103: Chapter 103 Death Livestream: The Last Revelry of a Clown

Tachileik, this capital of sin by the Mekong River, was currently shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere of impending doom.

The iron torrent of the Eastward Expeditionary Corps had already sealed off all exits from the city. "Black Hawk" helicopters streaked across the sky from time to time like circling vultures waiting for a feast of corpses.

Most of the warlords and small compound owners were already scared out of their wits. They were either busy burning their ledgers or jumping into the river toward Thailand, trying to gamble for a slim chance of survival in the turbulent waters.

However, amidst this chaos, the "Blue Sea International" compound, located in the most prosperous area of downtown Tachileik, seemed out of place.

It was brightly lit, and deafeningly loud, tacky dance music was even blasting from the loudspeakers.

The boss of Blue Sea International was named Zhao Zilong, nicknamed "Brother Long." This man was a madman and a desperado. He started out as a drug trafficker in the Golden Triangle early in his career, but later switched to telecom fraud and online gambling because he felt drug trafficking was too risky.

Relying on the more than three hundred fully armed private soldiers under his command, combined with being the sworn brother of the Allied Forces commander Zhao Yaoshi, he had always walked tall in Tachileik.

At this moment, in the luxury office on the top floor of the compound.

Brother Long was wearing a floral shirt, unbuttoned to reveal the tacky golden dragon tattoo on his chest. He held a thick cigar in his hand and stepped on several boxes of freshly packed US dollars. His face was flushed, clearly having just inhaled quite a bit of "festive" substances.

In front of him sat a professional livestreaming setup.

"Damn it, everyone says that Zhang Cheng is the King of Hell, but today I’m going to pluck his beard!" Brother Long faced the camera, his bloodshot eyes full of madness. "Brothers! Old friends! Families all over the internet! Look closely, this is Tachileik! This is Blue Sea International! I am your Brother Long!"

The popularity of the livestream room was skyrocketing. Because Brother Long used Dark Web technology to relay the signal to public platforms, the title was particularly sensational—'Livestreaming the Execution of an Undercover Agent, and Teaching that So-called King of Northern Myanmar a Lesson.'

In just ten minutes, the number of online viewers had surpassed one million.

"You've all heard, right? That guy named Zhang Cheng is attacking with a bunch of hillbillies! Rumors are flying outside that he's going to level this place and kill us all?" Brother Long blew a thick cloud of smoke at the camera and let out a harsh, wild laugh. "Hahaha! It's a joke! A massive joke!"

He waved his hand sharply, and two thugs immediately dragged over a young man covered in blood. The young man had been beaten beyond recognition; several of his fingernails had been pulled out, leaving him dripping with blood.

"See this kid? He's from the Dragon Country, said he wanted to escape and call the police?" Brother Long grabbed the young man's hair, forcing him to face the camera. "Come on, tell that Zhang Cheng, tell that bullshit Dawn Base, how do you feel right now? Is it good?"

The young man was so weak he couldn't even open his eyes, his mouth letting out only a faint groan: "Help... help me..."

"Help? Who's going to save you? Zhang Cheng?" Brother Long pulled out a gold-plated Desert Eagle pistol and tapped the young man's face with the barrel, making sharp slapping sounds. "Zhang Cheng! You're watching, right? I know you're watching! Aren't you supposed to be able to flatten everything? Aren't you supposed to hang all of us bosses from lampposts?"

Brother Long suddenly became hysterical, roaring at the camera with spit flying everywhere:

"I'm right here! I have three thousand hostages! Three thousand! Try and touch me! If you dare fire a single shot, I'll throw ten people off the roof! If you dare fire a shell, I'll make everyone in this entire building die with me!"

"Don't you want to be a hero? Don't you want to be a savior? Come on! Let's see if your shells are faster or if my killing is faster!"

Saying that, he suddenly pulled the trigger, shooting the young man in the thigh.

"Bang!"

The young man let out a piercing scream, his body convulsing.

The livestream room exploded instantly. The bullet screen refreshed frantically with angry curses, but seeing the insults, Brother Long became even more excited.

"Curse me! Keep cursing! I love seeing how you can't stand me but can't get rid of me!" Brother Long grinned hideously. "Zhang Cheng, I'll give you one hour. If you don't withdraw your troops within an hour, and if you don't prepare a helicopter and a hundred million US dollars for me, I'll start 'dropping dumplings'! Let's wait and see!"

...

At this time, in the Pangkham General Command Center.

Zhang Cheng sat in the large executive chair, expressionlessly watching the arrogant Brother Long on the big screen. He held a glass of water, the surface as calm as a mirror without a single ripple.

But anyone familiar with him knew that this was the precursor to the Sovereign's extreme rage.

Standing to the side, Old K's murderous intent was so thick it almost felt physical. His red electronic prosthetic eyes flickered at a dangerous frequency.

"Sovereign, the technical department has locked onto the signal source." Old K's voice sounded like a block of iron pulled from an ice cellar. "Blue Sea International Building, downtown Tachileik. This building is twenty stories high with a solid structure and an air-raid shelter underground. According to thermal imaging scans, there are about three hundred and fifty armed personnel in the building and... over three thousand prisoners. The opponent has positioned hostages as meat shields at the rooftop and windows."

Li Lanzhi stood on the other side, trembling with rage, tears welling in her eyes: "Brother Cheng, this beast... how could he... those are living human beings! Public opinion on the internet has exploded. Although everyone is cursing that villain, they are also very worried about the safety of the hostages. If a forced assault causes heavy casualties, I'm afraid..."

"Afraid of what?" Zhang Cheng put down his water glass and slowly stood up.

At that moment, a terrifying pressure swept through the entire command room.

"Afraid of being criticized behind our backs? Afraid of moral kidnapping?" Zhang Cheng walked to the screen, staring at the still-laughing Zhao Zilong with an indifference reserved for the dead. "Lan Zhi, remember this. Dealing with a mad dog like this, reasoning is useless, and compromise is even more useless. The more you care about the hostages, the more arrogant he becomes, and the more dangerous the hostages will be."

"The only way is to make him feel fear. A fear that transcends death and reaches deep into the soul."

Zhang Cheng turned around and looked at Old K, a cruel arc curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Old K."

"Present."

"Since he wants to play at livestreaming and thrill-seeking, we'll play a big game with him."

"Do not cut off his livestream signal. On the contrary, strengthen it for me! I want the whole world to watch how this mad dog turns into a dead dog."

"One hour? No, I'll only give him ten minutes."

"In ten minutes, I want Blue Sea International to become a true 'Dead Sea.' Aside from the hostages, I want not even a single cockroach in that building to survive!"

"Yes! Mission guaranteed!" Old K saluted and turned to stride away, his black cloak looking like the wings of the God of Death.

Zhang Cheng looked back at the screen, watching the still-shouting Zhao Zilong, and said softly:

"Zhao Zilong, is it? I hope your bones are as tough as your mouth."