Even before the banquet began, various signs had already indicated that the General Administration Office was on guard. Yet Xin Hui and the others still desperately launched their operation. This was inherently illogical. The only explanation was that both sides in the conflict had a certain understanding of each other, and Xin Hui and the others had no choice but to take the risk. As the General Administration Chief said, kidnapping and holding him hostage wasn't the most important thing; the most important thing was to let the people in the banquet hall out.

Xin Hui gritted her teeth. "Are you going to kill everyone here?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Those who kill them are the rebel forces left behind by the previous General Administration Chief. What does that have to do with me?" The General Administration Chief made no attempt to conceal his intentions.

The General Administration Office officials and high-level government personnel who were still waiting for him to save them couldn't help but be shocked, their gazes turning toward the General Administration Chief. The white-haired elderly man looked at a player beside him.

"There's something in the wine," that player said after checking with an item. "But we can't detect what it is. It's not poison, though."

The General Administration Chief, however, smiled slightly. "If it's not poison, then it should be fungal liquid, right? You wanted to use the high-level government personnel to carry the fungi out, to once again reduce Clown City to an infected city. Compared to me, your stakes are even higher."

"You drank the wine too," Xin Hui said, glaring at him hatefully.

The General Administration Chief raised a hand. Someone beside him immediately produced a syringe and injected it into his arm. "Over these years, many have brought data from the fungal nests. There aren't many types of fungi that can rapidly infect humans and spread on a large scale. Most aren't fatal, just with a very long treatment time. But if antibodies are injected before infection, this process can be reduced to something a single ordinary syringe can solve."

"General Administration Chief!" A beautiful, glamorous woman threw herself at his feet. "You can't just stand by and let us die! We contributed greatly when you took office!"

The General Administration Chief's face remained expressionless. Without the slightest hesitation, he fired a shot, piercing her skull. Ignoring the corpse on the ground, he ordered the players, "Kill them all."

As soon as the words left his mouth, several people suddenly stood up from within the crowd and threw the miniature bombs they carried toward the main door and the windows!

Several loud explosions followed. The main door of the building collapsed, and large sections of the wall crumbled as well. As dust flew everywhere, the trapped government and General Administration Office personnel broke through the players and frantically surged toward the entrance, rushing out of the building in a chaotic mass.

However, the players ordered to kill made no move. Only after most of them had run out did they line up at the entrance, aiming their guns at the crowd.

There was no way these people could escape.

That proved to be the case. When the leading batch of people were suddenly sliced into chunks of meat by invisible rays that appeared in the air, the crowd screamed and retreated back inside.

Unfortunately, the situation at the back wasn't any better. The players opened fire, sweeping the area with a dense barrage of gunfire. After the intense volley, the floor was piled high with corpses. Only a few scattered individuals who had been covered by bodies survived, and they were later cleaned up by players who went over to finish them off.

The banquet hall became empty.

Now only the General Administration Chief's side remained, plus the players and the invited guest Yuan Cun, totaling fifteen people.

On Xin Hui's side, besides the seven or eight who had taken hostages earlier and the four or five who had blown the door open later, not counting the dead, there were twelve in total.

In addition, there were the several hostages who had been taken, and a few family members of banquet participants who had been too terrified and paralyzed to run away earlier.

The situation was clear at a glance.

Xu Huo stood by the window. When the rays had manifested earlier, he had clearly seen that it wasn't just the front door; the entire building was actually surrounded by rays, with sharp edges and corners, looking more like a square cage.

His gaze swept over the players beside the General Administration Chief, finally landing on the distinguished guest Yuan Cun. Yuan Cun was toying with a small, grille-like object in his hand. Noticing Xu Huo's gaze, he looked up to meet it.

This was likely the strongest player present.

"A spatial item?" Xu Huo tilted his chin toward him.

With the mask on, his expression couldn't be seen. Yuan Cun said, seemingly nonchalant, "An outsider player? If you want to leave, you'd better do it soon."

Xu Huo smiled slightly and looked at the General Administration Chief and the others, making a gesture of invitation.

His attitude, however, made Yuan Cun and the General Administration Chief take him seriously. The latter said, "Clown City's hospitality has been lacking. Please don't take offense, sir. After we resolve matters here, I will properly entertain you."

Xu Huo's expression didn't change. He folded his arms as if ready to watch a show.

Xin Hui glared at him hatefully before turning her threatening gaze back to the General Administration Chief. "Forget about others, but don't you care about her life either?"

The General Administration Chief remained unmoved. Instead, Lang Lang, whose neck was being squeezed, gently patted Xin Hui's hand. "Let go. He came prepared. He must have guessed I'm the mastermind."

"Lang Lang..." Xin Hui was anxious, but under the other's gaze, she still released her hand.

Lang Lang stood there calmly, looking at the General Administration Chief. "Originally, I wanted to ask you to open the Protective Wall. It seems that's impossible now."

"Open the Protective Wall? Let those Mutants into the city?" The General Administration Chief laughed derisively. "You're as simple-minded as your father."

"I was indeed thinking too simply," Lang Lang nodded. "I thought the best method was to infect the General Administration Office and Government Hall personnel, so the fungi would spread within Clown City. Experiencing this pain firsthand might awaken your conscience."

"These people have no conscience to speak of!" Xin Hui said indignantly.

"But if the roles were reversed, the best approach would naturally be to quarantine or directly execute these infection sources to control the fungal origin," Lang Lang sighed. "I didn't expect you to be so ruthless, wanting to kill everyone without even verifying anything."

"I raised you to adulthood, and I never expected you to betray me either," the General Administration Chief said.

"It doesn't matter," Lang Lang said. "I just wanted to know, since you're so ruthless to others, what would you do if you yourself got infected by the fungi?"

The General Administration Chief's expression instantly changed. "You acted long ago! Impossible! You had no opportunity to do it!"

Lang Lang chuckled lightly and pulled open the zipper at her waist, revealing a patch of skin with scar-like marks. "When you spent the night with me, did it never occur to you that I might also be infected by fungi?"

The General Administration Chief's face turned ashen. "Quick, have someone prepare the potion!"

Lang Lang peeled off a piece of dry skin from the scarred area, placed it in her palm, and blew it away. "This type of fungus takes three months from infection to onset of symptoms. Only in the third month do marks appear on the body's surface, followed by organ failure. So far, there is no effective treatment method within Clown City."

"Lang Lang!" Xin Hui stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "You knew this fungus has no cure! Why would you do this!"

Lang Lang pushed her hand away and smiled. "All my family died in the Underground Nest. If not for revenge, I would never have endured until today."

She looked at the General Administration Chief. "I not only want him to pay with his life, I want everyone in Clown City to pay the price!"

As she finished speaking, she forcefully struck the pendant on her necklace. A few seconds later, a series of consecutive explosions erupted from different locations throughout Clown City!