At this moment, inside Anne's subterranean office in the Taipei base, Chen Bian—who should have been at the Presidential Palace—was watching satellite-transmitted footage of the pursuit with Anne...
"China is utterly despicable! To think they would dispatch such an abomination to take my life. If not for your extraordinary foresight and calculated strategies anticipating this assassination attempt, I would already have perished beneath his gunfire," Chen Bian exclaimed, his agitation unmistakable.
"You're overestimating your own allure, Mr. President," Anne remarked, her words casting Chen Bian's dignity to the ground. "Though the reasoning eludes me, his objective is clearly to use you as bait to trace us."
"Indeed, indeed, you are absolutely correct!" Chen Bian replied, forcing a smile even as veins threatened to burst from his temples—a testament to his remarkable endurance.
"From now on, Mr. President, just address me as Anne. All this formal 'Your Excellency, Your Excellency' is unbearably awkward," Anne said, paring an apple with her fruit knife. Each time Chen Bian saw the blade in her hand, his legs involuntarily trembled.
"Order your dispensable troops to commence the encirclement. Drive the rodent here and trap it," Anne commanded, tossing a Taipei map marked with annotations onto Chen Bian's lap. When he registered its details, cold sweat all but drenched his suit.
"101 Tower! Lady Anne, that's the tallest building in Taipei—the city's very emblem! If anything befalls it, how am I supposed to explain myself to the nation…" Chen Bian blurted out, barely containing his panic.
"When you defied public will and declared war on China, did you consider your accountability to the people?" Anne's hands stilled, eyes bore into Chen Bian's. "If I told you that the moment he is killed or captured, China will be finished, would you still concern yourself with Taipei's so-called symbol?"
"Are you truly speaking the truth?" Chen Bian asked, incredulous.
Anne's smile held silent affirmation.
A moment's contemplation, and Chen Bian seized the phone from Anne's desk to dial his subordinate.
"This is President Chen Bian. What armed forces are currently available for deployment within the city?"
"Mr. President, we estimate nearly three thousand soldiers and more than five thousand police officers."
"Very well. Mobilize them all. Evacuate the civilians from 101 Tower, and herd the fleeing assassin into its premises. Once inside, nothing—absolutely nothing—is to get out."
"But, sir…" Chen Bian terminated the call before his subordinate could voice further objections.
"Now you look the part of Taiwan's president," Anne remarked with a smile.
March 6, 2011, 6:00 a.m...
Forced to diverge from his route toward the city outskirts, 13 encountered an increasing number of barricading police and soldiers. They issued no effective attacks—merely redirecting his course.
Lifting his gaze, 13 saw a skyscraper towering above all others.
"101 Tower? Planning to eliminate me there?" 13 muttered icily. "If you're so determined to lure me in, then I shall grant your wish." With these words, he accelerated his skateboard, heading toward Taipei's foremost edifice, painted crimson by the newborn sun.
"Dove, this is Mother. The new order: catch the rat inside 101, monitor his movements closely—do not let him change his course," Satan continued the pursuit.
"Satan, he seems to have deduced our intentions. It appears he, too, seeks finality within the tower," Dove responded from the sky, unease evident in her voice. "I cannot escape this feeling of apprehension..."
"It's of no consequence. There, he is but a rodent," Angel consoled—though he, too, felt unsettled by 13's decision to enter the trap willingly.
At last, 13 glimpsed the main entrance. The silent presence of armed police and soldiers among the shadows bespoke a meticulously planned snare. Unperturbed, he accelerated, charging inside.
All reinforced gates slammed shut simultaneously.
The telephone in Anne's office rang. Anne ignored it. "That's for you, Mr. President," she said.
Chen Bian answered—the subordinate from earlier.
"Mr. President, 101 Tower has been completely sealed off. Over two thousand two hundred troops and four thousand police encircle it. Nothing can escape. Please issue further instructions…"
Slightly gratified by their efficiency, Chen Bian frowned as he caught an incongruity. "Wait. Didn't you claim to have three thousand soldiers and five thousand police? How have their numbers diminished so drastically?"
"Sir, what you may not realize—pursuit has lasted nearly four hours now with no success. The fugitive has assaulted our units repeatedly; eight hundred troops have been lost at his hand. Over a thousand police resigned on the spot after witnessing his combat abilities. If not for enormous bonuses, even more would have deserted…"
Chen Bian flushed in humiliation. Thousands deployed—yet they failed to subdue a single man and suffered two thousand casualties. If their old leader Jiang were alive, rage would have killed him afresh.
"Mr. President, your next orders, please…" the subordinate requested.
Chen Bian turned to Anne, awaiting her directive.
Anne sighed, setting aside her apple. "Dispatch elite units to infiltrate from the first floor upward. Drive the rodent to the rooftop, where our mechanized armor awaits. Should capture or elimination fail, detonate explosives on the top floor—reduce him to fragments."
Chen Bian hesitated briefly, then relayed Anne's words verbatim.
"Madam, is it not excessively difficult to hunt a single person in a sprawling tower? And his earlier resistance displayed extraordinary tenacity. My forces will surely suffer…" Chen Bian said, realization dawning as he hung up.
