Chapter 1

It was a little after four in the afternoon.

In the Fukuoka district of Dragon City, outside a detached villa, three military jeeps came to a halt. A dozen or so officers under Tan Mingchao, dressed in plain clothes and wearing masks, hurried towards the courtyard.

Nearby on the street, Tan Mingchao sat in his car, his right hand holding a walkie-talkie, his gaze stern.

About two minutes later, the group entered the villa's main hall. The leader spoke a password to a woman: "Madam Wu, the higher-ups have finished the call. Tonight we'll send you out of the city, along the 702 border line. You received the call, right?"

"I did," the woman nodded.

"How many people?" the leading officer asked.

"Four of us," the woman replied softly, "There's an elderly person."

"Take your packed belongings and leave now. Don't waste time," the leading officer urged.

"Okay!" The woman turned and called out, "Yan'yan, Zeze, help Grandma downstairs. We're leaving."

As she spoke, a pair of 15- or 16-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, helped an old woman down the stairs. These three were the children of Chief of Staff Wu and his mother.

The group gathered in the hall, took their simple luggage, and left the villa with the dozen or so people, without telling the nanny where they were going.

As the group exited and Chief of Staff Wu's family was about to get into the car, four men walked over from across the street.

"Wait!" The middle-aged leader had his colleagues block the car. He took out his work ID, hung it on his chest, and said to the officer, "We are from the Great District Council's investigation team. These people are under surveillance. You can't take them away."

The officer glanced at them, then continued to help the old woman into the car.

At the street entrance, Tan Hengqiang, who remained hidden, was also watching the situation closely. Seeing the others come forward to obstruct, he immediately grabbed his walkie-talkie and shouted, "Don't humor them."

The officer had an earpiece in and could hear Tan Mingchao's instructions. He turned to the investigation team members and said, "Get out of the way!"

"I said, we're from the investigation team!" Seeing Chief of Staff Wu's family get into the car, the middle-aged man immediately reached out to stop them.

*Bang!*

The officer under Tan Mingchao raised his leg and kicked out. With a swift movement, he drew his gun from his waist and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

*Bang!*

The gunshot silenced the surroundings. Chief of Staff Wu's children turned pale with fright.

"Get lost, or I'll kill you!" the officer roared, pointing his gun at the man's head.

As he spoke, the other seven or eight officers all drew their weapons.

The leading officer didn't linger and immediately stepped into the passenger seat of the car. "Go!"

"You can't leave! You're violating the Great District Council's orders…!" The four surveillance personnel from the investigation team tried their best to stop them and cursed angrily, but it was useless. They had few people in Dragon City and couldn't compare to the garrison.

After the group of soldiers simply and violently knocked the four men down, they quickly got into the car and drove away.

Seeing the convoy leave, Tan Mingchao also instructed his driver, "Let's go."

This situation played out repeatedly in a dozen or so districts of Dragon City. In the matter of picking up the direct relatives of the involved officers, Tan Mingchao clearly had the advantage of local support and connections. He made the first move, giving Zhou Xian no chance to react.

About ten minutes later.

A convoy of military vehicles stopped in front of the Wu family's residence. Zhou Xian's assistant, Li Yuan, was the first to get out of the car. He asked the four beaten-up investigation team members, "Where are they?!"

"Suddenly a dozen or so people came, all in plain clothes. They went in and took the people away," the middle-aged man from the investigation team said through gritted teeth, clutching his bleeding nose. "We tried to stop them, and they started shooting, completely disregarding our identities! I'm telling you, Director, Tan Hengqiang and the Xin family must have colluded. Otherwise, these relatives would never have gone with them so easily!"

"Damn it!"

Li Yuan cursed angrily and immediately called Zhou Xian, telling him bluntly, "They made the first move. Lao Wu's wife, children, and mother have all been snatched away."

Zhou Xian was stunned. "Impossible, I just spoke to Lao Wu on the phone."

"Our people had guns pointed at their heads!" Li Yuan said through gritted teeth. "We believe Lao Wu is up to something."

"Wait, I'll call him. Also, haven't the people from the 77th and 78th Regiments gone over there?" Zhou Xian immediately replied, "Take the troops and chase after them. Remember this: if you encounter obstruction or resistance along the way, you can open fire when necessary without reporting. Our goal is to control the direct relatives of the involved officers. Only then will they compromise!"

"Yes!"

As he spoke, the two ended the call. Li Yuan instructed a company commander from the 77th Regiment, "Send more troops over here. Quickly, we're chasing after them!"

"Yes!" the company commander replied from inside the car.

…

Inside the investigation team's office.

Zhou Xian cursed darkly. He immediately called Chief of Staff Wu. "Hello?!"

"What is it?" Chief of Staff Wu asked calmly.

Zhou Xian's voice was cold. "Are you playing games with me? Are you trying to sell the same item to two buyers?!"

"What are you talking about?" Chief of Staff Wu's voice was filled with displeasure. "I'm not very bright. Speak plainly!"

"Your family has been taken away. Do you know that?!" Zhou Xian's voice contained anger. "During the process of taking them, your family didn't resist at all. They were very cooperative. If you hadn't given them the word, would they be stupid enough to just go with anyone?!"

Chief of Staff Wu immediately roared angrily, "Taken away?! What are you doing? Didn't I tell you, my family would only go with you!"

Zhou Xian knew that arguing with him at this moment was pointless. He gripped the phone and said, word by word, "Listen to me carefully! If you cause trouble at this time, I guarantee your end will be miserable!! In the end, your family might flee in fear of punishment and be shot on the spot! Weigh the importance of things yourself."

"What do you mean?! Zhou Xian, you…!"

"Beep beep!" Zhou Xian hung up the phone directly and immediately shouted, "Call the commanders of the 77th and 78th Regiments over here."

"Yes!"

…

Inside the Xin family villa.

The anger on Chief of Staff Wu's face had disappeared. After finishing the call with Zhou Xian, he immediately called Tan Mingchao's cell phone.

"Hello, Uncle Wu?"

"Zhou Xian called me. He might have realized what's going on," Chief of Staff Wu said concisely. "Tell Commander Tan, we have no other requests. As long as you safely send our families out, I promise on behalf of all the core officers of the Third Division, we will collectively surrender and won't bite back!"

"It's a deal!"

"It's a deal!" Chief of Staff Wu nodded.

"Okay, that's it."

The two ended the call. Chief of Staff Wu turned to Zhang Hao and Fei Pingsheng, who were disguised as garrison soldiers. "Go over there. Participate in escorting them later."

"Okay!" Fei Pingsheng nodded.

…

Inside the An family military headquarters in Dragon City.

Tan Hengqiang walked into An Zecheng's office.

"Oh, Commander Tan!" An Zecheng immediately stood up and extended his hand.