Chapter 314: A Heroic Personality
Xia Ying said, "Alright, there are still thirty seconds left! In thirty seconds, the world will be destroyed. Half of humanity will vanish completely. But you, your family, your friends, your relatives, your loved ones, your classmates... everyone you cherish will be fine. Now, I'll begin the countdown."
"Hey, hey, hey..."
"Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven..."
"Damn it!" Lu Chengwen was so anxious that he started crying. "You always do this! Why can't you let Long Aotian handle this? That big male protagonist doesn't do anything, and you always make me deal with it… Damn all of you!"
"Twenty-five, twenty-four, twenty-three..."
Lu Chengwen roared in anger, "Let it all be destroyed! It wasn't me who caused it, anyway. I've got a clear conscience and walk upright. Even in the underworld, I can stand tall. I don't owe you, and I don't owe this world anything. This world owes me! Damn it!"
Lu Chengwen was already close to breaking free from his restraints.
Cui Hao leaned closer to the microphone and said anxiously, "Xia Ying, he's losing it. Stop! Stop now!"
The chairman blocked Cui Hao and shook his head.
Xia Ying stared firmly at Lu Chengwen. "Twenty, nineteen, eighteen..."
Lu Chengwen cursed at the top of his lungs, "I'll count down for you! Seventeen, sixteen, fifteen, fourteen... Damn it, I'm not some saint! Every day, there are so many tragedies in this world—can I save them all? Everything depends on me alone? What did I ever do to deserve this? I won't save them! Let as many die as they want! With fewer people, I'll still be rich. I… I'll indulge in pleasure… I'll sleep with beautiful women every day... I… I…"
Xia Ying continued her countdown, resolute. "Thirteen, twelve..."
Lu Chengwen suddenly burst into tears. "Stop counting already! I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll go die, alright? Damn all of you! You only bully honest people! Boohoo... I can't go back anymore, I'll never go back… Hahaha… Wah... Mom! I'm sorry! Mom! Mother… ah..."
Tears rolled down Xia Ying's face.
But her gaze remained firm.
"Lu Chengwen, you can save the world, but your ankle is shackled with an iron chain."
Xiong Panpan was crying. "She's still going on!?"
Yu Shasha also wiped her tears. "Isn't this too cruel?"
Lu Chengwen laughed hysterically. "Alright then, let the world perish. To hell with it all!"
"But you have an axe in your hand."
Lu Chengwen became agitated. "I'll chop! I'll chop! Hurry, let me chop! Quickly!"
"The chain cannot be cut."
Lu Chengwen roared like a madman. "Damn it!"
"Nine, eight, seven... Lu Chengwen! The chain cannot be cut. What will you do?"
"What's the point of chopping the chain? I'll chop my foot! Chop my foot off! Chop it! Chop it!"
The chairman spoke, "Xia Ying."
Xia Ying immediately said, "The world is saved!"
Lu Chengwen's body went rigid. He was only inhaling but not exhaling. For a long time, he finally let out a long breath.
His entire body relaxed, slumping into the chair, gasping for air.
Xia Ying's face was filled with guilt as she gently wiped the sweat from Lu Chengwen's forehead.
"Lu Chengwen, you're amazing. You saved the world."
Lu Chengwen panted, too weak to reply.
Xia Ying spoke gently, "Lu Chengwen, you're about to die. What's the last thing you want to say to this world?"
Lu Chengwen burst into tears. "That's great, that's great... It's finally over… Boohoo..."
"Don't cry anymore. Leave the last words you want to give to this world."
Lu Chengwen lay there, mumbling in a daze. "Next life… let me be Long Aotian..."
Everyone exchanged glances, feeling that his last words were... strange.
Xia Ying gave Lu Chengwen another injection.
"Lu Chengwen, this is good for you. It will make you feel better."
"Alright… alright..."
"From now on, the world has become a better place. All the bad people are gone. People go to work, return home, fall in love, and watch movies as usual..."
Lu Chengwen smiled, his expression peaceful.
"Little puppies and kittens are fighting. The sky is blue with white clouds. On the playground, many kids are playing soccer..."
Lu Chengwen was already on the verge of falling asleep.
"You're tired. Have a good rest."
As soon as Xia Ying finished speaking, Lu Chengwen began snoring softly.
In the conference room.
Everyone was silent.
The chairman coughed. "Xia Ying, share your thoughts."
Xia Ying seemed to wake up from a dream. She looked around blankly before gathering her thoughts.
She glanced at her notes for a moment, then calmly said:
"Let me start with my conclusion. Lu Chengwen is a typical contradictory personality with saintly qualities. He has a hero-type personality, willing to risk everything, even sacrificing himself, to save the world in critical moments."
Everyone exchanged looks, not surprised by this conclusion.
Xia Ying continued, "From many of his reactions and responses, this person is very peculiar. He is extremely insecure, like a child who grew up in hardship, nervous even at the sight of an elevator in the city for the first time."
"But what's even stranger is that he's sometimes incredibly arrogant. He has the intelligence and vision to contend with great figures."
"Every word he says is the truth, but in terms of logic and reality, it's often contradictory and filled with conflict. Honestly, much of what he says is beyond my analysis. His subconscious protection of these pieces of information is incredibly strong. Knowing he's up against the president of a trillion-dollar corporation and a martial arts expert, my dosage wasn't light, yet he still refused to reveal core details."
Xiong Panpan pouted. "Is he... okay?"
Xia Ying smiled warmly. "Don't worry. He's stronger than you think. This is the first time I've seen someone last so long in my formation. And honestly, he still had strength left."*
Everyone in the room was utterly shocked.
