31: Chapter 31 Seizure in Accordance with the Law

Western suburbs of Yanjing, Xiao Family Manor.

The mansion, which had been brightly lit just half an hour ago, now resembled a poked hornet's nest, filled with a deathly silence of panic and despair.

"Quick! Burn all these account books! And that hard drive, smash it with a hammer! Throw it in the toilet and flush it!"

Xiao Yuanshan was drenched in sweat; the collar of his expensive, handmade custom suit was ripped open, and his usually well-groomed hair was now as messy as a bird's nest.

He knelt before the fireplace in the study, frantically throwing documents into the fire basin. The firelight illuminated his face, which was severely distorted by fear.

The Old Ancestor had been defeated.

That Half-step Golden Core Old Ancestor, who was worshipped as a god in the Xiao Family and viewed Mortals as ants, had actually been dragged away like a dead dog by that kid surnamed Gu.

They even brought out nuclear bombs! Who the hell can withstand that?

"Family Head! It's bad!" The butler stumbled in, having lost one of his shoes, "The accounts... all overseas accounts have been frozen! I just tried to transfer some resettlement funds, but it prompted that the funds were abnormal and they have already been locked!"

Xiao Yuanshan's hand trembled, and a black ledger that hadn't been burned yet fell to the floor.

"It's over... It's all over..." He slumped to the floor, his eyes losing focus.

Just at that moment.

"BOOM!!!"

With a deafening roar, the million-dollar red sandalwood door, rumored to be bulletproof, was violently forced open by the ram of a special operations vehicle, sending wood splinters flying like shrapnel.

Immediately after, several cylindrical objects were tossed in, tracing graceful parabolas through the air.

"BANG! BANG!"

Blinding white light, accompanied by a deafening roar capable of shattering eardrums, exploded in the living room. They were military-grade flashbangs.

"Ah— My eyes!"

"My ears! I can't hear anything!"

The core members of the Xiao Family, who were busy packing gold and valuables in the living room, screamed and collapsed to the floor, rolling in pain while clutching their eyes and ears.

At this moment, whatever ancient martial arts techniques or Internal Energy protection they had were completely ineffective against modern tactical equipment.

The forced overload of their physiological functions caused them to instantly lose all combat capability.

Heavy tactical boots crushed the porcelain shards on the floor, emitting a heart-stopping crisp sound.

Dozens of fully armed Special Police surged in like a black tide, the infrared laser beams on their Type 95 assault rifles weaving a net of death amidst the smoke and dust.

"Nobody move!"

"Hands on your heads! Kneel down!"

"Any further resistance will be met with lethal force!"

Cold gun barrels pressed against the foreheads of every Xiao Family member, who usually looked down on everyone else.

Those "Martial Forest experts" who usually relied on the Family's influence to bully others were now more obedient than quails, trembling as they knelt on the ground with their heads buried low.

The smoke and dust cleared.

Gu Changan stepped over the door fragments on the floor and walked into the luxuriously extravagant hall.

He was still wearing his immaculate black uniform, the badge on his shoulder glinting coldly under the lights. In his hand, he held a document stamped with a bright red official seal, followed by Chen Xiaobei, who was carrying a laptop.

Gu Changan scanned the surroundings.

On the walls hung authentic works by Tang Bohu, in the corners stood half-person-tall official kiln vases from the Song Dynasty, and even the carpet on the floor was woven from the fur of some unknown Spirit Beast.

"Tsk."

Gu Changan reached out and wiped a hand across a purple sandalwood shelf; seeing the non-existent dust on his fingertips, a cold smirk curled the corner of his mouth.

"So this is the so-called Hidden Family? Every brick and tile here is likely soaked in the hard-earned money of the common people."

At this moment, Xiao Yuanshan was dragged out of the study by two Special Police. Although disheveled, he hadn't completely lost his reason; he stared fixedly at Gu Changan, attempting a final struggle.

"Gu Changan! This is trespassing! You are settling a personal vendetta!"

Xiao Yuanshan struggled to stand up, but was firmly pinned down by the shoulders by the Special Police. He could only stiffen his neck and roar: "We in the Xiao Family are law-abiding citizens! This manor has a deed! Our businesses are tax-paying and legal! On what grounds are you arresting us? I want to see my lawyer! I will report you for abuse of power!"

"Law-abiding citizens?"

Gu Changan looked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. He didn't refute it, just slightly tilted his head to signal Chen Xiaobei behind him.

"Keyboard, read the 'law-abiding record' to Family Head Xiao."

Chen Xiaobei pushed up his glasses, his fingers tapped rapidly on the Keyboard, and then he turned the laptop screen toward Xiao Yuanshan.

"Xiao Yuanshan, male, fifty-four years old. Current head of the Xiao Family, Chairman of Yanjing Yuanshan Trading Group."

"Ten years ago, in order to seize this piece of land in the western suburbs to build the manor, you ordered your subordinates to break the legs of three households who refused to move. You even caused a bizarre fire, resulting in the deaths of a Family of four. Case file number B-2014-779, it was classified as an accidental fire at the time, but that was a fabrication you bought with bribes."

