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

"You are now surrounded."

Lu Jingyan's voice, amplified by a loudspeaker, echoed clearly in the silent night sky and reached everyone's ears.

There was no anger or sarcasm in that voice, only a cold, calm statement of facts.

Chu Tianjiao's pupils suddenly contracted.

He smiled.

It wasn't the kind of shrewd, calculating laugh, but rather a savage, beastly grin born of utter rage.

"Surround me?"

He slowly raised his hand, extended a finger, and gently shook it at Lu Jingyan. "Little guy, do you know who I am? Do you know how much blood these hands have stained? Do you know how many troops flee at the mere mention of my name on overseas battlefields?"

"You know..."

"I don't know, and I don't want to know."

Lu Jingyan abruptly interrupted his self-introduction, his tone as if he had cut off a long and boring rant.

He put down the megaphone and walked forward step by step, alone, out of the steel defense line composed of riot shields.

He walked slowly, his leather boots making a crisp "tap, tap, tap" sound on the concrete. Each step felt like stepping on the beat of death.

"Captain Lu!" Zhao Tiezhu shouted nervously, gripping his rifle even tighter.

Lu Jingyan didn't turn around, but simply raised his hand and made a "calm down" gesture.

He walked until he was less than five meters away from Chu Tianjiao, then stopped.

For a top expert like Chu Tianjiao, this distance was practically face-to-face. He had hundreds of ways to snap the neck of the young policeman in front of him in a second.

Chu Tianjiao's murderous aura reached its peak at this moment.

That murderous intent, solidified into a tangible force, transformed into an invisible storm and swept towards Lu Jing's banquet!

Any ordinary person, or even Zhao Tiezhu, known for his bravery, would likely lose their composure and become weak-kneed under the impact of this murderous aura.

However, Lu Jingyan simply stood there quietly.

[Ding! Detected that "God of War" Chu Tianjiao is releasing "King's Aura," attempting to suppress the host through his mental field.]

[Passive skill "Absolute Rationality" triggered, grants immunity to all attacks related to spirit, aura, and domineering presence.]

In his brain, which had been enhanced by the system, Chu Tianjiao's murderous aura, which was enough to terrify people, was automatically analyzed into a bunch of meaningless data streams.

Target heart rate: 120 beats per minute.

[Adrenaline level: Extremely high.]

[Emotional analysis: Extreme anger, accompanied by mild histrionic personality traits.]

Lu Jingyan pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and looked at the man in front of him who was still frantically releasing his "domineering aura," his eyes even carrying a hint of... pity.

"Is the performance over?" he asked softly.

Chu Tianjiao's smile froze on his face.

His invincible "war god aura" actually... failed?

The young man before them was like an unbreakable reef; no matter how much he stirred up towering waves, not even a ripple could be stirred on him.

How is this possible?!

In that moment of distraction, Lu Jingyan moved.

No, he didn't move.

What moved was the steel forest behind him.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The safety on over a hundred Type 95 assault rifles was simultaneously released. The synchronized mechanical sound, like a symphony from hell, instantly shattered all of Chu Tianjiao's pride.

Then came a sound that sent chills down his spine.

"Squeak—"

The wheeled armored vehicles, which had remained silent, slowly rotated their dark cannons, precisely locking onto his body. The infrared sights on the turret tops cast a cold red dot on his expensive trench coat.

At this moment, every hair on Chu Tianjiao's body stood on end!

No matter how strong he is, he's still just a human being.

He can dodge bullets, but can he dodge artillery shells?

He suddenly turned his head and looked around.

The airport's highest point was now filled with snipers in ghillie suits. Their scopes, gleaming with an eerie light, were like the eyes of death, blocking all his escape routes from all sides.

A net stretching to the heavens and the earth.

He finally understood the meaning of those four words.

On this land of China, before the absolute state apparatus, any so-called "individual power" is as insignificant as a speck of dust.

His proud title of "God of War" is a joke here.

Cold sweat slowly slid down his forehead.

Chu Tianjiao took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

When he looked up again, the murderous aura that could silence a child's nighttime crying had vanished without a trace. In its place was a smile that even he himself found utterly unfamiliar, even somewhat obsequious.

That smile was uglier than a cry.

He slowly raised his hands, making a standard surrender gesture, palms facing outwards, to show that he posed no threat.

"Officer, it's a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding!"

Chu Tianjiao's voice was hoarse from the drastic change in his emotions, but his attitude was extremely sincere. "I...I just returned from abroad and didn't understand the situation. My people were ignorant and caused trouble for the government. I apologize on their behalf! I accept the punishment!"

As he spoke, he carefully took two steps forward, as if afraid of stepping on an ant.

"Name your price for the fine! I'll pay! I'll pay double! No, ten times! As long as this matter is settled, no amount of money is a problem!"

He tried to resolve the immediate crisis using the only method he was familiar with, and which he believed was the most effective—money.

In the live stream, tens of millions of viewers watched this "epic face-changing" scene, and the chat went completely crazy.

What did I just see? The God of War knelt down? One second he was threatening to bleed, the next he was crying and begging to pay a fine?!

[Hahaha! Her public image collapsed faster than the shared bikes outside my house!]

Is this what happens when the "protagonist's halo" meets the "state apparatus"? Extremely satisfying! Highly recommend watching it repeatedly!

[Officer Lu: You talk to me about power, I'll talk to you about the law. You talk to me about the law, I'll talk to you about national power. We'll always be invincible!]

Lu Jingyan looked at the man in front of him who had instantly switched from "God of War" to "Spendthrift Child" mode and shook his head.

He ignored the other person's "fine argument," simply looked at him quietly, and asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"Mr. Chu, who carved the words on the door of your villa?"

Chu Tianjiao was taken aback for a moment, then immediately denied it: "What word? I don't know it! I just got off the plane and rushed over here, I haven't even been home yet!"

"Yeah?"

Lu Jingyan smiled, a smile tinged with a cold amusement.

He slowly raised his hand and gave Zhao Tiezhu behind him an order that made Chu Tianjiao's soul tremble.

"Tiezhu, explain to him what 'leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist' means."

"Don't!"

Chu Tianjiao was so frightened that he almost knelt down on the spot. He had personally witnessed how Zhao Tiezhu broke Long Zesi's fingers!

He quickly changed his tune, his voice trembling with tears:

"I'll talk! I'll talk! It was one of my henchmen called 'Ghost Hand' who did it! Officer, I really didn't mean it, I just... wanted to ask you out for a chat, I absolutely meant no harm!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lu Jingyan looked at him and shook his head, his eyes as if he were looking at a hopeless fool.

"fine?"

His voice was soft, yet it struck Chu Tianjiao's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Mr. Chu, you may have misunderstood. This time, it's not something that can be resolved with a fine."