The modern world is like a sieve (7): 

Looking at the incomparably handsome archangel gathered together with the cosplayers, passersby couldn’t help but exclaim: “These wings look way too real! There’s not a single trace of props on his back!”

“I just saw those pairs of wings move a little! They’re so beautiful, even a peacock spreading its feathers isn’t this stunning!!”

“Is this level of looks even real?? I swear if I post this photo, a bunch of people will chase me around praising my Photoshop skills, but damn it, I just snapped this casually!!”

“Forget the face, that body alone is enough to set people on fire, I swear my nose is about to bleed.”

“Huh, aren’t you a guy? Something’s off with you.”

“…”

Han Zhen couldn’t hear the voices around him at all. He rushed downstairs at full speed and saw the archangel not far away, only a few dozen meters ahead. Without caring about anything else, he charged straight toward the group of cosplayers.

A photographer standing outside the crowd quickly pulled him back, frowning: “Hey hey, buddy, don’t go in there, we’re taking pictures!”

Being blocked out of nowhere, Han Zhen’s expression turned extremely impatient: “I saw my friend. I’ve got something to talk to him about!”

The photographer’s eyes shifted subtly, then he asked: “Your friend? Who? I can call him over for you, and you two can talk outside.”

Han Zhen thought to himself, The archangel doesn’t understand your language anyway, shouting won’t help.

Better not accidentally offend him. If he gets upset and burns someone to ashes with holy fire, not only would they die, but I’d also lose the chance to sneak away with him. That would be a disaster.

Han Zhen spoke irritably: “No need, I’ll just go talk to him myself.”

He tried to shake off the photographer’s hand, but the man was surprisingly strong and held on tightly, refusing to let him through. Annoyed, Han Zhen snapped: “The hell is wrong with you? You own this place or something? I need your damn permission to walk past?!”

People nearby turned to look, and after understanding the situation, someone cut in: “They’re taking photos, why are you so desperate to walk right into their shot?”

“Exactly, can’t you wait a bit if you want to talk to your friend? Or call him over instead? Why do you have to interrupt an organized event? Dozens of people have to stop working because of you—don’t you feel ashamed?”

The comments from the crowd made Han Zhen even angrier. People subtly or deliberately blocked his way, glaring at him with contempt, forcing him not to get closer. Stuck, Han Zhen could only curse his bad luck—what were the odds that a bunch of cosplayers would be here, and that the archangel, because of his appearance, would be mistaken for one of them and absorbed into their group?

And who knew who might end up angering the archangel next and getting killed by him. He had to speak with him before the archangel killed someone in public and caused mass panic…

Just then, a man suddenly roared furiously.

“Bitch, I told you not to look at other men! You can’t even keep your legs still when you see a handsome guy, huh?! You slut!!”

At the same time, sharp slapping sounds and a woman’s sobs rang out. Passersby were shocked, turning toward the commotion, only to see a man violently kicking a frail woman who had fallen to the ground. He hurled insults as he beat her with terrifying force, as if consumed by deep hatred.

The woman pleaded through her tears: “I didn’t, I didn’t, I just glanced at him, sob sob… You said you wouldn’t hit me again! Why are you doing this again!!”

Beside her, a three-year-old child stood stiffly, frozen in place, utterly shocked by the sight of his father beating his mother.

Meeting his mother’s pained gaze, the child instinctively squatted down, holding his head, repeating over and over: “Mommy don’t cry, baby’s not scared, mommy don’t cry, baby’s not scared…”

The crowd was enraged. Many rushed forward to stop it, but someone was faster.

With a sweep of his wings, the archangel reached the man in the blink of an eye, seizing the hand that was yanking the woman’s hair.

The furious man turned his head. Seeing that overwhelmingly handsome face, he froze for a second, then his features twisted hideously: “So you really are sleeping with this whore, you damn—”

“Stop!!!”

Sensing things spiraling out of control, the photographer nearby threw himself in, hugging the abuser tightly and dragging him away.

Meanwhile, a female Bureau member disguised as a passerby quickly rushed in, helping the weeping woman to her feet, soothing her softly while escorting her to a nearby café to rest.

