Chapter 46: The Power of the Empire

Serena and Nangong Rin had the exact same thought, immediately rushing toward the computers to retrieve the data within them.

However, before she could even get close, a trace of an imperceptible ripple swept through the air, and a tall figure materialized without a sound.

She had shoulder-length black hair as dark as ink, and a modest yet elegant white Daoist robe that accentuated a breathtakingly hot and curvaceous figure.

"I will take these back for research. You two may return now."

Nangong Rin's red lips parted slightly, her tone as gentle as if she were discussing the weather, completely unaffected by the suffocating stench that permeated the surroundings.

Looking at the woman before her, Janny felt an overwhelming sense of noble elegance emanating from the very bones of the stranger, making her hesitant to even speak casually, as if any presumptuous word would be a form of sacrilege.

Nangong Rin raised her right hand slightly, and a soft beam of light shot forth from her sleeve.

The dozen computers inside the living room instantly vanished without a trace.

Immediately afterward, several more beams of light darted into the bedroom, sweeping away all of Bede's personal belongings.

The next second, her figure disappeared from where she stood, as if she had never been there at all.

Serena furrowed her brow slightly, but ultimately said nothing.

With a gentle tap of her toes, her figure moved like a light, graceful wild goose, swiftly and elegantly gliding out of the balcony to land on the rooftop of the adjacent apartment building.

A mildly chilly spring breeze brushed against her face, finally driving away the stubborn scent of decay clinging to the tip of her nose.

She could not help but take a deep breath of the fresh air.

Behind her came Janny's curious voice, "Lady Serena, do you think there was anything particularly important in those computers?"

"Not sure."

Serena's voice returned to its usual gentleness. "In any case, the mission assigned to us by the Saint has been completed."

"Lady Serena, you don't seem very happy?"

Janny keenly perceived that her superior was in a low mood.

"Mhm."

Serena admitted it frankly.

She was indeed somewhat displeased.

The reason was simple: once upon a time, beneath the Saint, the thirteen Legion Commanders formed the undisputed top-tier combat force of the Empire.

Ever since Nangong Rin descended upon this world, however, that pattern had been shattered.

Beneath the Saint, the Empire's top tier had become Nangong Rin alone.

And then there were the extraterrestrial fiends, whom even Nangong Rin viewed with deep apprehension.

All of this stirred an urgent impulse within Serena to become stronger.

Although it sounded somewhat treasonous, deep down, she had always harbored a secret desire to one day cross swords with the Saint and see who came out on top.

These thoughts naturally could not be confided to Janny behind her.

Not giving her curious subordinate a chance to continue questioning, she turned around and gently stroked Janny's hair with her hand.

A gentle smile capable of melting ice and snow once again bloomed on Serena's face, completely concealing her previous train of thought. "Alright, don't ask so many questions. The mission is done, let's head back."

"Yes."

Janny's cheeks flushed slightly as she obediently nodded, asking no more.

...

On the east side of the Sacred Palace, near the Azure Dragon Gate, lay the area where imperial officials worked and resided.

The ministers' core working district was located within the majestic Cabinet Office Building.

The vital departments under their direct jurisdiction, naturally, would not be crammed into the main building, but instead occupied independent office spaces nearby.

For instance, the Internet Supervision Bureau, commanded by the Director of Cyber Affairs, exclusively occupied a square, six-story building.

Each floor was divided into six spacious office areas.

Nangong Rin's figure materialized directly in Area D on the second floor.

Having already received word, Lei Junfei, the senior secretarial assistant, immediately hurried forward with a beaming smile on his face. "Greetings, Miss Nangong. I am—"

"These are the computer and related materials of the target, Bede."

Nangong Rin directly cut off his self-introduction. With a wave of her right hand, a stream of light poured from her fingertips onto the empty space beside them, rapidly transforming into the dozen computers, followed by Bede's phone and some forged identification documents.

"Hurry up."

"Please rest assured, we will crack all the encrypted data on his computer at the absolute fastest speed!"

Lei Junfei made a solemn pledge.

Those who managed to enter the Internet Supervision Bureau did not rely on connections, but on solid, hard technical prowess.

Every single technician here was hailed as a genius at their alma mater.

They were the Dahan Empire's premier team of programmers.

Even if Bede's technical level could rival a few of them individually, in terms of hardware configuration and backend support, he was simply incomparable to the Internet Supervision Bureau.

The military-grade artificial intelligence "Tiangong" system built by the Internet Supervision Bureau was driven by massive quantities of top-tier chips, and its computing power far surpassed that of ordinary artificial intelligence.

With the assistance of the "Tiangong" system, cracking the encrypted files on those computers would be as easy as turning over one's hand.

...

In less than five minutes, the critical data within Bede's computers had been extracted and organized by the Internet Supervision Bureau, and submitted directly to Bai Yujing's private account through the encrypted channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Bai Yujing leaned back comfortably in his spacious executive chair, holding the mouse in one hand to click open the files, while his other hand picked up a peeled grape from the crystal dish on the table and tossed it into his mouth.

Squish!

His teeth gently pierced the flesh, and the sweet-and-sour juice instantly diffused across his palate.

Enjoying a bit of fruit after a meal always stimulated the appetite, making one feel like eating a few more bowls of rice.

His gaze fell upon the unfolded chat window displayed on the screen.

It contained the organizational chart of the "Immortal Cult".

At the very apex was the "Prophet," beneath whom served nine "Saints."

Inside Bede's computer, there were only the forged false identity profiles he had created for five of those Saints.

There was also an encrypted communication software capable of bypassing the Empire's routine surveillance.

Through this software, the Saints were able to maintain secret contacts with certain power-brokers within the Empire's borders.

At the same time, Bede used adult software to steal massive amounts of user information, which he used to register shell companies that served as cover for money laundering through bank accounts tied to those fake identities.

All of this was designed to facilitate his hiring of countless internet trolls to systematically spread propaganda regarding the "Immortal Cult" across the web.

Bede's original plan had been to cast a wide net; the promotional rhetoric seemed simple, but it was meticulously designed.

The target demographic was locked onto the elderly and patients plagued by illness.

After all, which sane ordinary person would easily believe in a suddenly appearing Immortal Cult?

Only those trapped in despair, like drowning men, would desperately clutch at any straw that seemed capable of saving their lives.

Subsequently, Bede had even mapped out a workflow for further gathering and managing these attracted individuals via the internet. The relevant operating manuals had already been written, and the internet accounts intended for aggregation and management had been prepared in advance.

He had simply overestimated his own technical prowess while severely underestimating the terrifying computing power and tracking capabilities of the Internet Supervision Bureau's "Tiangong" system.

Bai Yujing quickly copied the forged identity information of the five Saints and pasted it into the national database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a cross-check.

Soon, the system returned the results.

The bank accounts, hotel lodging records, and even property purchases or rental information registered by these five individuals using false identities within the Empire were laid out one by one.

Bai Yujing had no inclination to keep them under surveillance first.

Judging by the Prophet's ruthless methods of silencing witnesses, these Saints had likely already received alerts and were frantically evacuating their current hiding places.

Even so, fleeing in such haste might leave behind some clues.

His fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, issuing urgent orders to the Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Eleventh Legions.

Then, he stood up and said, "Nangong, accompany me on a trip."