Round Table

Just as Kang De said.

This is indeed an area-of-effect (AOE) attack.

In broad daylight, under the clear sky, an armed transport vehicle filled with dismembered bodies and dissidents overturned beside Palace of Westminster, exposing the hidden bloody crimes to the public.

The brutal truth hidden behind the scenes, concealed by the Britain government, was suddenly revealed in a bloody way: the desperate cries for help from detained feminists, the dismembered remains and black body bags floating in the River Thames, and the panicked and helpless armed personnel. All of this was recorded by nearby tourists, residents, and drivers with their mobile phones.

The terrified screams, the silent recordings, the silent stares—these were like punches landing squarely on the face of the Britain government, which prides itself on Civilization, democracy, freedom, equality, and the rule of law.

One can imagine how furious the relevant officials and high-ranking figures in the British government must have been upon hearing this news, as such an unexpected event could directly shake their status and power, and the resulting surge of public opinion and attacks from political enemies would be enough to leave them humiliated and overwhelmed.

This wretched resentment and dissatisfaction will be directed at the mysterious organization that created the mess. If they hadn't tolerated the superhumans repeatedly committing acts of torture and murder, the government wouldn't have had to clean up their messes, and this damned, awful mess wouldn't have happened today.

The mysterious organization hidden within the British Isles, wielding immense influence over the government, would inevitably accuse the government of incompetence, criticizing them for failing even in such a small matter, and exert considerable pressure to block information, mitigate the impact, and erase clues to prevent their own exposure.

This is just dogs fighting.

Because the interests of the two parties are not entirely aligned.

The United Kingdom government needs to maintain domestic stability, appease surging public opinion and political correctness, and preserve its position. Meanwhile, the mysterious organization needs to maintain its secrecy and security. This means that the latter will demand that the former take more radical and decisive measures to conceal, suppress, and block information.

If the former does this, it will trigger a backlash and outrage from the public, leading to political turmoil, public outcry, and questioning and shaking the legitimacy of their own government, and may even result in impeachment and removal from office.

Taking away someone's livelihood is like killing their parents, while obstructing someone's career path is an enmity that spans eighteen generations.

But no matter how impotently furious these two sides are, or how much they attack and question each other, there is at least one point that the current government and that mysterious organization agree on.

That Military Intelligence Section 5 officer who messed things up, that Ian Crook, that stupid, incompetent, idiotic, disgusting, despicable, shameful guy, is finished.

What they wouldn't know was that what happened near Palace of Westminster wasn't a strange and terrible accident, but rather an unexpected adversary subtly manipulating the puppet strings, causing two behemoths— Britain secular and the shadowy—to dance gracefully.

The Britain government was the stupid Onssa regime that Kang De wanted to teach a lesson and beat up.

That mysterious organization was the prey the Fire Thief had identified.

As for Ian Crook?

He was just an ant.

At the scene of the accident, Kang De fully appreciated how advanced, democratic, transparent, and efficient foreign governments, illuminated by the large, round moon, upheld Truth and freedom.

About seven minutes after the accident, a large number of police and military personnel rushed to the scene from the London Metropolitan Police Station, which was a few hundred meters away. Nine minutes later, several police boats sped up along the River Thames. They were retrieving body parts from the river, and the police were driving away passersby in a rude and firm manner, prohibiting anyone from continuing to take pictures.

Horus browsed the international internet and found that the related pictures and videos posted on social media platforms only made a ripple before being completely deleted by international internet companies that upheld a fair stance.

It is common knowledge that the internet is a collection of diverse voices, and each voice has the freedom to spread online, but not every voice can freely become the mainstream.

To become mainstream, it depends on how free your voice is.

Kang De pressed a button on his earpiece. "Alina?"

Alina whispered, "As expected, the government called, and it was the Minister of Culture himself who inquired. You know, when it comes to important matters, officials are faster than reporters."

"So, your interview vehicle returned empty-handed?"

"Yes, at least on the surface, we have to comply," Alina said. "Guaranteeing our proud freedom of the press comes at a price—the government seems to want to adopt our narrative."

Kang De laughed and said, "Would such a thing happen in democratic and free United Kingdom?"

"Oh, come on, Kang De, this is a commonality of humanity and a characteristic of all political systems." Alina seemed to roll her eyes. "Is it really that fun to tease and mock us? You seem to enjoy it immensely."

"Yes, it's extremely interesting."

Kang De smiled and said, "You can't even imagine what kind of environment we've lived in since childhood. A bunch of idiots with messed-up brains have woven all sorts of lies for us. They say United States are free and democratic, Japan are serious and persistent, Germany are meticulous and efficient, France are romantic and philanthropic, United Kingdom are elegant and graceful... In short, only we China are backward, vulgar, rigid, ignorant, and foolish."

"We grew up reading stories like these."

