Chapter 11: Shen San: You Truly Are Not Human
This scene left Shen San and the others utterly stunned. They never expected Li Dao to use such a method against the Little Madman.
Finally, when Li Dao felt it was enough, he stopped and released the Little Madman.
With a thud, the Little Madman plopped down onto the ground, his eyes vacant as he stared straight ahead, unable to come back to his senses for a long while.
At that moment, it was as if he saw his great-grandmother waving to him.
About five minutes passed before a spark returned to the Little Man’s eyes, and the madness began to slowly resurface. Yet, when he caught sight of Li Dao nearby, that flicker of madness vanished instantly, replaced by panic and helplessness.
“Ahhh!” he cried out in a panicked frenzy, scrambling and crawling away to a corner. From there, he peered cautiously at Li Dao from afar, as if terrified that he might be caught again and subjected to another wild spinning torment.
Not far off, Shen San couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. “Brother, you really know how to handle things.”
Then he turned to Wei Yun. “This Little Madman has been subdued by this brother here. I guess we’re good, right?”
Wei Yun snapped back to reality and nodded. He was also amazed by Li Dao’s approach to handling the Little Madman and held a newfound respect in his heart.
“Then that just leaves the big guy.”
Mentioning the big guy, Shen San glanced nervously at the nearby little giant. If they couldn’t handle the Little Madman, how could they possibly deal with someone who looked so tough?
Though Shen San himself was no lightweight, flesh and muscle could hardly be compared—he was simply outmatched in sheer strength.
He couldn’t help but look toward Li Dao again. “Brother, maybe you should take care of him?”
Li Dao gave this cowardly fatty a sideways glance.
But there seemed no other option for now. Without Wei Yun stepping in, it was up to him to try and “convince” this little giant.
Suddenly, the little giant, who had been zoning out, stirred.
He turned his head to Li Dao, pointing to himself and muttering, “If you can beat me in strength, I’ll listen to you.”
Before Li Dao could respond, Shen San hurriedly interjected.
“Hey, big guy, haven’t you noticed your size? If you want to compare strength with this brother, why not compare agility with that little guy over there?”
He gestured toward the Little Madman hiding in the corner.
The Little Madman bared his teeth and growled at the annoying fatty nearby but shrank back upon seeing the one who had just spun him around, too scared to act out.
The little giant paid no attention to Shen San, his gaze fixed on Li Dao.
“Alright, I agree.”
Li Dao finally nodded in acceptance.
Though the little giant appeared to be a powerhouse, Li Dao was no slouch either.
His physique was nearly ten times that of an ordinary person—that was not for show.
At the same time, he was curious to test just how strong this big guy really was.
“Foolish,” Shen San shouted.
To him, Li Dao going up against this big guy in a strength contest was a sure way to get himself killed.
Wei Yun watched the scene with great interest.
“Alright, how shall we compete?”
Li Dao looked at the little giant and asked straightforwardly.
“Like this.”
The little giant extended a hand and placed it on the only stone table in the room.
Li Dao glanced at it and nodded. “Fine.”
They both approached the stone table, placing their hands on it simultaneously.
Although Li Dao’s hand was not small, it looked rather delicate compared to the giant hand of the little giant. Anyone could see the disparity.
“Brother, good luck.”
Though knowing the odds were slim, Shen San came over to cheer Li Dao on, preferring to encourage rather than discourage.
“I’ll be the referee.”
Wei Yun stepped forward and clasped both their hands.
“Begin!”
At the signal, Li Dao and the little giant exerted force simultaneously.
In the next instant, Li Dao felt a terrifying power radiate from his wrist.
In just a moment’s contact, his hand was pushed to the other side.
He took a deep breath, muscles swelling fiercely, veins popping as both hands locked in midair.
The little giant pressed down with all his might, but Li Dao could not retaliate—for now.
Ten times the physique of a normal man still could not surpass the little giant; his strength was truly exceptional.
The two were locked in a stalemate—neither able to overpower the other.
Perhaps because of the intense pressure, the stone table beneath them began to tremble.
Centered around their elbows, cracks started to spiderweb across the surface.
Crack!
Suddenly, the stone table shattered with a loud snap, and both instinctively released their grip, leaving a pile of rubble on the floor.
“How do we decide? How do we judge this?”
Shen San looked anxiously at Wei Yun and asked.
“Well...” Wei Yun found himself at a loss.
Then the little giant spoke up.
He looked at Li Dao and muttered, “You’re impressive. I admit defeat.”
With that, he turned and stood by the wall, zoning out again.
Shen San’s face lit up immediately. “Looks like all five of us are in agreement now.”
Li Dao shook his head and stepped aside silently.
