Chapter 1 The Gunshot

The gunshot rang out inside the room.

Su Tiannan left the car with his gun and approached the castle. He climbed the ladder to the rooftop maintenance platform, which offered the best view of the surroundings.

This operation involved three parties: the Huagong Hui (Chinese Workers Association) of District One, the Lao Sanjiao (Old Triangle) intelligence personnel stationed outside the district, and the Hua District intelligence department.

The Huagong Hui and the Lao Sanjiao intelligence personnel were responsible for the actual operation, while the Hua District intelligence department handled the planning, final support, and evacuation.

Su Tiannan was a new addition to the Huagong Hui. He didn't necessarily have to participate in the operation, but he had volunteered. After spending nearly two years in prison, he had gained a full understanding of the nature and scale of the organization he had joined.

The Huagong Hui was founded about ten years ago, reportedly by some of the top leaders of the Chinese Legion in District One. The association's mission was to fight for the independent sovereignty of Chinese people in District One, including in military affairs. But for some unknown reason, this underground organization was exposed and targeted by the Regional Security Bureau, which led to turmoil among the Chinese military and political leaders. Many of the generals who spearheaded the association's formation were arrested or secretly executed.

Since then, the Huagong Hui had been in decline, disappearing for many years before recently resuming activities.

Su Tiannan joined the association for three reasons. First, he felt that as long as the infighting in the Dragon City continued and Lao Li hadn't fallen, he would not be able to get out of prison. Even if the Qihao Dao (Seventh Island) incident didn't lead to a heavy sentence, Kang Dinghuang and the Regional Security Bureau would detain him indefinitely as a political prisoner, because he could be used to restrain the Su family. Second, Su Tiannan himself believed in the Huagong Hui's founding purpose. In prison, he had countless late-night conversations with that old Chinese man, whose ideas and political views aligned with what he wanted, even surpassing the Tongji Hui (The Society of Common Aspiration) in terms of vision and ambition. Third, Su Tiannan was very concerned about his family and wanted to get out early to help Liu Zi (Sixth Brother) and Lao Er (Second Brother) secretly.

Considering all of the above, after much deliberation, Su Tiannan finally decided to carry out the old man's plan and get himself out early.

But Su Tiannan, now much more mature, also knew that the old man valued him largely because of his connections in the Dragon City.

The two sides hit it off, and Su Tiannan, the tiger trapped in prison for nearly two years, was finally released.

Today, Su Tiannan had volunteered to participate in the actual operation for a simple reason: he needed opportunities, the chance to climb the ranks within the association!

Having escaped from prison and acquired the status of a Class A fugitive, he couldn't be content with simply muddling through life as an insignificant pawn.

…

On the maintenance platform, Su Tiannan lay prone with his gun, frowning as he observed the surroundings of the castle.

The earpiece in his ear was constantly relaying voices of his comrades.

"Group Two can't break through!"

"The outer perimeter is engaged and needs support!"

"Group Three is wiped out, they didn't stop the people trying to escape from the back!"

"…!"

Su Tiannan listened to the voices in the communication system without any emotional fluctuation. He crawled to the open window of the maintenance platform that connected to the lobby and looked down at the situation inside.

Inside the lobby downstairs, gunshots rang out, and the crowd was in chaos. Many members of the upper class, dressed in suits and evening gowns, were terrified and hid behind various tables and chairs, shivering.

In a corridor to the left of the main hall, two of the three masked Lao Sanjiao intelligence personnel detonated the explosive vests on their bodies after their comrades were shot down by security soldiers, rushing towards the innermost room like madmen.

"Traitors must die!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The two men used themselves as human bombs, rushing into the small room guarded by the security soldiers, and perished together with the traitor on the kill list.

Su Tiannan looked at the corridor, where bricks and tiles were scattered all over the ground, with severed limbs and blood covered in dust. The scene was horrific.

It had to be said that the warriors produced in the Myanmar-Vietnam region should not be underestimated in any era. Centuries had passed, and their courage on the front lines and their determination on the intelligence front were admirable.

It was hard to say how their beliefs were formed, and even harder to understand where their courage to die together in desperate situations came from.

Su Tiannan watched the people below without acting rashly, nor did he intend to follow the plan to provide support, because he could see that unless the people inside received an order to retreat, or completely killed all the traitors, they would not leave voluntarily.

"Bang, bang!"

As Su Tiannan was observing the situation downstairs, four cars suddenly rushed in through the main entrance. It was the second assault team coming to finish the job.

Gunshots had already been heard inside, so the soldiers who had been guarding the gate had all rushed into the castle. The remaining guards at the main entrance were few and far between, and they did little to stop the convoy.

Seeing this scene, Su Tiannan immediately asked, "Team leader, am I still providing support according to the plan?"

"The team leader is dead. You don't need to provide support according to the plan. You can observe the perimeter and snipe any survivors, or evacuate on your own if you can't act alone," came the reply from the communication system.

"Roger that!" Su Tiannan replied.

…

In the corridor behind the castle, three soldiers turned off the chandeliers and escorted Ruan Zhengtan towards the back door.

"No, no, don't go through the door, there must be an ambush outside." Ruan Zhengtan repeatedly shouted, "Let's go through the window, through the side, don't leave the courtyard, just find a hidden place to hide!"

After all, Ruan Zhengtan was a senior intelligence officer who had worked in the Lao Sanjiao region for many years, and he had risen through the ranks from the grassroots level. He knew too well the style of "his own people", so he did not think that the security personnel here could protect him.

The group smashed the chandeliers in the corridor, and taking advantage of the chaos and darkness, they turned and ran into an empty guest room, then pushed open the window.

"Da da…!"

The cars that had driven in from outside the courtyard had already rushed to the entrance of the castle. More than thirty masked members got out of the cars and began to exchange fire with the security personnel, while at the same time shooting wildly at the dinner guests who were fleeing outwards.

Having taken things to this point, it was clearly unrealistic to try and identify the traitors face to face. Below the grand scheme, there were no personal feelings to consider. The specific task was the ultimate goal, so a massacre was inevitable!

Moreover, from the perspective of the Lao Sanjiao, they didn't think this was so cruel, because none of the people who could attend this reception were innocent, in terms of their positions.

If you want to take in defectors from our side and get the information they sold about the district, why should I be nice to you?

The bloody massacre began outside the door, and batch after batch of guests who had just rushed to the door fell to the ground.

At the same time, a large number of people jumped out of the windows around the first and second floors of the castle.

Su Tiannan pulled the bolt of his gun and quickly scanned the surroundings while lying on the platform.

"This way, this way…!"

Soon, he saw a dozen people rushing out of the window on the left, and among them was the traitor he had to keep his eyes on!