War! (Please Keep Reading, Please Vote Monthly!)

As a seasoned veteran,

when had Zhao Qinglin ever been lectured like this by a young man?

For a moment, he did not even react. He stood there dumbfounded, his eyes vacant.

"The way a peace officer ought to be?"

Qin Annian's voice echoed leisurely through his mind.

After suddenly coming to his senses, an absurd thought rose in Zhao Qinglin's heart.

"Is he teaching me how to be a peace officer?!"

Zhao Qinglin flew into a rage!

His bloodshot eyes widened like bronze bells as he glared at Qin Annian as though he were his father's murderer.

His hands clenched into fists, and he wished he could rush over at once and smash that calm, handsome young face to pulp!

But—

looking at the corpse in Qin Annian's hands, Zhao Qinglin forcibly calmed himself down.

"He offended those people."

"That Qin bastard is already dead!"

"Why should I get angry with a dead man?"

Zhao Qinglin had seen it clearly.

That Mysterious Person had activated the modified organ inside his body. The combat strength he erupted with in that brief period had been extremely formidable.

When the Mysterious Person had suddenly attacked, fear had already risen in Zhao Qinglin's heart.

Forget fighting the Mysterious Person—he had not even dared to stop him!

Yet, in that flash of lightning—

before he had even clearly seen the two exchange blows, the Mysterious Person had already died beneath Qin Annian's fist?

"The backlash from that modified organ must have been too terrifying. Qin Annian merely got lucky."

"He has no idea what kind of disaster he has brought upon himself!"

"I need to stay away from him, lest I get splattered with blood when the time comes!"

Zhao Qinglin found a completely illogical excuse for his cowardice and returned to the Police Car with a dark expression.

Qin Annian did not continue bothering with Zhao Qinglin. Instead, he contacted Miss Ju Zi.

"Serial number 4396, peace officer of the Old City Southwest District, Qin Annian."

"While on patrol, I..."

He briefly reported his discovery of people trading Contraband, along with the series of events that had followed.

Finally—

"I hereby apply to open a case under my authority as a peace officer."

Contraband, Illegal Possession of Weapons, murder, Illegal Modification Surgery...

Any one of those charges would have been enough to make it a major case worthy of the Security Bureau's close attention.

What was more—

so many labels had now appeared in a single case?

Not long afterward,

Miss Ju Zi completed her analysis and approved Qin Annian's application to open a case.

["Old City Southwest District Major Public Security Case No. 1" has been generated. I will fully mobilize Security Bureau resources to assist in solving the case.]

What Qin Annian did not know was—

when Miss Ju Zi issued Assistance Notices to the relevant departments, an enormous uproar swept through the entire Security Bureau!

"They possess a Scorpion Sniper Rifle?"

"A Mysterious Person with no recorded biological identifiers?"

In an instant,

everyone's scalps went numb.

They understood clearly.

Something hidden in the darkest corners of Taiyu City had been brought into the sunlight.

Only those forces with immense power and influence could afford thugs whose origins could not be traced.

Now—

the balance had been broken.

That meant one thing:

"War!"

"This is not some case. It is a war that is about to erupt!"

"Damn it! Who provoked those people?"

Their pupils constricted violently, and shock appeared on their faces.

When war erupted, people died.

And—

a great many people would die!

They would keep dying until one side could no longer bear such losses and took the initiative to surrender.

As Taiyu City's lawful government,

the City Government and the Security Bureau could only win, and keep winning!

As for the price—

everyone felt as though they had fallen into an ice cellar. They did not dare think any further.

"What did the director say?"

"Has he made a decision?"

"The director will definitely be rational, right?"

Just as the Security Bureau building was filled with tense unease—

Bzz!

Bzz!

Bzz!

Whether they were peace officers, members of the Operations Division, or employees from the equipment logistics, external liaison, and other departments, every Security Bureau employee received a notification through their Personal Terminal:

"Effective immediately."

"The Security Bureau is entering Level One Response Status."

"All employees, please note."

"The City Government will soon issue the Specific Urban Area Martial Law Decree. All employee leave is canceled; return to your posts immediately."

"All employees, please monitor your Personal Terminals at all times in order to respond to operational deployments."

It was over!

Some people felt chilled to the bone, and even the hands wearing their Personal Terminals were trembling.

At the same time—

others wore excited expressions, utterly unable to conceal their desire to earn merit!

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

After three sharp whistle blasts,

the Operations Division's Assault Team assembled at top speed.

After collecting their equipment, they lined up in full gear. The War Vehicle engines warmed up and started, roaring like Steel Beasts.

Lin Xiao stood tall, his eyes gleaming.

In a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, he asked Captain Chen beside him:

"Captain Chen."

"Who are we going to war with?"

Captain Chen stared straight ahead and replied expressionlessly:

"Obey orders!"

Yet—

he could not hide the excitement deep in his eyes either.

It was not only young team members like Lin Xiao who yearned to earn merit.

Bzz!

Just as the Operations Division's three battalions finished assembling, Miss Ju Zi sent over operational instructions.

"Quick! Quick! Quick!"

Urged on by the three battalion commanders and squad leaders,

the Assault Team squads boarded Troop Carriers and Wheeled Combat Vehicles, driving along their designated routes.

The Medical Team split into two groups. One prepared to take over the operating rooms of Taiyu City's major hospitals, while the other established Temporary Hospitals at designated locations.

The most mysterious Intelligence and Technical Support Team had long begun monitoring the network and mobilizing cameras across every street.

Through the Beehive, they launched Drones one after another.

They wove a vast network of real-time surveillance and communications across the skies of Taiyu City.

Security Bureau executive conference room.

When the Security Bureau executives, each wearing different expressions, were notified to gather here for a meeting, the Security Bureau's war machine happened to be starting up under Miss Ju Zi's command.

Clearly,

Director Zhang Qifeng had done this deliberately.

"Director!"

"You must think it over carefully before acting!"

The moment everyone took their seats, a square-faced middle-aged man began pouring out his grievances with a troubled expression.

Zhang Qifeng, dressed in the director's uniform and radiating authority without anger, raised his eyes and said coldly:

"The most important part of thinking thrice before acting is acting."

He tapped the solid wood conference table lightly, like a lion awakening from sleep.

"Can you act?"

As his words fell, the room became deathly silent.

Only then did they remember—

Zhang Qifeng had once been a veteran who participated in the Orion Great Expedition a hundred years ago.

Those veterans who had crawled out from mountains of corpses had all been stained with alien blood.

They were unreasonable warriors, and butchers as well!

Those Security Bureau executives, who had people guiding them from behind the scenes, suddenly remembered what their elders had told them before they took up important positions in the Security Bureau:

"Before he starts being unreasonable—"

"Accept his reasoning."

No one dared make a sound.

Zhang Qifeng swept his gaze over everyone and nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good."

"Miss Ju Zi."

"Connect us to the City Government."

"The Security Bureau is ready. We can begin the meeting."

Immediately afterward,

the light in the conference room gradually dimmed. Then, as the Holographic Projection Device activated, light slowly took shape again.

Once the image became clear again,

they were already seated in an enormous Parliament.

Figures gradually appeared in those empty seats as well.

Most of them still had bewildered expressions on their faces.

"Good morning."

"I am Qian Yuansen, Mayor of Taiyu City."

After everyone had arrived,

Mayor Qian's figure appeared in the presiding seat of Parliament.

"Today's agenda is—"

"War."