"Purge" Initiated

The broadcast echoed through the night sky. As the final syllable faded, the base's silence was completely shattered.

The first gunshot came from the command communications center—sharp and brief, like some kind of signal. Then came a second, a third, and then they blended into a continuous barrage. Firelight flickered in the building windows, and the sound of shattering glass carried on the night wind. Explosions erupted from the armory, their muffled booms making the ground tremble faintly as orange-red flames shot into the sky and lit up half the night.

A hurried voice came through Lin Xiao's encrypted earpiece. It was Nightingale. "The command center is under fire! The armory exploded! There's movement at the power station too—they struck all at once!"

Su Ying had already raised her gun, lowering her body as her eyes swept across the area below the rooftop. On the street, several squads of soldiers in black combat uniforms, red armbands wrapped around their arms, rushed out of the shadows. They quickly spread out and charged toward different buildings. Their movements were clean and efficient, their coordination seamless. They were clearly well-trained.

The Purge Squad.

Lin Xiao tightened his grip on the binoculars and watched those red armbands move through the darkness like flowing blood. His mind raced—numbers, routes, targets. Then, from the building next to theirs, he heard a door being smashed open, angry shouts, and the terrified scream of a woman.

"You can't do this! Those samples need professional handling! Let go of me!"

It was Doctor Anna Koch's voice.

This was followed by the sounds of dragging, struggling, and objects breaking. The Purge Squad had already searched the neighboring building.

Explosions sounded from three directions at once.

The flames at the command communications center were the brightest. Orange-yellow fire poured from the second-floor windows, and shards of glass rained down onto the street. Through his binoculars, Lin Xiao saw several soldiers in base uniforms rush out through a side entrance, firing behind them as they ran. Three Purge Squad members with red armbands emerged in pursuit, their muzzles spitting brief flashes. The last fleeing soldier was hit in the back. He pitched forward onto the concrete, twitched twice, and went still.

The smell of blood drifted over on the night wind, mingling with gunpowder and the acrid stench of burning plastic.

The explosions from the armory were even more frequent, like a string of firecrackers going off. Lin Xiao adjusted his binoculars and saw that the armory gates had already been blown open, thick smoke billowing out. Several armored vehicles blocked the entrance. Using the vehicles as cover, Purge Squad members fired into the warehouse. There were occasional return shots from inside, but they were quickly suppressed.

"The power station has fallen too." Nightingale's voice came through the earpiece, slightly breathless. "The surveillance feed shows the Purge Squad has taken the main control room and is cutting power to nonessential areas."

Lin Xiao pressed the comm button. "All positions, report."

There was a brief silence. Then Wolf's voice sounded. "The ventilation room is secure, but I can hear footsteps downstairs. At least five people. They're searching floor by floor."

"Nightingale is with me," Wolf added. "The equipment is operational. The Logic Bomb is in place."

"Grey Falcon?" Lin Xiao asked.

There was no immediate reply.

Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds.

Lin Xiao's fingers tightened.

Then gunfire came through the earpiece—not background noise transmitted through the communicator, but direct, close-range shots, accompanied by Grey Falcon's ragged breathing. "Abandoned warehouse! We've been spotted! Six of them, with automatic weapons—ah!"

A muffled groan followed, then more gunfire.

"Grey Falcon!" Lin Xiao growled.

"I'm still here!" Grey Falcon's voice was pained but clear. "Just a graze. I'm fine. We've fallen back deeper into the warehouse. There's cover, but we can't hold out long."

Lin Xiao's mind spun at high speed. Grey Falcon was at the northwest corner of the base, roughly four hundred meters away, with three buildings and an open-air training ground between them. Going to support him now would be walking into a trap.

"Hold on," Lin Xiao said. "Use the terrain. Don't force it. Wait for an opportunity."

"Understood."

The call ended. Lin Xiao looked at Su Ying, whose gun was already aimed at the rooftop access door. Heavy footsteps rose from below. They were coming upstairs.

The Purge Squad had reached this building.

