After passing through several checkpoints and completing a special encrypted password lock, as well as the final iris and fingerprint scans, the assistant secretary to the Minister of Security finally entered a special room.
Inside, there were various advanced equipnt and many elite professionals, all of whom had been recruited by the minister from the military and police forces.
This was the headquarters of the Security Departnt, the hub coordinating the entire national security system. The secretary headed directly to an independent office surrounded by glass.
The curtain was only halfway down, but it was enough to see how many people were inside—at this mont, only the Minister of Security was present.
“Minister.” The secretary called out gently after opening the door.
The Minister, leaning back in his chair with only a coat draped over him, suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot—he hadn’t truly rested or left this command center since the hostage crisis began two days and three nights ago.
He looked extrely exhausted.
“Minister, why don’t you go rest in the lounge for a bit?” the secretary said with concern.
The minister waved his hand and rubbed his face vigorously. His voice was hoarse, but still clear: “What news do we have?”
A lot had happened in the past two days, the most significant being the theater hostage situation and the assassination of the senator.
Since these events occurred almost simultaneously, the president had been furious, issuing a death order to find the culprits as quickly as possible.
“Everyone who attended the concert is being investigated. I’ll notify you imdiately if there’s any news,” the secretary replied.
The minister continued to rub his temples. “What else?”
The secretary quickly opened the files in front of him. “Regarding the investigation of the theater hostage situation, the tech departnt has examined the remnants of the bomb recovered from the scene. They found sothing.”
He opened the docunt and turned it around, pushing it directly in front of the minister.
The minister picked it up and began to read carefully. He wouldn’t overlook any detail, even minor ones ntioned in the report… But suddenly, his brow furrowed: “Residue of black powder?”
The secretary nodded. “Yes, the tech departnt said that based on the bomb remnants, it appears to be mass-produced. Logically, the amount buried in the theater should have been enough to completely destroy it… But for so reason, the high-concentration explosives inside turned into black powder. We found an activated detonator on Roger’s body, suggesting that he intended to activate these bombs and perish with them. However…”
“A last resort ant for mutual destruction ended up being just useless black powder…” The minister pondered for a mont. “Do you think Roger was set up when he obtained these bombs?”
The secretary shook his head. “I believe that buyers like him would at least conduct a basic inspection.”
“That’s strange…” The minister’s doubts deepened as he looked at his secretary. “Additionally, during the rescue of the senator, so odd things occurred. According to the Storm Squad’s testimony, by the ti they arrived, Crocodile and another thug were already unconscious, leaving only the senator in the room. We believe that the senator had no capability to subdue these two.”
The secretary continued, “In fact, at the concert hall, the guards among the thugs also inexplicably fell unconscious. Later, our team seized the weapons from these thugs and discovered that all the magazines had disappeared... However, according to the hostages' accounts, these guns should have had bullets because the thugs had fired shots.”
The situation seed to beco increasingly bizarre.
The minister suddenly had a foreboding feeling... When things exceed normal comprehension, it easily leads to an inexplicable sense of fear.
Undoubtedly, the minister was not soone who liked to be unable to explain certain phenona.
“Send soone back to the theater for another investigation; don’t overlook any minor details,” the minister imdiately ordered, then seed to rember sothing. “By the way, has communication and electricity been restored outside?”
“Repairs are underway, but the damage is extensive. Several main cables were burned due to short circuits, and it’s feared that it will take at least another 48 hours to restore power throughout the city. As for communications, they should be fixed soon. However, during the storm, most people’s electronic devices were damaged, and currently, there aren’t enough phones and similar supplies on the market, which could be quite troubleso.”
Despite this, the hub of the Security Departnt continued its work as usual—because the equipnt and power supply system here were independent and relatively secure.
“What’s the cause?”
“We consulted several professors from the research institute, but their opinions were not very unified,” the secretary said helplessly. “I also inquired at the observatory, and they said they hadn’t detected any unusual solar activity.”
