Chapter 29: The Burden of a Savior and the Boredom of Immortality

It had been three days since the nuclear explosion in Country A.

Lin Ling’s existence was now widely known, no longer a secret confined to high-ranking government officials.

Countless media outlets, journalists, and private investigators had joined the ranks, striving to uncover Lin Ling’s origins.

This aligned perfectly with Lin Ling’s original plan. She intended to seize the opportunity of Blue Star’s spiritual energy resurgence and the rampant behemoths.

Her goal was to eliminate these mobile disasters, which even governments found helpless against, right before the eyes of the world’s people and news media.

And why?

To garner popularity and prestige, of course. As the Battle Sovereign of humanity, she needed people to understand her existence.

Furthermore, it offered a chance to subtly introduce humanity to events they currently deemed ‘unscientific,’ laying the groundwork for future developments without them appearing too abrupt.

Due to Lin Ling’s exceptional performance during the nuclear explosion incident, where she protected cities and people and eliminated ferocious beasts that threatened humanity globally, she could distinctly sense a growing fondness for her among a segment of the human population.

Those who had witnessed her ‘education’ of the ferocious beasts up close were particularly fervent. Their attitude towards her could only be described as fanatical; they worshipped her as a goddess, an angel, a protector of nature.

Lin Ling found herself cringing slightly whenever she saw their articles, videos, or interview recordings.

Even more exaggerated, some people from Country A had directly founded a new religion in her name.

The leader of this religion was none other than General John, the old general she had rescued previously. ‘Who knew he had a talent for this?’ she mused.

This was understandable, however. They had been saved by Lin Ling from the brink of utter despair, so their exaggerated goodwill towards her was only natural.

Moreover, having been in close proximity to the Sacred Spirit Power, their fervor had intensified.

Yet, nothing was absolute. There were always those with ‘creative ideas’ who published negative reports and articles, spreading conspiracy theories or warnings about Lin Ling.

Lin Ling, for her part, accepted this with magnanimity, acknowledging that it was only natural to be suspicious of a sudden ‘savior’ like herself.

However, some individuals were simply trolls, keyboard warriors, or those seeking to capitalize on the trending topic. They fabricated baseless theories and evidence, crafting articles and reports that appeared plausible but were, in fact, utter nonsense.

At times, reading their work made Lin Ling wonder if she truly was there to enslave humanity.

‘Their brainwashing ability is maxed out,’ she thought.

As for these people, Lin Ling planned to have Little White issue a mild warning through online channels. If they remained unrepentant, then ‘Hmph.’

“I really *can* trace the internet cable and beat you up!” she muttered. “Don’t regret it when that happens!”

Overall, most humans still regarded Lin Ling with a sense of unfamiliarity. While grateful for her actions, they also harbored apprehension about whether she might use her terrifying power for ill.

After all, an unrestrained, powerful individual was undeniably unsettling.

‘How to tackle this problem?’ Lin Ling pondered, feeling quite vexed.

‘Forget it!’ she decided. ‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, back to gaming.’

****

Sunday

These past few days, Lin Ling had reverted to the ‘lazy fish’ state she adopted during her university days when there was no Wi-Fi. With nothing to do, she was bored to death!

During this time, Bisika had temporarily returned to the Tianyu Tribe and the outer domain borders to handle some matters. She had also promised to help Lin Ling investigate Xi Yue’s situation.

This, however, was proving to be quite complex, as the Origin Star Universe contained far too many races capable of reaching Blue Star.

As a result, there was no one to help train the captured behemoths. Lin Ling had no choice but to keep them frozen in ice sculptures, preventing them from wreaking havoc upon the world.

Little White, meanwhile, was busily researching profound and esoteric topics like the properties of star sources and their compatibility with humans. Lin Ling didn’t understand its purpose but let it continue.

However, without Little White’s AI intelligent database, Lin Ling had been completely unable to study alien languages, general knowledge, or magic these past few days.

Lin Ling was rather pleased about this, as she wasn’t particularly fond of studying.

This explained why Lin Ling’s days now felt neither busy nor fulfilling, unlike the previous week.

Initially, Lin Ling had been quite happy. She could finally do whatever she wished.

Moreover, Bisika and Little White, through some unknown machinations, had managed to add three zeroes to Lin Ling’s meager savings online.

This instantly transformed Lin Ling from a struggling commoner into a minor heiress, providing her with ample capital for gaming.

However, her joy quickly dissipated.

At first, she splurged lavishly on her favorite pay-to-win games, spending ‘648s’ without a second thought.

She maxed out her equipment, drew SSR characters until her warehouse was full, and upgraded all characters to triple-S rank.

Then she discovered the games had lost all their fun. The overwhelming power of her equipment made every confrontation utterly predictable.

With every character acquired, the joy of collecting vanished.

Result: Abandoned!

For mobile games, Lin Ling directly controlled her clones along with herself in ranked matches, achieving a perfect 100% win rate.

After all, Lin Ling’s own skills were already formidable, and controlling clones allowed for near-perfect coordination. Furthermore, her current reflexes were simply unmatched.

Even when occasionally matched against professional teams and facing a tough battle, Lin Ling would simply call out to Little White, and the opponents’ internet would conveniently disconnect.

Winning became almost too easy.

Result: Abandoned!

For FPS games, if she encountered cheaters, she’d deploy Little White. Against other players, Lin Ling’s sheer reaction speed was enough to handle them.

Result: Abandoned!

…

….

…

By now, Lin Ling realized she had no games left she wanted to play. No wonder Bisika always advised her to sleep more.

‘Indeed,’ she thought. ‘If I’m bored, what else is there to do but sleep?’

The thought of endless future time sent a shiver down Lin Ling’s spine.

‘It seems I need to develop a long-term hobby,’ she mused. ‘I certainly don’t want to spend all day sleeping.’

‘Speaking of which, I’m meeting Wu Hang for dinner today. Perhaps I can find some fun there, hehe. It’s been ages since we hung out.’

****

As dusk settled.

Sitting in the hotpot restaurant where he was to meet Lin Ling, Wu Hang continuously scrolled through his phone, his emotions a tangled mess.

He gazed at the image on his screen: a stunning silver-haired girl whose beauty could topple nations.

Wu Hang was deeply conflicted about whether to report this to his superiors. Currently, the entire nation, even the world, was searching for the whereabouts of this mysterious silver-haired girl.

His own team had been working tirelessly day and night on the investigation. Discovering her location should have been a cause for universal celebration, and given the silver-haired girl’s current influence, reporting it to his superiors would undoubtedly guarantee him promotions, wealth, and prominence.

But…

This girl seemed to have a connection to his old friend.

Furthermore, the clothes the girl in the picture was wearing were clearly Lin Ling’s.

‘Could it be…?’

A conjecture so unbelievable, it even shocked him, surfaced in his mind.