The footsteps echoed through the stairwell, boots striking the concrete stairs in a steady tap, tap rhythm. There was more than one person. From the sound, at least three—perhaps four.

Lin Xiao and Su Ying quickly moved behind the rooftop water tank. It was a cylindrical metal structure more than two meters across, its rust-covered surface reflecting a dark red sheen beneath the moonlight. With their backs against it, they aimed their guns at the rooftop door.

The footsteps stopped outside the door.

The sound of the handle turning.

Lin Xiao held his breath. He could hear his own heartbeat, feel sweat sliding down his temples, smell the metallic tang of rust from the water tank and the faint scent of gunpowder on Su Ying. Her finger rested against the trigger guard, her knuckles slightly pale.

The door opened.

A flashlight beam swept across the rooftop floor. The spot of light moved over the concrete, illuminating scattered bricks, abandoned coils of cable, and a rusted oil drum. It lingered near the water tank for several seconds before moving away.

"No one." A man's voice, low and accented.

"Check the corners." Another voice, younger.

The flashlight swept over the rooftop again. Peering through the gap beside the water tank, Lin Xiao saw two figures in black combat uniforms standing at the doorway. They wore tactical helmets, their lower faces hidden behind masks, leaving only their eyes visible. The red cloth around their arms stood out beneath the moonlight like wounds.

A third Purge Squad member emerged from behind the door, his gun lowered but his finger resting on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment. He scanned the rooftop, his gaze passing over every shadowed corner.

Lin Xiao's muzzle was aimed at the first man's chest.

Su Ying's muzzle was aimed at the second man.

If they took three more steps forward, they would enter an unavoidable engagement range.

The younger Purge Squad member took one step forward.

The flashlight beam swept behind the oil drum.

A second step.

The beam shone on the rust stains along the side of the water tank.

The third step—

"We found something downstairs!" someone shouted from the stairwell. It was a fourth Purge Squad member. "There's blood in Room 203! Fresh blood!"

The three men at the door turned at once.

"Move!" the man with the low voice ordered.

The flashlight beam vanished. Footsteps quickly receded, the descent more hurried than their climb. The door was pulled shut behind them but not locked, swaying slightly in the night wind with a faint creak.

Lin Xiao slowly let out a breath.

Su Ying kept her gun aimed at the door for another five seconds before slowly lowering it. Her breathing was quiet, but Lin Xiao could see the artery at the side of her neck pounding, fast and strong.

"They'll come back," Su Ying said quietly.

Lin Xiao nodded. The Purge Squad would not overlook a single building, especially one only two hundred meters from the command center. This was a key area. They had merely been diverted temporarily. Once they finished searching Room 203, they would return to clear this building.

He pressed the comm button. "Nightingale, can you hear me?"

A brief burst of static came through, followed by Nightingale's voice, softer than before, barely above a whisper. "Yes. They're searching the building with the ventilation room. They just reached the second floor. Wolf and I are hiding inside the ventilation ducts."

"What are the Logic Bomb's trigger conditions?"

"Two have already been met: abnormal communications traffic at the command center, and unauthorized access to the armory's security system. We only need the secondary activation signal from the public broadcast system."

Lin Xiao glanced at his watch. 22:49. The purge had only begun eight minutes ago.

Eight minutes. The command center had fallen, the armory had been taken, and the power station had been overrun. The Radical Faction's operation was faster and more ruthless than expected. This was no ordinary purge. This was a takeover on the scale of a military coup.

Gunfire suddenly erupted downstairs.

It was not distant fighting. It was inside this building, likely on the third or second floor. A short burst of three shots, then the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. More gunfire followed, denser now, like a small battle.

Lin Xiao and Su Ying shifted position at the same time, moving closer to the rooftop edge to look down.

On the street, the Purge Squad was driving along a group of people in white lab coats. There were seven or eight of them, men and women alike, all researchers. With guns trained on them, they walked in a line with their hands over their heads. One young researcher fell half a step behind, and a Purge Squad member beside him swung his rifle butt hard into his back. The researcher cried out and fell to the ground. Someone nearby tried to help him, only to have a gun pressed to their forehead. They could only keep walking.

