83: Chapter 83 The Mad Gambler: Bao Youxiang's Final Choice

Inside Bao Youxiang's luxurious "Little Palace," an air of despair and madness was currently permeating, much like a sinking Titanic.

Bao Youxiang clutched the top-secret telegram from "Council of Elders," his hands shaking so violently as if he were winnowing grain, that his reading glasses were barely staying on. Although he was a cold-blooded drug lord and warlord, the most ruthless thing he had ever done in his life was merely massacring a village or wiping out a family.

Looking at the description of the "Equinox Flower" toxin and the consequences of its use on the telegram, he still felt waves of heart-palpitating terror, a chill creeping straight up his spine.

"Biochemical weapon... slaughtering a city... this is an act of total annihilation!" Bao Youxiang muttered to himself, his face as pale as paper. "If I really use this thing, I will become an enemy of all mankind. By then, let alone Zhang Cheng, even the Americans would probably kill me immediately to silence me, right?"

"Commander-in-Chief, do we have any way back?"

Beside him, Xiao Mingliang pushed up his glasses, the gaze behind the lenses sinister and terrifying. He had seen the situation clearly earlier than Bao Youxiang and had abandoned so-called bottom lines even sooner. " 'Hellfire' is finished. Zhang Cheng's armored troops are gathering at the border, conducting exercises every day; the sound of artillery can be heard from across the river. He has more tanks than we have jeeps! Once he moves south, what will we use to block him? Those green recruits who just learned how to use a javelin?"

Xiao Mingliang walked to the map, his finger jabbing fiercely at the location of Pangkham, his nail tearing through the map:

"We can no longer afford to lose. If Zhang Cheng doesn't die, we are doomed. Not only will we die, but our families, our wealth, and the foundation we have built over these decades will all become Zhang Cheng's spoils of war. Our women will be violated, and our sons will be killed like dogs! Are you willing to accept that?"

"I am not willing!!" Bao Youxiang suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot like a wild beast backed to the edge of a cliff, a low growl emitting from his throat. "That is my territory! My money! Why should I give it to him?!"

"Then do it!" Xiao Mingliang's voice lowered, carrying a bewitching magic. "As long as the 'Equinox Flower' breaks out in Pangkham, the foundation of Zhang Cheng's rule will collapse instantly. Once the north is in chaos, everyone will fear for themselves, the Dragon Country will inevitably seal its borders for self-preservation, and Zhang Cheng will become isolated. By then, we can unite with Naypyidaw, invite the Americans to intervene in the name of 'humanitarian relief,' and take over North Wa. This dead game will come back to life!"

"As for reputation..." Xiao Mingliang sneered, a cruel curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Only those who survive are qualified to talk about reputation. The dead can only be written into the footnotes of history books."

Wei Xuegang had been standing to the side, silent until now, but at this moment he nodded gloomily, his hand resting on the grip of the pistol at his waist. "Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff Xiao is right. A man without ruthlessness is no man at all. Since Zhang Cheng won't give us a way to live, then we will drag him and that city of Pangkham down to the grave with us! As long as we can win, any means is justified!"

Bao Youxiang looked at these two trusted aides beside him, then looked again at the telegram in his hand, which felt like a death warrant. In his mind flashed Zhang Cheng's young, cold, and arrogant face, the territories and wealth that had been taken away by Zhang Cheng, and the sight of him speaking eloquently on television.

Jealousy, hatred, and fear finally transformed into a desperate madness. He was a gambler who had gambled his whole life; this time, he would bet all his chips, including his conscience and humanity.

"Fine! Then do it! Damn it, at worst we'll go down together!" Bao Youxiang slammed the table, his features twisted by ferocity as if possessed by a demon. "Send the order to 'Huamei'! Activate the highest level 'Death Soldiers Order'!"

"Tell her to find the place with the most people and strike! A school! A hospital! Or that bullshit celebration party of Zhang Cheng's! I want Zhang Cheng to watch with his own eyes as the people under his rule die one by one with their guts spilling out! I want him to watch his hard work turn into a dead city! I want him to suffer for the rest of his life!"

"Tell 'Huamei' that this is the final mission. Once it's done, I will personally send her and her sister to Switzerland to enjoy life, get her the best passports, and give her money she won't be able to spend in a lifetime. If she dares to play any tricks..." Bao Youxiang made a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes fierce. "I'll cut her sister into pieces and send them to her!"

The order was issued.

The radio waves from South Wa, carrying venomous curses, traversed the jungles and mountains, flying toward Pangkham in the north.

Meanwhile, in an office of the Civil Affairs Department in Pangkham.

"Huamei," using the alias "Lin Xiao," was sitting at her desk, tightly clutching the gas release device disguised as a lipstick. It was a seemingly ordinary Dior lipstick, but inside it contained a demon capable of destroying a city.

Her phone had just vibrated, receiving a seemingly ordinary spam text message. But after special decoding, the cold text made her feel as if all the blood in her body had frozen.

"Activate 'Equinox Flower.' Target: Pangkham First Primary School inauguration ceremony. Execution means freedom; disobedience means the extermination of your clan."

Pangkham First Primary School... there are thousands of children there!

Lin Xiao's hand trembled as she stroked a photo in a frame on the corner of the desk. That was her only sister, smiling so brightly, wearing pigtails, unaware that she was being held in the palm of a demon.

"I'm sorry... I'm truly sorry..." Lin Xiao slumped over the desk, weeping silently, her tears soaking the documents in front of her.

She was a killer, her hands stained with blood; she had killed drug dealers, politicians, and bodyguards. But the life in Pangkham over these past few days—the colleagues who smiled sincerely at her, the children who called her "Big Sister Lin"—had caused a crack to form in her long-frozen heart. This place was unlike any other place she had been before; here, there was light, there was warmth.

But she had no choice. For her sister's sake, she had to transform into a demon and personally destroy this pure land she had just started to like.

"Just this once... the last time..." she muttered to herself, as if hypnotizing herself.