Anne smiled wryly. "Indeed, within this complex environment, he will have every advantage for his counterattacks. But this is precisely what I require—when his munitions are depleted, that's our optimal moment for capture."
"You mean I'm sacrificing my men just to exhaust his ammunition!" Chen Bian's fists clenched.
"Essentially, yes. If our sole aim were annihilation, he would already be dead a hundred times over," Anne said, twirling her blade before her eyes. "What I seek is to gauge his strength. The materials from last time were worthless—aside from knowing his moniker is 13, we know nothing."
"To lose thousands of my people for a single individual! Is it worth it?" Chen Bian strove to mask his indignation.
"Why not? Numbers are no longer synonymous with might…" Anne replied coldly, gaze fixed on the monitor. "In the face of overwhelming power, human masses are as pitiful as ants."
"Does he truly possess such power?" Chen Bian asked, also turning to the screen.
"The power to battle machinery barehanded…to injure our finest armored suits…to maintain composure even as entire armies pursue him…to stride willingly into a trap, fully cognizant of the danger," Anne's eyes flickered with desire. "How I yearn for him—for his power."
Her excitement faded to a chill. "But power that refuses subjugation is a redundancy. We do not allow that which cannot be controlled."
Chen Bian understood her words were as much for him as for herself. All he could now consider was just how many of his elite would perish before this 'power'...
"101 Tower: total height 508 meters, sixty meters comprised by its rooftop antenna. The tallest structure in Taiwan, housing office and commercial space for twelve thousand occupants. Each eight floors form a single structural unit—enhancing the building's integrity. Boasts the nation's fastest thirty-four elevators, exceeding sixty kilometers per hour. And…" 13 studied the summary before him.
Seated at the epicenter of the ground floor, 13 sighed, taking stock of his remaining armaments.
"Close-quarters: one combat dagger, Model 12 automatic pistol, forty rounds…"
"Long-range: COOL-FIRE sniper system, twenty high-velocity penetration rounds, five high-explosive rounds, three liquid nitrogen freezing shells, three incendiary shells…"
"Auxiliary: skateboard and suspension rig…" Another sigh.
"It seems they aim to capture me alive once my ammunition is depleted…the final opponent is no doubt the armored unit. I trust she'll appear as well." Sprawled on the polished floor, 13 gazed at the sterile white ceiling. "Once my questions are answered, I'll conclude this with SEED…" Closing his eyes, fatigue washed over him—the coming onslaught would be the most brutal yet.
All he needed now was rest.
"Director, all squads are in position. Shall we initiate?" an exhilarated detective inquired.
The chief of police, forty-five years old and weighing eighty kilograms, checked his watch. "Wait twenty minutes. Headquarters reports another elite detachment on the way."
13 tapped his head and rose from the floor, stretching languorously.
"Still not moving in? Giving me a chance, perhaps? Might as well browse the supermarket first." With that, he headed upstairs.
March 6, 2011, 7:20 a.m.
Impatient police and soldiers at the entrance finally welcomed their trump card: the "Black Suits." Established in 1980, this was one of Taiwan's oldest special forces units. Two years ago, over three hundred elite members from the original "Black Suits" were selected and reequipped with the latest US SEAL gear—constituting Taiwan's premier force, the "New Black Suits." Chen Bian once intended, should Taipei fall, to escape to the US under their protection. After hearing Anne's words, he deployed every asset to destroy China's last "ace." This was Chen Bian's ultimate gamble.
"Who exactly are we flushing out, old man? Even the 'New Black Suits' are here!" a novice officer queried an elder colleague.
"An assassin who broke into the Presidential Palace last night…"
"Did Chen Bian get offed?" the recruit interjected, eyes ablaze with anticipation.
"Don't be so naïve. He escaped here from the palace." The older man cuffed him lightly.
The youth scanned the surroundings, goosebumps springing up across his flesh.
"To marshal all of Taipei's law enforcement for one individual…is he even human?"
"With the 'New Black Suits' dispatched, surely that's no ordinary foe. Listen—when the shooting starts, stay clear. Remember, we're no monsters. One touch and you're dead…"
"Understood." The once eager novice nodded, duly chastened.
The "New Black Suits" lived up to their formidable reputation. Over three hundred operatives swiftly divided into more than twenty squads, sealing every exit. Each role was clearly defined: some rigged explosives, others provided cover, others made the assault. In under a minute, they breached all cut points and stormed inside…only for the aftermath to be utter oblivion.
A thunderous explosion shattered every pane from the first to the fifth floor. At that moment, 13 was on the seventh, nonchalantly munching bread from the supermarket.
"The blast force of nitroglycerin just isn't sufficient. If 1 were here, he'd synthesize C4 in twenty minutes flat. Evidently, demolition isn't my forte…"
Inside the office, Chen Bian was stupefied.
"My 'New Black Suits'…gone, just like that?"
"It appears this individual is far more resilient than anticipated…" Anne, without even glancing at the monitor, picked up her transmitter and announced, "'Divine Judgment' is in place—the performance is about to commence…"