Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 179: Sudden Coup

As Pan Na helped Zhou Yuan by the arm and the two were about to leave the counter, the TV above the counter, the TVs in other shops, and the mall's large screen suddenly lit up.

"Two breaking news reports. Former President Thomas and his military and political staff have just been arrested by the military police. The Supreme Prosecutor has declared them guilty of treason. In accordance with the Imperial Constitution, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Marshal Felch has temporarily assumed military and political power. Acting President Felch has declared a red alert for all areas under Imperial jurisdiction." The screen showed Thomas, George, and others being escorted into a vehicle by the military police, and Felch being sworn in.

"Another piece of news is that the Supreme Prosecutor's Office has issued an arrest warrant for a man named Zhou Yuan, who is wanted throughout the Empire for founding a cult called Dujiao and endangering the Empire's security. Acting President Felch is applying to the Parliament to remove the golden avatar of Dujiao. Zhou Yuan is a male, 1.86 meters tall, and often wears a mask. His appearance with the mask is shown in the picture. Everyone already knows his real appearance. Anyone with information or knowledge of his whereabouts is urged to report to the Military Police immediately. Anyone who harbors or conceals a criminal will be severely punished under Imperial law."

Clearly, both news items were explosive. The entire mall was watching the television screens, seemingly oblivious to Zhou Yuan, who was still at the baby and toddler products specialty store on the fourth floor corner.

The woman at the counter looked Zhou Yuan up and down, while Zhou Yuan happened to be peeking out at the elevator entrance on the fourth floor of the mall.

At the elevator entrance on the fourth floor of the mall, six or seven men in military uniforms appeared, carrying guns, and were asking questions at each shop. One of the men in military uniforms seemed to be holding a photo.

Zhou Yuan quickly grabbed Pan Na, and the two lowered their heads and covered their faces, preparing to leave the mall through the pedestrian exit. However, they seemed to hear thumping sounds of people going upstairs from below the pedestrian exit.

"Hey, bro, come in." The helpful woman opened the small door at the counter on the right, pulling Zhou Yuan's arm. After Zhou Yuan and Pan Na went inside, the woman pushed against a wall. The wall seemed to have no gaps, but a door opened in it, leading to what appeared to be a dark little room. The woman reached out and turned on the light, quickly pushing Zhou Yuan and Pan Na into the room. "Bro, you two hide for a bit, I'll handle things outside." After saying that, the woman turned off the light, quickly and quietly closed the door, and the wall closed again, making it impossible to tell there was a secret passage.

Although the room was dark, both of them had excellent eyesight and were able to make out the furnishings. Inside was a bed, a clothes rack with several garments hanging by the door, and a washstand inside the door. The wall opposite the bed seemed to be covered with photos, all of the woman alone. These photos were mostly taken in tourist areas; the woman in the photos had long, flowing hair and a natural, innocent look. The woman in the photos didn't resemble the woman they had just seen at all. The woman outside was likely wearing a red wig, her makeup was too heavy and overly seductive, and her body was wrapped in a coat.

Zhou Yuan placed the packed items on the bed, and the two sat quietly, holding their breath and remaining motionless. Pan Na sat on the inside of the bed, leaning against Zhou Yuan's shoulder, her arms tightly wrapped around his waist. Zhou Yuan listened to the sounds outside.

A series of hurried footsteps approached, seemingly from two groups of people.

"Brother Yan, have you found it?"

No, what about you?

"We don't have it either. We just found someone who looked like him on the second floor, but it's not him."

"That's strange. Could the intelligence be wrong?"

The two groups approached the counter while chatting. "Hey, beautiful, do you see this person in the photo?"

"Sir, let me see," a woman's voice came. "Sir, this man seems to have come here yesterday; he looks somewhat familiar."

"What about today?"

"Today? I didn't see him today."

"Hey beautiful, are you free tonight? Let's grab some dinner together."

"Sir, dinner is fine. But sir, I'd like to go to the Canello Restaurant."

