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墨書 Inktalez
The city's collapse was like a broken dam, with floods surging in wildly, consuming everything in their path.
The destructive actions of Truth's Fire were no longer isolated incidents; they had become a full-blown chain reaction. The explosion in the Financial District served as the ignition point, shattering the last vestiges of order in the city. Each subsequent day was a continuation of chaos, violence, and uncontrollable mayhem.
The "Zero-Cost Purchase" craze swept across the city. As the banking system crumbled and people lost faith in the future, looting became the only means of survival. Malls, supermarkets, electronics stores, and even pharmacies were ravaged by waves of rioters. Some picked up bricks to smash windows, while others wheeled shopping carts overflowing with stolen goods, laughing as they fled. Some simply hoisted large televisions and stumbled away.
Where were the police?
The police had no time to address these criminal acts because they themselves were rendered powerless.
City Hall was paralyzed, orders were chaotic and disorganized, and the police department was severely understaffed. Many officers had long since lost their willingness to serve a dying city. They responded to reports but often arrived only after the fact, helplessly surveying shattered glass and empty shelves, shaking their heads at masked looters on surveillance footage.
"What else can we do? Arrest everyone in the city?"
A detective sarcastically remarked in the smoking area of the precinct, but none of his colleagues responded; it was not a joke but a grim reality.
Public confidence in the government's ability had plummeted dramatically, and hope had all but vanished.
Thus, they chose to arm themselves for self-defense.
Gun store shelves were quickly emptied, black market firearm transactions surged, and many homes posted signs declaring "Intruders Will Be Shot on Sight." Windows were boarded up, barbed wire and makeshift traps began appearing in neighborhood corners, and the city was gradually regressing from "society" back to "the jungle."
As night fell, the streets transformed into lawless battlegrounds. Gunfire became frequent; no one knew who fired first or whether the shootouts stemmed from gang conflicts or wealthy individuals attempting to protect their assets. But no one dared to venture outside because now, night belonged not to civilians but to predators.
And what about those who could afford it? The wealthy merchants, politicians, and gang leaders?
They had quietly slipped away.
Private Airport saw frequent takeoffs and landings; residents of luxury apartments vanished overnight. Some fled with cash, gold, and diamonds to foreign lands while others boarded the last safe train in an attempt to escape this land that was gradually descending into hell.
But those who could not escape were left trapped in this burning city, watching helplessly as everything turned to ruins, listening to the bullets pierce the night sky, waiting for the next dawn, yet unaware of when this nightmare would finally end.
The air inside the police station was dead and oppressive, like a tomb on the verge of collapse.
Emma Ross sat at her desk, her hands crossed over her forehead, eyes closed in exhaustion as chaotic alarm sounds echoed around her. Her shoulders felt heavy, as if burdened by the ruins of an entire city. The atmosphere in the police station was thick with a sense of helplessness, decay, and near despair.
This city was already dead.
It wasn’t just her opinion; all the officers still here were downcast, their gazes vacant, like a group of walking corpses.
They no longer knew what to do.
The jail was overcrowded, and the police station's file rooms, break rooms, and even some conference rooms had been converted into makeshift holding cells. The corridors were packed with locked-up prisoners—some were thieves who had looted stores, some were survivors of gunfights, and others had committed acts of arson and murder for no apparent reason.
But what was the point of holding them?
In this city, no one cared about the law, no one cared about order, and no one cared about the existence of the police.
Every day, the police station's communication system was overwhelmed; every second brought new crimes—
“There’s a shooting in the Tenth District, five dead, assailant unknown.”
“Rioters are setting fire in downtown; four buildings are engulfed in flames, firefighters cannot enter the area.”
“Truth's Fire launched an attack in the Seventh District; several civilians have been executed on site, charred bodies discovered.”
“A store was looted in the Third District; by the time police arrived, it was empty and surveillance cameras had been destroyed.”
“The trend of zero-cost shopping continues; local residents have organized armed self-defense teams and engaged in gun battles with robbers.”
Every day, every hour, even every minute, new crimes, new deaths, and new destruction unfold.
