Shen San: You're Really Not Human

The sight left Shen San and the others dumbstruck.

They had never imagined Li Dao would use such a method to deal with Little Madman.

Finally, once Li Dao felt he had done enough, he stopped.

Then he let go of Little Madman.

Thump!

Little Madman landed squarely on his backside, staring blankly ahead, unable to recover for a long while.

At that moment, he felt as though he could see his Great-Grandmother beckoning to him.

About five minutes passed before life gradually returned to Little Madman's eyes, and the madness in their depths slowly resurfaced.

However, the moment he saw Li Dao beside him, that trace of madness vanished, replaced by sheer panic.

"Ahhh!"

With a frantic series of screams, Little Madman scrambled and crawled into a corner. He watched Li Dao warily from a safe distance, seemingly terrified that Li Dao would grab him again the next second and give him another human windmill ride.

Nearby, Shen San couldn't help giving him a thumbs-up. "Brother, you really know how to handle things."

Then he turned to Wei Yun. "This brother has brought Little Madman to heel. That should count as a pass, right?"

Wei Yun came back to his senses and nodded. He too found Li Dao's method of handling Little Madman astonishing, and inwardly admired him.

"Then all that's left is the big guy."

At the mention of the big guy, Shen San glanced at Little Giant nearby and lost his nerve.

He couldn't even handle Little Madman, let alone someone who looked this difficult to mess with.

Though he wasn't lacking in bulk himself, could fat compare with muscle? In terms of quality, he simply didn't measure up.

He couldn't help turning to Li Dao again. "Brother, how about you handle him too?"

Li Dao rolled his eyes at the cowardly fat man.

But there didn't seem to be any other option. With Wei Yun refusing to act, he apparently had to be the one to try to "persuade" Little Giant.

Just then, Little Giant, who had been standing in a daze, suddenly moved.

Turning around, he looked at Li Dao and pointed to himself, saying in a muffled voice, "Beat me in strength, and I'll listen to you."

Before Li Dao could respond, Shen San grew anxious.

"Hey, big guy, have you looked at how much you weigh? You want to compete with this brother in strength? Why don't you compete with that little fellow over there in agility instead?"

He pointed at Little Madman hiding in the corner.

Seeing the irritating fat man nearby, Little Madman bared his teeth and growled. But when he spotted the man who had just spun him around standing beside Shen San, he involuntarily ducked his head, not daring to act up.

Little Giant ignored Shen San entirely, keeping his gaze on Li Dao.

"All right. I agree."

In the end, Li Dao nodded and accepted.

Though Little Giant was huge and clearly built for strength, Li Dao was no slouch either.

A physique nearly ten times that of an ordinary person wasn't just for show.

Besides, he wanted to test how strong this big fellow really was.

"You're making a terrible mistake!"

Shen San cried out.

In his eyes, challenging this big fellow to a contest of strength was nothing short of handing over one's head.

Wei Yun, on the other hand, watched with keen interest.

"Tell me, how are we doing this?"

Li Dao looked at Little Giant and asked directly.

"With this."

Little Giant held one hand upright on the room's only stone table.

Li Dao took a look and nodded. "All right."

The two approached the stone table and placed their hands on it.

Though Li Dao's hand wasn't small, it looked rather dainty beside Little Giant's massive palm. Anyone with eyes could see the difference.

"Brother, you can do it!"

Though he knew the chances of victory were slim, Shen San still came over to cheer Li Dao on. Better to sing his praises than predict his defeat.

"Then I'll serve as referee."

Wei Yun stepped forward and held their clasped hands.

"Begin!"

At his command, Li Dao and Little Giant exerted their strength together.

The next second, Li Dao felt a terrifying force surge through his wrist.

In that first instant, his hand was forced toward the other side.

He drew a deep breath. His muscles suddenly swelled, veins bulging, and their hands locked in a stalemate halfway down.

Little Giant couldn't force his hand any lower, while Li Dao couldn't push back for the moment either.

Even a physique ten times that of an ordinary person couldn't overpower Little Giant. His strength truly was an extraordinary gift.

Their hands remained locked in midair, neither able to overcome the other.

Perhaps because their strength remained deadlocked, the pressure gradually transferred to the stone table.

Under everyone's gaze, the stone table began to tremble, and several cracks spread outward from their elbows.

Crack!

Suddenly, the stone table shattered with a sharp sound. The two instinctively released their grip, leaving broken stone scattered across the floor.

"How does this count? How do we judge this?"

Shen San hurriedly asked Wei Yun.

"Well, this..."

Wei Yun was at a loss himself.

Just then, Little Giant spoke up of his own accord.

He looked at Li Dao and said in his muffled voice, "You're strong. I accept you."

With that, he turned away on his own and returned to the wall, where he stood in a daze again.

Delighted by those words, Shen San said to Wei Yun, "Now that should count as all five of us agreeing, right?"

Li Dao shook his head and walked aside without a word.

Wei Yun looked at Shen San with a faint smile. "Didn't I say from the start that I came today to invite you to help our Mighty Camp? Why would I object?"

"Wait!"

Shen San frowned. "Since you were inviting us, shouldn't you have been the one to persuade all five of us?"

