In the public cemetery, Jiang Fu sat before a newly built grave. To be precise, it was only a memorial tomb.
“Mom, I know she moved you to a very safe place. I won’t go there to see you anymore. I’ll just talk to you here.”
She placed a bottle of rose-infused Fenjiu in front of the grave. “I’m leaving. There’s too much hatred in my heart. If I stay any longer, I’m afraid I’ll vent all of it on the base. Although the people here are the ones I resent most, this place was left to me by you. It is also the foundation of another me. If Fu’an Base collapses, others would only applaud—and that’s not something I want to see.”
So I can only leave, and trouble other places instead.
She reached out and gently touched the photograph of her mother on the tombstone. A thousand words pressed in her chest, yet she didn’t know where to begin.
She stood up. “Mom, wait for me. I’ll go look for a way to bring you back to life. If I can’t find one, then once I’ve done what I must, I’ll come back and keep you company.”
Her gaze swept across the surrounding graves. These were all elders who had followed her mother for more than a decade. They had died for Teyun, for the base, for her mother. So her mother had arranged for them to be buried together—and had left a place here for herself as well.
Every grave was meticulously cleaned, piled with fresh flowers, fruit offerings, cigarettes and liquor, sweets, and photos celebrating the base’s prosperity and strength.
They had not been forgotten. Here they rested in peace, remembered and honored by those who came after.
Who would know that eight years later, these graves would be completely destroyed and flattened? That these people’s very existence and experiences—because they were inseparable from her mother—would be almost entirely erased?
It was all like an absurd novel abandoned before its ending.
Jiang Fu stepped back two paces and bowed deeply. “It is my failure that caused all of you elders to suffer along with me.”
She turned and left. As she passed the steps below, she noticed a new grave in the corner—it belonged to Chen Yinyu.
She only glanced at it briefly. Then, sensing something, she immediately concealed herself.
The next moment, a figure appeared in the cemetery.
It was Jiang Fu.
Jiang Fu was breathing hard, as if she had run a long distance. Her hair was slightly disheveled.
In fact, she had rushed to the café and confirmed that a woman with a black cat had just left—but she couldn’t find her nearby. She had gone to the flower garden next.
She had a premonition that the woman was leaving, and that she would certainly come to say goodbye to their mother. So she even went to the place where her mother was currently being kept. She hadn’t found her there either. Only then had she thought of the cemetery.
Arriving before her mother’s grave, she saw the bottle of rose Fenjiu that had clearly just been placed there—not a speck of dust on it.
Her mother loved to drink, all kinds of liquor. But very few people knew that what she loved most were liquors with floral aromas.
This rose Fenjiu was made by steeping fresh rose petals in Fenjiu for several months. The distilled liquor carried a lingering, rich rose fragrance. It had become her mother’s new favorite in the period before her passing.
And hardly anyone knew that.
So that person had been here—perhaps just moments ago, perhaps still nearby.
At this moment, she didn’t want to delve into why that woman knew so many things outsiders shouldn’t know. She was only worried about the woman’s extreme and dangerous state of mind.
She sat down before her mother’s grave and began to speak.
“Mother, I came to bring you good news. After this period of hard work, my position as the new base commander has finally stabilized. Among other things, that mysterious older sister helped me a great deal.”
“Over this time, many people have stepped out to oppose me. I’m not surprised. I remember that when I was nine, the world entered the Great Catastrophe era. For ten years, one disaster after another unfolded. Then came the apocalypse. I’ve seen and experienced far too much darkness. The evil in human nature can sometimes truly make one despair of this world.”
“But I still firmly believe that there is much beauty in this world, many good people, and many, many things worth devoting myself to and protecting. That sister seems to have encountered a great hurdle. I don’t know who she is or what she’s been through, but I can feel the pain in her heart.”
“I actually want to tell her that this world doesn’t only have its dark and evil side. She can look more at the beautiful things. If she has enemies, then take revenge. Once revenge is taken, let the hatred go—and let herself go as well. Of course, if she ever needs me, I’d be more than willing to help.”
From a distance, Jiang Fu listened to these words. Even as the voice gradually brought a ringing to her ears and made her feel faint, she remained still and listened quietly.
She knew these words were entirely meant for her.
Jiang Fu knew she hadn’t gone far. This was her way of comforting her—of persuading her.
Jiang Fu’s lips curled faintly. Who would have thought that her past self had once been so considerate and warm-hearted?
Through the lush little cypress trees, she looked at the figure sitting before their mother’s grave—as though looking through a long and cruel river of time at the version of herself standing at the starting point of fate.
That person still didn’t know what the future would bring. She was still full of hope and passion for this world.
So foolish.
But also… so good.
She murmured softly, “You’re right. I hope you can always think that way.”
There were ungrateful people like Zhang Tong, indifferent bystanders like Liang Xie, and countless pretenders like the girl who delivered flowers.
