January 17, 2024, 04:20 (New China time: 03:20)

  The outskirts of Langfang City, Hebei Province, New China

  Major General Du Yu-ru, who had deployed all forces from the temporary residence to the outskirts of Langfang, had summoned the commanders of each unit and had given them orders.

  “The 1st Battalion Commander, secure vehicles that can move immediately. Because there will be around 500 people traveling, find vehicles that are bigger than a van!”


  “Yes.”


  “The 2nd Battalion commander, secure the boundaries of the area where the cars will be gathered! Don’t even let an ant come close!”


  “Yes.”


  “The 57th Regiment’s third, fourth, and 22nd commanders go around and inspect to make sure there are no problems.”


  “Yes.”


  “Okay! Time is running out, so get started as soon as possible.”


  When the orders were given by the major general on the scene, the commanders replied in a military voice and went ahead to perform their respective duties.

  “Security guard!”


  Major General Du Yu-ru summoned the security guard after the battalion leaders had returned to their respective positions.

  “Yes, Captain!”


  “I’ve sent some of my men to the station right now to secure the way, you can start moving!”


  “Yes, I see.”


  Until now, Major General Du Yu-ru was unaware about the protesters who were approaching were armed with various weapons.

  January 17, 2024, 04:40 (New China time: 03:40)

  Outside Langfang City, Hebei Province, New China (temporary presidential office of the Central Military Headquarters)

  “President, it’s time to get going.”


  It was because of the report from the messenger officer sent by Major General Du Yu-ru a while ago.

  “Are you still urging me to move while the shells are dropping like hailstones?”


  “There’s nothing we can do about it. It is riskier to remain here. The route leading to downtown Langfang has been secured, and mobile vehicles have been secured as well. Let’s go.”


  “Argh! Damn! Take the lead!”


  “Yes! Let’s start moving.”


  As many as 500 people moved in unison.

  While shells continued to fly and burst, those who took the safest way eventually found themselves on the road leading to Langfang City.

  Soldiers from the guards were stationed at regular intervals on both sides of the four-lane road, each looking outward and taking precautions.

  “How far do we need to go?”


  President Wang Jing-wi, who was escorted by security officers, asked with a variety of emotions.

  “It’s less than two kilometers. You just have to go a little bit more.”


  The security captain Ryu Ha-oran replied.

  “Two kilometers? You want me to walk for two kilometers?”


  “You just need to be a little more patient.”


  “Ugh! How did I end up doing this?”


  January 17, 2024, 04:55 (New China time: 03:55)

  Langfang City, Hebei Province, New China

  Soldiers from the first battalion who were on the search for vehicles were making their way toward the city center.

  There were vehicles parked on the side of the road everywhere but the majority of them were broken or had all four tires punctured or were unusable.

  Finally, they were able to locate a vehicle that could work in the underground parking lot of a large building that looked like a hotel.

  “This looks good.”


  A soldier, who appeared to be a senior, said.

  “The interior appears to be in good shape as well. If we had the key, I think we could drive it.”


  The sergeant major, who was seated in the driver’s seat as the doors were open, said with an enthusiastic expression.

  “Hey! Corporal Dong-yung!”


  “Yes, Squad leader!”


  “I think this car belongs to the hotel. Go to the lobby and bring the key! Hurry up!”


  “Yes, I will.”


  At the squad leader’s instruction, he ran toward the emergency exit.

  “Squad leader! Do you think we’ll be able to get a special promotion if we obtain this van?”


  The sergeant major who was inside the car asked excitedly while turning the steering wheel around.

  “What? At least it’s a special promotion!”


  The squad leader also smiled at the thought of the special promotion.

  Corporal Dong-yung, who had gone to the lobby a few minutes ago, come back carrying a rifle on his shoulder and remote-control keys in both hands.

  “Captain! There were too many keys so I brought everything.”


  “Good job! To begin, press all the remote-control key’s buttons.”


  “Yes!”


  Corporal Dong-yung put all the remote-control keys on the floor and pressed the buttons one at a time.

  Even though about ten key’s buttons had been pressed, no sound was heard from the vehicle parked underground. Only after the button on the last key was pressed, the vehicle indicator light turned on in the van where the sergeant major was sitting, and the alarm rang briefly.

  “Yay! Hey! Corporal Dong-yung! Bring the key!”


  The sergeant major in the driver’s seat opened the door and made a gesture.

  “Here it is.”


  The sergeant major took the key, inserted it into the ignition, and turned it.

  “It’s working! Hahaha, it’s a special promotion! Special promotion! Squad leader, get in!”


  “Okay! Get in Corporal!”


  As soon as they got in the back seat, the sergeant major turned the steering wheel and stepped on the accelerator.

  The tires squealed because as they moved off.

  Those who were fortunate enough to obtain a vehicle for the president to travel in exited the underground parking lot and were thinking about the awards and special promotions that awaited them. However, just when they were about to enter the main road, they saw a group of people marching along the eight-lane road and stopped.

  The squad leader, who hit the front seat due to the car suddenly stopping, hit the sergeant major’s helmet with anger.

  “Why did you stop all of a sudden, you punk!”


  “Well, look over there.”


