I'm bombarding the Supernatural World with my firearms

```

After listening to all the information reported by the butler.

He chuckled softly and closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest without speaking.

He was the current leader of the Chi Family, the Patriarch of the Chi Family.

The power ranked third in Fengtian City, the Chi Family.

Only after a long while did his voice float leisurely through the air.

"This Chen Miao is truly a man of great fortune, to return alive from a Hell Bus incident with a guaranteed 18-death toll and a 100% fatality rate."

"So, Sang Biao has given up, huh?"

"Chen Miao offers a higher return on investment than Sang Biao."

As his words faded, an elderly man with graying temples in a corner of the study nodded respectfully and then asked softly, "What about Chi Qiu..."

"Leave him be, let him do as he pleases."

"If Chen Miao finds him an eyesore, he'll chop him down and apologize; if Chen Miao thinks the kid has potential, he'll draw closer to Chi Qiu. Use Chi Qiu to win over Chen Miao."

"Understood."

...

From the very beginning, when Chi Qiu took people to the noodle shop to provoke Chen Miao, he knew. As the Patriarch of the Chi Family, there was little he did not know about Fengtian City.

Even that little secret between Chi Qiu and his daughter Yu'er, namely what the best food to eat in winter was—roasted sweet potatoes, he was aware of it.

In fact, he did not mind it at all.

A roasted sweet potato? The food of the lower classes. A person destined for great things should not sweat the small stuff. If even a roasted sweet potato becomes a taboo, what great things can you achieve?

At the beginning.

It was he who had sent someone to instigate Chi Qiu to trouble Chen Miao. The Chi Family, a behemoth in Fengtian City, had seen many geniuses rise and fall over the years and had developed its own methods of engagement.

The Chi Family had raised many collateral branches, much like Chi Qiu who was not of the direct line, but a distant cousin.

Normally, they would not provide them with too many resources.

When it came to a genius they needed to woo or contact, they would secretly incite a collateral relative to stir up some trouble, then visit the genius personally to apologize, and execute the troublemaker from their own family.

This was their standard tactic.

In most cases, these geniuses from humble backgrounds would be so touched that they would cry tears of gratitude.

After all, what standing did the Chi Family have? And what was yours? The Chi Family comes to your door to apologize with gifts, and they execute a core member for you—is that not enough? Is it not satisfactory?

Afterwards, those geniuses would invariably serve them with undivided loyalty.

This was something every incoming Patriarch of the Chi Family had to learn.

Every family had its share of wastrel sons who liked to cause trouble. Would they kill them all? Certainly not. Born into the Chi Family, one must play a role in its advancement, and even wastrel sons have their uses—as paving stones for the family's path.

When the winds within the Fengtian City Government began to subtly shift in favor of Chen Miao, he started making arrangements for Chi Qiu to make contact. This method was bound to be more effective than showing up at Chen Miao's doorstep without having done anything.

These geniuses who started from poverty often harbored great animosity toward the elites. Approaching rashly would not only raise their guard but could also make them think they could stand on equal footing with the Chi Family and become arrogant as a result.

The script was already written.

It was just unexpected that Chi Qiu, who seemed not too foolish, suddenly had an epiphany, wrote an apology letter exceeding three thousand words, and took it upon himself to help the "Tomb Guardian" tonight, determined to reconcile with Chen Miao at any cost.

To this, he naturally welcomed the development.

If Chi Qiu succeeded, then he would become a true core member of the Chi Family, and the Chi Family would naturally build a connection with Chen Miao.

If Chi Qiu failed, it would be his turn to go to Chen Miao's door bearing gifts to atone.

In either case.

He was the winner.

"Tch."

The Patriarch of the Chi Family sitting in the study couldn't help but smile slightly at the corners of his mouth, amused when recalling how people criticized the Chi Family for having poor family discipline and many wastrel sons. Over the years, these wastrels had contributed greatly to the development of the Chi Family with their lives.

The lives of the Chi Family were always a significant bargaining chip.

Not only useful here, but in other places too, they were extremely effective.

...

"Sigh..."

In Sankui Wasteland, Chi Qiu, sitting on top of a van, anxiously pondered, wondering if the night's events could ease his relationship with Chen Miao.

```

I must have been out of my mind to seek out trouble with Chen Miao.

What on earth was I thinking back then?

It was as if my brain had short-circuited, and someone had slipped me a love potion—I went to him in a daze.

After writing the letter of apology, I was subconsciously aware that I couldn't afford to offend Chen Miao, but with the reminder from my trusted aide, I realized the situation seemed more dangerous than I had thought.

After hesitating for a moment, I couldn't help but turn to a shifty-looking man beside me, "Do you really think the Patriarch knows about my issues with Chen Miao?"

