Chapter 1 The Botanical Garden Main Building

In front of the main building of the botanical garden.

Under the protection of the Riot Control Team, Su Tianyu led three reporters towards the side door.

"Broadcast now, to put pressure on the special forces and prevent them from forcing an attack." Leaning against the wall, Su Tianyu instructed the female reporter.

"Oh, oh!" The female reporter nodded慌忙, forcing herself to remain calm as she faced the camera, holding the microphone and saying, "Hello viewers, I'm a reporter from Real News Channel... As you can see, I am currently at the Dragon City Botanical Garden, where a bombing and kidnapping case has occurred. The perpetrators claim responsibility for the 403 tunnel explosion and the Baolong Mining explosion that occurred a few days ago. They have taken over the main building and demanded that the media be allowed to enter and broadcast live. After receiving the news, our station rushed to the scene as soon as possible. But as you can see, the Police Department's special forces want to forcibly capture the perpetrators, resulting in the death of a hostage..."

Real News Channel's report was broadcast live simultaneously on their local television station, online platform, and radio platform. The live footage and audio were transmitted in real-time to viewers in Dragon City and various regions of District One. Even some television stations in the Xinnaluo and Kasalo regions rebroadcasted the incident.

As expected, Su Tianyu's strategy was effective. As soon as the female reporter began the live report, the special forces on the upper floors of the main building retreated, returning to their original attack positions and awaiting further orders.

At this moment, both the Supervision Council and the Police Department were under immense pressure. They dared not launch a forceful attack in full view of the public, completely disregarding the lives of the hostages. After all, the perpetrator was not an extremist or a Chi-Army group like Zhao Wei虎, but just an ordinary citizen driven to extremes.

"Bang, clang!"

Su Tianyu and two members of the Riot Control Team forcibly smashed open the side door.

"No police personnel allowed, only four reporters." The shout came from the second floor, it was Jiu Shu's son.

Su Tianyu bent down and instructed the Riot Control Team, "We'll go in. You guys wait outside."

"Okay." After seeking instructions, the Riot Control Team nodded in agreement.

"Let's go!"

And so, Su Tianyu led the reporters into the dark corridor of the main building, cautiously making their way to the stairwell and moving upstairs.

Reaching the third floor, a shout came from above. Jiu Shu's son demanded that the reporters not film the building's structure in the corridor or reveal any information, in order to prevent the outside police from formulating a forced attack plan based on the scene.

"Listen to him." Su Tianyu reminded the female reporter, whispering in her ear.

The reporter team immediately complied, covering the camera and continuing to move up the stairs.

Inside the Supervision Council.

Lier watched the scene on the television screen, listening to the echoing footsteps coming from inside the main building. His face was extremely gloomy as he cursed angrily, "Find out the identity of this reporter! I must arrest her and punish her!"

...

Two minutes later.

At the entrance to a large conference room on the fifth floor of the main building, Su Tianyu shouted with his hands raised, "We are not carrying any weapons. We have nothing!"

"Push the door open and come in." Jiu Shu's son responded.

Su Tianyu slowly pushed open the door and looked inside. He saw only a dozen or so hostages, all squatting in the tea room of the conference room. There were no windows there, and the door was locked.

Jiu Shu's son sat alone on the conference table, swinging his legs, clutching the remote control, his eyes calm.

"I'm from Dragon City Real News Channel...!" The female reporter was a little nervous and wanted to introduce herself, her voice trembling.

"I recognize you. You reported on the incident involving the Victory District Police Chief." Jiu Shu's son didn't look at Su Tianyu, but said to the female reporter, "Please bring in the camera equipment."

The female reporter swallowed and nodded to her colleague beside her.

Two men carrying camera equipment placed it at the edge of the doorway, pointed it at Jiu Shu's son, and then slowly retreated to the sides.

The female reporter suppressed the fear in her heart, clutched the microphone, and stepped forward, asking in a clear voice, "I don't know what to call you, and I don't know what your demands are, but if you're causing three explosions and causing so many casualties just because of personal reasons, and also demanding that the media broadcast the whole thing live, isn't that a very extreme action?"

Su Tianyu looked at Jiu Shu's son and slowly clenched his fist.

Jiu Shu's son looked at the female reporter with a smile and asked softly, "Are you trying to say that what I'm doing is inhumane and utterly depraved? You're being very restrained in your words, but I understand what you mean."

Female reporter: "Are you trying to get compensation? Why not solve the problem through legal channels? Dragon City has many appeal channels set up for the public..."

"No, I don't see any appeal channels set up for the public in Dragon City. The mayor's hotline is always busy; the Supervision Council's complaint website is always showing a network error, or it's a robot customer service." Jiu Shu's son said with a smile, "Besides causing explosions, I really can't think of any other way to shout out and attract social attention. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm a miner. I'm covered in mud and dust, and my only survival skill is using explosives for blasting."

The female reporter looked at him: "Can you answer my question directly? Are you trying to get compensation?"

"No, my demands aren't just about getting compensation." Jiu Shu's son slowly looked at the camera lens, and after a long silence, said, "To... today, I just want to tell a story."

...

Mayor's residence.

Li Mingsheng and Ouyang Zhen sat on the sofa, both watching the live news broadcast with expressionless faces.

In the study next door, Jiu Shu's daughter, Jia Hui, was being watched by Li Yuan. She didn't know what was happening outside, nor had she seen the news reports. She just sat there quietly, wondering what she was thinking about.

In District One, politicians and business owners in more than a dozen major cities, including Hua Du and New City, were also paying attention to the Dragon City news, as long as they had the time. Some of these people saw political opportunities, while others saw future business changes.

Inside the Supervision Council, Lier took two blood pressure pills in a hurry and kept urging, "Have the people from Baolong Group arrived yet? Have the people from the Police Department arrived yet?"

...

Outside the Botanical Garden.

Jin Maohui sat in the command vehicle, watching the live report and speaking into the walkie-talkie, "Group One and Group Two outside the main building, be ready for a raid at any time. Group Three and Group Four, pay attention to the movements of the Police Department's special forces. As soon as the higher-ups give the order, we'll quickly use force to quell this incident!"

"Roger!"

"Roger!"

"...!"

The Riot Control Team was waiting for orders, orders to kill everything.