The atmosphere at the scene was already tense, as seen in the live broadcast from the Toya News Channel.
"Hello everyone, I'm Suzuki Nana, a live reporter from Toaru TV. I'm currently at the scene of the forced eviction in Wuming Street. As you can see, the government's joint law enforcement team is in a fierce standoff with tens of thousands of residents of Wuming Street. Now, let's conduct some random interviews with the people on the scene."
The young female reporter, Nana Suzuki, said she was conducting "random interviews," but she didn't hesitate at all. She walked straight through the confrontational crowd and stood in front of Makoto Ryuzaki, who was standing at the very front.
Her photographer immediately followed, fixing the lens firmly on Ryuzaki Makoto's face, which was covered by a red headscarf.
"Mr. Ryuzaki Makoto, hello, I'm Suzuki Nana. I interviewed you before, do you remember me?"
Ryuzaki glanced at the somewhat nervous young reporter in front of him, and seemed to remember something.
Isn't this the little girl who was so frightened by my words that she was sitting there anxiously?
He gave a faint smile and nodded.
"Of course I remember."
Seeing this, Suzuki Nana felt somewhat relieved.
She immediately remembered the questions the TV station leaders had specifically told her to ask before she left, so she didn't hesitate and handed over the microphone directly.
"Mr. Ryuzaki Makoto, why are you here today, leading the residents of the nameless street in a protest?"
Ryuzaki Makoto took the microphone, glanced at the government officials opposite him who looked like they were facing a formidable enemy, and then at the angry and uneasy faces behind him. He spoke righteously and solemnly:
"I am not leading a protest. I am just a person who grew up on this land, standing up to say a few words of justice for these compatriots who have been forgotten by society."
"Although the nameless street is poor and chaotic, it is the home of tens of thousands of people! It is their last refuge! Now the government wants to use a piece of paper to drive them out of their homes and make them homeless. Is this reasonable?"
Upon hearing this, Suzuki Nana immediately grasped the key point and continued to press for answers:
"It seems you have some reservations about the casino bill passed by Parliament."
Upon hearing this, Ryuzaki Makoto's emotions instantly became agitated, and his voice rose several decibels.
"That's obvious! I admit that the parliament established the casino to promote regional economic development, and I can understand that!"
"But! Have they considered the resettlement of the tens of thousands of residents here? Where will they live after they are evicted? What will they eat? Will their children still be able to go to school? What will their future be like? Have they considered these most basic human rights issues?"
"Are the people behind me just going to be swept out of this city like trash and left to fend for themselves?"
Another bead of cold sweat trickled down Suzuki Nana's forehead.
That familiar feeling is back again.
After the last interview, she already wanted to quit her job.
This line of work is too dangerous, especially interviewing someone like Ryuzaki Makoto.
However, her boss later gave her a considerable bonus, which is why she was persuaded to stay.
Why does what he said today seem even more dangerous than last time?
"Mr. Ryuzaki Makoto..."
Nana Suzuki instinctively wanted to interrupt Makoto Ryuzaki in an attempt to ease the tension.
However, Ryuzaki Makoto completely ignored her and continued speaking to the camera in an almost rude tone:
"I also learned that the main contractor for this casino project is the Kowloon Group! As far as I know, the Kowloon Group is an organization that made its fortune through the black market and is still under close surveillance by the Anti-Organized Crime Act!"
"Under the oversight of the law, how did they manage to secure this national-level engineering project? Was there any collusion between officials and businessmen? Was there any behind-the-scenes manipulation? Does the government dare to disclose the entire bidding process for this project to the public?"
"Enough!!"
Before Ryuzaki Makoto could finish speaking, he was abruptly interrupted by an angry roar.
Finance Director Junichi Watanabe's face turned ashen; he simply couldn't bear to listen any longer.
It's not because Ryuzaki's question was really unreasonable.
On the contrary, it's because that damn bastard is telling the whole truth!
If he were to continue speaking on nationally televised television, who knows what kind of mess he might make.
