[Chapter 533: The World Stunned, The World in Fear]
While Linton was enjoying a lively party at home with Vivian Chow, Michelle Reis, and Catherine, the outside world was already turned upside down.
First, at Compton's Venom Nightclub -- the stronghold of the Dark Horse Gang -- blood had started dripping from the second and third floors as early as 12:30 a.m. But the people partying on the first floor were so caught up in their revelry that no one noticed. It wasn't until 2:30 a.m., when an unlucky patron slipped in the restroom and noticed he was covered in blood, that terror spread. His panicked screams alerted everyone, revealing that blood was steadily dripping down from upstairs. Large pools of blood had already formed across the first floor.
Only then did the crowd send people upstairs to investigate. What they found in several private rooms was unthinkable: dismembered bodies, severed in half. On the third floor, the Dark Horse Gang leaders lay headless, victims of brutal beheadings. Everyone was horrified beyond belief. Screaming in panic, half-dressed, they fled for their lives.
Some called the police, but when law enforcement learned the crime scene was in Compton, they refused to respond overnight. It wasn't until 7 a.m. that they sluggishly showed up.
...
Meanwhile, at the Red Bandana Gang hideout, several badly beaten girls finally regained consciousness. Upon seeing themselves lying in pools of blood and surrounded by decapitated corpses, they fainted again. They came to shortly after and crawled out of the estate, but with no vehicles passing nearby, stuck in a remote area, they dared not return. Clinging to one another, they staggered cautiously toward the city. By 3 a.m., they reached Gardena's downtown and finally found a public phone to report the massacre.
When Los Angeles police arrived, they were equally horrified by the scene. The death toll had reached 137 -- an overwhelming number. The case was so massive the officers hesitated to process it, sealing the area and calling for backup. Reinforcements arrived to photograph, collect forensic evidence, and identify the victims.
They confirmed the deaths happened between 11 p.m. and midnight the previous night. All the victims came from Chicago, heavily armed and expecting trouble.
This made the mystery even deeper. How could so many armed men be beheaded without any resistance? The crime scene showed the victims were occupied with their own activities when it happened. So who -- or what organization -- had the power to silence over a hundred fully armed gangsters and cut off their heads with such precision before they could fight back?
Even more bizarre, only traces of a few women were found at the scene. By the looks of it, these women were being assaulted by the gangsters when the killings occurred. No other footprints, fingerprints, or evidence remained.
The case's scale and the victims' origins swiftly prompted local authorities to hand the investigation over to the FBI. The FBI agents were as shaken as the LAPD, though they had no choice but to take over.
After both agencies consulted their higher-ups, they decided on joint custody of the case. The shocking brutality left top officials from both sides rising from their beds early to discuss strategy. It was no exaggeration to say the crime scenes surpassed anyone's darkest nightmares.
Each victim's neck was cleanly severed in one smooth slice -- something even seasoned officers recognized as an extraordinary feat across such numbers. It was nearly impossible to decapitate so many people quickly, quietly, and without any struggle.
How the killers achieved this was unfathomable. Normally, even restrained captives would resist fiercely. To slaughter more than a hundred individuals with such ruthless efficiency -- and leave no trace -- was beyond comprehension.
Though no one understood the full picture, they needed to act.
First, they would find witnesses: all the women present at the scenes, to learn the truth and potentially uncover the killers.
Second, they would seal off every entrance and exit to Los Angeles -- including airports and train stations -- to track suspicious individuals, though realistically they doubted the killers were still in the city.
Third, they would check every hotel, investigating recent guests for suspicious behavior.
Fourth, the crime scenes remained locked; the FBI would request advanced technical support to mine new evidence.
Fifth, for now, the media was kept in the dark. Thankfully, since the crimes happened deep in the night and in remote locations, no paparazzi had yet swarmed any of the scenes.
...
By 7 a.m., another LAPD unit finally arrived at Venom Nightclub in Compton. Seeing the carnage and the number of deaths, they panicked and quickly sealed off the location while reporting upward.
News of the Compton massacre reached the Gardena scene, leaving the top FBI and LAPD officials stunned. After reviewing the damage, they concluded beyond doubt it was the same group or organization behind both cases.
Together, the two incidents resulted in 352 deaths -- an unprecedented horror in American history, far surpassing the death toll of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Their minds raced, wondering what kind of organization dared to act with such brutality and madness. The fact that the crime became widely known locally, coupled with the arrival of reporters snapping photos and pushing for interviews, made containment impossible.
When a reporter bluntly asked, "Someone called the police around 2:30 a.m., so why did it take until 7 a.m. for officers to arrive?" the LAPD chief's face darkened with shame.
Forensic experts found the victims had died between 11 p.m. and midnight, with no signs of any intruder's footprint or fingerprints. But, unlike Gardena, the nightclub's first floor was crowded with revelers during the attacks -- could any of them provide clues?
This prospect energized the FBI and LAPD leaders. They dragged everyone who had partied there the night before back to the station for questioning.
---
By dawn, having enjoyed their night, Linton, Vivian Chow, Michelle Reis, and Catherine quietly prepared breakfast. The housekeeper, Amy, read aloud the early morning news. Assistant Li Xiaoran hurried in, breathless. "Boss, turn on the TV! There was a shocking mass murder in Los Angeles last night."