Xiao Yuanshan's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Chen Xiaobei continued to read, his voice growing louder and his speed faster.

"Five years ago, to monopolize the traditional Chinese medicine market in Yanjing, you sent Family Martial Artists to assassinate the chairman of your competitor, Li's Pharmaceuticals, and encased the body in concrete, sinking it into the Miyun Reservoir. I have already sent the coordinates of the body to the Criminal Investigation Detachment; they are likely dredging it up right now."

"Three years ago, you participated in a transnational arms smuggling case, selling four thousand light weapons to illegal armed groups abroad through your shell shipping company, profiting 320 million."

"And there is also suspicion of organizing a mafia-style organization, illegal detention, money laundering, tax evasion..."

Chen Xiaobei read for five minutes straight without taking a single breath.

With every point read, Xiao Yuanshan's body went limp. By the time the last crime was read, he was like a pile of mud, his eyes unfocused, lips trembling, unable to speak a complete sentence.

"You... how could you... these matters were clearly handled cleanly..."

Gu Changan took over, slapping the thick stack of printed documents in his hand directly onto Xiao Yuanshan's face. The sharp edges of the A4 paper sliced his skin, leaving a bloody streak.

"As long as it was done, it will leave a trace."

Gu Changan looked down at him from above, his eyes more piercing than the flashbangs from earlier.

"In the face of the nation's big data, your so-called 'cleanliness' is nothing but burying your head in the sand. We didn't move against you before not because we couldn't find out, but because we hadn't had the time to deal with you social tumors yet."

"Mafia involvement, money laundering, arms smuggling, intentional homicide... Each and every one of these, combined under the Criminal Law, is enough to get your head shot ten times over."

Gu Changan straightened his cuffs, his voice as cold as a final verdict.

"Take him away!"

With a wave of his hand, the Special Police roughly pulled up the Xiao Family members from the floor.

"CLICK! CLICK!"

The crisp sound of handcuffs echoed one after another. Those once arrogant Xiao Family core members and Martial Artist experts were now strung together like grasshoppers, dejectedly being escorted into police cars.

Outside the manor, police lights flashed, dyeing the night sky of the western suburbs of Yanjing in red and blue.

After clearing the hall, Gu Changan did not rush to leave. He walked straight to the study and came to that huge red sandalwood bookshelf.

According to the System's scanning prompt, there was a hidden compartment here.

He reached out and pressed on a copy of "Zizhi Tongjian" on the third shelf.

"CLICK."

A mechanical sound rang out, and the bookshelf slowly moved aside, revealing a deep underground passage behind it. A rich scent of medicinal herbs mixed with the smell of old books rushed towards him.

"Let's go, let's go down and take a look."

Gu Changan took a few technicians and went down.

The basement was not dark; on the contrary, it was brightly lit. It not only had a constant temperature and humidity System, but was even lined with moisture-proof lead plates.

Rows of antique shelves were filled with various thread-bound ancient books and jade bottles with seals.

"Great Vajra Palm", "Flowing Cloud Steps", "Primordial Qi Gong"...

And those bottles and jars: Small Restoration Pill, Body Tempering Paste, Century-old Ginseng...

These items, if placed in the outside Martial World, could trigger bloody conflicts and make people fight tooth and nail for them. But in Gu Changan's eyes, this was just a pile of evidence to be processed.

"Team Leader, how... how should we handle this?" Chen Xiaobei looked at the room full of treasures, his eyes slightly glazed, "If we auctioned these off, it could at least cover the hundreds of millions in losses caused by the Xiao Family."

"Auction?"

Gu Changan casually picked up a copy of "Great Vajra Palm", flipped through two pages, and shook his head in disdain.

"This kind of low-level martial art, if practiced too much, easily causes joint damage; it's just at the level of physical fitness. Selling it to the common people would be scamming them."

He casually threw the Secret Manual to the assistant behind him, his tone as casual as if he were disposing of waste paper.

"Register and catalog everything, then confiscate it."

"Pack up these martial arts Secret Manuals and send them to the General Administration of Sport. Have them find a few sports medicine experts to improve the force-generating techniques inside, remove the harmful dross, and compile a new set of broadcast gymnastics."

"Huh?" The assistant was stunned, "Broadcast gymnastics? For students to practice?"

"Yes, I've already thought of the name: 'The 10th Set of National Primary and Middle School Student Young Eagle Takeoff: Martial Arts Edition'. Strive to promote it to the entire army and all primary and middle schools nationwide by next semester."

Gu Changan pointed to those bottled and jarred Medicinal Pills.

"As for these medicines, send them to the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Biology.

Let them analyze the ingredients and see if they can extract effective substances to make affordable nutritional supplements or military trauma medicine.

Don't engage in any 'hard to get for a thousand gold' hunger marketing; I want this stuff to enter every household like Banlangen."

Chen Xiaobei listened, dumbfounded.

Turning Martial Forest Secret Manuals into broadcast gymnastics? Turning Spirit Pills into Banlangen?

This operation... it's practically digging up the ancestral graves of the Ancient Martial World and then planting vegetables on top!

Is this the power of the national apparatus?