Muffled, despairing sobs drifted through the air.

"They're not just killing the resistance," Su Ying said coldly. "They're taking people. The useful ones."

Lin Xiao watched the people in white coats. He knew Su Ying was right. The Radical Faction needed technicians, scientists, people who could continue their dangerous experiments. The purge list did not contain only "traitors to be eliminated." It also contained "assets to be retained."

And Doctor Anna Koch was clearly one of the latter.

More sounds came from the neighboring building. Not screams this time, but duller impacts, as if a body had been slammed into a wall, followed by a man's shout. "Behave yourself! Move again and I'll break your legs!"

Anna's voice sounded again, still frightened but now threaded with anger. "Those samples are living cultures! They need a constant-temperature environment! If you toss them around like this, they'll all die!"

"Shut up!" The slap was sharp and loud.

Then came dragging sounds and footsteps moving downstairs.

They were taking Anna away.

Wolf's voice came through Lin Xiao's earpiece, kept very low. "Captain, Nightingale and I need to relocate. The Purge Squad has reached the third floor and is breaking into rooms one by one. They'll reach the ventilation room in five minutes at most."

"Can you get out?"

"Yes, but we need a distraction."

Lin Xiao looked at Su Ying. She nodded. From her tactical vest, she pulled out a small cylindrical device, slightly smaller than a flashlight. A flashbang—nonlethal, but capable of producing a blinding flash and deafening blast.

"Nightingale, trigger the Logic Bomb's secondary function in thirty seconds," Lin Xiao said. "Create a circuit malfunction. Make the lights in this building flicker three times."

"Understood. Thirty-second countdown begins."

Lin Xiao gestured to Su Ying. She pulled the safety pin from the flashbang and held it in her hand. Lin Xiao drew a knife from his waist and gripped it in reverse.

Twenty seconds.

The sound of a door being forced open came from downstairs, the thunderous crash of a wooden door kicked in, followed by a Purge Squad member shouting, "Room clear! Next one!"

Fifteen seconds.

The dragging sounds from the neighboring building had reached the ground floor. Anna was still struggling. "Let go of me! You barbarians! Those samples are worth more than your lives!"

Ten seconds.

Nightingale's voice sounded in his earpiece. "Circuit malfunction ready. Three, two, one—"

The lights throughout the building abruptly went out.

It was not total darkness, but flickering: on, off, on, off, on, off. Three rapid flashes, each lasting less than half a second, but enough to throw anyone's vision off temporarily.

At the instant the third flicker ended, Su Ying gently tossed the flashbang over the rooftop edge. Not into the street, but into the alley between this building and the neighboring one.

The flashbang hit the ground, bounced, and rolled into the shadows.

Then it detonated.

There was no fire, only a blinding white flash that lit the entire alley in an instant, like the noon sun suddenly appearing at midnight. It was followed by a deafening blast—not the boom of an explosion, but a high-frequency crack that ripped through the air and made eardrums ache.

Cries of alarm erupted below.

"What's going on?!"

"Flashbang! We've got an ambush!"

"Get down! Find cover!"

The Purge Squad reacted quickly, but the chaos had already begun. Looking down from the rooftop edge, Lin Xiao saw the team escorting Anna come to a stop. Two Purge Squad members pinned Anna against the wall, while the other three raised their weapons toward the alley, searching for enemies who did not exist.

And during those few seconds when their attention was diverted, Lin Xiao saw Wolf and Nightingale slip out through the side entrance of the building opposite them. They quickly darted into another alley and disappeared.

"Wolf and Nightingale have relocated safely." Nightingale's voice came through the earpiece, slightly breathless. "We're at Backup Rendezvous Point B."

"Received," Lin Xiao said.

The chaos below continued. The Purge Squad tossed two smoke grenades into the alley, and gray smoke rapidly spread through it. But they quickly discovered that the alley was empty and began to realize they had been lured away.

