{Chapter: 230 A reward of 10,000 counterattack points!}
A sacred bird? A firearm-trained hawk? Perhaps a divine eagle sent from the heavens with a vendetta?
The sheer absurdity of it all scorched the moment.
No one was buying it. Especially not Chief Inspector Luo Yinghao.
His eyes narrowed like a blade being drawn. Every muscle in his face screamed one truth:
'You're toying with us.'
But Lin Yuan simply stood there — unbothered, untouchable — like a man who had already decided the rules of the world didn't apply to him.
And at that moment, maybe they didn't.
His jaw clenched so tightly it looked like he might snap a tooth. His finger twitched dangerously on the trigger.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have hesitated to open fire—or order his men to do it. After all, Lin Yuan had just attempted to assassinate someone in broad daylight and in front of law enforcement. He could easily be charged with attempted murder of a public official.
But these weren't normal circumstances.
Not far from the scene stood Uncle Zeng—the man Lin Yuan had called earlier.
He wasn't alone.
Behind him, a small army of heavily armed police officers stood ready, their weapons already raised and locked on the other side of the police force.
In terms of sheer firepower and numbers, the police were at a disadvantage.
If a shootout started now, there was no guarantee who would survive. Lin Yuan could duck behind the balcony wall in a heartbeat. The others might be cut down before even getting a clean shot.
And if one bullet from that Barrett had done this to Ye Feng...
Luo Yinghao ground his teeth in frustration. He knew he was boxed in.
He looked around and saw that some of his men were visibly rattled—especially as they noticed the opposing rifles now aimed directly at their feet. They were doing everything under the law.
This wasn't law enforcement versus a criminal.
This was a stand-off between two different police officers and well trained bodyguards—and he was already surrounded.
For a long moment, no one moved.
No one dared to shoot first.
It would be a massacre.
Breathing heavily, Chief Luo lowered his weapon inch by inch, his rage suppressed by brutal calculation. He locked eyes with Uncle Zeng.
In the end, Luo Yinghao had no choice but to suppress his fury. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fist, but eventually, he let out a long, frustrated breath and waved his hand with barely restrained rage.
"Stand down! Put away your weapons! Let them go!" he barked through gritted teeth.
At his command, the police officers reluctantly lowered their firearms. Some glanced around nervously, others visibly frustrated, but they all obeyed. Slowly, they holstered their weapons and began returning to the squad cars, their formation breaking like a defeated army retreating from the battlefield.
Luo Yinghao lingered a moment longer. He turned back toward Lin Yuan, his eyes burning with hostility, and shouted from across the street.
"Young Master Lin, is it? You've committed a serious crime today! A crime no less severe than Gu Qingshan's!" His voice rang out loud and clear, full of righteous fury. "Deliberate assault on a public official! Attempted murder! Intentional grievous injury!"
His finger trembled as he pointed toward the balcony where Lin Yuan stood.
"Just you wait! I swear on my badge—you will be arrested and brought to justice before the day is done!"
With those words, the Chief of Police turned on his heel and stormed back toward his car. He slammed the door shut, still fuming, and the engine roared as the vehicle peeled away. Inside sat Chen Meng, his expression grim and speechless, while Ye Feng remained unconscious, barely clinging to life.
But Lin Yuan remained unmoved. "Well then, I will see you in court; let's see who's lawyers can explain this mess better."
He didn't even bother to acknowledge Luo Yinghao's declaration. To him, it was nothing more than empty noise. Posturing. Bluster.
Lin Yuan knew the truth—Luo Yinghao had already lost.
If there was a chance to take him down, it was now—right here and now, when Lin Yuan had just pulled the trigger and shot someone inside a car full of law enforcement. If Luo Yinghao didn't act immediately, if he didn't take the risk in that moment, then it was already too late.
And deep down, Luo Yinghao knew it too.
Once Lin Yuan walked away from this scene, arresting him would become next to impossible. Even if they pushed forward, Luke was conveniently present to claim ownership of the gun — a perfect fall guy. But pursuing that path would drag more than just Luke into the fire. It would cast a spotlight on the Ye Fang and Chen families, dragging their names through every inch of the dirt.
And that meant answering for everything — every shadowy move, every buried scandal that led up to this moment. The fallout wouldn't stop at a slap on the wrist. Careers would collapse. The Chen family's political footing would erode in days. Ye Fang could be facing twenty years behind bars, maybe more. And ironically, Luke — the one who pulled the trigger, or so the story would go — might walk away with a few years, maybe even less.
Because the Lin family wasn't just powerful.
