I Have A Martial Dao World

Chapter 147: 147. A hair's breadth away

[From Ukron Country, it's reported that a hostage situation has occurred in Kiev. The cause was that some "Chechen soldiers" had been involved in combat for three years, and according to the battle contract signed with the Ukron government, they were to be granted Ukron nationality]

[However, the contract had expired, and the Ukron government had yet to provide the nationality. The promised military wages had also gone unpaid, stirring discontent among more than 20 "Chechen soldiers"]

[They've taken multiple hostages at Saint Sophia Cathedral, and the Ukron government has already sent representatives to start negotiations]

By the time the plane landed at Boryspil Airport, the hostage-taking incident had completely fermented.

The advanced internet of modern society allowed Lu Yao to learn the full details of the incident as soon as possible, which essentially stemmed from "freeloading".

Several states to the east of Ukron Country were in constant armed conflict, and, as the Ukron military was lax in training and severely lacked weapons and equipment, it had long employed foreign "Chechen People" for combat.

The failure to pay the promised salaries led these foreign mercenaries to take drastic measures.

"I hope it's not too late!" Lu Yao rushed straight from the plane to the site of the incident—Saint Sophia Cathedral.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Saint Sophia Cathedral, built in the 11th century, is a world cultural heritage with a long history and one of the landmark buildings in Kiev, as well as being the most popular tourist attraction.

Of course, Zhao Ya wanted to bring her husband and daughter there for a visit.

Beyond being a church, it also serves as a museum, a souvenir shopping center for tourists, among other functions.

At first, the three of them were quite happy, marveling at the exotic charm of a foreign land.

Until a group of heavily armed brutes burst in and took everyone hostage, including the priests!

These men fired AKs into the air and ordered everyone to kneel in the center of the church, and to hand over their communication devices.

Li Jin and his wife Zhao Ya exchanged frightened glances, their eyes full of disbelief, along with a sense of the absurd—what were the chances of such bad luck striking twice!

Since the incident in Annan, both had been extra cautious about traveling abroad, never imagining they would encounter such an event in the capital of a sovereign country!

Moreover, Saint Sophia Cathedral was not located in some remote place—it was surrounded by Victory Square, international hotels, less than a 10-minute drive from Ukron National Bank!

Desperately, Zhao Ya muttered, "This is the heart of a capital city! How could an armed hostage situation happen here!"

It just goes to show that when one is unlucky, anything can happen.

The Zhao family of three sat kneeling on the floor in fear and desperation, watched over by numerous brutes wielding AKs.

There were 20 armed militants in total, led by a husband and wife duo, and the names of these two leaders—Dudayev and Amina—were known to all hostages present.

This was because the television in the chapel's rest area was broadcasting the news, with the photos of the two leaders prominent on the screen.

The news briefly reported on the hostage situation, and then the spokesperson for Ukron spoke,

["We will not negotiate with this group of 'Chechen terrorists.' No dignified country would do so."]

When a reporter asked, ["What about the nearly 100 hostages, many of whom are international tourists?"]

The spokesperson paused for a moment, emphasizing, ["Not negotiating with terrorists is an international practice. The more the government negotiates with terrorists, the more provocations there will be, and the number of victims will also increase."]

After speaking, the spokesperson quickly left, clearly unconcerned about the fate of the hostages. Countless reporters chased after him, microphones in hand, shouting frantically.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A loud bang, and the TV was ruined with a large hole through it.

"Terrorists?" The bearded Dudayev, donning a green beret, said to his wife and numerous subordinates with a smirk, "They refer to us as—'terrorists'!"

With a wave of his hand, a few of his men dragged out five hostages from the crowd and pressed them to the ground, while his wife Amina took out her phone and started a live stream.

Dudayev stood behind the hostages with a gun and pressed it against their heads, saying to the camera:

"We have fought against our own people for the sake of this country, and in return, we are slandered like this! Shameless, disgusting pigs! Don't dream that we'll die in vain, I'll make you pay the price!"

After speaking, he pulled the trigger continuously, executing five hostages on the live stream!

Dudayev roared at the camera:

"Bring me the Minister of Defense! Otherwise, I won't just kill all the hostages, I'll also expose your dealings selling weapons of mass destruction to war-torn regions!"

Radiating an aura of madness, Dudayev opened a suitcase and took out a 155mm howitzer shell!

He unscrewed the fuse, set a collision-activated detonator, and then, with the help of Amina, used ropes and pulleys to hoist the shell to the roof of the cathedral, perfectly aligning it with the head of a divine figure in the mural.

Sunlight shone through the cathedral's stained-glass roof onto the shell, making it look almost like a crystal chandelier.

The pulley system holding the shell was controlled by a steel cable; a slight pull, and the 155mm shell would drop and explode on impact, with enough force to blow the entire cathedral sky-high!

This cable was tied to Dudayev's own arm; the slightest movement could pull everyone to their burial together!

If anyone dared to take him out with a sniper, it would result in the same outcome. It was a setup for mutual assured destruction!

~~~~~~~~

The hostages were no fools; they realized that these people were outright madmen!

The elderly priest stood up, trying to advise with forced calm, "Child, there's no need for this..."

Unfortunately, their religious believes were completely different, and before he could finish, Dudayev blew off his head with a shot.

Some tried to make a desperate escape attempt but were quickly shot dead by these battle-hardened militants, leaving their bodies riddled with bullets on the floor.

The remaining hostages screamed in terror, sobbing and begging for mercy, and Li Jin and his wife clutched at the muscular men, pleading with them to spare their child.

But these men were cold and merciless, growing impatient, they aimed their guns at the crowd, scaring them into immediately crouching down, obediently huddling together with their heads covered.

Li Jin was just a coder, trembling with fear, the stench of blood forcefully entering his nostrils, resisting the urge to vomit.

But his wife and daughter were right beside him, and as a man, he had to stand firm no matter what!

Li Jin placed his only hope on his spare cell phone. Obsessed with the mobile games 'Yin Yang Master' and 'Genshin Impact', he always carried two phones for convenient task farming, and he had only handed over one when asked earlier.

He had quickly thought of someone to call for help. The situation had already made the news and the authorities had still not acted; now, there was only one person who could help!

Curled up in the depths of the crowd, Li Jin used the cover of his jacket and the skills honed from years of mobile gaming to blindly operate his phone and video call Lu Yao.

What was left was to pray to the gods for protection.