Chapter 57: Three Minutes Until President Lu Explodes into Action

This was the closest Lu Chengwen had ever been to death.

The system had given him a warning: Lu Chengwen had a total of seven chances. Every time, he played the role of the villain, and every time he followed the script, a dead end awaited him.

During the first six times, Lu Chengwen was completely dazed for the first two attempts, perishing in utter confusion.

By the time he figured out the situation and wanted to properly turn the tables, he found that the villain's fate was extremely difficult to alter, and he died two more times.

Starting from the fifth time, he was already overwhelmed with anxiety.

No one else shared his experience—dying five times consecutively across four different worlds, plus his own original reality!

Death was something that terrified people to the absolute extreme, even just once.

And Lu Chengwen, having died five times over and over again, had reached the absolute zenith of terror.

His fifth transmigration was his best performance, allowing him to survive for three days.

Yet, in the end, a tiny oversight ruined everything.

Through these repeated "deaths," Lu Chengwen learned a profound truth: as a villain, one could not afford to make mistakes.

A single minor error could result in the heavens collapsing and the earth shattering, leaving no chance for a comeback ever again.

And now, this was his very last chance. If he were to die at the hands of the protagonist once more...

Then all the rewards, all hopes of returning to the real world... would completely vanish.

He would have to accept the fate of his own demise and become a genuine corpse.

Therefore, this time Lu Chengwen was calm, composed, and kept a low profile because he knew that one who cannot endure minor humiliations will ruin great plans.

He had no more chances left; not a single mistake could be made.

Make one wrong move, and he would be doomed beyond redemption!

Right now, Long Aotian was standing right in front of him.

Lu Chengwen's inner fury was beyond description!

Long Aotian!

You are the protagonist!

You are powerful! You have countless divine artifacts! You have swarms of brothers! Innumerable techniques! Endless methods! Vast connections! You can do everything!

Every beauty belongs to you!

The ancestral foundations that several great families spent generations building up will eventually all belong to you!

This world is yours!

Everything is yours!

And I! Am I destined to be nothing more than fish on your chopping board?

Is the meaning of my existence that no matter how much I struggle, no matter how much I compromise and retreat, the ultimate outcome will only ever be an insignificant little subplot in your glorious life?

How laughable!

This damned system just wants to watch someone like me—a lowly delivery boy who suddenly struck it rich—display an ugly, bloated expression, right?

It just wants to see me grovel, humiliate myself, and rack my brains in pathetic wretchedness just to stay alive, right?

It just wants to witness my lowly existence, where I have to play the bootlicker before the protagonist and willingly act as a running dog just to keep breathing, right?

Lu Chengwen's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Long Aotian, burning with rage.

"Nice gaze," Long Aotian said casually. "However, not a single enemy I've ever encountered was defeated by a glare."

He walked right up to Lu Chengwen: "How about this, be my dog, and I'll look out for you from now on."

Lu Chengwen's eyelids twitched: "Why do you want me to invest in the amusement park project?"

"The amusement park project will become the landmark architecture of Snow City. From now on, it will become the new shopping, leisure, and entertainment center of Snow City. Its potential is limitless."

Long Aotian sat on the sofa, crossing his legs, and said leisurely: "In short, once the matter is settled, I want to review the project's ledgers, and all revenue will be distributed uniformly by me. No one else must know about this, only you and I. You spend the money, but the profits belong to me."

Lu Chengwen clenched his fists: "What if I refuse?"

"Heh." Long Aotian stood up, walked over to Lu Chengwen, and gently patted his shoulder: "You will agree. Think about your family—your father, your mother. Oh right, you also have a younger brother, don't you?"

Inside the inner room, Lu Chengwu was about to rush out, but Chen Mengyun pressed him down instantly. Xu Xuejiao also hurriedly covered his mouth, sternly telling him not to make a sound.

Long Aotian said arrogantly: "That fool Iron Mound King can go die; he's just a disruptive idiot. But there's still the Copper Mound King, Silver Mound King, Gold Mound King... over a hundred other so-called kings waiting for you, you know? I don't even need to dirty my own hands to ruin your family completely. Think it over."

Hearing Long Aotian's threat, especially when he mentioned the word "mother," Lu Chengwen's rationality returned a fraction.

One cannot fight brute force against a beast like this! He could only outwit him!

"Fine. I agree."

"Good. Remember, your life and the lives of your entire family are in my hands," Long Aotian threatened. "Dare to play any tricks, and I'll make your whole family vanish."

