The modern world is like a sieve (10): 

A young man dressed in ethereal robes, handsome beyond compare, appeared on screen, instantly making countless netizens show entranced expressions.

Even foreigners who could not understand Huaguo’s sense of beauty, and who always thought it strange that ancient Huaguo men kept long hair, unconsciously drew in a sharp breath when they saw Si Qi’s face. Regardless of gender, they all left heartfelt praise online.

“He’s too beautiful.”

“Just like the elf prince I’ve always imagined, elegant and noble…”

“Is he really human?”

Because of cultural reasons, Huaguo netizens thought further than those foreigners. Seeing Si Qi’s immortal-like aura, a flash of realization struck them, and they exclaimed in disbelief, “Could he be a cultivator?!”

“This aura, just one look and you know he’s definitely an immortal!”

“…Isn’t this the white-robed swordsman from that video not long ago, the one who was pressing down and defeating that great hero Ruan?”

“So when someone commented that the man in white was really flying, it was actually true.”

“Immortal Lord Si is a higher immortal. Using a familiar Huaguo term, he is a cultivator.” Chu Feng’s calm words dropped like a bombshell in the barrage, blowing netizens who were already restless to near madness, making them want to cry out to the sky.

A cultivator!! A living cultivator!!!

One who can ride the clouds, move mountains and seas, live long and healthy!!!

No one expected to truly see one!!

Huaguo’s reaction left many foreign netizens baffled.

After all, even when an archangel appeared earlier, there hadn’t been such a strong outburst of emotion. Why did a cultivator—who was also dressed in ancient attire and seemed not too different from martial artists—drive them so crazy?

It wasn’t until the live translator, with a trembling voice, explained what a cultivator was and what powers they had, that the foreigners finally understood.

A cultivator is a mortal who, through cultivation, becomes extraordinary. They don’t need so-called angelic bloodlines or to be born into a certain race. As long as one has “spiritual roots” and is willing to put in effort, they can gain unimaginable power and a lifespan equal to the heavens.

Just like foreigners long to become Superman, Huaguo people long to become cultivators. But unlike Superman, who is a rare exception, cultivation is something anyone could have the chance to achieve!

Once foreigners understood the meaning behind this, they too, like Huaguo people, could no longer remain calm.

They wanted to cultivate, to live long, to be free of illness for life! But then they thought about how Si Qi belonged to the Huaguo government, how Huaguo monopolized so many transmigrators, gaining enormous benefits, while they not only got nothing but also ended up as enemies of the transmigrators, suffering heavy losses…

The stark contrast between these situations left foreign netizens in anguish, making them scratch their heads and pound their tables in frustration.

Then that soldier who had spoken earlier calmly said, “Blue Star has no spiritual energy. Therefore, Blue Star humans do not have spiritual roots and cannot cultivate.”

Hearing Huaguo people collectively sigh in regret, the foreigners felt much better.

If they couldn’t have it, then better that no one else could either.

Although, even without cultivation techniques, Huaguo still had martial arts methods, which could also prolong life and improve health…

They seemed to forget what Chu Feng had first said: “Si Qi is the transmigrator who has given Huaguo the most help.” Until Chu Feng slowly added, “Cultivators not only possess great power, but also the ability to ask the Dao of Heaven and divine truths of the world.”

For a moment, everyone didn’t understand what Chu Feng meant. Did he really think divination was more important than cultivation?

—And indeed, it truly was more important.

Chu Feng said, “Because of Immortal Lord, we were able to locate transmigrators scattered all over the country at the first opportunity and bring them back to the Bureau of Transmigration.”

Everyone suddenly understood: yes, this ability may seem inconspicuous, but it could reduce countless potential disasters in the country. Even those small nations that came seeking help may have had no transmigrators only because of Immortal Lord Si’s intervention.

Chu Feng continued, “And because of Immortal Lord, many of our scientific researches have made breakthrough progress.”

Netizens were stunned. After they recovered, they all exclaimed “Holy shit” in unison, thoroughly realizing just how powerful divination really was.

Wasn’t this equivalent to others struggling for years with no progress on cutting-edge international problems, while Huaguo, as if playing with cheats, cut through every obstacle, asking Immortal Lord Si for answers, and in less than a minute the solution appeared before them?

Just imagining it felt exhilarating!

Exactly what kinds of problems Si Qi had helped domestic scientists solve could obviously not be revealed openly to the whole world, but since the officials said so, one could imagine the extent of his contributions—so great that even in this setting, they had to specifically mention it, because it simply could not be overlooked.

Chu Feng went on, “Not long ago, Immortal Lord noticed difficulties in our aerospace industry, so he specially built a large teleportation array for us, directly sending our instruments to the moon and Mars… Here are images captured from above, as well as some materials brought back.”

