Chapter 302: Chaos

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

The awkward situation did not last long. CEO Zhang and Liu Fang were both tactful and shrewd people. Giving face was something that depended on the other party. In front of this person, they were of a lower status and were unwilling to offend him.

“My name is Zhang Sheng!” The middle-aged man called CEO Zhang walked over and forced a smile as he extended his hand. “I’m the head of Jiangnan Television’s news station.”

“My name is Liu Fang!” The middle-aged woman extended her hand and smiled as well. “I’m a manager at the Entertainment and Media Company.”

However, the two of them realized that the other party was completely ignoring them, and his gaze was fixed on Han Qiufeng. However, it was precisely this disdainful attitude that Zhang Sheng and Liu Fang raised the young man’s status in their hearts.

To dare to openly ruin the trap set against Han Qiufeng, he was not someone that a station head and manager could provoke.

Han Qiufeng twisted her fingers together and asked weakly, “Really? But what should I do?”

After the song ‘Tomorrow Will Be Better’ became popular, she was invited to tour the various cities in the Daxia Kingdom. However, as the second party in the contract, she was naturally the weaker party compared to the first party.

It was not uncommon for people in the same profession to be subjected to unspoken rules. In the end, there were those who committed suicide, those who held back their tears, and those who caused a commotion.

She had also learned some insider information, but knowing about it was one thing, and dealing with it was another. There were some things that Liu Fang would not tell her clearly, and would only promise to help her settle them.

Previously, she had rejected Zhang Sheng on the spot and stood up to leave resolutely because she suspected that her manager, Liu Fang, had already been bribed.

Chen Yiming nodded and said, “That’s easy.”

With that, he stretched out a finger and gestured a few times in the air. In that instant, a huge pressure appeared out of thin air. Zhang Sheng, Liu Fang, and Han Qiufeng felt as if their hearts were being pressed tightly against their chests, preventing them from beating.

Fortunately, the pressure disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It was as if a ferocious beast had walked past them. However, it left them with a lingering fear.

“This…”

“This…”

“This…”

At this moment, a golden “stop” word appeared on Zhang Sheng’s chest, making it impossible for one to look away. Their gazes were strongly drawn to it.

Unlike Liu Fang and Han Qiufeng, who were stunned, Zhang Sheng revealed a terrified expression.

“It’s over. Could it be that this person is not only a second-generation descendant, but also a second-generation descendant with outstanding martial arts talent?” This was what Zhang Sheng thought.

The meaning of the word “stop” was obvious. The young man had spoken in such a manner, telling them to stop immediately and not to target Han Qiufeng.

Without any negotiation or hesitation, he directly used forceful methods to suppress them and the people behind them. Furthermore, they could not bring themselves to fight back.

This was the deterrence brought about by his strength.

“The current situation in Jiangnan province is unstable. Your song is not bad. You should make more,” Chen Yiming said to Han Qiufeng.

With that, he continued walking without waiting for Han Qiufeng to come back to her senses, leaving behind only his figure disappearing into the distance.

To him, this was just a small incident. He had just happened to encounter it and was casually helping a small singer to uphold justice.

In reality, be it the turmoil in the hearts of the people or the undercurrents, Chen Yiming himself was the one who could influence the situation.

As long as he did not lose, Jiangnan province would be fine. If he lost, the province would be occupied by the treants and become an environment filled with hidden dangers.

…

The darkness dissipated, and the sun rose from the east again.

However, the sky was covered in dark clouds, blocking out most of the sunlight. Gradually, it started to drizzle.

Upon receiving the order issued by the Jiangnan provincial government, the major cities in the province quickly took action overnight. They tensed up again.

All the industries, especially those in the industrial parks of the major cities, began to enter a state of war. They no longer considered whether the products produced could be sold. Instead, they prepared for war at full capacity.

At the same time, the markets also entered a state of restriction, and limits were placed on the number of purchases that could be made by each household. A large number of armed police officers took to the streets to maintain order in the city and suppress all unstable factors.

Chen Yiming stood on the rooftop of a building and took in the changes in Jiangnan City.

He sighed in his heart. “When I transmigrated to this world that was similar to Earth, East Lake City encountered an accident not long after and a war broke out with the creatures from the otherworld that came out of the lake in the west.”

“At that time, I could only hide in my house in the village and wait quietly for my talent to increase. It could be said that I couldn’t withstand the storm back then.”

“The war with the creatures from the otherworld only affected a few cities around the lake, but the scope of the war with the treants this time is not something that can be compared to the last time.”

“As for me, I went from a rookie in martial arts to an important figure in the war between humans and treants.”

Chen Yiming looked past the mountains in the direction of the strange village and sighed. “Since the treant at the master realm dared to come to the cave at the entrance of the space-travel passage to guard it, a war is inevitable.”

“What’s left is the time it takes for the treants to invade and the number of treants in the first batch.”

“Although we are feeling lucky, it’s very likely that even the black river, which has surpassed the master realm, is not a match for the treants. There’s no reason for the treants to retreat so easily.”

“This way, it’s almost a matter of time before we launch the nuclear bombs at the strange mountain village. Weakening the treants to the maximum will create a more advantageous situation for the humans.”

