I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun-Chapter 702: North Manhattan (3)

"Get up, get up! What the hell are those sentries doing!"

"Ugh, ugh... Haaaaaaah!"

"Keep on, it's the Cleaners, the crazy incinerators are coming!"

At 1:49 a.m., hundreds of Cleaners poured through northern Manhattan into the Bronx.

At 2:01 a.m., most of the gang members who had just woken up entered the fray, causing devastating casualties.

And by 2:15 a.m., the entire southern Bronx was filled with gunfire.

The Cleaners struck the gangs like a flaming hammer. This wasn't the kind of attack that could be stopped simply by being on guard. Overwhelming combat experience and better equipment literally obliterated the sentries.

The gun-mounted drones easily silenced the sentries from the air, and the gangs, blinded by their eyes, were left unable to respond and allowed the attack to continue.

But the advantage of such a surprise attack was only once. The first characteristic of urban warfare and the second characteristic of being much more numerous than the Cleaners made the advantage of surprise meaningless after 10 minutes of fighting.

However, the Cleaners were not fools.

They had to focus the attention of the gang at all costs for the successful infiltration of the Dagger Team, and that was why they mobilized heavy equipment for urban warfare that they would not normally deploy.

───Kwaaaaah!

"What the hell are these crazy, crazy bastards doing?"

"So...the fire truck is burning. The fire truck is burning instead of water! Run away now!"

"You crazy bastards, you crazy bastards...!"

A large wedge was mounted on the front for route clearing and vehicle removal.

The water tank was filled with napalm instead of water.

Even the large fire trucks, with thick armor plates welded to protect against rocket launchers, and even with cages installed to protect against tandem warheads - dual warheads -

With ear-splitting horns and red sirens blaring, they rammed into the barricades the gangs had set up all over the avenue, savagely tearing apart the defenses and pouring napalm on the windows of buildings.

To put out the fires, former firefighters and public health officials who knew the structure and fire vulnerabilities of typical buildings better than anyone else put their special skills to good use.

It didn't take long for the low-rise buildings to become giant pyrotechnic pyrotechnics for the gangs.

"Haha, they're burning well!"

"The contaminants are coming out the back door. Control them from getting out."

"We don't need night vision goggles. It's more like day than night."

The Bronx, engulfed in flames, was as bright as day.

Not just one, but dozens of low-rise apartments were burning. Furthermore, the apartments were usually connected, and since they were not properly managed, even the slightest spark could spread the fire.

Most of the buildings were empty, and the people in the buildings that were not empty were almost all not exactly innocent. Those who were walking around freely outside where public authority had disappeared were usually like that.

However, even if there were civilians mixed in, the Cleaners were not going to take that into account. That was the reason they were not able to join Central Park and were keeping their distance.

In any case, the Cleaners launched a massive offensive, even mobilizing heavy equipment and heavy weapons.

The gangs were nervous about dealing with the large number of burners coming from the south, and the surveillance that had been tight to begin with became even weaker.

That was why the gangs and Rykers could not properly check the Silent Hawk landing silently in the north, which could be called the rear.

The Reaper, who crushed 500 people in not one day but in an hour at most, set foot in the Bronx.

The first point of impact was Lincoln Hospital, located just over 1km away from where the Cleaner was.

───Pick!

Enemies on the rooftop fell to the ground one by one, their strength draining, making a sound.

A head that was shattered horribly. Every time the sniper drone was pushed back by the recoil, a new species of human was born with nothing above its nose, and the Red Guerilla Gang, who had Lincoln Hospital as their base, became blind.

Punching a blind man with all your might would have been considered both legally and ethically reprehensible just a few months ago, but in the post-apocalypse, it was a basic virtue that had to be possessed.

And the Dagger Team could drive something much more than a punch into the opponent's forehead.

In less than 30 seconds, ten highly trained operators and one trainee trooper stormed into the main entrance hall of Lincoln Hospital.

"Encounter the enemy! Engage!"

"Secure the hall! Keep going! Kill all gang members except the hospital staff!"

"What the heck, what the... AAAH!"

Peek! Peek! Peek!