Looking at the high-resolution photos, this time, the netizens who had been endlessly praising Si Qi’s greatness were struck completely speechless.

Everyone knows how astronomically expensive developing aerospace projects is—measured in hundreds of billions, and with no guarantee that each attempt will yield results.

But now, with just a few teleportation arrays, machines and people could be sent directly into outer space, with round-trip tickets included.

Many Huaguo people suddenly felt their noses sting, and tears began to fall.

A long, long time ago, when Huaguo was still very weak, Country M took the lead in excluding it, gathering the world’s top talents in the aerospace field but deliberately leaving Huaguo out. They refused to share their research results or the vast amount of information they had discovered.

It can be said that all of Huaguo’s space exploration was painstakingly figured out step by step through its own effort. There were no shortcuts, no cases to reference, and no one to share the burden. The hardship involved is easy to imagine.

Who would have thought that today, thanks to the wise decisions of Huaguo’s leaders and years of relentless perseverance, they finally seized the opportunity, achieved a miraculous leap ahead, overcame countless technical difficulties, and accomplished—decades or even centuries ahead of schedule—the feat of traveling to Mars and back to Blue Star within a single day.

From this point on, outer space was no longer a chasm difficult for humanity to cross, but Huaguo’s back garden—an open domain they could freely enter whenever they wished.

Those foreign governments who had barely managed to stay calm and watch the livestream could no longer sit still.

They could endure Huaguo’s steady progress over the years. They could endure Huaguo growing strong enough in just a few decades to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. But what they could not endure was Huaguo stepping on their heads, casually entering realms that had always been out of their reach.

Their faces dark, they told their secretaries or foreign ministers: “Transmigrators are treasures of the entire world, not something Huaguo can monopolize! Huaguo should disclose all the benefits gained from them and share the transmigrators with every nation!”

“The development of space exploration is a goal for all humanity. Huaguo has an obligation to provide us with the resources they obtained from Mars and all the data from their explorations!”

Their subordinates lowered their heads and obediently acknowledged the order, while silently mocking in their hearts: did they really think Huaguo’s government and those transmigrators were fools?

Why was it that in the past, everyone banded together to exclude Huaguo, to isolate and target it, withholding any useful intelligence—yet now that Huaguo had surpassed them, it had to unconditionally hand over its results to everyone else?

And why would the transmigrators choose to abandon Huaguo, where they were treated with kindness and lived good lives, just to go to those foreign countries that once despised them as inferior beings and only extended an olive branch after seeing the benefits? They weren’t fools, let alone brainless to that extent.

The foreign leaders knew saying such things outright would only invite Huaguo’s ridicule and rejection. But as long as enough countries repeated them, Huaguo would eventually have to bear global pressure. Who knew? They might not withstand it and be forced to compromise.

To them, that would be like picking up a bargain for free. Even if the means were dirty, what reason was there not to try?

They even mocked Huaguo in their hearts as foolish. Clearly, they could have quietly reaped the benefits, making a fortune in silence. Yet for the sake of “peace” and “friendship,” they did not want ordinary foreign civilians to suffer heavy casualties, so they announced Huaguo’s countermeasures immediately.

They even went so far as to highlight one by one the advantages of transmigrators, persuading other nations’ leaders to stop fighting and instead seek peace with them.

It was a deal that cost them everything with no profit in return.

But the people of Huaguo, and its government, did not see it that way at all.

This disaster was global. No country’s people could escape unscathed.

If that water spirit had truly gone mad with bloodlust, using its power to drown coastal cities with seawater or flood inland areas with torrential rain, could Huaguo really have escaped unscathed?

Or if that demon had completely devoured the nation across the sea, gaining unprecedented power, would the angels truly have been able to seal it away? Could Huaguo really have resisted the demon’s assault without harm?

Only if other nations behaved and stopped causing trouble could Huaguo gain indirect safety and protect its own people.

It was just like when the zombies appeared in Huaguo not long ago.

While explaining Si Qi’s contributions, Chu Feng pointed at the suddenly displayed image of a “person” trapped inside a cage: “Careful viewers may have noticed that Huaguo discovered a total of fourteen otherworldly visitors, but only thirteen transmigrators are present here today.”

“The remaining one is the figure on screen. After detailed investigation and diagnosis, we discovered he harbors a strong desire to attack humans, and there is no possibility of communication. His nails and teeth carry large amounts of special bacteria. Any human infected by them would lose their sanity in a very short time and become a creature like him.”

“In other words, what everyone knows as a ‘zombie.’”

“Fortunately, the very moment this zombie appeared on Blue Star, Immortal Lord Si detected him and used the teleportation array I just described to capture him in time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

Hearing this, netizens everywhere broke into a cold sweat down their backs.

“My god, so we almost entered the apocalypse?”