Wei Yun smiled faintly at Shen San. “Didn’t I say from the start? The purpose of today is to invite you all to help the Weiwu Camp. Why would I disagree?”
“Wait!” Shen San frowned. “If you invited us, shouldn’t you be the one persuading all five of us?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why is it like we’re convincing ourselves?”
“Who knows.”
Shen San suddenly turned to Li Dao with a look of resignation. “Brother, did you suspect this all along?”
“Mm.”
In truth, Li Dao had guessed since Shen San returned.
The whole thing was just the scheming leader toying with the cowardly middle-aged fatty.
Shen San scratched his head, feeling wronged. “Then why didn’t you tell us?”
Li Dao pointed at the Little Madman. “Did I ever give you a chance to listen?”
Shen San’s expression turned awkward—it seemed he had been messing things up from the start.
Li Dao didn’t mind.
Since they were teaming up, he wanted to test these “teammates’” abilities.
With things clarified, Shen San wasn’t foolish; after some thought, he understood the situation.
He said to Wei Yun, “You really are something else.”
...
After a short incense burn, the five sat together.
Shen San, the old man, and the little giant were quiet and composed.
Only the Little Madman tried to cause trouble but was silenced with a single glance from Li Dao.
Seeing this, Wei Yun smiled gently. “As I said at the beginning, I ask you five to help resolve three matters for the Weiwu Camp. None of these are suicide missions. Afterward, I will restore your household registrations and grant you freedom. The terms agreeable?”
“No...” Shen San was about to say no problem but suddenly recalled previous events. He quickly covered his mouth and looked cautiously at Li Dao. “Brother, is this guy’s promise trustworthy?”
Li Dao glanced at Shen San and slowly said, “No problem.”
Wei Yun sighed, looking at Li Dao. “If only you weren’t so clever.”
If not for this 9527 before him, the conditions offered would probably not be so straightforward.
Curious, he asked, “9527, how did you know my bottom line was three matters?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why did you say it?”
Li Dao shrugged. “Isn’t that just normal bargaining? Who would expect me to say three matters and you’d agree so easily?”
“I...” Wei Yun was speechless at Li Dao’s sincerity.
“Hahaha, even you can get played sometimes,” Shen San burst out laughing.
Regaining composure, Wei Yun took a deep breath and looked at Li Dao. “Were you deceiving me?”
Li Dao smiled slightly. “Commander Wei, don’t take it personally. Just a joke.”
Wei Yun didn’t get angry; instead, he showed a satisfied smile. “Looks like Captain Liu chose well. You’re smart and truly suited to lead these four.”
He pulled a thin booklet from his bosom and handed it to Li Dao.
“What’s this?”
“A register with the individual profiles of the other four, but not yours.”
“Why not mine?”
“You’re different. Your identity has been completely erased. To the outside world, you’re considered dead. The other four, due to their special status, have been registered, so their information remains.”
Wei Yun frowned slightly. “Honestly, with your skills, you should also have a record and not have your entire registration erased. I just don’t know why there’s no trace of you at all.”
Hearing this, Li Dao understood a bit more.
Ordinary people, due to their commonness and the low chance of leaving the death row camp alive, are recorded but their registrations erased. This doesn’t matter much because the final result is death and the loss of registration.
While exceptional prisoners like Shen San, with extraordinary skills, are rare.
Though entering the death row camp should erase registration, their special status means some information is preserved.
Li Dao, however, was a pure anomaly.
Without the system, he probably would have died on his first death row mission, never joining this special group of five.
Picking up the register, Li Dao flipped to the first page, and the contents came into view.
Name: Shen San
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Crime: Theft, extortion, kidnapping
Cultivation: Postnatal Level Six
Details: Skilled in lightness technique, hidden weapons, lockpicking, and mechanisms
Shen San leaned over curiously and said, “Are you sure about this? I’m a master thief; when have I ever kidnapped anyone?”
Wei Yun replied coolly, “Didn’t you tie up a child the last time you stole something?”
Shen San’s eyes widened. “I never expected that kid to show up. I only tied him up to keep him quiet. How is that kidnapping?”
Wei Yun smiled. “Do you know why a petty thief like you ended up in this death row camp?”
Shen San was stunned. “Could it be because of that kid?”
“Exactly. That child is the emperor’s brother-in-law. Otherwise, you, a common thief, wouldn’t have drawn the attention of the Jinyiwei.”
Emperor’s brother-in-law?
Shen San’s mind instantly collapsed.
Nearby, Li Dao paid no attention to their exchange.
He understood why Wei Yun handed this to him: as he said, Li Dao needed to be the leader of these five.
Looking at the other four, he found himself oddly doubtful about how easy that role would be.