Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1189 High-Rise Sniping (Second Update)

Few would call the Emperor an architect, but Stephanie Malik knows from a series of blueprints with electronic seals in the archives that the future urban planning of Latvinia was entirely his doing. A city's size is limited by its political and economic status, population, jobs, transportation, and many other factors, but a city designed with the post-apocalyptic war in mind encompasses an entire province. A giant underground fusion power plant at its core, with a network of circuits and substation nodes spreading out like capillaries, will provide a continuous supply of electricity to the entire megacity. Even after the central fusion power plant shuts down, other smaller power plants, acting as nodes in the grid, will ensure the city's power supply remains unaffected.

In addition, there are a series of vivid examples of management disciplines that combine science and art, such as highly efficient and complex sewer networks, wired communication networks, ecological farms and agricultural product transportation networks, water resource transportation and recycling systems, and urban network transportation systems. These allow the city to accommodate more people while ensuring that everyone's standard of living is not affected as much as possible. However, the most important aspect of this future city is its meticulously constructed defense system. The core idea of ​​urban planning is to meet military needs and to rely on the city's existing systems to launch counterattacks after an invasion by foreign enemies.

If the construction schedule allows, a thick city wall connecting to the transportation network will surround this megacity—there are many reasons why modern cities don't have walls, but if a city encompasses a province or state and has a sufficiently excellent urban design, constructed of high-strength concrete capable of withstanding artillery fire, and possesses numerous air defense facilities, then while maintaining air superiority, the existence of the city wall can still play a role in hindering and killing enemy forces. After all, a city wall capable of operating freight railways is not so easy to destroy—however, the current construction schedule does not allow this idea to be realized. The first phase of the project alone requires working overtime to complete before the arrival of the alien fleet, let alone building the city wall. Only some important military fortresses can be completed in time.

If we were to pinpoint the source of the emperor's architectural inspiration, it would undoubtedly stem from his current work, a job he has held since his education: building houses for orphanages. From initially modifying fire-resistant plasterboard walls to bricklaying, concrete pouring, and interior design, Athena assigned him tasks. Even now, he still undertakes construction work for the Athena Mountain Orphanage, though the nature of this work has shifted from a primary task to leisure.

"These two locations can be set up as crossfire points. If we deploy Tarantula firing platforms or twin-mounted lasers at these points, any vehicles or personnel attempting to enter through the gate will be severely damaged." Salomon drew a dotted line in the air with his finger. "The purpose of fortifications is to delay, not annihilate, but if we can conceal these two firing points, just two machine gunners can hold them off for a considerable time. Extra personnel can use underground tunnels to bypass the perimeter and eliminate those outside, or we can use drones loaded with grenades to strike enemy forces trapped outside—it's cheap and easy to operate. Oh, and we might also need some anti-aircraft equipment; some WWII-era anti-aircraft guns are excellent weapons against drones..."

"Those are just two flowerbeds," Lorna Dane said mercilessly. "If you dare to dig up the flowers and make some kind of fortifications, I won't see you tomorrow."

"Be romantic, Lorna." Salomon reached out and stroked Lorna's long, dark green hair, but little Lorna didn't appreciate it at all, instead glaring at him fiercely. Salomon laughed heartily, then turned to look at the streetlights gradually lighting up below. Through the laser rangefinder, he saw the entire city of New York slowly slid from the gray-red afterglow into the night, the lights in the direction of Manhattan gradually rising from the vast shadows of the city, coloring the night sky into a bustling metropolis shimmering with heat. "Our job now is hunting, and hunting requires patience. Are you ready?"

"Of course." Little Lorna glanced at the anemometer Salomon had placed to the side, then adjusted the data on the ballistic software. Underneath the chocolate she was eating was a range card. She had chosen the sniping location herself, and she had also made the range card herself. Salomon hadn't offered any opinions, but instead acted as her spotter according to her wishes. They were now on the hotel's rooftop, and the relatively petite Lorna was carrying the CheyTac Intervention M200 tactical intervention rifle she had taken from the armory of the Oxfordshire manor. This rifle had been hand-modified by Salomon, improving its accuracy but also making it considerably heavier.

Thanks to extensive physical and tactical training, Lorna's movements were fluid and skillful, possessing an agility far beyond what a high school girl should have. Salomon even remarked that she was as robust as a red-haired country girl hauling hay on a Texas farm. Lorna clicked her tongue in frustration. "It's 19:26 PM, and the target still hasn't appeared. Could your intelligence be wrong?"

“The real estate developer will be here; I know his wife,” Salomon said calmly, continuing to use his rangefinder to observe the target’s possible locations. “To please me, she told me everything she knew. She’s pretty sure her husband will come back to the office around this time, have an affair with his secretary, then leave before the secretary’s boyfriend picks her up from get off work, finally returning home around 8:15 PM. She also complained that her husband doesn’t even bother to shower after cheating, and pitied the secretary for having to flatter her husband.”

Since Kingpin's imprisonment, many New York gangs have become restless. Coupled with the devastation of Wall Street a few months ago, the city's security situation has deteriorated significantly. Even so, many lawmakers are still clamoring about excessive force by NYPD officers against Black people and calling for defunding the police. As a result, patrol officers have recently reduced their patrol areas and frequency, and are no longer responding to non-emergency requests such as store robberies.

However, the police are also a crucial part of New York's gang politics. As a supplement to grassroots law enforcement, the New York gangs and the NYPD have a symbiotic relationship. The absence of upper management has led to numerous problems in New York. It's not that every NYPD officer is corrupt, but many gang leaders reside in affluent areas and have frequent interactions with judges and prosecutors. Even if they are unwilling to admit it, there is a certain tacit understanding between New York State's judiciary, law enforcement, and legislation and the gangs. Now, King's imprisonment has weakened his control over the New York gangs. Smelling blood, lower-level gangsters are trying to grab some of the spoils, leading to frequent gang fights over drug trafficking territories and other issues.

For example, this time, Salomon couldn't understand why a real estate developer would suddenly take a liking to the orphanage and the land nearby—after all, a murder had occurred there, the one during the previous attack by the dark creatures. Although the police hadn't found a body, the entire block was practically covered in blood. The incident made the newspapers, and the media called it a prank, but even though there was no evidence of murder, many people believed a crime had happened there, thus affecting property prices. The developer's acquisition strategy was simple: send gangsters employed by a larger real estate company to negotiate, which infuriated Lorna, who had just returned from school.

"When did you meet him?" Little Lorna asked in surprise, looking up from the scope. "How come I didn't know about this?"

"How can we act blindly without intelligence? After you called me, I did a little investigation and found the bar his wife frequents." Salomon raised an eyebrow at Lorna. "I easily gained her trust; she still believes I'm a shipping tycoon. I must say, the compliment 'still charming' is entirely fitting for her face and figure."

"Should I point a gun at you now?"

"Stop fooling around, the target has been spotted. Yes, it's that gray Ford, and there's someone in the driver's seat—that's the target." Salomon quickly interrupted Lorna's complaining. "Final data adjustment, all ready?"

"Yes." Little Lorna exhaled and held her breath, bringing the oncoming car into her line of sight from the other end of the road. "621 meters away, begin firing."

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(End of this chapter)