Exiting the office, Yang Wei promptly telephoned Wang Jian, Commander of the City Defense Joint Forces.
"Awake yet? An enemy is attacking the central control building, damn it, are you unaware?"
"Just received the intelligence; I am currently assembling the troops..." Although Wang Jian outwardly displayed deference to Yang Wei, inwardly he harbored resentment.
"Immediately dispatch five thousand troops to reinforce the control center! If a single computer within the control room sustains damage, you yourself can explain it to the President!" Yang Wei mimicked Chen Bian's tone before terminating the call.
On the other end, Wang Jian cursed into the receiver: "What the hell makes you so remarkable? Just a damn eunuch beside the emperor, flaunting authority?"
Despite his words, he wished to avoid facing the current Chen Bian and immediately dispatched troops as commanded by Yang Wei.
Within the control building, the intense explosion had devastated the entire lobby and consequently destroyed all elevators. Peripheral troops could only enter slowly by climbing through windows and scaling water pipes. 1, rifle leveled, practically sprinted towards the 30th-floor summit. En route, he eliminated every individual encountered; the cessation of trigger pressure coincided solely with magazine changes.
Meeting no substantial resistance, he arrived at the control room with relative ease, experiencing minimal peril. Pushing open the soundproof door, 1 initially intended to shout "Freeze!", but surveying the scene rendered it superfluous.
Everyone disregarded the sudden appearance of this stranger, continuing their overwhelming workload.
1 chuckled self-deprecatingly, holstered his weapon, and proceeded to discreetly plant his self-fabricated TNT charges throughout the area.
"Hey, you there!" a bald man addressed 1.
"Referring to me?" 1 glanced around; no one else was present.
"Correct, you..." the bald man continued, "Who authorized your entry? Are you ignorant that this is a restricted area for non-personnel?"
1 shook his head.
The bald man approached, slapped 1 across the face, and cursed with a triumphant expression: "I am the supervisor here! You entered without damn notification? Intending perhaps to pilfer intelligence? Do you realize your actions could prove fatal?"
The bald man merely sought an outlet for work-related stress, but he had selected the wrong target.
Pursuers finally burst in. 1 swiftly drew his pistol, aiming directly at the bald man's head.
"You are the supervisor, correct?" 1 inquired softly, positioned behind him.
"Yes... yes... yes..." the bald man replied, voice trembling.
"Release the hostage!" Soldiers surrounded 1. The other staff members finally ceased their work, fleeing the control room in disarray.
"You just accused me of stealing intelligence? Then divulge some intelligence you possess for my benefit," 1 retreated towards the window, holding the bald man hostage. With one hand, he attached the grenades from his person onto the bald man and inserted the final TNT charge, which the bald man's interruption had prevented him from placing earlier, into his back.
"I'll... I'll talk, I'll talk..." The bald man, seemingly encountering such a situation for the first time, derived no security from the surrounding soldiers. Compared to the dozens of muzzles aimed at 1, the one pressed against his own head felt far more terrifying.
"The complete operational scope here?" 1 inquired.
"Responsible for all of Taiwan's air defense radar and aircraft navigation, plus detailed logistics management, information relay..." the bald man reported fluently.
1 was somewhat astounded; what he assumed was merely equivalent to a radar station held such critical importance. It seemed fortune favored him again.
"If this location is destroyed, what consequences ensue?" 1 continued questioning.
Sweating, the bald man considered, "All transport operations in Taiwan will halt; aircraft cannot depart Taiwan; unable to preempt air raids..."
"Final question." 1 opened the window behind him. A cool breeze swept through the now deserted control room; some unprocessed documents fluttered like snowflakes in the air.
"How long would it take the Taiwanese government to reconstruct such a facility?" 1 observed the increasing crowd below.
"As data is backed up, transport operations can resume in approximately fifteen hours. However, restoring the air defense radar and aerial navigation systems requires at least seventy-two hours."
"You have no escape route! Release the hostage immediately, or we open fire!" The soldiers chambered their rounds.
"What are you doing? Can't you see he has a gun to my head? I am the center's supervisor; surely you recognize me?" Seeing their genuine intent to kill him as well, the bald man roared furiously.
"We recognize you, but..." a leading soldier stated, "Just received orders from superiors: ensure the safety of the control room equipment and the intruder's demise. Sacrificed personnel will be considered martyrs for the nation!" He then aimed, preparing to fire.
"It appears your nation has forsaken you." 1 smirked. "Gentlemen, conserve your ammunition. Farewell."