Within just a few breaths, the archangel stared blankly at the wicked man being dragged away, along with the pure-souled child leaving his sight, unable to react right away.

The cosplayers (really Bureau members/special forces) forced smiles, hiding their nerves, and said cheerfully to the archangel: “All good now, let’s keep moving!”

Though he didn’t fully understand their words, the archangel sensed their intent. Under Han Zhen’s furious gaze, he turned back and rejoined the group.

Yes, as a messenger of God, the archangel could see human souls and judge their purity.

Just after arriving in this world, bewildered about what had happened to him, the archangel had stepped out of the alley and seen a group of people with especially pure and resilient souls walking down the street.

He couldn’t distinguish between ordinary modern clothing and cosplayer costumes—both looked like strange outfits to him.

He simply liked the purity of their souls, so he was willing to stand with them.

Han Zhen watched as the archangel left the café area, stepping out of the range that had once been captured in his previous life’s livestream. Only then did he realize things were different from last time, and he shouted in panic: “Angel! Don’t go, don’t go! Come back!!”

Passersby assumed Han Zhen just hadn’t had enough of staring at the handsome man and wanted him to turn back, so they paid no attention.

But the Bureau members disguised as photographers exchanged meaningful looks and took clear photos of Han Zhen with their cameras.

Escorted by the cosplayers into a nearby venue, separated from ordinary passersby, the archangel finally met Chu Feng, who was waiting inside.

The oppressive aura of the main god’s will stunned the angel. Having never seen God’s true form—only felt His radiance—the archangel froze for a moment, then was so moved that he dropped to his knees, pressing both hands to the ground and bowing deeply before Chu Feng: “My Lord…”

The soldiers guarding the venue, prepared for a bloody battle: ???

Wait, what? We haven’t even started fighting, why’d you kneel already?

Zhou Song, watching the entire operation from the Bureau’s command room, was utterly dumbfounded.

The prophecy letter’s description of the angel had been terrifying. Zhou Song thought this capture mission would be extremely dangerous, and worried whether Chu Feng, who hadn’t brought Si Qi, could complete it safely without causing heavy casualties.

But in the end… they put on wigs, cosplayed as anime characters, and that solved the hardest problem of dispersing the crowd?

And that angel, supposedly deeply disgusted by humans and unwilling to interact with them—he saw Chu Feng once and immediately submitted?

Completely bewildered, Zhou Song slumped in his chair, doubting reality.

Soon after, an investigation report on the angel was delivered. Investigators wrote that in his world, angels are messengers of God, wielding fairness and justice, protecting pure believers and punishing evildoers.

The angel was shocked—furious, even—that mortals in this world didn’t worship his God, seeing them all as damnable heretics.

But he seemed to have mistaken Chu Feng for his God. Now he was plotting how to spread God’s glory across this new world, so that more people could understand his Lord’s greatness.

Currently, the archangel was staying at Chu Feng’s side, receiving basic lessons—such as that he absolutely couldn’t kill at will in this world, and even if someone touched his wings, he must never “purify” them.

Zhou Song asked, puzzled: “Why would the angel mistake Chu Feng for his God?”

The investigator explained seriously: “An angel’s eyes are unique—they can directly see living beings’ souls. Based on the purity of a soul, they decide whether someone deserves to exist.

“Perhaps because the Director’s soul is too extraordinary, comparable to his God’s, the angel made such a mistake.”

Zhou Song’s face went blank.

Good grief. Someone who could be a god in another world… is working here as a government officer.

Zhou Song struggled to digest this truth, but at least the prophecy’s disastrous scenario had been averted. He asked: “And the strange young man at the scene—have you figured out his background?”

The investigator pulled out a file and opened it in front of him: “The young man’s name is Han Zhen, 23 years old.”

At the sound of “Han Zhen,” Zhou Song’s body trembled slightly, his face darkening.

“We tracked his recent activities and found that on May 6th, he suddenly stopped his job of over six months, bought a large amount of supplies, and hid at home without going out. His behavior showed many signs of being a ‘reborn’ individual.”

Zhou Song thought to himself: Just my luck, he got reborn too.

