novelraw Chapter 19 : The Transcendent Descends
Chapter 19 : The Transcendent Descends
Chapter 19: The Transcendent Descends
Inside a residential building one kilometer away from the battlefield.
“Boom——!”
The massive explosion jolted Zhang Wei awake from his sleep.
He was an ordinary office worker, living a monotonous life of commuting between two points every day. His greatest hobby was reading online posts about the “Transcendent” and arguing with others about whether it was real.
“Which dumbass is blowing up the street in the middle of the damn night again…”
Zhang Wei cursed under his breath as he climbed out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled the curtain aside, wanting to see which immoral rich kid was drag-racing again.
However, the moment he opened the curtain, his whole body froze.
What did he see?
He saw countless cars, rebar, and iron sheets flying through the distant night sky, converging into a terrifying storm of steel.
He saw flames soaring into the heavens, explosions roaring like dense thunder.
He saw a man—a man like a god—seated upon a throne of metal, slowly rising into the sky.
Zhang Wei’s mouth hung open wider and wider, his mind blank.
He instinctively pulled out his phone, his hand trembling as he aimed it toward that apocalyptic sight.
On his phone screen, that image—so clear it drove one to despair—shattered all his materialist beliefs into dust.
“G-God…”
He murmured, his legs giving out as he collapsed to his knees.
…
At the same time, the online world completely exploded.
Videos shot from countless angles and countless devices swept across all social platforms like a tidal wave.
“【Live Broadcast】Holy shit! Holy shit! It’s the end of the world! Jiang City is at war!”
“This isn’t special effects! I swear this isn’t special effects! I live nearby—my windows are all shattered!”
“Who is that man? That man sitting in the sky?! Is he a god?!”
“Steel! All the steel came alive! It’s fucking Magneto descending to Earth!”
The official “debunking” announcement still hung on the trending list, looking so ironic, so ridiculous.
Countless post deletions and account bans were as futile as a mantis trying to stop a chariot before this flood of real footage.
In that moment, humanity’s worldview was torn open by the most primal, most violent display of transcendent power.
Panic, shock, fanaticism, despair…
All kinds of emotions spread through the internet like a virus.
Some people knelt on the ground, bowing toward their screens and crying out in worship.
Some rushed out into the streets, running aimlessly, screaming that the end had come.
Some hid at home, clutching their loved ones tightly, trembling in fear.
The Transcendent was no longer a whisper in the shadows, no longer a topic on a screen.
It had descended before everyone—unreasonably, brutally, undeniably!
…
Liu Gang’s terrifying “metal storm” lasted for a full five minutes.
In just five minutes, Liu Gang had turned a modern district into a burning graveyard of steel.
After completely shredding the police encirclement and displaying godlike destructive power, Liu Gang did not linger.
His goal in fighting was not slaughter, nor to battle the state to the death—but to break through, to intimidate, to make the authorities take him seriously, to negotiate as an equal rather than be dissected from above.
He cast a cold glance at the burning ruins beneath his feet and made a slight motion with his right hand.
Three police armored vehicles—smashed beyond recognition—suddenly “came alive” again.
Countless twisted steel plates and fragments rapidly reassembled before him, and in the blink of an eye, formed a massive metallic sphere resembling a mobile fortress.
The sphere’s surface bristled with sharp spikes, and between its seams protruded enormous ramming horns forged from bent guardrails—radiating a brutal beauty of post-industrial violence.
Liu Gang’s figure slowly descended into the metallic fortress, whose seams then sealed shut.
“Boom——!”
With Liu Gang’s roar, the fortress of scrap iron surged forward like a maddened steel behemoth, crushing burning wreckage underfoot.
In an unstoppable charge, it tore open a massive gap in the police’s encirclement, burst onto the city’s main road, and soon disappeared into the urban jungle of steel and concrete.
…
When the first light of dawn shone upon that plaza—now a war-torn ruin—the first arrest operation of 【Candle Dragon】 ended in near-total humiliation.
The air reeked of burnt metal and thick blood.
Twisted police car wrecks, charred armor fragments, and scattered firearms and ammunition painted a shocking post-apocalyptic tableau.
Over a dozen SWAT officers were killed on the spot, dozens more severely injured. Three of the latest armored vehicles were torn into scrap, and the highly anticipated exoskeleton squad was wiped out completely—no intact corpses remained.
The magnitude of the casualties cast a heavy silence over the entire task force.
Chen Mo stood at the center of the wrecked plaza, beneath his feet the cracked cement, massive craters, solidified molten metal, and scorched asphalt.
Their target had caused all this—and then left unhurried.
As Chen Mo stared at the devastation, like a scene struck by a meteor, he began—for the first time—to deeply doubt his own mission.
He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, but the acrid smoke did nothing to ease the cold emptiness within.
He felt less like a law enforcer and more like a foolish fisherman trying to catch a deep-sea shark with a net.