But there were also people like Han Xiaofei, who risked her life to retrieve her head and preserve her final shred of dignity; like Jiang Shiyue, who fought for her until the very last moment; like the many, many others who stepped forward before the executioner’s blade, speaking up for her and running about on her behalf.
She still remembered—after her head had been hung up, Zhang Tong had practically used it to lure reinforcements. Han Xiaofei’s squad hadn’t been the first to try to snatch it back, nor the last. Many, many people had tried again and again in their own ways.
They had simply all failed.
Before and after her bronze statue was cast, many people had fiercely opposed it upon hearing the news. But those people were either killed or driven out of the base.
By then, her mother’s deeds had already been written into the textbooks. When some tried to destroy those textbooks, to burn every related book in the libraries, and to tear down her mother’s statues throughout the base, countless others rose up in strong protest.
Yes, there is still much that is beautiful in this world.
But none of it belongs to her anymore.
Now, whenever she sees a stretch of white cloth, she instinctively believes something filthy must be hidden behind it. When she sees the most innocent, harmless smile, she assumes cruel and ugly thoughts must be turning in that person’s heart. When she sees the closest, most loyal relationships, she envisions them stabbing each other in the back, betraying one another in the end.
She can no longer appreciate what is beautiful, believe in it, or respond to it.
Fate once granted her the ability to protect and trust in goodness—only to completely shatter her faith. There is no turning back for her now.
She gave Jiang Fu one last look and said again, “I hope you can always think this way.”
…
Jiang Fu still left. But before departing Fu’an Base, she sent Jiang Fu a message. First, to tell her she was leaving. Second, to ask her to protect their mother’s remains.
And third, to warn her to be wary of Liang Xie.
[If you do not possess absolute power to suppress Liang Xie, you must guard against her backlash. You used the Special Administration Bureau to test her influence, but you also gave her an opportunity to rally people again. Be sure to take precautions.]
When Jiang Fu received the message, she couldn’t help but sigh. This person truly understood her—she had seen through, at a glance, the real purpose behind bringing Liang Xie back to establish the Special Administration Bureau.
Yes, the Special Administration Bureau was a test directed at Liang Xie. The result was clear: former officials who had once followed Liang Xie began to resurface. Wherever Liang Xie intended to act, people opened the way for her. The smooth and rapid establishment of the Bureau owed at least half its success to Liang Xie’s influence.
She replied:
[There are old grievances between Liang Xie’s faction and me. I am well aware of her danger. But with the great upheaval of mutant beasts and zombies looming before us, I am unwilling to clash with her at this time. If she and the forces behind her can be put to use, they would be extremely useful.]
After reading the reply, Jiang Fu fell silent.
In the past, she had been wary of Liang Xie as well. But back then, there had been no Special Administration Bureau. She had confronted Liang Xie directly, openly admitting her vigilance and stating she did not wish for things to deteriorate to the point where they would fight to mutual ruin.
Soon after, Liang Xie left Fu’an Base of her own accord, taking her supporters with her. Instantly, at least one-fifth of the base’s leadership was gone. Even more than ten thousand members of the base army left.
Fu’an Base suffered a severe blow to its vitality.
It was precisely because of that that when mutant beasts, mutant plants, and zombies later experienced a sudden surge in power, the base struggled to cope.
At the same time, various large and small bases across Teyun State began declaring independence. She no longer had the strength to keep them under control, and Teyun split apart. Her title as governor was stripped away, and from then on she was only the leader of Fu’an Base.
And now, with Fu’an Base already on the brink of turmoil due to the “strange illness” afflicting its male senior leaders and elite male fighters, this truly was not the time to tear off all pretense with Liang Xie.
After all, the capability and value of a seventh-tier ability user at this stage were considerable—let alone someone like Liang Xie, who also carried the prestige of a veteran of Teyun. In terms of seniority, beneath her mother, there was only Liang Xie.
Jiang Fu wanted to say more, but in the end, she didn’t.
No one in power likes excessive interference—even if that person is another version of herself.
She replied only: As long as you know what you’re doing. Take care.
Then she put away her phone, passed the exit inspection, and stepped outside the base.
She found a modified coach bus preparing to leave, paid the fare, and chose a seat by the window.
She had arrived empty-handed. When she left, she carried a backpack. Inside it was the black cat, now three times fatter.
The black cat poked its head out of the bag. “So which old friend are you going to find? The male and female protagonists?”
“At this time, they should still be building up a base somewhere in the southeast. If I remember correctly, it won’t be until the second half of the year—when the southeastern bases fall—that they’ll be forced to migrate northwest. So what’s coming for them now won’t be pretty.”
Their base gates would be blasted open by a zombie horde. The entire base would collapse. As its leaders, they would flee like stray dogs, wandering in exile.
Such an interesting experience—she had no intention of changing it.
She looked out the window. “The old friend I’m talking about, of course, is my archenemy.”
The black cat thought for a moment and inhaled sharply. “The Zombie King?”
Jiang Fu curved her lips slightly. “At this time, she’s not the Zombie King yet. If we count the timing, she shouldn’t have been a zombie for very long.”