Chapter Thirty-Nine: Operation Raging Dragon (Part Four)

After staring fixedly at the thermal imaging device for a moment, Bei Shiliang exchanged glances with Lei Dong, who had been sensing the surrounding movements with his spiritual awareness.

"All clear!"

Without letting down his guard, Lei Dong covered Bei Shiliang as he packed up the surveillance equipment and slid down to the base. Only then did Lei Dong, holding his rifle ready in both hands, lightly tap the wall and silently leap to the ground.

Seeing Lei Dong's hand signal to regroup, the team members gathered around, clicking their tongues in admiration as they jogged over. Dark Cloud smacked his lips with exaggerated flourish. "Damn, damn, good grief, Boss, are you really sure this is an underground drainage system and not a palace?"

Lei Dong shot Dark Cloud a sideways glance without dignifying him with a response, looking thoughtfully instead at the massive reinforced concrete pillars standing before them.

Although everyone could already sense the immense scale of this underground structure while observing it from dozens of meters high in the sewer, only by truly standing inside could one appreciate its grandeur, and even its magnificence.

The vast hall spanned hundreds of thousands of square meters, supported by fifty-nine towering stone pillars resembling a primordial forest, beneath a dome reaching dozens of meters high. It felt like an ancient sacred temple, involuntarily instilling a profound sense of human insignificance. Despite its monumental scale, the craftsmanship here was extraordinarily refined. The entire hall was bathed in a golden hue as if naturally formed by heaven and earth, with almost no visible seams between the construction materials.

The sight was truly astonishing, but what surprised Lei Dong even more was that, as the core component of an underground drainage system, the air here remained completely dry. The surroundings were as pristine as new, and the marble-paved floor was so clean it mirrored their reflections. Moreover, the typical foul odor of a sewer was entirely absent; instead, faint fragrances drifted through the air. One could only imagine how much energy the workers of this "underground palace" had expended, and how many painstaking efforts—beyond ordinary imagination—they had made to maintain its hygiene!

"What do you suppose he's thinking?" Seeing Lei Dong's brow slightly furrowed with a sharp glint in his eyes, Song Jinggang nudged Dark Cloud's shoulder.

Dark Cloud carelessly waved a hand. "Tch, what else could he be thinking? The same old routine—'This is truly a rigorous, conscientious, diligent, and disciplined superior nation, worthy of our study, but—'"

Dark Cloud paused, raising his volume and imitating Lei Dong's expression and tone, "'—but the more superior they are, the harder we must strike them until they hurt, until they wake up—'"

"—until they never dare provoke our Republic again!" the group chimed in unison.

Heaven knows how many times Lei Dong had recited this little speech, to the point where every single member remembered it without missing a word.

Lei Dong rolled his eyes in frustration at these boring fellows. "Am I wrong?"

"Of course you're not, you're the boss so you're always right—though I couldn't care less about all that," Dark Cloud said, curling his lips as he turned to Bei Shiliang, who was hurrying over from the side. "Superior nation or inferior nation, I just know these bastards looted my homeland, bullied my brothers and sisters, and are our sworn enemies. So we should beat them to death!" Dark Cloud spat on the ground. "Damn it, the sooner they die, the sooner they reincarnate!"

"Exactly! Boss Dark speaks the truth!" chored the others.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Lei Dong pouted, turning to Bei Shiliang. "How's it going?"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Bei Shiliang said, "Done—damn, I'm exhausted!" With that, he shoved a few sheets of paper covered in bizarre symbols into their hands, grievance dripping from his tone. "Dammit, can't you guys let someone else do this for once? You've all had demolition training too; why do you always bully me?"

"Your demolition scores are the highest, so the capable must shoulder more responsibilities..." The group laughed and joked, while Dark Cloud rolled his eyes. "You're the demolitions expert. If you don't do it, do you expect me to?"

Before Bei Shiliang could figure out how to retort against his unruly comrades, the others had already scattered, each clutching a piece of paper.

"Dammit..."

---

At the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Headquarters Command Center, Superintendent Masayoshi Takahashi was listening to a report from his trusted subordinate, Iwamoto Kuchisuke, Chief of the Criminal and Organized Crime Investigation Division.

"The Fujiyama Estate in Binhai has already been taken over by military intelligence, barring us from entry. However, the initial investigation results for the cleared Yun Pavilion Kabuki-za, the residence of Seiji Eda, and the Golden Dragon Club nightclub are complete. A total of forty-seven people were killed and four heavily injured. Almost all the victims died from a single gunshot, inflicted by standard-issue military weaponry. Neither the Golden Dragon Club nor the Inagawa-kai possesses such formidable force in our classified archives. Therefore, this riot was not triggered by a conflict between two syndicates, but orchestrated behind the scenes by certain unknown forces with the objective of instigating gang warfare and large-scale chaos. Consequently, we believe this incident..." Iwamoto Kuchisuke drew a breath, seeming slightly hesitant. "...This incident is a premeditated terrorist attack."

"What did you say?" Takahashi's mouth dropped wide open, his narrow eyes instantly bulging as he stared fixedly at Iwamoto, hardly believing his ears.

Equally shocked, Iwamoto swallowed hard with an audible gulp, and repeated with added emphasis, "Yes, we believe this is a premeditated terrorist attack!"

"Great Sun Goddess..." Takahashi seemed to snap back to reality, letting out a cry of alarm as his eyes darted back to the large-scale surveillance monitors in the command center. Hours had passed, and the red zones on the screens had not diminished; instead, they were continuously expanding. This meant the riots and uprisings were not only failing to be effectively controlled, but were spreading rapidly—even with nearly a regiment of troops successively deployed to suppress the rebellion, it had done nothing to halt the escalation!

Takahashi realized the situation had blown up to catastrophic proportions. The new developments were far beyond what he alone, or the police department, could handle.

"Chief Iwamoto, connect me immediately to military intelligence..." Takahashi's words were cut short by a flurry of chaotic footsteps. A group of burly men in black forcefully pushed past the blocking police officers, escorting a short, middle-aged man with brisk strides into the command center.

Yuji Otake, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Defense's Intelligence Reconnaissance Bureau and a titan in the Japanese military intelligence community!

Takahashi narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Otake approach and expressionlessly announce, "By order of the Prime Minister, the command authority for handling the Kyoto mass riots is hereby transferred to the Reconnaissance Bureau! Now, brief me on the current situation!"

"Hajime!" Takahashi bowed respectfully. He had no desire to offend this notoriously ruthless figure. Moreover, at that moment, he felt a faint sense of relief—he would finally not have to shoulder this gargantuan responsibility alone, nor would he have to carry the blame by himself!

---

A few minutes later, in the Japanese Prime Minister's office, Shiwu Dian Daye hung up the special phone in his hand, looked at Shinsuke Kishi seated behind the wide desk, and nodded softly. "It can be confirmed... they have arrived."