In a low-level hall within the massive structure:
Perhaps due to its remote location, there were no stalls or restaurants here, giving the place a desolate and abandoned atmosphere.
Looking out through the sealed windows on the north side, all that could be seen was a dark, narrow alley, with another massive structure looming ten meters away.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, the sound of a door being violently pushed open echoed through the hall, shattering the previous silence.
Looking toward the source of the noise, a group of dozens of people, dressed in cold-weather gear and sporting bizarre hairstyles, burst in from the west side of the hall.
They held guns of various calibers, and their hairstyles were best described as "colorful" and "exaggerated"—afros, spiked hair, and more. The leader, a burly man, had even dyed his hair pink.
They swaggered to the center of the hall.
The burly man looked around before pulling out a half-smoked cigar and lighting it with a windproof lighter.
"Hiss~ Hoo~!" The burly man inhaled deeply, exhaled contentedly, and sneered, "The Titan Gang, huh? A bunch of nobodies who came out of nowhere. Today, I'll see just how tough they really are!"
"Boss," one of his men, with spiked hair, voiced his concern, "The Titan Gang went from obscurity to controlling floors 30 to 151 of Oak Tower in just a month. Our old rivals, the Lion Gang and the Eagles..."
"Ha!" The burly man interrupted dismissively, "They only took out a bunch of old-timers. What's the big deal? If it weren't for the rumor that they've got access to large amounts of goods, do you think I'd be here in person? Besides, I don't mind taking over and managing Oak Tower for them. See, we're just being helpful—though, of course, they won't be alive to see it."
The spiked-haired man hesitated, wanting to say more, but seeing his boss unmoved, he chose to let things play out.
It seemed they were here to negotiate a deal with the so-called Titan Gang, but the leader had other plans in mind.
Before long, the door on the east side of the hall was also pushed open.
Five people entered. Though their outfits varied, they were all uniformly black.
The leader of these five had short red hair and stood about 2.3 meters tall, making him even more intimidating just by his appearance.
The burly man's eyes briefly flashed with seriousness when he saw them, as if making a decision.
But he quickly regained his cocky and confident demeanor. After all, he had over sixty men, while the other side only had four. What was there to fear with such overwhelming numbers?
As the group approached, the burly man extinguished his cigar, carefully placing it back in a humidified pouch. He then introduced himself with a hearty laugh, "Barrel Gang, Kunsa Barrel!"
"Titan Gang, Magnus Sui."
"Sui?" The burly man was momentarily stunned, clearly puzzled by the surname.
Magnus, however, offered no explanation, getting straight to the point. "Enough small talk. Did you bring the money?"
"Ah~! I like your directness. Of course! How could we not bring cash for an on-site deal? Come on! Show Mr. Sui the goods!"
At the burly man's command, two members of the Barrel Gang stepped forward, each carrying a severely chipped silver briefcase.
Click~ click~!
As the crisp sound of locks echoed through the hall, the two members opened the briefcases, revealing stacks of plastic-like red and purple bills, representing two different denominations.
"As requested, 100 bills per stack, fifty stacks each of 300 and 100 denominations, totaling two million!" The burly man walked over to one of the briefcases, using a UV light to verify the authenticity of the bills. "So, how about letting us see the goods now?"
"Of course," Magnus agreed.
Two members of the Titan Gang stepped forward as well, opening two brand-new briefcases to reveal loose cigarettes and cigars sealed in transparent bags, as well as bottles of whiskey and vodka.
"Oh! Fuck!" The burly man's eyes nearly popped out at the sight of the cigarettes and liquor.
"So, do you need to check the goods?" Magnus asked.
"No need! Hahaha!" The burly man laughed heartily, regaining his composure, then swiftly drew a .357 Magnum revolver, aiming it at Magnus's abdomen. "Because the money and the goods—no, Oak Tower and your supplies—are all mine now!"
He didn't wait for Magnus to respond before attempting to pull the trigger.
!
!!
However, no matter how much force he applied, the trigger wouldn't budge.
Wait! It wasn't just the trigger—his finger wouldn't move either!
The burly man was shocked, and so were all the Barrel Gang members who had planned to ambush them, unable to complete the simple action of pulling the trigger.
"You brought this on yourselves. Don't blame me."
Magnus had been prepared all along, just waiting for the moment the burly man made his "double-cross" move. He calmly drew his own pistol, a .50 AE.
"Boom!!" The deafening gunshot echoed through the hall.
"Splurt!!" The burly man's chest was blown open, blood spurting everywhere.
"Boss!!" The spiked-haired man screamed hysterically, struggling desperately to fight back.
"Rat-tat-tat!!"
But the four "members" of the Titan Gang had already raised their 5.7mm submachine guns, unleashing a continuous barrage on the densely packed Barrel Gang.
Rat-tat-tat! Click!
When the submachine guns finally clicked empty, over sixty Barrel Gang members had been riddled with bullets, lying motionless on the ground.
Then, a large number of Titan Gang "members" in black clothing entered the hall from both sides, starting to gather the bodies, weapons, and the two million in cash.
Magnus had long known the Barrel Gang would attempt a double-cross, but he had waited patiently for them to expose themselves before using his psychic powers to implant a strong "suggestion" in their minds: "Why are my hands stiff? I can't pull the trigger!"
At this point, Magnus took the elevator back to the high-level headquarters within the massive structure.
The Oak Tower, where they were located, was actually Atlas's operational headquarters in Steel City. It was currently the period of polar night in Antarctica, and to be precise, it was 10:15 on March 23rd.
