this, Fan Bei actually thought of a plan.

He wore a beaming smile and viciously squeezed Xiao Bai, pressing three dents into its iron-hard head.

"What on earth happened?"

Naturally, Xiao Bai dared not reveal its own fickleness and the possibility of incurring the wrath of its former master. Instead, it put on a different spin, claiming that Lin Zhong青 had caused a catastrophic disaster, likely bringing doom upon all of humanity on Earth and risking yet another purge.

In this upcoming purge, probably no one would be left alive, and perhaps only infants devoid of conscious memory could survive.

Afterward, the entire human civilization would have to be rebooted and remodeled.

"Damn it, the one you mentioned is far too arrogant and overbearing, actually venting her anger on so many people. Isn't that just bullying the weak and fearing the strong?" Fan Bei said indignantly.

Xiao Bai felt a sympathetic resonance and agreed repeatedly, "Isn't it just that? That's precisely bullying the weak and fearing the strong. That person never listens to reason. Once her guards are killed, she'll wake up, learn of this, and undoubtedly vent her fury on everyone else, including me..."

"Well, since you've put it this way, I'll offer a prayer to that Great Compassionate One," Fan Bei said earnestly.

With that, he exchanged for a manual titled *The Art of Mediumship*, figured out the method to summon the Great Compassionate One according to its instructions, and began setting things up.

Seeing Fan Bei's methodical arrangements, Xiao Bai's confidence grew even stronger; it seemed Lao Fan really hadn't lied to it.

This disaster could be averted once again.