DARK GANG

Chapter 157: Dark Gang

[DARK GANG]

From shore to shore, the island stretched like a lifeless wasteland abandoned by nature itself. The only structure standing amidst the vast expanse was a five-story concrete building rising from the barren ground like a watchtower overlooking a graveyard. It had never been intended to serve as a residence. Instead, it functioned solely as an observation post for the shooters appointed by the Bureau-tasked with delivering announcements and maintaining order during wartime.

The sound of alarms echoed throughout the entire island. Several people winced and covered their ears, unable to withstand the alarm's overwhelming volume. Then it stopped, pero kapalit nito ang boses ng isang lalaki-na nakatayo tila watchtower kung tawagin. Ang boses nito ay tila isang banyaga dahil sa kakaibang accent nito sa pagsasalita ng English at hindi nagtagalog sa buong oras na nagsalita siya.

"Welcome to the Dead Island, gangs. I know most of you are already familiar with this island. However, for the newcomers, allow me to introduce it once again. This place is called Dead Island because, as you can plainly see, nothing lives here anymore. No trees survive. No animals remain. Nature itself abandoned this land long ago. It is the largest island in the entire country, but only official gangs and the council know about this. It is private property owned by the Council, which means whatever happens here falls beyond the jurisdiction of the government. You may rest assured that only we know what transpires on this island. And here, killing is legal.

Let me also introduce the War Intelligence and Compliance Bureau in consideration of our newcomers. This bureau is an independent wartime authority tasked with monitoring all military operations, enforcing wartime laws and regulations, gathering and verifying intelligence from every theater of conflict, and ensuring accountability among gangs. Acting as the eyes and ears of the Council, the Bureau collects strategic, political, and battlefield information through its network of operatives, analysts, and inspectors, then compiles and distributes accurate reports to the Council for their review.

Although established by the Council and serving as its eyes and ears, the Bureau operates independently and is not subject to the Council's control. The Bureau remains autonomous in carrying out its own duties and rules, except when a directive to halt a war-whether temporarily or permanently-is issued. Such authority is vested solely in the Thirteenth and may only be exercised upon meeting the required conditions.

As for the rules, there are only a few. In this war, your objectives are simple: kill or die. Whenever you hear the alarm-as you did earlier-you are required to stop immediately and listen to the announcement. Whether it concerns the prohibition of specific equipment, the lifting of restrictions, a temporary ceasefire, or any other wartime directive, compliance is mandatory. Anyone who fails to stop once the alarm sounds and violates the rules that have been announced will be fired upon by the shooters stationed throughout this building. Do not worry. They will only act under the circumstances I have mentioned and will not participate directly in the fighting out of respect for the war itself. Because of that, attacking any of the shooters stationed in this tower is strictly forbidden. Should anyone attempt it, the shooters will not hesitate to eliminate the entire gang responsible.

Some of you are probably thinking that war is supposed to be chaotic, so why should we have rules? Why are we here? Yes, every war is chaotic. You will become caught up in that chaos as well. But even in war, there must be rules to follow-not to limit your strength, but to remind you that your will is not absolute, that you do not stand above everyone else. No matter how powerful you become or how many victories you achieve, you are still accountable to something greater than yourselves.

For the first seven hours of the war, everyone will rely solely on physical strength. No firearms may be used."

A moment later, the alarm blared once more. The ships that had transported both factions immediately departed from the shoreline, leaving behind thousands of combatants stranded upon the island. There would be no retreat. Only victory or death.