Chapter 18: Dawn

No time left.

Yang Qing’s mind went completely blank.

Only one thought remained.

Once the operation was completed, the next step would be to capture Shen Xing.

“If the mission goes smoothly, it can be wrapped up tonight. I have to find a way to get out first…”

A sharp glint flashed in Yang Qing’s eyes as she looked at the soldiers outside the door.

…

At the Tang family estate.

Many members of the Tang family were in high spirits today.

Tang Xinya had received such high praise from her teacher, giving everyone confidence that the Tang family was destined to rise in the future.

So every member of the Tang family was filled with hopeful anticipation for what lay ahead.

And hope brought happiness.

The whole family, riding the wave of this joyful atmosphere, decided to hold a banquet.

The lively gathering continued with laughter and playful teasing until nearly midnight.

During the event, Shen Xing and Tang Xue’er wanted to leave, but Zhao Sujuan refused to let anyone go under any circumstances.

Unable to cause a scene at this moment, Shen Xing reluctantly stayed.

While others were engrossed in their entertainment, Shen Xing sat quietly in a corner, searching for information about “Dawn.”

Contrary to his expectations, there was actually a considerable amount of information available.

There were reports of terror incidents attributed to Dawn, as well as news of their victories against government forces.

There was even a website dedicated to promoting them.

Shen Xing clicked through several pages, finding the quality uneven.

He guessed these were mostly created by individual supporters rather than official propaganda from Dawn itself.

But this also meant that Dawn had cultivated a grassroots following.

Curious, Shen Xing carefully examined the introductions and the ideology that Dawn upheld.

He was deeply shocked.

In simple terms, Dawn’s philosophy was an extreme form of elitism.

Or, to put it bluntly, elitism taken to a fanatical extreme.

They believed that in today’s world, nations kept each other in check, and various powers grew wildly.

This fragile balance would inevitably be shattered one day, plunging the world into chaos.

Amid mutual conflicts, humanity was destined to self-destruct.

Even if a victor emerged, humanity’s collective strength would decline to unimaginable lows, forever losing the hope of rising again beneath the vast starry sky.

Therefore, Dawn called for the world’s true geniuses to unite, becoming a force so powerful it would make the entire world tremble.

They would become humanity’s guides through absolute dominance, ending internal strife and directing their strength toward the boundless cosmos, for the stars and oceans were humanity’s true future.

This was the positive aspect.

The more controversial part was Dawn’s advocacy for strict hierarchical classification of humans based on talent and value.

Using supercomputers to calculate each person’s potential contribution to humanity as the fundamental criterion, people would be divided into dozens of ranks.

The distribution of resources and welfare would strictly follow this hierarchy.

In other words, those with talent would enjoy more resources to contribute further to humanity.

Those with limited ability would lose all welfare benefits, living at a low level of happiness, merely serving as sustenance for the elite above.

The entire society would become a massive, rigorously structured machine.

Each individual would maximize their value to continuously strengthen this machine, enabling humanity’s power to soar while reducing internal conflict to near zero.

To achieve all this, a vast number of elites would have to be led by a small group of geniuses.

This was the ideology Dawn publicly proclaimed.

Many scoffed at it, but there were also fervent supporters.

After reading it, Shen Xing’s strongest impression was one word: Zerg.

A species that epitomized efficiency and cold-bloodedness to the extreme—only the Zerg came to mind.

But… the Zerg were fictional.

Could there really be such a terrifying species beneath this starry sky?

Shen Xing did not know, but he greatly admired the original organizers of Dawn.

He was certain that no games or literary works about the Zerg existed in this world.

This founder had created this radical ideology purely from genuine contemplation on humanity’s destiny.

At least in this regard, Shen Xing believed he lived up to the title of genius.

Of course, Shen Xing himself did not think Dawn would succeed.

“The direction isn’t entirely without merit, but human nature is too hard to control… The Zerg can maintain that kind of social ecology because they share a collective brain. Humans are too intelligent and individualistic. How could they possibly obediently abandon their own thoughts?”

Shen Xing knew they must have considered this too, but judging by their rapid growth, they had likely found some solution.

“Relying on external forces, huh… Whatever, why bother? I don’t plan to join.”

Shen Xing chuckled softly and swiped to close the page.

He had no desire to entangle himself with such a dangerous organization.

“A real man walks the righteous path. Life in the sunlight is so comfortable—do what you want, live beautifully. Isn’t that better? Joining some shady group, living in constant fear and anxiety—only fools would do that.”

Shen Xing sneered and yawned.

It was late, and the banquet was drawing to a close.

He stood up, preparing to leave, take a shower, and happily cuddle with his fiancée.

But when he went to call Tang Xue’er, he saw her speaking with Zhao Sujuan.

Tang Xue’er shook her head at him, indicating he should go on without waiting.

Seeing Zhao Pengyu there as well, Shen Xing frowned.

No need to guess—this aunt and nephew pair were scheming against Tang Xue’er again.

His murderous intent toward the two deepened.

He said, “I’ll wait for you outside,” then left the hall.

The night outside was deep, with the moonlight faint.

The vast courtyard felt quiet and secluded.

Shen Xing looked up at the moon and suddenly thought of Yang Qing.

“I was trying to be cool back then… Saying I didn’t want her to feel burdened—what nonsense! What harm is there in calling her ‘sister’? With her status, she must know a lot. Even just being friends would be nice. Now I’m too embarrassed to even contact her.”

Shen Xing blushed and felt frustrated for no clear reason.

He felt like he had reverted to his awkward teenage self again.

Stubborn, conflicted.

“Do I actually prefer women who are more like older sisters?”

Shen Xing was at a loss.

He only knew that when he was with Yang Qing during the day, he felt relaxed and at ease.

It was as if they had been old friends for a long time.

To put it poetically, it felt like the distance between their hearts was very close.

This was something he didn’t feel when with Tang Xue’er.

Tang Xue’er had a good personality, but compared to Yang Qing, lacked that sense of reliance.

Shen Xing could only attribute it to that.

“Shen Xing, someone is looking for you.”

Suddenly, someone tapped Shen Xing’s shoulder.

Without waiting for an answer, the person pulled him aside.

Shen Xing came to his senses and recognized him as one of the people who had sat at the same table earlier.

“Who’s looking for me?”

“You’ll see when you go. Good news!”

“Heh, alright then.”

Shen Xing smiled and let himself be led to a corner along the southern wall.

This was where trash was usually kept, a place rarely visited.

In the darkness, he vaguely saw four figures standing silently, watching him approach.