The Tribulation
It all began in small drips of fear.
It didn't happen like the movies where hordes of people experienced a monumental shift in their lives in a matter of minutes. There was nothing dramatic about the little changes that happened in troubled spots around the globe. Terror moved like the sloth. Slowly and patiently yet decisively and absolute.
When the fires in Australia and California broke out, the fear was localized only in those areas. When Covid-19 spread, the fear was focused on a single race: The Chinese. The military confrontations in Syria, Africa and elsewhere affected only as much as it affected the global supply chain. When the freedom of the people in Hong Kong was threatened by an encroaching police state, there were no International Police force that came in to save the day. People on Reddit moved on to the next "viral" thing after. It was the cult of forgetfulness that laid hold of every 5 minute keyboard warrior.
Change happened gradually. Fear happened locally.
It wasn't like the movies at all.
"7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth."
Revelations 11:7
The Christian Holy Bible
But for some, preparations were already underway. Some people say that what the public knows is only less than 5% of what is really going on. Nobody does research anymore and everybody consumed news on their Twitter and Facebook feeds. If the news moved them, they make a comment. If it somehow made them feel a little bit more than "meh", they gave it a like. If they felt that other people should do something about it, they gave it a share or a retweet. How this behavior would play out in the grand scheme of things, one can only speculate.
"Things are unfolding as planned." said the young Chinese man to the man in the dark. The two were in an obscure corner in one of the dirty streets of Manila, the Philippines. The man in the dark slapped something on the chest of the Chinese man's white shirt.
It was a newspaper.
The young Chinese man took affront at the gesture, but checked himself emotionally to stave off feelings of physical retribution. He fought against this instinct as he gradually looked at the piece of paper.
In his mind, he knew he was capable of - or at least had the skills and training to take on the man in the dark. He graduated at the top of his class before joining the People's Liberation Army. He got recruited by the MSS 中华人民共和国国家安全部 (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guójiā Ānquán Bù) or the Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China barely a month after training. He particularly excelled in military intelligence, social engineering, political destabilization and of all things, cyber propaganda. Still in his late twenties, Huáng Fēijin, knew better than to assault his temperamental handler, whom he only knew as "Hong".
He opened the newspaper and tried to read with the ambient light.
Huang grew up as a poor kid in one of China's poorer provinces but teachers noted his remarkable intelligence and keen observation skills. When Huang was 10, the Communist Party embarked on a "Western Immersion Education Program" that immersed promising Chinese students in Western Culture. They watched endless movies, got taught by American teachers English and most of all was sent to one of China's "model cities" designed specifically to look like an exact replica of their Western counterparts. By virtue of Huang's intelligence and skills, the People's Republic deemed it fit that Huang move in with an American couple in a replica city that looked like downtown Chicago. The product of China's successful counter-intelligence operations, the "converted" American couple brought him up as their own child.
The newspaper's headline read, "Senate Inquiry on Chinese Online Gambling launched."
"Measures are underway." said the man in the dark.
"But this is a part of the plan." replied Huang. "This was anticipated."
"Changes have been made in the plan." retorted the man in the dark. "Our local dog is too fearful. The money may not be enough to dissipate his fear."
"The operation is too big to change. This was anticipated." repeated Huang.
"The decision is mine. It has been made. I made it. We are going to proceed with Dead Lotus." the dark man was growing impatient.
"Make the appropriate preparations. Assemble your team from the pool. You have your assets. The dice is rolling." added the man in the dark.
"Do this for the Republic. Do this for the Party."
Huang understood what this meant and the anticipation gripped his being. They were going to proceed with a thin-line operation that could alter their operational efficiency. Although this was part of his training, he personally haven't executed this type of operation before. He knew the repercussions, he knew what it meant and he knew most of all, what the price will be for failure.
They were going to assassinate a top level foreign senator.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Daniel_Lyt
Daniel_Lyt Thinking of adding more background to Huang's covert operations in the Philippines.
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