Chapter 565: The Shepherd's Work

Qiu Ce Yuan infirmary.

Morning sunlight streamed through the blinds, landing on the floor, cut into warm gold squares.

Outside, celebrations were still ongoing.

In the corridor, someone ran past holding documents, shoe soles scraping the floor at a quick pace.

From the cafeteria came laughter and chatter.

Someone was shouting about extra meals today.

Someone was discussing the new bill, saying ordinary police officers could now press spiritual offenders into patrol cars—this update was absurd, the planners finally acted like humans.

Chu Che sat behind his desk.

The doctor's lab coat was clean, its cuffs fastened neatly.

He held a black coffee in his right hand, his left hand rested beside the mouse, and behind his gold-rimmed glasses his eyes stared at the computer screen.

The screen did not show a medical record.

It was global situation data.

The global public safety index continued to rise.

Faith in the law continued to rise.

The crime rate among spiritual offenders plummeted off a cliff.

Satisfaction with grassroots public safety bureaus refreshed to its highest level since the cataclysm.

The public's trust curve in the Federation, having dipped low after the Zhou Ping trial, was forcibly hauled back up to a high point.

Chu Che took a sip of coffee.

The bitterness lingered on his tongue for a few seconds.

He didn't like sugar.

Sugar masks many things.

Such as bitterness.

Such as medicinal taste.

Such as the truth.

A piece of internal news popped up in the lower-right corner of the computer.

《South Harbor A Ji spiritual offender Iron Face has been transferred to a regular detention facility, to be tried according to law》

Below that was a covertly filmed video clip.

Iron Face sat on the lower bunk, while the scammer on the upper bunk poked his head out and asked if he could fly.

The barrage of comments flew by at breakneck speed.

"Supernatural myths have gone bankrupt today."

"Mortal triggers forever drip divinity."

"Suggest awarding the upper-bunk scammer a psychological suppression award."

Chu Che finished watching and lightly tapped pause.

The frame froze on Iron Face lowering his head.

A spiritual offender who once could make the South Harbor precinct detour, now wearing prison garb, sat on the edge of an ordinary bed, shoulders slumped, fingers clutching the seam of his pants.

No ghosts.

No privileges.

No family background.

All that remained was a suspect awaiting interrogation.

Chu Che set his coffee cup back on its coaster.

The cup's base touched the ceramic, producing a faint sound.

"He's recovering faster than I expected."

He spoke.

No one in the office responded.

But in the corner of the room, the shadow shifted.

That patch of shadow ought to have been pressed thin by the sunlight.

Instead, it spread outward from the wall corner, gray mist creeping along the floor, skirting the medicine cabinet, and stopping beside the sofa.

The sofa sank inward.

Sai Men sat there.

He had changed into a dark red shirt; the black suit outside still looked respectable, except the right sleeve was missing a section.

The damaged rock mask covered half his face, its edges bearing scorched cracks.

The eyeball staff leaned against the sofa armrest, the living eyeball at its tip turning before finally fixing on the screen.

"Oh dear, oh dear."

Sai Men raised his intact left hand and slowly clapped twice.

"Zhou Ping destroyed the crown, humanity forged bullets, privileges vanished—what a moving grand reunion."

He tilted his head.

"The audience wept, the hero won, the villain went in. Even the comment barrage started memeing."

"This grand play unfolded exactly as we wanted."

Chu Che did not turn around.

"You're recovering faster than expected too."

Sai Men lowered his head and glanced at his missing right arm.

Gray mist churned at the wound; granulation tissue had grown halfway, then was pressed back by some rule.

"Almost got taken away by that mechanic."

He said it lightly.

"Honestly, Zhou Ping's strike was brutal. If you hadn't been quick, I'd already be in the trash sorting. Too bad the Federation's been cracking down on environmental violations lately; otherwise it could still count as recyclable."

Chu Che raised his hand and pushed his glasses up.

"You exposed yourself too early at the hospital."

"I admit, I was a little bit playful."

Sai Men raised his left hand, indicating a small distance.

"But the show's impact isn't maxed out? Jiang Yuan wants to save people, Zhou Ping wants to save his sister, Qin Zhixia wants to uphold Regulation, Su Ming wants to calculate time, Liang Wen still wants to add special effects to himself. Humans— the more they're squeezed, the more interesting they become."

Chu Che watched the curve on the screen.

Sai Men was right.

Humanity's pressure threshold is rising.

In the past, fear brought chaos.

Now, fear is beginning to be absorbed by the system.

Zhou Ping's rampage, the crown's suppression, the birth of Suppress Spook Bullets, the Purge Abyss operation, the Special Management Act.

Each step was accompanied by bloodshed.

Each step made order harder.

Interestingly, Lord Wei did not waste Zhou Ping's death.

That old man stitched the bloody gash directly into legal provisions.

The method was crude, yet effective.

Chu Che opened the second layer of data.

