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

The piercing sirens were abruptly cut off three blocks away from the downtown stadium.

More than a dozen jet-black, heavy-duty armored vehicles, like steel sharks lurking in the deep sea, silently slid into the underground parking garage outside the stadium. Before the vehicles had even come to a complete stop, fully armed special police officers and chemical defense soldiers in heavy protective suits surged out like a tide, instantly sealing off all surface exits.

Inside the carriage, the red light from the tactical spotlight shone on Lu Jingyan's cold face, outlining his sharp jawline.

"Xiaoxiao, get a feel for the situation."

Lu Jingyan pressed down on his earpiece with one hand, quickly checking the pistol magazine while coldly issuing orders. His eyes, hidden behind gold-rimmed glasses, now radiated a chilling, absolute rationality.

"Captain Lu, the blueprints have been analyzed! The situation is worse than we thought!"

Su Xiaoxiao's voice came through the communication channel, filled with suppressed panic and trembling, "That golden-masked madman didn't plant high-explosive C4, he planted a 'Spiritual Energy Rage Bomb' that combines a cultivation spirit-gathering array with modern miniaturization technology!"

Zhao Tiezhu was stuffing stun grenades into his bulletproof vest when he heard the word and paused for a moment.

"What the hell? A super bomb? Could it blow up the stadium?"

"It doesn't blow up buildings, it blows up brains!"

Su Xiaoxiao spoke rapidly, her voice trembling with urgency, "The joint assessment by the technical department and biochemical experts has revealed that this is actually a giant nerve gas generator! It's filled with a high concentration of hallucinogenic toxins, which are then forcibly diffused using a cultivation array!"

"The bomb is connected to the entire stadium's central air conditioning ventilation system. Once detonated, the toxic gas will cover the entire arena within ten seconds!"

The air inside the carriage instantly plummeted to freezing. The SWAT team members exchanged bewildered glances, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

Lu Jingyan paused in his movements.

He raised his head, his eyes sharp as knives: "What are the clinical manifestations of a gas attack?"

"Completely losing their minds, falling into a state of extreme frenzy and bloodlust!" Su Xiaoxiao swallowed, her voice filled with despair. "To put it simply, just one breath and those 50,000 spectators inside will turn into insane lunatics, devoid of pain, tearing each other apart!"

Fifty thousand people.

They killed each other.

This is no longer a terrorist attack; it's creating a living hell in the heart of Jinghai City!

"Damn it! Those charlatans!"

Zhao Tiezhu slammed his fist on the armored vehicle, his eyes instantly turning red. "Captain Lu, give the order! I'll lead the brothers in and smash these charlatans' heads off to use as chamber pots!"

"Quiet."

Lu Jingyan gave a cold shout, his powerful aura instantly suppressing Zhao Tiezhu's rage. He pushed open the car door, stepped out of the armored vehicle, his leather boots landing firmly on the concrete floor of the underground parking garage.

A deafening burst of heavy metal music, accompanied by the vibrations of the load-bearing walls, faintly came from above.

A top-tier singer's New Year's Eve concert is underway, with 50,000 enthusiastic fans waving glow sticks, completely absorbed in their idol's singing. They have no idea they're sitting on a powder keg about to explode.

"Director Lu! The chemical defense troops are ready! The first echelon of special police is ready!"

The chemical defense battalion commander on site ran over, drenched in sweat. "Time is of the essence. Should we immediately sound the highest-level air raid siren and forcibly evacuate the crowd?"

"No!"

Lu Jingyan rejected the proposal without hesitation, his tone resolute.

"Fifty thousand fans, in a state of extreme excitement, are crammed into a closed indoor stadium. Are you now going to sound the blaring alarm and tell them there's a poison gas bomb?"

He pointed to the trembling ceiling above him, his eyes cold and clear.

"I guarantee that even before the poison gas is released, the massive stampede caused by panic could kill or injure thousands within three minutes! Who will bear the cost of these casualties?"

The chemical defense battalion commander turned pale and was instantly speechless.

Evacuation means death, not evacuating also means death.

This is an unsolvable dead end! The Temple Master with the golden mask deliberately placed the bomb in this place because he had calculated the weakness of modern law enforcement agencies!

"What do we do then? Are we just going to sit here and wait for the bomb to explode?!" Zhao Tiezhu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"If evacuation is not feasible, then we have no choice but to cut off the source."

Lu Jingyan quickly pulled up the electronic map on the tactical terminal and drew a red line on the map of the third basement floor of the stadium, pointing directly to the core computer room.