The gunshots, sharper and quieter as they passed through the silencer, rang out randomly in the main entrance hall. The main entrance was dark, perhaps because there was no power, and the interior looked like a cathedral.

In short, it meant that several candles were lit.

The soot on the walls and ceiling, the faint scent of incense wafting through the main entrance. However, it didn't take long for those scents to be covered by the scent of blood.

Around that time, the eleven men split into three groups and began clearing every floor.

"Right up! On the stairwell!"

"Go up, go up, damn it!"

"Throwing a grenade!"

Clang, bang!

The moment the pin-pulled grenade stayed in Morrison's hand for two seconds, he threw it with all his might. Soon, a loud explosion was heard through the hallway, and the three EX Squadrons that had been on the stairs charged forward.

Logan, who quickly took control of the hallway while providing suppressive fire, threw a few multi-stage tracking mines in the lead. The moment they hit the floor, they split into about five pieces and moved in all directions.

At that moment, a series of explosions were heard. Logan started to push through the hallway like a bulldozer, carrying a ballistic shield that weighed over 80kg, and Owens, Chester, and Morrison who were following him cleaned up the inside of the room.

Similar situations continued on other floors.

Eugene strode forward holding the ballistic shield that Logan was holding, and Laurentina followed him and repeated the same process.

The only other thing was Olivia and the Eagle Team she led.

"Gasp...!."

"Fingers, my fingers...!"

"Damn, the gun's broken, ugh...!"

"No way, you punks."

Bullets flew in without fail the moment you put your body, your gun, your fingers out.

You shot the gun out and deflected it, the moment you put your head out, it exploded, and the moment you put your hand out, the bullet got stuck in your forearm. Since the kinetic energy of the bullet is energy, it was natural that your arm would turn into a rag the moment you were hit.

It was an extraordinary feat that only Olivia, who had exceptionally good eyesight among all mutants, could do.

It didn't take long for the first three floors of Lincoln Hospital to be pushed back, but eleven were too few, and the hospital building was too big.

On the other hand, that was the only disadvantage the operators had. And the size of the building itself couldn't stop the first blade that Icarus had forged.

However, they could at least block it.

"So Shark 1, there are so many enemies... damn it!"

"Bear 1, we're encountering heavy enemy resistance at the police station inside Lincoln Hospital. Those bastards are just carelessly pouring bullets."

"Hadd-up barricades and gun ports found. Slow down and push slowly with drill charges and sticky bombs. Shields are already running low."

As always, when cornered, the mouse bites the cat.

And while most of the gang members had no military ties at all, there were quite a few who went on to become criminals after serving in the military.

Even though their bones were broken during the first raid by the Dagger Team, on the other hand, those who survived the raid were more agile than others and had excellent survival skills.

The remaining gang members continued to systematically resist using the best of their abilities.

It was dawn, when only rats and bugs were roaming around instead of people, but the flames of war that had risen from Lower Manhattan had already spread to the entire New York City.

“...What is this? Paper is falling from the sky?”

“Warning, all hostile forces within a 500m radius of the 2.5km section of the New Haven Line from Harlem 125th Street Station to Morris Avenue will be physically eliminated...What is this?”

“If you ignore this warning and declare your intention to engage, your life will be at stake...Ha, I guess my American friends still want to play the role of the kingpin.”

Meanwhile, Central Park did not sit idly by, even though Task Force Dagger was entrusted with all engagements.

Physically wiping out all gangs was certainly an appealing option for the US government in the midst of a virus apocalypse, but there was no law that said it had to happen.

As always, in times of need, it was better to avoid engagement as much as possible, and that was why the US military used unmanned drones to spread a kind of... leaflet.

There was quite a lot written, but to summarize it, it was as follows:

'We will restore the railroad.'

'If you interfere, we will turn you into ashes.'

'If you do it, we will let you off.'

A bold threat that reminded me of the US military opening Pakistani airspace with threats right after 9/11.

Naturally, the gangs and Rykers who heard this reaction were literally in chaos. It didn't take long for everything to unfold.

The New Haven Line passed through at least fifteen large and small mob jurisdictions, and at least the gang leaders in the jurisdictions that were penetrated by the New Haven Line were obsessed with the idea that they should not show weakness here.

