Chapter 111: Explosion 💥

“Report, Chief, we are fully prepared and ready to take action at any time.” At 9:20 PM Tokyo time, Officer Ryozawa entered the temporary command center and reported to the Police Chief.

The Police Chief glanced at the group of legislators sitting off to the side, seemingly indifferent, before turning to Ryozawa and saying, “Ryozawa, it’s all in your hands now. Begin the operation.”

“Yes,” Ryozawa saluted and then left the command center.

Watching the hostages packed tightly inside the building, the Police Chief clenched his hands together. Perhaps, it was time for him to retire, he sighed inwardly.

***

“It seems like they’re about to start moving,” the young man sitting on the second floor suddenly murmured to himself.

Hearing his words, the four girls immediately felt a sense of tension.

“Masashi, how do you know that?” Tachibana Sui asked, half in disbelief.

“Now is not the time to ask that. Make up your minds quickly, there’s no more time to hesitate,” the young man urged.

Kurata Ryoko noticed that her cousin seemed different from his usual lazy demeanor.

After a moment, the tall, thin man who appeared to be the leader of the armed group suddenly glanced outside in a strange manner.

Almost at the same time, several iron cans, resembling kettles, suddenly flew into the building through the entrance, windows, and various open spaces on the second floor.

As soon as the cans hit the ground, the nearby hostages assumed they were bombs and screamed in panic, leaping away. The scene immediately descended into chaos.

To control the scattered crowd, the armed men shouted angrily in an unintelligible language while firing several shots into the ceiling.

The gunshots echoed in the spacious lobby, and once they died down, the panicked crowd calmed slightly, too fearful to run.

But not long after, thick clouds of grayish-white smoke suddenly billowed from the iron cans. The smoke spread quickly, covering the entire lobby and second floor within a minute, and it continued to expand, growing thicker.

Within a few minutes, visibility inside the building became extremely low, and even two people standing together could hardly make out each other’s faces.

Screams, hurried footsteps, and gunfire filled the air. Everyone was in a frenzy, as if the end of the world had come. Shouts of pain could be heard from those who were trampled.

The young man had already known when the iron cans were thrown in that they could not possibly contain bombs. They must be some kind of tear gas or chemical weapon. He immediately shouted for the four girls to hold hands and never let go, or they would be in trouble if they got separated.

There was no time to ask whether the girls agreed. The young man grabbed Kurata Ryoko’s hand and, one by one, dragged the girls, like skewered meat, up the stairs.

This was one of the young man’s pre-decided plans: once chaos erupted, they would head for the rooftop.

The second plan was to escape through the fire escape, but considering the armed men would likely block it, the danger would increase, and they could only break through there if absolutely necessary.

But now, with visibility so low inside, finding the stairs to the rooftop was already a challenge.

The crowd ahead and around them made progress slow and difficult. They often stepped on people or were tripped up, so they had only managed to move about ten meters.

Fortunately, they remembered the young man’s words and tightly held each other’s hands. Even when they fell, they didn’t let go, so no one had gotten separated so far.

When they neared the stairwell, the young man, who had been holding Kurata Ryoko’s left hand, suddenly released her and darted forward.

“Masashi! Masashi! Where are you? Masashi…” Kurata Ryoko called out in panic as she saw the young man let go of her hand.

“Ryoko, did you lose sight of Masashi?” Tachibana Sui, holding her left hand, immediately asked loudly.

“I don’t know, he was just holding my hand, but then he suddenly disappeared. Masashi, are you nearby?” Kurata Ryoko continued shouting anxiously.

Hearing Ryoko’s words, the other three girls became nervous.

“No matter what happens now, we mustn’t let go of each other’s hands,” Yamaguchi Tomoko said urgently, trying to keep calm.

Although they all wanted to find him, the thick fog around them made it difficult to move. They could only stand there in desperation, not daring to act recklessly.

“Sayaka, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me, Sayaka…” After a while, Yamaguchi Tomoko suddenly shouted in distress.

“Tomoko, what happened?” Kurata Ryoko asked.

“I don’t know, Sayaka just suddenly collapsed. I can’t wake her up no matter how much I call,” Yamaguchi Tomoko said, her voice cracking with emotion.

“I was just about to say… my head’s getting dizzier, and I feel so weak,” Tachibana Sui said, then slowly collapsed to the ground, feeling exhausted.

“How could this happen? Damn you, Masashi, come back quickly!” Kurata Ryoko was overwhelmed with worry and helplessness.

Suddenly, a slightly cold hand grabbed Kurata Ryoko’s wrist.

“Ah!” Kurata Ryoko was startled, letting out a scream.

“Shh, it’s me,” a familiar voice reached her ear.

“You jerk, where did you go just now? Did you want to scare us to death?” Kurata Ryoko scolded, unable to hold back her tears.

