From Apocalypse To Entertainment Circle (BL)-Chapter 24: Hero or Madman? Sian’s Broadcast Leaves Millions Speechless

Chapter 24: Hero or Madman? Sian’s Broadcast Leaves Millions Speechless

Bullets rained down on the house like a torrential downpour. The glass windows shattered, wooden frames splintered, and even the walls were now riddled with holes.

Sian knew their fate would be just like those walls—full of holes. And soon, their bodies would be the same. He had to do something. Otherwise, it’s game over.

He crouched low, moving swiftly toward the terrorist in Wu Hao’s custody.

Lan Qisheng saw Sian moving through the hail of gunfire and shouted in frustration, "Sian! Stay put! Get back here now!"

But Sian acted as if he hadn’t heard Lan Qisheng’s barking orders, which only fueled the latter’s anger.

Reaching Wu Hao’s side, Sian found him shielding the prisoner. His mission was to protect the captive, meaning he couldn’t engage in combat or assist the others. His furrowed brows twitched with anxiety. Sian locked eyes with him and said, word for word, "If you want everyone in this room to survive, you’ll do exactly as I say. Or at the very least, you won’t get in my way. I don’t have time to explain or convince you. So tell me now—will you cooperate, or do I knock you out?"

Wu Hao was at a loss. His mind wasn’t in a state to process Sian’s words, let alone scold him for threatening a fellow soldier. But when he met Sian’s gaze, something stirred inside him. He didn’t know how to describe it, but his gut told him—so long as this boy was here, they would make it out alive. No doubt about it.

He even felt ashamed. As a soldier—no, as a grown man twice the size of the teenager before him—how could he dump such a heavy responsibility onto those slender shoulders? It was disgraceful.

"Hey, I’m talking to you." Sian waved a hand in front of Wu Hao’s face, snapping him out of his daze.

After two seconds of hesitation, Wu Hao nodded and said, "I’ll do it. I’ll cooperate. I don’t want to see anyone die today."

Sian nodded in approval, though inwardly, he couldn’t help but think that these soldiers seemed a bit... slow. Last time, Lan Qisheng had spaced out during a fight with wolves. Now this blockhead was doing the same thing. God knows what they were thinking.

Sian sighed and pushed the thought aside. He didn’t have time to worry about such things. He had to act before the people outside broke in—otherwise, his plan would fail.

So, under the watchful eyes of the contestants, Lan Qisheng, the soldiers, and the tense audience, Sian and Wu Hao moved the prisoner to a better position—one that was in full view of the hovering cameras and those mounted inside the house.

Then, Sian pulled out his knife. He cast one last glance at Wu Hao and spoke in a low, firm voice. "No matter what I do next, don’t even think about stopping me. And keep anyone else from interfering. Got it?"

Wu Hao could tell Sian was about to do something extreme—hence the warning. Honestly, he was hesitant. But with the terrorists outside still firing relentlessly, they were running out of time. Maybe... just maybe, Sian could turn the tide of this battle. It was worth a shot.

Sian stepped forward, facing the camera. Then, with a broad smile and a voice as casual as if he were chatting about the weather, he said, "Hey there, you bootlicking lapdog. Remember me? We had a little chat yesterday. How’s life treating you? Things on my end are a little... fiery."

He tilted his head slightly, his expression still lighthearted as he continued, "So, why don’t you tell your little goons outside to back off and leave us alone? They’re like flies—annoying as hell."

As he finished speaking, his gaze shifted downward to the prisoner at his feet. The man was starting to regain consciousness.

Sian’s smile vanished. His eyes sharpened as he looked back at the camera.

"Listen carefully, you mutt. I know you’re watching this live broadcast, so I’ll say this once."

He crouched down, grabbing the prisoner by the hair and yanking his face toward the camera.

"Pull your dogs back in the next thirty seconds. If you don’t..."

Sian let his words hang ominously before lifting his military knife.

"...I’ll kill him. You need him, don’t you? Then you’d better behave."

"Oh, and just so you don’t think I’m bluffing—"

Without hesitation, Sian drove his knife into the man’s leg. A bloodcurdling scream tore through the room.

"Alright then," Sian said, his voice eerily calm. "The countdown starts now. 30, 29, 28..."

The prisoner’s scream jolted everyone inside the house. All eyes turned toward the source of the sound.

Shock spread across their faces—especially Lan Qisheng, who roared, "Sian! Wu Hao! What the hell are you two doing?!"

Sian didn’t even flinch. "Negotiating with criminals. Don’t mind me. Focus on the people outside."

Lan Qisheng nearly coughed up blood at Sian’s indifferent tone.

"Sian, I’m not talking about your ’negotiation’—why did you attack the prisoner?!" he demanded furiously.