At this thought, Chen Yiming recalled the history of nuclear war in his previous world.

From the scattered descriptions in the books, it could be seen how powerful this weapon was, even in this world where extraordinary powers existed.

Before reaching a certain level, those at the center of a nuclear explosion, even if they were creatures from the otherworld, would not be able to withstand it.

…

In the basement of a house in the suburbs of Jiangnan City, this was an underground space with three floors. There was a large amount of food, military equipment, and other supplies stored inside.

The space closest to the ground was filled with smoke and cigarette butts. Two burly men were sitting on the sofa, smoking to ease their anxiety.

“F*ck!” Li Chenglong threw the cigarette butt in his hand to the ground and stood up to pace around. “What’s the point of making a promise? Are they treating us like abandoned pawns?”

The two burly men were both doing smuggling work, and there were people among the higher-ups who provided them with special access. However, Jiangnan City had suddenly entered a state of war, and there were armed police everywhere to maintain order. At the same time, they were reorganizing the entire city. How could those with questionable occupations dare to go out at will?

As for why the two of them did not stop in advance, they did not have a choice. The higher-ups had not said anything, and countless secrets were in their hands. They did not dare to stop at will.

Zhou Tao exhaled a cloud of smoke and narrowed his eyes. His expression was dark as he muttered, “We can’t continue to wait like this. We have to rely on ourselves.”

The person behind them had yet to give them an explanation. Clearly, he was definitely doing something behind their backs. In fact, the person behind them had deliberately cut off their connection with them. The two of them might have already been used as bait to divert someone’s attention.

In the current situation, if they hid in the basement, they did not know when the armed police would come looking for them. Only by escaping would they have a chance of survival.

Li Chenglong lit another cigarette and took a deep breath. He said, “Should we leave now or wait for the night?”

“Tonight,” Zhou Tao replied.

“Damn it! If only we had made a prompt decision last night, we would not be in such a defensive position,” Li Chenglong cursed.

“Who knew that this would happen? The situation was clearly turning for the better.” Zhou Tao was equally angry.

After deciding on the plan to escape from Jiangnan City after dark, the basement fell silent. The two of them continued to smoke one cigarette after another to ease their frustration.

At some point in the afternoon, their ears twitched as they vaguely heard footsteps coming from above.

“Someone’s here!”

After a moment of silence, the two of them threw down the lit cigarettes and stomped them out.

“Damn it, why did something go wrong at this time?” Li Chenglong’s heart turned cold. He walked a few steps to a small device and glanced at the video feed from the camera. “It’s the armed police. There’s a small team of seven people in total.”

“Let them in and kill them,” Zhou Tao gritted his teeth and said.

Under normal circumstances, the two of them would try their best to hide the existence of the basement and deal with the armed police who had come knocking on their door. Even if they revealed some flaws, they could still contact the people behind them and suppress the matter.

However, they had no choice now. If they smoked too many cigarettes, the smoke would drift into the house from the basement entrance. There would be problems everywhere for a while, and they would not be able to stand up to a proper investigation.

Li Chenglong and Zhou Tao quietly crawled out of the basement and hid on either side of the door.

…

A small team of armed police officers was walking towards a dilapidated house at a slow pace.

“Captain!” The armed police officer, Zhang Xiaogang, rubbed his sore thigh and rotated his sore ankle. He grumbled, “Don’t tell me we have to patrol 24 hours a day! My body can’t take it anymore.”

The order to enter a state of war was issued overnight. The armed police team had not rested for almost half a day. Along the way, they only drank a few mouthfuls of water and ate a few pieces of bread. They did not even get to rest their eyes.

Zhang Xiaogang had already broken through his physical limits a few times, and the amount of work he had to do far exceeded his usual limit. He could not muster any more strength, and his body was as soft as noodles.

However, they had no choice. A large number of soldiers had been transferred to the front line of the battlefield, and they were short on manpower. They could only give more work to the remaining soldiers.

“What are you talking about!” The captain, Xue Peng, glared at Zhang Xiaogang. “Are you usually slacking off during training? You already can’t continue just like that?”

With that, he turned to observe the situation of the other armed police officers and realized that they were all staggering. This was not an act, but their bodies really complaining.

Seeing this situation, Xue Peng had no choice but to announce, “Rest for five minutes, then search the houses in one go.”

According to the rules, the team had to maintain their normal combat strength at all times. As the captain, Xue Peng could not ignore their basic needs just because of the heavy workload.

If the armed police team, which did not have much stamina, encountered any accidents, it would be troublesome. At best, there would be casualties, and at worst, the team would be wiped out.

“I can finally catch my breath.”

The armed police officers sat on the ground and let out a long breath. Taking advantage of the short break, they unscrewed the cap of their bottles and gulped down some water.

Five minutes later, the armed police team, which had recovered a portion of its strength, continued walking towards the houses.

…

“Damn it!”

Li Chenglong cursed under his breath when he saw the armed police team resting on the spot through the crack in the door.

Initially, he and Zhou Tao had an 80% chance of defeating all of them here. However, the situation had changed. Did they sense that there was something amiss with the house? Or was there some other reason that they did not know about?