Unaware that Zhou Song knew him, the investigator continued: “After realizing this, we traced his actions after May 6th. He stayed indoors for a month, then suddenly appeared in Province X four days ago, went straight from the train station to that commercial street, and yesterday noon, he encountered the angel who had just arrived on Blue Star.”

Everything pointed to Han Zhen knowing far more than he should.

The investigator added: “We believe Han Zhen is most likely a reborn. We also checked his internet records and found he left many comments online—hinting at, inciting, and promoting extreme views. His words leaned more toward the otherworldly visitors… I mean, those who came to Blue Star and committed countless atrocities, harboring deep malice toward humanity.”

At that point, Zhou Song flipped to the third page of the file. Printed there were many of Han Zhen’s online posts, mocking the Ministry of Agriculture’s latest research results, ridiculing Country M for thinking they could control demons, and even some radical comments from before his rebirth. Every word was filled with hostility, brimming with negativity, and resentment toward the government.

Zhou Song scrolled down line by line, his expression turning increasingly grim.

Investigator: “According to the psychological profiler’s judgment, we believe Han Zhen sees himself very highly, with an intense sense of self-glory. He lacks empathy, looks down on those around him, yearns for great power, and seeks to overthrow the current system to become the ruler of a new regime.”

“He seems utterly convinced he can achieve all this, yet so far we haven’t identified the source of his confidence. He appears more like an ordinary man with no strengths whatsoever. Perhaps we need to dig deeper into this, in case he really does hold some unknown trump card.”

Zhou Song: “…”

Recalling the prophecy letter’s description of Han Zhen, Zhou Song was left speechless.

It wasn’t that Han Zhen looked like an ordinary man with no strengths—he truly was just an ordinary man.

Without meeting Si Qi, this guy would have been nothing more than a useless youth raging online every day, a keyboard warrior.

With a sigh, Zhou Song said tiredly, “Keep his speech under control. Don’t let him act recklessly and disturb social order. If anything unusual happens, it could mean something major occurred at this point in his ‘previous life.’ Report it immediately.”

The investigator nodded in understanding.

Zhou Song sighed again, helpless.

“Have we not treated him well enough…”

They had given him a safe living environment, free education. The fact that Han Zhen could laze around at home, browsing the internet carefree, was thanks to the state’s protection. The electricity he used, the internet he connected to—those were all painstakingly built by the country.

And no one even demanded that he report back upon being reborn, to help the nation prepare in advance against crises.

But no matter what, he shouldn’t be using the literacy the country paid to teach him to curse it online, to incite public opinion, ridicule the government, and privately collude with crossers to betray humanity. That was beyond unreasonable.

Looking at Han Zhen’s photo in the investigation file, Zhou Song’s impression of him sank to rock bottom.

He made a call to the Grand Elder’s secretary office and quickly secured a meeting.

After hearing Zhou Song’s report, the Grand Elder showed little emotion toward Han Zhen’s betrayal. What drew his attention instead was one of Han Zhen’s comments.

“Demons have appeared in Country M…”

The Grand Elder murmured, “So it’s not just us. Crossers are appearing all around the world.”

A reasonable, natural conclusion.

“Other countries… might not be able to handle this as we have…”

It was entirely possible that even at this very moment, some country on Blue Star was already being invaded and occupied by outsiders from another world, while the rest remained unaware.

“A warning must be issued.” After a pause, the Grand Elder ordered, “Notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare a statement, urging all nations to be ready in advance. Also, instruct our embassies abroad to call for overseas Chinese to return as soon as possible.”

Zhou Song’s face shifted. After steadying himself, he replied solemnly.

The world was about to change…

As one of the five global powers, Huaguo’s swift action immediately drew attention worldwide.

To avoid mass panic, Huaguo didn’t outright declare “countless otherworldly beings are entering our world,” but instead subtly said the situation was unstable, advised nations to prepare, and tactfully asked all Chinese overseas—students, workers alike—to return home soon.

Leaders who already suspected something understood Huaguo’s meaning. Whether they acted on it was their choice.

For instance, Country M’s leadership was calm, even mocking Huaguo during internal meetings, calling it alarmist—frightened by just one or two demons.

Thinking of demons’ extraordinary physiques, they laughed brightly, seeing it as a golden opportunity for their own rise, as if they’d struck it rich.