The room wasn’t that large, and with the morning sun shining brightly through the broken windows, everyone could see Sian gripping the knife still embedded in the prisoner’s thigh. Blood dripped from the wound, staining the floor with an ominous red.

But Sian did not explain. Instead, he turned back to the camera, his tone almost playful. "Oh dear, oh dear. I lost my train of thought. Now, what should we do?" His voice carried a theatrical regret as if he truly felt bad about it.

The audience watching the live broadcast exploded.

Some were cursing, demanding explanations from those who had claimed Sian was nothing but a pretty face with no acting skills.

"How is this bad acting?! Look at his expressions, his movements! Are you blind?!"

Of course, those comments were overshadowed by the outrage over his ruthless actions. Many were screaming that Sian was straight-up murdering someone on live TV.

And then, to their horror—and fascination—Sian pulled out the knife and stabbed it into another spot without so much as blinking.

The audience: "..."

Lan Qisheng: "..."

Wu Hao: "..."

Wu Hao nearly fell to his knees. Brother, isn’t this a bit too much?

Even though the man was a criminal, for some reason, Wu Hao felt a hint of sympathy for him. The poor guy had ended up in the hands of this beautiful yet deadly devil.

As the knife sank in deeper, Sian spoke to the camera again, his tone as if he were chatting with an old friend.

"Alright, servant boy, I’m not a patient man. Let’s make this simple—I’ll count to ten. If the area around me isn’t silent by then... I can’t guarantee where my next stab will land."

"1, 2, 3, 4..."

—

Two minutes earlier.

Liam lounged comfortably in Director Han’s chair, snacking on nuts as he watched the show unfold on his monitor. If people hadn’t seen what he was watching, they might have thought he was enjoying a lighthearted rom-com. His grin nearly reached his ears.

Not only had they finally found the man they’d been searching for, but that same man had also single-handedly spread terror across the world and made their organization’s name infamous. The boss would be thrilled. Maybe even promote him. Naturally, Liam was quite pleased.

But his joy was short-lived.

When he saw Sian drag the prisoner into view and then plunge a knife into his leg, Liam’s veins bulged in fury.

Still, he had no intention of complying with the brat’s demands. That delicate-looking kid? Sure, he stabbed the guy, but kill him? Not a chance.

Just as he was about to order his men to increase their assault, his phone rang.

It was his boss.

Liam paled, sweating as he answered. "Sir, no, sir! Everything is under control."

He listened, his expression growing darker with each passing second.

"Sir, that’s impossible. How can you believe a child—"

"...This... no, I just..."

"...Yes, sir. Understood. I’ll do as you command."

Liam hung up, cursing loudly as he kicked his chair.

"That damn brat... when I get my hands on him, he’ll wish he was never born."

"Sir, what happened?" Liam’s subordinate asked as he approached, startled by his master’s rare display of anger.

Liam’s voice was sharp as he commanded, "Pull back all our men surrounding the house. Tell them to retreat immediately."

"What? But sir, we’re about to capture that traitor! Why retreat now when we have the upper hand?"

"Do as I say, you fool!" Liam snapped, hurling his cap at the subordinate. "This is an order from above. The big boss said we can’t let that man die. That teenager attacking him isn’t bluffing—he’ll kill him if we don’t pull back at once."

The subordinate paled, hesitated for only a second, then quickly retreated to inform the others and order them to fall back.

---

Meanwhile, on Sian’s side—

"Seven, eight, nine..."

Just as Sian was about to say *ten*—his blade poised to slash the man’s throat in a single motion—the gunfire outside suddenly stopped.

Seconds later, sounds of movement echoed from beyond the walls. The people outside were retreating.

Wu Hao exhaled in relief, his gaze shifting toward Sian with newfound respect. But Sian merely ignored him.

Lan Qisheng stormed up to Sian, his voice laced with barely contained fury. "Is this what you call a negotiation strategy? All you did was act like a criminal! How could you attack someone with a knife? Do you realize that makes you a criminal yourself?"

Sian scoffed. "Oh? And tell me, would ’you’ have been able to protect everyone and get them out of this house alive without me ’acting like a criminal’?"

"You—You—!"

"Enough!" Sian cut him off, rubbing his temples. "Listen carefully, don’t try to shove your military philosophies down my throat. I’m not a soldier, and I’m not one of your subordinates. If killing scum like him is what it takes to keep myself and my people alive, I won’t hesitate for a second. As for your whole, ’the law will deal with criminals’ nonsense—I don’t care. If there had been any other way for us to survive, I wouldn’t have even looked at that man."

His gaze turned cold. "Now, instead of lecturing me, why don’t you focus on actually finding a way to negotiate with the terrorists and get the innocent people out of this damn forest? That is your job, isn’t it?"