Three large trucks slowly drove along the roads of Tokyo, heading toward Shuchi'in Academy.
In the front truck, a one-eyed Latino man sat in the passenger seat with his legs crossed, smoking a cigarette.
Beside him, the driver, a younger subordinate, grinned sinisterly and asked, "Boss, should we just shoot all those students as soon as we get in?"
The one-eyed Boss's expression changed. He slapped the driver's head hard and cursed angrily, "Idiot. If you kill all the hostages, where will we get the money?"
Afraid that his subordinate would actually do something stupid, he took out a walkie-talkie and instructed everyone.
"The people in that school are just students. Completely defenseless."
"After you go in, don't kill anyone casually. If you run into troublemakers, just break their legs."
"Remember, don't kill anyone unless absolutely necessary. We want money, not their lives."
"If people die, it will provoke Japan's Self-Defense Forces to act directly. Japan is not like Russia. They will not forcefully intervene just to ensure the safety of hostages."
"On the contrary, if people die, they might mobilize."
These drug dealers were not fools. They trafficked drugs for money, not to kill people.
When they killed, it was usually to intimidate others or remove someone blocking their way to profit.
These desperadoes had committed countless crimes and were very experienced with kidnapping.
However, this kidnapping operation was too large to handle with only a few people.
If their numbers were too small, they could not control so many hostages. If their numbers were too large, they would need large-scale armaments.
For this group of criminals, the most difficult problem had always been obtaining weapons.
In a country where social order remained stable, acquiring large quantities of firearms was extremely difficult.
But now, someone had prepared all the weapons and equipment for them. Although there were no heavy weapons, the firearms they had were already enough to confront Japan's police and even members of the Self-Defense Forces.
This Boss was someone who used his brain. He vaguely suspected that this batch of weapons had actually been supplied by the Central Intelligence Agency.
This sort of thing was exactly what the Central Intelligence Agency liked to do. They supported armed groups around the world to stir up chaos, so naturally they had many channels for transporting weapons.
Working for the Central Intelligence Agency did not matter. As long as there was money to be made, these desperadoes did not care whose orders they followed.
"After going in, control all the hostages. Then go find Adam and kill him."
"This is the task our leader gave us. It must be completed, understood?"
Inside the truck compartments, a group of armed men responded loudly.
They sat casually, clearly different from real soldiers.
After all, this was merely a force trained by drug dealers. It could not compare to professional troops.
Soon, the convoy reached a fork in the road and split up.
Shuchi'in Academy did not have just one main gate. There were other entrances as well. Over the past few days, they had carefully studied the map of Shuchi'in Academy. To capture as many hostages as possible, they had to attack from multiple directions.
One truck drove toward the main gate of Shuchi'in Academy.
The team leader initially wanted his subordinate to drive straight through the gate, but when he saw the anti-collision metal pillars surrounding the entrance, he cursed and shouted.
"Everyone get ready. Get out of the trucks immediately. After this job is done, each of you will receive a generous bounty."
The desperadoes inside the trucks laughed as they put on their masks. Each person wore a bulletproof vest and held American M-series rifles properly as they kicked open the truck doors.
Teams of armed drug dealers jumped out of the trucks.
At the main gate, the security guards of Shuchi'in Academy saw a truck parked outside and walked over to question them.
"This is the school gate. No parking allowed. Move the truck immediately!"
The security guard shouted loudly.
But what greeted him was a group of masked men holding firearms, dressed exactly like terrorists.
The guard was terrified. He quickly turned and ran toward the security booth to call the police.
Shuchi'in Academy had its own security system, similar to a bank's. Once the emergency button was pressed, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department would immediately receive the alarm, and the school would also be notified.
"Da da da!"
The one-eyed drug dealer Boss raised his gun and fired a burst.
The security guard fell into a pool of blood before he could notify anyone.
Outside the school gate, the bystanders who had gathered to watch screamed in terror and fled as quickly as they could.
The criminals raised their guns and laughed loudly as they sprayed bullets toward the crowd.
After firing several bursts, they did not even bother checking the results before walking straight into Shuchi'in Academy.
The Boss had said that hostages should be kept alive, and at most beaten or kicked, but not killed. However, he never said they could not shoot at bystanders.
This time, they had brought eighty thousand rounds of ammunition, an average of eight hundred rounds per person. How could they not have some fun?
The one-eyed Boss smoked a cigarette while holding a gun in one hand and said to his subordinate, "Go use the explosives we prepared. Give the police who will definitely arrive soon a warning first."
The subordinate whispered, "Boss, we only have this much explosive. If we use it now, we will not have any left later."
The one-eyed Latino cursed angrily.
"How can you be so stupid? The police and Self-Defense Forces have no idea how many explosives we have."
"If we use explosives first, it will warn them that we have heavy weapons. That will make them even more hesitant to act."