Long Aotian left.

Lu Chengwen sat on the sofa without showing any expression.

No anger, no anxiety, no joy, nor any displeasure—just calm, a terrifying calm.

He held his wine glass, looking out at the night view outside the window, wearing a smile that wasn't quite a smile, and an anger that wasn't quite anger.

A group of people filed out from the inner room, but Lu Chengwen didn't even glance at them.

Xu Xuejiao approached first and said with a smile, "Brother Lu..."

"You guys leave."

Lu Chengwen interrupted.

Xu Xuejiao said, "What is he acting so arrogant for? If we join forces, I refuse to believe we can't beat just one..."

Lu Chengwen turned his head and looked at Xu Xuejiao: "This is a matter between him and me, it doesn't involve anyone else. Stay away from me from now on."

Xu Xuejiao was about to say something more when Chen Mengyun pulled her back and shook her head.

Chen Mengyun had never seen Lu Chengwen like this before.

He always wore his emotions right on his face.

When he made money or took advantage of someone, he would leap three feet high, wanting the whole world to know.

When he lost money or suffered a loss, he would fly into a wild rage, ensuring no one around him had an easy time.

Yet today, his silence suddenly felt terrifying.

Terrifying in the truest sense of the word.

Lu Chengwen continued to gaze out the window.

"Zhao Gang, see our guests out."

Zhao Gang knew all too well that his boss's mood at this moment was undoubtedly at an all-time historical low.

Zhao Gang lowered his voice and said, "Everyone, please go back and rest first. The boss needs some quiet time."

Zhang Shen'er let out a breath and took out a recording pen: "He threatened you today. According to standard procedure, you can press charges against him."

Lu Chengwen smiled.

At this moment, Lu Chengwen's smile looked somewhat frightening.

In reality, it was the most ordinary smile imaginable.

Yet for some reason, right at that very instant, Zhang Shen'er suddenly realized that she seemed to have never truly understood this man at all.

This single smile of his momentarily made Zhang Shen'er's mind wander, making her feel that he truly deserved to be the eldest son of the Lu family and the current president of the Great Sage Group.

He truly possessed the poise of a great commander.

Though raging billows churned within his chest, his expression remained so calm, and his smile was so detached.

Yet within that detached smile, one could perceive strength, forbearance, resilience, and unyielding grit.

Without even realizing it herself, Zhang Shen'er's voice became much softer: "The moment you feel you are facing substantial threats, call the police immediately."

Lu Chengwen smiled: "Thank you."

Passing by Tang Yiyi, Lu Chengwen paused for a second.

Tang Yiyi thought she was completely doomed.

This was trespassing on private property, and her policewoman best friend was right there at the scene. If Lu Chengwen decided to make an issue of it, her best friend would have to cuff her personally.

"I..."

"You've worked hard, Miss Yiyi. Go back and rest."

"I'm sor..."

"Apologies, I didn't get the chance to speak with you properly today. Let's make another appointment another day."

Even Zhang Shen'er was dumbfounded by this.

Tang Yiyi had actually been invited by him?!

Lu Chengwen walked into his bedroom, lay down on the bed, and contemplated life.

This feeling of being manipulated by others felt damn awful.

The people in the room each harbored their own thoughts as they filed out. Zhang Shen'er and Tang Yiyi shared a car, while Chen Mengyun and Xu Xuejiao, both realizing the other harbored feelings for Lu Chengwen, found their relationship turning awkward. After exchanging a few polite, forced pleasantries, they each headed home.

...

The next day, Mayor Zhao invited everyone to a meeting once again.

However, on the street right outside the government building, Lu Chengwen caught sight of the shantytown residents who had come to blockade the area.

Many people opposed the Great Sage Group taking over the shantytown project, believing that Lu Chengwen, this unscrupulous merchant, intended to drain the blood and sweat of ordinary citizens. The commotion was huge...

The moment Lu Chengwen stepped out of his car, a crowd swarmed around him. Zhao Gang, leading several bodyguards, shielded Lu Chengwen tightly.

Over on her side, Leng Qingqiu instructed her subordinates to rush over and help immediately; otherwise, Lu Chengwen might literally be torn apart by the clueless populace.

With a stern, expressionless face, Lu Chengwen walked toward the building without uttering a word. But after taking only a few steps, he saw a security guard forcefully shoving an elderly woman, prompting him to instantly fly into a rage: "Let go of her!"

Releasing all his pent-up emotions in an explosion, Lu Chengwen rushed forward regardless of his own safety, shoving away the bewildered bodyguard: "How old is she?! Are you out of your mind to push her this hard?"

The old lady showed no gratitude toward Lu Chengwen whatsoever. A stinky egg smashed right into Lu Chengwen's face as she cursed furiously:

"Three years! This project has dragged on for three years! We haven't seen a single cent, we've been forced to rent places everywhere, and my grandson couldn't even get enrolled in school. My medicine is about to run out! You rich people live in villas and drive luxury cars—have you ever thought about whether the poor survive or die? My son broke his leg delivering food and is still in the hospital right now!"

The bodyguard tried to push the old lady again, but Lu Chengwen yelled angrily, "Don't push her!"

As the bodyguard loosened his grip, the old lady rushed forward and grabbed Lu Chengwen, scratching fiercely at his face.

Several bodyguards hurried over to persuade her while trying to pull them apart.

"Three bosses have been replaced! They grab the money and run! You drink the blood of the poor! You bunch of scum..."

...

A distance of less than two hundred meters took Lu Chengwen over twenty minutes to cross.

Standing in the restroom, Jiang Shihanhuan's eyes were red-rimmed as she straightened Lu Chengwen's clothes, muttering indignantly: "What kind of people are these! The previous money wasn't even taken by us! If they want to vent their anger, they should find the right targets. What did we ever do to deserve this..."

Lu Chengwen looked at his wretched reflection in the mirror, yet suddenly chuckled.

Jiang Shihanhuan's phone rang: "Have you arrived? Hurry up, come through the back door and tell the guard—President Lu's clothes are ruined and reek of rotten eggs, he can't go into the meeting dressed like this! Move fast!"

Hanging up, Jiang Shihanhuan apologized: "Please wait a moment, President Lu. They've almost arrived, new clothes will be delivered right away."

"No, wear this exact outfit. Let's go to the meeting!"

"President Lu..."

...

Inside the conference room, the moment Lu Chengwen stepped through the door, all eyes shot toward him.

Clearly, everyone had heard about the scene outside, and many already had videos on their phones of Lu Chengwen getting hit with a rotten egg.

Radiating an intense energy despite the scratch marks left by the old woman still visible on his face, Lu Chengwen smiled and said, "Apologies, apologies, keeping everyone waiting."

Mayor Zhao looked deeply apologetic: "President Lu, I'm so sorry. The ordinary folks don't understand the whole story and acted a bit impulsively—you must understand!"

"Understood, understood." Lu Chengwen sat down openhandedly, causing the people around him to instinctively cover their noses.

The stench of rotten eggs was exceptionally pungent.

Mayor Zhao spoke up: "I've heard some rumors claiming that the Great Sage Group is going to withdraw its capital. President Lu, calling you here today is to have you confirm this face-to-face with everyone..."

"Does that even need confirmation?!" Hu Shuhui stood up again: "It's all over the circles now, saying the Great Sage Group is planning to sit back down on the crap it just shat out! Look here, I don't care about all that—if the Great Sage Group pulls out its capital, our thirty million donation has to be canceled as well!"

With Hu Shuhui muddying the waters once more, many enterprises chimed in, chattering noisily. Some claimed Lu Chengwen lacked integrity, treating Mayor Zhao and Secretary Wu like fools.

Others claimed the Great Sage Group only moved where there was profit, using the shantytown project to build up its popularity before pulling out; the moment they withdrew, those companies would also renegotiate the assistance projects they had promised to the government.

Even uglier rumors circulated, saying Lu Chengwen was just making empty noise, that all he knew in this life was taking advantage of people, and that nobody had ever seen him do a single decent thing...

The scene descended into chaos.

However, not a single person from the Four Great Families uttered a word.

Leng Qingqiu remained silent, simply watching Lu Chengwen.

Chen Mengyun and Xu Xuejiao didn't discuss it with anyone else either, nor did they look at anyone else; their gazes were locked entirely on Lu Chengwen.

Mayor Zhao was already fuming.

Secretary Wu flew into a rage, roaring in a thunderous voice: "Please maintain order in the conference room!"

Mayor Zhao sighed, a trace of suppressed fury flashing in his eyes: "President Lu, why don't you tell us your thoughts?"

Lu Chengwen stood up, and once again, he smiled.