After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

Gu Junwan rejected her subordinates’ proposal to immediately relocate her to a secure hotel.

She ordered the establishment of a temporary camp nearby, and while dispatching combat troops for reinforcement, chose to remain on-site to command disaster relief operations.

This explosion came very suddenly, catching everyone off guard.

Fortunately, amidst the misfortune, the casualties were slightly fewer than predicted.

Since the farmers’ market wasn’t a residential area, those most severely affected by the blast and fire tonight were warehouse watchmen and night security guards.

Some of the injured had already been rescued, while the rest might never be saved.

Gu Junwan stood silently in the night wind, the red flames dancing in her golden eyes.

It was the reflected fire from the nearby farmers’ market, and also the fire of anger in her heart.

As real-time information was reported to the Empress, Gu Junwan began to reconstruct events in her mind based on all the intelligence she had.

She had impacted the interests of the previous authorities, so undoubtedly, they were the most likely to seek revenge against her.

However, there were several highly unreasonable aspects to this situation.

First, psychologically speaking, in the current circumstances, what the escaped culprits would most want to do is flee as far as possible.

By issuing such a provocation against her, they could only gain a kind of perverse psychological comfort.

Second, based on the various confrontations in recent days, even if those local powers had thoughts of revenge, they lacked the ability to carry it out.

Detonating a bomb sounds simple, but in reality, is it really that easy to do?

Even setting aside security systems, many people actually can’t cross that mental barrier to carry out terrorist attacks.

Third, with so many police forces mobilized, not a single suspicious person had been caught yet, which was extremely abnormal.

Thinking of this, Gu Junwan suddenly asked Shen Han beside her.

“A guard just reported that Gu Yuwei sent people to help with firefighting. How many people did they send?”

Shen Han thought briefly, then immediately answered, “Over 400 people, including 10 members of her guard team. The rest are army soldiers who came with her and local security personnel.”

Gu Junwan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, a bad premonition suddenly appearing in her mind.

If things were truly as she suspected, it would be disastrous!

At this moment, everyone’s focus was on firefighting and rescue.

Even Special Assistant Xu, who always paid attention to her Lady Empress’s state, hadn’t noticed the tension in Gu Junwan’s heart.

But Shen Han sensed it.

“What’s wrong? Is something amiss?”

With her Alpha, Gu Junwan had nothing to hide.

She paused, then spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear: “I suspect the real target of those who instigated this chaos is Gu Yuwei.”

Hearing these words, Shen Han’s expression also became more solemn.

If the people behind this had the ability to plan such a diversion, Gu Yuwei might be in inescapable danger tonight.

Because they could calculate that she would dispatch a large security force to help here, they must have a deep understanding of her personality.

Compared to a direct armed confrontation on the battlefield, those who can exploit personality traits to kill are more terrifying.

Deep in Shen Han’s heart, there was anger towards Gu Yuwei.

She would never forget the circumstances of her first meeting with Gu Junwan.

She didn’t even dare to imagine what state Gu Junwan would be in now if she hadn’t appeared then.

Thinking of this, Shen Han spoke softly: “Life and death are predetermined, and she still has a considerable security force with her. It might not necessarily turn out to be the worst-case scenario.”

Gu Junwan never approached matters with an overly optimistic attitude.

She shook her head slightly, seemingly talking to herself, yet also seeking help from the Alpha beside her: “Gu Yuwei can’t die. The Free Federation can’t withstand turmoil right now.”

The Northern Commander dispatching guards to assist the Empress in disaster relief only to lose her life in the process – such an event could trigger civil war between the Southern and Northern Districts.

Shen Han turned slightly, looking earnestly at her Omega’s profile: “Do you want to save her?”

When Gu Junwan raised her eyes to look at her Alpha, her golden phoenix eyes held a trace of worry: “Can she be saved?”

After a pause, she added: “If the price is you risking your life, then don’t bother.”

Shen Han, looking at her Omega’s worried face, wanted to reach out and gently caress it.

But with others around, she could only wink at her: “There’s definitely danger, but I can handle it well. If I can save her, I’ll give it a try; if not, I’ll withdraw.”

Gu Junwan was very reluctant to let her Alpha take risks, but at this moment, she had no other choice.

If things were truly as bad as she imagined, the only person who might be able to turn the tide now was Shen Han.

Gu Junwan had never been an indecisive person.

However, at this moment, different thoughts in her mind were pulling strongly, causing her temples to ache faintly.

Her throat felt like a jammed spring, making it impossible for her to tell Shen Han to leave immediately to save someone.

Shen Han could clearly sense her Omega’s inner struggle at this moment.

Since she couldn’t make a choice, Shen Han would choose for her.

In a place invisible to others, Shen Han gently held Gu Junwan’s slender hand hanging beneath her sleeve.

“Don’t worry, I’d rather beat her up than save her. I’ll only do what I can within my abilities.”

“Give me Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu, and I also need a top sniper from the army group. Issue the orders. The earlier I leave, the more time I’ll have to make arrangements.”

The Alpha’s palm was soft yet hot, filling the Omega’s inner unease to the brim.

Gu Junwan knew there was no time for her to waver now, so she immediately issued orders according to Shen Han’s wishes.

Since the unknown danger was only a conjecture, Gu Junwan couldn’t possibly dispatch a large number of disaster relief soldiers or her own security forces to Gu Yuwei’s side now.

