29: Brother and sister

Li Wei felt as if his neck were being gripped by iron pincers; his feet left the ground, and his back collided violently with the hard wall, jarring his internal organs so much they felt displaced.

He wanted to struggle and call for help, but the cold eyes of the young man before him made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, freezing all his will to resist.

Zhang Xun and Wang Ming in the dormitory finally reacted from their shock.

The two of them, who were members of the school sports team and were used to acting like bullies on campus, grabbed nearby stools and swung them viciously at Lei Wen's back.

However, just as the two sturdy solid wood stools were about to strike Lei Wen's back, a strange change occurred.

Two bolts of black lightning, faster than shadows, silently darted in from the dim corridor outside the door.

The speed of those two black shadows was extreme, leaving behind only two blurry afterimages in human dynamic vision.

Immediately following that, two tooth-gritting sounds of metal shattering and two screams filled with pain and horror echoed in the dormitory.

The stools in Zhang Xun and Wang Ming's hands were intercepted mid-air by an irresistible, massive force, and then instantly exploded into a pile of wood chips, like scrap metal crushed by a hydraulic press.

Meanwhile, the two of them felt as if their wrists had been hit by a speeding car; a piercing pain shot through them, accompanied by the crisp sound of bones cracking, and they both flew backward uncontrollably, slamming heavily onto the floor.

Only then did they see the appearance of their attackers.

They were two monsters shaped like black metal cheetahs, the likes of which they had never seen before.

They stood quietly at the door, completely black, exuding a sense of streamlined muscularity and fatal beauty.

Their red electronic eyes flickered with a cold light under the dormitory's pale lamps.

"Robo... robot dogs?"

"What are these things... are they filming a movie?"

The two men wailing on the ground watched the scene before them, their minds falling into complete chaos.

Lei Wen didn't even look at what was happening behind him.

He still held Li Wei firmly against the wall with one hand; the latter was already so terrified by the eerie scene that his body had gone limp, and a foul stench even emanated from his crotch.

"I'll ask again," Lei Wen's voice was like a cold Siberian wind, "Is my sister someone you can just touch whenever you want?"

Li Wei looked into Lei Wen's cold eyes and then at the two metal monsters at the door that looked like hellhounds; his last shred of hope completely collapsed.

He shook his head frantically, only able to make "ho-ho" sounds because his throat was constricted, his eyes filled with terrified tears.

Lei Wen tossed him onto the floor like a piece of trash.

Then he turned around and slowly walked toward the two guys who were clutching their broken wrists and groaning in pain on the floor.

"You two," he said, looking down at them, "which hand were you planning to use to touch her?"

Watching the young man approach like a demon god, Zhang Xun and Wang Ming scrambled backward in terror.

"No... it wasn't us... Wei-ge made us do it!"

"We were wrong! We won't do it again! Please spare us!"

They begged for mercy, tears and snot streaming down their faces.

Lei Wen ignored their pleas.

He simply tilted his head toward the two silent 【Cleaner Combat Robots】 at the door.

One of the 【Cleaner Combat Robots】 walked in with elegant, silent steps.

It extended a tentacle made of liquid metal and picked up the wailing Zhang Xun like a small chick.

Then, amidst Zhang Xun's screams of terror and despair, the 【Cleaner Combat Robots】's other mechanical arm gripped his right arm with extreme precision.

"Crack!"

A scalp-numbing sound of bone snapping rang out.

Zhang Xun's right arm bent backward at an extremely bizarre angle.

"Ahhh—!!!"

A shrill scream echoed through the entire boys' dormitory building.

The other 【Cleaner Combat Robots】 handled Wang Ming in the same manner.

The entire process was clean and efficient, filled with a mechanical aesthetic of violence.

Lei Wen just watched quietly, without a single shred of pity in his eyes.

He might just be an ordinary person.

But the power in his hands was enough to turn him into the most terrifying demon god.

Soon, the entrance to Dorm 302 was crowded with students who had come to see the commotion.

When they saw the wreckage inside the dorm—as if a tornado had swept through—and the three Student Union bullies curled on the floor wailing in pain, they were all too shocked to speak.

And what shocked them even more was the scene that followed.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the two mysterious black robots dragged the semi-conscious Zhang Xun and Wang Ming out of the dormitory like two dead dogs.

Lei Wen followed behind, carrying the trembling Li Wei.

They walked all the way through the crowded corridor, down the stairs, and out of the dormitory building.

No one dared to step forward and stop them.

Everyone was stunned by this eerie and overbearing scene, and they could only blankly make way for them.

Eventually, Lei Wen's group arrived at an open space next to the school's sports field.

He had the 【Cleaner Combat Robots】 tie the three pieces of scum firmly to the lamp posts like hanging sausages using special restraint bands.

After finishing this, Lei Wen walked up to Li Wei, who was already crying hysterically.

He leaned down and whispered into his ear in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"I know your father is Li Jianguo, the president of Caisheng Group, and your mother is Wang Xiulan, the Dean of Academic Affairs at this school..."

Li Wei's crying stopped abruptly; he looked at Lei Wen in disbelief, as if looking at a devil.

