After the call, Purple Illusion leaned against the wall, the chill of concrete soaking through her back.
No joy stirred—though the scheme was brilliant, her amethyst eyes held only a deep, bone-level fatigue.
Yes… some things simply aren’t worth gambling. The thought tasted like iron on her tongue.
She shook her head, faced the mirror, and forced a smile back onto her pale lips like pinning a flower in winter.
She’d made her choice, and the road behind her had already burned to ash.
Next, she had to fool those girls and deliver them to the Capital Alliance’s headquarters. The lie scraped like sand in her throat.
But—
A voice brushed her ear, empty and cold, like wind off a frozen lake.
What would drive you to be the Capital Alliance’s hired blade?
Huh?!
I can’t figure it out… are our terms not rich enough? Or is it—
From the darkness that swallowed the room, a silver-white figure stepped forward like moonlight slipping free of cloud.
Emerald eyes without joy or sorrow—the girl of snow-silver hair, Yue Dier.
Impossible! How—how did you get in?!
Frost flooded her veins. Panicked, Purple Illusion snatched the pistol from the table, hands shaking like leaves in a storm.
Resistance won’t help you.
Die!
She pulled the trigger. Of course, a toy like that couldn’t touch LittleSnow.
Butterfly Return.
The bullet was lanced through by a stripe of silver the instant it left the muzzle. Fire bloomed at the barrel like a violent flower, and the handgun died with a hiss.
W-what!
Before she could think, Dixue was already in front of her. A long, alabaster hand closed around her throat, cool as porcelain.
Now, be quiet for a while. Wait with me… for the fall of capital power.
— —
— —
— —
Zixin’s phone chimed with the message they’d been waiting on, bright as a bell at dawn.
The brown-haired girl pushed down the tremor in her chest and moved to the wheelchair’s side.
Madam Principal, Dongfang Chen pulled it off.
Knew that brat would deliver… I didn’t misjudge him.
The gray-haired grandmother in the chair let a small smile warm her face, like a lamp in dusk.
Time had carved deep lines, yet the light in her eyes cut through them like rivers through stone.
She pushed the wheelchair and opened the door, the hinges whispering like reeds.
Outside, people stood in a forest of silhouettes.
Some faces were young, some seasoned; some beautiful, some rough-hewn like cliffs.
Some wore school uniforms, some coarse cloth; some wore military greens, some hadn’t even changed out of work coveralls.
Yet every face held the same granite resolve. All eyes fixed on Chairwoman Wang, waiting for a single command.
The long-awaited wish. The only vow.
The time is ripe! Students, citizens… it’s time to take back our home.
All units, commence the assault!
Roar!
Weapons lifted like a rising tide. Arms thrust skyward as if to spear the clouds.
Under the thunder of voices, a revolution like none before broke open.
— —
— —
— —
Huh? Where’s Head Zhang? He didn’t come in today?
In the guard room, a forty-something uncle squinted at the man beside him, voice easy as afternoon tea.
Ah… he went with the security team. They’re on duty at the headquarters.
Uh! Old Li, don’t call him “that guy!” If he hears you, you’ll—
He didn’t finish. When Head Zhang got mad, the whip came out like lightning.
It’s fine! He left in a rush. He won’t be back for a while.
Even so, I’d be careful… huh?
His words snagged. The floor shivered underfoot like a drumskin.
An earthquake? But Dreamwood Star hardly ever shakes…
Lost for a second, the uncle peered through the window—and the sight stamped itself into his bones.
People. Nothing but people.
Dozens wielding all kinds of weapons, dressed in every stripe of cloth, sprinting toward the guard room like a breaking wave.
Drop your weapons! Surrender at once!
This site is sealed, now under Lindream Council supervision!
He didn’t even try to resist—or he simply had no wish to. He was a gate watcher, not a hero. His hands went up like flags.
I surrender! Don’t kill me!
T36 squad reporting: guard room secured!
Copy. C19 squad has suppressed the security office!
C19’s crew took the security room clean. Those who resisted were cut down; those who surrendered were already locked behind steel.
Just like that, this factory of Fu Tong Industries fell into council hands in a blink, like a candle snuffed.
And not only here—the Lindream forces broke into hundreds of raiding teams, striking the outer plants of Xinke District all at once like summer rain.
Site secured. Noncombatant workers safe!
Orders received. Z30 squad moving to the next target!
With key units pulled back to headquarters, these scattered, remote factories became soft cakes on a festival plate.
A few security squads and gangsters remained, but before they could mount a real stand, they were crushed—often by “their own.”
The unrest sprouted not only from outside, but from the roots within.
Old—Old Kong, what are you doing!
Comrades! Now’s the time for our freedom!
Workers on the line—many planted by the Council—followed rehearsed plans and tore out critical defense systems like weeds.
I defect! I turn to the light!
Even many low-level guards stripped off their uniforms, switched sides on the spot, and marched under the Council’s banner.
It was a war that smashed rotten wood. In just over half an hour, the outer zone of Xinke District—about half its land—was subdued by the Council.
Smoke drifted, and with the sun’s red dying away, Dreamwood Star turned a fresh page into night.
— —
— —
These bastards! They struck first!
In Fu Tong Industries’ office, Fu Pi’s roar hit the walls like a hammer.
The burly, hot-tempered man smashed a computer into the plaster. Shards scattered like hail across the studio floor.
Boss!
A thickset man in a black suit barreled in, breath chopping like an axe.
Deploy the mechanized units! Go kill those cowards!
Fu Pi’s scream was a wild boar’s charge through brush, all foam and fury.
Mechanized units need an hour to boot! After yesterday’s siege on the Teng Group headquarters, they’re in standby repairs!
Another hour?! Damn it! What about the Enforcement Guard? Hold the line for me!
The core guard also…
The big man swallowed hard, voice scraping. The Enforcement Guard was borrowed by Lord Linoket… for a combat plan.
What?! Why wasn’t I told?! Has Linoket betrayed me too?!
A cold draft crept up his spine. At last, Fu Pi felt the shape of disaster closing in.
