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

That palm strike, in the end, did not land.

It wasn't that Wang Cuihua didn't want to fight, but the words "to lose everything" were like a spell that struck her fatal weakness.

The term "reclusive family" sounds prestigious, but in reality, due to years of seclusion and lack of production, they have long since squandered their wealth. This time, besides the so-called "worldly trials," her biggest task in coming out of seclusion is actually to raise some funds to go back and repair the leaky ancestral home.

Let alone 100 million, she couldn't even scrape together the 12,000 yuan from that lamppost, no matter how much she looked down at herself.

"You...you're shameless!"

Wang Cuihua's hand froze in mid-air, trembling with anger, her face contorting with wrinkles. "What kind of hero tries to use worldly money to oppress an old woman like me?"

"I'm a policeman, not a bandit."

Seeing that she had stopped, Lu Jingyan didn't waste any words and directly gave the final instructions into the walkie-talkie.

"The suspect is experiencing extreme emotional fluctuations and appears to have violent tendencies. Take immediate action."

The voice just fell.

Several SWAT vehicles, accompanied by the screeching of brakes, rushed to the intersection in a coordinated encirclement. The doors opened, and fully armed SWAT officers, wielding riot shields and steel forks, surged forward like a black tide.

"Unauthorized personnel, get out of the way!"

"superior!"

Before Wang Cuihua could react, several huge stainless steel riot forks locked her limbs and torso, pinning her to the ground like a crab.

"Insolence! How dare you! I am a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm..."

"Sizzle—!"

Without hesitation, a SWAT officer pulled the trigger of the stun gun.

A blue arc of electricity flashed, and the grandmaster Wang Cuihua, after a series of rhythmic spasms, rolled her eyes back, foamed at the mouth, and fell completely silent.

Lu Jingyan stepped forward, looked at the old lady who was being carried into the ambulance (a special vehicle for mental hospitals) with her hands and feet tied up, and shook his head.

"No matter how skilled you are in kung fu, you're still vulnerable to electric shocks. Times have changed, sir."

……

Half an hour later, a high-definition law enforcement video titled "Shocking! Martial arts master staged an accident on the street, asking for 100 million! Extremely satisfying ending!" was sent to the entire internet through the official blue V account of "Jinghai Police Affairs".

In the video, Wang Cuihua's line "This lying down shows skill," the scene of her "hitting a cow from a distance" shattering a street lamp, and the moment she was finally knocked down by a stun gun were edited into a dramatic and suspenseful way, accompanied by a bizarre background music, instantly igniting the internet.

The comments section was filled with laughter.

"Hahaha! Hitting a cow from a distance? This old lady knows physics and special effects!"

"She's asking for a hundred million right off the bat? Why doesn't she just rob a bank? Oh right, robbing a bank requires buying stockings, but faking an accident has no cost."

"Officer Lu's use of the word 'revision of torture' was absolutely brilliant! I laughed so hard my face mask cracked!"

"This is the legendary reclusive master? He's not even as powerful as the stun baton I have. I suggest he be sent back for rework."

In less than two hours, the video had been viewed over 100 million times.

Wang Cuihua became an internet sensation.

However, this kind of fire is the fire of "social death".

The reclusive Wang family, deep in the Zhongnan Mountains, were originally gathered around an old-fashioned smartphone, waiting for their ancestor to send back good news, when they came across this video.

After reading it, the current head of the family turned as black as the bottom of a pot and smashed the phone to pieces on the spot.

"Disgraceful! Utterly shameful!"

The patriarch was so angry his beard trembled. "Has our ancestor gone mad from practicing martial arts? Trying to scam the police? Or is it that wicked Lu Jingyan? Does he want our Wang family to die even faster?"

Ten minutes later, a "Statement of Severance of Relations" bearing the Wang family's official seal was urgently posted online.

The statement was written with heartfelt sincerity and righteous indignation:

Regarding the online rumors about the "elderly woman surnamed Wang" circulating today, after investigation, it has been found that this person is a mentally unstable individual from our clan who went missing many years ago and has long been expelled from the clan genealogy. Her personal actions are unrelated to the Wang family. The Wang family firmly upholds the law and condemns all illegal and criminal acts!

This lightning-fast cut left the onlookers completely dumbfounded.

Good heavens, just a moment ago they were the patriarch, and now they're all mentally ill? This reclusive family's will to survive is stronger than anyone else's.

……

Jinghai City Detention Center, Administrative Detention Area.

