novelraw Chapter 39 : Aftermath of the Transcendent
Chapter 39 : Aftermath of the Transcendent
Chapter 39: Aftermath of the Transcendent
Despite the Longxi Republic’s government deploying thunderous measures to seal off all footage related to the “Jiang City Incident” in the shortest possible time—
And forcibly smoothing over all online discussions through a realistic city-scale anti-terrorism exercise—
There had never been such a thing as a true secret for capital and power.
At the Lin Group’s headquarters, inside the top-floor chairman’s office—
Lin Lan’s father, Lin Canghai, a formidable tycoon who had dominated the Longxi Republic’s business world for decades, was now quietly studying the woman standing before him—his late daughter’s most trusted assistant.
“So, what you mean is,”
Lin Canghai’s voice betrayed no emotion, yet his hawk-like sharp gaze made Sophie feel as though she were suffocating under invisible pressure, “Before Lanlan’s disappearance, she was acting like a madwoman—recklessly mobilizing all the company’s liquid assets to pursue a so-called ‘Urban Sanitation and Environmental Comprehensive Project’ that had absolutely nothing to do with our business?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Sophie’s voice trembled slightly as she handed over a thick financial report and action record. “These are all the fund flows and operation logs.”
“President Lin… no, the Young Miss’s actions at that time had already gone completely beyond the bounds of business logic…”
Lin Canghai spoke slowly, “Alright. I understand. You may go.”
“Yes, Chairman.” Sophie, feeling as if she had been pardoned, bowed and left the office.
After she was gone, Lin Canghai didn’t look at the report. Instead, he turned his gaze to the encrypted laptop sitting on his desk.
It was Lin Lan’s personal computer.
After Lin Lan was officially declared a “missing person in a terrorist attack,” Sophie had found this laptop among her belongings.
Relying on his familiarity with his daughter, Lin Canghai broke the password—and what he saw next shattered his entire worldview.
A folder named “Game of Gods.”
Inside were Lin Lan’s analyses of all known players—their suspected identities, ability assessments—and the detailed “hunting plans” she had drawn up herself.
“Transcendents… Chosen of God…”
Lin Canghai stared at the unbelievable words on the screen, falling into a long silence.
All his life, he had worshipped only money and power, never believing in gods or spirits.
But his daughter’s death—and the irrational, almost deranged actions she took before it—shook the unshakable foundations of his world for the first time.
……
That night, Lin Canghai activated his vast intelligence network.
The power of money revealed itself in full.
His private security company dispatched its most elite teams, who infiltrated Jiang City and located the police officers and soldiers who had survived the Transcendent incident.
Under heavy bribes and threats, some survivors—those silenced by gag orders—finally confessed the nightmarish truths they had witnessed.
Afterward, Lin Canghai spent even more money bribing high-ranking officials in the Dragon Nation, acquiring several original, unedited video files.
……
A week later, in the capital, inside a top-tier private club closed to the public—
Lin Canghai had gathered several top magnates whose wealth rivaled his own.
Among them was Chu He, a self-made billionaire from Jiang City renowned for his ruthlessness.
“Brother Lin, what’s with the mystery today? Calling us all here—got some massive deal brewing?” Chu He asked with a grin, wine glass in hand.
Lin Canghai didn’t reply. He merely snapped his fingers.
The club’s central holographic projector came alive, and fragments of classified footage from Jiang City began to play before their eyes.
When Liu Gang transformed into a hundred-meter-tall steel giant, ripping tanks and armored vehicles apart like toys—
When Sun Na became a phoenix of living flame, reducing everything around her to ashes—
When Zheng Wei tore an entire underground base from the earth and hurled it like a god—
The entire private room fell into a deathly silence.
These men—standing at the pinnacle of wealth and power, who could decide the fate of countless lives with a single word—now wore the same expressions as Zhang Wei, that ordinary office worker who had knelt trembling before his window that night.
Shock, terror, and an existential sense of insignificance.
“Th-this… this is…”
Chu He’s wine glass fell to the floor with a loud clang, spilling the expensive red wine everywhere—but he didn’t even notice.
His body trembled uncontrollably, his eyes filled with disbelief.
“This… is the power of gods.”
Lin Canghai spoke slowly, his voice hoarse, “A power that surpasses everything we possess—money, authority, technology. True power.”
“Eternal life, strength, immortality…”
“These things we once thought impossible… now have a path toward attainment.”
His words fell like a stone into a calm lake, sending shockwaves through every heart in the room.
After the shock and fear came something even stronger—an almost bestial greed and yearning!
They already possessed everything the mortal world could offer. Money was just numbers; power had long since grown dull.
But the appearance of the “Transcendent” had opened the door to a new world.
“Brother Lin, you mean to say…” Chu He’s breathing quickened.
“My daughter, Lin Lan, died in this so-called ‘Game of Gods’—this hunt.”
Lin Canghai’s tone was frighteningly calm. “And now, I will stop at nothing to seize that power for myself.”
“I need all of your help.”
“Together, we shall usher in… a new era of our own!”
……
Beneath the night sky, a massive cruise ship floated silently over the dark ocean like a drifting palace of light.
At its highest deck, a secret auction limited to the most elite magnates and powerholders of the Dragon Nation was underway.
There were no shouting auctioneers—only silent waiters moving gracefully among the guests, and whispered, trembling conversations barely containing their excitement.
Every person present represented either a colossal commercial empire or an unseen family of immense influence. The wealth and authority they held could shake the economy of a small nation.
Yet now, all eyes burned feverishly toward the object displayed at the center of the auction platform—encased in bulletproof glass.
It was a palm-sized fragment of scorched, twisted metal.
“Ladies and gentlemen,”
The auctioneer’s voice came clearly through the tiny speakers at each seat, “This item originates from the ‘special incident’ that occurred in Jiang City over a month ago.”
“According to our most reliable intelligence, this fragment was once part of the hundred-meter ‘Steel Giant’s’ body.”
“It may still bear traces of ‘Divine Grace.’”
The moment he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall ignited.
“Fifty million!” a business tycoon shouted first.
“Eighty million!” came the immediate reply from a powerful family’s representative.
“One hundred million!”
“One hundred and fifty million!”