Yes, better safe than sorry.
Brother 996 got right to work, starting to collect biometric data on the relevant key figures.
Who were the key figures?
Of course, the Guan Family members surrounding Shen Ju.
Guan Mulin, Qin Soxi, Guan Muya, Guan Lifeng, and Guan Jianshan.
Yep, all of them needed to be shielded.
As it worked, Brother 996 reported Guan Mulin’s current location to Shen Ju.
【He’s out on the veranda—the one with the little pond below.】
It also checked the upgrade progress after fixing that bug. Hmm, already over 90%. It’d be done soon. Not bad speed, it thought.
Shen Ju hummed in acknowledgment and turned to Qin Soxi. “I want to step out for a bit.”
Qin Soxi seemed to pick up on his discomfort. The moment he spoke, she smiled and ruffled his hair. “Go ahead, baby.”
Then, as if offhand, she added, “Arlin mentioned wanting to go out for a stroll and enjoy the scenery too. You know he hates these kinds of events. If he doesn’t want to come in, don’t take it to heart.”
“Uh, I mean… if you run into him out there.”
Shen Ju dropped his gaze and mumbled a few vague responses.
In front of Qin Soxi, he often felt awkward and tongue-tied, desperate to escape.
After leaving the banquet hall, Shen Ju walked toward the veranda with his head down.
He hadn’t gotten close when he heard a grating voice.
“Guan Mulin, our class president. Doesn’t seem too happy today, huh?”
“Which eye of yours sees me unhappy?”
Guan Mulin crossed his arms, frowning at the group in front of him. His gaze finally settled on the one in the middle. “Han Chengfeng, this isn’t the place for you to stir trouble.”
“Whoa, you threatening me now?”
Han Chengfeng snickered. “And what gives our class prez the right? The young master of the Guan Family?”
“Hmm… what’s that saying? Oh yeah, all talk and no substance, right? Haha!”
The others around him burst into laughter.
Guan Mulin’s face stayed cold. He clenched his fist but didn’t snap.
Ever since he’d learned he wasn’t blood-related to the family, Guan Mulin had prepared himself for situations like this.
In a way, he was lucky.
Their circle was full of people who loved kicking the mighty when they were down.
After the initial chaos, though the family wanted to find their biological youngest son, they had no intention of abandoning him. And after learning his birth parents had both passed, they still kept him around, treating him the same as before. He should be grateful, content. When it mattered, he needed to hold back, endure—nothing good came from acting on impulse.
He wasn’t the true young master of the Guan Family. Getting mad at Han Chengfeng’s jabs would just make him look even more ridiculous.
Guan Mulin lowered his eyes and took a deep breath.
But that clearly didn’t satisfy Han Chengfeng.
He tsked. “Boring. Where’s that school swagger of yours, Guan Mulin? Why not keep strutting? You were so smug before.”
“Or what, now that you’re an orphan, you can’t throw your weight around anymore…”
Guan Mulin’s face darkened instantly. He opened his mouth to retort—
“You must’ve skipped moral studies as a kid!”
An angry shout cut in.
Guan Mulin froze and looked up instinctively.
There stood Shen Ju, his little face tense with fury. His fists were balled, eyes blazing like a valve had burst. It was obvious rage.
This was the first time Guan Mulin had seen Shen Ju this mad.
“Guan Mulin’s still being raised by the Guan Family—who’re you calling an orphan?!”
Turns out Shen Ju had a temper after all.
His voice trembled with anger as he stormed over, sputtering on. “Talking about parents like that—what kind of upbringing did you have?! Who’re you cursing?!”
Han Chengfeng and his crew naturally recognized Shen Ju.
At first, seeing him speak up for Guan Mulin, Han Chengfeng wanted to fire back. But Shen Ju had clearly misunderstood his words, making him feel a bit guilty. Still, taking it lying down? No way. After stewing, he turned back to Guan Mulin with a sneer. “Class prez, you sucking up to the family’s real little young master now?”
“Makes sense. You were just squatting in his spot. Now that he’s back, gotta butter him up good.”
Han Chengfeng tsked mockingly. “Hilarious. You strutted around school like you were hot shit, and now you’re a total lapdog, haha…”
Shen Ju’s little brow furrowed. The more he heard, the more it grated. I wanna thwack this guy twice.
Thwack?
Han Chengfeng’s head snapped to the side.
Shen Ju stared in shock.
He hadn’t even moved!
