CHAPTER 245: CHAPTER 245: DON’T CONSIDER YOURSELF THE ONLY PROTAGONIST (THIRD UPDATE)

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

"This matter is confidential. I can’t tell you about it."

Faced with Ren Suo’s question, Li Dan, who had dark circles under his eyes, opened the office door. "I’m going to ask the Deputy Director... You might as well go ask him," he said.

So, Ren Suo and Li Dan went to Yu Kuangtu’s office. Li Dan knocked on the door and then just went in. This seemed to indicate their relationship had reached a level of openness—or perhaps Yu Kuangtu had never been caught naked or watching films in his office.

Indeed, Yu Kuangtu wasn’t engaged in any socially corrupt activities. He was leaning against his chair back with his eyes closed. Ren Suo was initially puzzled, but a glance around the room made him understand immediately.

"Even here you have a Spiritual Energy Aggregation Device? Working and cultivating at the same time, TSK TSK TSK..."

"Deputy Director-level privilege," Yu Kuangtu said, opening his eyes. "You make it sound like you aren’t cultivating while working... Ah, actually, you aren’t. You don’t work; you only cultivate."

Ren Suo remarked, "A Deputy Director has that much free time..."

"Li Dan and the others have all advanced to the second turn, so they can share my duties. Now, if I have time and don’t cultivate, wouldn’t I be an idiot?" Yu Kuangtu said slowly. "Cultivation is the foundation. So, tell me, what’s the matter that brings you here?"

"Ren Suo wants to look through the Bureau’s archives about incidents of Awakeners or Demons harming people," Li Dan said.

Yu Kuangtu showed some interest. He straightened up in his seat, looked at Ren Suo, and pondered for a moment. Instead of saying yes or no, he asked, "Can the Tactical Bureau benefit from this?"

Ren Suo let out a sigh. "If it’s as I think, then... we might uncover a big secret."

Yu Kuangtu looked at Ren Suo skeptically and nodded. "Li Dan, take him to the archives."

「An hour and a half later.」

Ren Suo and Li Dan returned to Yu Kuangtu’s office with three documents.

Yu Kuangtu asked, "What did you find?"

Ren Suo handed over the documents. Yu Kuangtu saw that all three were about Demons harming people. They were essentially cases of Awakeners falling into demonic insanity and indiscriminately attacking family, friends, or passersby—all malignant incidents that occurred in the Lianjiang City region.

"Is there a problem?" Yu Kuangtu asked.

Ren Suo asked, "Can the Tactical Bureau know in advance if they have awakened spells?"

Yu Kuangtu immediately shook his head. "So far, the tactical system doesn’t have any equipment that can 100% confirm if someone has awakened spells."

Ren Suo said, "Look at the ages of these attackers and their life status before launching the attacks."

"Fourteen, thirty-two, and thirty-six years old. Respectively, an orphan, a construction worker, and an unemployed person," Yu Kuangtu said. "Before the attacks, they were all basically living law-abiding lives."

Ren Suo tapped the table with his index finger. "Their lives are unsatisfactory, and they’re even under great pressure just to survive. Moreover, they have already awakened and possess Qi Cyclones. This could lead to a phenomenon of Spiritual Energy contamination, causing them to fall into Demonization."

"’Analysis of Demonization,’ an essential article on the internal network," Yu Kuangtu said indifferently. "I know all this. You can’t be planning to tell me just this, right?"

"No, no, no, I actually noticed a problem," Ren Suo said. "Have you questioned them?"

"Demonized Persons have become mentally disturbed," Yu Kuangtu said helplessly. "Even if sent for treatment and forcibly subdued, we’d only get an idiot. If you want to see those idiots, go out, take bus route 466 to Yingquan Station, then switch to route 23 to Lianjiang Third Hospital."

Ren Suo continued, "So, we still don’t know why these ordinary people, who hadn’t used awakened spells for personal gain to solve their life problems, would suddenly fall into demonic insanity."

Yu Kuangtu looked at Ren Suo. "What are you trying to say?"

"These three cases are different from other Demon cases. Other Demons commit many unlawful acts for personal gain, step deeper into the abyss of crime, and finally succumb to demonic insanity, rampaging and attacking," Ren Suo said. "But the Awakeners in these three cases led very ordinary lives the day before. They only suddenly fell into demonic insanity. It’s too abrupt."

"If they knew they had awakened spells and could become Cultivators, do you think they would still fall into Demonization?"

Yu Kuangtu furrowed his brows slightly and nodded. "So, there’s only one explanation: they didn’t know they had awakened spells. Possibly, they were Semi-Awakened."

Ren Suo continued, "Yet, being Semi-Awakened is very hard to detect. Ordinary Awakenings are often mistaken for the flu or a fever. Without the knowledge of Awakening, or only possessing Spiritual Meridians, they wouldn’t realize the changes in their bodies."

"Moreover, because of their age, they don’t fall under the current target demographic of the Practitioners’ Academy. Therefore, they definitely don’t think they have the opportunity to become Cultivators and leap over social classes to solve their life’s difficulties."

"But even after their Awakening, they’re still suffocating under the pressure of life. Although it’s different from committing crimes, the stress accumulating in their hearts also subtly inclines them towards demonic insanity."

"It’s usually imperceptible. But once it crosses a certain threshold, the hidden Jealousy, anger, and Resentment in their hearts will erupt, leading to bloody incidents. These negative emotions are inevitable. The problem is that life doesn’t provide them with enough positive reinforcement to break free from the vortex of Spiritual Energy pollution, and they end up sinking deeper."

Yu Kuangtu took a deep breath. "It’s undeniable that this possibility exists."

Ren Suo continued, "And now the problem is... how many Semi-Awakened Ones do you think are there in the city, repressing their pain and ready to plunge into demonic insanity and erupt at any moment?"

The office fell silent.

After a long while, Yu Kuangtu asked, "Any other findings?"

"That’s all."

"Then you can go back first. Li Dan, you stay."

Ren Suo nodded and patted Li Dan’s shoulder. "Then I’ll come over again next time."

"I’m not sleepy," Li Dan said, his dark panda-like eye circles prominent.

Leaving the Tactical Bureau, Ren Suo looked at the sun-drenched sky and suddenly felt a chill.

That afternoon, due to his mood, he didn’t go home. Instead, he spent it cultivating at the sports club’s Cultivation Ground.

At dinnertime, he went to Dong Chengling’s home. Gu Yueyan hadn’t returned yet. But whether it was because Ren Suo was being quite obvious, or Dong Chengling simply had impressively sharp observational skills, she asked, "Did something happen?"

Ren Suo hesitated for a moment, then decided to phrase it differently. "I watched a new anime series recently... um, it’s about a modern city where ordinary people could turn into monsters and attack others at any moment."

"Everyone initially thought this was a very rare occurrence, and that the government had the situation under control. But then the protagonist discovers that many ordinary people actually have the potential to turn into monsters. Do you think if the protagonist revealed this news, it would cause social panic? If normal people discovered that their neighbors and even passersby could turn into monsters at any moment, wouldn’t they be terrified?"

Dong Chengling tilted her head and then shook it. "I haven’t watched that kind of movie."

"But such stories usually have a happy ending, don’t they?" she continued. "In the end, the protagonist will surely find a way to solve the problem, right?"

Ren Suo was slightly taken aback and hummed in acknowledgment. "That’s true. I’m just overthinking it."

Dong Chengling smiled. "Don’t worry. Such situations won’t occur in real life."

"Because this world doesn’t rely on a single hero to save humanity. If something truly bad happens, it would require everyone’s collective Effort to overcome. All we can do is strive to be the best versions of ourselves and not act as if we are the sole protagonists."

"By the way, how has your Cultivation been going lately?" Dong Chengling suddenly changed the subject.

"Hmm?... It’s okay, I guess," Ren Suo replied.

Dong Chengling sighed, almost imperceptibly, then smiled. "Let’s work hard together. If Xiao Yan advances before you do, she’ll definitely chase you all the way home to tease you about it."

"Heh, I’m not worried about that. I’ll definitely advance faster than she will."

After returning home, Ren Suo turned on the Mini-World Game Console and continued playing "Midnight Walker."

He realized that if this game were live-streamed, it could likely cause panic among the citizens—after all, no one could stop ’Ren Naiser’s’ videos from circulating.

But these issues wouldn’t disappear just by pretending not to see them; that would be mere self-deception. It would be better to make them public, drawing global attention to advance the resolution of the Semi-Awakened Ones’ Demonization problem. This was preferable to waiting until Demonized Persons caused widespread and irreparable tragic losses before finally confronting the issue.

Moreover, looking at the "Desire Collection Amount" in that Gold Cup gave Ren Suo an inexplicable sense of anticipation.

He had a vague feeling that once the Gold Cup was full, it might bring him a... surprise.