give it all to miss machima

Locke suggested.

"They must have some demands for doing this, and it would be best if it could be resolved through negotiation."

Father Ricard nodded as well:

“Sure, even if it's just to buy time—a tactical team from SAD (Special Operations Division) is on its way, my superiors should be discussing things with other important figures, and Special Operations Command will be sending reinforcements soon…”

"Then... I'll go talk to them."

Locke straightened his collar and looked towards the church in the distance.

"I heard that person is Japanese, isn't he?"

"Then I'll go too."

Levi checked her two Berettas.

“Ada’s in there too. This time, I’m going to make a real fool of her!”

Chapter 145 The Fall of the Sea Dragon

Father Ricard quickly prepared the necessary items for Locke's negotiations—most importantly, a small camera and radio equipment to record information from the other side while allowing outsiders to at least know what was happening inside.

Under the dark muzzle of a gun in the window, Levi carefully led Locke, who was holding a white flag, through the Grey Fox squad, who hung like salted fish and occasionally groaned, and into the church.

As they entered, the light dimmed, and once their pupils adjusted, they were surprised to find that all the gunmen were young girls—although they wore strange masks that covered most of their faces, their figures clearly indicated that they were women.

They were clearly of East Asian descent, with the same long black hair, and each of them was looking at the two with malicious eyes, sneering from behind their masks, just like the spider demons in the Spider Cave seeing Tang Sanzang walk in.

The intense sense of crisis enveloped by this malice almost made the dual-wielder, who had experienced countless life-or-death moments, unable to resist the urge to draw her gun and shoot them to pieces right now—Levy even felt that the malice emanating from these girls was not human, but rather... something inhuman, like a wild beast.

Locke's intuition wasn't as sharp, but he observed more carefully. He discovered that although most of their faces were covered, the girls' eyebrows were extremely similar, as if they were made from the same mold.

For some reason, they didn't try to confiscate the weapons or search the two negotiators; they just watched them with an air of schadenfreude.

As they continued into the church, Levi immediately saw Ada bound to the altar—the CIA agent was flushed, her eyes were unfocused, and her clothes were tattered; she hadn't even noticed their arrival.

“Ada! Damn it! You bunch of—”

Locke grabbed Levi's hand, signaling her to calm down, his gaze fixed on the back of the figure beside Miss Ida.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Aphrodite?"

“Aphrodite? No, the only one here is Kwanghee.”

Turning around, one saw a woman with gray hair and wearing an eye patch.

She looked at Levi with great interest.

"The double gunner of Roanapur? I've heard of you, and I'm quite interested in you."

"is it?"

Levi looked at Kwanghee with disdain... or rather, Machima.

"But I've never heard of you, some nobody. Who the hell are you anyway?"

"I love kids like you with your foul mouth, because in a little while, you'll be begging me over and over again... but..."

Machima turned her gaze to the former Japanese corporate slave on the other side.

"Since you're here to negotiate, why don't we have a chat before the rest of the US troops arrive?"

Locke felt a headache coming on. First, the other party's leader was someone he knew nothing about, and now, the other party's fearless attitude made him feel uneasy.

But as the person in charge of the negotiations, he still organized his thoughts and advised:

“Alright… Miss Guangxi, we really should have a good talk. Since you know that the US military is about to arrive, whatever your purpose may be, you should know when to stop. You should understand that Roanapur is not Mogadishu, and Thailand is not chaotic Somalia. In this city, no one will help you. Once the encirclement is complete, you and your men will not be able to escape… Therefore, I sincerely suggest that you end things reasonably while the situation is still under your control.”

Machima laughed:

"I've heard of you too, Okajima Rokuro from Japan... I'm curious, you could have gone back to Japan, but you chose to stay here. Why? Birds of a feather flock together. Do you feel good being among this scum, crime, and garbage? You even have the audacity to volunteer to be a mediator for those outsiders and negotiate with me?"

Locke gave a wry smile:

"I just... don't want more people and this city to continue to bleed."

"Oh? A nice guy? But since we're on the topic of this city, what do you think of Roanapur? As someone who came to this city from a peaceful society to make a living, I think you should have some unique insights?"

"...This is a city full of sin, but...it has its own reason for existing."

"An interesting perspective."

Machima approached Ida and gently patted Ida's face, who was now in a daze.

"But the analysis is correct. During the Cold War, against the backdrop of various countries secretly trying to subvert the peace of other countries and create chaos, islands like Roanapur, which are conducive to the transfer of personnel and supplies and are located in a state of low control, naturally had their significance. For example, our lady from the CIA..."