“Kidnapping cases, the assassination of the senator, and the storm’s disaster all occurring within these two days… it’s like sothing out of a movie, a world ruled by terror.” The minister suddenly smiled bitterly. “To happen in this City of God, it’s truly ironic…”
“Everything has its causes; we just need to find the breakthrough point,” the secretary consoled.
The minister nodded and steeled himself. “Bring a cup of coffee.”
The secretary quickly replied, “Minister, you haven’t gone ho to rest for several days… Why don’t you go ho and rest for half a day? Besides, Dr. Franky was also shaken by this; don’t you plan to go see him?”
The minister was silent for a mont before suddenly asking, “Didn’t he have Billy’s people send him ho?”
The secretary replied, “The doctor didn’t go ho; he went straight to the university lab. I heard he’s been going to Mr. Billy’s hospital room these past two days, but the bodyguards wouldn’t let him through. As for Mr. Billy’s surgery, although it was successful, he hasn’t regained consciousness yet. The doctor said he lost too much blood and has so bacterial infection, and he’s been running a high fever.”
The minister rubbed his forehead. “How did he get in touch with Billy... still trying to secure sponsorship for the satellite launch program? Always doing thankless tasks… that stubborn guy.”
“Minister…”
“Alright, I get it,” the minister waved his hand. “I still have several docunts to review, and there’s a eting this afternoon. I need to go to the presidential office before five. Other matters… can wait until later.”
“Alright, then I’ll step out as well.” The secretary could only nod in agreent.
…
…
**‘WHITE-HELL’**
Near the lamp post across from the White Hell bar, Caroline and Arnold were sizing up the scene—they had been there for half an hour.
After so discussion, in order to prove her innocence, Caroline planned to find Hailey. The only clue was that Livia had ntioned several tis that she and her boyfriend had dated at the 'WHITE-HELL' bar.
Based on what Arnold had ntioned about Hailey, Caroline felt that soone like Hailey, a small-ti thug, should know people in 'WHITE-HELL'. Therefore, she might be able to get information about Hailey from so of the bar’s employees.
“It’s not open yet,” Arnold frowned.
Due to the strange weather, many places in the city still had no electricity. As for the residents, they were busy dealing with the damages caused by the weather, making the streets feel particularly desolate.
“It probably won’t open today,” Arnold said to Caroline with a hint of helplessness.
Caroline looked a bit irritated, having smoked one feminine cigarette after another, leaving behind seven or eight butts on the ground.
Arnold frowned, snatched the freshly lit cigarette from Caroline’s hand, and stepped on it to put it out. “Relax, you’re not in a good state.”
“Don’t mind .” Caroline furrowed her brow and walked straight toward the door of 'WHITE-HELL'.
Arnold, feeling helpless, hurried to catch up.
He had heard soone say never to confront a woman who has made up her mind about sothing, as such won can be more stubborn than n.
Arnold felt that Caroline was probably that type—she was forcefully banging on the gate of 'WHITE-HELL'.
Surprisingly, this blunt approach seed to be effective—soon, 'WHITE-HELL' opened, revealing a heavily tattooed man who impatiently pulled the door open. “What’s going on? We’re closed today due to the power outage; hurry up and leave!”
“I need to ask you sothing!” Caroline said quickly, pulling out a few bills from her bag. “You’ll be compensated.”
“Miss, you really understand the rules. Go ahead, ask whatever you want,” the big man said, clearly accustod to inquiries, as he deftly shoved Caroline’s money into his pocket.
“Have you seen Hailey? Do you know where he’s been lately?” Caroline got straight to the point.
The big man paused, then opened his mouth, furrowing his brow as he took the money out of his pocket. “Are you ssing with ? Isn’t Hailey right next to you?”
Caroline was taken aback and instinctively looked at Arnold, who just gave her a helpless smile. “This isn’t the first ti sothing like this has happened... You see it too, right?”
Saying that, Arnold didn’t elaborate further. Instead, he pulled out his ID and waved it in front of the big man. “Take a good look; my na is Arnold. Hailey is my twin brother. He’s gone missing, and I’m here to ask you about him.”
