At a loss

"Holy crap, is all of this actually real?"

"Looks like it, but why come out? That's dangerous."

"Heh, they're public servants of Great Xia. Now that the people are being threatened, are they supposed to keep hiding instead of coming out to save them?"

"Exactly. If they really stay hidden and get the hostages killed, I'll lead people into the streets to protest! We'll demand that Great Xia severely punish this Transcendent Administration Bureau!"

"Yeah, exactly! If you can't even protect your own people, what good are you? Wouldn't it be better to just accept Beautiful Country's rule?"

"I hope the people at the Transcendent Administration Bureau aren't useless. I hope the hostages are okay."

"..."

At that moment, the viewers flooded the screen with comments.

Clearly.

The Heavenly God Cult Leader had already achieved part of his objective.

Indeed, if the Transcendent Administration Bureau refused to come out and kept hiding...

Then the Heavenly God Cult Leader would have his double expose them. If they watched civilians being brutally murdered without coming out, the Transcendent Administration Bureau would completely lose the people's support.

All of Great Xia would face a violent storm as well.

It had to be said that the Heavenly God Cult Leader had made a formidable move, seizing on the Transcendent Administration Bureau's weakness and using the hostages to take control of the situation.

Of course, Yun Yongfeng was no fool. He knew this was an overt scheme, but even so, there was nothing he could do. He could only come out and face it.

Yun Yongfeng looked at Zhang San, then at the hostages behind them, and asked, "What are your demands?"

Without any hesitation, Zhang San repeated everything the cult leader had told him to say.

"Our leader wants to play a game with your Transcendent Administration Bureau. We take hostages, and you find a way to rescue them. You'll have one full day. Within that day, you must find a way to rescue the hostages. If you run out of time, then sorry, we'll livestream their executions for the entire internet."

"Their deaths will all be the result of your incompetence."

By this point, even Zhang San felt something was wrong. They could clearly have made favorable demands and used the hostages to get away unscathed... Yet the cult leader had told him to say this. He simply couldn't understand it.

Damn it, you animals, you bastards! What the hell are you trying to do? You could use the hostages to stay alive, so why play these pointless games? Are they really not afraid of dying? Or do they have another objective... Yun Yongfeng seethed inwardly.

Left with no alternative, Yun Yongfeng could only agree.

Soon, he withdrew with all the regulators who had been lying in wait inside the Blue Mountain Villa District.

Lin Qiye, who had been waiting for an opportunity to act, couldn't find an opening either. He also kept feeling as though someone was watching him, so he could only retreat with Yun Yongfeng.

Having heard everything and seen the footage, the viewers flooded the screen with comments again.

"If you ask me, they should wipe out this Heavenly God Cult even if it means sacrificing these people. Why make it so complicated?"

"Are you even from Great Xia? Those are our fellow citizens!"

"Are you a walking five-hundred-thousand-yuan bounty? Those are our fellow citizens! How can we not save them? If you were taken hostage, would you want to be sacrificed? Why don't you put yourself in their shoes?! Saving them is the right thing to do!"

"Oh? Aren't the people at the Transcendent Administration Bureau citizens of Great Xia too? A lot of people could die trying to save them!"

"Hehehe, they're public servants! Now that the people are in trouble, how can they refuse to save them? Let me tell you, even if everyone at the Transcendent Administration Bureau dies, it'll only be because they're incompetent trash!"

"What's wrong with the world these days? Instead of blaming the Heavenly God Cult, you're blaming the Transcendent Administration Bureau? You blame the good guys instead of the bad guys?!"

"I'll say it right here. If the Transcendent Administration Bureau fails to rescue the hostages and gets them all killed, we'll demand justice for them and send everyone at the bureau back to the countryside to grow radishes!"

"..."

As the cult leader watched the comments, a faint smile appeared on his face beneath the Black Robe.

His first objective was already halfway accomplished.

Next, he just had to wait until nightfall and send people disguised as members of the Transcendent Administration Bureau to kill all the hostages and frame the bureau.

That way, the viewers would believe that the Transcendent Administration Bureau had been unable to rescue the hostages and had therefore decided to kill them to eliminate the threat.

Once something like that happened, the Transcendent Administration Bureau would be completely finished. Public outrage would destroy them utterly!

Thinking of how his plan was about to succeed, the cult leader's smile grew.

"Tonight, I can take the final thousand Spirit Stones and head back. Hahaha."

Meanwhile, not far from the Blue Mountain Villa District.

A temporary operations tent had already been set up there.

Zhao Tian looked grim as well. Through the animals' vision, he had already learned what was happening inside.