Everyone burst into laughter. "Brother Yan, let's forget it. This girl has too much of an appetite."

"Hmm, the Canello Hotel? One meal there costs two months' salary. I'd rather go home and hug and kiss my wife."

"Brother Yan, you should be content. Our little brother is still single."

The crowd burst into laughter again.

"Beautiful lady, I'll come back to you when I'm rich."

After saying that, the group's footsteps faded into the distance.

Ten minutes later, the wall door opened, and light shone into the room. Zhou Yuan and Pan Na could clearly see tears in the corners of the woman's eyes.

The woman quickly closed the wall door, turned on the light, and the light dispelled the darkness.

"What's wrong?" Panna asked with concern.

"It's nothing, all men are like this, I'm used to it." The woman wiped away her tears, which washed away her heavy makeup, revealing her fair complexion.

Zhou Yuan understood, of course, that it must be difficult for a woman to do business; she was often bullied and teased, just like that soldier Yan Ge had. Perhaps that was why the woman wore heavy makeup and acted like a woman from the streets? But today, he had escaped some trouble, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards her.

"Uncle, are you like this too?" Panna, though young, was quite precocious. Although her body was still that of a child, her mind was far beyond that of a child. Crucially, after asking the question, Panna snuggled closer to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan patted Pan Na's body with his right hand, "Little beauty, we should go now, we have important business to attend to."

Pan Na got out of bed dejectedly. Zhou Yuan stretched his arms and faced the woman, saying, "Thank you so much for today."

"It's nothing. Are you really Zhou Yuan?" The woman suddenly tugged at her red hair, pulling off her wig and revealing her long, black hair. She turned and walked to the washstand inside the door, washing her face a few times. A minute later, the pure and beautiful woman stood before Zhou Yuan and Panna, causing Panna's eyes to flutter.

"Can I see your face? At least I want to know who the man I met today is," the woman pleaded.

Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment, then slowly peeled off the fake face. After the mask was removed, the woman was stunned, her eyes filled with joy. Zhou Yuan then quickly put the mask back on.

"To be honest, I don't believe in Buddhism, but I will read some teachings and scriptures from now on."

"Why?" Zhou Yuan couldn't quite figure out this woman. Of course, he couldn't read her mind yet.

"Because you are my idol." The woman smiled mischievously, her eyes fixed on Zhou Yuan.

“Hey, who are you? This uncle is mine,” Panna shouted.

"Little sister, go away, the adults are having serious business."

Zhou Yuan is going crazy.

"Cough cough cough," Zhou Yuan took a few breaths, "Thank you, but we have to go now. Little beauty, let's go."

Pan Na smiled smugly at the woman, her right hand supporting Zhou Yuan's arm.

Zhou Yuan and Pan Na walked towards the wall gate, and the woman stepped back to make way for them.

Upon seeing the words on the painting behind the wall, Zhou Yuan doubted he was seeing things. He took a big step forward and carefully examined the line of small characters on the painting. It was clearly written: "Chu Xiaolu, keep going, you are the best!"

Zhou Yuan was momentarily dizzy. He turned to look at the woman, who was also looking at him with reluctance. Pan Na sensed that Zhou Yuan was acting strangely, so she tugged at his arm, reminding him to leave.

Suddenly, the earth seemed to tremble, and the walls made a rumbling sound.

Zhou Yuan strode forward, grabbing the woman's hand with his right and Panna's with his left. Before the woman could react, the door opened by itself. Zhou Yuan pulled the two of them out from behind the counter, then, with his left arm around Panna's waist and his right arm around the woman's waist, the three of them shot into the air like a rocket. The shopping mall was already collapsing; the sound of shattering glass from the dome could be heard. Chaos reigned inside, filled with cries and screams. Then, a deafening bang followed, accompanied by rapidly spreading, all-consuming flames. Exploding fragments danced wildly in the air. The entire mall was now the gates of hell.