"Since they want to play dirty tricks, we'll play along to the end."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping sharply over the SWAT team members behind him. His voice was deep and powerful: "Tiezhu, pick five of the best fighters and the toughest guys to come with me. The rest of you stay on the perimeter and guard all the ventilation shafts and safety exits."

"Captain Lu, you're going down there personally? It's bound to be heavily guarded by the Temple of Gods down there!"

"I'm the head of the special investigation team and a bomb disposal expert. If I don't step down, who will?"

Lu Jingyan drew his Type 92 pistol from his waist and skillfully screwed on the silencer. Without uttering another word, he turned and walked towards the dark and secluded underground fire escape.

"Check your watch. We only have twenty minutes."

The second basement level was as dark as thick ink.

There was no concert noise here, only the dripping sound of water pipes. The air was filled with a pungent smell of engine oil, and... a faint odor of blood.

"Pfft!"

A very faint muffled thud.

Before a Temple assassin dressed in a black robe and wearing a bronze mask could even sound an alarm, Zhao Tiezhu grabbed him by the neck from the darkness and precisely severed his carotid artery with a sharp military dagger.

The body was silently dragged into the storage room.

"Captain Lu, this is the sixth one." Zhao Tiezhu flicked the blood off his blade, panting in a low voice, "These charlatans are like fearless machines, even their patrol routes are so densely packed."

"They are deeply brainwashed fanatics; don't treat them like human beings."

Lu Jingyan pressed himself against the cold wall, using the dim light mode of his tactical goggles to coldly stare at the two heavy blast doors at the end of the corridor ahead.

That's the central air conditioning room of the stadium.

Outside the door stood eight masked assassins, each wielding a specially made cold weapon and radiating eerie aura.

"Captain Lu, forcing our way in will definitely trigger the alarm." A SWAT officer gripped his submachine gun tightly, his palms sweating.

"We won't force our way in."

Lu Jingyan took off his gold-rimmed glasses and casually stuffed them into his pocket. His eyes, usually so rational to the point of being cold, now finally blazed with a violent killing intent.

"Time is running out. Iron Pillar, prepare the stun grenades."

"clear!"

Lu Jingyan held up three fingers and began a silent countdown.

three.

two.

One!

"boom!"

Two high-explosive stun grenades rolled precisely down the floor to the feet of the assassin, and a blinding white light and an ear-shattering bang instantly exploded in the narrow corridor!

"superior!"

Under the cover of the white light, Lu Jingyan leaped out like a cheetah breaking free of its shackles.

[God-level Fighting Techniques] at full power!

Ordinary capture methods were completely ineffective against these low-level cultivator assassins. Every move Lu Jingyan made was accompanied by overwhelming and absolute violence!

A masked assassin, having just regained his vision from the dizziness, raised his long sword to strike.

Lu Jingyan neither dodged nor evaded, his left arm forcefully blocking the blade, the stab-proof vest whirring as it scraped against the metal. Simultaneously, his right knee shot up like a cannonball, slamming into the man's sternum!

"Crack!" A tooth-grinding sound of bone breaking rang out, and the assassin's chest instantly collapsed, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he flew backward.

"For the sake of the gods!"

The two assassins beside him, their eyes bloodshot, charged forward fearlessly.

"Bang! Bang!"

The silenced pistol in Lu Jingyan's hand spat fire. At point-blank range, two 9mm bullets precisely pierced their foreheads.

A perfect blend of technology and combat. No unnecessary delays, only the ultimate killing efficiency!

Just ten seconds.

The corridor fell silent once more. The corpses of eight masked assassins lay scattered in pools of blood.

"Tiezhu, break down the door!" Lu Jingyan stepped over the corpse on the ground, his voice completely calm.

"Okay!"

Zhao Tiezhu rushed up carrying a heavy hydraulic door breacher. Amidst the hissing sound of the hydraulic system, the 20-centimeter-thick explosion-proof iron door lock let out a desperate wail.

"Clang!"

The iron gate was pushed open roughly.

When they saw the scene inside the server room, all the special police officers who rushed in, including Lu Jingyan, held their breath.

In the very center of the room.

A bizarre device, a massive contraption made of sophisticated modern alloys combined with ancient cultivation array patterns, is emitting a chilling low-frequency hum.

Inside the glass jar of the device, a highly toxic liquid emitting an eerie, ghostly green glow was being filled. Driven by the array, the liquid was boiling and vaporizing wildly, slowly flowing through several thick pipes into the main ventilation opening above.

And on the electronic control panel of that green bomb.

A set of bright red Arabic numerals is jumping.

03: 00.

02: 59.

02: 58.

Countdown, only three minutes left!