"I know about your father's company's tax evasion, I know how many bribes your mother has accepted using her position..." Lei Wen's voice was like a demonic sound from the Nine Depths, "I even know what drug you put in your girlfriend's milk tea last night."

"If you don't want your whole family to go to jail, and you don't want the Caisheng Group's stocks to become scrap paper by tomorrow morning..."

"Stay away from Renee."

"Understand?"

Li Wei looked into Lei Wen's eyes, which seemed exceptionally deep under the streetlights, feeling as if he were being seen through from the inside out.

He nodded frantically, like a chicken pecking at grain, his face covered in tears and snot.

"I understand! I understand! I won't do it again! I swear!"

Having received a satisfactory answer, Lei Wen stood up straight.

He took out his phone and dialed the private number of the Dikui City Municipal Party Secretary.

"Hello, Secretary Zhang? This is Lei Wen." His tone returned to its usual calm and steadiness. "I have a small matter here that I need your help with. Yes, at Dikui University of Technology..."

Amidst the shocked, respectful, and slightly fearful gazes of the surrounding students, Lei Wen hung up the phone and prepared to turn and leave.

He didn't want to stay here too long to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

However, just as he was about to leave, a voice he was most familiar with and least wanted to hear here rang out from the crowd.

"...Brother?"

The voice was very light, carrying a hint of uncertainty and a slight tremble.

Lei Wen's body suddenly stiffened.

He slowly turned around and saw a petite figure in the crowd, hand over her mouth, eyes filled with shock.

It was Renee.

She had clearly been drawn here by the commotion, but she never expected to see such a scene, much less that the person who had beaten Li Wei and the other two was her brother, who usually seemed a bit like an otaku.

Lei Wen stopped in his tracks.

He looked at his sister, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He sighed, and then, ignoring the gossip-filled and curious gazes of the hundreds of students around him, he walked straight through the crowd to Renee.

He didn't speak; he just reached out, gently rubbed her hair, and then took her cold little hand.

"Come with me."

With that, he pulled the still-dazed Renee and walked out of the campus step by step under the gaze of everyone, which was like Moses parting the sea... back to that low-key black off-road vehicle, the atmosphere inside the car was somewhat heavy.

Lei Wen started the car; the 【Cleaner Combat Robots】 had already silently returned to the back seat.

Renee kept her head down, her hands twisting the hem of her clothes without saying a word.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lei Wen finally broke the silence.

"I..." Renee's voice carried a hint of a sob, "I thought I could handle it myself... I didn't want to trouble you with everything..."

"I was afraid you'd worry..."

"And... I felt that at my age, needing my brother's protection was embarrassing..."

As she spoke, her eyes turned red, and crystalline tears welled up.

Looking at her aggrieved yet stubborn expression, Lei Wen's anger had long been replaced by heartache.

He pulled the car over to the side of the road and reached out to gently pat Renee's shoulder.

"Silly girl." His voice was soft enough to melt ice. "I'm your brother; isn't it only natural for me to protect you?"

"Besides," he chuckled, feigning a relaxed air, "who told your brother to be so powerful now?"

He briefly explained the situation to Renee, though he omitted all the core secrets regarding the Faleim People and the white flower.

He only said that through some coincidences, he had founded a very powerful company and gained some influence, so he could easily solve these small troubles.

Renee listened, only half-understanding; she looked at her brother's profile, which had lost its youthfulness and become steady and resolute, her heart filled with complex emotions—gratitude, relief, and a hint of admiration she couldn't quite explain.

To cheer up his sister, Lei Wen didn't take her directly back to school.

He drove Renee aimlessly through the busiest streets of Dikui City to enjoy the breeze.

The brilliant neon lights outside the window flowed with color, illuminating Renee's small face, which still bore tear tracks, in a kaleidoscope of hues.

They went to the liveliest night market, where Lei Wen generously bought her several beautiful outfits she had long had her eye on but couldn't bring herself to buy.

They ate skewers at a roadside stall and drank sweet juice, chatting like the most ordinary brother and sister about school anecdotes and future plans.

They even competed in shooting balloons at a park stall like children.

With the "friendly tips" from the white flower, Lei Wen hit every shot, winning a plush bear for Renee that was larger than she was.

Renee followed behind Lei Wen, clutching the giant bear; the gloom on her face had finally vanished, replaced by a brilliant smile.

It was late at night.

When Lei Wen stopped the car at the university gate again, Renee's mood had improved significantly.

"Brother, thank you," Renee said softly before getting out of the car.

"Why are you being so polite with me?" Lei Wen rubbed her head with a smile. "Tell me immediately if anything like this happens again, okay?"

"Mm..." Renee nodded, her small face turning slightly red.

She suddenly leaned in and, before Lei Wen could react, gave him a light kiss on the cheek, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

Then, without waiting for any reaction from Lei Wen, she pushed open the car door with a red face and ran toward the school gate without looking back, clutching the giant plush bear.

Lei Wen sat stunned in the driver's seat, instinctively touching his cheek.

A trace of the girl's warmth and fragrance still lingered there.

He watched the petite figure disappear into the school gate, shaking his head helplessly yet dotingly after a long while.

"Honestly..."

"She's already so big, yet she still acts like a child," he muttered to himself.

Outside the car window, the city lights remained brilliant.