Zhou Tao pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s not wait for the night. Let’s get rid of this armed police team and leave immediately.”

Li Chenglong’s expression darkened, but he still nodded in the end. The two of them had no choice. Even if they wiped out the armed police team, it was impossible for them to remain undetected for a long time.

The two of them had discussed splitting up to launch a sneak attack on the armed police team. No matter the outcome, they would escape after 15 minutes.

…

The armed police team that entered the houses spread out. Each of them was in charge of a few houses and started to search them.

Zhang Xiaogang pushed open a rusty metal door. The lock on the metal door had long been broken and fallen at the door. He walked into a courtyard covered in weeds.

Even though he knew that no one was living there, he still shouted, “Is anyone there? We are…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a blow to his neck. Zhang Xiaogang’s vision was instantly filled with stars, and he lost control of his body. Then, he lost consciousness.

Li Chenglong spat at the fallen armed police officer and closed the courtyard door. He leaped over the wall with a whoosh and searched for his next target.

After he successfully launched another sneak attack, he suddenly heard the sound of fighting.

“So soon?” Li Chenglong’s expression was fierce as he quickly rushed in the direction of the commotion.

Just like Li Chenglong, Zhou Tao had successfully ambushed two armed police officers. The difference was that he had been noticed by the captain of the armed police, Xue Peng.

Xue Peng’s eyes were red as he fought Zhou Tao.

At this moment, he was extremely regretful. His armed police team members were in a poor condition and should not have split up at this time. However, in order to complete the patrol on time, he did not realize this earlier.

However, at this moment, the armed police team unluckily encountered the two fugitives.

When he was at full strength, it would not take him long to take down Zhou Tao. However, after working hard for half a day, he only had 70% of his strength left and could only fight his opponent to a draw.

The remaining two armed police officers could only point their guns at the two people fighting from afar. The first reason was that their bodies were not in good condition, and the second was that they were not strong enough. They might not be able to help if they went up to fight in close combat.

Li Chenglong sneaked over and saw Zhou Tao fighting the captain of the armed police. He was about to launch a sneak attack on the remaining two armed police officers.

Xue Peng suddenly shouted, “The two of you, be careful. He Guangwen and Lin Yang are still missing. They might have been killed.”

Li Chenglong was annoyed that he was just a few seconds late, but he had no choice.

The captain of the armed police, Xue Peng, was originally much stronger. Even though his physical condition was poor, Zhou Tao’s stamina began to decrease after more than 10 moves, and he gradually fell into a disadvantage.

He charged out from the corner and targeted the remaining two armed police officers.

After being reminded by Xue Peng, the two armed police officers had already focused their attention on their surroundings. Li Chenglong was shot as soon as he rushed out.

“Damn it!” Li Chenglong cursed and was forced to find cover.

In the end, those in the disciple realm were still made of flesh and blood. Without the protection of internal force, they could not repel bullets.

At this moment, Zhou Tao shouted, “Come and deal with this guy with me. They don’t dare to shoot if we are in close combat.”

Li Chenglong quickly stuck out his head to confirm the location of the battle. Then, he charged out in an irregular path. He moved around and dodged left and right.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Gunshots rang out continuously, but they all missed and were dodged by Li Chenglong.

“Damn it!”

The eyes of the captain of the armed police, Xue Peng, were about to burn with anger. Originally, he could have dealt with the person in front of him by fighting a drawn out battle. Now that it was two against one, it was hard to say who would win.

Next, the three of them fought. Even though Xue Peng was fighting one against two, and spat out a mouthful of blood after every 10 moves, the tough will of a soldier made him temporarily forget the pain.

When Li Chenglong and Zhou Tao saw this, they thought that this person was about to die. They increased the intensity of their attacks and wanted to kill him here even if they were injured.

Unexpectedly, after exchanging more than 20 blows, although Xue Peng vomited more blood, his strength did not decrease at all. He even showed signs of becoming more and more fierce.

The two of them hesitated in their hearts. Time was not on their side. They took advantage of the gap in the fight to look at each other. After Xue Peng vomited blood, they escaped.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Gunshots rang out again, but because Li Chenglong and Zhou Tao were already prepared, the bullets still missed their target. After the targets escaped from the effective firing range, the armed police were forced to give up.

“Captain…”

One of the armed police officers wanted to ask Xue Peng if they should chase after the fugitives, but just as he shouted his name, Xue Peng fell to the ground and vomited blood.

The armed police officer panicked and immediately called the ambulance.

“It’s alright. I won’t die.”

Xue Peng waved his hand to indicate that he was fine. He took out his communicator and made a call to report the situation to the armed police squadron.

After making the report, Xue Peng ordered the remaining two armed police officers to check on the others and see if they could still be saved.

After that, he started to deal with his injuries.

In reality, he was severely injured. It was two against one, and he was in a hurry to take down the two of them. It was different from usual when he held back 30% of his strength for each attack. Most of the time, he would exchange injuries for injuries.

Both sides were trying to end the battle quickly, and the weaker side was naturally at a disadvantage.