Chapter 50: Change Begins Tonight

Silence!

The neat and resolute commands of the Vigilantes swept across every inch of Tongren Road.

Under the soft, bright moonlight, Yan Duoduo stood suspended in mid-air. His expression remained calm, devoid of any nervousness about the situation slipping out of control, nor displaying the hysteria of a life-or-death struggle imminent.

Behind him, a Stargate emerged, radiating a brilliance that churned like the Milky Way, exuding a profound and unknown aura.

It was like a firefly in the darkness, igniting its kind with a snap. All around, those Vigilantes who also possessed "Ordered Inheritances" successively summoned their own Stargates, echoing Yan Duoduo from afar.

Although such Vigilantes were relatively rare, when they jointly propped open their Stargates, that dazzling brilliance merged into a single expanse, completely cleansing every inch of darkness on Tongren Road.

As Stargate after Stargate opened, this place fell utterly silent.

At the entrance of the bar, those Chaotic Faction players who had just been swarming forward all came to a halt, obeying the orders of their superiors, no longer daring to act rashly.

Prior to this, among all the factions on Tongren Road, almost no one believed that Yan Duoduo would actually dare to go through with it. What kind of result would ensue if nearly a thousand players went to war?!

Would one Shanghai be enough? Not nearly enough!

This was akin to powerful families manipulating smaller families into fighting; when aggrieved, they might shout about dropping nuclear bombs, but when push truly came to shove, who would actually dare to drop the first one?

At the bar entrance.

Ren Ye stared blankly at the sky, watching Yan Duoduo and his Stargate, his eyes filled with a shock that defied verbal description.

This was the first time he had witnessed a player unfolding their Stargate in public. It truly resembled the descent of a deity, truly flexing to the absolute extreme.

Ren Ye unprovokedly recalled what Huang Wei had told him long ago—a life so resplendent that it was… beyond imagination.

Life ought to be just like this!

In an instant, a thought surged within him: I must clear the Cool Breeze Mansion Stargate.

A cold wind blew. Ignoring the Chaotic Faction players on the street, Yan Duoduo fixed his eyes on the lame boss at the bar entrance, asking in a concise tone, "You unconvinced?"

Fine beads of sweat broke out on the lame man's forehead. He cast a sidelong glance at his peers, only to find that they were no longer drawing close to him.

Silence. There was no response.

Yan Duoduo still stood erect there, his tone utterly flat: "Alright, then I'll give you a suggestion. You can choose to resist arrest now, and I give you my honor as a Vigilante that before you and I die, no one will interfere."

"…!"

Veins bulged on the lame man's forehead upon hearing these words.

The surroundings were also in an uproar, for everyone understood: Yan Duoduo was inviting the lame man to a one-on-one duel, a battle of life and death.

As the Star Official of Shanghai and the regional leader of the Vigilantes, he naturally couldn't openly say he wanted a duel, as that would carry personal bias and clearly violate the rules… Therefore, he was suggesting that the lame boss resist arrest and fight back.

Atop the signal tower, Shadow listened to these words, stood up excitedly, waved her little fist, and roared, "Don't be a coward, Limpy! Go fight him!"

Beside her, Dandan hugged a load-bearing pillar, curled his lips, and replied, "Yan Duoduo clearly isn't here to arrest him; he wants his life. Now it all depends on Limpy's endurance…"

At the bar entrance, the lame man's expression was one of extreme struggle. Two or three times he raised his crutch, and the starlight source fluctuations on his body were extremely unstable.

After waiting for a long while, Yan Duoduo sneered and asked again, "Alright, if you choose to resist arrest, I will only use Tier 2 Divine Abilities. That's fair, how about it?"

The shouts drifted through the air, and all the Chaotic Faction players looked toward the lame man, their cheeks brimming with anger and humiliation.

This coercion was clearly not aimed at the lame man alone, but at all the Chaotic Faction players present…

"Boss Limpy, you're both Tier 2, what is there to be afraid of! Give it to him!"

"Resist arrest!"

"Resist arrest!"

"…!"

One person kindles the fire, countless people add firewood.

Within moments, neat shouts rang out across the street. Most of the Chaotic Faction players were hoping that the lame man would lift his crutch and fight for their dignity.

As the shouts poured into his ears, the lame man stared dumbfounded at his peers, a humiliating sense of anger rising in his heart.

What happened to solidarity?

What happened to taking them down together?

Why is it now just me going up alone?!

Once the Vigilantes plant their stele, are you even too afraid to take a step?!

Clenching his fists tightly, the lame man raised his head to look into mid-air once more.

He knew better than anyone else that every move Yan Duoduo made revealed one message: when he came today, he damn well wasn't here to make arrests; he was here to kill him in public, and even more, to find an excuse to open fire on the Street Dog organization…

If I really resist arrest, he will definitely dare to bathe Tongren Road in blood tonight, and those onlookers around us will most likely not help.

They had miscalculated the resolve of the Vigilantes—the opponent wanted to fight, but the people here were not prepared.

Torn and struggling, the lame man suddenly lost his nerve, looked up at Yan Duoduo, and shouted, "…You win. I accept all consequences."

"Swish!"

As his voice fell, the dark aura erupting from his body instantly vanished without a trace.

"Accepted?" Yan Duoduo's face held no joy of victory; he only asked softly, "Just now, what did my colleague tell you to do?"

On the steps, hearing this, Ren Ye immediately chimed in like a flattering sycophant, shouting, "Hands on your head, squat down!"

"Hands on your head, squat down!"