This is trouble. If we rescue them, it'll be fine, but if we can't... then we'll have a huge problem... Zhao Tian understood that the Heavenly God Cult's overt scheme was obvious at a glance. What he didn't understand was how the cult intended to leave afterward. Without hostages, how would the Heavenly God Cult withstand the Transcendent Administration Bureau's fury?

Tap, tap, tap-

Hurried footsteps sounded outside.

Yun Yongfeng and Lin Qiye had arrived.

The three sat in chairs, all thinking of countermeasures.

After some thought, Lin Qiye said, "I have an idea."

Yun Yongfeng and Zhao Tian looked at him.

Lin Qiye said, "I have two Esper Abilities, don't I? One is Weathering, and the other is Gravity Control. I'll sneak in without them detecting me, then use Gravity Control to lift all the hostages into the air. You can storm the place immediately and coordinate with me from outside. That way, we can rescue the hostages."

Lin Qiye's Transcendent A-Rank Esper Ability, Weathering, could turn his body into a gust of wind.

His S-Rank Esper Ability, Gravity Control, could control the gravity of objects. (Equivalent to weaker versions of Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in.)

Zhao Tian's eyes lit up. "That's a good plan!"

Yun Yongfeng, however, shook his head.

It was far too idealistic and too difficult to carry out. The Heavenly God Cult's leader was mysterious and unpredictable, and he could keep track of their movements... Moreover, the cult leader was indeed powerful. His survival through several encirclement operations by the Transcendent Administration Bureau was proof enough of his strength.

If Lin Qiye fought him one-on-one, Lin Qiye would definitely win.

But if Lin Qiye went to rescue the hostages, the Heavenly God Cult Leader would inevitably stop him. Once the two started fighting, the hostages would be in danger.

Yun Yongfeng told the other two what he was thinking.

Lin Qiye fell silent, and so did Zhao Tian.

After a long while, Lin Qiye spoke. "How about... I secretly use gravity to kill the hostages and pin it on the Heavenly God Cult?"

Zhao Tian's eyes lit up again.

That's a good idea... But if we do that and get discovered, the Transcendent Administration Bureau really will be finished.

Yun Yongfeng shook his head again. "If there weren't a livestream, that sort of thing might... But now everyone knows the hostages are the Heavenly God Cult's lifeline. Why would they kill them? Unless the cult members killed all the hostages in front of the viewers."

Lin Qiye fell silent once more. Now he had no ideas either.

Zhao Tian said, "What if we make those platforms shut down the streams? Force them to shut them down!"

"It's too late. They've already opened countless streams overseas, and links to all kinds of streams have already spread within Great Xia. Even shutting down every domestic streaming platform would accomplish nothing. It isn't just our people watching now. People from every country in the world are watching Great Xia. They're watching us!"

"If we mishandle this, we'll become sinners against Great Xia!"

Yun Yongfeng said.

"Fuck, how could something like this happen?! What the hell are those Heavenly God Cult animals trying to do?!" Zhao Tian cursed.

Lin Qiye was speechless. They really were at a complete loss now!

He had thought this would be a simple operation, that he could easily wipe out the Heavenly God Cult with his strength. But now things had actually developed like this...

Beep, beep, beep-

Yun Yongfeng's satellite phone rang.

He answered it.

A few seconds later, the call ended.

Yun Yongfeng looked grim. "It was the cabinet... They're demanding that we rescue the hostages and wipe out the Heavenly God Cult."

"This is just too difficult. Is there any other way...?" Zhao Tian couldn't think of anything else.

Silence fell over them again.

Suddenly.

Lin Qiye thought of someone. If he were here, it seemed the problem could be readily resolved.

He said, "Doesn't Shen Fei know Genjutsu? Have him come and use Genjutsu to rescue the hostages, and I'll use Weathering to support him! Then, even if the Heavenly God Cult Leader acts personally, I can hold him off and let Shen Fei rescue the hostages."

Right, how did I forget Shen Fei...? If he were here, he could use his Genjutsu to confuse the people around him, or even change the surroundings with Genjutsu to fool the cameras... Wouldn't that make rescuing the hostages easy...? Only then did Yun Yongfeng remember Shen Fei.

It seemed he really had been so flustered that he hadn't even thought of Shen Fei.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tian's eyes lit up again.

If Shen Fei were here, wouldn't this be easy? I could control animals to observe the movements inside. Lin Qiye could use Weathering to enter and hide nearby, waiting for an opportunity to provide support, while Shen Fei used Genjutsu to control the Heavenly God Cult members guarding the hostages... Wouldn't that let us rescue the hostages flawlessly?

Naturally, Yun Yongfeng had thought of everything Zhao Tian had.

He immediately picked up the satellite phone and dialed Shen Fei's cell phone.