Ordinary people who saw Huaguo’s diplomatic statement, however, debated fiercely:

“What is Huaguo up to? Summoning all its people home, hinting at global instability—does she want to start a world war???”

“Ever heard this saying? If Huaguo doesn’t evacuate, things are still under control. Once she starts, that means the situation is extremely dangerous. Huaguo is famous for protecting her people—we shouldn’t ignore this warning.”

“??? Dangerous my ass. My M country is the strongest, most advanced nation in the world. You think we’re less than Huaguo? What a joke!”

“If Huaguo folks want to leave, let them. Who cares if they stay in our country?”

“Damn, those Huaguo people really left? [photo of empty Chinatown streets.jpg]”

“All because of one notice? Dropping studies and jobs just like that? Are these Huaguo people crazy??”

“As a Huaguo citizen, let me tell you—we’re not crazy. We just trust our country.”

“Ridiculous.”

“I bet Huaguo did something shady and now fears the world will retaliate once it’s exposed, so they’re pulling their people back early.”

“Heh. People in Huaguo aren’t even allowed guns, living like peace-obsessed fools, panicking at the tiniest thing. Let’s mind our own business and ignore them.”

Foreign netizens dismissed the warning, mocking Huaguo as meddlesome and cowardly.

But inside the country, anxiety spread online:

“God, is there going to be a war??”

“I haven’t heard any news of that.”

“I already told my son to come home. He said he’s busy with his thesis and doesn’t want to. At a time like this, who cares about graduation? If the country says come back, we listen—when has the country ever wanted to harm us??”

“I told my sister to come home too, but she refuses, saying she’d lose her job if she did. Even said that even if war breaks out, she wouldn’t return—that her job is more important than her life. I’m speechless.”

“Can’t the officials just give a clear explanation? I’m so anxious I can’t sleep, scared they’ll announce war tomorrow.”

“What’s there to fear? Huaguo hasn’t been afraid of any country for more than twenty years.”

“I checked official sites just now. The latest news is that our scientists cracked the mass-production code for a rare plant. From now on, xxx industries won’t lack raw materials, and related prices have dropped to one percent of what they were. Emmmm… that’s great and all, but maybe talk about something more urgent right now?”

“Honestly, haven’t you noticed how chaotic things abroad have been this past month? Sudden shootouts everywhere. I’ve seen several such news reports.”

“?? Shootouts in the streets? Isn’t that just standard foreign practice?”

“Wait, I just saw several small countries suddenly announce state visits to Huaguo. Isn’t that suspicious?”

Unlike powerful nations, many smaller countries had already discovered dangerous crossers wreaking havoc at home and were troubled.

Unable to handle them, and fearing more to come, these leaders decided to seek help from Huaguo after hearing its global warning.

Their requests soon reached Si Qi. The Grand Elder wanted him to divine how many crossers had appeared in those nations and what their details were.

From Zhou Song’s delighted expression, Huaguo had likely already secured benefits from these foreign leaders. Refusing to help would be unthinkable.

For Si Qi, though, it was as simple as moving his hand and writing a few lines. In return, a flood of resources would pour into Huaguo—there was no better deal in the world.

What’s more, after Huaguo helped these small countries contain their crossers, those leaders treated them as ticking time bombs, afraid they might escape and wreak havoc again.

Unwilling to keep paying Huaguo later to handle them, the leaders cleverly pushed the crossers toward Huaguo, hoping to offload them for a price.

But given how Si Qi and the wood spirit had already aided Huaguo, Huaguo never saw otherworldly beings as trouble—they were once-in-a-millennium treasures.

Hearing these requests, Huaguo’s leadership was secretly delighted, but outwardly they acted troubled, refusing several times. Finally, under repeated pleas, they displayed the magnanimity of a great nation and accepted the crossers.

Before long, Huaguo had as many as fourteen crossers under its wing. Each, like Emperor Zhou’s wood spirit, revealed unique talents and found fitting places to settle.

Thus, crossers no longer had to live in constant fear of being hunted as monsters. They could live freely, while humans gained enormous breakthroughs from them.

Both sides achieved a perfect win-win, each obtaining exactly what they most desired.