When Wang Cuihua woke up, she found herself sitting in a room with only iron bars and a hard bed. Her old cloth shirt had been replaced with a uniform, and a thick book was placed in front of her.

She was about to use her internal energy to break the handcuffs (even though there were no handcuffs) when she found that her dantian was empty and she could not feel any qi at all.

Don't bother.

Lu Jingyan stood outside the iron bars, holding a medical report in his hand, and said in a cool tone, "The doctor at the mental health center gave you a shot of a strong sedative, specifically for bipolar disorder. For the next 24 hours, you won't even be able to crush a chicken."

"you……"

Wang Cuihua wanted to curse, but seeing Lu Jingyan's cold eyes, she swallowed the words back. She was truly afraid of this ruthless man.

"Wang Cuihua, given the substantial amount of public property you damaged and the attempted extortion, you were originally slated for criminal detention."

Lu Jingyan paused, raised the phone in his hand, and said, "But considering that your family has already issued a statement severing ties with you, and that the mental evaluation shows that you have mild cognitive impairment (actually, it is a sense of being out of touch with the times), we have decided to impose an administrative detention of 15 days on you and order you to compensate for the damage to the streetlights."

"Sever ties?" Wang Cuihua was stunned, her eyes instantly becoming cloudy and aged.

"That's right. Your disciples and followers abandoned you to avoid being implicated."

Lu Jingyan's words were cruel, but that's the reality.

"For the next fifteen days, you should stay here and reflect on your actions. Don't think about taking on any disciples, and don't think about any worldly trials."

He pointed to the book in front of Wang Cuihua.

"The correctional officers here said that if you want your fines reduced, you have to behave well. First, memorize this book, 'The Core Socialist Values,' for a spot check tomorrow. If you can't memorize it, your lunch will be halved."

Wang Cuihua looked at the red book, then at the sky in the four corners outside the iron window, and two lines of tears finally flowed down her cheeks.

If I had known this would happen, why did I come down the mountain?

This mortal world is too hot to handle!

By the time Wang Cuihua's case was finished, it was already getting dark.

Lu Jingyan dragged his exhausted body home. These past few days had been even more tiring than writing his thesis in his original world. First assassins, then staged accidents—couldn't these "protagonists" give him a break?

As soon as he entered, he smelled a strong aroma of chicken soup.

The mother, Wang Meilan, was sitting on the sofa, holding a stack of photos in her hand, her expression more excited than if she had won the lottery.

"Oh my, my precious son is back! Quick, quick, Mom made you some ginseng chicken soup to nourish your brain!"

Wang Meilan warmly pulled him to sit on the sofa, her eyes scanning him up and down—the look of an old mother looking at her bachelor son—full of anxiety and calculation.

"Mom, I'm not hungry..."

"You have to drink even if you're not hungry! Look how thin you've gotten lately, your face is all pointy!"

While serving soup, Wang Meilan seemingly casually pushed a stack of photos in front of Lu Jingyan.

"Jingyan, Mom knows you're busy with work and care about the people. But you're not getting any younger, shouldn't you start thinking about your personal life?"

Lu Jingyan glanced at the photo.

All the photos are professionally edited pictures of beautiful women in various styles, and each photo is thoughtfully labeled with the woman's name, age, family background, and education.

"Mom, I don't have time to date right now." Lu Jingyan rubbed his temples helplessly. "Besides, my profession makes it easy to offend people. I don't want to ruin some girl's life."

"Nonsense! What's wrong with the police? The police are the safest!"

Wang Meilan glared at him. "Besides, this isn't just anyone I've found for you. I pulled a lot of strings to get you into this high-end matchmaking event!"

"High-end?"

Upon hearing those two words, Lu Jingyan instinctively became alert.

"Yes! Tomorrow night, at that Michelin three-star restaurant on the Bund. The woman is a returned overseas socialite; her family is in international trade. She's beautiful, highly educated, and a perfect match for you!"

Wang Meilan spoke with great enthusiasm, "And that girl saw your news and idolizes you so much, she specifically wants to meet you. Son, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you have to go tomorrow! If you don't go, I'll... I'll go on a hunger strike!"

Seeing his mother's "I won't give up until I get what I want" attitude, Lu Jingyan sighed.

In this family, he can arrest his own brother and investigate his own father, but he has absolutely no way to deal with his mother, who truly loves him.

"Okay, I'll go."

Lu Jingyan picked up the chicken soup and drank it all in one gulp, but his eyes were somewhat unfocused.

Overseas-educated socialite? International trade?

Why does this sound like the beginning of some new type of scam?