Before long, the venue was fully arranged. A group of people emerged from the office building. At the very front walked a woman in a black tailored suit. Her short hair was glossy and immaculate, every strand in place. Her expression was cold, her bearing authoritative.
Jiang Fu’s gaze locked onto her.
Liang Xie.
Her fingers tightened unconsciously. The black cat in her pocket sensed the change in her mood and struggled up, popping out a face that seemed to have grown rounder. “Who did you see? Another enemy of yours?”
Jiang Fu was silent for a moment before replying, “She’s not on my revenge list.”
She didn’t deny the word enemy. The black cat automatically interpreted that as a strained relationship—neither ally nor friend, though not to the extent of seeking direct revenge.
Sensing her foul mood, the cat tried to lighten the atmosphere. “By the way, people here sure are idle. They’re all so enthusiastic about watching the excitement.”
Jiang Fu said calmly, “The fifth year of the apocalypse was a special one. After five years of fighting, whether zombies or mutated beasts, they were already at a disadvantage against humans that year. Especially in a large base like Fu’an—only a minority needed to go out and fight. Most people stayed inside the base. Aside from scarce supplies, life wasn’t bad. In fact, with so little entertainment, people were eager to find amusement for themselves. Until…”
Until her mother died, and zombies and mutated beasts suddenly entered a new outbreak phase, catching humanity off guard and forcing a frantic response.
That was probably what the novel called her mother’s death marking the apocalypse’s escalation into full intensity.
Put plainly, the second installment needed a strong inciting stimulus to kick off the plot. If the enemies didn’t grow stronger and survival pressure didn’t increase, how would the second part unfold?
The thought darkened Jiang Fu’s mood even further.
The black cat quietly withdrew into her pocket and didn’t dare make another sound.
With Liang Xie’s appearance, the scene fell into silence. The men standing to one side looked especially grim.
“Liang Xie… Jiang Fu actually dared to put her at the forefront and let her handle something this important.”
“No wonder the Special Administration Bureau grew so quickly.”
“If that woman truly stands on Jiang Fu’s side, this will be hard to deal with.”
Li Wenbo watched Liang Xie take her seat and snorted. Lowering his voice, he said, “What’s there to worry about? Back then Jiang Junrong humiliated Liang Xie so badly her entire faction was nearly stripped to nothing. Even if Liang Xie doesn’t hold a grudge, the people who support her won’t just let it go.”
The burly man beside him chuckled. “Exactly. Since the apocalypse began, Liang Xie’s group of elders were suppressed hard by Jiang Junrong. Now that Jiang Junrong is dead, you think they don’t have thoughts of their own? Let’s just watch these two women tear each other apart.”
They spoke in near whispers, barely more than breath. Yet Jiang Fu’s hearing was sharp. She glanced at them again.
These dogs really were irritating. Perhaps she should just curse them mute.
Her gaze shifted to Liang Xie, sitting upright and composed. What came to mind was after Jiang Fu’s own death, when Liang Xie, as a veteran of Teyun, had been invited back to Fu’an Base by Sheng Yinghua and the others to stabilize public sentiment.
She had stood before Jiang Fu’s bronze statue and burned her mother’s final relics as an offering. In a low voice, she had said, “Back then you said you didn’t want us to meet on the battlefield, so I left the base. I never expected that when I returned, it would be to this scene. You’re dead. Even the traces of your mother have been wiped clean. Under the careful strokes of the historians’ pens, no one will remember what you gave for this land.”
Jiang Fu closed her eyes. Liang Xie’s heart-piercing words echoed in her ears:
“If your mother had lived longer, you would never have fallen to this point. If you had lived longer, you wouldn’t have failed to protect even your mother’s posthumous reputation. It seems that compared to a brief brilliance, longevity is what truly matters.”
Liang Xie swept her gaze across the crowd. “Let’s begin the first case.”
A group of people were escorted forward.
A frail old man with a pitiful expression. An elderly woman whose face was etched with cold indifference. Some seemingly honest villagers. A well-dressed agent in a suit. And several staff members who appeared to have handled the case.
The moment they came up, the frail old man began to cry.
His son, Li Wei, he said, had only committed the mistake of being unfilial—“minor” mistreatment of his parents. All they had wanted as parents was for the base to educate their son. Who would have thought he would be sentenced to immediate execution?
“Ah Wei was so filial and well-behaved when he was little! He just had a moment of confusion. This old woman of mine made a big fuss out of nothing—even called the police over such a small family matter!”
