Inside the Shinra Headquarters conference room, a group of Shinra executives were gathered together in a meeting.
Sitting at the head was the President of Shinra, hands clasped, resting his chin on them, coldly watching his subordinates argue loudly.
What they discussed the most was how to deal with Avalanche and how to respond to the resurrected Sephiroth.
But in fact, this kind of meeting had already been held several times. It was just that before Sephiroth appeared, what they discussed the most was how to handle the Avalanche problem.
However, now that Sephiroth has appeared, a portion of the higher-ups have started having different opinions.
"I think the reappearance of Sephiroth is the more important issue. Avalanche is just a group of small-time troublemakers, they won't amount to anything," one executive proposed.
"Then do you know where Sephiroth is? How did he appear? Also, you saw the video, his terrifying strength is much harder to deal with than Avalanche. I think we should deal with Avalanche first. You should pick the soft persimmon to squeeze," said Heidegger. He only spoke these words after glancing at the Shinra president's expression. As the president's most trusted aide, he knew what the president was thinking.
Although Sephiroth is powerful and has piqued the Shinra president's interest, at the moment, to Shinra, Sephiroth doesn't count as a threat, because last night, all the Shinra executives saw that Sephiroth's target was not Shinra, but someone within Avalanche.
What's more important is that Sephiroth appeared suddenly and disappeared just as suddenly. Even if they had the intention, they were powerless. It would be better to first deal with Avalanche, whose hiding place has already been determined.
As the Shinra president's most capable aide, once Heidegger spoke, the voices in the conference room quieted considerably. So Heidegger continued, "According to the investigation by the Turks and reports from our informants, most of Avalanche's members are hiding in Sector 7..."
"Sector 7 is very large. We still haven't figured out their exact hiding spot," the Turks' director, Tseng, interrupted before Heidegger could finish. "Please give us a bit more time. It's not too late to act after we finish our investigation."
"If we wait for your investigation, Avalanche will definitely cause even more damage. Who will be responsible then? You?" Heidegger stared coldly at Tseng. As the head of the Public Safety Maintenance Department, every action Avalanche took was like a slap to his face. He hated Avalanche more than anyone.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" At this moment, the Shinra president suddenly spoke. He did indeed want to eliminate Avalanche first. Even though he thought they were just a swarm of flies, their actions were shaking Shinra's foundation. As someone in a high position, he naturally understood what was more important.
"It's very simple. No need to care where they're hiding. We'll just send people to kill everyone in Sector 7, just like what we've done in some areas of Wutai before." Heidegger made a throat-slashing gesture with a smile, but his smile was extremely cruel.
"Although we'll definitely kill innocents and some will escape, we'll definitely eliminate most of them," Heidegger added.
Upon hearing his words, the entire conference room instantly fell silent. Even the sound of breathing disappeared. Except for the Shinra president, most of the higher-ups looked at Heidegger with eyes full of fear.
'This guy... really dares to think like that...'
After a brief silence, someone stood up and objected, "No way, absolutely not! How many people does Avalanche even have? And how many people live in the slums? Just to deal with Avalanche, you want to kill all the poor people in Sector 7? Heidegger, you're simply a demon."
"To maintain Shinra's rule, so what if I become a demon? Besides, it's just a bunch of lowly poor people. It doesn't matter how many die, after all, the world never lacks the poor." Heidegger sneered, his mouth full of bright white teeth clashing together like a guillotine as he spoke.
Then he stood and faced the silent Shinra president, saying, "Mr. President, as long as you give the word, tonight I'll lead people to the Sector 7 slums and kill them all."
The Shinra president remained silent. Everyone held their breath and stared at him. At this moment, a single word from him would decide the life or death of countless people in Sector 7.
After a while, as the atmosphere in the conference room became more and more tense, the Shinra president finally spoke.
"No. If news of a civilian massacre spreads, then anti-Shinra organizations around the world will have even more reason to act. At that point, opposition against Shinra will only grow stronger," the Shinra president said, shaking his head.
Hearing this, many people let out a sigh of relief. Heidegger also sat back down with a forced smile.
"But…" the Shinra president continued, "Avalanche has indeed gotten too arrogant recently. We must teach them a lesson."
Heidegger was pleased and stood up again to ask, "Then what does the president plan to do?"
"You just said that most of Avalanche's people are hiding in Sector 7's slums and can't be identified quickly, right?" the Shinra president turned to ask Tseng.
Tseng nodded, "They're living among the slum dwellers, it's very hard to distinguish them."