"Check the surrounding buildings!" a Purge Squad member who sounded like a squad leader shouted. "Someone created the distraction! They may be nearby!"

Footsteps rang out again, this time dispersing toward different buildings.

One team of four headed straight for the building where Lin Xiao and Su Ying were hiding.

Su Ying tightened her grip on her gun.

Her finger rested against the trigger guard. Through it, she could feel the cool metal and the rough anti-slip texture. Her breathing was steady, but her heartbeat was accelerating, the rush of blood in her ears like distant surf. She could smell the gunpowder, blood, and chemical stench of the smoke grenades drifting up from below, as acrid as burned rubber.

The Purge Squad had entered the building.

She could hear their footsteps spreading through the first-floor lobby. She could hear the faint friction of gloves as they communicated in tactical hand signals. She could hear the crisp click of weapon safeties being disengaged.

Four people. Judging from their footsteps, two were taking the stairs, while the other two were moving through the elevator shaft—the elevator had stopped operating, but the shaft could still serve as a vertical route.

Lin Xiao stood beside her with his back against the water tank, eyes fixed on the rooftop access door. His expression was calm, but Su Ying could see the blood vessel pulsing at his temple and the muscles in the wrist holding his gun drawn tight as steel wire.

He was calculating.

Su Ying knew that Lin Xiao's mind was always calculating: enemy and friendly numbers, weapon comparisons, terrain advantages, timing windows, escape routes. That was his way—covering fear with reason, answering chaos with plans.

But she was different.

Su Ying did not need to calculate. When battle came, her body knew what to do. Muscle memory, conditioned reflexes, battle instincts forged through countless trials. She could assess an enemy's threat level in one second, aim and fire in half a second, break an opponent's neck before he could pull the trigger.

It was a gift, and a curse. Because when her body took over everything, her mind fell silent—silent enough to hear the voice buried deep inside her.

That voice asked: Why?

Why was Hydra purging its own people? Why were people wearing the same uniforms and shouting the same slogans slaughtering each other? Why was the world always like this—always dividing, always opposing, always leaving someone to raise a gun at another person?

She had no answer.

The footsteps reached the second floor.

The Purge Squad members were searching rooms: doors being kicked open, things being rifled through, occasional shouted commands. What were they looking for? Hidden resistance members? Missing people from the list? Or ghosts like her and Lin Xiao, who belonged to no list at all?

Su Ying glanced at Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao shook his head, signaling with his eyes: Wait.

Wait for what? Su Ying wanted to ask. Wait until they reached the rooftop? Wait until there was nowhere left to retreat? Wait until they had no choice but to fight?

But she did not ask. She trusted Lin Xiao. Not because he was always right—no one was always right—but because he was thinking, trying to find a better way. And in this insane world, the fact that someone was still willing to think was already hope.

The footsteps reached the third floor.

Closer now.

Su Ying adjusted her grip on the gun. Her palms were a little sweaty, but the tactical gloves kept it from affecting her handling. She flexed her fingers to make sure her joints remained loose. Then she looked at her weapon—a Glock 17, fifteen rounds loaded, two spare magazines. Her knife was strapped to her left thigh, her pistol holster on her right, and she had one flashbang remaining.

Enough.

If they had to fight, it was enough.

Lin Xiao's mind processed several streams of information at once.

Hearing: the Purge Squad members' footsteps on the third floor—their direction, rhythm, and pauses. He estimated that they searched one room every thirty seconds. At that pace, they would reach the top floor in four to five minutes.

Sight: observing the street through the gap at the rooftop edge. The team escorting Anna had regrouped and was waiting. Anna was held beside an armored vehicle, her hands bound behind her back, her hair disheveled, her white coat stained with dust and blood. But she was still struggling, still talking. He could not hear the words, but her body language showed anger rather than fear.

Smell: gunpowder, blood, burning materials, the chemical stench of smoke grenades. And drifting upward from downstairs was a faint, cloying sweetness—blood. Fresh blood. There had been a firefight on the third floor just now. Someone had died.

