Ark Undead

Chen said.

"The border guards will continue to monitor people entering the city, and..."

She seemed to want to do something more, but just then, an explosion came from afar and reached everyone's ears.

"What?! Another explosion?!"

Chen's expression changed drastically, and she quickly peeked out from behind the roller shutter. At the same time, a voice came from Chen's hidden earpiece.

"Old Chen! Something's happened! A terrorist attack has occurred in the shopping mall area of ​​Longmen City, and kidnappers have taken hostages!"

It's Hoshiguma.

The three exchanged a glance and immediately realized that this terrorist attack was probably part of a chain of crimes.

This is to further disperse the police force of the Imperial Guard!

226. Delaying time

Suddenly, a large number of members of the Integration Movement appeared in Lungmen City, and they surrounded the largest shopping mall in Lungmen. Police officers and patrol officers who were waiting nearby arrived at the scene immediately.

What terrified the public most was the sudden and powerful explosion inside the shopping mall. This meant that there were significant casualties inside the mall.

The problem is that more than ten minutes have passed since the explosion. Apart from some civilians, no one has managed to escape, and even the mall's security guards and security personnel have not heard anything.

For the Lungmen Guard Bureau, having no information about the other side, they were at a loss as to where to begin and how to get in to carry out a rescue operation.

All they knew was that by remotely accessing the mall's surveillance footage through the Guard Bureau, they saw civilians being imprisoned by the Reunion Movement.

By this time, it was already around 2 p.m.

Swire and Hoshiguma arrived late; they had already spoken with Chen.

Immediately after the explosion, Chen contacted Swire and Hoshiguma, saying that he could not leave the slums. Based on the analysis of the three, this was probably a diversionary tactic to disperse the Guard Bureau's forces away from the slums.

However, the three-man team from the Royal Guard Bureau had to split into two groups and leave. Neither side could be abandoned, and maintaining order in Lungmen City was of paramount importance.

"Can anyone tell me what exactly happened at the scene? Anyone who arrived first, can you tell me?"

Swire demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, which was likely related to her background.

Upon arriving at the scene, Swire immediately strode to the front line of defense, speaking as she went.

"What is the situation on the ground? How many citizens are still inside, and how many enemies are nearby?"

Before Hoshiguma and Swire arrived at the scene, a police officer temporarily in charge of the scene came to Swire and began to report the situation.

"Commander Swire, there are still about two to three hundred civilians being held inside the mall. The enemy is currently hiding inside the mall, and there are some snipers at the top outside. In the last negotiation, they said they would wait for you to arrive before they would be willing to proceed with further negotiations. As for the number of the enemy, we do not yet have an accurate estimate."

The officer paused for a moment, then continued speaking.

"However, external scouts have already spotted more than a dozen crossbowmen in at least four directions, and the enemy's number is estimated to be at least over a hundred."

"Over a hundred people, where did all these people come from?"

Swire also frowned. She knew there had been problems with Lungmen's immigration records recently, but she hadn't expected so many Reunion Movement members to have infiltrated so quietly.

Hoshiguma's expression wasn't good either. She was the person in charge of immigration records, and she had discussed this issue with Chen and Swire before.

At the time, they thought it was Lungmen's annual trading season again, but a few days later, the Chernobog incident occurred. Lungmen did not prevent refugees from entering, which led to the current situation.

"In short, first ensure all protective measures are in place, evacuate all civilians within a one-kilometer radius, set up a safety cordon, and prevent anyone from entering the site. Continue to use the pretext of an anti-terrorism drill to deal with the situation from the outside."

Swire was decisive and immediately made his own arrangements for the situation.

"Have the special operations team be ready at any time. Have someone go to the construction bureau and get the original construction blueprints for this shopping mall, even in digital format. Also, deploy two drone teams—quickly, quickly, get them moving!"

When Swire arrived, she immediately mobilized all the waiting officers, and under her guidance, everyone began to act in an orderly manner. However, the problem was still obvious: the Guard Bureau was running around in two places and was already short-handed.

It's important to understand that this is not an ordinary security issue, not something like a robbery, but something far more serious—a major terrorist attack.

In addition, with the search warrant in the slums, it's impossible for just a few or a dozen police officers to be on-site.

Fortunately, Rhodes Island personnel helped fill manpower slots in the slums. Otherwise, the Guard Bureau would have been in a real panic and wouldn't have known what to do.

A few minutes later, Swire, controlling a drone and holding a megaphone, crossed the police line by about ten meters under the protection of several police officers and arrived at the mall entrance.

"Terrorists from the Reunion Movement! I am Swire, Superintendent of the Lungmen Guard Bureau. You are completely surrounded by our people! Lay down your weapons immediately and we will accept your surrender!"

Swire's first words were quite confident. After all, she wanted to give everyone the impression that the Guard Bureau was not someone to be trifled with.

A man wearing a gas mask, no more than 1.5 meters tall, and dressed in a black and red jacket walked out of the mall. His face was obscured, but his strong voice could be heard speaking.

"Guards! Get your boss here! That guy named Wei Yanwu, bring him here. You're just a superintendent; you have no right to decide the life or death of these two hundred civilians!"

"Can you represent the Reunion Movement? You're just a nobody from the Reunion Movement, yet you've got quite the nerve!"

Swire realized that the other party initially said they needed someone from a higher level to appear, but now that Swire had actually shown up, they were demanding that Wei Yanwu appear. If things continued like this, the Emperor of Great Yan might eventually have to show up.

The problem is that they probably don't want to talk about this, but are deliberately stalling for time.

"My words represent the Guard Bureau. I can represent the Guard Bureau, but can you represent the Reunion Movement?!"

"I am Bonescrusher, one of the leaders of the Reunion Movement! Of course I have the right to decide the fate of all my Reunion Movement comrades present!"

The man raised something resembling a grenade launcher in both hands and began to speak eloquently.

"As for you, you're just a police superintendent, yet you boast that you can represent the entire Guard Bureau. Do you have connections in high places and were deliberately given a position to handle funerals?!"

Upon hearing this, Swire's expression remained unchanged, but Hoshiguma's expression shifted.

Swire's family was indeed very powerful, but she was able to become a superintendent in the Guard Bureau entirely because of her own abilities.

Many outsiders see her as a paper tiger, but very few know just how powerful this paper tiger really is.

"Wait here! Let's discuss this for a bit!"

Swire's emotions didn't change much. She simply informed her superiors and then, escorted by police officers, returned to the perimeter of the cordon, where she went to Hoshiguma's side.

Hoshiguma leaned closer, looked at Swire, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Swire didn't seem to be showing any emotional fluctuations.

"What do you want to do now? If it were me, I'd just rush in."

Hoshiguma clenched her fists, but considering the many civilians inside, she knew her words were just talk and she wouldn't actually rush in.

If the Reunion Movement were truly driven to a corner and resorted to violence against civilians to vent their anger, none of the police officers present would escape.

After all, protecting citizens is their responsibility.

"It's obvious that the other side is trying to stall for time, and is deliberately trying to distract our manpower and keep us all here."

Swire put down the megaphone and took the terminal from the officer next to her.

"These are the blueprints left over from when this shopping mall was built. Although I hate to admit it, we have to take action. Otherwise, this is not just a matter of a shopping mall and a few hundred civilians, but a danger to the entire Lungmen."

Swire placed the terminal on the hood of the car and said.

"Have the special operations team stay there. I'll draw attention ahead, and you, Hoshiguma, lead the team through the passage on the second basement level. The civilians in the mall should all be concentrated on the first floor. If there are no problems, just go straight for them."

Swire looked at Hoshiguma with a questioning gaze.

"Can?"

"I accept your arrangement, I understand."

Hoshiguma nodded, then turned to the officers behind her and spoke.

"Sniper team, remain in position. Reconnaissance team, continue moving and observing the situation inside the mall. Stay in constant contact with Officer Swire and me. Report any unusual activity directly over the channel. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir!"

The officers accepted the assignment and immediately got to work.

Swire glanced back at the mall entrance, at the now-vanished shattered bones.

She always felt something was strange; how could someone like that be the leader of the Reunion Movement?

Meanwhile, inside the mall, "Bonebreaker," who had just walked in from the entrance, removed his gas mask and tossed aside the two grenade launchers he was carrying.

In reality, there were no Originium bombs inside, and even the bone fragments were fake.

The one who truly commands the situation here is not Broken Bones.

Instead, it was W who arrived late, having been ordered to do so.

"Chief, how was your performance just now?"

The Reunion member pretending to be Shattered Bones chuckled twice. Judging from his appearance, he was just a teenager who volunteered to play this role simply because he admired Shattered Bones.

Even though he knew that standing at the mall entrance meant he would be targeted by numerous snipers and crossbowmen, and that he might face several crossbow bolts lodged in his body at any moment.

"You've got guts, daring to yell at those two people like that. You're really something."

W was also quite surprised to see this guy; he really put on a good show.

"But why did we come here? And we won't be able to escape in a moment."

The boy took off his jacket, changed into his own clothes, and asked a question.

"Besides, these Guard Bureau people seem like they're not to be trifled with. I just saw a group of them quietly leave. Are they trying to come in from somewhere else?"

"Don't overthink it or ask too many questions. Our mission here is to hold off these Guard Bureau personnel so that we can help the other two leaders who are still in the slums."

W chuckled, glanced back at the civilians squatting on the ground floor, thought for a moment, and then waved.

Other Reunion Movement members immediately came over.

"Have the Originium bombs upstairs been arranged?"

W asked in a low voice.

"The guys are still installing it, but it shouldn't take long. It should all be installed before the next negotiation."

The Reunion member glanced down at the time on the watch he had stolen, then looked up and said...

W nodded.

“Very good. We’ll negotiate one more time at most, then we’ll prepare to break out. Some of our men will stay behind, disguised as civilians, and go out together.”

"clear."

The Reunion Movement members responded in unison, then dispersed, preparing to leave.

The city center of Lungmen is bustling with activity, and the slums are no less so.

Lin Yuxia's men and some of Chen's subordinates were still pretending to fight on the street as they slowly moved into the slums.