Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Only a moment ago, there had been the steady sound of rain; now, however, the mountain road leading from the highway intersection to Dufeng Mountain Resort Villa had come alive with a cacophony of sounds.

Dozens of police cars were speeding towards the entrance to the resort, their lights flashing and sirens blaring. The noise was deafening.

Up in the night sky, two helicopters were circling in mid-air, their powerful funnel searchlights sweeping across the dark mountain resort. The columns of light crisscrossed every now and then as the helicopters flew past each other.

…

“Boss! Boss! They’ve sent helicopters!”

“Boss! There’re cops everywhere! It looks like they’ve brought in a SWAT team!”

Two Big Circle Boys members were hiding in the bushes near the entrance to the resort, keeping a look-out. They were now agitatedly reporting what they were seeing to Yang Dawei via walkie-talkie.

“Get a grip!” Yang Dawei wasn’t afraid; he was a seasoned, ruthless thug, after all. He snapped at his men: “We have so many hostages with us; they don’t have the balls to try anything! Besides, we’ve killed cops before, haven’t we? Show ’em we mean business!”

Two policemen were running towards them, led by police dogs. The gangsters immediately aimed their guns at them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots rang out. One policeman was hit in the arm. A police dog was crippled by a bullet to the leg.

“Over there!” The policemen had heard the gunshots. The injured policeman and police dog were immediately carted away. The other policemen raised their pistols and fired at the bushes.

However the shooters who had been hiding in the bushes had already run off.

“Find them!”

The superintendent of the Dufeng Mountain Police Station motioned angrily with his gun before rushing into the villa ahead of everyone else.

The policemen from Dufeng Mountain Police Station were bristling with anger; Big Mao, one of their youngest officers, had been killed in action. They would not rest until he had been avenged.

The policemen who had been deployed from C City stayed put, however. They had to wait for orders from Deputy Commissioner Liu, their leader from police HQ.

Once the C City Deputy Commisioner arrived, his orders were promptly given out.

“You, take this team of 20 and head east. Find the resort guests and extract them.”

“You, take this team of 20 and head west. Find and extract the resort guests them as well.”

“SWAT team, locate the enemy snipers and take them out.”

Deputy Commissioner Liu from C City Police Headquarters methodically divided the riot police into search teams.

The SWAT team, clad in their bulletproof vests and helmets, lifted their rifles into position and ran in the direction of the enemy gunshots.

…

Half an hour later, the police were done sweeping the entire mountain resort, save for Qingfeng Garden and Mingyue Court.

The police had been greeted with heavy gunfire in these two courtyards. It was obvious that the gangsters were holed up in there.

Dozens of policemen had been shot in the legs or arms, and had been carried away by backup. The squad from Dufeng Mountain Police Station had been leading the pack, and therefore had been hit hardest.

Fortunately, they were all wearing bulletproof vests. No one had been fatally shot.

“Chief! We’ve extracted all the resort guests. The only ones left are the guests in Qingfeng Garden and Mingyue Court!”

“Take the guests to the police station and ID every last one of them,” Deputy Commissioner Liu said, his voice severe. “What about the resort staff?”

“They’re in the administration building, inside the conference room. They’re out cold…”

Deputy Commissioner Liu was currently sitting in a helicopter, up in the air, and was using his walkie-talkie to direct his men. When he heard this, he rubbed his temples and said grimly, “Surround the two courtyards.”

He had a firm grasp of the situation, thanks to his bird’s eye view of the resort.

The policemen obeyed their orders. They ran through the pouring rain towards Qingfeng Garden and Mingyue Court.

Rat-a-tat-a-tat!

Suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire from a submachine gun. It came from the bamboo forest flanking the winding footpath leading towards Mingyue Court.

The policeman at the forefront suddenly collapsed in a pool of blood. Although his bulletproof vest protected his vital organs, it offered no protection for his arms and legs.

Several other policemen were less fortunate: they had been shot in the head, and were dead by the time their bodies hit the ground.

…

The police had met with a lot less resistance over at Qingfeng Garden. A small group of police had successfully stormed the main building, only to find that there was no one inside. In the rooms, backpacks and suitcases lay scattered about.

“Where did everyone go?”

The policemen searched for a while, but did not find traces of either the guests or the enemy. They were forced to seal the gate and withdraw from Qingfeng Garden when they received orders to assist their fellow officers in Mingyue Court.

