North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 633 - 352: What Should We Do Next?_1

"What?"

"Say that again!"

Mayor Saul, nurtured by power and increasingly corpulent, had his hands on the soft waist of his mistress and spokesperson. He didn't gaze at her ample bosom but instead stared wide-eyed at the phone.

"Are you sure you're not joking with me?"

"Sorry, Mr. Mayor. The police have confirmed the situation. Over a hundred hostages are currently being held, all of them professors and scholars from XX University. The impact is terrible, and Los Angeles City Hall needs you to make a statement."

"FK!"

Saul, as if sweeping away trash, flung his secretary from his desk onto the carpet and stomped out, cursing under his breath.

Over a hundred hostages, all of them individuals with significant social standing at the university.

This could already be considered a terrorist attack!

This was no small matter.

If not handled properly, the family's enemies, the yes-men in Congress, and those new nobles who desperately wanted to snatch more power, would definitely not miss this chance to slap the family in the face.

If he were kicked out, for his family, it would be, at most, like being spat on—a mere humiliation.

Just a minor issue, with little impact.

But for Saul, it meant his hard-won support would vanish, and his future would be completely ruined.

Having tasted the sweetness of power, Saul absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen!

"Mr. Saul, what should we do now?" asked the secretary, tottering behind the striding Saul in her high heels, trying her best to demonstrate her worth. "Should I contact the military and the FBI right now?"

Hearing his secretary's sweet voice, Saul slowed his pace.

He had originally planned to call his subordinates for a meeting. They would discuss how to resolve the situation, share the responsibility, and ideally, find a suitable scapegoat as a contingency.

The secretary's words reminded him.

Right!

Why should he be the only one to worry about this?

Those bastards at the FBI, and National Security too—not one of them was going to get away with this!

「Half an hour later.」

Saul, having finished an emergency meeting, approached the podium with a grave expression.

After a flurry of flashbulbs, Saul gently tapped the microphone and cleared his throat, "This is very grave news. According to police reports, a mentally unstable maniac attacked a driver delivering supplies to XX University's research labs. The attacker seized dangerous materials and has taken the entire laboratory hostage."

A pre-arranged reporter immediately shot up their hand.

Saul glanced at his secretary, received a nod of confirmation, and then pointed toward the reporter, "What would you like to know?"

The reporter, a white man with gold-rimmed glasses, immediately spoke loudly, "Mr. Mayor, are you saying that this was a campus shooting incident planned by a mentally ill patient seeking revenge on society?"

Yes, this was the consensus reached by Saul and the representatives of various factions during the emergency meeting: define the terrorist attack, first and foremost, as a campus incident.

In the drug-addled, cult-ridden, pleasure-seeking United States, school shootings were hardly uncommon.

For something like this to happen in Los Angeles, one of the world's largest economic and trade hubs—wasn't that to be expected?

A terrorist attack was different.

The former would merely be state-level news; the latter, however, would attract global media attention.

With the former, even if all the hostages died, it would just be a shocking criminal event, prompting people to lament the abundance of lunatics these days.

But with the latter, the death of even a few people could be exploited by those with ulterior motives to claim the United States was failing, unable to even handle a terrorist attack...

Following that reporter's lead, the other journalists reflexively began to raise their hands, their questions also steering towards a school shooting.

Seeing this, Saul breathed a sigh of relief and adeptly handled their questions.

And the lunatic's demand for a live broadcast on all Los Angeles TV stations?

Ha.

Saul swore to himself. Even if he went completely mad, ran naked through the streets, or got high and decided to FK a sow, he would never agree to that demand. Nobody would be that stupid!

Moreover, the advance team dispatched to the school had already sealed off the area, blocked all nearby signals, and begun evacuation procedures.

Once the evacuation was mostly complete...

Hmph!

Poor Saul. He had no idea at that moment that he was facing something far more complex than a mere lunatic terrorist...

「Meanwhile,」

As Saul stood before the reporters, his voice firm and confident, declaring that the American people would not yield to crime, in the university laboratory, Qian Feng sat before a hastily set-up broadcasting table. His feet were propped up as he watched Mayor Saul's confident speech on the wall-mounted TV, a chillingly cold smile playing on his lips.

On the television screen, Mayor Saul stood tall. His meticulous image management afforded him a sharp, clean-cut appearance: a neat face, a stylish swept-back hairstyle, all exuding the confident charm of a mature man.

But in the eyes of the surrounding hostages, this image transformed into that of the Grim Reaper, scythe in hand.

FK! This son of a bitch, isn't he afraid of provoking this madman?!

God, someone save me!

Dammit, these stupid politicians! All they care about is feathering their own nests and keeping their damn seats, completely ignoring whether we live or die! 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The miserable hostages squatted on the ground, cursing internally; not a single one dared to speak out.

Qian Feng swept his gaze over the crowd, lowered his feet, and said with a smile, "It seems our Mayor Saul has forgotten that everything he's doing right now is being broadcast live."