Chapter 518: National Blockade
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
When he returned to the church, Jiang Chen refused all media interviews and took Ayesha in the black Benz with the vehicle of the four bodyguards following close behind in the direction of the university gate. But at the gate, they were flagged down by the police.
When Jiang Chen rolled down his window and asked the security, he was informed that there was a curfew on the street and the surrounding area had been completely quarantined.
Jiang Chen noticed the police’s eyes lingered for a long time on Ayesha’s face.
The university gate was surrounded by a sizable crowd. To prevent accidents from occurring, the police began to assist security in dispersing the traffic. From the armored vehicles roaming outside to the helicopters hovering above, Jiang Chen started to realize the severity of the situation.
Jiang Chen asked Ayesha to drive the car to the parking lot beside the library as he immediately took off his seatbelt.
Ayesha also prepared to leave the car, but Jiang Chen immediately put his hand on her hand.
“Wait in the car. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“But—”
“I’ll scope out the situation outside. Listen to me.” Jiang Chen gently squeezed her hand to comfort her before getting out of the car.
Instincts told him that something severe might have happened outside, like a terrorist attack.
Ayesha’s identity was quite sensitive to the situation; although she was Jiang Chen’s assistant and bodyguard, it was hard to ensure that the nationalists who lost all rationality wouldn’t do something extreme to her at this critical period of time.
In order to prevent unnecessary trouble, it was better for Ayesha to not expose herself.
Perhaps she read something from Jiang Chen’s eyes that Ayesha lowered her head in remorse.
“Sorry, I’m causing you trouble.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” Both Jiang Chen’s hands leaned against the door as he looked at her tenderly. “Just leave this to me.”
A comforted smile emerged on her face.
“Mhmm.”
He ordered two bodyguards to stay in the car while he took the other two to rush to the church. But when he arrived at the grass field in front of the church, the gala had been suspended.
Beside the wooden table of the church, the student organization leader Chen Yuqiao stared at the empty venue with an urge to cry. She wanted to use the speech delivered by Jiang Chen to host an unprecedented Han student gala.
But reality pulled a prank on her.
Not long after Jiang Chen’s speech ended, the opera house two streets down was attacked by terrorists. The Frankberg government not only sent in their army but a state of emergency was also declared through media and a curfew was established in Ber.
With this status quo, the gala was obviously canceled.
“What exactly happened outside?” Jiang Chen walked up to Chen Yuqiao.
Chen Yuqiao smiled bitterly. Before she spoke, the vice director looked at Jiang Chen and said with an apologetic tone:
“Just 15 minutes ago, the Ber Opera House was attacked by terrorists. The streets have been closed down and put under lockdown… Social media platforms have been flooded with news of the attack.” As she spoke, she showed him her phone screen.
Just then, Jiang Chen’s phone rang.
Xia Shiyu’s anxious voice immediately came through. The moment she found out about Frankberg’s terrorist’s attack, she immediately thought of Jiang Chen who was attending the auto exhibition in Frankberg.
“How are you doing there? Are…Are you okay?”
News of the attack was already transmitted to the rest of the globe which made Jiang Chen think back to the Fran attack earlier that year. It was a similar situation since Fran’s government closed their borders. Based on the situation outside, his flight was probably going to be delayed.
“Be calm, I’m okay. You know, I don’t have such an artistic tendency to watch operas.” Jiang Chen did his best to use a casual tone to comfort Xia Shiyu before he continued. “But the situation outside isn’t looking so good, so my return flight is probably going to be delayed.”
When Xia Shiyu heard Jiang Chen was safe, her tense heart finally felt relieved.
“… As long as you’re okay. You have to be careful there.”
Although Jiang Chen was confident he would be fine, his heart still warmed up when he heard Xia Shiyu’s caring words.
“Don’t worry; I’m safe on this side.”
Jiang Chen hung up the phone and hesitated a while before he called the Xin Embassy in Frankberg to inquire about the status outside. Then he called Carmen Rothschild.
When the phone connected, Carmen’s voice came through.
