[October 3rd, 8:25 PM]

[12th Floor, Moonlight Mansion in the Lakefront Business District, Xinghai Cinema]

The 315 teachers and students of Chiyang Attached Primary School had taken over a theater, where the latest fantasy movie was being shown on the big screen.

The movie was halfway through, at the most thrilling part of the plot.

These children, well-mannered due to good family upbringing, watched in awe without making any noise, their innocent eyes wide open, gazing dreamily at the knight on the screen.

Just as the kids were lost in the dreamlike world of the movie, a sudden “buzz” came over the speakers, the screen went dark, and emergency exit lights came on, as if the power had gone out.

The children were filled with confusion and unease, whispering among themselves.

The accompanying teacher quickly stood up: “Students, stay in your seats and don’t run around, the teacher is going out to find…”

The teacher didn’t finish their sentence when a cinema staff member suddenly rushed in, their voice twisted with terror: “Run! Run! There’s a crimi…”

“Bang!” A gunshot rang out, and a bullet blossomed into a spray of blood on the worker’s head.

“Ah—” Screams filled the air immediately.

The children, at a loss for what to do, clung to their classmates; some were paralyzed with fear, others burst into tears:

“Did that man just get shot?”

“Are there bad people outside? What should we do…”

“Ugh… I’m so scared… Mom, Dad, where are you…”

The children cried in fear, and several accompanying teachers were so terrified their faces turned ashen, too shaky to utter comforting words, and one female teacher was so frightened by the corpse that she vomited.

“Tap, tap, tap…” Rapid footsteps echoed through the enclosed cinema.

With Muto Dongying leading the way, over twenty Crow’s Nest Thugs walked in, bloodstains all over them, presumably having fought their way from the plaza to the 12th floor.

A courageous male teacher, trembling all over, tentatively asked, “Who…who are you? What do you want? These are all children, don’t do anything rash!”

Muto Dongying smiled and gestured to his comrades.

The Crow’s Nest Thugs quickly took control of Xinghai Cinema’s emergency exits, occupying the aisle steps, completely securing these teachers and students under their grasp.

Only then did Muto Dongying look at everyone and say with a smile: “I am Muto Dongying, I have long heard of your parents’ great names. Today, I mean no harm. I just want you to accompany me for a while.”

“Accompany?” The male teacher asked nervously, “For how long?”

Muto Dongying slowly replied, “That depends on the authorities’ attitude. If it’s quick, it might just be for one night. Otherwise… you’ll have to keep me company indefinitely.”

The male teacher realized that they were being taken as hostages to negotiate with the authorities of New Moon City.

He swallowed hard, mustering the courage to say tremblingly, “If you need hostages, take us teachers! The children are innocent, let them go home, okay?”

The Crow’s Nest Thugs burst into laughter, and Muto Dongying joined in, as if mocking the male teacher’s naivety.

Muto Dongying walked over, kicking the male teacher to the ground, and sarcastically said, “You think too highly of yourself, Noah Road. Who do you think you are? You’re not even qualified as a hostage!”

With that, “Bang!” shot a bullet into the male teacher’s leg.

“Ahhh!!!” A scream of agony erupted, the male teacher clutching his bloodied leg, crying and struggling in a pool of blood.

Muto Dongying faced all the terrified eyes and sneered coldly: “Remember, anyone who tries to play hero will end up like this.”

At this moment, Muto Dongying noticed a female teacher cowering in her seat, making some secretive movements.

He walked over and found her secretly calling the police, the call already connected.

The female teacher looked at Muto Dongying in terror, her voice trembling with sobs: “I… I won’t report… Just let me go…”

Muto Dongying didn’t get angry; instead, he smiled: “It’s okay, report it. Tell the Public Security Bureau.”

The female teacher was stunned, not understanding what he meant.

Muto Dongying grabbed her hair and said word by word, “I said, report it. Tell the Public Security Bureau the situation.”

The female teacher had no choice but to pick up the phone, and with a trembling voice, she said into it: “Public Security Bureau… We are teachers and students from Chiyang Attached Primary School… We were watching a movie at Xinghai Cinema in the Moonlight Mansion… Criminals have broken in… They’re… They’re…”

It was then she realized that she didn’t even know who the intruders were.

Muto Dongying’s lips curled up, and he said profoundly, “Tell the Public Security Bureau that the one holding hostages at Xinghai Cinema is…”

“Crow’s Nest Seven, Muto Dongying.”

…

[October 3rd, 8:32 PM]

[New Moon City Government Center, City Hall Main Conference Room]

The Executive Committee Member of the New Moon City Council, acting City Council President “Sikinkov,” was feeling very anxious today.

Just yesterday, the official City Council President “Amir” headed to the Capital City to report on the quarterly work, which would probably take two weeks before he returns.

Today was Sikinkov’s first day acting as City Council President; he had thought the two weeks would pass smoothly, but he didn’t expect the Rust Wall to be compromised.

The main conference room was full of people, all of them administrative heads from various city departments, with a holographic map of New Moon City floating above the conference table in front of them, clearly showing the Rust Wall District on the west side of the city filled with red dots.