"So, we'll just kill them all, once and for all," the Shinra president said, glancing at Heidegger. "But instead of sending people to kill them, we'll dismantle the Sector 7 plate pillar, let the plate fall, and bury the entire slum underneath. Then we'll claim it was done by Avalanche, that they were trying to destroy the No. 7 Mako Reactor and the upper plate."
Just as Barret said earlier, the upper plate is like a sour and smelly pizza, also divided into eight sectors just like the slums, connected by elevated highways. If one sector falls, it doesn't affect the others.
"But... wouldn't the losses be huge?" After being shocked by the president's bold plan, the Shinra executives were silent for a while. Then someone asked again.
"Also, repairing the plate and cleaning up the slums would require a lot of time and resources. President, let's consider another option."
"Hmph, why repair or clean up? Does Shinra lack those resources?" the president scoffed. "Even if Midgar is destroyed, we can still build ten more just like it, no, even bigger cities. As long as we maintain Shinra's control, what does a little sacrifice matter?"
"It's decided. Heidegger, you handle the details."
After speaking, the Shinra president walked over to Heidegger, patted him on the shoulder, and then left the conference room.
"Please rest assured, Mr. President. I'll carry this out flawlessly," Heidegger said, bowing deeply with respect.
When the door to the conference room closed, Heidegger finally straightened his back and swept a cold glance at the remaining Shinra executives, "Everyone, please don't go home to rest tonight. Stay at your posts and await orders. I hope you'll all give your best for Shinra's long-term rule."
After saying this, Heidegger also left, leaving the Shinra executives staring at each other before gradually filing out of the room.
Scarlet was the last to leave. Her face was dark as she hurried to her office.
As she opened the office door, she waved to Yuffie and Sonon, who were chatting inside, while pulling out her phone and dialing a number.
———
[Sector 7, Seventh Heaven Bar.]
Worried about Aiden's safety, Tifa paced back and forth in the bar. Jessie sat in a corner, eyes blank, staring at her.
Although Barret had tried to comfort them, and the two women had managed to stay calm for a while, as evening approached and Aiden still hadn't returned, they both grew more and more anxious.
Suddenly, the bar phone rang. Tifa rushed over and picked it up, just as she was about to speak, Scarlet's voice came from the other end.
"Tifa, don't speak yet. Let me finish."
Hearing Scarlet's urgent tone, Tifa swallowed the words on her lips and listened as Scarlet said, "Right now, notify your organization's members... and Aiden. Tell them the Shinra president plans to send people to dismantle the Sector 7 plate's pillar, letting the plate fall and bury the entire slum underneath."
"Aiden is still alive." After hearing Scarlet's message, the first thing Tifa noticed was that Aiden was still alive. Then she screamed in shock, "What did you just say?!"
———
Shinra's actions were extremely swift. While Aiden and Aerith were still on their way to Seventh Heaven, a large number of Shinra soldiers appeared at every intersection of Sector 7 aboard helicopters. Then, under Shinra's broadcast media announcement, using the excuse of guarding and preventing Avalanche members from escaping, they prohibited anyone from entering or leaving.
At the same time, evacuation operations also began for the Sector 7 Plate. Although most of the people living in the Sector 7 Plate were ordinary Shinra employees, as technical resources, they were hard to cultivate. Even a big and powerful company like Shinra did not intend to discard them like garbage.
Looking at the helicopters flying across the sky, Aiden and Aerith felt their hearts tighten and quickened their pace once again. By the time they arrived at the Seventh Heaven bar, only Tifa and Marlene, whom Barret had brought over for Tifa to look after, were inside.
"Aiden, thank goodness, you really are alright." Although Tifa had been uneasy ever since hearing Scarlett's message, she immediately calmed down upon seeing Aiden return safely. She stood up and threw herself into Aiden's arms.
"Where are the others?" Aiden patted Tifa's back and asked.
"Jessie informed Barret and the others to go," Tifa raised her head from Aiden's arms and said, "Just now Scarlett opened the call and said that the Shinra President intends to send people to dismantle the support pillar of the Sector 7 Plate."
"I already know." Aiden sighed, then let go of Tifa and said, "You and Aerith take Marlene and leave this place first."
"What about you?" Tifa and Aerith, who was already holding Marlene, asked in unison.
"I'm going to stop the plate from falling." Aiden pulled out a handgun and said coldly.
Since the motorcycle had been left at Mako Reactor No. 5, Aiden could only walk to the Sector 7 Pillar. However, he hadn't run far when he saw someone riding a motorcycle passing by. Aiden directly rushed over, pulled the person off the bike, and threw a large wad of money from his system space into the person's face.
"If you can escape, just get a new one."
After saying that, Aiden got on the motorcycle and sped off toward the Sector 7 Pillar.
However, during this time, he noticed that although he had left Tifa behind, there was no appearance of Sephiroth. This made him a bit surprised.
But thinking too much would affect his mood, so Aiden simply threw all the doubts from his mind and twisted the motorcycle throttle to the max.
When Aiden arrived near the Sector 7 Pillar, the battle to defend it had already begun. Barret, who received the message, was climbing the spiral staircase on the pillar with Biggs and others. Beside them were also some unfamiliar faces, these people were members of Avalanche's main branch.
They held all kinds of weapons, shouting slogans about protecting the planet and the Sector 7 Pillar, charging forward fearlessly, fighting the Shinra soldiers guarding the pillar for control of it.
Meanwhile, next to the top of the pillar, several helicopters hovered around it. They were simultaneously live broadcasting the firefight between Avalanche and Shinra soldiers to the slum dwellers, while shouting at Avalanche members,
"People of Avalanche, listen up. We know your target is the Sector 7 Pillar. We will never let your plot succeed. We will protect the Sector 7 Pillar to the death. Shinra will never yield to your threats and acts of terror. Now, please leave the pillar immediately. Repeating, now, please leave the pillar immediately."
"Cut the crap, you bastards!" Barret, gasping for breath as he climbed the stairs, heard the helicopter's announcement. How could he not understand what they meant, they were trying to pin the blame entirely on Avalanche. Furious, he raised the machine gun on his arm and fired at the helicopter.
But this kind of shooting had no effect on the helicopters. Instead, this scene was edited and broadcast, making the slum residents believe even more firmly that Avalanche had come to blow up the Sector 7 Pillar.
For a moment, the entire slum erupted in curses from those watching the livestream, including the controlled residents of Sector 7. But they didn't know that Avalanche was currently risking their lives to save them.
Although Shinra had prepared more thoroughly than Avalanche, which had organized manpower temporarily, under the relentless assault of the fearless Avalanche members, many platforms on the pillar had already been broken through. However, the cost was that fewer and fewer Avalanche main branch members remained following Barret and the others.
At this point, Aiden had already started climbing the stairs. His speed was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, he had climbed more than ten floors. But for the nearly 300-meter-tall pillar, this was only the beginning.
Moreover, as he continued to climb upward, some Shinra soldiers had already noticed him. Seeing that he wasn't wearing any Shinra uniform, they assumed he was with Avalanche and opened fire on him.
In the past, Aiden generally wouldn't kill anyone. After all, in his view, Shinra's low-level employees and ordinary soldiers were just trying to survive. But now, it was different, they were accomplices in the plan to destroy Sector 7. So Aiden didn't show them any mercy and pulled out his gun to shoot back.
Revolvers normally had weak firepower, but Aiden's was an epic-grade revolver. Although it wasn't enough to deal with someone like Sephiroth, it was an excellent tool for clearing out regular Shinra troops. After one round of shooting, over a dozen Shinra soldiers returned to the Lifestream, no, they would probably be sucked into the Mako Reactor and turned into free electricity for Midgar to waste.
It wasn't only Shinra soldiers who noticed him, nearby helicopters did too. Some of these helicopters were Shinra's armed helicopters, equipped with powerful firepower. Seeing that Aiden was charging upward with no one able to stop him, they prepared to pour firepower down on him.
But while armed helicopters could withstand Barret's arm-mounted rotary gun, in the face of Aiden's energy blasts, they were as fragile as paper. Before those helicopters could even fire, they were struck down by a barrage of energy blasts.
"That guy, it's that guy! Pull up! He's targeting us!"
In another armed helicopter high in the air sat Reno and Rude of the Turks. Seeing Aiden easily shoot down several helicopters and then turn his gaze toward them, they were so frightened that they screamed and immediately piloted the helicopter to ascend.
"Tch, they run pretty fast."
Aiden regretfully lowered his revolver. His eyesight was excellent, he saw the two people in the helicopter. Thinking that killing them might even change some parts of the plot, he had intended to take them out, but didn't expect those two guys to be so quick-witted. Just as he raised his gun, they fled.
Shaking his head, Aiden continued upward. After climbing a few more floors, he suddenly noticed a fat man falling from the platform several levels above.
It was Wedge.
Aiden's gaze sharpened, and he immediately reached his hand out beyond the stairs, swiftly and accurately grabbing Wedge's arm. However, Wedge was too fat, and it was a fall from a great height. Even with Aiden's physical strength, he was almost pulled down by the force of the fall.
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