Dong——

Accompanied by the clear and penetrating bell of the Yao Bell Tower, it signified that the time had reached eight o'clock in the evening.

This time was the bustling hour within the inner city of Xuanzhu County—Celestial Court Tavern, Xiangxue Sea, Never Return House... each a money pit prepared solely for the Silver Blood Nobility, all eagerly anticipated the arrival of distinguished guests. From this hour on, the streets would be filled with drunken men, smiling women, and the elite treading upon the vibrant streets, indulging in exhilarating entertainment.

Tonight was actually not much different from usual, perhaps even more thrilling.

Despite the explosions and fires outside, the streets were not crowded.

People instinctively seek a sense of security, and nothing feels safer than staying in one's spacious home, surrounded by family and guards.

They believed that chaos was temporary, and their authority eternal.

They thought perhaps unfortunate souls might be despoiled because of it but never believed they themselves could be that unlucky.

Thus, strength and weakness have never been obstacles to survival, arrogance is.

Those roaming the streets were often hooded and masked figures, maybe wise ones who sensed danger, or perhaps predators poised to seize a piece of flesh amidst this feast, even street robbers appeared.

Nearby shops had already closed, many clerks and owners were piling things to barricade the doors, attempting to prevent the entry of marauders—not for money, but for their lives they desired.

Barring the doors, was in fact blocking their own path to survival.

Maybe they didn't understand, or maybe they did but were unwilling to make the right choice. Because the right choice often means loss, and loss is hard to accept.

Unlike Le Yu, who fell into fortune like a Jing Family player dropping from the sky, most merchants were earnest businessmen who earned their property and shops through hard labor and exploitation, how could they easily give up?

Le Yu, however, was in a good mood as he appreciated the bewildered spectacle of human behavior around him, they marched hundreds strong and fully armed on the street, naturally, no one dared to make trouble for them.

In fact, quite a few recognized Le Yu's identity, loudly exclaiming 'The President is here,' and nearby shops and houses couldn't help but open windows to watch the action of Le Yu and his entourage, observing earnestly and fervently as they moved away, even beginning to chant 'President' in unison.

It was practically a celebrity meetup.

Today they cheered for Jing Zhengwei, all because the monster mist came for the first time.

Le Yu graciously acknowledged them, raising his hand to signal them, like a star conducting a public event, polite and composed, even showing a professional smile, turning many passersby into instant fans.

Seeing the Silver Blood Association President this calm, and the Jing Family this strong, their panic quickly settled down, even Jing Zhengwei's despicable actions over these days seemed forgivable.

Mu Qingmei, following behind, couldn't help but say, "If Jing Zhengwei can resolve this rebellion, I bet they'll be loyal to you."

"What use do I have for a bunch of pests loyal to me?" Le Yu smiled and said, "I have lured and deceived them before only to sharpen my blade in secret, letting them wait obliviously for the moment of judgment."

"Now I don't even need to wield the knife myself, soon someone will come to judge them. Though the process might not be very legal, the result will be about right, and I am not a moral fanatic, so why bother saving them?"

Mu Qingmei asked in confusion, "Then why are you... soothing them?"

"What else? Do you want me to shout on the street 'Now is the time for judgment'?" Le Yu glanced at her, "Let them just quietly stay at home, not obstruct us from leaving, isn't that nice?"

"Moreover, deceiving them to the very last second gives me a great sense of achievement." Le Yu tilted his head, "Even a bit of intellectual superiority."

So it's just a nasty thrill.

Everyone grumbled silently in their hearts, at this moment Yin Minghong let out a deep sigh, turned his head to Le Yu and said, "President Jing, I have already prepared, please give your order."

Le Yu blinked, "What preparations have you made?"

"Prepared to strike against the civilians."

Yin Minghong beat his chest with his right hand, eyes wide, teeth gritted, "Even if it means using force to suppress the civilian upheaval, even if I will be expelled by White Night, even though I... as long as I can protect you, the President, I am willing to do it!"

Mu Qingmei watched Yin Minghong with complicated emotions, her fist clenched, but then let go.

Others said no more, quietly waiting for Le Yu's response.

On this inner city street filled with sounds of footsteps, burning, explosions, shouting, and even gunfire, there suddenly appeared a trace of tranquility.

Everyone's attention was highly focused.

Because they knew.

The upcoming order from Le Yu.

Would determine Xuanzhu County's fate.

"Heh."

Leyu chuckled softly, "Is it true that we can't survive without hurting others?"

"Second Boss, although you want to change Dongyang, Dongyang has already changed you first. Deep down, you are still a Dongyang native who fights for life or death."