Touch: the anti-slip texture of the pistol grip pressed into his palm, the rough rusted surface of the water tank against his back, the dry desert chill in the night wind against his face. And his heartbeat—steady but fast, around one hundred and twenty beats per minute. He was in a combat state, but not out of control.

Calculation: if they acted now, what were the odds of success? Four enemies against him and Su Ying. The terrain favored them, but their escape routes were limited. Even if they wiped out this Purge Squad team, the gunfire would draw more enemies, expose their position, and trap them in this building. Not viable.

If they waited until the squad searched the rooftop before acting, their odds would be even lower. A narrow doorway, close-range firefight, no room to maneuver. Even if they won, they would be injured, and injury in the current situation was equivalent to death.

If they did not act and waited for the squad to finish searching and leave, their odds were highest. But the risks were obvious: What if the enemy decided to establish an observation post on the rooftop? What if they discovered traces of their hiding place? What if they only pretended to leave while actually setting an ambush?

Every path carried risks.

Lin Xiao needed more information.

He pressed the comm button and spoke at the lowest volume. "Nightingale, can you pull up the structural plans for this building?"

There was a brief silence, followed by keyboard tapping. "Accessing the base archives... Got it. You're in Building B-7. Five floors above ground, one below. The rooftop is around two hundred square meters. There's one main water tank, two ventilation shafts, and an equipment room. The equipment room is in the northeast corner and has a ladder leading down to the utility level."

"Where does the utility level lead?"

"It connects to the base's main drainage system. In theory, it can reach any building. But the entrance is locked. You'll need cutting tools."

Lin Xiao glanced at Su Ying. She nodded and took out a small cutter from her tactical vest. It was palm-sized, but capable of cutting through steel plates two centimeters thick.

"What about the equipment room door?"

"A standard metal door. It has an interior bolt and no electronic lock. But the hinges may be rusted. Opening it could make noise."

Any noise meant they might be heard.

Lin Xiao glanced at his watch: 22:57. The purge had been underway for sixteen minutes.

The final sound of a door being smashed in came from the third floor, followed by a brief silence. The search was over.

Footsteps resumed, moving toward the stairwell.

But they were not going downstairs.

They were going up.

The Purge Squad had reached the fourth floor.

Su Ying had already aimed her gun at the doorway. Her breathing became so light it was almost inaudible. She leaned forward slightly, her weight on the balls of her feet, ready to lunge or roll at any moment. Her eyes fixed on the shadow beneath the door, judging the distance of the people outside.

Lin Xiao was moving too. He silently circled to the other side of the water tank, where he could see the doorway and most of the rooftop. He raised his gun, but did not aim at the door. Instead, he aimed at the wall to its right—if the Purge Squad members moved right after breaking in, they would enter his line of fire.

The footsteps paused on the fourth floor.

They could hear voices, but not make out the words. Then came the sound of rummaging, as if someone were inspecting equipment. It lasted about a minute.

Then the footsteps began again.

This time, they were clearly heading upward.

The fifth floor.

The top floor.

Su Ying's finger rested on the trigger.

Lin Xiao shook his head and mouthed, Wait.

Wait until they came through the door, until they were fully on the rooftop, until they spread out. Wait for the perfect moment.

But that moment never came.

The footsteps stopped on the fifth floor.

They did not continue upward.

Instead, they began searching the rooms on the fifth floor.

Lin Xiao froze for a moment, then understood: the rooftop entrance was not inside the fifth floor, but in a separate stairwell at the end of the fifth-floor corridor. The Purge Squad needed to search every room on the fifth floor before going to that stairwell.

There was still time.

But not much.

He quickly signaled: Retreat to the equipment room.

Su Ying nodded and backed away while maintaining her guard, every step as light as a cat's. Lin Xiao followed behind her, his eyes fixed on the doorway the whole time.