After examining the ID several tis, the big man scratched his head. “This ID isn’t fake, is it? I’ve never heard him say he has a twin brother!”
“If you don’t believe , I can take you to the police station to verify if this ID is real,” Arnold replied calmly.
The big man shook his head, returned the ID to Arnold, and shrugged, but he quickly shoved the money he had just taken out back into his pocket. “I haven’t seen that guy in over a month. Sorry, I have no idea where he is now.”
“Then what was he doing the last ti you saw him? Did he say anything about his health or anything like that?” Caroline pressed on.
The big man, now that he had received the money, was very cooperative. He shrugged and said, “What else could that guy be doing? He was probably just here to pick up won. The last ti I saw him, he had just hooked up with a prostitute.”
“A prostitute?” Caroline furrowed her brow.
The big man chuckled, “I forgot her na, but I recognized her since she had flirted with a few n here. I even talked to Hailey about it, saying the woman was quite promiscuous! Then Hailey went for it... Hey, that guy's actually not bad looking; with a bit of dressing up, he can be quite decent, and it didn’t take long for him to hook up with her.”
Caroline’s brows knitted together tightly.
She couldn’t help but feel sorrow for Livia.
Livia had told her that her boyfriend never knew about her identity or profession. She hadn’t expected he would know all along and that he was after her for that very reason.
It was likely that he knew Livia was a call girl from the start and had intended to cheat her out of money and sex.
“Oh… by the way, you might want to check out a place where you could possibly find Hailey,” the big man seed to rember sothing.
“Spit it out,” Caroline glared at him.
But the big man just pressed his lips together, wearing a strange grin. Caroline, frustrated, reluctantly pulled out a few more bills and slapped them against the big man’s chest.
“Cata Club,” the big man said with a grin. “One ti he got drunk and said he got a temporary job there, but I don’t know if he’s still working there.”
As he spoke, he looked oddly at Arnold, then rubbed his chin, his smirk becoming even more pronounced.
Arnold frowned, “What kind of place is Cata Club?”
“It’s a place where wealthy won look for n,” Caroline replied coldly.
“Miss, you really know your stuff, huh? Been there before?” The big man chuckled strangely.
“Shut your mouth!” Caroline shot him a cold glare and angrily walked away, with Arnold hurriedly following her.
……
The two quickly disappeared from the big man's sight.
He didn’t mind, happily counting the consultation fee he had received from Caroline and even whistling. But just then, he heard the sound of crisp footsteps.
A woman dressed in a black dress, holding a black umbrella, walked past him and then stopped.
The woman looked very pale and appeared exceptionally delicate. She glanced up at the front of 'WHITE-HELL', and the big man got a good look at her face.
Accustod to the nightlife, the big man couldn’t help but flirt, “Hey, beautiful, we’re closed tonight due to the power outage. But I can open a private room for you—want to co in and have so fun? I’ll buy you a drink!”
“‘WHITE-HELL’... White Hell.” The woman smiled slightly. “Is there really a place with such a na?”
“Pretty cool, right?” The big man replied, quite pleased with himself.
The woman chuckled softly, “Inside... is it really hell? Are there devils?”
“Do you like devils?” the big man laughed heartily, flexing his chest muscles. “The devils aren’t as strong as .”
“Then let see for myself.” The woman with the black umbrella smiled sweetly. “Just right, my family and I are currently holess and looking for a place to stay.”
As she spoke, the woman revealed a bewitching gaze and walked past the big man, directly entering the 'WHITE-HELL' bar.
The big man stared in a daze, a look of obsession on his face, and slowly followed her inside.
Not long after, a sudden scream pierced the air.
At the entrance, a bloody hand reached out, gripping tightly onto the door fra, but in the blink of an eye, that hand quickly loosened, as if sothing had dragged it back inside.
The gate slamd down with a heavy thud.
The 'WHITE-HELL' bar was closed once again.
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