1 embraced the bald man and leaped backward out the window. No one anticipated this action; they momentarily stood unsure how to react.
The crowd below also looked up, witnessing the spectacle.
"You maniac! This is thirty stories high!" the bald man uttered his final words.
"Die peacefully. You struck me earlier; we are now even..." With that, 1 pulled the pin on the bald man's grenades, simultaneously kicking off his back to redirect towards a nearby water pipe. He swiftly snagged a protruding hook with his rifle's shoulder strap. Though only at the 25th floor, the immense impact forced 1 to vomit a mouthful of blood.
Soldiers above peered down. Upon discovering 1 miraculously clinging to the water pipe, they raised their rifles to aim.
"I said farewell," 1 pressed a simple remote detonator.
"Boom..." Another powerful explosion erupted; Taiwan's Central Radar Control Room vanished.
Soldiers below, barely processing the shock, hastily cleared an area for the bald man's descent to avoid collateral damage. No one attended to the fallen bald man; his survival was beyond doubt. They too raised their weapons, targeting 1's position. Yet, they still lacked the opportunity to fire. The grenades on the bald man detonated the TNT, producing immense smoke and a field of corpses.
1 gripped the water pipe, sliding towards the ground like a professional firefighter. Perhaps the successive explosions stunned everyone, or perhaps the smoke obscured visibility. Landing in mere seconds, 1 quickly located the dilapidated sewer entrance and leaped inside.
Yang Wei's reinforcements arrived just in time to witness both explosions. Only two words echoed in his mind—Finished.
Early morning, March 12, 2011. Chen Bian sat in his office chair, rubbing eyes reddened from a sleepless night.
Standing below were Yang Wei and Joint Forces Commander Wang Jian, separated mere hours ago.
The deathly silence assaulted their fragile courage.
"I shall execute only one of you. Now, each provide a reason why I should spare you..." Chen Bian retrieved a pistol from his drawer, slamming it onto the desk.
Yang Wei, initially certain of his demise, suddenly perceived a lifeline. He calculated that his eloquence would ensure survival.
"It was him!" Yang Wei pointed indignantly at Wang Jian. "All due to his inadequate supervision, rendering the control center vulnerable, allowing easy enemy infiltration. Subsequently dispatched reinforcements acted sluggishly, enabling the enemy's escape. Lacking military authority, merely a humble secretary, I previously dared only silent indignation at his arbitrary actions. Today, Mr. President, you witness the dire consequences of his conduct. For Taiwan's future, this man cannot remain."
"Alright, state your own reasons," Chen Bian glanced askance at Wang Jian. The inherent straightforwardness of a soldier left him unable to concoct any justification for leniency: allowing a spy to infiltrate the control center, kill several hundred defense soldiers, assassinate the center's supervisor, obliterate the control room, and escape. This delayed Chen Bian's relocation plans, crippled Taipei's air defense system, resulted in the loss of critical intelligence... Each offense warranted death a hundred times over.
"I have no justification. Wang Jian deserves death," he uttered the words "deserves death" with extreme reluctance, closing his eyes to await Chen Bian's bullet. Beside him, Yang Wei smirked with petty triumph.
Chen Bian offered no further comment, raised the pistol, and fired. The bullet whistled through a heart—but it was Yang Wei's.
"Sir? Why did you..." His words unfinished, he collapsed to the floor.
"Told you I detest excuses most. Wrong is wrong; there are no justifications," Chen Bian tossed the gun onto the corpse, summoned the guards, and had it removed.
"An opportunity for redemption," Chen Bian looked directly at the still-uncomprehending Wang Jian.
"Yes... yes," Wang Jian responded flusteredly.
Chen Bian tossed him a flyer, continuing: "This flyer, just obtained yesterday, concerns the government's relocation of citizens to peripheral city camps. This afternoon, led by National Taiwan University, a demonstration will occur, destination: the Presidential Office Building. I do not wish to see a single student holding a placard shouting curses before the Presidential Office. Suppress it, but do not open fire on them; they are, after all, the nation's pillars. Dispersing them suffices. Mobilize police and troops as needed. Regarding the control center... America has agreed to assist; restoration requires only forty-eight hours. Though the plan is delayed by a day, I shall devise other means to impede the Chinese army's advance. Proceed with your task first."
Wang Jian saluted and withdrew.
Chen Bian gazed listlessly at the ceiling, worried for Taiwan, and even more so, for his own future.