Chapter 107: The AI God’s Control

According to the original plan, after Klein received the scroll-reader, he would immediately go to the board member backing him. Then, the board would convene to discuss strategies to counter the AI God.

However, that plan failed before it even began.

Klein did find Director Prang, but he was met not with support, but death—his head cleanly severed by the very man he sought out.

As one of the most powerful figures in HuanYu Corporation, Director Prang should, by nature, be diametrically opposed to the AI God.

Lu Yan couldn’t understand it. Why would a board member—someone whose authority was threatened by the AI God—side with it, going so far as to kill Klein for reporting the truth?

Klein’s severed head still wore an expression of disbelief, liquefied spirit energy dripping endlessly from the base of his neck.

Moments later, his head was engulfed in flames, the spirit energy igniting and consuming it entirely.

Director Prang made no attempt to hide his actions. The other high-level spirit users witnessed Klein’s death—and the momentary hope ignited by Prang’s appearance was instantly doused with cold dread.

“Director Prang, what are you—?!”

Prang did not reply. His expression remained cold as he slowly raised his hand toward the assembled spirit users.

In the next instant, a tsunami of tangible spirit energy crashed down from the heavens, smothering everything beneath it. The high-level spirit users were trapped like insects in amber, incapable of moving a muscle.

As his fingers curled into a fist, their bodies began to twist and rupture under the immense pressure.

Their flesh tore apart, and the erupting streams of spirit energy were instantly frozen mid-air. The entire Upper City fell into a deathly silence.

Bodies exploded beneath the weight of Prang’s energy. The fear in their eyes was almost solid, yet Prang remained utterly unmoved.

When his fingers finally clenched completely, over a dozen high-level spirit users were crushed to pieces. Their residual spirit energy burst like brilliant fireworks.

Several kilometers away, Lu Yan—through the eyes of the Fierce Ghost—stared at the scene in stunned silence.

Only one thought surged in his mind:

“Golden Core stage! That has to be the Golden Core stage!”

To effortlessly wipe out more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators with a wave of his hand—Lu Yan couldn’t imagine any other possibility.

In fact, Prang was likely one of the strongest among Golden Core experts, reminding Lu Yan of what Scott’s father had once said: that a transcendent spirit user resided in the Upper City of City 14.

Clearly, he had been referring to Director Prang.

And now, the chaos Lu Yan had triggered by exposing the AI God’s secret was crushed by this man alone.

Among the two hundred-plus floating islands Lu Yan had targeted, those who stepped forward were only a portion. Many more had chosen to stay silent, watching and weighing their chances.

They had learned the truth—but given the AI God’s overwhelming power, they hadn’t dared act immediately.

Now, with Director Prang wiping out all who resisted in a single move, none dared speak further.

Even if the scroll-readers had told the truth—that the AI God was harvesting souls to create a Soul World—even if that meant abandoning their bodies for another realm…

Suffering a little in that world was still better than being slaughtered on the spot.

Prang’s icy gaze swept across every floating island, as though his eyes could pierce the void and see all.

Then, turning into a streak of light, he vanished—returning to the highest floating island.

The Upper City fell silent.

Only the burning islands continued to smolder in the night.

Moments later, several colossal warships descended from the sky, their hulls over a kilometer long, black armor concealing countless deadly weapons.

Mechanical soldiers poured out from the ships—not carrying weapons, but rather comically large fire extinguishers, and began putting out the burning islands.

Everyone in the Upper City understood clearly—this was a warning from the AI God.

If these machines could hold extinguishers, they could just as easily carry death-dealing armaments.

Had the board resisted the AI God, perhaps they could’ve stood a chance.

But the board had already sided with the AI God. The people were now utterly isolated.

Director Prang and those battleships were more than enough to obliterate the Upper City completely. And who knew how many secret weapons the AI God had hidden after years of control over HuanYu Corporation?

What was supposed to be the spark of rebellion had been ruthlessly smothered before it even caught fire.

As the orchestrator of it all, Lu Yan now wore a dark expression.

He had known from the beginning that even if the Upper City chose to resist, it was unlikely to succeed. The AI God was simply too powerful—no single faction could stand against it alone.

But even he hadn’t expected this clash to end so quickly.

From top-tier combat strength to mechanical armies, the AI God had shown complete dominance—and that was while still maintaining a semblance of order.

Lu Yan didn’t linger.

He recalled the Fierce Ghost and returned to the Lower City.

Reflecting on the night’s events, Lu Yan finally sighed and murmured to himself:

“Even though the original plan fell apart, this operation wasn’t entirely fruitless.”

“First, I’ve planted a seed of truth in the hearts of the Upper City elite.”

“Though most stayed silent tonight, that’s only because the real threat hasn’t reached their door yet.”

“From now on, the people of the Upper City will start preparing. When the end truly comes, some will rise in rebellion.”

“As for the second takeaway…”

Lu Yan’s mind flashed back to that transcendent spirit user—comparable to the Golden Core stage.

Director Prang had appeared too quickly—so fast that even Lu Yan couldn’t react in time.

When Prang scanned the entire Upper City, the Fierce Ghost had still been within range.

Ordinary spirit users, lacking soul cultivation, wouldn’t be able to perceive ghosts. But high-level users—those who had undergone soul metamorphosis—could.

Transcendent spirit users, whose souls were even more refined, should have been able to spot the ghost instantly.

But Prang had shown no reaction at all, as if he hadn’t seen the ghost.

That, coupled with his betrayal of his own class to kill Klein and suppress all dissent, led Lu Yan to a critical realization:

“Director Prang didn’t betray his class. He’s likely already been taken over by the AI God!”

“The reason he couldn’t see the Fierce Ghost… is because of the Heaven’s Code inscribed on it. The Heaven’s Code can deceive the AI God—so now that Prang is under its control, he too is blind to it!”

(End of Chapter)