Night could conceal many people’s movements.
While Jiang Fu was investigating others, many people were also secretly looking into Jiang Fu’s recent activities.
Somewhere within the base, inside a hidden basement, a group of men were plotting something.
“This is the latest execution list. The ratio of male to female death-row inmates is almost nine to one! Just how much does Jiang Fu hate men?”
“Jiang Junrong was already ruthless enough. Who would’ve thought her daughter would outdo her?”
“I heard Jiang Fu intends to reform administrative posts, increase the proportion of women, and even improve social welfare for women in the base… When clearly we men are stronger, more powerful, and have contributed more! Women? Hah. A disadvantaged species who can’t even leave the base during their menstrual periods!”
“That’s not all. Look at how many domestic abusers were arrested these past two days. Just family disputes, and every single one is being sentenced—some of them possibly very heavily.”
“A new official takes office and lights three fires, and every single one is burning men. What is this, some kind of compliance test? Gentlemen, if we don’t do something soon, we’ll truly have no way out.”
The group of men gathered around the table, whispering and scheming, only to discover they had no obvious opening.
Stage a violent rebellion? Don’t even think about it. She herself was powerful, surrounded by fiercely loyal supporters, and firmly in control of a two-hundred-thousand-strong base army. The moment any hint of rebellion appeared, it would be crushed to pieces.
Engage in political maneuvering? With strength like hers, would she even need to play such games with them?
Whisper in her ear as a lover?
Please. This Jiang Fu changed men as casually as she changed clothes. It was said that Zhou Jia, whom she had favored not long ago, had been thrown straight into prison the moment she wished it. So cold-hearted—how could there be such a woman in this world?
Incite public opinion and demand democratic elections?
Don’t be ridiculous. Jiang Junrong had ruled Teyun for fifteen years, the undisputed master of the state, respected and admired by all. And Jiang Fu had long been openly groomed and prepared as her successor. Her legitimacy was unquestionable; the ordinary citizens had fully accepted her succession.
Moreover, perhaps to prevent anyone from competing with her daughter, Jiang Junrong had never cultivated a particularly prominent second-in-command, close confidant, or favored relative.
She treated her subordinates largely equally, never funneling excessive resources to any one person. Even those she valued especially were assigned early to Jiang Fu’s command, clearly building up her daughter’s foundation.
This woman’s favoritism toward her daughter had been unmistakable.
After all the discussion, they reached only one conclusion: Jiang Fu was flawless. Her position was completely unshakable.
The thought was despairing.
In the silence, a refined, handsome man spoke up. “Jiang Fu’s position appears secure, but in truth it isn’t. Jiang Junrong’s devotion to her daughter is indeed touching—but it also planted landmines early on. How many people feel she blocked their path upward? If there weren’t unrest among her own ranks, how would we have obtained this execution list?”
“Secondly, now that Jiang Junrong is dead, the various bases across Teyun are stirring. They all want independence—to govern themselves. Jiang Fu may bear the title of governor, but the other base cities may not accept this new governor so easily. Didn’t several base leaders fail to attend the statewide meeting just the day before yesterday?”
Another man nodded. “Exactly. The information I’ve received is that Jiang Fu plans to execute this batch of death-row inmates, straighten out Fu’an Base, and then begin a statewide inspection tour. Only after she suppresses the leadership of the other base cities will her position truly be secure.”
A third added, “That assumes she can suppress them. The most important reason Jiang Junrong could keep everyone in line was that she was a ninth-tier ability user. Jiang Fu is only seventh-tier…”
Well, seventh-tier was still extremely strong—there were only a handful of seventh-tier ability users in the world—but compared to her mother, her deterrence was undoubtedly weaker.
The refined man continued, “Doesn’t she want to establish authority through killing? Then we simply won’t let her succeed. Look—at least a third of these death-row inmates don’t deserve to die. I’ve reviewed the court verdicts; the harshest sentence among them was death with reprieve. Yet Jiang Fu intends to execute them all. She’s placing her personal will above the law.”
“Attack from that angle? But once their crimes are made public, won’t the ignorant masses just applaud?”
“What if we let the criminals’ relatives come forward to cry injustice? A mother who’s lost her son appearing in person, destitute in her old age. Children who’ve lost their father weeping about having no support for the future. A widow complaining that she only wanted her husband imprisoned to reflect, never imagining the sentence would be so severe that the family would lose its pillar entirely…”
“Then people will realize Jiang Fu isn’t executing these men to protect the public. She’s doing it to flaunt her supreme authority. It will look like wrongful killing—like judicial murder.”
“And besides, her tendency to increase punishments is obvious. With a little help from us spreading the word, it’ll be easy to create panic.”
After that, they could compare Jiang Fu to her mother.
The more the people revered and missed Jiang Junrong, the more disappointed they would become in Jiang Fu.
Once people believed Jiang Fu placed personal motives above the public good and lacked the ability to govern except through slaughter, they would gradually begin to see more and more of her flaws, growing increasingly dissatisfied.
When dissatisfaction and doubt multiplied, would her policies and decisions still pass so smoothly?
The men looked at one another and smiled.
“I’ll find suitable people to speak out.”
“We’ll apply some subtle pressure. Even if their lives aren’t difficult, we can create a little hardship for them. They need to complain from the heart.”
“Let her execute them first. Then we’ll have these people stir up trouble and cement her reputation as bloodthirsty.”
They never noticed that behind them, the door had silently opened a crack. A figure stood in the darkness, watching them quietly.
