Chapter 35: Fireworks

Several dialogue boxes popped up at once, nearly crashing Zhou Zhengde's communicator.

There was no choice, precision instruments were prioritized for the United Defense Army, and this kind of communicator really shouldn't even appear in Middle City.

[My mom will be forever young: Wen Ying has had an accident, her pulse has disappeared, the life detection chip sent its last location at the 49th floor of the Lower City, but the area cannot be determined.]

[A certain unimportant Law Enforcement Team member from Upper City: The Thirteen Spiritual Ability Users have rioted! Over thirty Spiritual Ability Users have burst out of the Thirteen Institute's building, they're heading for the elevators! Captain! Damn! All the Spiritual Ability Users stationed in the 76 Fortress have escaped! There are thirty-eight of them!]

[Former goddess Wei Na: The Clean-up troops on the 45th floor have suddenly started moving! It seems they received orders, they're heading down! I'll go ask right away!]

Zhou Zhengde's mind buzzed and nearly exploded.

What the hell is happening down there?

Is it just because An Qian died that all the Spiritual Ability Users stationed at the 76 Fortress are mobilized? And among them are even several C-Level Spiritual Ability Users?

Of course, Zhou Zhengde couldn't see that a certain Biological Minister, whose mother's pulse signal had suddenly disappeared, was currently going berserk in his office.

Zhou Zhengde pondered briefly and immediately began to reply.

To his ex-girlfriend Wei Na: [Notify Mu Liang to get off the 49th floor immediately! Our fortress's Spiritual Ability Users have all made their move!]

To his former team member: [Hide yourself, delete all communication records in the server, thanks.]

To the Minister lady: [Why would Ms. Ban go to the 49th floor?]

Waited for a dozen seconds.

[A certain unimportant Law Enforcement Team member from Upper City: Don't worry about me! Boss! Everyone is waiting for you to come back! Going dark.]

[My mom will be forever young: She just told me she was going to the 45th floor to supervise, to easily take over those facilities of Black Fire Gang later, we can't let your Spiritual Ability Users continue to destroy those expensive facilities.]

[Former goddess Wei Na: The Captain here says, the order was given by the Upper City Command Center. Half an hour ago, the Black Fire Gang started fierce firefighting, there were widespread explosions, Thirteen Spiritual Ability Users were killed.]

[Former goddess Wei Na: I'm going down with the people from the Silver Party now, I'm already trying to contact him, are you sure his helmet receiver won't be damaged by the fight? There's been no response.]

Zhou Zhengde immediately replied to Wei Na: [The receiver is located at the brow, if that's damaged, he's unlikely to survive.]

Zhou Zhengde thought for a while, and replied to his Minister mother:

[Mother, I know you must scheme for your faction and political stance, but I still think this is a bit much.]

A little while later, two messages popped up again.

[My mom will be forever young: I know what you're loathing, child, but you must think, if we could control the functional modules of the Black Fire Gang in our hands, wouldn't we be able to effectively monitor these gangs' actions?]

[My mom will be forever young: Justice that doesn't consider the whole isn't true justice. Remember your grandfather's words: "The Fortress battles the Blade Beasts, hundreds of thousands of humans are one whole, for the survival of the whole, we can sacrifice individual parts."]

Zhou Zhengde replied with a dark face:

[Me: But Grandpa also said, "the whole is made up of every individual, and if we don't value each person, this entire whole will quickly crumble."]

[My mom will be forever young: So, there needs to be a balance, the ecology of the Fortress is the best balance we have at the moment, the Upper, Middle, and Lower Cities each playing their role.]

[Zhou Zhengde: But we haven't given the people of Middle City and Lower City enough choices! The basic human rights of the Lower City people can't even be guaranteed!]

[My mom will be forever young: I am the Minister of Internal Affairs, I have access to all the Fortress's internal data, I can answer you this... We simply can't afford to keep them all.]

[Zhou Zhengde: Then why allow Lower City to have so many people?]

[My mom will be forever young: Because human individuals themselves are a resource. That includes you and me, we must be willing to sacrifice for the clan when necessary. My neck is implanted with a self-destruct chip, to prevent Mimic Blade Beasts from stealing Fortress data.]

Zhou Zhengde threw the communicator onto the table, covered his brow with his hand, and leaned back in his chair.

A feeling of helplessness.

Every conversation he had with his mother was filled with this sense of powerlessness.

And yet, he couldn't persuade his mother; he could only adhere to the principles of political textbooks.

Even though Zhou Zhengde was sitting in the public security office on the Thirteenth Floor at the moment.

He seemed to already hear it;

Heard the radio noise of the Fortress's Clearing Forces advancing.

...

"...All squads, the combat plan has been distributed to each team's command system, target, eradicate the Black Fire Gang, eliminate all armed individuals and any life as well as mechanical entities that attack us. Squad leaders, report."

"Received."

"Received."

"Received, Commander! The rapid descent passage has been opened!"

"All squads, get ready for rapid descent by number... tell these young warriors not to look at the scenery of Lower City! This is another world within the Fortress, just like, if we saw the internal anatomy of a human body, we would find it repulsive, this is the innards of the Fortress."

"Received, the drone swarm has been activated, the mechanical vanguard has been activated."

"Received, my unit will descend first."

"Received."

"My unit is ready, beginning rapid descent."

"The flight support troops are seizing air superiority, don't let our warriors be sacrificed in an internal operation."

"Air superiority capture has begun."

Suddenly.

"...Mu Liang? Mu Liang, can you hear me? Get out now! The Clearing Forces are coming! They'll kill all the armed individuals in the designated area, either throw away your weapons now! I'm on my way with the hired army to support you! Mu Liang! Reply as soon as you hear this! You've already taken down a D-Level Spiritual Ability User, killed a couple hundred armed individuals in the front and back! You can stop fighting now! Leave the rest to these ruthless regular troops! Mu Liang! Mu Liang!"