The gangsters there were putting up a bloody fight; they had hostages and refused to surrender. They had a few other advantages, too: they had arrived in Mingyue Court first, setting up a strong defense, and were armed with powerful guns. There were more than a hundred policemen surrounding the courtyard, but they were entirely helpless in the face of the heavy gunfire the gangsters were unleashing upon them. The number of injured men began to steadily rise, and there was even a fatality on the SWAT team.

The policemen were unable to keep up the attack. They were forced to radio Deputy Commissioner Liu, who was directing the battle from his helicopter up in the sky, for help.

“Deputy Commissioner Liu! The enemy’s guns are just too powerful! We can’t find an opening to attack!”

“Deputy Commissioner Liu, they have assault weapons! Half of our men are injured!”

Deputy Commissioner Liu was stunned. “Assault weapons? What kind? How is that possible?!”

“Assault rifles, from the looks of it, and they don’t seem to be running out of bullets.” The superintendent of Dufeng Mountain Police Station was an army veteran, and knew his guns. He reported to Deputy Commissioner Liu. “Deputy Commissioner Liu, I urge you to make a decision quickly, in order to avoid further casualties.”

Deputy Commissioner Liu contacted his aides on the ground. His heart sank when he learned of the full extent of the situation.

He had severely underestimated who and what he was dealing with—these were no ordinary gangsters, and they had the weapons to prove it.

…

“The gangsters are gathered around Qingfeng Garden and Mingyue Court. They are armed with assault rifles. Requesting military backup! Requesting military backup! Requesting military backup!”

Deputy Commissioner Liu had run out of options, and was sending out an emergency message to the army officers at the garrison over his walkie-talkie.

The officer on stand-by was very surprised. “The gangsters have assault rifles?! How did they get them?”

Guns were banned in the Empire; air guns were the only guns legally available to the average citizen.

Pistols or sniper rifles occasionally showed up on the black market, but powerful weapons—such as submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles—were extremely rare on the Empire’s black market.

It was also important to note that these weapons required a lot of bullets.

Bullets were subject to rigorous checks and regulation in the Empire. Even if someone lucked out and managed to get their hands on a semi-automatic rifle, they would quickly run out of bullets after only a few rounds of gunfire. There would need to be a supplier in order to keep the bullets in stock and available when needed.

“It sounds incredible, I know, but it’s all true. I have more than a dozen men injured here!” Deputy Commissioner Liu hurriedly added, “There are also more than 20 soon-to-graduate law students from C University trapped inside Mingyue Court! These are top students, members of the elite, and they’ve all been taken hostage! Their lives are valuable! Please send military backup as soon as you can!”

…

The C City police had temporarily ceased their attack while Deputy Commissioner Liu called for military backup. Two Big Circle Boys members seized this opportunity to slip out of Mingyue Court and bury several mines in the lawn and the winding path leading to the courtyard. No one noticed them as they did this, aided by the dark.

They had originally planned on taking these mines out of the country with them, to facilitate the setting up of their new territory abroad. Unfortunately, the police had arrived on the scene a lot quicker than the group had anticipated, and they were now trapped in the courtyards.

“Boss, stay here and watch over the hostages. We’ll hide outside, try to ambush them.” One man suggested.

Another lackey chimed in. “Boss, you should tell the cops we want money and a plane to get us out of the country!” After some discussion, Yang Dawei and Warrior No. 2 decided to use the hostages as leverage against the police.

Yang Dawei patted him on the shoulder. “Good! We’re getting out of this country together!”

His subordinate nodded. “Follow me!” Warrior No. 2 led the rest out the door to set up the best shooting positions.

Five of the Big Circle Boys hid themselves around Mingyue Court.

…

The water level in Little Mirror Lake was almost an inch higher now, after several hours of steady, pouring rain. The lake water lapped at the shores, almost overflowing.

The 20 law students from Class One had finally reached the shore.

Gu Nianzhi held her partner around the waist, towing her along as she bobbed up and down. She felt the soft muddy bottom of the lake leading to the shore under her feet, but she had used up all her strength by this point and was unable to stand.

As soon as she pushed her classmate ashore, Gu Nianzhi fell back into the water, and the surface of the lake closed over her head.