The battle had reached a fever pitch. Gunfire and explosions echoed throughout the amusement park, punctuated by the flashes of explosions and the sight of raging fires and thick, billowing smoke. What was once a place for relaxation and joy had now transformed into a scene of utter devastation—a living hell. Many innocent civilians had already become casualties in this brutal conflict.
No one had expected the terrorists to be so numerous. There were over a hundred of them, heavily armed, making it almost unbelievable that such a large force could infiltrate a densely populated area like this. To make matters worse, the terrorists had taken hostages from the masses of park-goers, using them as human shields. This left the police and military forces hesitant, unable to act decisively for fear of harming the innocent. Meanwhile, the terrorists showed no such restraint, unleashing their weapons with reckless abandon, including mortars and grenades, posing a significant challenge to the security forces.
"Damn it!" a middle-aged officer cursed, his fist slamming down on a nearby vehicle, leaving a noticeable dent. "Those bastards are holding so many hostages—completely insane! I swear, I want to shoot them all. Where's the special forces? Why haven't they taken out that mortar nest yet?"
"Sir," a soldier approached and saluted, "the special forces entered earlier."
"They went in?" The officer's brows furrowed in anger. "Then why haven't they dealt with it? There's been no progress! What the hell is going on in there?"
The soldier hesitated, his expression tense, before finally speaking, "They seem to have been ambushed, sir. We...we might have lost contact with them."
The officer's face froze, then darkened with frustration. He slammed his fist onto the vehicle again, the metal groaning under the impact. "Damn it!"
"Sir," the soldier interrupted again, handing over a sheet of paper, "this is the latest intelligence report."
With a wave of his hand, the officer angrily snatched the paper and read it. As his eyes scanned the document, his expression grew even graver. "The Hyena Organization…"
The Hyena Organization was a notorious terrorist group known worldwide for its brutality. They had carried out numerous attacks across the globe, leaving thousands of innocent victims in their wake. Their most devastating attack in the Middle East had resulted in the deaths of twenty thousand civilians. They were mercenaries at heart—willing to do anything for money, using extreme and violent methods to achieve their goals, often turning entire cities to rubble.
What made them even more dangerous was the suspicion that their members had been injected with some form of military-grade enhancement drugs, significantly boosting their physical capabilities. The drug reportedly contained a stimulant that made the terrorists fearless, turning them into unyielding, death-defying soldiers. In addition to their enhanced bodies, they also had access to cutting-edge weapons, often more advanced than what some nation's standing armies possessed. Intelligence had long suspected a major global power backing them, though the details remained elusive.
And now, they were here.
"Sir! Bad news!" A panicked soldier ran up, breathless. "The terrorists have gathered a large number of people in the main plaza. They're threatening to kill them unless their demands are met!"
"What do they want?" The officer, now calm despite the mounting chaos, asked in a low, measured voice. "Is it money?"
The soldier shook his head. "No, sir. They're demanding a person."
"A person?" The officer's frown deepened. "Who?"
The soldier handed him another sheet of paper, this one containing an image. The officer's eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight. The picture was of a silver-haired girl, sitting gracefully at a piano, her fingers poised over the keys as if mid-performance. Though the image was slightly blurred, her side profile radiated a mesmerizing beauty. The scene was almost ethereal in its composition.
The officer blinked, surprised. Despite his military background and the chaotic situation, he found himself momentarily captivated. He wasn't someone who paid much attention to young people's trends or the arts, but even he had heard of the hauntingly beautiful piano performance that had recently swept the internet. The melody had an almost otherworldly charm, pulling listeners into a trance.
He knew who this girl was. She wasn't just an ordinary performer; she possessed terrifying power—enough to make even the military tremble in fear. Engaging with her was not something anyone did lightly, and disturbing her might provoke consequences too dire to contemplate.
"Sir, the terrorists just sent another message," the soldier interrupted his thoughts, his voice trembling slightly. "They said if she doesn't show up in five minutes, they'll start executing the hostages. One every minute until they're all dead. After that…"
"After that, what?" The officer's voice was sharp, his patience wearing thin.
"They said they'll detonate a nuclear bomb," the soldier answered, swallowing hard, his face pale.
"A nuclear bomb?" The officer's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "How could they possibly have that? And how could they have smuggled something like that into the country? This must be a bluff."
"We're not sure, sir," the soldier replied, "but they're carrying a large black case that appears to be heavy."
"Find out if it's real and report back immediately!" The officer ordered, though a sinking feeling gnawed at his gut.
"No need to check." Another voice cut in. A middle-aged man with a stern, square face approached, his expression grim. "We've already scanned it with satellites and radiation detectors. There's definitely radioactive material inside that case. Even if it's not a full nuclear bomb, it's likely a dirty bomb."
"Li Guozhu!" The officer's frown deepened. "What are you doing here?"
The man, Li Guozhu, was the same person who had previously encountered Kaguya at the shopping mall.
"I heard those bastards wanted to see her," Li Guozhu said with a tight smile, his eyes sharp.
"This doesn't concern you," the officer—Guo Huai'an—snapped, clearly displeased by the intrusion.
"Still scared from last time?" Li Guozhu teased lightly, though his eyes remained serious.