Chapter 1 The Gathering Storm

November 4th, around 4 PM.

Xing Bin, the deputy head of a logistics support regiment in the garrison, dressed in plain clothes, slowly parked a black SUV in front of a chain hotel called "Welfare Hilton" in the Fugang District.

This chain hotel wasn't top-tier, but it wasn't low-end either. It was quite famous in Dragon City, with a branch in every major district, and usually bustling with customers.

However, with the recent tense situation in Dragon City, the hotel entrance was deserted, with hardly any guests.

Xing Bin got out of the car with two accompanying guards, instinctively looking left and right before leading them into the hotel.

They walked straight through the lobby, down a corridor, and reached the end of the hallway at the back of the hotel.

Two hotel security guards were resting there. Xing Bin nodded to them, and they stood up, looked around, and then pushed on the cabinet behind them.

With a creak, the cabinet swung open, revealing a dark passageway.

Xing Bin followed the passage down the steps, and suddenly found himself in a spacious underground room.

Besides them, many other people were already busy inside.

The room was filled with mobile whiteboards covered with various relationship diagrams and numerous photos.

A young man in a suit stood in front of a table, talking to several people beside him.

Seeing him, Xing Bin walked over and greeted him casually, "Young Master Shang."

Shang Shixun turned to see him and said politely with a smile, "Brother Xing is here? I called you last night, but you didn't answer."

Xing Bin waved his hand. "Hey, the garrison's top dog invited me to dinner last night. I had a bit too much to drink and didn't hear the phone. For those of us in logistics, we get invited to dinners all the time, no choice. What's up? What did you need me for?"

"It's nothing much." Shang Shixun didn't think too much about it, smiled, and asked, "I just wanted to know how many people you can ultimately get out?"

Xing Bin thought for a moment and said, "I can still get two or three thousand people on my side, but you know, my connections are all with the military uniform company. But they're a bit timid, after all, they have to watch the higher-ups' faces to make a living. To be frank, the more fighting there is, the more they earn, so they're only helping me out of personal friendship. And they'll only make a move after we cause a stir here."

"That's exactly what we want, we need to make a splash!" Shang Shixun said, patting Xing Bin on the shoulder. "Thanks for your hard work, Brother Xing."

Xing Bin laughed. "It's nothing, I'm just doing what the higher-ups want."

Shang Shixun nodded, clapped his hands and said, "Okay, now that everyone's here, let's have some quiet!"

As he spoke, the busy people in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Shang Shixun.

Besides people like Xing Bin from the garrison and some key members from the Fugang District Police Department brought by Shang Shixun, there were also people from the association, the dockworkers' union, the education sector, and representatives of young scholars, all of whom were influential figures in their respective circles.

Shang Shixun looked at everyone and said loudly, "We're starting our operation at 6:30 tonight! First, those from the education sector and the young scholars will gather in the Longkou District and start a large-scale group street parade. The targets are the Police Headquarters and the Administrative Building! We can cause some excessive incidents to force them to deploy a large number of police forces! At 6:45, all worker groups in the six districts of Donggang, Fugang, Xinghe, Xinghai, Zhanan, and Daokou will gather and begin their actions!!"

Hearing these words, the people exchanged glances, with some concern in their expressions.

Shang Shixun looked at them and reassured them, "Don't worry, everyone, I guarantee that you won't encounter any resistance in these six districts! Why am I so confident?"

As he spoke, Shang Shixun pointed to the side. Everyone looked over and saw some men in plain clothes standing at the entrance.

While everyone was puzzled, Shang Shixun explained, "These people are the absolute backbone and grassroots forces within the police system of the six districts. I guarantee you that when the operation starts tonight, at least half of the police force in the six districts will be at a standstill, protesting upwards together! So we need to gain momentum in the shortest possible time and throw Dragon City into chaos!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, their gazes returning to Shang Shixun.

Shang Shixun paused and continued, "Also, I can reveal a little more information to you all. While we're carrying out our operations, there will be movements in District One as well. We're not fighting alone, District One will provide us with strong support! Not only that, but there will be as many as sixty to seventy thousand people participating in the activities tonight. No organization, no administrative institution, can ignore this force!"

A hint of excitement appeared in the eyes of many, and everyone's emotions were visibly high.

Shang Shixun seized the opportunity, leaned on the table with both hands, and said in a measured tone, "Ladies and gentlemen, since Li Mingsheng took office, we have almost unconditionally supported him! But what has he done? He has been constantly engaging in military aggression and continuous warfare! After fighting Panama City, he went to fight Saint Paul City. After Saint Paul City, he started meddling in the wars in the Old Mexico region, making Dragon City a smog-filled, poverty-stricken place! Moreover, we risked everything to push him to the top position in Dragon City, but how has he treated us, and what have we gained? We live in the shadow of war every day, and most people have lost their jobs because of him! He doesn't care about anyone's merits, only his own interests. He brought up Su Tianyu and killed or dismissed meritorious officials as he pleased! Look at the Wang family and the Kong family, they did their best, even risking their family fortune, but in the end, weren't they abandoned as he pleased?"

Everyone became even more agitated, and Shang Shixun's emotions were also running high as he said passionately, "The administrative institutions of Dragon City are rotten! This place has lost all warmth and the most basic fairness! Under the pressure of District One, they will inevitably become a mess! So now we have to choose a way out for ourselves, and choose a way out for the people of Dragon City! Today, our efforts will not be in vain!! If we survive tonight, Li Mingsheng will definitely step down!!"

"Clap clap clap!"

Shang Shixun's words were met with enthusiastic applause from below!

The Shang family has had three generations of people serving in the Dragon City police system, all of whom have held high positions. At this moment, the energy they displayed was also unprecedentedly powerful.

...

Old Mexico region, along the coast of Mexi Bay.

The Old Mexico government army mobilized more than 10,000 armed forces to start controlling the route.

At 5:30 PM, a large number of ships bearing the flags of well-known mercenary forces, fully loaded with soldiers, began to land aggressively.

In the first batch alone, 15,000 people arrived. Before these soldiers could complete their deployment, the second batch of ships had already begun to dock.

At this time, the entire sea surface was filled with densely packed ships, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Wang Dingyuan... had sent troops!!