They moved to the northeastern corner of the rooftop. The equipment room was a low concrete structure with a green metal door, heavily rusted. Su Ying tried the handle. It was locked. She looked at Lin Xiao, who pointed at the hinges—from there, cutting would make the least noise.

Su Ying crouched and aimed the cutter at the bottom hinge. She pressed the switch. Blue arcs flickered with a faint sizzling sound, like insect wings beating. The smell of metal melting under high heat spread through the air, mixed with the sharp stench of ozone.

Ten seconds.

A door was kicked in downstairs, somewhere on the fifth floor.

Twenty seconds.

The bottom hinge was severed, its cut surface glowing a dull red.

Thirty seconds.

Su Ying moved to the top hinge.

Just then, a shout came from downstairs: "Fifth floor clear! To the rooftop!"

Footsteps moved toward the stairwell.

Su Ying sped up, and the cutter let out a louder sizzle. Lin Xiao raised his gun toward the doorway and calculated the time: it would take the Purge Squad about forty seconds to get from the fifth floor to the stairwell, climb the stairs, and reach the rooftop door.

The top hinge was cut through.

Su Ying put away the cutter, gripped the edge of the door with both hands, and pulled hard. The hinges screeched with harsh metal-on-metal friction, but the door opened—only a gap twenty centimeters wide.

It was enough.

"Get in!" Lin Xiao barked.

Su Ying turned sideways and squeezed through the doorway. Lin Xiao followed close behind, taking one last look at the rooftop entrance before going in—

The doorknob turned.

He slipped into the equipment room and pulled the door shut behind him. The hinges had been cut, so the door could not close completely, leaving a five-centimeter gap. But it was enough—enough to hide them, enough to observe.

Through the gap, Lin Xiao saw the rooftop door being pushed open.

Two Purge Squad members entered first, their gun barrels sweeping across the entire rooftop. They wore full combat gear—helmets, masks, body armor—and moved with professional caution. A third person followed in, while the fourth stood guard at the doorway.

"Check the water tank," the first Purge Squad member said.

Two of them moved toward the water tank. The third began checking the other corners of the rooftop—behind the oil drums, beside the coils of cable, and along the edge of the ventilation shaft.

Lin Xiao held his breath.

The equipment room was pitch-black, save for a sliver of moonlight spilling through the gap. The cramped space was packed with discarded machine parts, toolboxes, and several barrels of unknown chemicals. The smells mingled: motor oil, rust, dust, and some sharp, acidic odor.

Su Ying was beside him, her body pressed tightly against the wall, her gun aimed at the gap. Her breath brushed Lin Xiao's neck, warm and hurried.

The Purge Squad members spoke outside:

"Behind the water tank is clear."

"The ventilation shaft is fine."

"What about the equipment room?"

"The door is locked, but the hinges seem damaged."

Footsteps approached the equipment room.

Lin Xiao's finger settled on the trigger.

Su Ying's body tensed.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The Purge Squad member stopped outside the equipment room door. Through the gap, Lin Xiao could see his tactical boots, covered in dust and blood. He could see the hand gripping his gun, its finger resting on the trigger. He could see him bend down and peer through the gap—

"Downstairs! Something's happening!" the Purge Squad member guarding the door suddenly shouted.

The man outside immediately turned around. "What is it?"

"Gunfire from Building B-6! Could be a straggler!"

"Move!"

The footsteps quickly receded. The rooftop door shut, but it was not locked.

Silence descended once more.

Lin Xiao slowly let out a breath, only then realizing he had been holding it all along. His lungs burned, and his heart pounded wildly in his chest. He glanced at Su Ying. She was breathing deeply as well, her forehead covered in cold sweat.

They had escaped disaster.

But the danger was not over.

Just then, a sound came again from the neighboring building.

It was not gunfire, nor was it an explosion, but Anna Koch's scream—more terrified and desperate than before:

"You can't do this! Those samples need professional handling! Let me go!"

This was followed by the sounds of dragging and struggling, then the dull thud of a body hitting a wall.

The Purge Squad was taking her away.

Now.