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

The air seemed to freeze.

For the first time, a crack appeared in the confident smile on Su Man's stunningly beautiful face.

She has lived for thirty years, climbing step by step from the bottom of the Golden Triangle to where she is today. What kind of men haven't she seen? Greedy, lustful, ambitious... She can always accurately find their weaknesses and then use money, beauty, or power to manipulate them at will.

But the man in front of me is an anomaly.

When she threw out that "theory of gods and demons" that could sway anyone's heart, what he cared about was... illegal parking?

"Officer Lu, you're really joking."

Su Man took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the inexplicable sense of defeat in her heart. She took a black metal briefcase from the stretch Lincoln behind her.

The box was opened, but there was no gold or diamonds as I had imagined.

There was only one document and a thin black card inside.

"I don't like joking; I prefer to be open and honest."

Suman pushed the document in front of Lu Jingyan. It was a Swiss bank asset certificate with a long string of zeros following the numbers, enough to make any country's finance minister take notice.

"Ten billion, US dollars."

Suman's voice was deadly seductive. "This is only a small part of my personal assets. As long as you nod and sign this 'cooperation agreement,' half of it is yours."

She paused, her red lips parted slightly, and every word she uttered was like honey laced with poison.

"A five billion US dollar gift, Officer Lu, is that enough sincerity?"

Lu Jingyan did not look at the asset certificate that was enough to drive the world crazy.

His gaze fell on the so-called "cooperation agreement".

The agreement was simple, yet also absurd.

Party A: Su Man.

Party B: Lu Jingyan.

The agreement stipulates that Party B must resign from their current public office and become Party A's "sole partner." In return, Party A is willing to not only provide Party B with five billion US dollars in cash assets, but also share its global gray market operations—arms, intelligence, underground banks, etc.

Furthermore, the agreement included a final clause: Party A promised to use all its resources to help Party B reach any position it desired within three years.

Whether in the business world or...the political world.

"Did you see that?"

Su Man's voice was full of seduction, "Lu Jingyan, you are a smart man, you should understand that the so-called 'rules' are all made by people like us who stand at the top of the pyramid."

"All you're doing now is being a dutiful gatekeeper within the rules we've set. Don't you find that pathetic?"

"You arrested Gu Yanchen, Chu Tianjiao, and Lin Feng. It looks impressive. But if I wanted to, I could easily foster a hundred new Gu Yanchens and a thousand new Lin Fengs."

"Can you catch them all?"

Su Man took a step closer, her narrow phoenix eyes flashing with the flames of ambition. "Your talent and ambition shouldn't be wasted on this game of catching small fry. You should stand with me and become the one who sets the rules."

"Join me."

She reached out, her fingertips, painted with bright red nail polish, almost touching Lu Jingyan's cheek.

"We can join forces and take control of the world's underground order. Then, you will be the king of the dark world. Laws? Rules? You will write them all."

These words are more tempting than any money or beauty.

Because it directly addresses a man's deepest desire—power.

Anyone who still harbors even a shred of ambition would likely waver at this moment.

However, Lu Jingyan simply listened quietly.

His face remained completely expressionless, his eyes as calm as a bottomless ancient well.

Only after Su Man finished speaking did he slowly open his mouth. His voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, shattering all of Su Man's illusions.

"Are you done talking?"

Lu Jingyan took a step back, avoiding her hand that was trying to bewitch him.

"First, let me correct a logical error you made."

He pushed up his glasses, and that familiar feeling of "legal education time" returned.

"Rules are never made by any one person or class. The sanctity of the law lies in the fact that it represents the common will of the vast majority of the people and upholds fairness and justice in the whole society. Your so-called 'making rules' is nothing more than a euphemism for 'trampling on rules.'"

Secondly.

Lu Jingyan pointed to the certificate of assets worth tens of billions.

"This money of yours is of dubious origin. According to the Anti-Money Laundering Law, I not only cannot accept it, but I also have an obligation to investigate the source of your funds. Ms. Su, you are... walking into a trap."

"at last."

Lu Jingyan picked up the "cooperation agreement," weighed it in his hand, and then, in front of Su Man, slowly tore it in half, then into four pieces...

"As for what you said, about me becoming the 'King of the Dark World'?"

He laughed, a laugh filled with genuine disdain for such childish and immature remarks.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in cosplay."

"I just want to be an ordinary police officer."

Paper scraps fluttered down like snowflakes in winter, gently landing on Su Man's expensive high heels.

Su Man was completely stunned.

Her cunning, her invincible wealth, and her self-righteous philosophy were all rendered worthless in the face of this man.

She even saw a hint of pity in the other person's eyes... as if they were looking at a fool?

"You...you refused?"

Su Man's voice trembled, not from fear, but from extreme shock and resentment. "That's five billion! US dollars! Do you know what that money means?!"

Lu Jingyan looked at her as if she were a child who had not yet grown up.

He didn't answer the question, but slowly raised the copy of the asset certificate in his hand (he had just picked one up).

"All I know is that this document, along with what you just said, is enough to constitute the crimes of 'possessing a huge amount of property of unknown origin' and 'inciting public officials to commit treason'."

He turned around and walked towards the villa, leaving behind only a solitary and aloof figure.

"Miss Su, the game is over."

"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, I will personally lead a team to your hotel to 'visit' you."

"Hopefully, by then you'll have come up with a legal explanation for your 10 billion."

Su-Man stood there, watching the receding figure, feeling a chill run through her body.

For the first time, she discovered that there was a power that money and authority could not shake.

Just as Lu Jingyan was about to step into the villa, Su Man suddenly seemed to remember something and hysterically shouted at his retreating figure:

"Lu Jingyan! Don't be so smug! Do you really think you can control everything?"

"You don't even understand your own origins! You have no idea what kind of blood flows in your veins!"

"You think you're the embodiment of justice? You're wrong! Deep down... you're a devil!"

Lu Jingyan paused for a moment.

But he didn't turn around; he simply said:

"devil?"

"Sorry, I also have jurisdiction over the devil."