Solitude's Crucible (15)
Another full day and half had passed. The municipal Public Security Bureau's blockade of the industrial park had devolved into a mere formality. Black Sea Party activities had surged across the city center, forcing them to dispatch reinforcements at the battalion level. The reassembly rate of the scattered militia stood at barely over twenty percent—and even that wasn't combat-ready.
The Black Sea Party's escalated operations were primarily aimed at disruption and diversion, but a skilled strategist always plays one move to reap multiple gains. Overnight in Guangzhou, nine banks had been hit. One of them was the Guangzhou branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which had conveniently stockpiled a massive share of individual banks' reserves in anticipation of such chaos. The two squads of armed police stationed there vanished, leaving only a few corpses behind, and the massive vault had been cleanly emptied—not a single bill or ingot left.
Of course, the stolen amount wasn't earth-shattering. Pocket change compared to the secret vaults of the communist nobles. But the shock to the public was another matter entirely. What good was media control? Everything was out in the open. Citizens braved the threats filling the streets, rushing from their homes to demand full withdrawals from their banks. Before authorities suspended payouts, the withdrawn sums already exceeded the heist by sixfold. The state broadcaster's anchor, urging calm with objective damage assessments, rang utterly hollow.
This was the effect the Black Sea Party had aimed for. Their leadership was stoking anxiety and rage among the elite.
"In the end, the vice mayor's taking responsibility and stepping down from his Public Security Bureau chief post," Gao Xusen said gloomily.
"The man who clung to his seat yesterday even after the bloodbath is headless today. He won't hold onto the secretary position much longer either."
Gao Xusen's face, which had started darkening since yesterday afternoon, had now sunk to rock bottom. And understandably so—officially becoming acting chief meant bearing ultimate responsibility for the city's security. Compared to yesterday, when he could scapegoat the vice mayor while wielding real power, his position had worsened.
What's happening now is essentially a people's trial.
Beijing's higher-ups were wary of alienating the Party's core support base. Gao Xusen's current plight was thus a matter of momentum. Past points scored meant little; he was living day-to-day. Survive this stretch, though, and he'd ascend to unimaginable heights amid resounding praise and backing.
"So, Deputy Director. What you must do from here must succeed. The rise and fall of our venture hangs on this great undertaking."
All the rambling Gao Xusen had done so far was mere preamble. I replied nonchalantly.
"No need to worry. It's not that difficult. Just execute the feint properly."
"That's what you needn't worry about. We've been ready for ages. Same for the power company. One word from you, and they'll cut the grid. Not just the factories—the whole area's power."
The "great undertaking" the communist noble referred to was the nighttime sabotage operation I'd proposed. Infiltrate the worker-peasant-held industrial park and unleash precisely measured explosions and chaos. If Gao Xusen, fresh as acting chief, crushed over 30,000 rebels with a clever ploy—including their artillery—the image boost would be incalculable.
Not that it was all upside. Expectations would skyrocket. People demand heroic feats from heroes and take them as a given. Fail to meet the ever-rising bar once, and the hero becomes a has-been or traitor overnight.
Still, to restore order in greater Guangzhou to a manageable level, a decisive blow was essential.
"Take this."
One of Gao Xusen's three detective chiefs, Panhai Shan, handed me a clunky pair of glasses. A thin wire extended from the frames to a terminal smaller than a smartphone.
"Augmented reality gear for facial recognition of high-risk targets. Special requisition. Identifying ringleaders is our job, but in the chaos of 30,000 scattering, we can't catch them all without enough manpower..."
This was the fruit of shoveling over ten trillion won annually into surveillance tech. I examined the glasses and asked,
"I get it. How do I use it?"
"Just power it on. Excellent low-light performance—no extra illumination needed even at night like this. Works offline based on pre-downloaded data. Red-bordered faces are high-value targets. Try it now."
The Public Security side hadn't idled the past day. Remaining forces had surveilled the worker-peasants' every move with every reconnaissance asset, mapping their hierarchies. I shook my head.
"No need. Plenty of time on-site."
"Ah, yes..."
Panhai Shan eyed me awkwardly for refusing to ditch my tinted shades even late at night. But with the silicone mask, what choice did I have? I changed the subject casually.
"Forget the gadgets. Any solid support incoming? Armored vehicles, Guangdong Armed Police reinforcements...?"