Levi couldn't resist placing her hand on the gun:

"Damn it! What did you do to her?"

"What did you do?"

Machima scoffed and looked at Levi.

"Of course, I did what she's always been doing, you know? In the basement of this church, there's enough Du Ping to supply all the addicts in Southeast Asia for several months, and now, I've let her taste her own product..."

Machima pinched Ida again, who was unconsciously murmuring something.

"She seems to be enjoying it, doesn't she?"

Despite Locke's objections, Revy, who had a very good relationship with Ada, finally drew her gun:

"—You bastard!!!"

“That’s strange, Miss Levi.”

Machima ignored the gun barrel and looked at her mockingly.

“I merely let her taste my goods, while she is the one who delivers Du Ping to countless households, ruining the health and lives of countless people and families, causing countless sins, and even using the funds and weapons from Du Ping trafficking to support those big drug lords who produce Du Ping so that they can continuously supply the product... Compared to me, our nun is the real bastard, isn't she? Why are you only angry at me?”

Levi glared at Machima through gritted teeth, while Locke, standing beside her, lowered her gun and looked at Machima instead.

“Miss Ada, you're just following orders as a CIA member, you don't need to…”

"You mean, the CIA trafficking drugs isn't a crime?"

"No, I mean..."

"—I ask you, why can the CIA build a Du Ping empire around the world without being condemned?"

"..."

Locke paused for a few seconds, then replied:

"Because it is in the interest of the United States...and many others."

"Wrong, because they have that ability."

Machima snapped her fingers.

"The Hydra Empire, which oppresses all living beings, is a genocidal gang of North American slave owners. They have the capability to do this! They commit murder, arson, and all sorts of atrocities. With one hand they wield the butcher's knife, while with the other they hold up the Bible, disguising everything as freedom, democracy, and equality... This is an evil empire that has been dripping with blood and filth from every pore since its inception!"

She raised her hands high.

"And I am the one who will sever the head of this hydra! I could easily have become its mastermind, but hunting it gives me more pleasure than controlling it—not for any justice or belief, but simply because... I am equally capable of doing so!"

Locke stared blankly at Machima:

"You...so you mean...all your actions so far have been aimed at...declaring war on the United States?"

"That's right... Shh, listen~"

Machima held up one finger.

"The war has begun..."

Outside the church, Balalaika, Zhang Weixin, and the CIA priest listened to the voice coming from the radio with different expressions.

"This guy... is he another Hezbollah-like lunatic?" Zhang Weixin clicked his tongue.

"But he's clearly not an ordinary madman..."

Balalaika's walkie-talkie crackled to life. His subordinates reported that several U.S. military helicopters were approaching from the coastal direction, still hovering over the city.

The priest was also on the radio at that moment. After a conversation, his face lit up with joy: "The United States has arrived! The first to arrive is the 1st SEAL Team, deployed in Southeast Asia! They were already on a mission with the fleet while sailing nearby! I have already informed the military of the situation here. Don't retreat yet! Continue to surround this place. We absolutely cannot let the enemy escape at this time!"

Zhang Weixin looked displeased, while Balalaika was even more dismissive. Whether out of pride as a former Soviet soldier or distrust of the US military, she was not going to blindly follow the CIA's orders.

“I will not allow American helicopters to fly over my head. The mission of the Moscow Hotel ends here. The Triads and the local police can also do the job of simply surrounding this place. We are not interested.”

At her command, the soldiers at the Moscow Hotel immediately withdrew from their positions, handing over their posts to Triad members and Thai police officers on guard. They quickly boarded armed pickup trucks and vehicles, ready to leave.

Zhang Weixin was somewhat worried, but looking at the still motionless church and the priest whose face was obviously annoyed, he ultimately said nothing. He simply told his subordinates to be on high alert and to send the police to the front first.

At this moment, several armed and multi-purpose transport helicopters could be seen approaching from the sky above the city in the distance. It was believed that in a few minutes, elite American troops would be able to rappel down and completely take over the work of the ragtag group here, seal off the church, and rescue the captured United States soldiers.

But... just before leaving, Balalaika suddenly saw many small red dots rise up in the city, flying straight into the sky and crashing into the helicopters.

"...!?"

A few hours earlier, more than 100 nautical miles off the coast of Loanapur, several giant steel swords were cutting through the waves.

Surrounded by numerous warships is a magnificent behemoth—the USS Stennis, the seventh Nimitz-class aircraft carrier built by the United States in the 1990s. The carrier battle group centered around it is one of the most important overseas forces of the United States Navy.

After receiving orders to dispatch a naval special operations regiment to a city in Thailand to rescue United States soldiers, several MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters were immediately loaded with fully armed soldiers and headed to Roanapur at maximum speed.

Despite the fact that the United States' human traffickers are at odds with each other, the current situation no longer allows for infighting between departments—the fact that active-duty soldiers of the United States are being hung up and paraded in public is an insult to the United States in itself.

They even dared to attack soldiers from the beacon of freedom and democracy that brought countless blessings of freedom and democracy to other countries! These are no ordinary terrorists! No matter who is behind them, we must strike hard!

Moreover, if such a matter is not resolved swiftly and decisively, once the news spreads widely, it will quickly cause an uproar both domestically and internationally.

Then the government will have to explain to the foolish public why it secretly deployed soldiers to other countries' territories, and there will be international criticism of the United States—even if Thailand is just a dog of the United States, on the surface it is at least a staunch ally of the United States in Southeast Asia. If things get out of hand, it will not look good.

Mogadishu a few years ago gave the United States a profound PTSD. It was one of the few truly well-intentioned humanitarian operations by the United States, but in the end, the United States only ended up with a mess in Somalia, followed by countless international accusations.

Therefore, they must now resolve this situation beautifully, decisively, and swiftly!

As for the ensuing wrangling between the CIA, the Department of Defense, the Pentagon, and even Congress, that's something to consider and worry about later.

The CH-53E, nicknamed the "Sea Stallion," is one of the main assault forces of the U.S. Marine Corps, which travels from amphibious assault ships to land. Today, the soldiers carried in their cabins are even more elite.

Because of their numerous outstanding achievements in many U.S. military operations, the Navy SEALs are arguably the most famous special forces unit in the world, as well as the most mysterious and intimidating special operations force. Overseas counterterrorism operations, hostage rescues, and the hunting of terrorist leaders are among their specialties.

In the future, the most famous counter-terrorism operation in history—Operation Neptune Spear, which killed Osama bin Laden—was carried out by this world-renowned unit.

The soldiers of SEAL Team 1 were confident about the operation. Ground intelligence had been relayed to them, local police would cooperate with their work, and local forces under CIA control had established a cordon. Their task was to rescue their comrades and then arrest or kill the terrorists in the church.

But the sudden alarm in the cabin and the pilot's screams caused the situation to spiral out of control.

Faced with a sudden barrage of Stinger surface-to-air missiles launched from the ground, the CH-53E pilot immediately unleashed all available flares and chaff. The flashing lights looked like frightened souls left behind.

Even so, faced with the saturation attack, these helicopters, after doing their best, were still hit one after another, spinning and crashing into the city below.

On the distant fleet, the American commanders felt a chill run down their spines when they heard the piercing calls of "Mayday! Mayday!" coming over the radio.

Chapter 146 Mogadishu Replica

"They've gone mad... madness!"

Having witnessed the crash of the US military helicopter, Balalaika finally realized that the woman's words about burning the city to ashes were not a joke.

"Captain!? We're now..."

Boris, the adjutant standing to the side, withdrew his shocked gaze and looked at the backbone of the Moscow Hotel.

Balalaika thought for a few seconds and then gave the order:

"Have everyone pack up any cash and other valuables they can carry and evacuate the city as quickly as possible—just follow the original evacuation plan!"

Lieutenant Boris paused slightly, "But..."

The Moscow hotel industry is based in Roanapur, which is not a civilized city where people don't pick up lost items. Once these establishments are no longer under their protection, they are bound to be looted in the foreseeable chaos that follows.

Moreover, putting everything else aside, if the Moscow Hotel abandons them this time and runs away, it won't be so easy for them to come and collect protection money next time—the triads and other similar businesses will definitely not let this opportunity pass them by.

Balalaika was also heartbroken—everything Roanapur had was taken from their competitors piece by piece by her and her men through blood and sweat. Now that they were withdrawing, even if they returned, their gains would be greatly reduced.

Even so, her tone remained firm:

“Money can be earned back, Comrade Boris, but I don’t want to see any of my men die here again—this place will soon become more dangerous than ever before.”

"Yes, Captain, I will have everyone prepare to evacuate immediately."

Just then, another commotion broke out at the church.

From a distance, Balalaika and the others who hadn't left saw a woman with short, gray-white hair, wearing an eye patch, and for some reason carrying three bags of knives behind her, leading Roanapura's dual-wielding gunmen out of the church. Accompanying her were seven or eight women in bodysuits and combat uniforms, as well as Locke, who was also being held captive.