Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

clack.

That was the crisp sound of a black fountain pen hitting the cold marble, the ink splashing out like a black datura blooming in an extremely cold place.

Lu Jingyan remained frozen in place, still gripping the walkie-talkie, his mind going completely blank for the first time in a moment.

"Boss! Did you hear that, boss?"

Zhao Tiezhu's tearful roar squeezed out from the static, vibrating Lu Jingyan's eardrums.

Qin Mingyue had never seen Lu Jingyan like this before.

The composure in the face of high-dimensional invasion and the calm in the face of life-or-death struggles of the special investigation team leader was now crumbling at a visible speed.

"Team Leader Lu?" Qin Mingyue called out tentatively.

The next second, Lu Jingyan moved.

Instead of running to the elevator, he rushed frantically to the window.

Amid Qin Mingyue's terrified screams, he braced himself against the windowsill with one hand, and like a frightened black panther, leaped directly from the third-floor window.

"Bang!"

The heavy thud caused the soil from the flower bed to fly up.

Lu Jingyan rolled over to dissipate the force, and after getting up, he didn't even turn his head, but went straight to the black armored SUV that was still running.

The engine roared like a dying beast, and the tires kicked up acrid, burning smoke as they rubbed against the ground.

The SUV became a black blur, crashing through the automatic sliding gate of the provincial government compound and hurtling into the deserted street.

Hurry up.

Faster, faster!

Lu Jingyan gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning a terrifyingly pale white from excessive force.

The passive power of "Absolute Rationality" was pounding wildly, trying to forcibly calm his chaotic heartbeat, but for the first time he found this halo so irritating.

The suffocating feeling of having his heart gripped by an invisible giant hand made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

He covered a journey that should have taken half an hour in less than ten minutes.

Outside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city, the smoke of gunpowder had not yet dissipated.

Several police cars covered in mud were parked crookedly by the roadside, and in the distance was a makeshift tin shack that had been mostly destroyed by the bomb.

"Boss...he's over there..."

A young policeman, his face covered in dust, pointed tremblingly to the center of the ruins.

Lu Jingyan pushed open the car door, his tactical boots treading on the gravel, each step feeling as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

He pushed through the crowd.

My gaze passed over the scattered bomb disposal equipment and finally settled on that glaring bright red.

Zhao Tiezhu knelt on the ground, his whole body blackened by the thick smoke, helplessly supporting Su Xiaoxiao's shoulders.

Su Xiaoxiao's once crisp police uniform was now tattered and worn.

Her once fair and clean profile was pierced by a deep, bone-revealing gash, and drops of bright red blood trickled down her jawline, splashing onto the cold, muddy ground.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and she was still clutching the tactical hard drive that contained the list of all the system hosts.

"Boss..." Zhao Tiezhu looked up, his old face covered in tears, "It's all my fault, I didn't notice that the madman had connected a physical pressure mine under the hard drive."

Zhao Tiezhu sobbed as he slapped himself hard across the face.

"Xiaoxiao pushed me away and protected the list...she..."

Lu Jingyan didn't say anything. He just squatted down and gently took Su Xiaoxiao from Zhao Tiezhu's arms.

The moment his hands touched Su Xiaoxiao's somewhat cold shoulders.

Lu Jingyan's hands, which were as steady as Mount Tai and capable of sniping criminals from a kilometer away, began to tremble uncontrollably.

The tremor started at the fingertips, spread to the elbows, and eventually throughout the whole body.

"Xiaoxiao, wake up."

He murmured softly, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded by sandpaper.

Su Xiaoxiao didn't respond at all; only her faint, almost nonexistent breathing reminded him that the girl hadn't left yet.

Lu Jingyan looked at her long hair, blackened by gunpowder, and her face, which was always full of energy and always loved to complain, but now it was so lifeless.

An unprecedented surge of violent emotion was rising wildly up his spine, almost breaking through the shackles of the rule of law.

"Where's the ambulance?"

Lu Jingyan suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with fine, scarlet blood vessels.

His roar sent a chill down the spines of all the SWAT officers around him.

"Almost there! We're at the intersection!"

In the distance, the piercing wail of an emergency siren finally shattered the tranquility of the suburbs.

