Chapter 1 The Dragon City Rises

Two days later, a little after eight o'clock in the evening, there were still fourteen hours until the arrival of the First District delegation in The Dragon City Rises.

At the front-line base of the First Army, Kong Zhengqi, dressed in a Zhongshan suit under a bulletproof vest, with a large armband bearing the Weianhui (Peacekeeping Association) symbol on his left arm, strode to an office, knocked, and entered.

Inside the office, Kong Zhengui sat behind a desk, buried in paperwork.

"Brother!" Kong Zhengqi called out to him, then said, "The notice is out. We're starting a sweep of the area tonight."

"Mm..." Kong Zhengui looked up, noticed the Weianhui armband on his cousin's arm, and frowned. "What's with that thing?"

Kong Zhengqi spread his hands. "We didn't want to wear it. It's required by the higher-ups. A new spirit and look, you know!"

Kong Zhengui frowned deeper, but didn't say anything.

"You should put one on too." Kong Zhengqi said, taking a brand-new armband from his pocket and placing it on the desk.

"I'm not wearing that thing." Kong Zhengui didn't even touch it, just waved his hand and said, "Let's go. Time to leave."

"Alright."

Soon, over twenty military vehicles left the First Army compound and headed for The Dragon City Rises along the highway.

...

An hour later, The Dragon City Rises, the Fugang occupied zone.

A line of military vehicles stopped on the side of the road. Kong Zhengui pushed open the car door, stepped out, put his right hand in his pocket, and looked at the surrounding buildings.

The buildings in the occupied zone hadn't suffered too much war damage, but the facades were still marked with startling bullet holes. This desolate and broken scene was far removed from the The Dragon City Rises he remembered.

"Clatter!"

Immediately afterward, the doors of the surrounding military vehicles were opened, and hundreds of Weianhui personnel, dressed in Zhongshan suits, wearing armbands, and carrying batons, got out of the vehicles. These people were spotless, their leather shoes gleaming, and they strode directly into the surrounding buildings.

Following behind them were over two hundred soldiers from the Hua Ren (Chinese) Legion, all in military uniforms, carrying automatic rifles, helping to maintain order and security.

Kong Zhengui, with a dozen men, also headed for a building. Outside the building entrance, there were neatly arranged supply barrels, stamped with the First District Relief Association's emblem.

As he passed, Kong Zhengui glanced at them and saw that more than half of the supplies in the barrels were still there, being consumed very slowly.

"Clatter!"

Two soldiers carrying guns went inside first.

The entire building was full of garbage, and permeated with a rotting odor of sweaty feet, and the stench of feces, causing physical discomfort. Kong Zhengui stood at the entrance, paused, but still went inside.

The Weianhui people next to him couldn't help but cover their noses as they followed him into the building.

The group went through the dirty and chaotic lobby and came to the second floor. They immediately dispersed, and with a few loud bangs, kicked open all the doors on this floor.

As the blinding light of the flashlights shone inside, they saw the large number of refugees living in these rooms.

They were all residents who hadn't had time to escape after the war started, and had been trapped here.

These refugees were sallow and emaciated, dressed in rags, sleeping on worn-out, dirty bedding, and eating scraps picked up from the battlefield, and some food scavenged from nearby residential buildings.

Only a few people had First District supplies in front of them, but they were sitting separately from the others.

As the war continued, hatred grew to unprecedented levels. Many people who had previously been against the war now felt nothing but numbness and hatred in the face of the First District's bombings and massacres.

Therefore, they preferred to pick up garbage, even risking going to the battlefield to search for supplies, rather than touch the supplies distributed by the First District.

But some people couldn't bear it and took some. So, after so many days, those distributed supplies hadn't been used up much.

Kong Zhengui stood in front of the door of a room, scanning the scene inside, without saying a word.

Just then, a Weianhui youth walked up behind him, holding a baton, banged it on the door a few times, and shouted at the people, "Come on, come on, everyone get up! We've arranged other places for you to live. Hurry up, line up and get out!"

The refugees looked up blankly, sitting on the ground without moving.

"Damn it, can't you hear me?"

The youth pointed at them with his baton and cursed, "Get the hell up now and leave, you hear?!

The refugees in the room then silently stood up, picked up their worn-out bedding, packed up some scattered daily necessities on the ground, and walked out slowly.

The youth looked at them and urged again, "Hurry up, don't dawdle! Also, clean up everything on the ground, don't leave anything behind, or we'll have to check it later."

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the crowd, "You're wearing armbands, you're powerful, we'll listen to you."