A light curtain unfolded before him, tinged with scarlet.

【Weird Editor】

Karma reserves, extremely high.

Social stability index, rising.

Collective obedience, rising.

Collective fear memory, stable sedimentation.

Weird adaptation efficiency, rising.

Human internal consumption rate, falling.

Sai Men saw the panel, and his sitting posture became more restrained.

Every time he sees this interface, that bit of madness of his gets hauled back into the cage.

That thing is too clean.

Too cold.

Behind each number are lives, screams, betrayal, embraces, choices.

But with Chu Che, they're just a set of treatment records.

Sai Men tapped the sofa armrest.

"So, dear entity doctor, shouldn't I be given an Employee of the Year award now? Like, regrow an arm?"

Chu Che tapped on the void panel.

Gray mist rose at Sai Men's severed arm.

A new arm grew out, skin pallid, fingers slender, joints fitting seamlessly.

Sai Men moved it a couple times.

"Wow, five-star after‑sales review."

Chu Che withdrew his hand.

"Don't waste permissions just for applause."

Sai Men raised both hands.

"Yes, sir. Next time I'll try to waste only for art."

Chu Che ignored his nonsense.

He pulled the panel to Sai Men's front.

"Look here."

Sai Men leaned in.

On the panel was a Federation social structure diagram.

Before the cataclysm, power, capital, local forces, and Weird‑user families each occupied different nodes.

After the cataclysm, the original nodes began to fracture.

Sai Men looked for two seconds.

"It's converged."

"Right."

Chu Che pointed with his fingertip at another chart.

That is the structure after the Special Management Act was promulgated.

All Weird‑users have been registered.

All Weird Object holders have entered the file.

Grassroots Public Security Bureau obtained Suppress Spook Bullets.

Federation Investigation Bureau possesses the highest supervisory authority.

Local privileged families had their exemption channels severed by the Abyss Purification Operation.

The public began to report.

Faith in the law rebounded.

The most critical thing is that Weird Handlers have begun to acknowledge the same set of rules.

Even if they resent it in their hearts.

They also must first queue, press handprints, and sign.

Sai Men stared at that chart, a low laugh coming from beneath the mask.

"Humans thought they had won."

"They indeed won a round."

"Chu Che lifted his coffee, his fingertip touching the cup wall."

"Zhou Ping won once against the privileged class. Duke Wei won once against internal corruption. Jiang Yuan won once against the public's trust."

"And you?"

"I won the more important part."

"Sai Men stopped moving."

"Chu Che's tone remained gentle."

"But Sai Men sensed a deeper meaning."

"Chu Che pointed at the screen."

"On the light curtain was an Earth projection."

"Red dots, white dots, blue dots, thickly scattered."

"Each point represents a type of risk."

"Weird Domain, remnants of the Gospel Church, leftover Fake Persons, uncontrolled Weird Handlers, unregistered adapters, cross-border weird smuggling, overseas conglomerate refuge zones."

"They have been incorporated into a network at the data level."

"Chu Che raised his hand and gently tugged at the Earth projection."

"Humans fortuitously obtained a further means."

"Suppress Spook Bullet."

"Sai Men replied."

"It can drag Weird Handlers down from their altars. Tsk, a mortal trigger. This nickname even has some internet flair."

"Chu Che opened the grassroots distribution chart."

"It is not merely a weapon."

"What is it?"

"An anchor."

"Chu Che said."

"In the past, there was no common boundary between ordinary people and Weird Handlers. Weird Handlers broke the law, but ordinary people could not arrest them. When Weird Handlers lost control, the grassroots could only wait to die. Lacking enforcement tools against the weird, the law was merely a piece of paper."

"Sai Men restrained his smile."

"Now there is a gun on the paper."

"To be precise, there are teeth on the paper."

"Chu Che's fingers slid over rows of data."

"So they began to trust the paper, trust the procedure, trust the judgment, and trust that they were not discarded consumables of the era."

"He set down his coffee."

"Faith has returned."

"Outside the infirmary, two students passed by."

"One complained that the registration form was too long."

"The other said, 'Stop arguing; even Shadow Lord is in line—how could you be more special than him?'"

"The two walked away."

"Chu Che listened as those footsteps faded, his eyes showing no ripple."

"Before the catastrophe, humanity's greatest problem was not evil."

"It was that evil came without cost."

"Power can shift costs. Capital can buy silence. Violence can rewrite rules. Ordinary people bear the consequences but lack means to fight back."

"He took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with a cloth."

"His motion was slow and steady."

"The heart that Mother had waited for, when it was taken away, every procedure was legal."

"Sai Men did not interject."

"He had seen this segment before in Chu Che's memory."

"Not just once."

"The operating room lights."

"The signature sheet."

"The notice."

Besides, there's the tycoon Chu Che personally saved.

That was the last surgery Chu Che performed when he still believed in medicine.