“Good evening, my friend. Since you called at this time… I guess you must be outside.”
“I’m at the University of Ber.” Jiang Chen let out a sigh.
“The University of Ber? Okay, I’ll immediately arrange for people to pick you up… In around two hours, since it’s not safe outside,” Carmen said.
Although there were a lot of things Jiang Chen wanted to ask, he resisted the temptation in the end.
While he didn’t have any direct evidence, from Carmen’s reaction in the morning and the calmness in this voice now, the Rothschilds were clearly connected to this attack in some way. But what Jiang Chen didn’t understand was: what did they have to gain out of it?
[Could it be…]
The cloudiness in his head suddenly had a hint of clarity.
“Are you listening?” Seeing as Jiang Chen had no reaction, Carmen probed him.
“Mhmm… Please and thank you.”
“It’s nothing, I have a good relationship with the Deputy, so he will pick you up in a bit. I’m truly sorry; your flight tomorrow may be delayed.” Carmen used an apologetic tone.
“Frankberg will close its borders?” Jiang Chen asked.
“Five minutes ago, the parliament enacted emergency protocols and the borders will be shut for three days,” Carmen said.
His left fist pressed against the wall as Jiang Chen cursed.
“What a disaster.”
“That’s right. Mhmm, the two cars can be parked in the garage of the library. I’ll send people to pick them up tomorrow.”
Jiang Chen hung up the phone and watched the student organization leader Chen Yuqiao walking in his direction.
“I’m sorry that such a thing happened; the school is closed. We can provide housing for you if you need.” Chen Yuqiao bowed down apologetically.
“No need to trouble you guys, someone will pick me up soon.” Jiang Chen smiled and signaled it was unnecessary to apologize.
Chen Yuqiao didn’t insist further.
But just as Jiang Chen was prepared to leave, she anxiously asked him.
Although she already had Jiang Chen’s phone number, it was through an improper method and she used the office’s phone to call Jiang Chen. If possible, she wanted to use the opportunity to properly exchange phone numbers with Jiang Chen.
To store on her personal phone.
“Could-could I please get your number?”
Jiang Chen took a moment to process her request before he smiled.
“Of course.”
Because he still had two hours, Jiang Chen didn’t directly return to the library after leaving the church. Instead, he first called Xie Lei. When he was aware of what was going on in the hospital, Jiang Chen felt reassured.
Jiang Chen didn’t see him for the entire duration of the trip but he was worried about the little guy. When he knew he was safe, Jiang Chen hung up the phone and headed to the university gates.
Currently, there was still a large crowd outside the gates. Although the police helped disperse most of the crowd, a lot of non-university personnel and students who lived off-campus surrounded the gate, shouting that they wanted to go home.
When Jiang Chen walked to the edge of the crowd, he obtained information about the outside.
“It’s rumored that the refugees launched a terrorist attack – I knew those people were bad. Look what they brought from the Middle East! Crime, garbage, and now terrorism… People who let them in the borders must be crazy.”
“I heard Sim and the Austrian President are all inside; I wonder what the situation is now.”
“Quick! Look at this Twitter, three minutes ago… Oh, Dear God, our President, our President died!”
Someone blew a whistle. “Aha, I bet the boys from the Gulf played themselves this time.”
Someone roared in indignation, “Why did they do it? God, were we not kind enough to them?”
Someone shook their head. “Who knows? You can never understand what religious madmen are thinking. We always tolerate them, but they seem to always want more.”
Hearing all this conversation, Jiang Chen obtained a general understanding of the situation and turned back in the direction of the library.
The Ber Opera House was attacked by terrorists.
The German president was killed.
All this was probably related to the Rothschilds.
[But why?]
[Or rather, what’s he planning?]
Right now, the university students either returned to their dorms or gathered around the gate; there wasn’t a soul on the discreet path to the library. Aside from faint light from the underground garage, the entire area around the library was dark.
His shadow was dragged along as he walked on the desolated path.
Just as he was trying to make sense of everything, a gunshot rang out from afar.
He suddenly raised his head as he stared in the direction of the library’s underground garage.