"At this point, does White Night still trust me?"

Yin Minghong was initially stunned by Leyu's comment, but upon hearing a question that left him puzzled, he nodded immediately and said, "It does. In fact, it should be the other way around—President Jing, do you still trust White Night? After all, this time, it is White Night's fault..."

"Since White Night trusts me, then it's easy to handle." Leyu asked, "Once things calm down, can White Night still unite the workers and other civilian classes to jointly support my governance?"

"It can!" Yin Minghong said firmly, "Once things calm down, no one is more qualified to govern Dongyang than President Jing! This isn't just my opinion. Within White Night, compared to Wanghaigong, Governor Yun, and Quanyuan, President Jing is indeed the best choice for governance."

"Being rated first among these people isn't really something to be happy about..." Leyu smiled lightly. "So, as long as I survive tonight and let the people burn the inner city, tomorrow I can take over a clean, unpolluted, uncontaminated Xuanzhu County?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then their faces lit up with joy!

Indeed!

They didn't need to suppress the uprising at all, just let the fires of the uprising consume the inner city; all the White Night Walkers needed to do was contain the scope of the rebellion.

Once the inner city turns to white ash, it means all the Silver Blood Association upper layers vanish completely, leaving Xuanzhu County as a blank canvas for new creation without any concerns!

The only loss would be the centuries of accumulated gold, silver, treasures, and estates of the Silver Blood Association in the inner city. But even these things didn't matter to Leyu, so why would White Night care?

Compared to factories and land, what significance do those useless treasures have?

Initially, everyone thought Leyu wanted to quell the rebellion not out of harshness, but because they believed the tasty piece of the Silver Blood Association was already in Leyu's mouth, with the inner city being Leyu's property. Thus, they instinctively thought Leyu would use force to protect his assets.

They never imagined that Leyu had long been disillusioned with a world lacking air conditioners, refrigerators, and flush toilets. Such so-called luxurious enjoyments meant nothing to Leyu, who might as well take advantage of this chaos to kill two birds with one stone, saving the trouble of future personal interference.

"By the way, don't let Huyan Siluo escape."

Leyu reminded them, and Mu Qingmei found Huyan Siluo secretly lagging behind trying to leave, but she was too eye-catching to blend into the crowd as an ordinary person. With a stretch of her hand, Mu Qingmei locked her tiger's mouth.

"What are you doing!" Huyan Siluo panicked, "Let me go, I want to go home!"

"We can't let you go back to report," Leyu said casually, "Mu Qingmei, keep an eye on her, don't let her run, don't let her speak."

"No problem!" Mu Qingmei pulled out a big barbecue bun from her pocket and stuffed it into Huyan Siluo's mouth, causing her to only make 'mmm mmm' sounds with tears in her eyes, pitifully, which made the scene awkward.

But everyone was more surprised at Mu Qingmei—how could she casually pull out a barbecue bun?

Qing Lan looked at them and said, "Young master, you clearly want to protect her, why say it like that..."

Leyu shrugged, "I want to protect her, but the fact is I'm thinking about ways to kill her entire family. Rather than giving her hope now, it's better to give her despair directly; it might make her better off later, and it also helps remove a potential rival for you."

Qing Lan huffed, "You really are moved..."

"Of course I'm moved. If I weren't, I'd be dead." Leyu shifted the topic, "Second Boss, I'll leave the rest to you. Command the guards to protect us as we leave the inner city, don't get caught up in battles, safety first."

"Yes!"

"Also," Leyu paused, "If anyone tries to stop us, don't hesitate, kill them on sight."

"President Jing, I understand," Yin Minghong nodded slightly, "Since you've come up with a better plan, I will carry it through to the end. Even if ordinary people stand in my way, I won't hesitate out of pity."

"You seem to think my choice to run away instead of enforcing martial law is out of compassion." Leyu shook his head, "But that's not really the case."

"After all—"

Clang!

Suddenly, a ray of light shot over the heads of everyone, landing on the lamp post ahead, slicing the pillar as thick as a person in half, and the lamp post fell with a thud, blocking the path of the Jing Family guards!

"President Jing, please stay."

Leyu turned around to see many figures, all possessing different auras, appearing on nearby roofs, walls, and corners.

Some held swords, some carried guns, some were empty-handed, varied in age, dressed in a myriad of styles, and included both genders. The one thing they shared was—they were cloaked in a thick, filter-like light shadow, making it impossible to discern their true positions.

This is the 'Fusion Thoroughfare State' technique, which Leyu also knows, called Illusion Garb, specifically to defend against gunfire.

"After all, I have very few friends."

"And many enemies."