Chapter 178: 178, Li Shentan's gift

Yang Xiaojin was not at home; only Luo Xinyu lingered in the courtyard, chatting in fits and starts, as if idling away the hours.

Ren Xiaosu had expected Yang Xiaojin to return that evening, yet when night fell, Yang was absent, and Luo Xinyu had departed.

A sense of unease crept over him—this had to be an omen of the impending turmoil.

Before long, a bicycle promised by Luo Xinyu was delivered; after informing his family, Ren Xiaosu stepped out, suspecting the factions would strike against the Li Clan’s financial empire that night!

As he walked, he pondered: if they were to act, where would it unfold? At the university?

He hurried toward the university under the cover of darkness, recalling how someone had once described it—a verdant park where students strolled through emerald pathways, a utopia of serenity and peace.

Yet upon arrival, he felt deceived: the campus gates were flanked by sharp anti-armor barricades, and countless fortifications lined the grounds, where Li Clan operatives patrolled with grim, scrutinizing gazes.

What park was this? It was unmistakably a military stronghold!

No wonder Luo Lan’s earlier schemes had drawn little response—the Li forces stationed at the 109th Bastion had all converged here.

What discovery could make the Li Clan guard it so fiercely?

The university was not secluded; the surrounding Bastion residents moved about as usual, and street vendors carried on their trade.

Suddenly, a plainclothes man approached, his sidearm visible beneath his coat.

Noticing Ren Xiaosu’s lingering gaze toward the campus, the man asked, “Young man, what brings you here?”

Ren Xiaosu concluded this was another Li operative, marveling at their tight perimeter security. “It’s a university—I’m here for research.”

The man laughed, “Do you look like a scholar to you?”

Ren Xiaosu bristled, “Can’t I be a research subject? Who’s dismissing whom?”

The man blinked, “???”

With a gesture, several plainclothes figures closed in around him.

At that moment, a passerby drew a grenade from his pocket, hurled it at the gate, and instead of fleeing, produced a firearm to shoot indiscriminately, sowing chaos for its own sake.

Ren Xiaosu seized the pandemonium to dash for cover, thinking, *This reckless fool—what faction is he with?*

Gunfire erupted beyond the gates, as if a pot of ice had boiled over; vendors who had been trading peacefully surged forth, slaughtering the plainclothes men.

But the chaos did not end—after eliminating them, the assassins briefly retreated, then Ren Xiaosu spotted several trucks rounding the street’s end, ramming into the gates!

A few trucks could not breach such defenses, yet Ren Xiaosu fled, suspecting the vehicles were laden with explosives!

Several assassins noticed him; one, blocking his retreat, raised his gun. But as the trigger clicked, Ren Xiaosu blurred like a specter, the bullet missing its mark!

Every muscle in his body strained to its limit, a surge of power coursing through his limbs and bones!

The assassin froze—what speed could evade bullets?

Before he could fire again, Ren Xiaosu was upon him, an arrow in motion, striking his neck with a fist!

The blow shattered bone and flesh; the assassin died without a chance to dodge.

Nearby assassins raised their guns, but bullets rained from unseen sources, reducing them to sprays of blood mist.

A coppery scent hung in the air, drifting like crimson clouds on the wind.

Only a sniper rifle wielded such devastation.

Ren Xiaosu looked up to a distant tower, where a girl stood with a massive sniper rifle, the rising moon aligning perfectly beside her.

The slender crescent seemed her companion.

From afar, clock chimes echoed from the Bastion’s heart, their resonance vast and mournful.

Yet Ren Xiaosu halted—after 18:00, no chimes should toll!

…

At the moment before the chimes rang.

Li Shentan, clad in a magician’s coat, stood at the distant street corner, smiling as coins gathered in his hat.

He addressed the gathered Bastion residents, “Hypnosis’s marvel lies in its ability to unlock your latent consciousness. Have you ever wished to sleep until 3 a.m., yet woken naturally without an alarm?”

“Have you heard of elders catching falling children from seven stories with bare hands?”

Pausing, Li Shentan said, “What is the subconscious? The brain holds 14 billion neurons, capable of storing 5 billion books’ worth of information, yet you forget what you just remembered.”

“Someone governs your body, yet you cannot govern it,” he smiled. “How perilous!”

A voice from the crowd asked, “What use is controlling the subconscious?”

Li Shentan replied, “Have you ever considered… when you command the subconscious, might you not become extraordinary? No—become a deity.”

As he spoke, he lifted a roadside car with ease, as if it were paper!

The crowd gawked; some tossed money into his hat, others inspected the vehicle.

Then the chimes rang, and Li Shentan laughed, “The game… begins.”

As the sound reverberated, countless Bastion residents stood frozen, then moved like zombies toward the university.

They walked slowly at first, but gradually accelerated until all sprinted wildly!

Their speed surpassed human sprint records, each runner seemingly burning their own life force.

A plump resident thinned visibly as he ran, while a gaunt one’s skin wept blood beads.

They charged onward, minds vacant save for Li Shentan’s command—the chimes their hypnotic cue.

Divine guidance.

Li Shentan bent to retrieve his magician’s hat, coins scattered, yet he ignored them.

The youth walked the now-desolate streets, trailed by a hellish blaze of fury.

Tonight, the Li Clan’s discarded pawn became their gift.