By then, not only will the project be ruined, but even he, the finance director, might be finished.
Junichi Watanabe pushed aside the police officers blocking his way, strode up to Makoto Ryuzaki, pointed his finger at his nose, and roared fiercely:
"Ryuzaki Makoto! Do you know what you just said? You openly slandered and defamed government officials on a live broadcast! According to relevant laws, I can arrest you right now!"
Ryuzaki Makoto was not afraid of his threats at all, and just looked at him coldly.
"When it comes to slander and defamation, I can't compare to you officials."
As he spoke, he took a step forward, his tall figure instantly looming over Junichi Watanabe, who was only a little over 1.7 meters tall.
He looked down at the other person, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"What I just said was very precise, just a reasonable guess. As the saying goes, if you're upright, you have nothing to fear. Could it be... that Director Watanabe really has some shady dealings with the Kowloon Group?"
When confronted by Ryuzaki Makoto, Junichi Watanabe's face instantly turned a deep shade of liver, and he practically jumped up and down, roaring in anger.
"Outrageous! As a civil servant, how could I... how could I possibly collude with those organizations!"
He clearly didn't want to argue with Ryuzaki Makoto any longer about this topic, and shouted directly at the police formation behind him:
"Local Affairs Department, listen up! Begin now, forcibly remove all irrelevant personnel!"
Upon receiving the order, the dozens of police officers, armed with shields, immediately began their operation.
They lined up in a row, forming a human wall with their shields, and began to slowly approach the crowd on the nameless street.
The two groups quickly came into contact, and pushing and cursing immediately ensued.
The atmosphere at the scene instantly became extremely tense, and a large-scale bloody conflict was on the verge of breaking out.
Just then, Ryuzaki Makoto gave a wink to an inconspicuous corner in the crowd.
In that corner, a man in a police uniform understood. He pushed through the crowd and strode quickly toward Ryuzaki Makoto.
Ryuzaki Makoto looked at the other person's clothes and was speechless.
This guy's uniform is completely different from the one worn by the regional division!
The color and style are both inferior; it looks like a security guard in a shopping mall.
However, since the show has already gone this far, there's nothing that can be done.
This person is Serizawa.
Holding a rubber baton he'd found in the True Dragon Society's warehouse, with an expression of "public indignation" on his face, he rushed towards Ryuzaki Makoto.
To everyone's disbelief, including Junichi Watanabe's, Serizawa raised his baton high and struck Ryuzaki Makoto hard on the forehead with all his might!
"Bang!"
A dull, loud bang could be clearly heard amidst the noise.
The chaotic scene instantly quieted down.
Everyone stared in disbelief at the scene.
Serizawa didn't hold back this time; he went all out.
However, he wasn't worried that Ryuzaki Makoto would get into trouble. The steel bars that the armed front crew had bent before were bent, but Ryuzaki Makoto was fine. So what about this rubber baton?
Ryuzaki Makoto perfectly complied and fell to the ground.
The moment he fell, he pulled out a pre-prepared prop blood pack from his sleeve and slapped it onto his face.
Blood instantly streamed down his face, making him look incredibly miserable.
The tens of thousands of residents of the nameless street witnessed a policeman rush up and, without saying a word, strike Ryuzaki Makoto, who stood up for them, on the head with a stick, leaving him bleeding profusely and his life hanging in the balance. Their eyes immediately turned red.
Ryuzaki Makoto has been helping them all along, and recently he even opened a simple school at his own expense so that their children could receive a basic education and learn to read and write.
How could they not be moved and support such a benefactor who risked offending the government and gangs to stand up for them, the lowest of the low?
"boom--!"
The emotions of these tens of thousands of people were instantly ignited and completely boiled over.
Among the crowd, the refugees, who were actually members of the True Dragon Society in disguise, began to shout wildly.
"The police are beating people!"
"Mr. Ryuzaki has been killed!"
"They're going to kill us all!"
These highly inflammatory words were like a fire thrown into a powder keg.
The entire group of refugees was completely out of control.
"We'll fight these government lackeys to the death!!"