The youth paused, looked at the crowd lining up to leave, and shouted, "Who said that?"

The crowd walked out blankly, no one answering him.

Just then, someone else was heard cursing in the empty corridor, "Fuck your mother, if I didn't have any backbone, I wouldn't necessarily be living worse than you!"

The youth heard it clearly this time, immediately pointed at the crowd in front and shouted, "Hey, old man in the front, stop right there!"

In the crowd, a dirty old man in his sixties with gray hair stood up directly, pointed at the youth's nose and cursed, "Fuck your mother, what's it to you if I stand out? I'm already sixty, I've lived enough, you just kill me!"

Veins popped out on the youth's forehead. He pulled out a pistol from his waist, racked the slide with a click, gritted his teeth and cursed, "You're calling me out, huh?!"

At this moment, Kong Zhengui pressed down on the youth's hand and scolded him, "Calm down!"

Many Hua Ren present chose to remain silent. The youth glanced at the old man, and reluctantly put down his pistol, saying nothing more.

In the crowd, someone also tugged at the old man twice, pulling him back into the line.

That night, a large number of refugees quickly gathered on the streets, having been expelled from this area, and under the control of the troops, went to another area.

A few hours later, this area was completely cleared.

...

At the same time, on another street, several military vehicles slowly stopped by the side of the road.

Soon, a group of people in special combat uniforms, belonging to Yuan Biao's subordinates, stepped down. One of the men leading the group pointed to the surrounding buildings and said, "The boss said that we are responsible for everything from Southeast Street to Hong'an Road. Starting now, inspect them one by one. If there are refugees, don't interfere, just call the Weianhui and let their people handle it, understand?"

"Yes!"

After giving the instructions, the groups dispersed and began to search the surrounding buildings.

At this time, in the last military vehicle, a thin young man jumped out of the vehicle, looked around, and then waved his hand at the vehicle.

A person got out of the passenger seat, carrying a long, narrow tactical bag, and silently followed behind him. In the moonlight, this person's face gradually became clear. It was Yao Dou Dou.

"Come, come with me."

The young man led him, crossed the street, and soon walked into an alley next to a building.

The two stopped, and the young man pointed to the building, whispering, "Your position is here. The building has been emptied now, but it will soon be occupied. Although we are still responsible for this area tomorrow, the entire area will be under military control by morning. Therefore, you must stay here tonight, and you will be alone. Remember, before the operation starts, don't make any noise, don't cause any disturbance... otherwise, not only you, but all of us brothers will be finished."

Yao Dou Dou said in a deep voice, "I understand. Give me the ammunition."

The young man immediately took a long string of ammunition pouches from his waist and handed them to Yao Dou Dou, then took out the key and opened a secluded side door of the building, "Alright, go up."

Without saying a word, Yao Dou Dou turned and went into the building, quickly running up the fire escape.

It took fully twenty minutes for Yao Dou Dou to reach the roof.

Facing the cold wind, he looked up at the towering iron tower on the roof, then turned to look at the surrounding scenery, slowly put the tactical bag on the ground. Then he turned off the communicator, lay down, looked at the sky, and habitually put a betel nut in his mouth, chewing slowly.

...

At the same time, downstairs.

The young man who had brought Yao Dou Dou here sat in the military vehicle, used his personal cell phone to call Yuan Biao, and said to him, "I'm here, checking it out."

Yuan Biao paused, and instructed, "Be serious, don't be careless."

"Got it."

The two hung up the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Yuan Biao sat in a dimly lit room, put the phone on the table, rubbed his face hard, his expression somewhat blank, and fell into silence.

...

That night, Kong Zhengui and the others worked until past twelve o'clock, finally completing the control of this area, and reported to Lü Zhen.

After Lü Zhen put down the phone, he also began to meet with the reporters, preparing for the next morning's event.

...

At the same time, on the outskirts of Bana City.

Tan Mingchao, dressed in a military uniform, left the camp and walked towards the military vehicle next to it, preparing to go to the front-line base of The Dragon City Rises.

Just then, a familiar shout came from behind, "Mingchao!"

Tan Mingchao turned around and saw his father, Tan Hengqiang, standing in the cold wind, looking at him with a somewhat hunched back. He frowned and immediately asked, "What's wrong, Commander?"

Tan Hengqiang didn't come forward, just looked at the military vehicles with his hands behind his back, and shouted to Tan Mingchao, "Nothing... It's cold, wear more clothes."

Tan Mingchao was stunned for a moment, and changed his address, "Got it, Dad."