Their so-called “inescapable trap” was as fragile as a child’s toy before such overwhelming power.
Were they really facing a “criminal” who could be dealt with through capture and trial?
He had thought he already understood how dangerous the “Transcendent” was.
But only now did he realize—this wasn’t even the same dimension of warfare!
What they faced was no longer human—but a new “species,” an existence from a higher plane above the established order.
To use mortal laws to bind a god—was a joke in itself.
Their tactics, their weapons, their experience—were crushed effortlessly before such absolute power.
Pathetic, and powerless.
“Captain…”
Xiao Li approached, his voice hoarse. “The scene… has been cleared. All video evidence secured. Related online footage… has also been completely erased.”
“Erased?”
Chen Mo let out a bitter laugh. He looked up at the countless tightly shut windows on the nearby skyscrapers.
He knew—how many eyes had witnessed that divine punishment that night.
How many phones had recorded those images that shattered their worldview.
The authorities could purge the videos online with thunderous efficiency—but they could not erase the fear and memory in people’s hearts.
A seed named “Transcendent” had already taken root and begun to sprout within this city—within countless minds.
What Chen Mo did not know was that his confusion and struggle at this very moment—this seemingly “out of control” scenario—was exactly the scene the hidden mastermind behind it all most wished to see.
…
Although the terrifying footage of the “metal storm” was erased from the internet within minutes by official means—every video, post, and discussion wiped clean—the shockwave it unleashed could no longer be contained.
In countless small, private chat groups, those video fragments that had survived by luck were spreading like wildfire.
“Holy shit! Is this real? Magneto descended in Jiang City?!”
“Don’t talk nonsense, upstairs! You’ll get investigated! My friend’s friend was nearby—heard tons of cops died!”
“Oh my god… what’s happening to this world?”
While ordinary people were still arguing about whether the video was real, the storm had already stirred a massive wave in the hearts of other “players.”
…
Inside the Shadow Faction’s clubhouse.
Lin Lan, Chen Xiang, and Wang Defa were watching the live footage of that “symphony of steel” through special channels.
“Holy crap… this… this is insane…”
Wang Defa was so terrified by the apocalyptic scene on screen that the walnut in his hand fell to the floor. “Is that even human? That’s a damn Gundam!”
“One man wiped out an entire fully armed SWAT team… If we ever went up against him…”
Wang Defa couldn’t even finish his thought, his mouth dry with fear.
“Seems our friend from the 【Radiance】 faction is quite the tough one.”
Chen Xiang adjusted his glasses, his smile fading, replaced by a look of deep apprehension.
But Lin Lan remained calm, sipping her wine, even showing a faintly appreciative smile.
“Good.”
She looked at the man on the steel throne and said softly, “Only a powerful enough opponent can make the game interesting.”
“The officials—those enraged mad dogs—will now stop at nothing to hunt him down.”
“And all we need to do… is sit quietly on the sidelines, watch them destroy each other, and then pick up the pieces.”
Chen Xiang immediately flattered her, “Ms. Lin, this strategy of yours—‘using another’s blade to kill’—is brilliant!”
Wang Defa eagerly chimed in, “Yes, yes, Ms. Lin, your foresight is unmatched!”
Lin Lan ignored their praise and simply asked, “You didn’t leave any traces, did you?”
“Rest assured,” Chen Xiang replied instantly. “The Deputy Bureau Chief’s body was handled cleanly. The number I used to contact Liu Gang was an offshore virtual line—destroyed right after use. It’s untraceable.”
“Good.”
Lin Lan downed her wine in one gulp, her eyes deep and unreadable.
“Don’t celebrate too soon,” she said coldly, sweeping them both with a sharp glance. “The officials’ humiliating defeat may have disrupted their plans and bought us time—but it’s also provoked them beyond measure.”
“An enraged state machine is far more terrifying than Liu Gang ever was.”
“From now on, surveillance and enforcement will reach unprecedented levels.”
“All our movements will face great restrictions.”
Lin Lan rose and walked to the window, overlooking the seemingly peaceful yet deeply turbulent city below.
“Still, chaos means opportunity.”
“All official attention will now be focused on Liu Gang, the so-called ‘terrorist.’”
“And that makes this the perfect moment for us to eliminate the other prey.”
…
In Yun Ge’s apartment.
Yun Ge set down his teacup, a satisfied smile playing across his lips.
“The curtain has fallen on the prologue.”
“Now, it’s time for the first act’s climax.”
He gazed at the light-screen before him—countless glowing dots representing the frenzied, terrified, and agitated masses stirred by Liu Gang’s ‘miracle’—as though admiring the most perfect painting.
“Fear is the best soil for faith.”
“The birth of a ‘god’ will always bring countless believers.”
“Then… when the other gods descend upon this city—what kind of spectacle will it become?”