A white ambulance arrived with sirens blaring.

Lu Jingyan personally carried Su Xiaoxiao step by step onto the waiting medical bed.

He didn't get off the bus, but instead squeezed into the crowded ambulance.

"I am a family member and also her direct superior."

Faced with the nurse's obstruction, Lu Jingyan simply gave her a cold look, which silenced her.

Ambulances were frantically weaving through the streets.

Inside the carriage, the oxygen pump emitted a monotonous and rapid sound.

Lu Jingyan sat on a narrow folding stool, leaning forward.

His hands, which were used to holding guns and writing arrest warrants, were now tightly gripping Su Xiaoxiao's small, dusty hand.

So small, so soft.

But in that very instant, he stood in the line between death and hope.

"Haven't you always wanted to take a vacation?"

Lu Jingyan stared at her lifeless face, his voice so soft that only he could hear it.

"Once you wake up, I'll grant you paid annual leave. You can go wherever you want."

"As long as you open your eyes, I'll even replace the celebratory drinks at the provincial government with your favorite milk tea..."

Team Leader Lu, who is usually sharp-tongued, rational, and even somewhat cold-hearted, was now rambling incoherently like a child.

He looked up at the neon lights rushing past the window.

The city's peace has been preserved.

Those lofty systems have crumbled.

Those arrogant protagonists are lining up to walk into the prison.

But he felt that he had lost completely.

An emergency stop by the ambulance brought him back to reality.

Emergency Department Building, Jinghai City First People's Hospital.

The green emergency lane had been cleared in advance, and Qin Mingyue and her top surgical team were already waiting at the door.

"Leave the man to me, Lu Jingyan. You wait outside."

Qin Mingyue glanced at Lu Jingyan's bloodshot eyes, said nothing more, and directed the nurse to push Su Xiaoxiao in.

"Clang!"

The red "Operation in Progress" indicator light above the operating room lit up instantly.

The crimson light reflected in Lu Jingyan's pupils, like a nightmare that never ends.

Lu Jingyan leaned against the cold white wall and slowly slid down onto the row of chairs.

His body was still stained with Su Xiaoxiao's blood, which had dried and turned into dark brown patches.

"Boss, the doctor said Xiaoxiao avoided the core explosion point, but her internal organs were probably concussed and she lost too much blood."

Zhao Tiezhu squatted down beside him, comforting him softly, his voice still trembling with tears.

Lu Jingyan didn't look at him, but just stared at his own hands with his head down.

The lingering smell of gunpowder still lingered between his fingers.

"Iron Pillar".

Lu Jingyan spoke slowly, his voice cold and devoid of any warmth.

"Those remaining hacker hosts, and the garbage lurking in the shadows that hasn't been cleaned up."

"I won't leave a single one behind."

He suddenly raised his head, and the light of rules in his eyes underwent a qualitative change at that moment.

Previously, he arrested people to uphold the dignity of the law.

Now, within that pure belief in the rule of law, there is an extreme form of fanaticism called "protection."

He wants those scum who attempt to reopen old wounds in a society governed by the rule of law to pay a thousandfold, ten thousandfold price.

Even if it means chasing him to the ends of higher dimensions, he will seek revenge for every single blood debt.

At the end of the corridor, the operating room light remained a bright red, like blood.

On this morning in Jinghai City, which was both the most peaceful and the most turbulent.

This man, who was once jokingly called "the living Yama," has finally found his true weakness.

Lu Jingyan stared intently at the closed door, making the heaviest vow he had ever made since his transmigration.

As long as Lu Jingyan is still alive.

Nothing in this world can hurt her anymore.

The clock outside the operating room ticked away, each second feeling like a slow, agonizing torture to Lu Jingyan's heart.

Time seemed to stretch out into eternity at that moment.

Just then, the operating room door suddenly opened a crack.

A nurse rushed out shouting:

"The patient has lost too much blood, and the blood bank is running low on Rh-negative blood! Who has this blood type?"

Lu Jingyan jumped up from his chair almost instantly.

Without any hesitation, he ripped open the cuff of his tactical shirt.

The movement was as decisive as pulling the bolt of a submachine gun.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the nurse, his voice hoarse yet resolute:

"Take as much of what you want from me."