“Stop talking so much. Let’s hurry upstairs.” With that, he grabbed her hand and continued walking.

“No, Sayaka and Sui seem to be feeling unwell. Especially Sayaka, no matter how much Tomoko calls her, there’s no response,” said Kurata Ryoko.

It seems that the smoke isn’t just simple tear gas. When he first smelled it, he noticed the scent was somewhat pungent, but due to the urgency, he didn’t think too much of it.

“I’ll carry Sayaka, you help your classmate. Hurry up,” the boy said as he walked to Yamaguchi Tomoko’s side and picked up her sister.

“Hey, are you alright? Can you walk?” he asked, turning to the older sister.

“I’m fine, just a little dizzy,” said Yamaguchi Tomoko, shakily standing up.

Seeing her like this, the boy had no choice but to extend one hand to help her walk.

Strangely, when they reached the stairwell, Kurata Ryoko, who was supporting Tachibana Sui, realized there was no one guarding it. However, there was no time to dwell on it, so she hurried after the boy, heading upstairs.

“How’s the situation now?” The Police Chief asked nervously, looking at the hospital building in front of them, which resembled a large steam kettle, continuously releasing smoke.

“Report, Chief. The situation is under control. After deploying the ‘tear gas,’ our team has successfully entered the building and is currently eliminating the terrorists,” Ryozawa emphasized the phrase ‘tear gas’ clearly.

The Police Chief nodded in understanding and then asked, “When can we rescue the hostages inside?” He was anxious. If they delayed too long, people would really die, especially since many of them were weak patients.

“Please don’t worry, Chief. As soon as our team eliminates most of the terrorists, we can immediately rescue the hostages. I believe those terrorists are already starting to lose their combat effectiveness,” Ryoko said confidently.

“I hope so,” the Police Chief sighed.

Suddenly, “Boom!” A loud explosion echoed from inside the building, and a massive gust of wind shattered the windows on the second and third floors. After the explosion, flames erupted amidst the thick smoke.

In that moment, the Police Chief and Officer Ryozawa’s faces turned ashen.

“Why did this happen? Why didn’t anyone tell me those bastards had bombs?” Legislator Ryoyama shouted like an angry monkey, rushing out of the RV and confronting the Police Chief.

The Police Chief had no time to address him. He immediately turned to Ryozawa and ordered, “Tell your subordinates to open fire on the terrorists right away. We cannot let them detonate the bombs.”

“But the smoke inside is too thick, they might not be able to distinguish who the terrorists are,” Ryozawa finally reacted, still in shock.

“I am officially authorizing you. If anyone is suspected to be a terrorist, your subordinates have full permission to shoot,” the Police Chief said sternly.

“Y-Yes, understood.”

“This is your full responsibility,” Legislator Ryoyama muttered darkly as Ryoko walked away.

“After this, I will resign immediately,” the Police Chief said, bowing to him before limping back into the temporary command center.

“Boom!” Another loud explosion rang out. Legislator Ryoyama stood dazed, staring at the burning building.

“Why is this still happening?” Inside the temporary command center, the Police Chief looked at Ryozawa with bloodshot eyes.

“Sorry, Chief, one of our officers shot one of the terrorists, but it also hit the bomb on him. It turns out they each have bombs strapped to them…” Ryozawa almost broke into tears.

Taking a deep breath, as if aging twenty years in an instant, the Police Chief solemnly said, “Now is not the time for apologies. I am ordering you to have your subordinates continue shooting, but only at the terrorists’ heads, understood?”

“Understood,” Ryozawa quickly ordered her team over the intercom.

While Ryozawa was busy, the Police Chief gently stroked the cold barrel of his gun at his waist.

Meanwhile, on the third floor, the three girls were facing the greatest fear of their lives.

As soon as they stepped onto the third floor, they saw a gunman leaning against the wall, violently coughing. Seeing them approach, the man immediately raised his submachine gun and prepared to shoot.

For the three girls, time seemed to slow down.

Because the smoke on the third floor wasn’t very thick, Tachibana Sui seemed to notice the noticeable rust spots on the barrel of the gun aimed at them, while Kurata Ryoko saw the man’s light brown pupils. As for Yamaguchi Tomoko, she tightly shut her eyes.

“Bang!” A shot rang out. The three girls felt like they had been shot, but Sui saw a burst of bright red blood explode from the man’s forehead. Then, his body fell backward, motionless, as if the whole scene was playing in slow motion.

Just as Tomoko opened her eyes, she saw the boy inserting a black handgun into his belt.

“Ma-Masashi, where did you get that gun?” After what felt like an eternity, Ryoko slowly came to her senses.

“Got it from those guys. Now, stop asking, let’s go up,” he said casually, continuing to carry Sayaka as he moved forward.

Seeing her cousin, who had just killed a man with a gun, but showing no change in expression, Ryoko suddenly felt a chill about him.