Oudick dialed the phone, but there was no answer.
"Maybe it's on silent during the meeting..." Oudick guessed as he ran.
Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao didn't say anything, sprinting to keep up.
...
City Lord's Mansion, Noble Council Hall.
A long table stood in the center, with the richly dressed City Lord Xu Liyan at its head, flanked by three people on each side.
These were the seven great nobles and council members at the top of Weed City. However, since Xu Erde's time, the center of power had been shifting towards the City Hall and the City Defense Force, and the City Lord, who controlled these two departments and had the support of a certain force from "Initial City," had gradually been sidelining the Noble Council.
But in the face of the current emergency, even Xu Erde resurrected wouldn't dare to ignore the opinions of the other six great nobles.
They had private soldiers, manors, populations, and various resource reserves. If they rose up in the chaos, gathering the wasteland wanderers, it would be enough to change the face of Weed City.
At this moment, in the council hall, each great noble had only two guards behind them, including City Lord Xu Liyan.
This was a rule that had gradually "developed" since the establishment of the council, after countless frictions, leaks, coups, and bloodshed:
Anyone entering the council hall could bring a maximum of two bodyguards.
Similarly, the great nobles and their bodyguards could carry weapons, but they couldn't be exposed.
Weed City's weapons control regulation originated from the council.
--At the time, if the leaders of the various armed groups weren't allowed to bring guards and weapons, they would definitely fear being attacked, worried that the City Lord might suddenly drop his cup, and dozens or hundreds of gunmen would rush in and start shooting. If they were allowed to bring them, they would feel confident, and they were all figures who had experienced the chaos and spilled blood with their guns. A disagreement could trigger a small battle on the spot, dragging others into it.
Therefore, they could only leave their guards outside and bring only a certain number of bodyguards inside to deliberate. At the same time, the weapons had to be hidden, not visible, meaning they had to be placed in a location inconvenient for them to access. This way, if they wanted to draw a gun and blow up a political enemy's head, there would be a buffer, giving neutrals a chance to intervene, and allowing the person themselves to calm down. In addition, they would worry about whether their gun's position was good enough, in case they drew it a few seconds, or even ten seconds, slower than the other person, then the fun would be over. It was better to be peaceful and just argue without shooting.
As a complement, such gatherings had strict explosive checks, to prevent anyone from sacrificing one happy family for all.
At this moment, to Xu Liyan's left was the robed Mechanical Monk Jingnian, and to his right was his assistant Uncle Liu, one martial and one literary.
Of course, it wasn't that Uncle Liu had no combat power.
When he was young, he wielded dual guns, and didn't know how many enemies who wanted to break through Weed City and guys who made bloody coups he had killed.
It's just that he was older now, his temper was milder, and he had discovered he had a greater talent for handling political affairs, so his catchphrase had become "Everyone should value harmony."
Xu Liyan looked around and said with a smile, without using official or formal language:
"Uncles and elders, you should have seen what it's like outside."
Seeing his low posture, Zhao Zhengqi, the head of the Zhao family, stroked his beard and said:
"City Lord, just say what you need to say. This is everyone's Weed City, is there anyone who doesn't want to contribute?"
Zhao Zhengqi was over fifty years old, and his beard was slightly gray. In the generally thin Ashlands, he was impressively fat.
One of his bodyguards was a family-raised death warrior, and the other was his eldest son in his early thirties, mainly brought to familiarize himself with the style and procedures of the Noble Council.
Everyone's Weed City... Xu Liyan sneered inwardly and said sincerely on the surface:
"There are many deaths and injuries now, and manpower is very tight. The wasteland wanderers may break through the City Hall defense line at any time and rush into North Street. I hope uncles and elders will send out the private armies in their respective mansions, combine them into a team, and launch a counter-charge, striving to disperse those wasteland wanderers and drive them out of the city before they really organize themselves."
Zhao Zhengqi looked at his daughter and son-in-law, Mullic, and let him speak first.
The Mullic family was of Red River descent, but after several generations of intermarriage, he also had obvious Ashlands characteristics, with softer features and less coarse pores.
He had blond hair and blue eyes, and heavy nasolabial folds. He always spoke slowly and deliberately, as if nothing was a big deal:
"City Lord, it's no problem to send private armies. Weed City belongs to everyone, can we just sit idly by?
"As long as you leave us manpower to protect our mansions, we can follow your arrangements for everything else.
"It's just that our people aren't regular soldiers. They are trained to protect mansions and estates. Asking them to launch a counter-charge is not only forcing them to do something difficult, but it may not have good results.
"How about this, let our people replace the City Defense Force and your guards, guarding North Bridge and the City Hall, and let these regular troops who are replaced launch a counter-charge?"
Because Xu Liyan spoke in Ashlands language, Mullic used the same language, and his pronunciation was accurate and his vocabulary skilled, showing that he had put in a lot of effort.
As soon as Mullic finished speaking, Zhao Zhengqi and other noble councilors immediately echoed, saying that was the right idea.
Xu Liyan's temple throbbed, and the hands gripping the sides of the chair tightened involuntarily.
