Chapter 35: The Dark Side of Human Nature!

“What a pity, I can link with at most 7 people at the same time…”

Su Ze kept rereading the Talent description and continued pondering the correct way to use it.

The number of people he could link with simultaneously was extremely limited.

So taking control of global intelligence in one swoop was naturally impossible.

It was like opening a group chat with only 7 parking spaces; once it was full, anyone new would have to wait for him to kick someone out.

That really was a bit troublesome…

Moreover, because the Talent was not yet in his hands, Su Ze had no idea how it would actually feel to use it.

Would it not be noisy when the perspectives and conversations of 7 people appeared in his mind at once?

Even in a video conference, everyone still had to speak in turn, right…

“Besides linking to other people, I can also use the link… to control them.”

This part of the Talent’s power especially caught Su Ze’s interest.

If he obtained absolute dominance once the link was established, then…

Did that mean he could use the Talent to manipulate someone unilaterally, so that even if he ordered them to die they could not resist…

“I’ll only get the answer inside the simulation.”

Pulling his thoughts back, Su Ze refocused on the simulator’s text.

Then he chose the Talent called “Global Link.”

…

『Fixed Talent “Global Link” (gold) selected』

『Simulation start…』

『Day 1: Doomsday arrived on schedule, and you chose SC-35 as the starting point of your doomsday journey…』

『Day 2: The temperature plummeted; many people went out to grab supplies, and you and Chen Keqing also tried to shop, but the crowds were fierce and you came back empty-handed』

『Day 3: Horrific news kept coming in, and unease fermented in every corner of the city…』

『Day 4: The water and power were cut off…』

『…』

『Day 13: You heard that the first Awakener to appear at the school was Qin Yushi…』

『Day 14: The number of Awakeners inside the complex kept increasing and some grew restless; while observing from the shadows you picked several ordinary people and several Awakeners, planning to use the “Global Link” Talent on them… you forced them to comply with violence and successfully linked to them.』

『Day 15: You tried to manipulate the 7 linked people unilaterally; the ordinary people could not resist at all, while the Awakeners struggled slightly yet still failed to escape your control… once you achieved the desired result, you sent them all into a Contaminated Zone and granted them death.』

『Day 16: …』

『Day 21: You killed a disobedient Awakener inside the Safe Zone, further cementing your position as leader; at the same time you dispatched subordinates to contact nearby Safe Zones, intending to plant eyes and ears there through your “Global Link” Talent…』

『Day 29: Your informants had infiltrated almost every nearby Safe Zone except for the school area, which you had yet to touch…』

『Day 35: Riding on your reputation, Qin Yushi eliminated her rivals on campus and became one of the school’s core leaders』

『Day 41: You continued to let Qin Yushi wave your banner…』

『Day 51: You decided the time was ripe; you met Qin Yushi and demanded payment, had relations with her, and afterwards linked to her… now she served as your spy on campus.』

The simulation text advanced at an unhurried pace.

Obviously, the simulated version of himself was very patient and chose the starting point he knew best.

He even waited more than 10 days.

Only when enough Awakeners had appeared did he start to act.

He used those people as test subjects to experiment with his “Global Link” Talent.

As for the Talent’s effect…

For now, it seemed perfectly fine.

Whether they were ordinary people or Tier-1 Awakeners, once the link was established they became inferiors before Su Ze, and as long as he willed it he could control them unilaterally…

However…

“Awakeners can resist a little.”

Su Ze noticed this wording in the simulation text.

Awakeners were not completely incapable of resistance; they had a certain ability to fight back, although the simulated him still sent them to the afterlife in the end…

“That’s a problem.”

Su Ze frowned, realizing that the Talent’s unilateral control might not be that strong.

These were only Tier-1 Awakeners yet they could already struggle somewhat; when it came to more advanced Awakeners in the future…

Would they become totally uncontrollable?

『Day 61: heavy fog』

『Day 62: After the heavy fog lifted, all Contaminated Zones changed; you understood that doomsday had entered the Tier-2 phase and Tier-2 Awakeners would soon appear…』

『Day 70: You kept tracking news about Tier-2 Awakeners』

『Day 71: You took the initiative, selected an over-ambitious Tier-2 Awakener as your target, and under armed coercion forced him to accept your Talent link… you ordered him to commit suicide, but his resistance was fierce; when the stalemate dragged on, you had your guardian spirit kill him.』

『Day 72: You captured another Tier-2 Awakener alive, again tried to make him kill himself after linking, and still failed; his resistance was strong, so you had to do it personally and killed him…』

『Day 78: An official squad contacted you; they had long heard of your transcendent power and wanted to recruit you… after carefully learning the officials’ situation and plans, you accepted Captain Xu’s invitation, formally joined the authorities, and took a high post…』

『Day 79: You planned to leave SC-35 for SC-3, where you would become the leader of an Awakener squad…』

“A Tier-2 Awakener already resists that fiercely.”

Su Ze blinked and stared at the simulator’s text.

He then adjusted his posture, propped an elbow on the desk, and fell into thought.

It seemed the idea of using “Global Link” to cultivate a few puppets was doomed to fail.

If getting an Awakener to commit suicide was this hard, giving more complex orders would be even worse.

Fortunately…

Su Ze had never pinned high hopes on that anyway.

Besides, he had little desire to raise puppets; he neither needed nor liked that sort of thing.

Apart from information related to the Talent…

The part of the simulation he valued most was, of course, the contact with the authorities.

It had come a bit late, but at least it had come…

In the simulation he finally did what he most wanted… joined the authorities… and should now use their platform to gather more intelligence…

As for why he did not join them at the very start of doomsday?

Su Ze thought about it from his own perspective.

It was probably because the authorities had not yet found their footing early in doomsday.

Just keeping their own Safe Zone stable might have been exhausting, let alone supporting others.

At that stage, if Su Ze had approached them he would only have been helping to clean up their mess.

That kind of work was not impossible, but it was dirty and tiring, and Su Ze had a hundred reasons to refuse…

『Day 80: Using the link Talent, you asked Qin Yushi whether she would follow you to SC-3; feeling you did not love her enough, she intentionally stalled, saying she needed to think… later you took Chen Keqing, left SC-35, fought your way through, and arrived at SC-3.』

『Day 81: Qin Yushi contacted you, saying she was willing to leave the school and come to SC-3 to help you; you had planned to fetch her personally, but she did not want to trouble you and would return to SC-3 with an official squad』

『Day 82: While traveling with the official squad, Qin Yushi headed toward SC-3, and during your communication with her you happened to witness them being ambushed… the battle went poorly; when fleeing the pursuers, Qin Yushi was dragged away by the uncanny of the Contaminated Zone and died.』

『Day 83: You investigated SC-3 and traced the attackers’ identities』

『Day 84: You discovered that SC-3 was a web of tangled interests, yet you still ferreted out the mastermind behind the attack on Qin Yushi’s party…』

『Day 85: When a subordinate advised you to let the matter drop, you killed him in public and massacred SC-3, sparing only a few innocents whom you deliberately released while annihilating the rest…』

『Day 86: You went on a killing spree, heading to Safe Zones SC-1, SC-2, SC-4 and so on, slaughtering anyone who opposed you…』

『Day 87: To calm you down, the authorities launched an internal investigation; several parasites were flushed out and executed, and you temporarily lowered your banner…』

He really had gone berserk…

Even though it was only simulation text, one could still sense the violent aura.

Yet the real Su Ze, sitting properly at his desk, looked perfectly composed at the moment.