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

The hustle and bustle of the antique market turned into terrified screams the moment the flames erupted.

"It's exploded! Run!"

"Oh my god! A terrorist attack!"

The crowd scattered like ants in a pot, trampling over countless stalls and smashing bottles and jars to pieces.

Lu Jingyan ignored the fleeing crowd.

His gaze was fixed on the area shrouded in black smoke.

"Iron Pillar!"

He rushed forward, his heart pounding in his chest. The explosion had been incredibly powerful. Although Zhao Tiezhu was tough, he was still flesh and blood; what if…

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."

A violent coughing sound came from within the black smoke.

Zhao Tiezhu stood up unsteadily. His thick tactical vest was blackened by smoke, and his face was covered in ash, making him look somewhat disheveled, but thankfully... he was alright.

"Oh shit……"

Zhao Tiezhu exhaled a puff of black smoke, shook his still somewhat dazed head, his eyes filled with lingering fear and anger. "That old bastard... what the hell did he throw? Phosphorus powder?"

"It's corpse phosphorus powder."

Lu Jingyan supported him, his eyes as cold as ice. "It was scraped from the bones of a century-old corpse, mixed with sulfur, and it ignites when exposed to wind. It's a despicable method that tomb raiders used to deal with 'zombies' in the past."

"Where is everyone?" Zhao Tiezhu looked around and realized that not only was the old farmer who sold bowls gone, but Ye Tian, ​​the college student who had been kneeling on the ground, had also disappeared without a trace.

"They ran away?"

"It's just a smokescreen."

Lu Jingyan's gaze fell on an antique stall that had been overturned not far away. There, several broken bronze mirrors lay scattered.

"Using the intense light and thick smoke generated by the instantaneous combustion of phosphorus powder, combined with the reflection of a bronze mirror to create blind spots, is a trick of the 'Unloading Ridge' sect. It's not particularly sophisticated, but it's very practical."

[Ding! Unknown "protagonist halo" energy residue detected!]

[Energy Attribute Analysis: Tomb Raiding, Luck, Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune...]

The system notification confirmed Lu Jingyan's guess.

That old farmer was a real tomb raider. And that college student named Ye Tian was probably no ordinary "treasure hunter" protagonist either.

Being able to get involved with tomb raiders and disappear into thin air during an explosion, this guy's cheat ability is definitely more than just "seeing through antiques".

"Captain Lu, what do we do now?" Zhao Tiezhu slammed his fist on the wall in frustration. "It's all my fault for being careless. I didn't expect these bastards to resort to underhanded tactics!"

"It's not your fault."

Lu Jingyan shook his head, his face showing no panic, but rather a hunter's calm and excitement.

"I underestimated them."

"I thought the 'main character' in the provincial capital would at most be a martial arts master who knows a little bit of ancient kung fu. I didn't expect the appetizer to be so 'wonderful'."

He took out his phone and brought up the electronic map of the provincial capital.

"Sin Radar" is on full power.

On the map, the two red dots representing Ye Tian and the old farmer are moving at an extremely fast speed toward the west of the city.

"Trying to run away?"

A cold smile curled at the corners of Lu Jingyan's lips.

"In this day and age, you still want to use 'earth-遁术' (a type of 'underground magic')?"

He dialed the provincial command center directly.

"I am Lu Jingyan. Immediately grant me access to the highest level of the Skynet system."

"Two criminal suspects have been identified and are fleeing westward along Jiefang West Road. Notify all units along the route to set up checkpoints and intercept them."

"Also, send me two police helicopters."

Lu Jingyan stared at the two moving red dots on the map, his eyes as cold as ice.

"Tell the pilots not to bring weapons."

"Just bring a high-powered searchlight and a loudspeaker."

"Tonight, I'm going to show everyone in the entire provincial capital what it means to be 'the net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it.'"

……

Half an hour later, in an area of ​​unfinished construction sites on the western outskirts of the provincial capital.

Ye Tian followed the old farmer who called himself "Master Zhang" as they frantically traversed the maze-like abandoned buildings.

"Senior, where...where are we going?"

Ye Tian was panting heavily, feeling like his lungs were about to explode. How could an ordinary college student like him withstand this level of parkour?