Whether it was for pride or the interests of the gang.

Or because they wanted to bow down but were forced to act strong because of the stupid gang members who only had fighting and looting in their brains.

They had no choice but to pick a fight.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it.

"Ha, you American bastards, you're ridiculous. You're thinking of stopping Salvaturcha with such a ridiculous threat."

"Bloodhood will wait and see. We have nothing to do with the New Haven Line."

"You're a savage. Next up is you. Do you know how many subway lines run through Harlem and the Bronx?"

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

"Why do you need to know? Do you need to know where the Yankees are and what they're riding?"

It was a literal mess.

But at least a third, or as many as half, were quite indifferent.

The reason was simple. The gang members gathered there were Mexican-American, Salvadoran-American, Vietnamese, and South African. The United States was just a base, and many of the gang members had different hometowns.

That's why they didn't even care what the US government did. Instead, they were hoping that the government would collapse quickly and that a war would break out.

Naturally, the Rykers, who had come to fill the shortage of manpower and saw the gangs changing their signs to suicide hopefuls, were shocked.

White phosphorus, thermobaric grenades, and shotgun missiles were the ones who finally corrected the Rykers.

Whether it was because they were too absurd, or because they were afraid of Central Park's reach.

In any case, the Rykers realized that it was impossible to persuade the gangs any more, and they slowly left the room with a gesture that they could not communicate, but no one cared.

Strictly speaking, the Rykers were just annoying scouts to the gangs, and they only thought about and discussed how to distribute the shattered pieces of the gang and its byproducts - guns, to put it simply.

Naturally, it was a pointless discussion, like trying to force a car with four triangular wheels to roll.

"Do you think that makes sense now?"

"When there was a shootout, you couldn't even see the tip of their noses, and now you're saying that you're the same family and you're putting your spoon in it... It's going to be really annoying, you little punk."

"There are too many guys who talk nonsense about having open mouths... Don't you think there are too many of these guys in the Bronx? I think we need to quiet things down a little."

And the result was usually something that was only a step away from destruction.

The only reason they didn't fight was because everyone there had guns. Criminals were people who cared more about their lives than anyone else.

But that didn't mean that 'criminals used their time efficiently.'

The half-smart guys had no idea how fast the Task Force Dagger was swinging.

It took another ten minutes for the Gang Council, as they called themselves, to realize that in the fifteen minutes or so they had wasted, three groups had been wiped out.

At that time, northern Manhattan was a sea of ​​fire.

And in the midst of that chaos and noise, dozens of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and drones silently descended upon the darkness of the Bronx.

- Checked the large crowds and vehicles that were still running on the Upper West Side and Fordham University.

- They are very busy operating vehicles leisurely. Did you check what they are doing?

- Based on what we have gathered so far, they are definitely subversive people. Wouldn't it be better to wipe them out all at once?

- Wow, I shouldn't have poured everything into Lower Manhattan last time. There's no choice. Let's just take everything we have.

- I will give you the order.

The bombing of Lower Manhattan, where white phosphorus was poured in tens of tons.

The strength shown then was insignificant, and at this point, all the air force bases that Central Park could command had a surprisingly small number of white phosphorus bombs remaining.

If the numerous subways leading to the Air Force bases around New York could be restored, the worries would be considerably lessened, but for now, it was a dream.

But almost none was the same as none at all.

Enough incendiary bombs to burn down at least part of Fordham University, if not the entire Lower Manhattan area. They were loaded into the bomb bays of five drones.

The enemy was bloodshot, ready to put their finger on the trigger to get a piece of the pie that was left, but Central Park didn't know it.

For just ten minutes, the drones carrying the incendiary bombs hovered over Fordham University, and for the long time they had acquired the bombing coordinates, they were grateful that the enemy was trapped inside the building.

And then, how long did it take?

- Dropping white phosphorus (WPB away).

The moment a 500kg mass of white phosphorus was released from the sky, hundreds of bullets painted a beautiful white picture in the darkness.

It was a moment of bright light that warmed the bodies and minds of everyone in Central Park.

Except for the gangsters.