Xia Ying's formation had "tested" countless big shots, all kinds of people.
Not a single one hadn't collapsed, and none had lasted more than five minutes.
But Lu Chengwen had lasted nearly twenty minutes, and Xia Ying said he still had more in him?
The Chairman asked, "Anything else?"
Xia Ying replied, "This person's willpower is extremely strong, as if… he's died many times and has an extraordinary and detached understanding of life and death that surpasses ordinary people. Yet, outwardly, he seems very stubborn, very afraid of dying, and unwilling to cause trouble."
Xia Ying continued, "Moreover, when faced with difficulties, he doesn't back down. He has immense potential. In situations where others would feel despair, he keeps finding ways, firmly believing he can win. Or rather… he never waits passively for death. As long as he's breathing, he'll think of a way."
"On the surface, he's a man driven by material desires—houses, cars, women. But deep down, his spiritual world is purer, craving interaction and fulfillment on a spiritual level."
"This man has a sharp tongue, but it's just a facade. He has an intense sense of insecurity, as if he's always ready to leave this world at any moment. So, his venom, greed, lust, and cowardice, his evasiveness… these are all just his protective armor."
"If you don't understand this, you can't reach his inner world."
After Xia Ying said all this, the room fell silent.
To be honest, Lu Chengwen's performance today had terrified everyone.
He was nothing like the Lu Chengwen they thought they knew.
Cui Hao and Cui Jingyuan had even placed bets earlier, predicting Lu Chengwen would wet his pants in under three minutes and Xia Ying would withdraw the formation.
But when Lu Chengwen had been willing to cut off his own foot to save the world, the two men were genuinely impressed by him.
Under Xia Ying's cold and ruthless formation, countless sanctimonious big shots had shown their true colors. Yet Lu Chengwen revealed a noble soul entirely different from his outward appearance.
The Chairman said, "Lu Chengwen is far too complex. I can't even tell what the key point is anymore."
"The word he mentioned most was 'Long Aotian.' He seems obsessed with Long Aotian, firmly believing that Long Aotian should be the one to save the world while he indulges in a life of luxury."
"And saving the world! Why does this man even have such thoughts? Does the world need saving? And what does 'frozen' mean? We just can't make sense of it."
Cui Hao said, "And another thing! His mother is perfectly healthy, and he himself is a major shareholder in a pharmaceutical group. Yet he's shouting about making money to cure his mother. It's so bizarre!"
Cui Jingyuan added, "He's got a whole bunch of girlfriends. When asked, he says he loves them all. Then when asked again, he says he doesn't like having too many girlfriends… This man is truly contradictory."
Yu Shasha said, "And Hun Tian Gang! Does such a strange person even exist? From the way he talks, it's like he can do anything, as if he's omnipotent!"
The Chairman said, "Exploring the Seven Star Peaks!"
At this moment, someone knocked on the door. "Chairman, Hua Xue'ning is causing a scene. She's demanding to see Lu Chengwen."
The Chairman chuckled, "Lu Chengwen should be waking up soon. Let's head out."
The person replied, "You'd better hurry. At first, we could calm her down by lavishly praising her master, which made her overjoyed. But now that everyone's run out of compliments, she's starting to suspect something's wrong. If Lu Chengwen doesn't come out soon, she's going to take action."
…
Lu Chengwen woke up after a full, deep sleep. He put on his coat and rubbed his head.
Looking up at Xia Ying, he said, "My head feels a bit dizzy."
Xia Ying replied, "You slept so deeply that no one could wake you."
Lu Chengwen said, "I think I had a dream."
"Oh? What kind of dream?"
Lu Chengwen decided to keep the truth to himself. With a sly grin, he walked over to Xia Ying and said, "I dreamed we had dinner together, and then you came back to my villa for the night."
Xia Ying smiled.
At this moment, she really found this man interesting. Clearly, he had dreamed of something painful, yet he now pretended to act like a rogue in front of her.
"Is that so? Dreams might just come true, you know."
"Oh?" Lu Chengwen smirked mischievously. "How about tomorrow? I'll have my secretary pick you up for dinner. At my place. My bed's big and comfy."
"Sure." Xia Ying smiled.
"Huh?" Lu Chengwen was dumbfounded. "S-Sure?"
"Yeah. Whether we eat or not isn't important. I'm more interested in your bed."
Lu Chengwen couldn't believe it. Even such blatant flirting worked?
"Hahaha!" Lu Chengwen pointed a finger at Xia Ying with a cheeky grin. "It's a deal!"
At this moment, there was a commotion outside the door.
When Lu Chengwen opened the door, he saw Xiong Panpan and Hua Xue'ning fighting again.
Xiong Panpan and Zhao Lulu, two girls, couldn't hold back Hua Xue'ning on their own.
Lu Chengwen shouted, "Stop!"
The three of them immediately stopped and looked at him.
Lu Chengwen ran over, and Hua Xue'ning excitedly asked, "Master, are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Lu Chengwen asked with concern, "What about you? Are you hurt?"
Hua Xue'ning shook her head. "What were you doing for so long? I was worried about you."
"Good girl!" Lu Chengwen kissed her forehead.
At this moment, the Chairman walked over. "Mr. Lu, you're awake?"
As soon as Lu Chengwen saw the Chairman, his expression darkened. "Mr. Li, what did you do to me?"
The Chairman frowned slightly. Did he still remember something?!
"Nothing much. We talked for a while and had a drink. You said you wanted to rest, and then you fell asleep."
"Impossible!" Lu Chengwen waved his hand domineeringly and pointed at Xia Ying.
"With such a sexy beauty here, there's no way I could've fallen asleep!"