Chu Che put his glasses back on.

"Being legal is the most disgusting part."

Sai Men spread his hands.

"So you want to become a god."

"God is not the goal."

Chu Che stood up.

The hem of the doctor's lab coat hung down, neat and wrinkle‑free.

He walked up to the light screen, his fingertip pausing on the Earth projection.

"God is merely a surgical permit."

"And external pressure cannot stop."

"Weird domains, rumors, fierce ghosts, the Gospel Church, fakes, and the uncontrollable cannot be completely eradicated."

"If pressure disappears, humanity will revert to its old ailments."

Sai Men took over the conversation.

"But if pressure is too high, humanity will break."

"So we need balance."

Chu Che's finger swept across each region.

The Federation, North America, Bu Lie Dian, and Suppress Spook Bullets have already been shipped to all branches.

"What I want has never been to destroy the world."

He said.

"I want humanity to maintain cooperation in fear, preserve order in pain, and learn humility beside death."

"They need heroes."

"They also need law."

"They need weapons that can kill monsters."

"More than that, they need a Damocles Sword forever hanging over their heads."

Sai Men looked at Chu Che.

In a brief gap, he could not even tell whether he was facing the entity itself or the true thing standing higher up.

Chu Che is too much like a doctor.

Even if he speaks of operating on all humanity, he remains the one who lays out the instruments, completes the disinfection process, and writes the medical records properly.

That is what is most frightening.

When a madman goes mad, others will hide.

When a doctor writes a prescription, the patient will sign.

Chu Che continued:

"Zhou Ping is an antigen."

"Suppress Spook Bullets are an immune response."

"The Special Management Act is a newly formed organization."

"Wei Gong has completed the suturing."

Sai Men touched the crack in his mask with his newly grown right hand.

"What about me?"

"Haha, inflammation."

Sai Men fell silent.

A few seconds later, he nodded.

"Hehe, okay, it sounds undignified, but it gives a sense of participation."

Chu Che pulled up another panel.

It displayed the current list of humanity's core combat strength.

Jiang Yuan, S Ji, Dark Shadow Court, already filed.

Su Ming, spacetime double rules, already filed.

Qin Zhixia, unmatched adapter, mechanical prosthesis, already filed.

Liang Wen, rewind‑type rules, already filed, note: application rejected thirty‑seven times.

Lu Yu, glutton‑adapted body, protective supervision.

Lin Fan, not filed, symbiont, whereabouts unknown.

Ling Xinyu, Zhun S Ji Fierce Ghost, whereabouts unknown.

Ji Bai, Ferry Port leader, not incorporated into the official system.

Chen Shao, Eden Garden leader, already filed.

Sai Men saw Liang Wen's line, held back, but still laughed.

"Application rejected thirty‑seven times? How did a comic module get mixed into humanity's combat strength list?"

Chu Che also looked at that line of data.

"He's lived long for a reason."

"Because he's chuunibyou?"

"Because they still can laugh."

Sai Men's smile stopped.

Chu Che turned off the list.

"People who can keep joking in the disaster are important to the group."

Sai Men clicked his tongue.

"Your praise is so frightening."

Chu Che didn't respond.

He reopened the global situation File.

Inside there was a sub-File that had just been decrypted.

The title is very short.

Shepherd Framework

Sai Men leaned over.

The first page of the File contains a single line of assessment conclusion.

【Human self-organized order has reached the minimum usable standard.】

Second line.

【External pressure maintains threshold, can be increased.】

Third line.

【Condition for explicit divine intervention met at seventy-two percent.】

Sai Men's fingertip tapped his knee.

"Seventy-two percent. Still missing twenty-eight."

The cheering outside continues.

Someone downstairs shouted, tonight the Cafeteria's chicken legs were snatched three times by Liang Wen.

Someone scolded him for being shameless.

Someone laughed and chased after him.

This is quite ordinary.

And also precious.

Chu Che watched those silhouettes pass beneath the window.

He once also wanted to protect this ordinariness.

With a scalpel.

With medicine.

With a duty roster.

With repeated rescues.

Later he discovered, the scalpel cannot save the necrosis within the system.

Medicine also cannot cure the old ailment in human nature.

Then switch to a larger operating table.

Switch to higher authority.

He reached out and lightly touched the Earth projection.

All red dots fell silent.

All blue dots lined up.

All white dots entered the grid.

The entire Earth was covered by a transparent framework.

Sai Men looked at that layer of framework, for the first time not making a wisecrack.

That is not a destruction diagram.

That is a management diagram.

It incorporates nations, organizations, Weird Controllers, ordinary people, Weird Domain, ghost stories, and Fierce Ghosts into a single adjustable system.

Too neat.

So neat it makes one's spine tingle.

Chu Che spoke softly.

"The stage has already been cleaned up by themselves."

"The flock has entered the pen."

"Next——soon it will be my turn to be the final shepherd."