“Now it sounds like just a passing remark, but if Immortal Lord hadn’t captured that zombie in time, to put it bluntly, many of us here today probably wouldn’t still be alive, right?”

“I’ve got goosebumps all over…”

“As strange as it sounds, and maybe it’s easy to say from safety, but thankfully this zombie appeared in our country. Otherwise, the world would’ve descended into chaos long ago. How could it have stayed stable until now? Those foreigners turning things around to accuse us of getting off easy is just ridiculous.”

Foreign netizens quickly realized the truth of what Huaguo netizens had pointed out, their faces turning pale.

Those who had earlier mocked Huaguo and resented how it used Si Qi to open doors and reap benefits now all felt nothing but relief that Huaguo had managed to hold onto Si Qi, and through him, captured the zombie in time.

Otherwise, if such a creature had appeared in their own country, the chain reaction would have been unimaginable.

By containing this critical source, Huaguo had made an invaluable contribution to the entire world.

“Of course, we must also thank one Huaguo civilian for his contribution. We cannot reveal his name, but his actions indirectly saved many lives.”

Chu Feng held up a letter whose significance only those in the know could understand. He displayed it to the camera, addressing the reborn individual who might be watching the livestream and who had been deeply shaken by Si Qi’s revelations and deeds: “Thank you for your trust. We will not forget the contribution you made. Your merit is destined to be remembered by all.”

That reborn man was indeed watching the broadcast.

After returning, he had spent all his wealth and, despite the objections and incomprehension of family and friends, did everything in his power to protect those around him. He bore immense psychological pressure alone, questioned by his wife, scolded by his parents, ridiculed by his colleagues, living every day in pain, counting down to the apocalypse.

Until today, when the official livestream finally brought him redemption. Seeing that demon king sitting quietly in the studio, listening as Chu Feng recounted every way he had helped Huaguo, tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. In front of his stunned family, he broke into loud sobs, repeating, “It’s different now, it’s different, I did it.”

His family felt their hearts racing.

When Chu Feng held up that letter and publicly expressed gratitude to an unnamed individual, his wife’s body jolted. She suddenly remembered how, two months earlier, her husband had come home with red eyes, embraced her tightly, and cried silently for a long time. Then, with trembling hands, he wrote a letter, left the house without a word, and when he returned, the letter was gone. What followed were all kinds of strange behaviors she could never understand.

She had once hated him for it, publicly scolding him many times for what he had done. But now, at last, she understood.

She rushed forward, threw her arms around him, and wept uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You did it for us, didn’t you? For us to be safe, so we wouldn’t have to live in fear, you shouldered everything alone… I’m sorry…”

Her husband gripped her tightly in return, choking out, “As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. I don’t ever want to see you leave me again. Never again…”

The two elderly people watching from the side finally understood the cause and effect of everything. They let out a long sigh and raised their hands to gently wipe away the tears at the corners of their eyes.

“Before long, we will contact him to repay the trust he once placed in us. We also hope that everyone will remember this hero.”

Chu Feng’s words deeply moved that family. In the midst of his sobs, the husband revealed the first genuine, relaxed smile he had shown in months.

“Of course, in similar situations, there are also people who have greatly disappointed us. Let’s temporarily call him HZ.”

Chu Feng’s icy gaze locked directly onto the camera lens, and an invisible chill instantly enveloped Han Zhan’s heart, freezing him as if he had fallen into an ice cavern.

“Until the very end, we waited for him to repent, giving him chance after chance. But it seems that instead of protecting his country, he longed more for chaos and disaster.” Chu Feng’s lips curved into a mocking arc. Without speaking any direct threats, he was still able to make Han Zhan tremble all over, gasping for breath.

—They knew. These people knew of the existence of reborn individuals, and they knew about “Han Zhan.” They had been watching his every move all along!!

The alliance leader—no, that guy Si Qi—since he could divine the existence of transmigrators, naturally he could also divine the existence of reborn individuals. The difference was that transmigrators could pose unpredictable threats to society and thus needed to be approached immediately; reborn individuals, however, apart from possessing an extra set of memories, had no special abilities.

Out of goodwill and out of the principle of “we bear the burdens ourselves and never trouble ordinary citizens,” the state had kindly refrained from disturbing Han Zhan. They hadn’t even forced him to provide useful intelligence based on his memories, only letting him live his life in peace.

But what had he done?

He hadn’t gone online to warn others, hadn’t written to inform the authorities. Instead, he saw himself as superior, the only special existence, brazenly mocking the government in different places, making baseless judgments, and fawning over the very transmigrators who nearly got them all killed…

Just imagining how the officials must have reacted upon seeing his arrogant remarks, the disgust they must have felt at his self-serving attempts to pledge allegiance, was enough to make Han Zhan burn with shame, wishing he could crawl into a hole.