Administrative assistants kept coming in and out, bringing the latest intelligence from the front lines.

“Latest news: the Rust Wall District Public Security Sub-bureau has confirmed it has fallen, with 197 sheriffs missing, and the rest of the personnel dispersed by the thugs, though it’s uncertain how much longer they can hold out.”

“Mark Street has just fallen, the entire street occupied by thugs, and the security forces are redeploying a second line of defense, requesting firepower support.”

“The situation in the Rust Wall is very dire, thugs are still pouring in, and the stationed troops are unable to reclaim control of the midsection of M17 District, unable to seal the breach in the wall.”

“Our informants placed within the Border District groups report that major groups are assembling their elite forces on a large scale, ready to launch an attack on the Inner City at any moment.”

Bad news came one after another, each like a chisel driving into Sikinkov’s head.

He knew there was no way to avoid this upheaval.

As the acting City Council President, he had no way out and had to resolve this crisis as much as possible, minimizing losses.

He took a deep breath, his gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, the insurgents from the Border District have disregarded order, launching an attack on the Inner City — this is intolerable!”

“We don’t need to be polite anymore! I want all armed forces in New Moon City to mobilize!”

“The Public Security Bureau patrol forces, Anti-Violence Fourth Section, Civil Guard, Municipal Guard Team, City Defense Reserve Team… let those hot-blooded young men take up arms and participate in the suppression action in the Rust Wall District.”

Sikinkov used gestures to control the holographic map, continuously leaving annotations: “Have the ground forces establish defensive lines around the Rust Wall District, guarding every tunnel, viaduct, and entrance to other urban areas.”

“If encountered with thugs, there’s no need to ask for higher-level instructions, fire freely!”

“Deploy the Aerospace Assault Forces simultaneously, do not engage in the ground troops’ street battle, I want them to quickly reach the midsection of M17 District in the Rust Wall and completely control the airspace there.”

“Any thugs attempting to enter the Inner City through the wall breach, the Aerospace Assault Forces may use all weapons to bomb them; if necessary, permit the pursuit into the Border District to directly strike at the thugs’ bases, forcing them to retreat.”

An advisor asked: “Mr. Acting President, should we put the whole city in a state of emergency?”

Sikinkov shook his head without hesitation: “No, not only no, but the electronic warfare units must also immediately spring into action, coordinating with the ground operation teams, deploying the ‘Giant Wave Electromagnetic Interference Device’ along the Rust Wall District, blocking all civilian communications in the area.”

Upon hearing the plan to “cut off the Rust Wall District from the network,” the advisor was shocked: “You want to block the news of the thug attack on the city? That way, citizens in other districts would remain unaware and completely defenseless if they encounter the thugs, which would be very dangerous!”

Sikinkov replied in a deep voice, “Have some faith in our ground troops. I believe they won’t let any thugs cross the Rust Wall District.”

The advisor’s face remained grim: “This is too risky! I strongly suggest making the information public, putting the whole city in a state of emergency, and having all citizens immediately cease outdoor activities and return home. It’s our duty to ensure their safety!”

“Bang!”

Sikinkov slammed the table forcefully, saying angrily: “The investment market opens at 9:30 tomorrow morning; if you want to see all New Moon City enterprises’ stock prices hit the limit down, go ahead and do that! Wait until Mr. City Council President returns, and you can report to him!”

The advisor was enlightened by Sikinkov, immediately realizing the huge drawbacks of putting the whole city in a state of emergency.

New Moon City has 673 listed companies, backed by at least a hundred large interest groups; no one can afford the consequences of collapsing their stock prices with a single prohibitive order.

The advisor hesitated for a moment, asking worriedly: “But… it’s been over an hour since the incident started, and texts and videos have already circulated online, are we still in time?”

Sikinkov: “So besides blocking the news, we must immediately control media content as well. Contact internet monitoring agents to delete all related videos and texts from the entire network and monitor related topics 24/7 to suppress the heat.”

The advisor said anxiously: “Mr. Acting President, with such terrifying news, the heat can’t be suppressed!”

Sikinkov exploded: “God! Are all of you advisors pigs?! If you can’t suppress it, then find other hot topics to cover it up!”

“The female lead, Talia, of ‘Best of You’ had an affair with a non-celebrity after marriage!”

“Top male star Lin Huo long-term alcohol abuse and domestic violence!”

“And who was it, last year appeared on ‘New Moon Starry Night,’ that actress who became explosively popular for her pure demeanor, Pan Wan!”

“Weren’t the photos of Pan Wan partying with several men hacked, then timely bought by the agency? Release them back online!”

“We have so much material in our hands; throwing any one of them out there can create a sensational point, and the netizens will swarm like flies. Who would care about the little mishap in the Rust Wall District?!”

“I really can’t understand, such a simple matter actually needs me to teach? Go do it immediately! If it’s not done well, pack up your workstation and get out tomorrow!”

The advisor was speechless and didn’t dare to argue with Sikinkov anymore, leaving silently.

Sikinkov muttered a few curses and looked at the holographic map, saying coldly: “Transmit all orders immediately, all units start the Rust Wall District reclamation operation and suppress this riot in the shortest time possible!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep