Chapter 1 The War Outside Dragon City

The war on the outskirts of The Dragon City continued throughout the night.

Throughout the night, the First Army of District One, under the combined assault of air and armored forces, advanced relentlessly towards The Dragon City.

On The Dragon City side, the garrison and An family forces, relying on layers of defenses, barely managed to slow the First Army's offensive, suffering heavy losses.

As dawn approached, District One finally slowed its offensive, setting up camp to rest and resupply. The Dragon City also took a breather, beginning to clear the battlefield and treat the wounded.

The garrison headquarters remained brightly lit throughout the night, with officers holding successive operational meetings, brainstorming countermeasures.

It wasn't just them; the people of The Dragon City also endured a night of torment. Under the shadow of war, countless people remained sleepless.

Across the internet, everyone was keenly following the war, discussing its potential outcome. Some even predicted how many days it would take for District One to conquer The Dragon City... a multitude of topics emerged endlessly.

...

The next day, before dawn, the Dragon City All-Unification Bureau.

The staff at the Bureau had also been busy all night. Early in the morning, the building was filled with bustling figures.

In the conference room, Zhang, the head of the Intelligence Section, the head of the Interrogation Section, and Qiu-ge, among others, had already arrived and were waiting for the meeting to begin.

The group sat around a long table, exchanging the documents in their hands and discussing something in hushed tones.

Qiu-ge looked at the results obtained overnight and couldn't help but shake his head inwardly, feeling a sense of difficulty.

Just then, the office door opened, and Gu Baisun, having changed into a clean set of clothes, walked in with a serious expression.

"Director Gu!"

Everyone stood up and greeted Gu Baisun.

"Mm, sit down."

Gu Baisun replied blandly and took the head seat first.

Qiu-ge glanced at Gu Baisun and noticed that his face was stern, clearly having adjusted his emotions.

Gu Baisun leaned down to sit in the main seat, slowly surveyed the crowd, and first boosted morale: "Everyone must have worked hard all night. But right now, the situation in The Dragon City is critical, and we must work together to overcome this difficulty. I've already applied to the higher-ups, and everyone will enjoy triple salaries during this period. After the crisis is over, there will also be a bonus."

"Thank you, Director Gu!"

Everyone felt much relieved.

"Alright, let's start the meeting."

Gu Baisun's gaze landed on the head of the Interrogation Section and asked, "Xiao Li, tell us about the situation on your end. Is there any progress with Shang Shixun?"

Head Li sighed softly: "This kid is really tough. We interrogated him all night, using every method, every form of torture we had, but he just won't talk! Moreover, Shang Shixun also has some self-harm tendencies. He tried to kill himself several times, including by hitting his head against the wall, biting his tongue, and so on. We had to give him anesthesia to calm him down. In the end, he even said..."

Gu Baisun interrupted, looking at him: "Said what?"

Head Li hesitated for a moment before saying, "This kid said, we shouldn't dream, he won't say a word even if he dies. And even if he turns into ashes, he'll curse everyone in The Dragon City to a miserable end."

After listening, Gu Baisun commented blandly: "A doomed man, that's all the fight he has left."

Qiu-ge said from the side: "The Shang family is completely finished now. Shang Shixun's hatred for our Dragon City is almost irreconcilable. Fortunately, the others aren't as difficult to deal with. They've confessed what they needed to confess. We've compiled the information; take a look."

As he spoke, Qiu-ge handed a neatly compiled document to Gu Baisun. He hadn't been idle all night either, personally participating in some interrogations and opening the mouths of many people.

Gu Baisun took the document and began to read it. One of the documents contained a list of all the people involved with the Shang family that had been confessed, and after summarizing, it filled two A4 pages.

Seeing these names, Gu Baisun frowned, not saying a word.

Qiu-ge guessed what he was thinking and couldn't help but say from the side, "This is just from the first round of confessions. There are still many people who haven't been interrogated. There will probably be more later."

Gu Baisun held the document, sitting in his chair for a long time.

Everyone waited on the side, not daring to interrupt.

After a while, Gu Baisun finally looked up and instructed Qiu-ge, "Like this, pull out some people you're familiar with from the An family to form a hundred-man action team for me. Do this as quickly as possible, the sooner the better. Then don't do anything else these next two days. Just stay in our All-Unification Bureau with these people."

"No problem." Qiu-ge nodded, silently beginning to draw up a rough list.

After giving the instructions, Gu Baisun turned to Zhang, the head of the Intelligence Section, and continued to instruct, "You, the Intelligence Section, gather two hundred people for me. I need them."

"Alright!" Zhang agreed, but hesitated and couldn't help but ask, "Director Gu, what about the action team..."

Although he didn't finish his sentence, Gu Baisun understood the meaning. He pondered for a moment, responding with a normal expression, "You don't need to worry about the action team for now. First gather the people, then clean up the large warehouse behind the All-Unification Bureau. Prepare to hold a secret meeting this afternoon. Remember, those who appear at the meeting must be core members of our bureau and the An family, and the communication system must be controlled before the meeting to block contact with the outside world, understand?"

Xiao Zhang immediately nodded: "Understood."

"Also..."

Gu Baisun sat in the conference room, giving instructions to everyone.

The meeting lasted for almost an hour. After the meeting, everyone left to carry out their respective tasks.

Gu Baisun stayed alone in the conference room, thinking for a long time.

Xiao Zhang's suggestion was still reasonable. With Ge gone, Gu Baisun needed a strong action team leader, someone reliable, trustworthy, and loyal...

Thinking about it, Gu Baisun took out his phone and made a ten-minute call to Su Tianyu, explaining the current situation and specifically requesting a person from him.

...

In the afternoon, around two o'clock, the All-Unification Bureau courtyard.

"Squeak—"

A military vehicle from the Anti-Terrorism Bureau arrived at the entrance of the courtyard. Immediately afterward, a burly man in a neat military uniform jumped out of the car with a dozen soldiers.

"Snap!"

The guards at the entrance of the All-Unification Bureau, seeing him, raised their hands in salute.

The man nodded at them and stepped into the building with his men. He then walked through the long corridor and arrived at the warehouse in the back.

There were already many people standing inside the warehouse. Qiu-ge was also among them, sitting on a stool and smoking a cigarette.

"Whirr!"

The door was suddenly pulled open. Seeing the stout man walk in, Qiu-ge was stunned and couldn't help but stand up and say, "Why are you here?"

Before the man could answer, Gu Baisun followed in and said to Qiu-ge, "I transferred him over."