"Boss is brilliant!"
The subordinate immediately understood.
No wonder he was the Boss while they could only be subordinates. He actually used his brain.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, the security booth collapsed completely.
The armed men rushed into Shuchi'in Academy with their guns raised, firing into the air whenever they saw someone.
Several of them, specially chosen because they could speak Japanese, shouted in broken Japanese.
"Everyone squat on the ground. Do not move!"
The students of Shuchi'in Academy were usually pampered. They had never experienced anything like this.
The girls were so frightened by the fierce armed men that they knelt on the ground and cried loudly.
Some brave male students tried to escape, but how could ordinary students compete with armed criminals?
They were quickly captured, thrown to the ground, and beaten violently.
These criminals were extremely brutal. They beat the boys as if they were trying to kill them. Several boys screamed in pain, their pants soaked with fear.
Such a tragic scene made the other students even more afraid to resist.
They all covered their heads with their hands and cried.
"Don't kill me. Don't kill me!"
"My dad is the chairman of XX Company. They will give you money. Please don't kill me."
"My dad works at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Our family has money. Please don't kill me."
"..."
The armed men exchanged glances.
Even though their faces were covered, the joy in their eyes was obvious.
These really were big fish. The Boss had made the right choice.
The entire Shuchi'in Academy fell into chaos.
At the same time, while the armed men were rushing into the campus to capture hostages, most of the students were inside the Auditorium listening to Toru's speech.
Hearing the distant explosion while speaking, Toru frowned.
At first, he could not confirm whether it was an explosion.
But the gunfire that followed made him realize immediately.
Someone was shooting on campus.
A series of gunshots followed, confirming that this was not a simple shooting incident, but something far more serious.
Toru had already stopped speaking and listened carefully.
The gunfire came from multiple directions. The weapons were automatic, not civilian semi-automatic firearms. Judging from the sound, they were likely M-series rifles.
There were many people involved. They were not particularly professional, but they were semi-professional.
Toru quickly made a judgment in his mind.
Countless thoughts flashed through his head.
His first thought was that Conan, the god of death, had brought trouble again.
His second thought was whether the Central Intelligence Agency had made a move.
But if it were really the Central Intelligence Agency, the people they sent would not be this unprofessional.
After rejecting Spencer, Toru had assumed the Central Intelligence Agency would not move against him.
Because of that, he had not taken many special precautions.
Mainly because preventive measures were useless. He could only respond when something actually happened.
As the world's largest intelligence organization and the world's largest terrorist organization, responsible for overthrowing countless regimes over the past few decades, the Central Intelligence Agency's capabilities were beyond imagination.
Even in the Polar Bear country, they could instigate terrorist attacks, let alone in Japan, which was controlled by America.
If Spencer truly wanted to deal with him, he would first cut off all of Toru's informants. That would make it almost impossible for Toru to learn anything about their actions.
Power. Power. I must have real power. Only then can I truly be safe.
As for building his own organization, Toru had never considered it.
What was the Central Intelligence Agency?
It originated from the American Office of Strategic Services during World War II and had been granted immense authority by President Roosevelt at the time.
Roosevelt was not a fool. After realizing that this power structure was beginning to escape control, he planned to abolish it.
But he died too early.
Later, the next president reactivated the organization that had once been controlled by the President.
It was impossible for a single person to establish a new organization capable of competing with an organization built by a former world superpower over decades with enormous resources.
That was why Toru's goal from the beginning had been to take control of that organization directly rather than build a new one to oppose it.
While he was thinking, a teacher from Shuchi'in Academy rushed into the Auditorium, shouting in fear.
"A group of armed people have rushed into the school. They are shooting everywhere!"
The teacher's words were accompanied by continuous gunshots and the screams of people outside the Auditorium.
The entire Auditorium erupted into chaos.
These students had never entered society yet. Even people who had would likely panic in such a situation.
They did not dare stay in the Auditorium any longer. Screaming, they rushed toward the exits. The large doors of the Auditorium quickly became overcrowded.
Toru did not stop them.
At this moment, he had no interest in challenging human nature with his reputation.
Moreover, he still did not know the attackers' purpose.
If it was an indiscriminate attack, running outside might offer a chance to escape. Staying here would only mean waiting to die.
If the attackers wanted hostages, these students would eventually be brought back anyway.
Based on his professional experience, Toru judged that this Auditorium was the most suitable place to gather hostages.
Other people's lives and deaths did not concern him. He only cared about his own family and friends.
[Chika, Moeha, come to my side]
[Hayasaka, are you at Shuchi'in Academy? Come find me quickly. Oh, and if Kaguya is there, bring her too]
Toru suddenly remembered that he seemed to have a fiancée.
He had almost forgotten about Kaguya.
He quickly sent voice messages to everyone he knew.
(To be continued.)