The old man wept as he pointed at his wife and cursed her, as though she were his son’s murderer. The old woman simply sat there coldly, saying nothing.
Only after he finished crying did Liang Xie pick up the file and say, “The primary reason Li Wei was sentenced to death was for poisoning the well in Li Family Village. The report was filed by the village chief, Li Tangshan.”
The old man choked. The village chief quickly spoke up. “It was all a misunderstanding. That day I heard villagers say Li Wei sprinkled something into the well. I thought it was poison and immediately reported it. The inspection confirmed it was toxic. But afterward, everyone drank from that well, and no one was poisoned.”
Liang Xie looked at him calmly. “Are you suggesting that the responding officers were negligent, and that the forensic department fabricated evidence?”
The village chief stammered. “Maybe… maybe there was a mistake.”
Liang Xie glanced at the file. “The responding officers Ding Chen and Wang Anyang. Forensics officer Yu Yingying. Appraisal center technician Duan Fang. Are they present?”
Three women and one man stepped forward.
The two officers explained how they had received the report, responded to the scene, and secured the area. At least after their arrival, no one had approached the well.
Forensics officer Yu Yingying stated that upon arrival she immediately collected and sealed water samples. The entire process had been conducted under the villagers’ watchful eyes. The samples were then escorted back to the appraisal center by the officers.
Duan Fang from the appraisal center clenched the corner of her clothes. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, “After I received the sample, I conducted the appraisal immediately. The whole process was under surveillance. But… but actually, I swapped the sample behind the cameras. The one I swapped in was the poisoned one.”
Yu Yingying and the others whipped their heads toward her in shock. During the earlier investigation, she hadn’t said anything like this. She was turning on them in public.
Yu Yingying shouted, “Duan Fang, have you lost your mind? Why would you say that?!”
Duan Fang didn’t dare meet her eyes. “Someone told me to switch it. I had no choice.”
Li Wei’s father was overjoyed. “See? See? I told you Ah Wei could never have poisoned anyone! Oh, my poor child! I wish I could die with him!”
He beat his chest and wailed again, tears and snot streaming down his face. The performance of grief was so pitiful it perfectly embodied a bereaved father’s anguish. The onlookers couldn’t help but feel sympathy.
Village Chief Li sobbed as well. “So Li Wei really was a good child all along. Who was it? Who on earth framed him?”
Several villagers were filled with righteous indignation. They even produced a strip of white cloth covered in signatures from the people of Li Family Village, all supporting a lighter sentence for Li Wei. Unfortunately, before they could do anything, Li Wei had already been executed.
At that moment, their representative stepped forward to speak. His name was Wu Dezhi, a lawyer by profession. The moment he began, his tone rose and fell with impassioned force:
“Everyone, it’s obvious this case was a frame-up. Li Wei was dragged into some kind of conspiracy and lost his young life because of it! His death has robbed two elderly parents of their only son, robbed a young man of a life that should have held limitless possibilities, and cast a dark shadow over the entire Li Family Village…”
On and on he went. In short, the losses involved meant the base had to take responsibility.
Wu Dezhi looked confident, his eyes gleaming with certainty. That person had told him—so long as he could get the case revised, even just slightly, he would receive enormous benefits.
Village Chief Li and the others were growing excited too. If the verdict were revised, the base would surely pay compensation. The old couple didn’t have many years left anyway—when the time came, wouldn’t that compensation money fall into the village’s hands? And wouldn’t that be no different from it landing in their own pockets?
Li Wei’s father wiped his tears while inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. Yet grief rose again in his chest. The base had killed his son, and now they would just give him a bit of money. His poor Ah Wei…
Liang Xie watched these people, their scheming practically written across their faces, without the slightest ripple of emotion. She was just about to expose how Duan Fang had been bribed when a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:
“It seems Li Wei really did die unjustly.”
Everyone turned.
Standing among the crowd was Jiang Fu, looking wistful and full of regret.
An uproar broke out.
“Jiang Fu!”
“Base Commander!”
“How is she here? When did she arrive?!”
When Li Wenbo and the others saw Jiang Fu, it was as if they had seen a ghost. They hurriedly shrank behind other people. When had she appeared? She hadn’t overheard what they said just now, had she?
The black cat’s fur stood on end. “How is she here? Oh my god, you’re less than twenty meters away from her—”
Jiang Fu herself remained calm. She even put on a pair of sunglasses to avoid making eye contact with Jiang Fu.