The number of police officers has long been insufficient. Those who remain are either seasoned officers who have already succumbed to despair or fresh recruits who have yet to find a way to escape. Regardless of which group they belong to, they all understand that they are trapped on a sinking ship, awaiting the final destruction.
Worse still—no one knows what the mayor is doing.
"Why can't we request the central government to send in the military to suppress this?! Why is no one handling this disaster?! What the hell is going on?!"
This is the greatest question in every officer's mind, yet no one can provide an answer.
Mayor Rain has long since vanished without a trace, City Hall has nearly lost all operational capability, and all requests for military intervention have sunk like stones into the ocean—no responses, no orders, not even a hint of whether anyone is still in control of this city.
"This government is dead..." a young officer murmured softly, his tone laced with despair and numbness. "No one cares about us anymore; we're just waiting here to die..."
"Fuck him!"
"Bang—!"
In the corner of the office, Sharp slammed his fist down on the table in a fit of rage, knocking over coffee cups. Glass shattered everywhere as hot coffee splattered onto the floor, filling the air with a burnt aroma.
Everyone turned to look at him. They stared at this usually composed middle-aged detective, witnessing for the first time such an expression of anger and helplessness.
He fixed his gaze on the computer screen, which was cluttered with crime reports that nearly covered the entire interface. The number of unread messages continued to climb, resembling an endless nightmare.
"What kind of hellish world is this?!" Sharp gasped for breath, his eyes bloodshot and filled with intense frustration. "What more can we do?! We catch one criminal, and five minutes later ten more scumbags pop up! What are we wasting our time for?!"
Emma remained silent as she looked at the crumbling police station before her, yet her heart felt no stirrings.
Because she already knew the answer—
The city has no future.
The silence in the police station was abruptly shattered by a ringing phone.
No one immediately reached for it, as everyone had grown numb to that sound. Each call was a new disaster, each report was evidence of the city sinking further into the abyss.
But eventually, a police officer sighed and picked up the phone.
"This is the police station. Please state your emergency."
At first, his tone was mechanical, just like the countless calls he had handled over the past few days. But when he clearly heard the voice on the other end, his brow furrowed instantly, and his pupils slightly contracted.
"Wait... who did you say?"
His tone changed; the fatigue and indifference vanished in an instant, replaced by disbelief and shock. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the phone, his face turning pale as if he had heard something that should never have happened.
"What...? You... say that again..."
The other officers in the office noticed his unusual demeanor. Those who had been seated raised their heads, their expressions filled with confusion and caution.
The officer didn’t respond but suddenly looked up, eyes wide open as if he had seen a ghost. He quickly covered the mouthpiece with his hand and shouted loudly across the office—
“Carter... Carter Black is calling to report an emergency!!!”
The air instantly froze.
All eyes turned to him, heads that were once bowed shot up in unison. All fatigue, frustration, and numbness were shattered in that moment, replaced by a sudden wave of astonishment and shock.
“What?!” Sharp’s expression changed dramatically as he instinctively stood up. Emma furrowed her brow, arms crossed, her gaze sharp as she focused on the phone.
"What did you say?" Emma's voice was low, tinged with disbelief.
The officer swallowed hard, as if he had yet to fully accept this absurd reality. He took a deep breath and spoke slowly in an unusual tone.
"Carter said he has captured Mayor Rain."
In an instant, the entire police station fell into a deathly silence.
That name struck like thunder, crashing into everyone's minds.
Carter Black, the City's Angel of Death, the vigilante of this crumbling metropolis, was now calling the police? And claiming he had... captured the mayor?!
"What else did he say?" Sharp asked through gritted teeth, his hands clenched into fists as if he already sensed the answer to come.
The officer licked his cracked lips, his fingers gripping the edge of the table tightly, and then whispered in that strange tone, "He said he intends to punish Rain... for neglecting his duties."
As those words hung in the air, everyone’s heart skipped a beat.
This city had seen enough horror, but now, its most terrifying figure had decided to deliver judgment personally.
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