With Gao Xusen controlling the municipal bureau, more aid meant more gain for us. None of them outmatched me or my men anyway. The army lacked surplus amid escalating India border clashes and unrest in Beijing and Hong Kong. Gao Xusen answered,
"Heard the central government's prepping some trump card. Holding it back to avoid piecemeal deployment and attrition, but once committed, it's invincible—nothing the enemy can stand against. Frontline cadres just need to buy a little more time."
Invincible forces, my ass.
"How much do you buy that?"
At my question, the communist noble looked faintly embarrassed even in the gloom.
"They keep it classified, but probably some elite Awakened Ability User unit trained by the center. Concentrated national recruits could turn the tide, even if not invincible. Methodical sweeps, one spot at a time."
Spot on with my expectations. Central government just needed time to mold Awakened into soldiers. Assembling top talents was one thing; standardizing a disparate bunch into military might was another. The challenge scaled exponentially with unit size.
They have to rewrite doctrine from tactical basics up.
"One point five billion Chinese united will bring the world to its knees"—that was the core slogan of the "Awakened Rise," but without time, it was pie in the sky.
After final gear check, I nodded to the communist noble, now looking every bit the armed cop with my balaclava pulled just below my eyes.
"Let's begin."
"Good hunting."
Worker-peasant garb would be ideal, but risked friendly fire confusion. So we donned shabby coats for infiltration, to shed later. Outside the tent, the moonlit grounds gleamed. Tonight's moonlight: 76% of full. Thin clouds unfit for dry season veiled it; sans artificial lights, it should've been plenty dark.
Facility intel swiped from Internal Security Defense Brigade included infiltration routes like sewers and utility tunnels. Obvious to my eyes, but it'd alibi our path. Me figuring that out solo would've raised flags.
My crew and I slipped into the industrial park via a tunnel lined with power cables and gas lines. No external signals reached inside, but at the planned spot sat an interphone box for maintenance.
"This is Black Wolf. Reached Point A. Commencing infiltration on the dot."
"On the dot, confirmed. Safe return."
The voice belonged to Detective Chief Zhang Tailong at the power company. He'd stormed it with a police squad, herded all staff at gunpoint, and seized phones. I'd advised checking for needle marks on arms; five mid-level managers fell for rebellion conspiracy—hooked on drugs and bribes.
We reached the fireworks factory basement. A low whummm from ancient machines reverberated through the earth. Through thick soil and concrete, production lines churned; worker-peasants slaved nonstop late into night. Turning raw stockpiles to product would take two or three more 24/7 days.
Three minutes seventeen seconds to blackout. I swapped shades for AR goggles. Bulky, uncomfortable, but tolerable. Power on: twenty-second boot. Scanning my men, white frames appeared on their faces. ID in under 0.1 seconds.
Smash it when done.
They were masked too, but who knew what clues the memory held. Moments later, the subterranean hum vanished. Zero hour.
"Hold."
I halted the men, watching worker-peasants flail in the dark. Phone screens flickered wildly. With cell towers cut too, they relied on walkie-talkies and shouts. External comms severed.
"Now."
Clearing the exit, I telekinetically unsealed it and leaped out. My men followed suit. Priority: emergency generators per factory. They'd fix lights before lines. No light meant fatal for herding 30,000 rabble.
I crossed the chaotic dark unchallenged, splitting men at junctions for speed. At the last generator, two flashlight-gnawing idiots were flipping the switch.
"Huh?"
The first whirled at footsteps, white frame in my goggles. I palm-struck, jamming his flashlight down his throat. His skull cracked against the generator—thunk—leaving red.
The crouching one took Kyung-tae's upkick to the jaw. Front teeth shattered around the flashlight. Eyes bulged our way. Kyung-tae grabbed the head fore and aft, spinning it blurring-fast.
Crack-crunch-snap!
My hand-raised superhuman's strength was overkill on mortals. The head spun four rotations free, rolling like a top. Neck below: mangled meat-helix.
"Messy."
Kyung-tae looked sheepish at my remark.
"Power keeps spiking max... Overshoot control sometimes."
"I see."
Side effect of growth—unavoidable. The cracked-skull one choked on blood and plastic, suffocating. I toed his end swift. Without aid, he'd have gone soon anyway.