"Stop talking nonsense! Follow me!"

Although Zhang Sanye was small in stature, his physical strength was astonishing. He moved nimbly among the reinforced concrete as if walking on flat ground. "That kid is really strange. He can actually see through my 'Fire Escape Talisman'! If we don't run now, we'll both be dead here!"

"But...but my bowl..." Ye Tian was still thinking about his "national treasure".

"Bowl my ass!"

Old Master Zhang turned around and cursed, "You're about to die, and you still want that piece of junk? Once we're in the mountains, on my turf, you can have as much treasure as you want!"

Just then, a huge roar suddenly came from overhead!

"Buzz—Buzz—"

The two of them subconsciously looked up.

Two police helicopters, like falcons in the night, hovered above the unfinished building. Blinding beams of light descended from the sky, illuminating the area as if it were daytime, leaving no place to hide.

"Listen up, personnel at the front!"

Lu Jingyan's voice, amplified through a loudspeaker, descended from the heavens like the wrath of a god, causing both of them to feel a sharp pain in their eardrums.

"You are surrounded! Lay down and surrender immediately!"

Ye Tian and Master Zhang were instantly dumbfounded.

Helicopter?

Is it really necessary to deploy such a large vehicle just to catch those two "opportunists"?

"Damn it! This is outrageous!"

A fierce glint flashed in Zhang Sanye's eyes as he pulled out several more yellow talismans from his pocket. "Kid, you better stay close! Today I'll show them what the skills of a 'Tomb Raider' really are!"

He bit his fingertip, smeared the blood on the talisman, and muttered incantations.

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits... come, earth!"

However, even after the talisman burned out, the ground didn't tremble at all.

"Um?"

Master Zhang paused for a moment, then took out another bill.

"The wind is blowing!"

The only thing in the air was the strong wind generated by the helicopter rotors.

"Water, come!"

Apart from the cold sweat on his forehead, there wasn't a single drop of water.

"Senior...is your magic...expired?" Ye Tian watched from the side, his heart pounding with fear.

"impossible!"

Looking at his unresponsive hands, Master Zhang's worldview completely collapsed. "My talisman... why is my talisman malfunctioning?"

"Don't try it."

Lu Jingyan's voice descended from the sky again, tinged with mockery, "Old sir, times have changed."

"Your feudal superstitions are no match for the iron fist of materialism."

"I'll give you one last ten seconds."

"Ten, nine, eight..."

The chilling countdown was like a death knell from the Grim Reaper.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

Ye Tian was the first to break down. He knelt on the ground with a thud, raised his hands high, tears and snot streaming down his face, "Officer! He tricked me! I'm innocent!"

Seeing this "chosen one" who had sold him out in an instant, Master Zhang was so angry that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

He was just about to pull out his last "trump card"—a dagger coated with corpse poison.

"Bang!"

A rubber bullet struck his wrist precisely.

A sharp pain shot through him, and the dagger slipped from his hand.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen dark figures descended from the sky.

The special police officers descended like divine warriors, pinning the two men to the ground.

The cold handcuffs were once again fastened to Ye Tian's wrists.

This was his first painting, and perhaps... his last.

"take away."

Lu Jingyan's voice came through the walkie-talkie, calm and cold.

As Ye Tian was being put into the police car, he was still screaming defiantly:

"Why can't I snag a bargain? That's my skill! That's my opportunity!"

"You're killing the rise of a protagonist!"

Lu Jingyan sat in the co-pilot's seat of the helicopter, looked down at the young man being taken away, and shook his head.

He picked up the walkie-talkie and, in an extremely calm tone, gave this young man, who had just embarked on his "protagonist" journey only to have it abruptly cut short, his final legal education lesson.

"Hey kid, let me explain it to you again."

"my country's Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics clearly stipulates that all cultural relics remaining underground, in inland waters, and in the territorial sea within the territory of the People's Republic of China belong to the state."

"If you buy cultural relics from tomb raiders, that's called receiving stolen goods, which is a crime."

"As for what you said about 'based on ability'..."

Lu Jingyan paused, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"There is no such thing as 'getting something for nothing' in the eyes of the law."

"Only those who 'get jail time' will be imprisoned."