Chapter 154: Federal Law (Chapter 2, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Yubei City No. 1 Airport, Inner Harbor.

At this moment, a large federal action airship was docked, along with several smaller aircraft.

The airship's propulsion engines had already been activated and were on standby; many federal investigation team members in black suits were loading special citizens onto the airship.

"Director Taylor, the situation is this serious already—why aren't we taking off?!"

A middle-aged man with streaked gray-and-black hair and a gloomy expression sat in a wheelchair, being pushed forward by a bodyguard; the airship's powerful airflow stirred everyone's clothing, and the man's face was flushed with anger as he confronted Taylor Mo Leinuo, who was sending messages on a mobile terminal.

Taylor Mo Leinuo looked up at him: "Councilor Zhou, please return to the airship immediately. Without clearing the airspace threat, the flight formation cannot risk taking off."

"Absurd! What about the Taitiewei? The guard regiment? And all those anti-aircraft systems at the airport—aren't they all paid for by the federation? Why aren't you clearing the airspace right now?! A bunch of idiots!" Councilor Zhou screamed hysterically: "Take off now, or you're done as director!"

Taylor Mo Leinuo let out a scornful laugh and replied coolly:

"The Taitiewei? They refused to escort us. But I've used federal authority to directly reboot the airport system—the anti-aircraft weapons will now clear a path for us, so please don't waste your time here."

Councilor Zhou gave her a cold glance, his expression shifting, then snapped urgently: "Hmph, then hurry up. If you waste my time, all of you will be fired!"

"Notify all flight formations: prepare for takeoff."

Taylor Mo Leinuo handed her mobile device to a subordinate and instructed.

"Yes."

Tap-tap-tap…

At that moment, a rapid clatter of footsteps approached; Taylor Mo Leinuo turned and saw Bai Shuang leading a group of emergency team members and Taitiewei soldiers hurrying over, all faces filled with fury.

"Guard Regiment!"

She shouted immediately, and dozens of guard regiment members advanced with weapons drawn.

"How dare you do this!" Bai Shuang ignored the gun barrels pointed at her and stormed forward: "There are tens of thousands of survivors here—do you know what the consequences of this will be?!"

Taylor Mo Leinuo stepped back, letting the guard regiment members stand before her, adjusted her glasses, and said with arrogant eyes:

"According to Federal Law Article 332, all armed forces must provide full escort protection for government officials' aircraft. I'm merely following regulations!"

Bai Shuang roared after hearing this: "Then have you forgotten Federal Law Article 1—that every citizen's life, property, and freedom are above all else?!"

"So what?"

Taylor Mo Leinuo sneered coldly and pointed to the large airship behind her:

"Do you even know who's on board?!"

The conflict quickly drew the attention of other survivors on the square; many who saw the federal investigation team already felt resentment, and more and more gathered around. Hearing the exchange, their anger boiled over.

"What?! They shut down the anti-aircraft system… to escort them?!"

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Fuck, I'll kill you!"

"Kill these bastards!"

"Kill them all!"

The crowd erupted in fury; many raised their guns. The guard regiment members were forced to form a solid line in front of Taylor Mo Leinuo and Councilor Zhou, blocking the enraged survivors from advancing.

Shu Qin, Xu Jin, Lao Mo, and others were now drenched in blood, their gun barrels nearly used as firesticks in defense—only to be stabbed in the back by their own side.

It was impossible not to be furious.

Councilor Zhou watched the scene with a dark expression, gave a slight nod to his bodyguard, and prepared to leave.

Facing the torrent of curses, Taylor Mo Leinuo shouted angrily: "I advise you not to waste time—this entire airport is federal property. You don't seriously believe these weapons and these walls were built with your own money, do you?!"

Her body trembled as she grew more agitated: "Know this—those people on the airships are the most vital assets of human civilization. Everyone has the duty to prioritize their protection…"

Bang!

A gunshot pierced the air, instantly silencing the volatile scene.

Because everyone saw that Taylor, who had been screaming wildly, now had a neat, round blood hole in her forehead; blood slowly trickled down from it. Her eyes were filled with disbelief, then—plop—she collapsed backward.

Tap-tap.

A firm, resolute step approached quickly; the crowd parted automatically as Zhang Dingzhong, commander of the Taitiewei, entered the inner harbor surrounded by his aides.

Seeing the newcomer, Councilor Zhou's face changed instantly. He glanced at Taylor's corpse and said coldly: "General Zhang, you dare shoot a federal official? You're declaring war on the entire federal government…"

Bang!

Zhang Dingzhong's face remained expressionless. He walked forward, raised his pistol, and fired again—blowing off Councilor Zhou's head. He growled lowly:

"Scum."

