Chapter 279 - 271: Fireworks! Jiao Centipede

The spring day was warm, yet a palpable sense of fear hung over the streets of Shenghai.

Pedestrians hurried along, heads down and shoulders hunched. Patrol Police from the Concession, wearing their peaked caps, scanned their surroundings, their eyes sweeping over every face.

Wanted posters stamped with scarlet official seals were plastered everywhere. The wind blew past, making the notices rustle noisily.

The New Year had just passed, yet major incidents had been rocking Shenghai. Tragedies struck one after another, like a string of firecrackers going off, leaving the entire city in a state of terror.

Although the victims were all high-and-mighty personages, the common people lived in fear, worried they too might get caught in the crossfire of a disaster they had no part in.

On a street in the Luozu Concession, a procession slowly approached.

About a dozen Western guards in ink-blue, double-breasted uniforms rode on tall steeds, escorting a stately black car down the street.

Rickshaws and pedestrians on both sides of the road scrambled to make way. The Patrol Police, normally so arrogant and swaggering, now rushed to the curb, standing ramrod straight. With tense faces and eyes fixed forward, they saluted.

Anyone with a sharp eye could recognize it—this was a car from the Romania Embassy.

The ambassador of Lu Country and his family were in the car—real VIPs who stood at the very pinnacle of Shenghai's pyramid of the rich and powerful!

Normally, even catching a glimpse of such people was a luxury, to say nothing of offending them.

The motorcade headed toward the embassy. Just as it was about to enter the embassy grounds, several people suddenly darted out from the roadside, blocking the front of the line without warning.

With thugs running rampant in Shenghai recently, and many a renowned figure falling to some deadly assassin, the Patrol Police and guards were already on high alert. So when they saw people suddenly blocking the car, they reacted instinctively. In an instant, dozens of guns were aimed at the intruders.

However, after stepping onto the street, the group that stopped the motorcade made no aggressive moves. Their leader was a woman in a long dress, her face concealed by a black veil, and she was surrounded by several grim-faced men who looked like bodyguards. Judging by her dress and bearing, she appeared to be a young lady from a prestigious family.

"Who are you?!"

Upon getting a clear look at the newcomers, a Patrol Police officer who seemed to be in charge relaxed his gaze slightly, but he didn't lower his gun and his tone remained harsh.

The woman in the black veil pulled a thick stack of Gold Yuan Notes from her small purse and beckoned to the Patrol Police captain. The captain hesitated for only half a second, then cleared his throat, feigned a serious expression, and walked over quickly.

"That's it?"

The Patrol Police chief blinked and asked reflexively after the woman leaned in and whispered in his ear.

She nodded, smiling faintly at him. Although he couldn't see her face clearly, the pleading and gentle look in her beautiful eyes alone was enough to melt the Patrol Police chief's heart.

Not to mention the thick stack of Gold Yuan Banknotes that had been stuffed into his hand!

"Wait here."

The Patrol Police chief gave a signal, and the dozens of guns pointed at the woman and her group were immediately lowered.

He then jogged over to the Western guards standing beside the motorcade.

After several rounds of bribes and relayed messages.

Finally, the rear window of the ambassador's car slowly rolled down.

A face appeared in the window—a young girl with skin as white as milk and long, radiant, platinum-blonde hair.

A guard leaned down, respectfully relaying the message to the girl. As he spoke, he glanced back, pointing a finger at the black-veiled woman and her group down the street.

The girl glanced in the direction he pointed, a look of confusion and bewilderment on her face.

"Delorofna."

A rich, gentle voice of a middle-aged man came from the front seat. "What is happening?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know, Father.

They told me that a friend of mine is here, and that we should wait for a little while. He's prepared a fireworks show for us."

"A friend? Fireworks?"

The middle-aged man chuckled, his laugh tinged with indulgence. "What friends could you have in Shenghai?

Besides, their New Year has long passed. And what kind of fool sets off fireworks in the daytime?"

"That's why I'm saying I have no idea what this is all about."

The girl spread her hands in a helpless gesture, looking as cute as a kitten stretching its paws.

"So, should we wait, Father."

The middle-aged man shook his head. "We've been waiting long enough..."

With that, the man turned away, about to order the motorcade to proceed. And at that very moment—

"BOOM—!"

A deafening explosion erupted from the end of the street.

The instantaneous shockwave shattered the glass in the storefronts along half the street. The sound of smashing glass mingled with the blast—CRASH, RUMBLE—as if the entire world were collapsing.

A massive fireball shot into the sky!

In an instant, it lit up half the sky in a fiery red!

The sudden explosion threw everyone on the street into a state of shock and panic. The Western guards' warhorses panicked and scattered, and the street quickly descended into chaos.

The Ronnia ambassador and his daughter, sitting in the car, were stunned by the blast.

The girl with the long, platinum-blonde hair sat in the car, staring blankly at the roiling, fierce blaze in the distance, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Is... that the fireworks show?"

the girl murmured. A moment later, an incredulous whisper came from the front seat.

"Damn it! That's... That's the direction of the embassy!

My God, Delorofna, someone has bombed our embassy!!"