Chapter 1185
They Discovered Something Was Wrong
After dealing with the elderly men who had ordered his assassination, Choi did not stop. Meanwhile, in the secret meeting room of the SEELE Committee, the atmosphere was oppressive and suffocating. The remaining elderly men sat around the round conference table, their faces solemn, and an unshakeable unease and fear filled the air.
Keel Lorenz sat at the head of the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface. His brow was furrowed, and a barely perceptible hint of malice and panic flashed in his eyes. He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over each of the elderly men present, and broke the silence of the conference room with a heavy voice: "Our assassins have failed."
These words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly causing an uproar among the elderly people present. Their already solemn expressions became even more grim, and they began to whisper among themselves, their tone filled with disbelief and apprehension.
"How is this possible? We sent top assassins, all of them are elites who have been tempered by fire. How could they fail?" An old man looked astonished, his tone carrying a hint of luck, as if he did not want to believe this fact. In their view, eliminating Cui Ming was just a piece of cake. They never thought it would end like this.
Kiro Lorenz shook his head, his eyes filled with even deeper apprehension. His voice was low and menacing: "Nothing is impossible. None of those assassins survived, not even a single message returned. It's clear their strength is far greater than we imagined. Cui Ming is a dangerous fellow."
He thought of his missing comrades and the complete annihilation of the assassins he had sent, and a chill ran down his spine—they had ultimately underestimated Cui Ming. This seemingly ordinary man possessed a power that was enough to instill fear in them.
"Yes, it's terrifying. We don't even know his background. If we act rashly, we'll suffer heavy losses." Another old man sighed, his tone full of helplessness and unease. "Let's be careful for now. Let's not act rashly against him. Let's find out his strength and background before making any plans."
“That’s right,” another old man chimed in, leaning forward slightly, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly. “He gives off a very strange vibe, unlike an ordinary person. There’s an indescribable sense of oppression about him, as if he can control everything. If we’re not careful, we might end up repeating the mistakes of our companions.”
The elderly men spoke amongst themselves, expressing their fear and unease, making the atmosphere in the meeting room increasingly oppressive. They reminded each other and discussed their next move, their words filled with caution, the arrogance and confidence they had displayed before completely gone—the assassin's demise and the disappearance of their companions had made them realize that Cui Ming was an opponent they could not afford to offend, nor could they provoke rashly.
However, unbeknownst to them, while they whispered and remained wary of each other, danger had already lurked nearby, and some of them had already been quietly replaced by Cui Ming.
Choi Myung's counterattack was never just about eliminating a few old men; what he wanted was to completely dismantle the SEELE Committee's power and make those who had schemed against him and tried to get rid of him pay the ultimate price. Now, he had quietly infiltrated the committee, like a hidden pawn, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Some might wonder, what if outsiders come to visit them after Choi Myung replaced the committee's elders, and what if someone discovers the flaws?
In fact, this was incredibly simple for Cui Ming. To perfectly conceal this secret, Cui Ming specially created dummies that were exactly the same as the old man being replaced. These dummies were all made using high-precision machinery, and the most ingenious part was their outer skin—Cui Ming used special materials to create it. The touch, texture, color, and even the fine wrinkles were exactly the same as those of a real person. Touching them was no different from touching real skin, enough to fool anyone. Even upon close inspection, it would be difficult to find any flaws.
Ultimately, the principle behind the production of these mannequins is similar to that of drones; both are controlled by programs to simulate the speech and behavior of real people. Cui Ming pre-recorded all the habits, tone of voice, expressions, and even subtle movements of the elderly people being replaced. The mannequins would perfectly replicate these details according to the program, performing flawlessly whether communicating with other elderly people or dealing with visitors, just like the real committee members.
At this moment, in the conference room, the dummy that Cui Ming had replaced was whispering with the other elderly people. Its tone and expression were indistinguishable from the real people, revealing no flaws whatsoever. Meanwhile, the other elderly people present were still immersed in their fear of Cui Ming, completely unaware that Cui Ming's spies had already been planted all around them, and that their every word and action was under Cui Ming's control.
Kiro Lorenz looked at his companions, who were still discussing how to deal with Cui Ming. Little did they know that their proud SEELE Committee had already been breached by Cui Ming, and they were about to become pawns in Cui Ming's hands, to be discarded at any time.
The elderly men in the conference room continued their hushed discussions, their tone filled with apprehension towards Cui Ming, completely unaware that their companions had already been replaced and that their every word and action was under Cui Ming's real-time control. Meanwhile, Cui Ming leaned against the supercomputer in the underground base, watching the elderly men's disgraceful behavior on the monitor screen while listening to the incessant chatter of the world consciousness within his mind.
Of course, the same thing still applies now—the world consciousness is desperately begging Cui Ming to slow down the killing of those old people from SEELE.
It wasn't that the World Consciousness was soft-hearted, nor that it sympathized with those wicked old people. On the contrary, its mind was more ruthless than anyone else's, and it knew better than anyone else how to torture people. The reason it begged Cui Ming to slow down was mainly because it felt that revenge could only be truly satisfied when these guys were driven to utter despair.
Killing them all at once would be too lenient. A few minutes of suffering wouldn't make a difference to the sins they committed, nor would it extinguish the fury burning in the heart of the world's consciousness. It's better to proceed slowly, gradually dismantling their power, destroying their hopes bit by bit, letting them struggle in fear and despair, watching everything they were so proud of vanish into thin air, watching those around them leave one by one, and finally ending their lives with my own hands. That would be truly satisfying and cathartic.
It must be said that the World Consciousness is quite cunning, deeply understanding the art of "attacking the mind." Compared to Cui Ming's decisive approach, it excels at using prolonged torture to gradually erode the opponent's will, instilling despair from the depths of their heart until they collapse. (End of Chapter)