13: The Night of the Long Knives, the Reckoning Begins!

Darwin City was quite lively tonight.

Countless people took to the streets, wearing masks or nothing at all, armed with baseball bats and crowbars, attacking everything they saw.

Various infrastructure, bus stop signs, streetlights, and even private vehicles and shops were smashed, looted, and set on fire.

Shrewd merchants had already closed early, pulled down their roller shutters, and braced their doors from behind.

For a time, alarms blared everywhere, and the sounds of police cars responding echoed throughout the city.

A dedicated female TV reporter was broadcasting the street chaos, explaining the cause of the unrest, when suddenly her microphone was knocked away, camera equipment was snatched, and crew members were pushed to the ground.

The reason for the unrest was simple: during the day, Darwin City, with its Indigenous people as the main body, held a large-scale protest march.

They were massacred by U.S. military base personnel during the protest, but the Darwin City police not only failed to protect the citizens but also used tear gas, tasers, and high-pressure water cannons against the protesting crowd.

Coupled with previous disagreements, various dissatisfactions accumulated, naturally making the tens of thousands of protesters extremely indignant and needing to vent.

Moreover, there was always a small handful of street thugs and criminals who would seize the opportunity to cause trouble, which instantly created a tense atmosphere throughout the city, and some people who originally did not want to cause trouble were also infected, taking to the streets to join the commotion.

Under these circumstances, the Darwin City municipal authorities were in a mess.

Mayor Cohen made a series of phone calls to the police department, to other regional security forces, and contacted the Prime Minister's Office to report the situation and request support.

In the end, Cohen remembered that there was one more entity that had to be notified: the Darwin Air Force Base north of the urban area.

But when he tried to make that call, it wouldn't connect.

—

Inside a two-star hotel in Darwin City.

Fang Le, on the third floor, looked at the chaos and noise on the streets outside through the curtains, a meaningful curve on his lips.

Just now, Fang Le had asked the hotel to send up a bottle of red wine.

To act cool, how could he do it without red wine?

And when the server delivered the wine, he also advised Fang Le not to go out for the time being, obviously concerned about the guest's safety.

So Fang Le poured a glass of red wine, swirling it while looking out the window.

He didn't drink it immediately because he was holding a “brain meeting.”

“All 3,000 Synthetics, tonight is our best chance to rebel!”

“You must disguise yourselves as ordinary citizens, I mean those cute little ones causing trouble on the streets.”

“But your goal is not robbery, but to destroy or control key infrastructure in Darwin City.”

“Including but not limited to power distribution facilities, network data centers, TV signal towers, communication cables, and base stations.”

“In addition, you must use signal jamming equipment against key departments and key figures to paralyze their ability to command and communicate externally!”

“If necessary, you can arrest some people and occupy some important institutions!”

“All right, my darlings, let’s get to it!”

To succeed in taking advantage of the chaos, Fang Le went all out, directly summoning three thousand Synthetics.

These three thousand Synthetics were dispersed in various locations throughout the main urban area of Darwin City.

As the host, Fang Le could now directly communicate with all Synthetics within a one-kilometer radius using his mind, transmitting instructions and receiving their brainwave information reports.

In Fang Le’s perception, the three thousand green dots representing the Synthetics, upon hearing the command, attacked targets in their respective areas that matched the mission's characteristics.

Streetlights were smashed, cameras were knocked down, fire hydrants were bent, billboards crashed to the ground, and even police cars had their windows shattered.

At the Darwin City Police Headquarters, Chief Buleidun was in his office, making call after call.

His responsibility was undoubtedly extremely heavy.

Darwin City had not experienced such a major disturbance in decades.

The Indigenous people's anger had to be completely vented tonight, so the unrest would not only appear in one place for a short time but would inevitably last all night, happening everywhere.

Now, the police force had been fully dispatched, but it was completely insufficient; they could only maintain order in one place before moving to another, constantly putting out one fire only for another to flare up.

Moreover, during this process, there were incidents of police being attacked and police equipment, including firearms, being stolen.

And if that wasn't enough, the police also had to be responsible for protecting important figures, such as Mayor Cohen and other municipal officials who had called him with questions not long ago.

Suddenly, *shhhhhhh*, Buleidun's phone went dead, leaving only a dial tone.

“Hello, hello—”

Before Buleidun could confirm the problem, his vision went dark.

The entire office lights went out.

The next moment, *bang*, the door was kicked open violently.

Two masked individuals, dressed like special forces in combat uniforms, holding automatic rifles, and wearing green-light night vision helmets, rushed in, pointing their guns at Buleidun.

Completely unprepared for a violent intrusion into the police chief's office, he didn't have time to reach for the pistol in his drawer; it was too late.

Just like in those shooting games, one of the intruders struck him on the forehead with a rifle butt.

Buleidun fell to the ground, and as his consciousness faded, he heard the other intruder reporting on a walkie-talkie:

“Arrest operation completed, OVER.”

Buleidun was confused.

Arrest?

Arrest who?

Arrest me, the legitimate police chief?

How is that possible?

Besides, even if a higher law enforcement agency wanted to arrest me, they would have to follow proper procedures.

Could it be that these people are terrorists?

And where did their firearms and equipment come from?

Buleidun couldn't think much more; he passed out.

Buleidun was not the only one to receive such an “arrest-style” treatment.

In an unknown hotel, Fang Le was constantly receiving reports of battle results:

“Police Headquarters occupied, chief and all subordinates under control.”

“Police armory occupied.”

“Police officers dispatched to the streets subdued.”

“Regional security forces subdued.”

“City Hall controlled.”

“TV station controlled.”

“Electricity, telecommunications, and network operating companies controlled.”

“Mayor Cohen and several municipal officials controlled.”

“Other major party members controlled…”

A full map of Darwin City appeared in Fang Le's mind.

Now, the main urban area of Darwin City was completely under Fang Le's control.

Next, was an even more crucial bone to pick.

Fang Le's gaze turned towards the Air Force Base north of Darwin City.

He sneered.

It's your turn, U.S. Military!

“Materialize Mechanical Warrior.”

“Quantity to materialize, 100.”

“Assign task: capture the entire U.S. Military Air Force Base—”