  The squad leader opened his eyes wide when he saw what was in front of them.

  “What is this? Are there still people who haven’t escaped?”


  “What should we do? They are blocking the road”


  “What do you mean? That’s the fastest road, so just go ahead!”


  “What? Even if we hit people…”


  “Hey, brat! We have to get there before the others do so we can get the reward, right? Just step on it! They will have to move out of the way!”


  Under the instruction of the squad leader, the sergeant major stepped on the accelerator.

  The van sped forward, flashing its lights and honking its horns.

  At that moment, the sound of gunfire was heard.

  The sergeant major, who was driving, was hit by multiple bullets and was coughing up blood. He turned the steering wheel, causing the van to veer off course and hit the next building, bounce off, and come to a halt when it collided with the opposite building’s wall.

  After being thrown around in several directions, the squad leader and Corporal Dong-yung, who were in the back seats, groaned.

  “Ugh! What happened?”


  The squad leader, who had just regained consciousness, stood up by gripping the front seat and could see plenty of people running through the smoke that was rising from the bonnet.

  “Those brats! Did they shoot at us?”


  The squad commander became enraged and opened the car door, pointing a gun at the people approaching them.

  “Hey! Corporal, what are you doing? You get off and shoot, too!”


  Just as he was about to pull the trigger, shouting at Corporal Dong-yung, who seemed to have lost consciousness, several gunshots rang out among the crowd.

  The squad leader, who had blood dripping from his chest, screamed and stepped back.

  Meanwhile, the first battalion commander and staff, who were in charge of the search of vehicles, turned their heads toward the sound of gunfire.

  “What? Have the Korean army already reached here?”


  Unconsciously, the first battalion commander attempted to send a radio transmission, but it was disrupted. So he faced reality and let out a long sigh.

  “I’m going to die of frustration because I can’t send any communication out. Damn it!”


  “I’ll take a few people and come back.”


  One of the battalion staff said.

  “Yes, do that!”


  “Yes, I’ll be back.”


  As he was about to run to the place where the gunfire rang with a few subordinates, he stopped when he saw the crowd of people approaching the eight-lane road.

  “What is this? Are they protesters?”


  An officer who was looking at them through his small telescope opened his mouth in surprise.

  “Captain! There are protests in the city.”


  “Protests? What do you mean?”


  “Look ahead.”


  The officer returned quickly and passed the telescope to the commander, who snatched it and immediately realised what he had meant.

  “Have you seen those crazy guys? What do they mean by protesting at this late hour? Aren’t they crazy?”


  For a brief while, the 1st battalion commander was bewildered at the irrational situation ahead.

  “Captain! Shouldn’t we retreat to the gathering area first? It seems that there are too many protesters here.”


  Currently, there were only five battalion staff and about 20 armed forces with the first battalion commander. The rest were on a search mission for vehicles.

  “No, first of all, we need to block them for as long as we can. Everyone, get in line!”


  The captain took out a QSZ92 pistol from his holster and shouted proudly.

  Accordingly, about 20 soldiers stood in a line and immediately assumed a shooting stance. As a result, the officers also pulled out their pistols and stood behind the soldiers.

  “Communication officer!”


  “Yes, battalion commander!”


  “Send the quickest guy here to notify the 2nd battalion commander of the current situation!”


  “Okay.”


  The communication officer chose the fastest soldier among them and gave him the instructions. As a result, the communication soldier started running without looking back. That shows how important communication is in war times.

  “Don’t be scared! Protesters are just protesters! If we shoot at them a couple of times, they will scatter, so stay in your position!”


  The operational officer, who was holding a pistol and was ready to shoot, ordered the soldiers on behalf of the first battalion commander.

  However, there was something they were unaware of. About five percent of the protesters had 87-type rifles used by the New Korean Army. There were approximately 100,000 protesters, so five percent were 5,000.

  The Chinese military was unaware of the dangerous situation where the demonstrators had robbed an ammo storage on Langfang’s southern coast. The commander of the 37th Ammunition Depot Battalion, who was in charge of the location, did not report the accident to higher levels as he was frightened of being held guilty and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison or even executed under military law.

  For that reason, the commanders and officers began to run away, and lower-level officials and ordinary soldiers had also fled the military.

  Senior units and the General Staff in charge of the 37th Ammunition Depot Battalion were completely unaware of this and assumed it was due to the temporary loss of contact due to the communication problem. When all of the troops defending the 37th Ammunition station left, the demonstrators robbed the depot, with up to 5,000 people armed with the Type 87 rifle, which was a standard rifle.

  Protesters slowly appeared under the moonlight, shouting all kinds of threats, approaching quickly.

  “Don’t shoot until I order you to fire.”


  With a slightly trembling voice, the chief of operations led the squad. The soldiers who were waiting for the order to shoot swallowed dry saliva and had strained looks on their faces. Regardless of the number of guns they had, more protesters were arriving.

  Gunshots began to ring out all over the city as the distance between them narrowed to 400 meters. The first battalion commander thought that soldiers who went to search for vehicles had fired at the protesters.

  In fact, it was the opposite. The first battalion soldiers who were searching for vehicles were under surprise attacks by the protesters everywhere……