The Vigilantes of Qingpu District rebuked in unison, almost instantly drawing a response from their other colleagues.

As the overwhelmingly oppressive shouts arrived, the lame man trembled as he glanced around, then slowly bent his knees, arched his back, clutched his head, and squatted on the ground.

With this scene unfolding, the surrounding Chaotic Faction players all deflated. They felt as though they had been dealt a slap in the face, yet had no way to retaliate.

Inside the fifth-floor hotel, the person in charge of the Predators Alliance withdrew, speaking indifferently, "This newly arrived Star Official is a madman. He wants to fracture the various factions on Tongren Road."

"We could help the lame man," the young man beside him said with a frown. "For the Vigilantes to act like this…"

"We could help." The person in charge turned to look at him, asking softly, "But can you guarantee that others watching from the shadows will also help him? Can you guarantee that Chaotic players belonging to no organization will also help?"

When the words fell, the room grew silent.

"I can tell you explicitly, Yan Duoduo wants to take over Tongren Road tonight. He has prepared thoroughly, and he alone can dictate the actions of the Vigilantes. Whereas on our side… we haven't even had a detailed discussion." The person in charge shrugged. "…For some reason, I always feel that the Vigilantes' attitude toward us has undergone a drastic shift… tonight."

Elsewhere, several big figures observing from the shadows also drifted away the moment the lame man squatted down.

On the street, the Chaotic Faction players dispersed in a rush.

The sight of the lame man squatting with his head in his hands was as wretched as wretched could be.

In mid-air, the Stargates shone brilliantly. Gazing at the departing onlookers, Yan Duoduo suddenly shouted, "I don't know when I might violate regulations, nor do I know when I might be dismissed for making mistakes. But while I am in Shanghai, Tongren Road, you will quiet down!"

The shout, amplified by stellar energy, drifted across the entire Tongren Road, clearly reaching the ears of every single person.

On the street, the Chaotic Faction players collectively froze. Their gazes—some resentful, some spiteful, some hateful—flickered toward Yan Duoduo, but in the end, they dispersed in silence.

"Swish!"

Yan Duoduo retracted the Stargate behind him. Floating down gracefully, he walked straight toward the exit of Tongren Road, instructing Chen Hannian through his earpiece: "Bring all members of Street Dog back for investigation."

"Understood!" Chen Hannian replied with great excitement, "Awesome, utterly awesome! It's been many years since Tongren Road was this quiet."

Yan Duoduo did not reply. Stepping out of the isolated space of the Wordless Stele, he stood with his hands behind his back on the bustling street.

In the past, Chaotic Faction players were like crazy and paranoid time bombs; if you pushed them too hard, you never knew where they would detonate.

What they blew up might be Vigilantes, or it might be ordinary people…

Yet today, the roles of that time bomb had reversed, transforming entirely into Yan Duoduo.

He played by no rules, showing scant respect even for the regulations of the Divine Ability Arbitration Tribunal. He was like a gentleman on the outside, but a fiercely radical madman on the inside.

He forcefully shifted the risk of "turmoil" onto Tongren Road.

If you dare to stir up trouble outside, killing ordinary people or Vigilantes, I will investigate to the very end. If you band together to resist, I, your father, will dare to raze this street for you.

Huddling together for warmth and resistance was a game for survival space. As long as survival interests were not completely severed, and one's own abilities could not entirely crush the rules, no one was truly willing to die.

"Screech!"

A car came to a halt beside Yan Duoduo. Old Zhou rolled down the window inside, stared at him with a complex gaze, and asked with utter incomprehension, "I don't get it. Why would the Vigilantes headquarters send someone like you to be a Star Official in a region as important as Shanghai?"

Yan Duoduo looked at him with his hands behind his back: "Perhaps… you simply don't understand the Vigilantes."

With those words, the two fell silent together.

Yan Duoduo looked at him: "Care for a drink?"

"I don't want to make friends with a madman." Old Zhou shook his head helplessly. "Though my heart really took a heavy beating tonight, I suppose I should have a drink and unwind."

"My treat." Yan Duoduo pulled open the car door, bent down, and got in.

…

At the bar entrance.

A group of Street Dog players were humiliatingly hauled out, squatting in rows on both sides of the road.

Xu Peng got into character, walked up, and slapped a Street Dog player across the face: "I heard from those two criminals of the Bell Society… if we add two more starlight sources to your organization, you offer some really exciting services?"

"…!" That Street Dog gritted his teeth, saying with extreme anger, "Then add them! Go on, add them?!"

"Hey, seriously." Xu Peng squatted beside him with a deadpan expression, asking softly, "If I give you two starlight sources, will you help me test a new drug?"

That not-very-bright Street Dog's eyes lit up at these words: "You're really giving two starlight sources?"

Before long, nearly fifty Street Dog players were hauled out and escorted into the cars one by one.

To be honest, the vast majority of people here had not participated in harboring members of the Bell Society, but Yan Duoduo still had them all taken away.

This, too, was an attitude—the proper attitude to have after winning a game of wits and strength.

Not far away.

Huang Wei took a sip of water, turned, and nudged Ren Ye with his shoulder: "…Well, what are your thoughts on tonight?"

Ren Ye looked up at the starlit sky: "Boss Yan is too damn handsome! I have less than two days before I enter the Stargate again, and I will win… I'll definitely have a brilliant and resplendent day too, right?"

Atop the signal tower.

Shadow stretched lazily and said with utter boredom, "…This Star Official who keeps pets is much cooler than those overly cautious people. Come to think of it, my staged Stargate… is almost here too…!"