Chapter 1

Night. Montpelier, a city on the edge of the Second District.

Though it was late, and the streets were nearly empty of pedestrians and traffic, the Foreign Legion base was still brightly lit, its windows reflecting busy figures.

The critical situation at the Desola front meant that resource allocation and personnel deployment were being centrally managed and sent from here to the front lines.

On the empty streets, four large trucks slowly approached from different directions. Nearing their target, three of the trucks slowed, dispersing and parking along the roadside, while only one continued towards the base entrance.

Inside the guardhouse at the gate, a white officer sat idly playing with his phone.

"Buzz..."

The rumble of a car engine came from outside, but the officer paid no attention, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"Screech—"

Suddenly, the screech of tires pierced the air! The officer looked up to see a heavy truck accelerating, charging straight at the base gate!

Sensing danger, the officer grabbed his radio and barked in English, "Situation! Alert!"

"Stop! Stop!"

The soldiers at the gate screamed at the truck to halt, but it didn't. Instead, a man in the passenger seat grabbed a steel plate and fixed it over the windshield, leaving only a narrow slit for the driver to see through.

Seeing this, the officer gave the order: "Attack! Fire!"

The soldiers on guard raised their automatic rifles and opened fire on the truck!

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"Shatter!"

Several shots struck the windshield, creating a spiderweb of cracks and sending golden sparks flying from the steel plate behind it.

"Bang!"

The truck, moving at high speed, crushed the ground beneath its massive tires, smashing through the base's fence and plunging into the courtyard!

"Notify everyone inside, we're under attack! Switch to burst fire and mow down that damn truck!"

The officer felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. He grabbed his own automatic rifle and rushed outside, shouting.

Quickly, over twenty guards surrounding the gate opened fire on the speeding truck!

"Rat-tat-tat!"

A hail of bullets tore into the truck! The cab was hit from all directions, riddled with holes in the doors and side windows.

"Screech!"

In an instant, the two men inside the cab were riddled with bullets. The truck swerved out of control, its tires screeching against the ground.

"Boom!"

The out-of-control truck slammed into a building, its front end crumpling against the wall in a cloud of dust!

Seeing this, the officer yelled, "Move in and check it out!"

"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers, guns raised, formed a cordon and slowly approached the truck. Soldiers poured out of the building, joining them.

At the corner of a nearby street, a scruffy middle-aged man took a deep drag from a cigarette, then tossed it to the ground. He pulled out a detonator and pressed it hard.

"BOOM!"

A deafening explosion shook the earth!

The truck that had crashed into the building erupted in a massive fireball, unleashing a terrifying wave of energy! Soldiers who had just approached were instantly incinerated!

"Rumble!"

Then, with another earth-shattering roar, the left side of the building, four or five stories high, collapsed. Soldiers inside who hadn't managed to escape were instantly incinerated by the heat!

Flames billowed from the building, in the firelight, contorted figures could be seen writhing before collapsing lifelessly to the ground, unable to even scream.

"Wooo-ooo-ooo—"

The base's alarm wailed as men shouted in English.

"Attack! Attack!"

"Quick, there's a fire below, go put it out!"

Chaos reigned in the courtyard. Suddenly, the roar of engines returned from outside the gate.

"Vroom! Vroom!!"

Turning, they saw three more trucks barreling through the side and rear gates simultaneously, heading straight for the main building!

The officer who had miraculously survived the first blast stared in disbelief, a sound of utter despair escaping his lips: "Oh God..."

"Bang!"

The three trucks slammed into the main building. The occupants didn't even get out before pressing the detonators.

"BOOM!"

"Rumble!!"

"..."

Three deafening explosions ripped through the night sky, instantly vaporizing all the soldiers who were busy fighting the fire!

The thirty-two-story main building collapsed in a cloud of dust under the force of the four truck bombs! The surrounding support buildings were either destroyed by the blasts or crushed by the falling structure.

The four explosions shook the entire city of Montpelier!

Amidst the fire and screams, police and fire trucks raced towards the scene.

Nearby, the middle-aged man, a member of the Sori Marines, shouted to the surrounding crowd, "Old Mo sends his regards!!!"

Then, he turned and disappeared into the chaotic throng.

This was the largest attack inside the Second District since the Resource Resurgence! The entire Foreign Legion base, including the main building and surrounding dormitories and functional buildings, was destroyed. Over twenty-five hundred people were killed, and over a thousand were injured!

It was an act of revenge, a reckless reprisal that crippled the Foreign Legion's command base.

The Sori Marines had accomplished this by sacrificing ten late-stage AIDS patients hired from South America and four truckloads of explosives.

No one knew how such a massive amount of explosives had been smuggled into the city. But even in the peaceful days a hundred years ago, similar attacks were common in the Second District. Major streets and even famous soccer stadiums had often been the sites of explosions.

...

South America, in an undeveloped area, deep in a desolate mountain range.

The "Tatu" private armed force's headquarters was hidden here, virtually unknown to outsiders.

Now, the base gates stood open, and a stream of military vehicles was coming and going. These were the military supplies sent by the First District as payment. The Tatu forces would then use their own methods to transport these supplies to the Desola front.

A commander stood at the base entrance, smoking a cigarette and looking up at the sky. He said to his adjutant, "The night is beautiful tonight. It seems tomorrow will be a good day."

The adjutant told him, "We've finished counting! All supplies are loaded!"

"Good, move faster! We need to figure out how to get these supplies across the sea to the front lines..."

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Before he could finish, four bombers suddenly flew over in the night sky, directly above the base. These bombers were old and outdated; the crew even had to load the ammunition manually.

The commander started in alarm, dropping his cigarette. He grabbed his radio and roared hysterically, "Attack! We're under attack!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

A terrifying sound of air being torn apart echoed through the air, followed by a rain of bombs falling on the base.

"Rumble!"

In the blink of an eye, the base turned into an inferno!

This was only the beginning. After the four bombers left, swarms of drones appeared in the sky.

These drones, carrying explosives, launched suicide attacks on the base's main building and warehouses. Despite the enemy's heavy machine-gun fire, over thirty small drones broke through, triggering another series of explosions!

The entire attack lasted less than two minutes!

The heavily concealed private armed base suffered a devastating blow! Many of the remaining soldiers, as well as the wounded soldiers who had retreated from the front lines, died in the explosions before they even understood what was happening.

Simultaneously, that night, within four hours, over a dozen bases or branch bases of private armed forces supporting the Red Hats were subjected to attacks of near annihilation! The total death toll exceeded ten thousand!

...

Juarez Town, headquarters of the All-System Bureau.

Gu Baisun, holding the phone, said to Su Tianyu, "Hit twelve. A few more haven't been found yet. That's a wrap!"