After receiving Uncle Liu's "harmony is the most valuable" look, he squeezed out a smile and said:
"I can understand the concerns of uncles and elders. I also plan to pick a group of uninjured personnel from the City Defense Force and the guards to form a separate team to launch a counter-charge. It's just that the number may not be enough. At that time, we will have to select some from your private armies."
After looking at each other, Zhao Zhengqi took the lead in nodding:
"Okay, let's do it that way."
The other noble councilors didn't dwell on this issue anymore.
This was because they had their own interests in East Street, West Street, and South Street. They were either the actual owners of certain warehouses, or the owners of hotels, the owners of grain shops, or the major shareholders of nightclubs. They all eagerly hoped to resolve the wasteland wanderers as soon as possible, so that their property would not be damaged so severely.
After conveying this decision, making it officially effective, and starting to promote it, Xu Liyan moved on to the second topic:
"Uncles and elders, the riots should be quelled soon. We have to discuss how to deal with the aftermath.
"Outside North Street, I don't know how many civilians have been killed and robbed. The upcoming winter will be very difficult. I am willing to take the lead in donating some food to relieve them, so that they can survive until the situation improves. Well, we should also donate some medical supplies, there must be many injured people, and they may not have the money to pay."
As soon as Xu Liyan finished speaking, Zhao Zhengqi shook his head like a rattle:
"We don't have any surplus grain either.
"Besides, how much grain can be lost in the city in just a morning? If they are thrifty, it shouldn't be a problem for them to get through the winter."
What a joke, this isn't their own "property," why should they help them?
"Yes," Mullic echoed, "What does it matter if some civilians die? Anyway, we have enough slaves."
"That's right, drive out anyone who dares to cause trouble and let them be wasteland wanderers." Another noble councilor, Zhang Wenxin, followed with his opinion, "When the situation stabilizes, as long as we have grain for sale, many people will come to Weed City to live and fill the manpower gap."
Listening to their words of opposition, Xu Liyan raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, feeling his head buzzing.
He barely maintained his composure and analyzed the advantages and disadvantages:
"We have to consider that the soldiers' families all live outside North Street. If they defect, then we can only flee to Initial City."
Zhao Zhengqi chuckled:
"City Lord, don't worry, the families of our private army are all in the manor."
But the City Defense Force isn't... Xu Liyan only felt the veins throbbing on his forehead more and more.
Amid the different voices of opposition from the other noble councilors, not only did his mind buzz, but a illusory voice seemed to shout in his ears:
"Bomb them to death!
"Bomb them to death!"
Xu Liyan's eyes gradually became dazed. He supported his head with one hand and reached into his pocket with the other, taking out a small black remote control.
"Bomb them to death!
"Bomb them to death!"
The devil's roar continued to echo in his ears, making his breathing gradually heavier.
Just then, the door to the Noble Council Hall was opened.
A guard shouted inside:
"City Lord, Mr. Oudick has urgent business to see you!"
Jiang Baimian, who was standing at the door, had excellent eyesight. With one glance, she noticed that Xu Liyan's eyes were wrong.
They were blank and crazy.
"Quick!" While reminding Oudick, she decisively drew her gun and fired a shot at the crystal chandelier above the long table in the Noble Council Hall.
Shang Jianyao drew his gun and turned around, guarding Jiang Baimian's back.
The sound of a bang and a crash rang out simultaneously, and a large number of glass shards fell.
The noble councilors present, except for Xu Liyan, were not young and had experienced some wars and riots. They were very sensitive to the sound of gunfire and reacted immediately.
Mullic, who spoke slowly and deliberately, slid down his body directly and hid under the table. The fat Zhao Zhengqi hunched over, nimbly darted away from his seat, and rushed to the corner, pulling his eldest son with him...
Their bodyguards drew their guns one after another, found their positions, and aimed at the door.
This gunshot also startled Xu Liyan at the head of the table, making him wake up a little from the devil's roar, and his movements stopped.
But this little bit of clarity was soon drowned out. Xu Liyan scanned around with red eyes and was about to press the remote control in his hand.
At this moment, his eyelids suddenly became heavy, and he instantly lost consciousness, leaning back in his chair, as if falling into a deep sleep.
Oudick seized the brief gap created by Jiang Baimian, lunged forward and rolled over, bringing himself close enough to Xu Liyan to use "Forced Sleep!"
Then, he saw a black and thick gun barrel.
This was "extended" from the hand of the Mechanical Monk Jingnian.
"The City Lord has been hypnotized by the 'Father' and wants to perish with everyone here!" Oudick quickly shouted his guess.
This sentence brought the bodyguards in the room and the guards outside to a halt, and they confronted Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao.
While continuing to aim at Oudick, the Mechanical Monk Jingnian stretched out his metal arm and forcibly tore open Xu Liyan's coat.
The City Lord's condition was immediately revealed.
He had several circles of explosives tied around his waist, all high-performance products from the "Orange" Company.
Once this exploded, not only would the people in the Noble Council Hall not be spared, but even the next door and the next door's next door would be destroyed.
The only one who might survive on the scene was probably Chan Master Jingnian, the Mechanical Monk.