The cheers inside the Geothermal Hub had not yet fully died down before they were choked off by the image switching on the screen.
Gone were the scenes of the besieging forces retreating in disarray; in their place, blood-red flames raged across other districts of the Lower City.
Valerius's Black Iron Guards were aiming their cold muzzles at the very civilians who had just stepped out of their homes to cheer for them.
Fire, smoke, and the heavy, ruthless tread of heavy steam armor as it marched.
A massacre.
A brutal suppression without mercy, sparing neither man nor woman, neither the elderly nor the young.
The joy that had just swelled in their chests was instantly sealed with a layer of cold iron, freezing them to the core.
"He's lost his mind!" Wrench slammed a fist against the console, her sharp, capable composure cracking for the first time. "He's trying to drown the Lower City's rage in blood!"
"This is vengeance." Old Zhong's voice was dry and hoarse, grief clouding his murky eyes. "Vengeance against us, and against everyone who answered our call."
A-Fire stared fixedly at the screen, watching the crowds fall under gunfire. The faint relief that had softened his features after saving his sister vanished, replaced once more by a deadly, suffocating bloodlust. In his arms, the frail girl still slept, oblivious to the world outside.
The fruits of victory had curdled into poison in an instant.
Jin Wanchao pushed himself up from beside the Resonance Framework. His face was still pale, but his eyes blazed with an unearthly light.
"He is not mad. He is afraid."
Jin Wanchao's voice was quiet, yet it drew every gaze in the command room.
"He resorted to every trick to trap us here. But he never expected the entire city to rise for us. Now he seeks to silence those voices with fear. That proves his cards are running out."
Wrench took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm. "Easy to say! His cards may be few, but we can barely hold onto the table! We're trapped here, while people outside bleed for us! Before long, the enraged civilians will cool their heads and realize we can do nothing—and this wave will recede. We'll be nothing but an island!"
Her analysis cut straight to the point, weighing the atmosphere in the command room heavier still.
What could they do, after all? Charge out and clash head-on with the main force of the Black Iron Guards? That would be nothing short of suicide.
Yet could they simply watch and do nothing?
Ignoring Wrench's challenge, Jin Wanchao strode over to the massive three-dimensional city simulation.
His finger sliced through the air, skipping past the chaotic battlefields below and landing directly at the very top—the glittering, godlike Core District of the Council.
An utterly inconceivable thought flickered through everyone's minds.
"You're not thinking…" Wrench's voice trembled. She thought she had guessed his plan, yet it struck her as sheer madness.
"We cannot save everyone." Jin Wanchao's gaze fixed on a single point on the map, his tone terrifyingly calm. "But we can force him to stop on his own."
The spot he lit up on the map was none other than the Main Energy Core of the Council District.
The beating heart of the entire Upper City.
"Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao." Jin Wanchao uttered four words.
The command room fell so silent one could hear a pin drop.
Old Zhong's mouth hung open, no sound coming out for a long while. He had lived a long life, hearing countless tales of daring rebels—but none had ever dared set their sights on the Council's very heart.
Wrench's pupils constricted sharply. Her mind raced, weighing the risks and rewards of the plan.
Risk? Certain death. Not nine deaths out of ten—ten deaths, no life at all.
Reward? If successful, the entire Upper City would plunge into paralysis. All of Valerius's electronic command systems, defense networks, even the power supplies for his airships would be cut off. He would be forced to recall all his forces to defend the core, and the suppression in the Lower City would end on its own.
It was a madman's gamble.
Yet somehow, as she looked at Jin Wanchao's calm profile, Wrench suddenly believed this madman might actually win.
This man did not look at the path beneath his feet. He looked at the stars above.
"The Council District's defense system is impregnable. Let alone the Energy Core—its security is far tighter than the Nursery Factory." Wrench spoke with difficulty, less in rebuttal than searching for a reason to convince herself.
"True." Jin Wanchao nodded. "But right now, it is the most vulnerable place of all."
His hand swept across the map, tracing red arrows representing troop movements pouring from around the Council District to every riot hotspot in the Lower City.
"Valerius has sent his finest troops to stamp out the fires we lit. He is too arrogant to ever imagine that we, the 'rats' in his eyes, would dare strike at his lair at this very moment."
A piercing, all-seeing glint flickered in Jin Wanchao's eyes—a power granted by the Resonance Framework, absolute mastery over the city's every vein and artery.
"I have already found an infiltration route. A twelve-minute window only. One precise explosion will be enough to plunge the Upper City into darkness."
Listening to his plan timed down to the minute, Wrench and Old Zhong fell completely silent.
They stared at Jin Wanchao as if at some kind of monster.
Every detail of the plan rested on precise insight into the city's troop deployments and defensive flaws. Such intelligence was beyond mortal capability.
It was… divine power.
A-Fire, who had remained silent this whole time, suddenly stood up.
He walked before Jin Wanchao, asked nothing, and simply stared at him with bloodshot eyes.
"I'll go."
No extra words. Just two.
Jin Wanchao looked back at him and nodded. "I need an elite squad, equipped with our best gear. This mission must succeed."
"Understood."
A-Fire turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
Wrench watched his departing back, then glanced at Jin Wanchao, and finally shook her head with a bitter smile. A flame mixed with awe and excitement ignited in her sharp eyes.
She snatched up the communicator. "Everyone, bring out everything we salvaged from Zone Zero! Gear up A-Fire's strike team!"
Beneath the night sky, a hidden exit of the Geothermal Hub slid open.
Several shadowy figures filed out.
They wore cutting-edge steam exoskeletons, coated in a dark finish that absorbed light. Every joint was specially modified, moving without a sound.
A-Fire, at the lead, glanced back at the massive base behind him, then his gaze hardened into resolve.
The group made no noise at all, melting into the darkness like ghosts, sprinting swiftly toward the imposing, fortified line in the distance that symbolized the city's highest authority.