The Main Switch

Jiang Qianyu sat beside him, gazing at him resentfully like an abandoned puppy.

Shen Yu sighed, as if he couldn't bear to see him like this, and said in his ear, "I was just worried you couldn't handle him. Anyway, I don't have anything else to do, so let's leave it at that."

Jiang Qianyu wasn't happy.

"What do you mean, I can't handle him? My family..." Jiang Qianyu's brain suddenly kicked in, and he stopped himself from making a big announcement. His eyes shifted as he stared intently at Shen Yu. "...Anyway, I have a way to deal with him. Just tell me who he is!"

Shen Yu suddenly leaned closer and looked at him with interest. "What? Are you going to hire someone to kill him?"

Jiang Qianyu was shocked. "Y-you... how did you know?"

"Is your family involved with the underworld too?"

Jiang Qianyu denied it instinctively. "No!"

Shen Yu looked at him for a moment. "All right, then."

He didn't bring up telling Jiang Qianyu who the man was again. Jiang Qianyu fidgeted anxiously as though he had lice all over him, but he couldn't do anything to Shen Yu, leaving him scratching his head and ears.

Lu Changfeng studied the two whispering to each other. Looking at Jiang Qianyu, he silently tightened his grip on his wineglass.

Shen Yu.

He was just too captivating.

Lu Changfeng knew that look in Jiang Qianyu's eyes all too well. It was exactly the same as the way he looked at Shen Yu.

He seemed to understand now why Bai Xiaofan had taken Shen Yu home that afternoon after meeting him once at the Police Bureau. Someone like him ought to be locked up and thoroughly bullied.

...I'm a beast.

Lu Changfeng cursed himself when he realized what he was thinking.

He drained his glass, finally managing to suppress the wicked fire burning inside him for the time being.

Time ticked by.

Every now and then, sounds came from outside the main gate as the Police Bureau tried to break through the wire mesh. But the mesh was electrified, and it wasn't connected to a single circuit; some sections were connected here and others there. Shutting off the main switch for all of Ancheng required an approval slip, while no one knew which section of mesh each individual breaker led to, so they had to deal with them one by one.

"At a time like this, you're still going through all that? Have you lost your minds?" Feng Zijin yelled into the phone. "Approval slips, approval slips! By the time yours comes through, everyone inside will have been blown to pieces, and you and Ancheng can trend together. Is that what it'll take to make you happy? You can't handle it? Then put someone who can on the phone! What's with my attitude?"

"This is my attitude! Once this is over, fire me if you want, but right now I want someone who can handle this to talk to me!"

Footsteps sounded from the other end of the phone.

A somewhat elderly voice spoke. "...Sigh, young people are too quick-tempered. This isn't a question of approving a slip. The main switch can't be shut off so hastily."

"Why not?"

"You're only looking at the people trapped in Jinglan Imperial Residence, but what about the rest of Ancheng? There are countless places that need electricity. Take hospitals alone—there are twenty-three of them. If we cut the power without warning, what happens to the people undergoing surgery? What about those kept alive by machines? Have you thought about them? And there are other places that need electricity too."

"We need time to make arrangements, or at least let people know the main switch is going to be shut off. No one will refuse to cooperate, but... it takes time."

Feng Zijin fell silent for a moment. "But... the people inside only have half an hour."

"I'll cooperate as much as I can on my end. You should take other measures too, and hurry."

Feng Zijin hung up, feeling irritated, and tossed her phone back into the car. Seeing Luo Ningsang studying the circuit layout, she asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

Luo Ningsang took a moment to look up and instructed her, "Go pull the breaker in the Fengwu Street switch box. Notify the residents, and do it quickly."

Feng Zijin ran off.

Luo Ningsang lowered his head again, quickly using the clues reported by the officers to work out which breakers were connected to the mesh and sending people to shut them off. They didn't need many; a single exit large enough for a person would do. Then they could get Shen Yu out first...

Luo Ningsang pulled his wandering thoughts back.

But an explosion made him jerk his head up.

The upper floors of Jinglan Imperial Residence were engulfed in flames, and thick black smoke drifted out of the windows, blotting out the clear blue sky.

He opened his mouth.

This time... it was real.

Yuan Qingshan was serious!!

Luo Ningsang panicked.

He practically scrambled forward on all fours, only to be stopped by the officers.

All these methods were too slow.

"Get a crane. I want to see it here within ten minutes."

There was no wire mesh around the upper floors of Jinglan Imperial Residence. Anyone who jumped from that height would be dead or crippled, so virtually no one would try to get out that way. But now, someone wanted to... crash in through there.

Inside Jinglan Imperial Residence.

First floor.

Lu Changfeng was reflecting on himself.

But Jiang Qianyu was taking advantage of his questions to act cute and clingy while putting his hands all over Shen Yu again, and Shen Yu himself was too oblivious, thinking the man had only touched him by accident. Lu Changfeng couldn't stand it anymore.

He had just pulled Shen Yu over.

A melodious piano tune drifted over from the front.

A server sat there wearing a three-layered silver mask. His fingers flew across the keys, the music soaring; he was highly accomplished.

The light, cheerful melody lifted the spirits of the people who had been panicking at being trapped. Through it, they seemed to see a carefree young man living a peaceful life.

Everyone present knew a little about music, so they naturally recognized his skill. But why had he started playing under these circumstances?

Someone asked in puzzlement.

"Could he think he's about to die and have gone up there to fulfill his dream? He's wearing a server's uniform, after all. Maybe he doesn't even have a piano at home."

"You can't reach that level overnight. He must be a member of some fallen family."

"Who is he?"

"No idea."

"Aren't we going to look for the culprit?"

"We don't have a single clue. Where would you even start looking? Let's wait ten minutes."

The music grew more and more impassioned, like a warrior charging through thorns and brambles toward the demon king, hoping to save the world. But when he finally faced the demon king, he discovered that an ideal was, after all, just an ideal, not reality.

He was defeated.

A low, sorrowful melody that brought tears to the eyes bloomed beneath the man's fingertips like a dancing butterfly.

But he did not sink into despair. He found an opportunity to make a comeback and set out once more to destroy the demon king. He learned from his mistakes, soaking up an ocean of knowledge like a sponge. Covered in scars and determined to stake everything, he faced the evil demon king again... and was defeated once more.

The notes were bleak and mournful, as if a wound had been gouged into one's heart and a handful of salt scattered over it. A fine, piercing pain traveled along the nerves, deep into every part of the body.

He despaired.

He fell silently.

Then, with a bang, he shattered to pieces.

The piano fell silent for a long while.

He raised a hand and removed the silver mask, revealing his true face. He was a handsome young man with swordlike brows, starry eyes, red lips, and white teeth, but a long scar stretched from the edge of his brow to the bridge of his nose, marring his face.

He opened his mouth.

That hateful, twisted voice came out.

"Did you enjoy my performance, ladies and gentlemen of the audience, and that... Mr. Devil wearing an angel's skin?"

A wicked smile curled the young man's lips. He swept an almost contemptuous gaze over everyone, and wherever he looked, he saw surprise and a trace of hidden fear.

"I hope you hide well. Don't get caught too quickly, or... the game won't be fun anymore~"