In fact, after receiving Samuel Young's approval, Magnus and his team had selected the most chaotic megastructure they could find. They successfully exchanged large quantities of loose cigarettes and alcohol, transported into the city by the company, for the initial funds needed for their infiltration.
Within just a month, they had completely taken control of Oak Tower, which stood about 630 meters tall, 220 meters wide, and housed nearly 30,000 people.
Thus, the intelligence the Barrel Gang had received was outdated. Magnus and his team didn't just control floors 30 to 151.
Moreover, the buffer zone where Oak Tower was located, sandwiched between the main district and the industrial district of Steel City, was the most chaotic but also the most economically significant area.
Trades involving cigarettes, alcohol, weapons, and countless contraband, along with the numerous gray industries and the annual "taxes" paid by large gangs, allowed the official Zero-Six human authorities to tolerate the gang rule and conflicts in the buffer zone to some extent.
Every megastructure in the buffer zone had a complete air circulation and heating system. The lower levels, such as the underground floors and those up to the 40th floor, housed shops, restaurants, and gray industries. The mid-levels were used for workshops or "vertical farming."
"Vertical farming" referred to large greenhouses planned in the mid-levels, equipped with LED lights and irrigation systems, allowing the tower's residents to cultivate crops, forming an essential part of sustainable food production.
Ninety percent of a megastructure's population lived in the lower and mid-levels, while the higher levels, above the 140th floor, were more upscale commercial spaces or more spacious and comfortable living units.
The operation and management of these megastructures in the buffer zone were typically in the hands of large gangs. As long as they paid their "taxes" and refrained from any extreme actions, like damaging the air circulation system, they wouldn't face severe crackdowns from the authorities.
Over the past twenty years, the various forces and organizational structures within Steel City had stabilized, with some of the younger generation even losing their fear of apocalyptic and extinction scenarios.
While developing gang forces under the company's name, Magnus and his team also learned about the history of Zero-Six Earth through the residents of Oak Tower and the gangs that traded with them.
The main universe was in 1999, but here it was 2054.
The war between the Zero-Six humans and the Precursors had been raging for over forty years. When governments realized that defeat was inevitable, they decided to throw all their resources into building Steel City in Antarctica, which was completed in 2032.
Between 2032 and 2034, governments did everything they could to relocate people to Steel City and transferred all usable equipment.
On March 12, 2035, the last nine active mechs were on their final cover mission when they were besieged by the largest Kaiju wave ever recorded.
On March 13, 2035, the last mech was destroyed by deliberately overloading its nuclear reactor by overloading its nuclear reactor, resulting in the deaths of all twenty-four pilots involved in the mission. However, their heroic efforts in killing forty-six Kaiju successfully held the Kaiju wave at bay for an entire day, preventing it from breaching Antarctica.
On March 13, 2035, at 16:20, the remaining global governments launched over 85% of their nuclear arsenals at continents and lands outside of Antarctica in a final, desperate act of deterrence.
Faced with such a massive nuclear onslaught, the Precursors were forced to halt their total assault on Antarctica. Surprisingly, this led to a twenty-year period of relative "peace."
The older generation believed the war was far from over, seeing it as a tense standoff with hidden struggles where any lapse in vigilance could spell doom for humanity.
However, some of the younger generation, who had recently come of age, viewed this as a "mutually beneficial coexistence"—a foolish notion in Magnus's eyes.
With the latest intelligence, Magnus became increasingly convinced that, as his father had warned, Steel City's originally stable structure was being systematically undermined, hastening its collapse.
At this moment.
Magnus exited the elevator, passing through a hall filled with weapons and supplies, and continued through an area that had been converted into a command center. He finally reached his private office.
The space wasn't large, but Magnus kept it clean and orderly. On the right side, a metal bookshelf was filled with plastic books from the local area, alongside a few worn paper books. His desk had some small decorations, like figurines from the main universe and stress-relief toys for his fingers.
There was also a simple bed that fit perfectly in the room and a ventilation window facing east.
Upon returning to his office, Magnus sat down at his desk, activated the main computer, and pulled up a holographic screen to send a video call request to his father.
It wasn't long before his father's image appeared on the screen, also in his office.
"Is there a problem? If you need any support, just let me know," Samuel Young inquired.
"No, everything is going smoothly in Steel City. We recently seized a batch of cash and weapons," Magnus shook his head, then sent the latest intelligence to his father before continuing, "With control of Oak Tower, we can now call on the Silver Gull for covert transport. If there's anything urgent, I'll let you know. The reason I called is that our recent intelligence suggests that the high command in Steel City has arrested several senior officers of the PPDC (Pan-Pacific Defense Corps) on charges of treason."
"Oh? Interesting," Samuel analyzed, "It seems the traitors hiding in the shadows are trying to completely crush the resistance in Steel City. Something must have triggered them."
"I think so too, Father," Magnus nodded. "While we've been expanding our gang influence under the company's name, we've also been handling civilian issues under the guise of 'Judicator Mercenaries,' and our reputation has spread.
If the PPDC wants to rescue those officers, they'll likely need outside help, and mercenaries would be their best option. So, Father, I plan to wait a bit longer. If events don't unfold as expected and we don't get an invitation, we'll take the initiative. I'll have the Hunter Squad infiltrate the prison where the officers are being held."
"That's a sound plan," Samuel agreed, adding, "Remember, unless people are living in dire circumstances, once they become accustomed to a stable environment, they often resist change, unwilling to leave their comfort zone.
Therefore, instead of trying to awaken people's resistance by highlighting the Precursor threat, it's more effective to replace their leadership and gradually improve their living conditions. This will help avoid large-scale casualties.
I'm sure you know how to proceed, Magnus. There's no need for further guidance or advice."
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