Even though Su Mo set off the moment he learned of the situation, rushing to Moonlight Mansion at top speed, he was still too late.

The Crow’s Nest thugs had already taken over this iconic building and begun executing hostages.

What was now happening inside Moonlight Mansion had also played out in the game plot of “Dawn,” where it was referred to as the “Xinghai Cinema Hostage Crisis.”

The trigger for this incident was the Wolf King Fenrir breaching the Rust Wall, which won the wolf attacks immense popular support in the King of the Borderlands election.

Realizing that the situation was spiraling out of control, the current King of the Borderlands, Crow’s Nest, decided to respond with an even greater atrocity.

They dispatched elite thugs into the Inner City to take hostages at Xinghai Cinema, threatening authorities and demanding independence for the Borderlands.

Success would mean making history.

Failure, even in such a grand gesture, would shock the entire Borderlands and overshadow the achievements of Fenrir’s Rust Wall breach.

Either way, Crow’s Nest could use this move to secure victory in the election.

Thus, the “Xinghai Cinema Hostage Crisis” unfolded.

This was New Moon City’s most brutal and largest hostage-taking incident in history, setting a horrific precedent—targeting children.

In the plot development of the game “Dawn,” in the face of the hostages’ lives versus the dignity of the World Government, New Moon City’s acting City Council President, Sikinkov, chose the latter, deciding to face responsibility.

After several fruitless negotiations with Muto Dongying, Sikinkov ordered a military rescue on the fourth day, marking the beginning of the tragedy.

In response to the firepower of the rescue troops, Muto Dongying and the other Crow’s Nest thugs completely lost their minds. They used the children as human shields and even rigged the children with booby traps to push them into the arms of the rescuers.

The crying children exploded one after another, like bursting little tomatoes, and none of the players who experienced that scene left with dry eyes.

In the end, Muto Dongying and all the Crow’s Nest thugs were killed.

Of the 315 faculty and students from Chiyang Attached Primary School who were taken hostage, 164 perished.

67 were left with lifelong disabilities.

The number who returned to their parents’ embrace unscathed was only 84.

The “Xinghai Cinema Hostage Crisis” is a wound for all of New Moon City and a regret that many players find hard to erase.

The issues between the Borderlands and the Inner City cannot be simply categorized as right or wrong.

It’s a fact that the Inner City People bully the weak and discriminate against the Borderlands people.

It’s also a fact that Borderlands people smuggle in large numbers, damaging the Inner City environment.

But regardless of the facts, the confrontation between both sides is a mutual harm amongst the lower classes.

These hostage children’s parents may indeed be elite, but are they among the higher authorities?

No, they are not.

They are also “people of the lower class,” only wealthier.

There is only one type of higher authority in this world, which is the three major corporate giants.

And the mutual harm among the lower classes is all fueled by these higher authorities.

They crave hatred; only when the lower classes fight savagely can the real conflicts be masked, allowing them to always remain on top.

The “Xinghai Cinema Hostage Crisis” is a prime example of such a dark tragedy.

The incident began with the election, grew out of anger, and ended in blood and violence, doing nothing but deepening the hatred between the Inner City and the Borderlands.

Only the children who died became innocent victims in this dark environment.

Now, the upheaval had begun, and Su Mo could not stand aside from this unprecedented major event.

Because it involved a person.

A person who was “important” to him.

Su Mo looked up towards the direction of the “Municipal Center,” murmuring to himself: “Next, it’s time to hold ‘that meeting’.”

…

[October 3, 09:56 PM]

[Municipal Center, City Hall, Meeting Room No. 1]

The room was filled with smoke, the air was thick with the pungent smell of cigarettes.

Sikinkov sat at the head of the table, the ashtray in front of him overflowing with cigarette butts, and he had another cigarette in his mouth, his eyes red and bloodshot, blisters forming at the corners of his lips.

Above the conference table, the holographic image was frozen on Nannan’s body hanging from a noose.

Everyone in the meeting hung their heads low, the room was engulfed in deathly silence.

The Anti-Violence Fourth Section’s captain, Ivan, had returned from the frontline and stood up in righteous anger, saying: “Mister Acting President, we can’t continue like this!”

“The thugs have repeatedly challenged the limits, even extending their butcher’s knife to innocent children, this is not only a declaration of war on the authorities but also a challenge to the moral standards of the entire Human Realm!”

Sikinkov sat there, the ash on his cigarette accumulating to the length of a knuckle, yet he forgot to flick it off.

Ivan urged anxiously: “Sir! Please make a decision!”

“Make what decision?!” Suddenly, a harsh voice came from outside the meeting room.

Dozens of well-dressed men and women stormed into the meeting room, followed by the sweating guards who trembled as they spoke: “Leaders… I couldn’t stop them…”

These were parents of the students from Chiyang Attached Primary School who had been taken hostage, led by Du Lang, chairman of the Mark Reading Group, a titan in the business world.

Du Lang looked at Ivan and asked coldly: “What decision? Are you preparing to storm Xinghai Cinema?”

Ivan answered solemnly: “Given the situation, do we have any choice left?”

Du Lang furiously exclaimed: “For God’s sake, is killing all you Anti-Violence Fourth Section know? Don’t you realize who is being held there? Our children! My son is also inside!”

Ivan, as the Anti-Violence Captain, was hot-tempered too, and retorted directly: “What else would you have us do? Agree to Crow’s Nest’s demands and recognize the Borderlands’ independence?”

Du Lang demanded: “Why not? You aren’t particularly attached to that desolate place, are you? Let those Borderlands dogs leave New Moon City if they want to!”

“Without the Borderlands, New Moon City’s future development will only be better, all the societal metrics will look nicer! The city’s ranking won’t be at the bottom of the five great mega-cities every year!”

Ivan slammed the table, indignantly saying: “Do you think New Moon City is your company? That you can sever away bad assets at will?”

“This isn’t about New Moon City’s future development, it’s about the authorities’ dignity being challenged. No matter where, no matter who the opposition is, actions to partition the city are unacceptable!”

Du Lang no longer wanted to talk to Ivan and turned directly to Sikinkov, pointing at his nose: “Listen, Sikinkov, I don’t care about the face of your City Council.”

“We consortiums spent so much money to put this City Council team in their current positions, not to maintain your dignity, but to protect our interests!”

“I only have one requirement, which is to have our children return home safely! No matter the cost you have to bear, this demand must be met!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep