[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lawful-tyrant":3,"chapter-lawful-tyrant-lawful-tyrant-chapter-96":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Lawful Tyrant",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2284980,4469,"Chapter 96: Livestock and Beasts","lawful-tyrant-chapter-96",96,"\u003Cp>“The gate bears the four characters ‘Broken Gate’—hmm, written in Chinese.” Zhao Jiayi tilted her head and said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Broken Gate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing didn’t understand and asked again: “What’s behind the gate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know,” Zhao Jiayi sighed. “I was just passing by, the car was moving so fast—I only had time to scan it with my mental force, not enough to penetrate slowly. Plus, I felt the gate’s material was strange; when my mental force reached it, it almost couldn’t penetrate at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?” Lin Qing pondered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiayi’s mental force could penetrate and spread over a thousand meters in the air, but underground, penetrating soil and rock was far more difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were things even her mental force couldn’t penetrate?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the new group of people?” Lin Qing said. “Did they just come out of the underground research facility today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No way,” Zhao Jiayi said. “I saw plenty of footprints near the gate underground, but the dust on them was still undisturbed—clearly, it hasn’t been opened in a long time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing suddenly understood and nodded. “So there really is an underground passage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, Lancheng was filled with life-detection sensors, and satellites were watching from above—there was no way such a large group could enter the city without being detected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So they most likely entered through an underground passage, and the exit must have shielding devices and anti-detection measures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t you notice the elevator shaft when you probed earlier?” Lin Qing asked, puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Above the elevator shaft was a double-level wine cellar, with several meters of rock slabs in between—I didn’t think to look further,” Zhao Jiayi shook her head. “Mental penetration consumes a lot of energy; I had to proceed slowly. When I found it was a large wine cellar, I didn’t keep probing downward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She muttered: “If it weren’t for all those people gathering there today and opening the elevator shaft, I wouldn’t have noticed the gate eighty meters underground.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing understood her meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mental probing didn’t instantly reveal everything within its range—precise detection required slow, step-by-step penetration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even penetrating air consumed energy, let alone materials thousands of times denser, like rock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s pretend we’re going for breakfast, then head back to that area.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing said: “You probe again. Could we be discovered? If there’s risk, forget it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No chance,” Zhao Jiayi said confidently. “Among that group, there are a few gene-awakened, but not a single mental-awakened—if there were, I’d have spotted them immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing gave a slight nod. “Then probe again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no interest in the underground research facility behind the gate—his concern was caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Getting answers early meant better preparation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, the order rank hasn’t dropped, meaning they don’t intend to stay or disrupt order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later, Lin Qing and Zhao Jiayi changed into civilian clothes and went to a tea restaurant on Bai Xiang Street, known for its reputation and quality, for breakfast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Zhao Jiayi signaled he could proceed, they quickly finished breakfast and returned to the branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How was it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After entering the private rest room, Lin Qing turned to Zhao Jiayi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, everyone at the branch always assumed he and Zhao Jiayi had a special relationship—so frequent visits to the rest room raised no suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiayi thought for a moment and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The hotel has a device that shields life-detection sensors, and it’s clever—it never uses the hotel’s power, only backup sources, so patrols never found any anomalies through energy usage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to my mental probe, there are currently seventeen life-levels comparable to yours, three gene-awakened with significantly stronger life fields, and one white elderly man with an impossibly powerful life field, called ‘Professor Sog.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I suspect his control over genes is a higher tier—he can autonomously modify and synthesize genes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, from their conversations and reactions, one unawakened man named ‘Luo Wu’ clearly holds a uniquely elevated status—even higher than the three gene-awakened.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re trying to open the underground research facility’s door, and the condition seems to be gathering genetic map data from one thousand successfully modified individuals?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re almost there now—waiting for results from another facility.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiayi spoke slowly, thinking as she went, until she’d summarized everything she’d discovered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor Sog?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing pondered for a long moment. “A tier above gene-awakened? Someone who can autonomously synthesize and modify genes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t fully understand,” Zhao Jiayi said. “It’s something my uncle told me—he used to be a patrol officer. He taught me to distinguish levels of life evolution by assessing life field strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?” Lin Qing nodded slightly. “What’s above that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Above?” Zhao Jiayi thought. “My uncle called it ‘Primordial’—the level that breaks the genetic limits of life. He only mentioned the name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Primordial?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing pondered again. “How strong is Professor Sog? How does he compare to a Senior Patrol Chief?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Much, much stronger,” Zhao Jiayi said after thinking. “They’re not even on the same level—like the difference between an ordinary person and a gene-awakened.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder Zhao Jiayi had flinched in the car earlier—she must have sensed Professor Sog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lin Qing, what do we do now?” Zhao Jiayi asked anxiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you still have any of those anonymous phones left?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing said: “Write an anonymous report to Patrol Headquarters. Include key terms: Professor Sog, Primordial Research Institute, underground facility, life-detection shielding, underground passage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Zhao Jiayi. “Headquarters is preparing to thoroughly search Lancheng—once your report contains these terms, the AI system will flag it immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Report to Headquarters?” Zhao Jiayi frowned. “Not the Patrol System?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Patrol System connects directly to the city bureau,” Lin Qing shook his head slightly. “But the city bureau is compromised. Besides, this situation is beyond what the bureau can handle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiayi nodded slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She immediately pulled out an anonymous phone she’d prepared earlier—it was still unassembled, with many components, and couldn’t transmit signals automatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following Lin Qing’s instructions, she placed all the phone parts into a waterproof bag, then pretended to go out. Passing a park with sparse surveillance, she used her mental force to silently guide the bag into the park, hiding it among trees and grass, then made it fly into an artificial lake. Beneath the water, inside the waterproof bag, she assembled the phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the phone powered on underwater, she controlled it to compose an email and send it to Headquarters’ reporting platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, she shattered the phone again with her mental force, breaking it into countless fragments, tearing the waterproof bag, letting the parts sink to the lakebed, then hurled the empty bag far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An anonymous report with no traceable origin was complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>… Bai Xiang Street, Di Fu Hotel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the spacious, luxurious suite on the top floor, an elderly man with white hair and wrinkled skin sat at his desk, two 3D projection screens before him, scrolling information at astonishing speed—each second filled with vast data.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man sat slightly hunched, eyes fixed on the scrolling screens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike his frail, candle-in-the-wind body, his eyes were young and bright, brimming with boundless vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even around his eyes, where his gaze constantly moved, not a single wrinkle formed—his eyes remained vividly active.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t just reading ten lines per glance—it was more like reading ten pages per glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor Sog.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a young man in his twenties stepped out from the adjacent room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was young and muscular, his face nearly perfect, but his pupils flickered between dull darkness and cruel crimson, his skin alternately sprouting keratin and scales—as if in the next second he’d transform into a ferocious monster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has the institute finished yet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man growled: “Patrol Headquarters could arrive any moment—we’re running out of time, and I’m barely holding myself back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Luo Wu, my child, don’t rush. Even if Patrol Headquarters comes, it will take time to find you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog turned slightly. “Of the ten children adopted by Professor Luo, you have the highest talent—but because you’re too impatient, too obsessed with surpassing 100% gene optimization, you’ve never suppressed the instincts from your modified genes. You’re human, not a beast.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man, Luo Wu, growled: “Better to become a beast than to become livestock in the future.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only the living have the right to become livestock. Corpses are fit only for feed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog shook his head gently. “Calm down first. Otherwise, you’ll lose yourself before the facility even opens.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Wu silently closed his eyes, steadied himself for a while, and slowly, his abnormalities faded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Child, I have good news.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog smiled. “The thousandth successful gene modification has occurred. The genetic map data for one thousand individuals will be sent by the boss soon—the facility door will open.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Wu’s eyes lit up with excitement: “Maybe this facility holds the method to stabilize fourth-tier gene optimization—or even the Bio-Weapons of Zhixing Group?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Child, don’t let greed blind you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog slowly shook his head. “Stably using fourth-tier energy for gene optimization is something only Zhixing Group can achieve. It’s the crystallization of generations of advanced civilization. Even if Dr. Chu Hui learned it, making it usable for Earth humans would be nearly impossible. That’s not your concern now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed. “As for bio-weapons? They’re all incomplete. The cost of use is enormous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Better to die fighting than to become livestock,” Luo Wu growled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog shook his head. “The boss’s most brilliant No.10 isn’t even from Earth—he had no desire to live. Why should you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Wu fell silent, then said firmly: “Regardless, this underground facility is my last hope.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog sighed slowly. “Rest assured—I’ll guard here for you. Believe me, unless a Patrol Envoy arrives, no one will disturb you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“BEEP!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog’s watch suddenly blared a piercing alarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Only triggered in dire emergencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He frowned, opened the alert message, and his expression changed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Patrol Headquarters has already departed? Two Patrol Envoys leading the team? This… how could they move so fast?” Professor Sog murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?” Luo Wu froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gather everyone immediately. Wait by the facility door.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog growled. “Wait for the boss to transmit the thousand genetic maps. Then go straight in. Once you’re gene-awakened, you can’t enter. You still have a chance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But Patrol Headquarters has many senior patrol chiefs who aren’t gene-awakened. The urban ring has even more geniuses—if they all come to fight for it…” Luo Wu frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Sog said, “Almost all the geniuses from the urban zone become vassals of ZhiXing Group and look down on Dr. Chu Hui’s research. The real geniuses at Patrol Headquarters are also from the urban zone, and they look down on it too. You only need to watch out for those who haven’t yet become vassals of ZhiXing Group.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Wu nodded slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry,” Professor Sog said coldly. “Even if Patrol Headquarters arrives, I’ll find a way to buy more time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This day was destined to shake the entire Lin’an City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At ten a.m., the Emperor’s Mansion Hotel on White Oak Street collapsed violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the deterrence of ZhiXing Group, no one dared violate regulations by using banned items like bombs, or even touch them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The collapse was caused by pure, terrifying power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was said that someone watching from afar saw a monstrous, giant humanoid silhouette, as fearsome as a colossal beast, being surrounded and attacked by two other figures, roaring wildly as it smashed through the entire hotel, shattering one load-bearing wall after another until the building finally collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although all non-essential personnel had been evacuated by the Patrol before the hotel fell, the ruins alone were enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only those who knew the truth understood that this was the result of a battle between two Patrol Envoys and a terrifying criminal from the Original Research Institute inside the hotel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The criminal's strength appeared to surpass Headquarters' estimates—even with both Patrol Envoys working together, they failed to kill him, and he still managed to escape, albeit at the cost of his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the chaos subsided, both Patrol Envoys sustained minor injuries and confirmed the culprit behind this disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sog Brown, a criminal ranked as a Professor by the Original Research Institute, was officially added to the Black List of wanted criminals by Patrol Headquarters today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this the power of a Patrol Envoy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lin Qing led the city’s Patrol Task Force to secure the scene, he gazed at the distant, utterly collapsed hotel ruins and felt a chill in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merely witnessing this scene, he understood… within a short time, the gap between him and a Patrol Envoy would be nearly impossible to close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, without using Instant Light, his strength couldn’t even match a Senior Patrol Captain, let alone a Patrol Envoy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But… if I just wait one more day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Qing took a deep breath. “Tomorrow, I can advance-purchase the original version of the ‘Zi Zai Shen’ combat technique.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sorry, I felt drowsy after taking my medicine and only woke up to write this late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2178,"2026-06-20T02:41:34.488Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a07bad136955cc531da811283feb20ce1591a783123ec787fb5922e9c816545d","lawful-tyrant-chapter-97","lawful-tyrant-chapter-95",442,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flawful-tyrant-cover.jpg"]