The reason Shen Han only took three people wasn’t because she underestimated the enemy, but because she worried that her actions might also be part of the behind-the-scenes calculations.

If her departure was the true goal of the enemy’s diversionary tactics, wouldn’t bringing a large group of people push her beloved into a dangerous vortex?

Only if Gu Junwan’s security remained intact could she focus on saving others without distractions.

Five minutes later.

Shen Han’s team of four set out in an SUV with their equipment.

……

As the current head of the Northern District, Gu Yuwei might not match her sister in many aspects, but she had her own commendable qualities.

For instance, during this comfort visit, she wasn’t just putting on a show but genuinely did many things for the local people.

Those actions might not have been as eye-catching as Gu Junwan’s punishment of corrupt officials, but they did stabilize people’s hearts in a tangible way.

She implemented several policies beneficial to people’s livelihoods.

Gu Yuwei had been staying in a guesthouse with harsh conditions until tonight when an unexpected incident occurred, prompting her to relocate towards a safer small city.

The journey from the guesthouse to the hotel destination would take several hours by car.

She wasn’t idle during the trip, constantly receiving updates on the rescue progress at the farmers’ market on her tablet.

From time to time, she would also issue remote instructions to improve the efficiency of the disaster relief soldiers.

When the journey was halfway through, the convoy suddenly stopped.

“What’s going on?”

Without Gu Yuwei needing to ask, the guard team captain sitting in the passenger seat had already inquired over the radio.

“Report! There’s an overturned sand and stone truck blocking the road ahead. Guard team members have gone to check. If it can’t be moved, we’ll have to take another route.”

Hearing the report, the guard captain’s thick eyebrows immediately furrowed tightly.

People who have undergone long-term intensive training have a much higher sensitivity to danger than ordinary people.

While having someone contact the air team to ask why the reconnaissance helicopter hadn’t reported this incident in time,

He pressed the radio and said, “All return, no need to check! Have all vehicles turn around, we’re changing routes immediately.”

Almost at the exact moment the captain finished speaking, a violent explosion sounded from the front.

Shattered metal pieces shot out from the sand and stone pile, not only turning the two guards who went to check into bloody messes but also flipping several nearby police motorcycles far away.

Before the vehicles could retreat or turn around, a flaming heavy truck suddenly rushed out from behind the convoy.

Even the specially modified military vehicles couldn’t withstand the impact of this behemoth. In less than half a minute, Gu Yuwei’s convoy was trapped in the middle of the road.

However, this was just the beginning.

As the security personnel jumped out of their vehicles to protect the commander’s car, a group of drones suddenly appeared in the dark night sky.

Those flashing signal lights emitted an eerie glow in the darkness, like the eyes of beasts.

They systematically locked onto their prey, then began dropping bombs.

Gu Yuwei was originally going to abandon the vehicle and flee with the guard team members.

But now with explosions all around and the entire road seeming to spew flames, she dared not leave the car randomly.

Her vehicle had bulletproof and blast-resistant capabilities.

Given the current situation, the danger outside the car was much higher than inside.

“Commander, stay in the car. We can’t break through the enemy’s fire coverage without taking out those drones.”

Contact with the two reconnaissance helicopters in the air had been lost.

But now, no one had time to investigate.

Gu Yuwei’s guard team wasn’t to be underestimated either. With their intervention, drones were shot down one after another.

Although they couldn’t avoid the explosions of the bombs loaded inside, it was still much better than passively enduring attacks earlier.

However, at this moment, a security personnel who had been shooting from behind a car door suddenly ran towards where the guard team members were concentrated, as if gone mad.

A deafening explosion erupted!

No one had anticipated that a comrade fighting alongside them one second would turn into a human bomb charging at their own people the next.

Amidst flying flesh and blood, the blast wave spread like a tsunami.

Five guard team members were engulfed by the flames, wailing, while the commander’s vehicle was flipped by the air current.

Two guard team members immediately ran forward to rescue.

At this moment, a deafening gunshot suddenly rang out.

A bullet shot from the darkness, piercing through one team member’s skull.

Another shot rang out, and the other person who had just reached the commander’s car had their head explode in a mist of blood, the body collapsing to the ground.

The enemy had prepared snipers!

This combination attack was like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, reaping lives and hope en masse.

When Shen Han arrived with her team members, it was just as the sniper pulled the trigger for the first time.

Shen Han and her three comrades hid in the shadows of buildings, not rashly rushing forward to save people.

The road before them was a newly built two-way single-lane road, with a narrow surface.

On one side of the road were brick houses painted with large red ‘Demolish’ characters, while the other side had unfinished self-built small buildings.

The exterior walls of the small buildings exposed reinforcing bars and concrete, with the floors slightly askew.

Perhaps there was a problem with the project, as no construction team was visible at the site.

“Captain Li, can you handle that sniper?”

“No problem, I’ve roughly located his position. Give me 5 minutes, I’ll definitely take him out!”

Shen Han shook her head: “Gu Yuwei’s side can’t wait 5 minutes. You have 3 minutes. If you can’t resolve it, Ning Xi and I will have to go out and be targets.”

After speaking, she quickly instructed Ma Haoyu.

“Signal interference is up to you. I don’t want drones dropping bombs on us while we’re rescuing people.”