"It's unbelievable! How can there be a country in the world with such a glorious past and history, and now it has accomplished one of the most magnificent things in human history, yet its intellectuals are obsessed with vilifying their own people and nation, and worship a group of bastards who plunder the world with violence and barbarity?"

The young people from China watched indifferently.

Body bags floating on the River Thames, and the public's loud questioning and protests, while the police coldly and brutally enforced the law—yes, the word "law" in the face of illegally detained civilians and scattered, mangled corpses, seemed so absurd and ridiculous.

It's a drama brimming with dark humor.

He said, "But at the time, we didn't know how children could distinguish right from wrong. We believed it because it was what the books said, because it was what the experts said. We subconsciously thought that they were all correct. We felt ashamed, we felt envious, we longed for those beautiful and Civilization countries abroad. We constantly reminded ourselves to be as serious, rigorous, free, loving, and elegant as they were, using these examples to spur and remind ourselves until we grew up."

"Until we grow up, develop self-awareness and independent personalities, we open our eyes and look at the world for ourselves, and then we discover that it was all an illusion."

"The Japan meticulously discharged nuclear wastewater into the sea, the Germany rigorously falsified emissions data, and the United States, armed with a tube of laundry detergent and an actor's statement, utterly destroyed an independent nation."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Would you mind if I said something offensive about you United Kingdom?"

Alina smiled and said, "I don't mind. I'd rather hear your opinion on the France."

They both laughed at the same time.

"It sounds like your generation of young China people grew up in an environment of fabricated rumors and glorified foreign countries, and used these non-existent things to motivate and grow?"

The reporter said, "That's quite interesting. In the end, it's a good thing, isn't it? Perhaps that was the intention of those who fabricated the articles—to spur and motivate you..."

Kang De smiled and said, "How do you think we should treat them now?"

"I don't know... gratitude?"

"How could that be?" Kang De's smile was unrestrained and intense. "Of course, it would be to offer the most profound greetings to their ancestors, mocking their failures, despising their souls, and spitting on their graves, using the most vulgar, verbose, and obscene profanities we've ever learned on the internet."

"Oh, what terrible resentment," Alina said. "Perhaps I should write a feature article to document the changing mindset and mental outlook of China's new generation of young people."

"You should focus on this shocking, massive scandal."

While chatting with the reporter, Kang De watched this comical modern drama unfold. "By the way, does the BCC have channels for anonymous citizens to file reports and tips?"

Alina perked up. "What do you want to do?"

Kang De snapped his fingers, "Sent to your information terminal."

In the BCC broadcasting building, Alina already had her own office. She listened to the commotion outside. The sudden explosion on the River Thames had first ignited the BCC's journalists. To be fair, these Western reporters were quite clever; they were actually quite quick to get to the news.

While these journalists were shouting and excitedly trying to dig up a shocking news story for Britain, Alina had already been in contact with the instigator through private channels for a long time. She carefully held the silver personal terminal, and a dim image appeared on the screen.

That was a man's face, belonging to a Military Intelligence Section 5 officer, Ian Crook.

After the car accident, he frantically struggled out of the car, looking around at the bewildered and terrified faces. This was clearly captured by several tourists with top-of-the-line professional cameras, and also appeared on the phones of many passersby, who quickly searched for and identified him.

We have Google to thank for this, and also Military Intelligence Section 5 for keeping up with the times. As early as the last century, they publicly established an official website, which not only posted family photos of department heads, but also directly published various job postings on the website, so you can find out which one it is with a simple search.

Although social media platforms delete posts very quickly, the BCC still managed to get firsthand information. The media professionals, like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, smelled the stench of Military Intelligence Section 5 —as journalists, they were inherently at odds with intelligence agencies and would tear each other apart if they caught up with it.

Alina stared intently at the screen.

"And those rotten, worthless bastards..."

"You lowly illegal immigrants!"

"They sneaked into our country to do this filthy thing..."

"They actually dare to share this country's glory and rights with us..."

"Why don't they just stay obediently in their dirty, backward, and inferior country?"

One after another, Ian Crook clearly hurled these horrible profanities, each one sending chills down Alina's spine while simultaneously filling her with intense excitement.

It's important to understand that these kinds of words are absolutely taboo in the Western political context.

To put it simply, if the United Kingdom Prime Minister had said these words, Alina could have used this video to utterly defeat that little brother of A Chuan and become a legend in one fell swoop!

"Oh, he's finished."

Alina said instinctively, then asked in confusion, "But he's already finished, so it doesn't matter whether this video is there or not. Why did you send me this?"

"Because I want not only shrimp, but also pig's heart," Kang De said casually. "Did you notice the camera angle?"

"Oh yeah..." Alina suddenly realized, "This face-to-face perspective was obviously filmed by the person talking to Ian —how did you do that? Superpowers?"

"That's not important," Kang De smiled deeply. "What's important is that they'll think it was filmed by a subordinate who was talking to Ian... Suspicion will spread, distrust will escalate, and most importantly, they'll be afraid."

