Chapter 590 - 375: Silent Resistance
On the day the battle at the Heaven-Reaching Tower ended, the New Moon City Council declared the city under the highest state of emergency, implementing a 24-hour travel ban. No one was allowed to step outside their home except the government forces.
Meanwhile, the authorities in New Moon City issued a wanted order for the entire Wolf Raid group, launching a full-scale search for all members led by Fenrir.
All armed personnel, whether active duty or reserves, whether on other missions or on leave, were urgently recalled, determined to uproot the Wolf Raid forces from the city.
More importantly, the Wolf King Fenrir remains missing.
After being rescued by unknown forces at the top of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, New Moon City’s air assault troops immediately searched the surrounding airspace but found no suspicious aircraft.
It is thus speculated that she has not left New Moon City and is likely hiding somewhere to recover from serious injuries sustained in previous battles.
Anyone in the Wolf Raid could escape, but Fenrir must be found, alive or dead.
Hundreds of thousands of sheriffs and soldiers searched house by house, digging deep to find any trace of Fenrir.
Early the next morning, on a street in the Rust Wall District, two dirty sheriffs climbed out of a manhole, dragging out a man covered in injuries.
The man was wearing black clothes, combined with his behavior of hiding in the sewer, undoubtedly a member of the Wolf Raid.
He had clearly been beaten before, with several bruises from rubber sticks on his face, bloodstains all over, his hands cuffed behind his back, extremely embarrassed.
To prevent him from escaping again, the sheriffs even deliberately injured his knee’s meniscus, forcing him to limp.
After dragging the Wolf Raid member out, a sheriff pulled open his collar to cool himself, then vented his anger by kicking him hard, cursing, "Run? You bastard, facing death and still struggling, let’s see you run!"
This member of Wolf Raid was very tough, neither begging for mercy nor passively enduring abuse, but struggling to stand up to spit bloody saliva at the sheriff’s face.
The sheriff wiped the spit from his face and swung a baton hard at the member’s head, knocking him to the ground, snarling, "You’re lucky they want you alive, otherwise I’d shoot you dead right now!"
As the two sheriffs prepared to escort the Wolf Raid member to the car, they suddenly noticed someone standing nearby.
It was an elderly man, looking over seventy, hair grey, wearing a black shirt, silently watching them.
One sheriff walked over with a stern face, saying, "The City Council has issued a 24-hour travel ban, why are you still outside? Get home quickly."
"Also, take off those black clothes, or if you’re mistaken for a Wolf Raid member and get caught, there’s no room for grievance."
The elderly man, calm and unyielding, said in a very peaceful tone, "The color of clothes I wear is my freedom."
The sheriff, having chased through the stinking sewer all night, covered in filth, dirty, smelly, sleepy, and tired, was clearly in a bad mood, impatiently said, "Then hurry home! Get lost!"
The elderly man shook his head, "I will not go."
The sheriff revealed a fierce expression, unbuttoning his gun holster, coldly questioning, "Do you want to defy the government’s orders?"
The old man looked directly at those cold eyes, his voice still calm, yet hiding a powerful grief, "The government has no sense of shame, colluding with corporate giants to harm the heroes who once protected this city, I refuse to obey these people’s rule."
The two sheriffs were somewhat shocked upon hearing this.
They had seen "troublesome citizens" before, often complaining about the government, swearing at various policies.
But these people usually dared only hide behind computer screens, typing fiercely, and when confronted offline, they would become more cowardly than dogs.
To openly refuse to obey the City Council’s rule right in front of sheriffs, such rebellious words were something they had rarely encountered.
The sheriff’s eyes widened, directly pulling out his handgun, warningly disabling the safety, saying sinisterly, "Old man, I’ll say it one last time, go home."
"You are violating the travel ban; if you refuse to comply, under the ’New Moon City Highest Emergency Handling Ordinance’, I have the right to shoot you dead immediately!"
Looking at the sheriff’s gun, already chambered, the old man just briefly laughed, his cloudy eyes looked at them meaningfully, "Child, I am already 78, what difference does it make if you kill me? It would only add another blood debt to your pile."
Just as the sheriff hesitated whether to really shoot, he suddenly heard his companion’s quivering voice, "Hey... look over there..."
The sheriff instinctively looked over and couldn’t help but hold his breath.
It was early morning now, normally a time when people go to work, but logically, since the government had already issued a 24-hour travel ban, there shouldn’t be extra pedestrians on the street.
Yet at this moment, people can be seen leaving their homes intermittently, clearly civilians, but all deliberately wearing black clothing.
At first, the sheriffs on the street warned them, but as time passed, more people dressed in black came out, a massive crowd surpassing the number of sheriffs.
These people went about their business casually, some entering just-opened convenience stores to buy breakfast from similarly dressed staff.
Others waiting by the roadside for rides to work, as official transport like metros and buses had stopped due to travel bans, took taxis or online car services, those drivers also wearing black.
Black, once a favorite color of Wolf Raid, seemed to have become the only tone in New Moon City.
The black-clad citizens completely ignored the patrolling sheriffs on the streets, occasionally glancing at them with cold stares as if they were useless ornaments.
One person is a sheep.
A group of people is a herd of sheep.
But when a group of people has a shared will and acts together under the same goal, then they are a pack of wolves.
Authorities can drive a sheep or a herd of sheep, but can’t control a large pack of wolves defying them.
The scene on this street was just one corner; throughout the vast New Moon City, the same thing happened in every sector, every street.
The city’s people refused to obey the government’s travel ban, not only collectively go about their own affairs but also wore black clothes matching Wolf Raid’s uniform, silently supporting Wolf Raid.
Looking around, the streets crowded with people resembled rolling black clouds, yet barely made a sound, lacking the usual hustle of the morning rush, leaving only a cold silence.
While New Moon City had not yet descended into turmoil, it was like a huge powder keg, sparking everywhere and ready to explode at any moment.