[Database download complete.]

The AI’s voice sounded once more, interrupting their discussion about flying into orbit to steal a satellite.

Getting into orbit wouldn’t be an issue, but coming back down would be. The simplest reason was that the Tai Sui God’s Divine Armor Value was too low, making the return trip a problem.

Qi Suian would be fine, but the Tai Sui God would likely have problems.

So, he set the idea aside for now.

However, it wasn’t that there was no solution—he could just make the satellite fall on its own.

The AI had already hacked into the Watchman Morning Company’s systems; how could it just leave empty-handed?

"This is a huge wealth of knowledge. It probably won’t be easy to learn it all within a year."

This database contained a whole range of technical knowledge on subjects like biology, medicine, energy, materials, and more.

It was with this advanced, cutting-edge technology that Watchman Morning had become a monopolistic corporation spanning multiple nations.

This wasn’t something that could be built overnight. The Watchman Morning Company was founded over three hundred years ago.

According to the database records, the founder’s original goal was to pursue the eternal life left behind by the being known as the Profound God.

He was a descendant of the Ancient Dian Kingdom.

As for the fall of the Ancient Dian Kingdom, the database also had a record of it. It was said to have happened because the Profound God answered the prayers of the Dian Kingdom’s King and descended.

How could a mortal kingdom bear the presence of a god? And so, the Ancient Dian Kingdom was destroyed.

"That... doesn’t seem right." Qi Suian narrowed his eyes.

He had discovered something very interesting: the founders of the Watchman Morning Company were Chunyu Hu and Chunyu Bao.

The subsequent elders and the current shareholders of the Watchman Morning Company were all the same people.

The problem was, these were all figures from three hundred years ago. Logically, they should have been dead long ago.

More importantly, things didn’t add up.

He had, after all, captured Chunyu Bao alive. And even though only a head remained, Qi Suian had still tortured it.

The man had been a regular modern person, with no memories of the past.

As Qi Suian continued to browse the records, the problem he had noticed grew larger and larger.

’Clones...’ Qi Suian’s eyes lit up as he came across a certain technology, an idea flashing in his mind.

’The real elders of the Divine Prayer Association are pulling the strings from behind the scenes, while the current shareholders are just clone puppets they’ve put forward.’

The Divine Prayer Association was the predecessor to the Watchman Morning Company. Many of Watchman Morning’s advanced technologies had unknown origins and most likely came from the Divine Prayer Association.

As for why such crucial information would be in Dawn’s database, Qi Suian actually had a theory.

The clone elders of the Divine Prayer Association hadn’t just become suspicious; they had already investigated and uncovered a fair amount of intelligence.

No one wants to be someone else’s stand-in or puppet, so it was only natural that the clones would want to turn on their true masters behind the curtain.

"So, the one who died was just a clone version of Chunyu Bao!" Joy practically radiated from Qi Suian’s face.

This was fantastic news.

The original Chunyu Bao would definitely be more valuable.

"He’s just hidden himself a bit too well. AI, were there any clues in the network database you downloaded earlier?" Qi Suian asked.

[No anomalies.]

The AI searched and quickly replied.

"He’s buried deep."

"I suspect that the Profound Virus being able to spread across the entire world in just five minutes has something to do with the Divine Prayer Association."

Qi Suian had, of course, read in the database about the initial lab leak, but even with a leak, it would be impossible for the entire world to be overrun by zombies in five minutes.

At most, it would have been a problem contained within the lab. Did they really think the Watchman Morning labs were as porous as a sieve, letting anything just drift out?

Normally, even if a leak occurred due to an experimental error, it wouldn’t escape the laboratory; it would be sterilized internally.

But the experiment that triggered the zombie crisis was extremely unusual.

The Watchman Morning Company was certainly extraordinary, but they simply didn’t have the capability to do something like that.

Hadn’t all their other branches and subsidiaries been wiped out along with everyone else, except for their headquarters?

This showed they couldn’t even fully guarantee the security of their own technology.

More importantly, their ability to be immune to the Profound Virus only came about recently, after they developed the two modification technologies: the Immortal Surgery and the combat program.

When the outbreak first started, they didn’t have this technology.

If the Watchman Morning Company had really been behind it, how could they have been so unprepared?

One slip-up and they could have been completely wiped out themselves.

’So what could the Divine Prayer Association’s goal be? To bring about the descent of the so-called Profound God?’ Qi Suian wondered. ’That seems a bit too fantastical, doesn’t it?’

’The Profound God came from the heavens and fell upon the Ancient Dian Kingdom.’

’Isn’t that just a meteorite carrying an alien virus...?’ Qi Suian grumbled to himself.

What else could fall from the sky? An actual god? ...Then again, that possibility couldn’t be ruled out.

’How to explain... Celestial Fate: Profound?’

Qi Suian realized that the alien virus theory didn’t quite explain everything either.

’But a virus is definitely a virus. Everything else, though, is up in the air.’ Qi Suian felt the world was going crazy, with all sorts of things popping out of the woodwork.

From a small lab leak to a zombie apocalypse, and now to the Divine Prayer Association and the Profound God.

’Forget it. This isn’t something I can solve right now.’ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

’I’ve got what I came for. It’s time to leave... but before that, I’ll hit the Watchman Morning Company with something nasty.’

Qi Suian had already gotten what he came for. And since he was already here, he figured he couldn’t just leave. He hadn’t come all this way to go back empty-handed, and by the same token, you shouldn’t pay a visit without bringing a gift.

’AI, do you think you can delete Dawn for me? Make them lose their artificial intelligence completely,’ Qi Suian thought.

At such close range, if he could just poke out their eyes, the rest would be easy.

[Unable to comply. The enemy’s system is too large and has physically isolated backups. Deletion will not cause significant impact.]

[Suggestion: Initiate a volley from the Floating Cannons or release a high concentration of the Profound Virus.]

"Only children make choices. Adults take it all."

When Qi Suian saw the suggestions, he knew it wasn’t a multiple-choice question; it was an ordering question.

[Commencing execution...]

The AI naturally understood Qi Suian’s meaning.

It immediately took control of the Tai Sui God and began to act. First, the Floating Cannons began to charge, while a high-concentration dose of the Profound Virus was launched directly at the employee dormitories.

Simultaneously, it began deleting all of the AI Dawn’s data.

Once fully charged, the Floating Cannons converged and projected a powerful Ghost Energy Storm at the preset location.

As the number of Floating Cannons increased, they naturally developed new abilities.

For example, after converging, five Floating Cannons would become a single unit, but its power would be double the sum of the five individual cannons.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water. Once finished, without waiting to see the aftermath, the AI immediately activated the Wind Master flight system and made a run for it.