Each shot struck the center of the forehead—merciless.

The bodyguard behind Councilor Zhou was splattered with blood. He looked down and saw the councilor's mouth wide open, slumped sideways in his wheelchair, urine and feces streaming out—he was dead beyond doubt.

The hundreds of passengers aboard the airship had also heard the shots; panic erupted inside the cabin, screams piercing the air.

This sudden turn stunned the furious survivors as well. Shi Di from Longshan No. 1 stared wide-eyed, his expression satisfied. Jian Xuwēi and Jian Zeyang, the siblings from Silver Star, both paled slightly.

Zhang Dingzhong walked straight to the guard regiment commander, Zhan Wei, and swept him with a cold gaze: "Zhan Wei, when you served under me as a bodyguard, did I ever teach you to point a gun at women and children?"

"Commander, I—"

Seeing his former commander, Zhan Wei's face twisted in conflict. He lowered his head. The entire guard regiment lowered their weapons—they had never wanted to aim at survivors.

Zhang Dingzhong stepped past him and walked to the trembling subordinate standing beside Taylor Mo Leinuo's corpse: "You have three minutes to take off."

"Huh?!"

The subordinate turned pale with terror. Other federal officials all paled and sprinted toward the airship.

"Hurry! Let's go!"

On the airship, Zhao Yan and Xu Wen sat at the very back, clutching their computer bags, tense—now that takeoff was imminent, they finally exhaled in relief.

"Oh my god, I thought they were going to shoot us."

"Phew… finally taking off…"

!

Whoo…

The airship slowly lifted off; the entire flight formation surged into the night sky.

Zhao Yan gazed through the airship window at the black armored train parked on the rail platform far away, her eyes flickering: "Director Ding… too bad…"

…

After shooting Taylor and Councilor Zhou, General Zhang Dingzhong walked over to Bai Shuang.

"What's the current situation?"

"Bad." Bai Shuang's face was clouded with worry: "We never expected them to do this—it completely shattered our plan."

Wei Kexue sighed: "That authorization came from the original federation's high command. Now we either negotiate with them or rewrite the system."

With the federal government dissolved and regions falling one after another, system permissions for local assets were never clearly divided. Bai Shuang's emergency team had come to activate and maintain the Ascension Corridor to assist survivor evacuation—but they never anticipated Taylor Mo Leinuo pulling this move at the critical moment, catching everyone completely off guard. This disaster came from within humanity itself.

Hearing this, the survivors' spirits sank. All eyes turned to Zhang Dingzhong.

"Don't bother with authorization—how long to rewrite the system?"

Zhang Dingzhong was the calmest here, his expression unchanged, like an anchor in their hearts: "The frontline hasn't been breached yet. There's still a chance to evacuate."

Wei Kexue glanced around anxiously: "If we rewrite the system using our computers, it'll take at least four hours. The Ascension Elevator has already been repaired with Lin's help—but now the problem is, even if we finish rewriting, the power from the eastern cable can no longer sustain the elevator's operation."

Zhang Dingzhong frowned slightly and looked at Bai Shuang.

"Yes." Bai Shuang spoke with shame: "The earthquake damaged one of the airport's power lines. The Ascension Elevator, electromagnetic accelerators, and anti-aircraft systems are all massive power drains. Current energy levels can't even maintain basic airport operations."

As soon as she spoke, the atmosphere froze.

The survivors' faces turned ashen; panic and despair spread rapidly.

"What?! The airport can't be maintained?!"

"Then what do we do? Wait to die?!"

"Oh god…"

…

"So there's no other option?" Zhang Dingzhong's face darkened sharply.

"We…" Bai Shuang was frantic. The airport's crisis far exceeded expectations, and with the Taitiewei severely damaged, the survivors stranded here were nearly trapped in utter despair—she had no solution.

"There's one more option!"

At that moment, a loud voice rang out from behind the crowd. Everyone turned, startled.

In the distance, Lin Xian and Kiki hurried forward, faces urgent.

"Captain Lin!" Shu Qin and Xu Jin called out immediately.

"Captain Lin?!"

Seeing Lin Xian approach, Wei Kexue suddenly remembered the mechanical prodigy among them—he blurted out like someone grasping a lifeline: "You… you can rewrite the system?"

In his view, Lin Xian had repaired that complex robot directly—if he could rewrite the system, there might still be hope.

"I can't rewrite the system!"

Lin Xian rushed forward, his gaze sweeping over the lead figure—Zhang Dingzhong, clearly the Taitiewei commander—and said directly:

"But I have a way to get everyone at the airport into the sky corridor within two hours!"

(End of Chapter)