“Han Chengfeng! You can’t say shit without it stinking, can you?!”
“Fuck, Pei Haochuan, you dare hit me?!”
“You’re damn right I do!”
From Pei Haochuan charging in, to throwing punches with Han Chengfeng, to a full-on brawl against multiple opponents, to Ke Sheng and Guan Mulin jumping in—it all happened in less than half a minute.
The little veranda had killer views.
Shen Ju wasn’t just stunned; he was dumbfounded.
How the hell did things escalate like this?!
He hadn’t even clenched his fist yet, and they were fighting?
And Guan Mulin was fighting too.
Fighting hard…
【Host!! What the hell?!】
Brother 996 nearly screeched in alarm!
It had trusted Shen Ju completely, so it’d focused on the upgrade—now at 98%. But in a blink, Guan Mulin was brawling with others?! Cough, not that I wanted Shen Ju and him to fight, but this is off-script!
Everyone else clashing, leaving their host on the sidelines?
【No way, Host! Get in there!】
Get in where?
Oh, right—break it up!
Shen Ju’s head spun as he rushed in to pull them apart.
He’d never dealt with something like this; it took him a second to react.
Then, clumsily, he got shoved hard—by who knows who.
Shen Ju lost his balance.
Right next to the veranda’s edge.
It wasn’t much of an edge—just a low crossbeam for sitting, knee-high. Harmless usually, but now? Dangerous.
His leg hit the beam.
Danger alert—he was going over!
Instinct kicked in. Shen Ju flailed his arms.
Like a panicked goose flapping wildly, trying to steady himself, grab something—anything.
But in that split-second flash, the shove’s momentum was too strong. In less than a second, he did grab something. But inertia yanked that someone with him…
Plop, plop.
Shen Ju tumbled into the pond below, dragging someone along.
The System screeched again, mixing with a horrified shout—
“Little Uncle!!”
Ding ding. Upgrade progress 99%, 99.1%, 99.2%, 99.3%…
Splash!
Pond water soaked Shen Ju to the bone.
He was still clutching someone.
Ding ding… ding…
It glitched, like it was lagging.
In some overlooked corner, the progress bar crawled, as if jolted by electricity.
Shen Ju felt a current surge through him, passing from his fingertips…
Ding. Upgrade progress 100%.
Ding ding. Upgrade complete.
The System’s voice cleared up.
【Host…】
At the same moment—
Qin Soxi was about to drop her half-eaten cake onto Guan Lifeng’s plate when that voice flashed in her mind. She jolted, and splat—the cake smacked onto his hand.
Guan Lifeng’s face changed instantly. He didn’t even notice the cake on his hand, scanning around wildly.
Meanwhile—
Guan Muya was playing chess with Guan Jianshan.
Each held a piece.
Guan Muya was about to move.
Clack.
The piece dropped.
Guan Jianshan, over fifty but sturdy, had weathered plenty of storms. The small living room was empty otherwise. This voice rang straight in his head. Even stone-faced as he was, he couldn’t hide his surprise. And what was a “host”?
“You heard that too, Grandpa?”
Guan Jianshan grunted and stood.
No illusion.
Where’d it come from? Who was it calling?
Qin Soxi and Guan Lifeng realized they’d both heard it and rose in unison.
Splash!
Shen Ju and his companion climbed from the pond.
Good thing it wasn’t deep, the drop limited, and the water cushioned them. No injuries—just soaked to the skin.
Except Brother 996 was screaming in his head, hoarse as a banshee.
【I’m fine, Brother 996.】
Shen Ju responded while instinctively looking at the person he’d dragged down.
Then he froze.
No—he was not fine!
Look who he’d pulled in?!
The Pei guy from next door!
Shen Ju gaped, words failing him.
Pei Yan stared at him darkly, pinning him in place.
Water droplets pattered off Pei Yan’s body. It wasn’t filthy, but no pool water either. Fish swam in it, mud and stones at the bottom, maybe dead leaves or petals floating. After their plunge? Definitely murky now.
Dirty. Unbearable.
And Pei Yan had been yanked in.
Total injustice.
The instant he’d fallen, Pei Yan’s anger skyrocketed.
His face was stormy.
But rising from the water, Pei Yan paused, staring at the guy in front of him…
Host? Brother 996?
![The Tower Will Fall [Apocalypse]](https://i2.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/93.jpg?resize=151,215 "The Tower Will Fall [Apocalypse]")
