I quickly texted back a message to Song Qian Long.

[Where are they? How much longer before they get to the safe zone?]

After a short silence, I finally received a reply.

[Kai Kai...you should get away from the city. Now.]

[What? What do you mean?]

[...The second phase of the invasion is far stronger than the first. The reinforcements from the other cities have already arrived and we are discussing a strategy right now, but...it's only a matter of time before this city falls.]

Damn it...he's not telling me anything useful like what exactly the Midnight Syndicate has sent, or the scale of the invasion...nothing. All he's telling me to do is run away? Where would I even run to?

Heh...maybe I should've taken Ming Hao up on his offer, but...too late for regrets.

[Where are you right now?]

[Why?]

[I want to talk to you in person.]

[...Fine. The same staircase as before. I will meet you there and take you up to the Administrative Floor.]

*****

By the time I got to the staircase, Song Qian Long was already there, waiting for me. A lot of people who saw him waved at him as they passed by, since he was a respectable figure in the city. Noticing me, he opened the door of the staircase and let me in, himself soon following behind. People who saw this were clearly pretty confused and curious, but since I had my hood and mask on, I doubt anyone could recognize who I was. Ming Hao from earlier was an exception.

In any case, by now, I was familiar with the route we took up to the Administrative Floor of this mall. Once we were successfully on the topmost floor, I spoke.

"Here should be good," I said, and Song Qian Long stopped walking, turning around to face me.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Kai Kai?"

"There are many questions I want to ask, but I'm going to start with the most important one first - what exactly is the second phase?" I asked. "You've told me nothing but to 'just run away'. I'm not about to just leave without even knowing what we're up against."

"...It's more monsters," Song Qian Long said after a long pause. "Thousands of them."

I frowned. "Thousands? Goddamn...where did the Midnight Syndicate even get enough people to turn into these mons- oh, wait...that's right...Hong Kong, huh?"

"And that is just what our second reconnaissance squad has seen," Song Qian Long continued. "They went in, and got out the moment they saw what was coming our way. In other words...there could - and probably are - a lot more than just a few thousand."

I sank into thought. Well...this is troublesome. Obsidia alone could probably barely take out a few thousand in her dragon form, especially with the power of Chaos within her helping, but if there's any more than that, then...

"Well, if it's just monsters, there are many ways we can counter that. For example, engage in guerrilla warfare against them, lead them away from the safe zo-"

"No, Kai Kai..." Song Qian Long cut me off. "These monsters...they appear to be controlled by something...no, someone. In fact...the reconnaissance squad we sent reported that they saw some humans riding on top of the monsters."

I narrowed my gaze. "Humans...the Midnight Syndicate, huh..."

Song Qian Long nodded, a grim look on his face. "The monsters may not be intelligent, but humans are. And with their boss controlling these monsters, they will pretty much have a huge organized army far stronger than any of ours."

"Speaking of our armies...where are the reinforcements?" I asked, changing the topic for now.

"We received a squad of 1000 people each from Dongguan and Huizhou. Another 1000 from Guangdong is on their way here, but...they probably won't make it in time, at the rate things are going. As for the central government at Beijing...if we have their reinforcements here right now, we have a chance of surviving, but Beijing is extremely far away from Shenzhen. " Song Qian Long replied.

"And how many people do we have?" I asked further.

"Adding the protection, rescue, and reconnaissance squads together...we total around 1050 mages. The majority of this is the protection squad, while rescue squad has the least amount of members. We could attempt to recruit more people to join the defense force, but...I doubt anyone would be willing to risk their lives."

I scoffed. "They're going to die either way, so might as well go down fighting."

Song Qian Long shook his head sadly. "No, Kai Kai...that's not how humans think. If I were to make an announcement right now recruiting people to join the defense force, I guarantee you everyone will think in their minds, 'someone else will do it, so I don't have to'."

...And then because everyone thinks someone else is going to do it, no one ends up doing it. Ha...humans are truly flawed creatures.

"In any case...that makes around 3000 people in total. And we're against an army that possibly has over 10,000 units in it. Guerilla warfare hardly works when the enemy knows you have a location you cannot lose, no matter what...ugh, this is so troublesome."

Song Qian Long sighed. "Like I said, Kai Kai...you should leave. Take the girls with you, and get away from this city. I will arrange for a couple of high level mages with Sky Magic aptitude to fly you guys out. Then, I'll begin evacuating other citizens as well."

I raised an eyebrow. "And...let me guess, you're going to stay behind, huh?"

He clenched his fists. "Of course...I will defend this city until the end, even if I end up dying as a cost. But even if I go down, I will drag the Midnight Syndicate along with me."

"Oh...? How can you be so certain you'll be able to take down anyone with you?" I asked.

"Hmph...all Golden Monarchs have a final, final trump card. It is the true last resort, for you can never go back if you do this. But for the sake of this city, I will use it."

I sighed. "If you have a trump card that powerful, then why bother telling me to leave at all?"

He averted his gaze. "That's because...if I use this, the entire city will be destroyed as a result. Everyone else will be caught up in it."

I blinked. "...Just what kind of final trump card is this...?"

And all Golden Monarchs have it? If just one use can destroy an entire city, then wouldn't terrorists have wiped every single city off the face of this planet a long time ago?

"...You do not need to know that. The only thing you need to do now, is to go talk to the girls about this, and then let me know when you're ready to leav-"

"You...do you really think the girls are just going to abandon this city?" I scoffed. "I don't care about this city nor do I have any ties with it, but the girls...their families, friends, are all here. None of them are as heartless as me, and without a doubt, will never agree to just abandoning this city while leaving their loved ones behind."

"That's..." he trailed off, but after a while, made up his mind and spoke again. "Even if that is the case...Kai Kai, you must get away from this city. If you were to die here...I would never be able to face your parents in heaven."

I scoffed. "You talk about my parents, but...if they were still alive, what do you think they would want me to do in this situation? Run away like a coward, or...fight to the death like a man?"

"..." he fell silent once more.

"And besides," I continued. "I have a plan in mind. I said earlier that guerilla warfare wouldn't work in this situation, but...it just might. We just have to take care of someone before that."

"Oh...?" Song Qian Long perked up, hearing this. "What do you mean?"

"Kuku...take me to see the other higher-ups. I will tell my plan to them, and see what they think of it."

"...It's not that I don't want to, but...the representatives from the other cities...I doubt they are willing to listen to a 14 year old kid."

"Didn't I help you solve the mystery behind the sudden lack of contact from Hong Kong? Just tell them that. It should help prove my skills, no?"

Song Qian Long stroked his beard. "Hm...I suppose so, but even then..."

I sighed. "Look, just take me to them. I know for a fact that the mayor and the patriarchs will at least hear me out. The representatives from the other cities...they can decide whether or not my plan is good once they've heard it."

"...Alright. But let me just get one thing straight with you...even if this plan of yours gets approved, and we do end up using it...the moment things go south, promise me you will run away. There is no shame in running to fight another day."

I waved off his words with ease. "Yeah yeah, sure."