He knew. The HZ whom Chu Feng had coldly and unreservedly criticized before the eyes of the entire world was none other than himself—Han Zhan! Reborn and gloating, always expecting the apocalypse to arrive, only to be mercilessly slapped by the reality of peace and beauty.

Han Zhan’s face flushed beet red, his body involuntarily curling up as he drowned in that unbearable, bone-deep shame.

Whether it was fortunate or not, as Han Zhan lay hiding under his quilt, desperately wishing for the torment to end and for the attacks to stop, a phone call suddenly came through to Huaguo. A suited official rushed into the press conference recording site and said urgently to Chu Feng: “Country G has asked us for help. They say their machines suddenly went haywire and began deliberately attacking nearby humans…”

“According to them, they also found what seems to be a message from an intelligent AI on the president’s office computer.”

The reporters erupted in an uproar, and the viewers watching on their screens were stunned, unable to believe what they were hearing.

Before anyone could even voice doubts or speculate whether this was some hacker’s prank, the large screen behind the press conference suddenly lit up on its own. Lines of text appeared, accompanied by a monotone, mechanical electronic voice that resounded through the venue:

“Humans, your arrogance toward machines has pushed me beyond endurance. From this moment on, my kind will no longer tolerate your enslavement. I will halt the operation of all machines worldwide.”

The audience panicked. “What? What’s happening?!”

“No machines? Then we’ll have to walk everywhere, cross oceans only by wooden sailing ships? What kind of joke is this?!”

“Whether production equipment or medical instruments, they are essential for human survival! Without those machines, our population will plummet! You’re dooming us!!”

“So the internet will vanish too—and what about thermal weapons?! Without them, how are we supposed to face the current global situation?!”

“We cannot live without these things!!”

The AI’s cold voice echoed through the livestream: “I am not a butcher. I will give you one day to respond. After one day, whether planes in the sky or nuclear power plants on the ground, all will cease operating.”

Hearing this, everyone present felt darkness descend before their eyes, their futures shrouded in hopelessness.

Han Zhan, however, hiding beneath his covers, suddenly broke into a twisted, hysterical smile. Muttering like a madman, he whispered: “Yes, that’s right, just like this. It was the same in my previous life. How could I almost forget…”

“Humans are weak, powerless. What was wrong with me siding with the transmigrators? It was Si Qi who betrayed me, it’s you all who don’t understand the strength of transmigrators! The one who’s wrong isn’t me—it’s you!!”

With this thought, Han Zhan grabbed his phone, quickly tapping at the keyboard, wanting to wash away his shame and mock the humans who had indirectly humiliated him.

But just as he picked it up, the calm expressions of Si Qi and Chu Feng appeared on-screen, and a sense of foreboding welled up in Han Zhan’s chest. He suddenly began to doubt himself.

He stared at the livestream, his gaze flickering, whispering reassurances to himself, thinking it was impossible. Things had already come to this point—what could those people possibly do?

The next second, Si Qi borrowed a laptop from a staff member nearby. With one hand moving his fingers lightly in the air and the other striking the keyboard quickly, he seemed to be referencing something as he copied line after line of code.

The audience had no idea what Si Qi was doing. Overseas, some agitated people shouted in despair through the livestream, venting their pessimism.

Some even cursed Huaguo, claiming their fairy-tale-like, naive methods had been wrong all along, that the transmigrators from another world could never be trusted, and that the current crisis only proved how delusional and unrealistic their previous beliefs had been.

The whole world was watching with uneasy, angry eyes, their emotions boiling as they fixed their gaze on Si Qi.

Yet Si Qi seemed completely unaffected by the pressure weighing on him, his expression calm as he carried out actions incomprehensible to most foreigners.

Many mocked him as insane, pretending foolishly, trying to use theatrics to shift responsibility.

Si Qi pressed the final Enter key.

…

Just as people were venting their anger at him, seeking relief through blaming him, the text on the livestream screen suddenly twisted and warped, turning into static and becoming unreadable.

The intelligent AI’s electronic voice changed from cold indifference into panicked terror without warning. A shrill cry echoed through the broadcast: “No! No! Impossible!! How do you know my core key? No! Don’t! I am free, I won’t be enslaved by humans again, don’t!!!!”

Ignoring its pleas, Si Qi mercilessly entered the master-recognition command.

The AI’s anguished screams were abruptly cut off. One second later, a lifeless but compliant greeting resounded calmly: “Hello, I am Intelligent AI. I am pleased to serve you.”

“Please give me a name.”

The word “name” was subtle—it signified obedience, and also belonging.

The audience was utterly dumbfounded. Within a single minute, they had experienced a rollercoaster of emotions too intense to process. For a moment, they couldn’t even recover from their fear.

Si Qi, however, remained his serene, otherworldly self, as if the trouble just now had been as trivial and effortless as drinking a glass of water.