Alina asked, "What are you afraid of?"

Kang De said calmly, "The video is incomplete; Ian mentioned other things in the conversation."

Blood sacrifice, pleasure, beasts.

Those are the most deadly things... enough to reveal an even more terrifying truth.

So they're worried, where are the other parts of the video?

Shrimp does indeed pair better with pork heart.

Kang De gazed into the distance at the chaotic convoy, where police had completely surrounded the area, dispersing the crowd, blocking the streets, and then disarming all the armed personnel.

In rollovers, collisions, and car accidents, many vehicle occupants suffer injuries of varying degrees. Some only experience minor contusions and bruises, but a small number...

Two police officers, their faces grim, dragged out a man in black.

His golden hair was sparse and disheveled, his pale blue eyes were weakly open, filled with confusion and fear. His fragile life ended in pain, his filthy soul drifted away and disappeared. When death came in an instant, he did not know who had taken his life, and he never would.

The autopsy results only showed that he died from a severe impact to his neck during the car accident.

This man was Ian Crook's subordinate, the one who reported to him from the Viking Skull hideout that all the women were dead and commented on the dead in a humiliating tone.

A car in the distance ignored the roadblocks and road closures and drove straight to the scene of the incident.

Ian Crook, who was being held captive in the police car, shuddered.

Two men in black suits and sunglasses got out of the car. They looked serious and walked briskly to Ian Crook, showing their identification to the police officers.

"Hello, gentlemen."

The officer saluted, then turned and pointed to the official in the police car. "I'm under orders to guard this gentleman. My superiors have strictly instructed me not to have any communication or contact with him until you arrive."

"Yes, officer, that's why we're here."

Then Ian Crook was dragged into the black sedan.

Sweat beaded on his face, his lips trembled, and his body writhed. In his youth, he was an excellent secret agent, but now that he had retired and was sitting in an office, he no longer needed to carry out dangerous missions. He carried no suicide drugs or methods; he no longer needed them.

He also lacked the courage to end his own life.

Because he has a career, he has property, he has family, and he has too many things to worry about.

"I... I want to make a phone call..."

"No."

This request was coldly rejected. "We are ordered to take you back to headquarters, and you must remain silent throughout."

Ian pleaded, "This... this was just an accident..."

The two men in black sunglasses sitting next to him in the back seat, flanking him, both turned to look at him. Even through their sunglasses, Ian seemed to feel their gazes.

Cold, mocking.

Yes, it was an accident.

But who cares? Who will take responsibility?

Kang De watched the departing car, a sinister smile spreading across his face, as the Phase Gate behind him slowly opened.

He's close to finding the answer.

As the culprit who knew part of the inside story and messed things up, Ian Crook will definitely be silenced. He will either die by suicide with a gunshot wound to the back of his head or by strangling himself with a towel or something similar. In any case, there is no possibility that he will stand in public and face legal questioning and trial.

The interrogation before the murder, the conversation during the murder, and the report after the murder were Kang De's best opportunities to obtain clues, because the entire process would be under the watchful eye of the Fire Thief.

"Alina, I've already sent this video to BCC's whistleblower email address."

He texted the reporter. "Don't get involved. This is more dangerous than you think."

Sending the video to the BCC wasn't an expectation that this supposedly most impartial and established media group in the world would publish it with unwavering integrity; Kang De never expected that.

But one thing is certain.

The BCC will definitely leak this video to the government.

Then they will find out that someone filmed Ian Crook's private conversation at the scene of the torture.

"This is what we call a surprise."

In less than ten minutes, the car drove into the headquarters of Military Intelligence Section 5, which was not far from the scene of the accident. Kang De concealed himself and swaggered in, following them all the way.

Until Ian was escorted through a winding, circuitous route and taken directly to an interrogation room.

Kang De leaned against the corner, stroking his chin, and smiled as he looked at Ian, who was flustered and sweating profusely. This white pig would never understand that, so far, the grand and ingenious script that Kang De had arranged for him had only just begun.

The door was pushed open, and a well-dressed, gray-haired elderly gentleman slowly walked in, closed the door, and placed his black gloves on the table.

Ian, still handcuffed, staggered to his feet, unable to utter a single word.

"Ian, oh Ian, poor child, look what you've been through."

The old man embraced him, gently patting his back, his voice low and soothing.

"That's not your fault, I know it's not your fault, we all know it's not your fault. The preliminary investigation shows it was a damn engine failure, a stupid and panicked act by the driver. Everything came together to form a terrible coincidence and accident..."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope appeared on Ian's face.

"But you should know that what matters is not the mistake, but the result."

The old man spoke calmly, with the composure and elegance of a seasoned Britain gentleman, saying lightly, "The result is that things went wrong. We're very angry, the government is very angry, and..."

"The Round Table is also angry."

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PS1: Why would I watch the spy drama "Military Intelligence Section 5" just for such a small part of the plot...?