Final Civilization

Chapter 52: The Beginning

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The sound of the tourbillon echoed in the quiet space. Han Ming watched the hands on his watch, a faintly bright arc flashing through his narrow eyes.

He then started the car for the third time, drove away from the street, and disappeared into the flow of traffic.

He had guessed right. The Wenhai Road car accident case was already being watched. For Han Ming, this wasn't bad news.

He had already obtained the information he wanted. What he needed to do next was observe.

"The Sacred Realm of Science, Beacon Fire Across Cities, Shen Siwei, and the mastermind behind the car crash... will they all surface next?"

...

"Officer, can I go into the archives room to look up some information?"

Inside the investigation hall, Han Ming's single sentence instantly attracted countless hair-raising stares.

The policeman roared angrily."Nonsense! What do you want to do?"

"Investigate clues about the world's destruction. Believe me, the world is really about to be destroyed," Han Ming said with a completely serious face.

"Why should I believe you?"

The policeman curled his lips into a strange smile, waiting for Han Ming's next response.

Han Ming replied calmly, "I saw it with my own eyes in a dream. If you don't believe me, you can come into my dream and see for yourselves."

As soon as these words were spoken, those hostile gazes quickly faded. The policeman withdrew his smile.

"Are you joking with me?"

"Really. Just tell me the password to that archives room, and I'll prove it to you immediately."

"Get out, get out, get out! Wasting my time. A complete lunatic. Don't come here to file a report if you have nothing better to do. I'm telling you, if you cause any more trouble, we'll detain you, and then you'll behave!"

Han Ming shook his head, could only say "Thank you, officer," and left the police station.

The second probe had failed. There was no password in the subconscious. From this, it could be inferred that there was absolutely no possibility of a password existing within the dream itself.

Because if it was in memory, it could definitely be retrieved through path searching.

However, Han Ming had already roughly guessed what method 'Jiang Xing' had used to preserve the password.

He had preserved the password through reality, and this password was something he himself had never seen.

What fit this condition was that letter!

'Jiang Xing' used Chen Peng to preserve the password for him!

This was self-suggestion elimination.

It was the dream center the Wallfacer had buried for himself in the real world through the combination of illusion and reality!

"What a brilliant method."

Han Ming walked out of the police station, his gaze falling on the red dress under the sunlight, thinking to himself.

She also wants to know the password.

Looking at it this way, Jiang Xing's death was most likely related to this woman.

Thinking of this, Han Ming felt a chill run down his spine.

...

Morning light, filtered through thick glass, was reduced to a layer of cold, steely gray-white, evenly spread across the open-plan space of the penthouse apartment.

Liu Qigang, a director of Tianzhou, took the private elevator to the top-floor luxury apartment of this building. As soon as he stepped inside, the first thing that greeted him was the mess left behind by a night of debauched revelry.

Dark wine stains congealed on the carpet. Expensive bottles of all kinds were scattered everywhere. The air was thick with a mix of perfume, tobacco, and the stale smell of alcohol permeating the entire space.

Over a dozen young women with graceful figures were in various states of disarray. Some were wrapped in messy velvet blankets, deeply asleep on sofas. Some lay sprawled across the pool table. Others were sleeping completely naked by the edge of the rooftop swimming pool, like a pile of expensive dolls that had been broken.

Liu Qigang's leather shoes carefully avoided a rolling pill bottle on the floor. His eyes swept over the scene quickly, not daring to look too closely.

He knew that the powerful and influential figures who had been here had already left after a night of extreme luxury.

Silent subordinates led Liu Qigang through this silent scene of decadence, up a curved staircase to a room on the upper level.

When the door opened, thick cigar smoke rushed to greet him.

The interior furnishings were minimalist and expensive. The entire floor-to-ceiling window offered a view of Jinghai's sprawling steel jungle.

Three men were seated around the room. Zhao Caishen was curled up in a single armchair like a well-groomed, plump tiger. He was rubbing two glossy walnuts in his hand, producing a crisp "click-clack" sound. He lifted his eyelids, his voice carrying the hoarseness of someone just woken up and his habitual sarcasm.

"Director Liu, busy with important matters, I see. Or is it that you're really getting old? You didn't even come to last night's party, which was full of college students. Isn't that your favorite?"

Liu Qigang's face immediately broke into a practiced, awkward smile.

"You flatter me, Mr. Zhao. It's truly that age is catching up with me. I can't keep up with you young people who can party like that."

Another man, with a buzz cut and arms covered in black tattoos, was named Yan Jiu. He had a fierce face and snorted with a sneer.

"Playing innocent. Who doesn't know you keep seven 'golden canaries' in your villa in the western suburbs, calling them the 'Seven Fairies'? And here you are pretending."

A few ambiguous chuckles lightly collided within the room.

"Have a seat."

At this moment, the person sitting in the main seat moved. Young Master Lu was sitting with his legs crossed, holding a glass of amber whiskey. The ice cubes were slowly melting. His gaze was playful, his face hidden in shadow, like someone watching a restless beast in a cage.

"Director Liu."

"You look terrible. Judging by your appearance, Tianzhou must be quite busy lately."

Liu Qigang nodded, took the glass handed to him by Yan Jiu, and began to pour out his grievances.

"Young Master Lu, 'busy' is an understatement! That woman Yan Jing has gone mad, completely and utterly mad! From top to bottom, she's purged two directors, seven shareholders, and over a hundred mid-to-high-level managers from more than a dozen subsidiaries... Kicking them out, sending them to prison, just like that! Now my phone hasn't stopped ringing all day. The people below are panicking, afraid that the audit team or the legal team will come for them tomorrow."

"What's there to panic about?"

Lu Zhuo listened quietly, swirling his glass. The ice cubes clinked. The corner of his mouth lifted into a cold arc.

"If you want to destroy someone, you must first make them mad. Didn't we anticipate she would retaliate when we planned to take out her daughter?"

"But what do we do now?" Liu Qigang's forehead was beaded with fine sweat.

Zhao Caishen took over, his plump face wearing a kindly smile, but his eyes holding a vicious glint.

"Old Liu, think of it this way. The crazier she gets, the more tightly those who oppose her will band together. Haven't you seen what's happened to Tianzhou's stock price? What has it fallen to now?"

"We're currently releasing news to suppress the stock price on one hand, while quietly absorbing the panic selling from retail investors through several offshore funds on the other. As long as you and Wang Linquan hold your ground on the board of directors, working from the inside while we coordinate from the outside, even if Yan Jing had three heads and six arms, she couldn't win against us."

Young Master Lu drained his glass in one gulp. The bottom of the glass made a light "tap" sound as it touched the black marble tabletop. He gave a light laugh.

"When the time comes, Tianzhou... won't bear the surname Yan anymore."

Liu Qigang swallowed hard, his voice weak.

"But what if she decides to smash the pot along with the jar, ready for a fight to the death? She... she still hasn't given up investigating the car crash. She looks like she's in it for the long haul, with a 'fight to the death' kind of attitude."

"Investigate?"

Young Master Lu acted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. He leaned forward, the contempt and ruthlessness in his eyes no longer concealed.

"So what if she investigates? I'm making it perfectly clear that I want to mess with Yan Jing. What 'White Widow of Jinghai'? In my eyes, she's no different from the women outside. Just another whore. If a whore wants to stand above men, she should know how badly she'll fall. If she's smart, she should know that her ancestors must have accumulated some virtue for that car not to have killed her daughter. She won't be so lucky next time."

Liu Qigang was startled, his pupils contracting slightly.

"Young Master Lu, you still plan to...?"

Young Master Lu didn't answer directly. His gaze shifted sideways to Yan Jiu in the shadows.

Yan Jiu understood. His voice was flat and emotionless. "She's already tracked it to Old Zhou Laoshen. Old Zhou called me yesterday asking me what the plan was. I told him not to go out these next couple of days."

"Clueless about life and death."

Young Master Lu leaned back in his chair, his tone weary. "Really thinks she's the hunter. Old Jiu, give her another warning to sober her up. Let's see if she still has the guts to challenge me. If she's smart, she'll hand over Tianzhou sooner rather than later. Maybe then she can keep her and her orphaned daughter alive."

The color drained from Liu Qigang's face. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the seam of his trousers.

Seeing him like this, Young Master Lu couldn't help but laugh.

"Director Liu, scared?"

His tone softened, carrying a hint of temptation. "We're all in the same boat. You help me swallow up Tianzhou, and you'll be the one calling the shots afterwards. Isn't that what you want most?"

Zhao Caishen across from him suddenly laughed. "You're underestimating him. This old lecher isn't scared. He's had his eye on that widow for a long time. He's probably thinking that once this is done, he can take Yan Jing into his room too, completing his 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea' collection!"

"Hahaha."

The room instantly erupted in knowing, raucous laughter.

Glasses clinked. The amber liquid swayed, reflecting faces brimming with desire.

At that very moment, the screen of Young Master Lu's private phone, placed on the table, lit up silently. He glanced at it, and the playful smile at the corner of his mouth instantly froze. An extremely subtle shadow passed through his eyes.

Immediately, he set down his glass, stood up, casually straightened his already impeccable cuff, and resumed a flat tone. "You guys keep drinking. I have something to attend to. I'll take my leave first."

Without looking at anyone, he left directly.

Half an hour later, Shenghai Group Headquarters Building, top-floor Chairman's office.

This was a world completely different from the penthouse apartment just moments before. The vast space was unobstructed, with clean, cold lines and a color palette limited to black, white, and gray.

Outside the entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows was the most core financial river view of Jinghai. The river water flowed heavily, boats like ants.

Lu Wenting stood with his back to the door, in front of the window, like a solidified black mountain peak. He wore the simplest dark Zhongshan suit, his posture upright. Just his back alone seemed to press down on the air in the room, making it stagnant.

Lu Zhuo pushed the door open and entered. The arrogant aura he had at the party unconsciously receded by more than half.

"Dad," he called out.

Lu Wenting did not turn around. His voice was steady, each word landing heavily in the spacious room.

"You are not to touch Yan Jing."

Lu Zhuo was stunned. Then, a wave of suppressed anger flared up.

"Why?!"

He took two steps forward, his voice rising. "The Tianzhou piece of fat—isn't that what you've always wanted to devour? I've been planning this for so long, put in so much effort, and now we're about to close the net, and you tell me not to touch her?"

Lu Wenting slowly turned around. His face shared similar features with Lu Zhuo's, but they were more profound, colder, harder, like rock weathered by years of wind and rain.

He did not answer his son's question. He just looked at him with that utterly emotionless gaze, delivering a slow, deliberate sneer.

"Your deployment? Your effort? Relying on Yan Jiu's shady methods? On that fatty Zhao's tricks for making quick money in the stock market? Or on that fence-sitter Liu Qigang's nerve?"

He shook his head slightly, as if evaluating a somewhat unsatisfactory piece of work.

"Too much commotion, too dirty a trail. I said, you are not to touch her. Do you understand?"

Lu Zhuo's chest heaved violently. His handsome face twisted slightly with anger.

"I know. It's because she's a member of Beacon Fire Across Cities. You're worried about provoking that Wallfacer organization or whatever, right?"

Lu Wenting glanced sideways at him. "You are not qualified to discuss these matters."

"My brother can, but I can't?"

Lu Zhuo let out a cold laugh. "I've put in so much effort. With our Lu family's stature, we're still not worthy of joining that organization?"

Lu Wenting picked up a brush and began applying ink to rice paper, unhurried and deliberate.

"That's right."

Lu Zhuo's face darkened. He wanted to argue, to question, but under his father's gaze, which held no warmth whatsoever, all his words were stuck in his throat, turning into scorching magma that couldn't erupt.

In the end, he gritted his teeth hard, said nothing, turned sharply, and slammed the door as he left.

The thick solid wood door emitted a dull "bang," echoing in the silent corridor.

Lu Zhuo strode towards the private elevator, the fire and resentment in his eyes almost overflowing.

As the elevator descended, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Yan Jiu.

"Young Master Lu."

"Give Yan Jing a warning first. Don't cause any deaths. Let's see how long she can still hold out."

"Understood."