They were untouchable — not just because of wealth or status, but because of Lin Yuan's meticulous precision, the kind that turned legal loopholes into iron walls. Every move he made was calculated, deliberate, and maddeningly clean.
Even now, with his men surrounding the scene, guns in hand, they aimed not at the heads or hearts of officers, but at their feet — just low enough to argue they weren't threatening, just "misunderstood." A technicality. A grey area. Just enough to dodge the law. To anyone watching, it might seem like intimidation. But in court? It was just pointing at the ground.
And that was the genius of Lin Yuan.
Everything reeked of danger, but nothing stuck.
He didn't just avoid blame — he buried it beneath layers of plausible deniability, minor infractions, and twisted legality. This entire operation was a masterpiece of corruption wrapped in compliance. And Lin Yuan himself? He stood so far from the chaos, it would take a divine act just to get his name whispered in a police report.
Trying to bring him down was like trying to stab a ghost — he left no fingerprints, no blood, no trail.
Only consequences.
Lin family influence seeped through courtrooms, boardrooms, and back rooms like smoke — invisible, suffocating, everywhere. With Lin Yuan's preparations, Trying to bring Lin Yuan down would be like trying to bind a dragon with cobwebs.
Everything Luo Yinghao shouted today… it was just words. No matter how serious the charges, they meant nothing without action to back them up.
He blinked. He hesitated. And now, it was over.
Lin Yuan's bullet wasn't just aimed at Ye Feng.
It was a message.
He had fired at a man surrounded by allies—men like Chen Meng and Luo Yinghao, sitting in the same car. That wasn't recklessness—it was a deliberate statement.
If he dared to shoot Ye Feng while you were right beside him... then he wouldn't hesitate to shoot you, either.
This wasn't just a personal vendetta.
This was a declaration of deadly enmity.
A grudge that would only be settled in blood.
---
Once the vehicles were gone and the dust settled, Lin Yuan turned calmly toward the older man still standing nearby.
"Thank you, Uncle Zeng." His tone was respectful but restrained.
Uncle Zeng nodded slightly in return, his expression unreadable. A man of few words, he gave a sharp gesture to his subordinates, and without another glance, he and his men quietly dispersed into the shadows of the city.
And then—
[Ding! … Reward: 10,000 Counterattack Points!]
The crisp mechanical chime echoed in Lin Yuan's mind, followed by a notification box glowing softly within his mental interface.
He heard it clearly, but his face barely changed.
Ten thousand points. A hefty reward.
And yet, Lin Yuan didn't feel particularly joyful.
He had fired that shot intending to end Ye Feng's life.
To finish the protagonist once and for all.
But Ye Feng still lived.
Badly wounded, yes—but not dead.
---
Earlier, when Lin Yuan pulled the trigger, he had seen it himself: the Barrett's round had shattered through the bulletproof glass, then struck Ye Feng with devastating force, tearing apart the left side of his skull.
He had seen blood erupt, seen bone fragments fly.
Yet the system's prompt had clarified the outcome:
[Ding! The left ear and left eye of protagonist Ye Feng have been destroyed! Irreparable and permanent damage inflicted. Reward: 10,000 Counterattack Points.]
Permanent injury, yes.
But death?
No.
Lin Yuan sighed inwardly.
He had tried to kill Ye Feng before—during their earlier encounters, whether through poison or orchestrated accidents—but every attempt had failed. The protagonist's luck, his fate… it was frustratingly strong.
Still, this time had been different.
This time, the results were significant.
His bullet hadn't merely grazed him—it had left permanent, disfiguring damage. The loss of an eye, the destruction of an ear, part of the skull blown away.
For that alone, the system had rewarded him handsomely.
And then—another sound.
[Ding! Protagonist Ye Feng has suffered irreparable damage. Fate Value has diminished by 300 points. System has leveled up successfully!]
"Huh?"
Lin Yuan blinked.
A moment of genuine surprise crossed his face. His usual calm cracked just a little.
"Can the system be upgraded?"
Without wasting a moment, he called out in his mind.
"Shen Lan, can the system actually upgrade itself?"
The ever-composed voice of Shen Lan replied immediately:
[Yes, Master.]
"Then what changed after the upgrade?" Lin Yuan asked again, anticipation creeping into his voice.
[The upgraded functions are now available for you to explore. Please open the system panel to review the enhancements.]
Lin Yuan didn't hesitate. He summoned the interface mentally, and the system panel appeared in front of his eyes, more complex and vivid than before.
A new chapter was about to begin.
*****
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