Zhou Yuan, carrying the two people, burst out from the shattered glass of the dome. Looking down, the mall was a sea of ​​fire, and the building subsequently collapsed, with thick smoke billowing everywhere.

In the air, three fighter jets circled, and three missiles roared toward Oriental Square, which was quickly reduced to ruins.

Using the thick smoke as cover, Zhou Yuan flew at extremely low altitude in the opposite direction, rapidly moving away from Oriental Plaza. At that moment, Zhou Yuan was like Superman.

People on the ground screamed and fled Oriental Square, and many flying vehicles collided and fell to the ground.

Zhou Yuan, carrying the two men, landed in a deserted alley.

"Uncle, what just happened? The entire building and Oriental Plaza were bombed."

"They probably want to get rid of me. Xiaolu, are you alright?"

The woman had just recovered from her shock and was puzzled when she heard Zhou Yuan call her name.

"Big brother, I'm fine. I almost made it to the front lines just now. Thank you for saving me." Chu Xiaolu felt a chill run down her spine just imagining the burning and choking sensation.

"Uncle, I want revenge. These people are so hateful; so many innocent people have died."

"Hmm, we need to plan this carefully." Zhou Yuan was also burning with anger. In order to kill him, they were willing to kill a thousand innocent people but let one guilty person go free.

"Big brother, I'm still here for you."

"You? Xiaolu, you should go home."

"Go home? My home is the place you were just standing here."

Zhou Yuan and Pan Na were stunned.

"What about your parents and family?"

My parents died in a traffic accident when I was twelve years old.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Big brother, don't leave me." Chu Xiaolu almost cried.

Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Xiaolu, we're homeless now too. Panna, what do you think we should do?"

“Kill Filch,” Panna gritted her teeth.

Zhou Yuan nodded. This sudden incident was entirely a coup d'état targeting Thomas, and Filch also wanted to eliminate him. If he wanted to have peace in the future, he had to eradicate Filch's power and regain control of the military and government.

Zhou Yuan thought of operations and maintenance and Maria, and realized things were going badly.

"Let's go, let's find a spaceship or a car."

The three walked out of the alley. Panna saw a car parked by the roadside. She quickly activated the AI, and the car started moving. Panna was in the front seat, while Zhou Yuan and Chu Xiaolu were in the back. After Panna input the destination via voice, the car accelerated and sped towards Boulevard Roman.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the car stopped two hundred meters from its destination. Zhou Yuan looked around carefully and saw a large crowd gathered in front of the maintenance crew's house, people curiously craning their necks to look inside. Inside the police cordon, many police officers were busy at work. Items were continuously being carried out of the maintenance crew's house by the police. When Zhou Yuan saw two large body bags and one small body bag, his heart sank. The maintenance crew and their family of three... Zhou Yuan stared intently at the three body bags, using his X-ray vision to see that the maintenance crew had been shot in the abdomen, Maria had been shot in the head, and the baby had no injuries, presumably having died of suffocation.

Zhou Yuan was furious, and the power within him seemed about to erupt violently. He forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart.

“Panna, you and Xiaolu leave here first and go to my private house in the Magnificent Garden on Mari Avenue in H City, Asia. Panna, you two need to forge your identities. You know what to do. Panna, you must protect Xiaolu.”

"Uncle, what about you? What are you going to do?"

"Eliminate them." Zhou Yuan gritted his teeth.

"Uncle, I want to fight alongside you. We can look out for each other."

"Big brother, I'm not afraid of death, I want to stay with you."

"You two shouldn't join in the fun. If you're here, I'll have to take care of you both. Trust me, I'll be fine." Zhou Yuan handed a bunch of keys to Chu Xiaolu, whose eyes were wet with tears.

"Xiaolu, the key has the building number and other information on it. We'll meet at the house in H City in seven days. You should leave here as soon as possible and head to H City in the Asian region."

After saying that, Zhou Yuan got out of the car and walked quickly toward the cordon.