To avoid being detected by the Sanctuary, Rulu, C.C., and Nana spent the rest of that day in the underground room of the secret house without going out again. After that, no soldiers came to search the house as they had at noon, and Uncle Chen, the cemetery's caretaker and manager, did not return either.

  That evening, after dinner, the three of them sat in the living room in front of the television with nothing particur to do, watching idly as Rulu flipped through channels looking for useful news. Suddenly, a special news report caught his eye.

  The television screen was filled with images of damaged buildings belching bck smoke, rubble and wreckage strewn in every direction, rivers of bright red blood pooling on the ground, and countless mutited human bodies — missing limbs, missing parts — id out on the earth and being lifted onto transport vehicles to be carried away.

  At the sight of it, Nana immediately felt ill and urged Rulu to change the channel. But Rulu said this was an important source of information about the outside world and refused, telling her that if she felt unwell, she was welcome to go rest in her room.

  Though deeply uncomfortable, Nana stayed in the living room and continued watching with Rulu and C.C. They listened as the on-site reporter said:

  "Following the attack on the new Governor, His Highness Prince Suwen, by an unidentified assassin st night, General Feihu has raised Blue Sea City's security alert to its highest level and will conduct a city-wide search for all persons connected to the assassin.

  In addition, General Feihu will be deploying a rge number of troops to carry out military operations in the areas outside Blue Sea City, with the aim of eliminating Rebel organizational forces in the surrounding region. This operation is unprecedented in scale and is expected to cover all surrounding areas outside the Blue Sea City Concession zone.

  As of now, the Sanctuary military has successfully dismantled three Rebel organization groups and killed several hundred Rebel members. In the period ahead, military operations will continue, and all remaining Rebel organizational forces in the surrounding areas will be systematically eliminated. This station's reporters will continue to follow and report on this story over the coming days — please stay tuned."

  After watching the report, Rulu was silent for a long moment before saying with a dark expression, "This Prince Suwen is ruthless. He's killed this many people in less than a day — it looks like he means business."

  "Of course he does," C.C. said. "Whatever else you say about him, he's a prince of the Sanctuary. Being targeted for assassination on his very first day here — it would be strange if he didn't react."

  Rulu gave a cold snort, hatred flickering in his eyes. "He got lucky and slipped away yesterday. But he won't be so lucky next time."

  "Is that so?" C.C. said. "I'd say it's the assassin who got lucky. If there's a next time, that assassin might not escape so easily."

  Rulu turned and gnced at C.C., on the verge of saying something, but with Nana nearby, he thought better of making it too pin and held his tongue.

  Then Nana said quietly, "Judging from that report, this is really serious. I wonder if it'll end up involving us."

  "It shouldn't," Rulu said after a moment's thought. "We're inside the Concession zone, after all. The Concession covers an enormous area — practically all of Blue Sea City. As long as we stay hidden here and don't go out, it'll be very hard for the Sanctuary's military to find us. I bought plenty of groceries today, and combined with the food already in the storeroom, there's enough to st the three of us ten days to two weeks. By then, this should all be more or less over."

  Nana said with a sorrowful expression, "We're safe, but the people out there are suffering. From what they just reported, this could go on for many days — a lot of people are going to be killed. I don't know if Captain Guan and the others will be able to get away."

  "As for Captain Guan," Rulu said, "I already warned him in advance. He's a careful man — once he got my message, he would have left immediately. I don't think there'll be too much trouble on his end."

  "That's a relief. I hope they're all right…"

  In the days that followed, Rulu, Nana, and C.C. remained in the underground room of the secret house, rarely venturing out, staying abreast of the outside world through the internet and television.

  And the outside world was far from quiet. Every day, rge numbers of soldiers and volunteer squads conducted intense, around-the-clock patrols on the streets of Blue Sea City, screening for any suspicious individuals. Anyone who seemed the least bit out of pce was stopped by soldiers or volunteers for questioning, or simply arrested on the spot.

  In the areas surrounding Blue Sea City, the fighting was thunderous and earth-shaking. The Sanctuary not only deployed the troops already garrisoned in the city but drew in massive reinforcements from elsewhere, unching a carpet offensive throughout the surrounding region to encircle and annihite Rebel organization members and anyone connected to the Rebels.

  This rge-scale military operation sted ten days before it was decred concluded. According to Sanctuary reports, the campaign had dismantled more than ten Rebel organization groups in the areas surrounding Blue Sea City and killed several thousand Rebel members — by any measure, the rgest military operation the Sanctuary had conducted in Huaxia Nation in recent years.