This shifty-looking man was my confidant. He used to be a vagrant until one day, in a fit of generosity, I took him home, cleaned him up, gave him new clothes, and fed him. Then, right there and then, he knelt down and swore to go through fire and water for me.

Gradually, I came to realize that this man was incredibly clever.

And quite good at making money.

While other peripheral descendants of the Chi Family were living on their monthly stipends from the family, he already had his own business, bringing in a considerable profit each year, which made me trust him even more.

This man claimed to be Ke Gou and subsequently became my official military advisor.

"There's an eighty percent chance,"

Ke Gou squinted his eyes, speaking word by word, "I reviewed the founding history of the Chi Family yesterday and found that the mortality rate due to accidents among the peripheral descendants is extremely high. More coincidentally, every death among these family members seems to bring considerable benefits to the Chi Family."

"Take, for example, 2018, when the Federation carried out a strict investigation. Many powers in Fengtian City were uprooted, and the Chi Family was also scrutinized. In the end, three peripheral descendants were executed by firing squads, rumored to have been committing acts behind the Chi Family's back. Apart from those three, everyone else in the Chi Family was clean."

"And the year before last, Sang Biao's brother, Sang De, the one who topped Fengtian City's combat power rankings, also burst onto the scene. A descendant of the Chi Family suddenly provoked him for no reason, angering Sang De, who held back due to the Chi Family's clout and could only seethe in silence."

"But the next day, the Patriarch of the Chi Family personally brought the provocative peripheral descendant to apologize and then executed him in front of Sang De. From that moment on, Sang De formally joined the Chi Family, serving them loyally and wholeheartedly to this day."

"With a little effort, a multitude of such incidents can be found."

"Did you notice?"

"Every situation is different, but what's the same is that whenever a peripheral descendant of the Chi Family dies, there's always something to gain for the Family."

"So I speculate... most likely, the reason you went to provoke Chen Miao this time is also the Patriarch's doing behind the scenes."

"..."

Chi Qiu's expression darkened, and he remained silent. He had met the Patriarch a few times, a seemingly cultured middle-aged man who always smiled when speaking and would instruct the butler to double his monthly allowance.

I used to have such a good impression of the Patriarch, even looked up to him.

And I was always happy to see the Patriarch since it meant my monthly allowance was about to increase.

But if what Ke Gou said was true, then did our lives as peripheral descendants of the Chi Family mean nothing more to the Patriarch than pawns to be sacrificed for profit?

Had he never seen me as his nephew?

Aren't we supposed to be family?

"However, Qiu, you don't need to be too anxious. As long as you mend your relationship with Chen Miao, the Chi Family probably won't touch you. Instead, they will give you plenty of resources and use you to win over Chen Miao, just like they did with Sang De in the past."

After a moment of silence, Chi Qiu shook his head, "It's not that I'm anxious, I just feel incredibly stifled. I've always treated Uncle and Yu'er like my own family."

"Uh..."

Ke Gou scratched the back of his head, hesitating for a long moment before saying, "Well, it's difficult to find true family within such large clans. My advice to you, Qiu, is not to be so sentimental and to find your own place instead."

"Hmm."

After a long while, Chi Qiu sighed almost imperceptibly in the night breeze, lit a cigarette, and put it to his mouth. The glowing cherry of the cigarette flickered in the darkness, "What do you think... If I wanted to climb up one more step, what should I do?"

"Expand the business?"

"No, I want to have some power of my own, to be able to control my own life at least. I don't want to live at the mercy of others."

"As someone from the Chi Family, you definitely won't be able to establish your own power. That leaves you with only one other choice: to side with a power that has enough potential."

Ke Gou narrowed his eyes and looked towards the dark shadows where Hungry Monkey, Yuan Buping, and others stood, "The 'Tomb Guardian' is an emerging power with strong momentum, and most importantly, they have a leader with absolute control."

"If you can join this power, with my help, I can secure a core position for you."

"As long as the 'Tomb Guardian' keeps rising, your status will only get higher and higher."

Chi Qiu shook his head, "The Chi Family won't allow me to leave and join another power."

"As long as you get along well enough with Chen Miao, to win him over, the Chi Family won't mind losing one peripheral descendant."

"But there's still a gap between Chen Miao and me."

"That's not important."

Ke Gou shook his head, "On the contrary, that's a unique advantage for you. Having a rift means you have a perfectly reasonable excuse to approach Chen Miao, and any gesture of goodwill on your part can be understood; it also gives you a chance for contact. It's much more sincere than approaching him out of the blue."

"More importantly... as of now, you seem to be the only one in Fengtian City who has had a falling out with Chen Miao and lived to tell the tale."

"Moreover, the 'Tomb Guardian' currently lacks steady financial resources and its own industry—something you have. That could be an excellent opening gambit."