The black cat stammered, “…Y-you knew she was here all along?”
Jiang Fu replied evenly, “For the first case, isn’t it normal for her to show up?”
“And you still dared to come!”
“Just testing whether I’ve improved over the past half month.”
There had indeed been improvement, though not by much. She slowly exhaled, feeling as if the bones in her body were quietly melting and reshaping themselves.
…
Under the fearful gazes of the crowd, Jiang Fu stepped out and walked toward the people of Li Family Village. Liang Xie stood. “Governor.”
Jiang Fu waved her back into her seat. Looking at the villagers, she picked up the cloth covered in signatures.
“So your entire village feels very, very sorry for Li Wei.”
Not understanding her meaning, everyone nodded instinctively. Wu Dezhi shrank his neck, no longer the eloquent speaker he had been moments before.
Jiang Fu turned to the elderly woman who had remained silent from beginning to end.
“Old madam, do you also believe your son died unjustly?”
The old woman slowly raised her eyes. They were filled with cold indifference.
“No. Li Wei deserved to die. He tried to kill me several times. He deserved it! He absolutely did poison the well—he used poison meant for those mutated beasts and insects. A packet of medicine went missing from the house. He took it!”
Jiang Fu shot someone a sideways glance. That person instantly fell silent, as if their throat had been seized.
Looking back at the old woman, Jiang Fu softened her gaze and clasped her hand firmly. Then she turned to the crowd.
“Since all of you feel so sorry about Li Wei’s death, then I’ll give him back to you.”
The crowd stared blankly. What did she mean?
The next moment, the crowd parted again. Two guards escorted a man forward. When the hood was pulled off, whose face was revealed if not Li Wei’s?
In that instant, from Li Wei’s father to Village Chief Li, from Wu Dezhi to the onlookers, everyone stood frozen in shock.
Even Liang Xie was slightly taken aback.
She looked at Jiang Fu. So this had been the plan.
Reopening the case, drawing out the restless elements, proving whether she had truly wrongfully executed so many people—none of that had been the real focus.
Her true aim was to deliver a resounding slap to those scheming behind the scenes, a slap to those who wanted to suck the base dry.
Jiang Fu looked at the stunned faces and said with a smile, “After carefully reviewing the case, I realized Li Wei’s crime indeed didn’t warrant death. So what if he was unfilial to his parents? That’s just a family matter. So what if he poisoned something in the village? It didn’t cause any serious consequences, right? How could we so easily take a life?”
“But releasing someone like him outright doesn’t seem appropriate either. So I told Li Wei that the people he wronged were his parents and the villagers of Li Family Village. If these victims are willing to forgive you, your sentence can be reduced.”
As she spoke, she patted Li Wei on the shoulder like an old friend.
“See? Your villagers feel so sorry for you. They’ve generously forgiven you.”
Li Wei looked at the people of Li Family Village. What came to mind were their furious curses wishing him dead. Were they forgiving him? They had simply lied through their teeth for the sake of compensation money.
In the end, they had only lifted a rock to smash their own feet.
He curled his lips in a grin that made the villagers shudder.
Jiang Fu continued, “However, Li Wei, while the death penalty may be spared, punishment is still required. No matter what, you did commit a crime.”
Li Wei rasped, “Thank you, Governor, for giving me this chance. I’m willing to undergo labor reform.”
Jiang Fu nodded. “Good awareness.”
She flicked the white cloth in her hand.
“But if you undergo reform alone, it might take a lifetime to atone for your sins. Since the people of Li Family Village all think your crime isn’t such a big deal, I’m sure they’d be more than willing to help you complete your reform. Especially your father—he even said he wished he could die with you. I imagine he wouldn’t want to be separated from you for even a moment.”
Like someone sickly sweet and unhinged, she revealed a chilling smile. Her white teeth gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight, yet the villagers felt their souls nearly leave their bodies.
Jiang Fu tossed aside the white cloth and leisurely adjusted her sleeves.
“All Li Family Village members present—except Xu Cuirong (Li Wei’s mother)—including this representative and everyone who signed that cloth, arrest them immediately. Send them to the labor camp with Li Wei.”
If they dared collude to fabricate testimony and attempt to fool her and the Special Administration Bureau, they should have been prepared for this outcome.
She glanced at Duan Fang, who had been trembling ever since she appeared, trying to shrink into invisibility.
“Duan Fang—dismissed from her post. Investigate her.”