"Yes."

"Then why did it turn into us persuading ourselves?"

"Who knows?"

Shen San suddenly turned to Li Dao, who looked entirely unsurprised. "Brother, did you figure it out long ago?"

"Yes."

In fact, Li Dao had figured it out the moment Shen San walked back over.

The whole performance had simply been a scheming Grand Commander toying with a sleazy middle-aged fat man.

Shen San scratched his head and said resentfully, "Then why didn't you tell us?"

Li Dao pointed at Little Madman. "Did you give me a chance to explain properly?"

Shen San looked embarrassed. It seemed he had been the one making a mess of things from beginning to end.

Li Dao no longer cared.

Since they were going to work together, he naturally needed to test the abilities of these "teammates."

Now that everything had been laid bare, Shen San wasn't stupid. After a little thought, he understood exactly what had happened.

He said to Wei Yun, "You're really not human."

An incense stick's worth of time later.

All five of them sat together.

Shen San, the old man, and Little Giant posed no problem, coming over and sitting quietly.

Only Little Madman insisted on stirring up trouble.

But a single look from Li Dao put an end to that.

At the sight, Wei Yun smiled faintly. "As I said at the beginning, I'd like the five of you to help the Mighty Camp handle three matters. None will be a certain-death assignment. Once all three are finished, I'll restore your household registrations and give you your freedom. Are those terms acceptable?"

"No..."

Shen San had been about to say there was no problem, but remembering what had happened earlier, he hurriedly covered his mouth. He looked cautiously at Li Dao. "Brother, there's nothing wrong with what this fellow said, right?"

Li Dao glanced at Shen San and said slowly, "Nothing wrong."

"Ah."

Wei Yun looked at Li Dao and couldn't help sighing. "If only you weren't so clever."

If not for Nine Five Two Seven, the terms he offered probably wouldn't have been as straightforward as they were now.

At that thought, he couldn't help asking curiously, "Nine Five Two Seven, can you tell me how you knew three matters was my limit?"

"I didn't."

"Then why did you say that?"

Li Dao shrugged. "Wasn't that just normal bargaining? Who knew you'd readily agree when I said three?"

"I..."

Faced with Nine Five Two Seven's sincere expression, Wei Yun was momentarily speechless.

"Hahaha! So even you get played sometimes!"

Shen San immediately burst out laughing.

After recovering, Wei Yun took a deep breath and looked at Li Dao. "You tricked me?"

Li Dao smiled faintly. "Don't take it to heart, Commander Wei. It was only a joke."

Wei Yun wasn't angry. Instead, he gave a satisfied smile. "It seems Squad Leader Liu picked the right man. You're clever, and you really are suited to lead the other four."

He took a thin booklet from inside his robe and handed it to Li Dao.

"What's this?"

"The Registration Booklet. It contains individual information on the other four, but not you."

"Why isn't mine included?"

"You're different from them. All your identifying information has been erased. As far as the outside world is concerned, you're already dead. Their information was registered beforehand because of their unusual abilities, so it was retained."

At this point, Wei Yun frowned slightly. "To be honest, with your abilities, you should have been registered too, rather than having your entire household record erased. I don't know why no information was left behind."

Hearing this, Li Dao understood a little more.

Ordinary people were commonplace, and their chances of walking out of the Death Row Camp were so slim that keeping them registered served little purpose. Erasing their household registrations therefore made no difference, since the final outcome would be death and the cancellation of their records anyway.

Death-row prisoners like Shen San, however, had abilities beyond those of ordinary people and were rare.

Though it was said that entering the Death Row Camp meant having one's household registration erased, some information would still be retained because of their unusual abilities.

As for him, he was purely an accident.

If not for the system, he would probably have died during his first death-row mission.

Naturally, he would never have joined this special group of five.

Taking the Registration Booklet, Li Dao casually opened it to the first page, and its contents appeared before his eyes.

Name: Shen San

Sex: Male

Age: 36

Crimes: Theft, extortion, kidnapping

Cultivation: sixth grade of the Houtian Realm

Details: Skilled in lightness techniques, hidden weapons, lockpicking, and mechanisms

Shen San leaned over familiarly to take a look and couldn't help saying, "Have you people made a mistake? I'm a master thief. When did I ever kidnap anyone?"

Wei Yun said calmly, "Did you tie up a child during your last theft?"

Shen San's eyes widened. "I didn't expect that child to show up either! I only tied him up to keep him from shouting. How is that kidnapping?"

Wei Yun looked up with a smile. "Then do you know why a thief like you ended up in the Death Row Camp?"

Shen San froze, then asked in surprise, "Could it have been because of that child?"

"Yes. That child was the emperor's younger brother-in-law. Otherwise, an ordinary cat burglar like you wouldn't have been worth the Embroidered Uniform Guard taking action."

The emperor's younger brother-in-law?

Shen San crumbled on the spot.

Beside them, Li Dao paid no attention to their conversation.

He understood why Wei Yun had given him this booklet. Clearly, just as Wei Yun had said, he needed to lead this group of five.

Glancing at the other four, he had the inexplicable feeling that being their leader wouldn't be easy.