Amy quickly switched on the morning broadcast. The news was covering the Compton Dark Horse Gang slaughter. The blood-soaked images flashed briefly but were enough to make Vivian, Michelle, and Catherine all lose their appetite instantly.
To Linton's surprise, despite having wiped out five gang strongholds himself, only one location had been reported in the news so far. He silently criticized the reporters for their poor grasp on the story.
...
Setting the news aside, he finished breakfast. It was already 8:30 a.m. Linton and Vivian got ready to head to Universal Studios to continue shooting the music video. Before leaving, he asked Danny, "Where are the armored trucks and military Humvees?"
"Just spoke with them. They'll reach the city in two hours."
"Is everything arranged for their arrival?"
"All set. I'll take you to Universal first, then meet the convoy at the highway entrance."
Danny's attitude toward Linton had shifted noticeably from the previous day -- more respectful and tinged with a bit of awe.
The morning news had clearly rattled him. Danny finally grasped the immense power behind his boss, who calmly wiped out his enemies with ruthless efficiency. No wonder Linton had always appeared so unshaken.
With the Dark Horse Gang's demise as a warning, the other four gangs would think twice before making a move -- if they weren't already eliminated themselves. Of course, Danny had no inkling it was Linton himself who carried out the massacre.
---
At 9 a.m., as the FBI and LAPD scrambled, another bloody scene erupted in Compton -- the Blood Gang's gathering point. Someone there finally called to report a gruesome mass murder.
When the combined forces arrived, even with grim expectations, the scene shocked them beyond words.
Where previous killings were spread across rooms, here, over 200 bodies were piled in one hall. Each corpse was cut in half with pools of blood several inches deep -- an unthinkable river of red.
Even veteran leaders trembled in their boots, gripped by dread. What kind of enemy could inflict such savage vengeance?
Because it was broad daylight and in the city, countless reporters had already converged, some arriving ahead of police, snapping photos to immortalize the horror. The news was now impossible to suppress.
Facing three massive carnage sites, each involving gangs beheaded by identical brutal methods, investigators tried to unravel what had provoked such savage retribution.
...
As FBI agent Peter in Los Angeles analyzed the crime scenes, a chilling realization struck. The gangs had recently planned something identical -- an attempt to steal Linton's Vitality Pills. In fact, five gangs were involved.
Both FBI and LAPD had been well aware of this. Although they couldn't act directly, they heavily monitored these gangs, preventing any brazen moves.
But deliberately allowing the gangs to clamor and clash was part of a bigger plan; a bait-and-catch operation.
The Vitality Pills were highly coveted, and Linton had never considered the gangs' vested interests. The authorities hoped to seize the pills from the gangs and force Linton to pay protection fees from next month onward -- a win-win for law enforcement.
Peter's blood ran cold contemplating that this massacre might be the gangs' greed for the pills triggering the bloodbath. If that were true, the other two gangs might be next.
He signaled LAPD chief Crowell to speak privately. "Crowell, I'm convinced the Scorpion and Mule gangs could be next. I want to send a team over to check."
Crowell paled. "I already dispatched units there."
...
Soon, reports arrived from Long Beach and the suburbs: the Scorpion and Mule gangs had also been wiped out with the same merciless method. Since their territories were more remote, no one had discovered the carnage until now.
The truth was clear -- this was Linton's -- or his backers' -- bloody retaliation. They had mercilessly eliminated every gang that dared covet the Vitality Pills.
Even more telling, the killers hadn't bothered to conceal the slaughter -- no fires, no destroyed evidence -- leaving the gruesome scenes out in public view.
The intent was unmistakable: to shock and warn the entire world. Those daring to touch the Vitality Pills faced this brutal fate.
Moreover, the killing style was unprecedented -- personal, ghost-like, and leaving no trace. Anyone marked by this power would feel utterly insecure.
Peter and Crowell felt like the sky was falling. They struggled to handle the public outcry over thousand deaths and feared any reprisal from Linton or his shadowy supporters for earlier inaction.
Remaining at the scenes served no purpose. After brief discussion, they returned to the FBI office in Los Angeles to devise a plan.
...
They settled on three main points:
One, dispatch massive police forces to publicly investigate the murders. Even knowing it might be futile, this was necessary to quell public anger and prepare for closing the case.
Two, officially classify the five massacres as turf wars between Chicago's Red Bandana and San Francisco's Scorpion gangs invading Los Angeles' Mule, Blood, and Dark Horse gangs -- resulting in mutual devastation. This explanation, though weak and widely distrusted, would serve as the official narrative. Public belief mattered little; they controlled the final word.
Behind the scenes, those who truly understood the case's significance stayed silent -- no one dared speak out.
Especially the factions previously eyeing Linton's Beauty and Vitality Pills now trembled, scrapping all secret plans and vowing to avoid provocations. They wouldn't risk such deadly consequences.
Linton's fierce, bloody crackdown had undoubtedly sent a chilling message that surpassed expectations. "The whole world fears" was no exaggeration.
Three, mend relations with Linton and prepare for the impending launch of the Beauty and Vitality Pills. Security would be tightened to the highest level -- from escorting the pills from the airport to retail sites, to on-site protection during sales, especially on the critical sixth day of each month.
Most importantly, they sought to improve relations with Linton himself. That evening, both agencies visited him under the guise of enhancing protection measures and presented their new security plans.
*****
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