The black cat perched on Jiang Fu’s shoulder cursed angrily, “These people have no shame!”
Jiang Fu did not grow angry. There was nothing to be angry about. She had lived through all this before—and their schemes had indeed succeeded.
As they had predicted, after this incident, many people complained about her, grew dissatisfied with her, questioned her.
Beneath the title “tyrant” lay doubts and mockery of her ability.
But this time would be different. She would make the title “tyrant” well and truly deserved. Compared to doubt, she preferred complete and absolute fear.
More than that, she wanted to see how these men—who looked down on women, thought so highly of themselves, yet relied only on petty scheming—would react when they lost the biological advantages they were so proud of.
She raised her hand, pointed at the men deep in discussion, released her resentment, and murmured softly:
“I curse…”
…
Jiang Fu had been thinking about what Zhang Tong’s words really meant. For some reason, that talk of “revenge” kept circling in her mind, making it impossible for her to calm down.
The mood even dulled her irritation toward the mysterious person.
She hadn’t slept all night, repeatedly checking the mysterious number on her phone. She had no way to trace or investigate it; when she tried calling, it turned out to be an invalid number.
What kind of black technology was this?
Just before dawn, the number sent her another message—this time, a video.
She shot upright and opened it. What she saw was a group of people secretly plotting.
Her first reaction, after understanding how they intended to scheme against her, was speechless disbelief.
With just this, they wanted to shake her position? Were they still dreaming?
Then another text came in.
[Like Zhang Biao—any death row inmate whose victim is related to them by blood, or whose victim has shown leniency toward them; any inmate whose case involves family conflicts, emotional disputes, or team grudges—do not execute them.]
Jiang Fu felt even more speechless. She replied:
[You want me to change my plan because of these minor figures? You overestimate them—and underestimate me.]
This time the message went through.
The reply came quickly.
[Do you think their scheme will succeed?]
Her first instinct was of course not. But when she thought carefully—if they really went behind the scenes to incite those victims, even manufacturing trouble where none existed to intensify conflicts—it actually might work.
Another message followed, as if the sender could read her thoughts.
[Why do you think the scheme would succeed?]
Why? Because the people in that video were despicable and underhanded, obviously.
But was that all?
If someone really stepped forward to cause trouble in the end—whether incited or not—then it would mean they genuinely harbored resentment toward her.
She fell silent for a moment, then typed her reply word by word.
[Among these death row inmates, over two hundred severely abused their wives or partners, leaving them permanently disabled. Those women will be assigned jobs. More than three hundred abused, abandoned, or trafficked their children. Those children will be sent to the Charity Orphanage for proper education. More than three hundred abused or abandoned their elderly parents. Those elders will be supported by the base and live out their later years without worry.]
[I’ve arranged their futures for them. From now on they’ll be free of those devils and live stable, easy lives. They have no reason to resent me.]
Jiang Fu frowned. But when she thought about it… it really was possible. Human nature was that complex, fickle, and selfish.
The other party replied:
[Once such a reputation takes hold, every action of yours will be interpreted through it.]
[If you execute corrupt officials and recover stolen assets, some will say they only embezzled money—their crimes didn’t warrant death.]
[If you execute tyrants, some will argue you should accept ransom from their families and use those resources for the public good.]
[If you execute strong men, some will say they could have been sent to labor.]
[If you execute women of childbearing age, some will say they should be kept alive to bear a child in atonement.]
[If you execute ability-users, some will argue they’re too valuable—better to send them on dangerous missions.]
Reading line after line, Jiang Fu felt her blood pressure rising. She abruptly stood and hit the call button.
The phone rang twice before connecting.
Jiang Fu snapped, “By your logic, I can’t execute anyone at all! I’m the leader of a base—am I supposed to be dragged around by public opinion, unable to do this or that? And that so-called public opinion is twisted and wrong! Why should I let myself be led by the nose?”
There was silence on the other end. Just when she thought the other person wouldn’t respond, a soft laugh came through. The voice was slightly hoarse, unfamiliar, slow in pace—clearly female.
“So,” the woman said, “I never told you not to kill anyone. On the contrary, I suggest you kill more of those who deserve it. Kill until everyone is afraid—so afraid they don’t dare question you.”
“Then why—”
“I’m only telling you not to kill those whose victims might turn against you. Don’t let yourself earn the reputation of meddling in other people’s family affairs and causing their families to be destroyed. Take Zhang Tong, for example. People like him won’t be grateful. After time passes, he’ll only come to resent you. So why not return Zhang Biao to him and let father and son continue their ‘family bond’?”
Jiang Fu was momentarily speechless. A family bond? More like father and son tearing each other apart.
But she had to admit—it wasn’t a bad idea.
Especially those victims who might turn against her. If you yourself, as the victim, choose to pity the person who harmed you, then what more was there to say? Let them continue soaking in their own bitterness.
Her rational mind forced her to brake. “But Zhang Biao should pay with his life for Chen Yinyu. What you’re suggesting tramples on the law!”
The woman laughed softly. “Governor Jiang, this is the apocalypse. In chaotic times, harsh measures are needed. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions. Isn’t that your principle?”
She suddenly coughed, as if something had caught in her throat. After a moment, she continued, “If you respect the law so much, why did you insist on converting so many life sentences and suspended death sentences into immediate executions?”
Jiang Fu had no answer. Every word seemed to hit precisely where it hurt. Damn it—she was actually being persuaded.
“As for ‘a life for a life,’” the woman continued, “there are punishments in this world far worse than death. Zhang Biao abused Chen Yinyu for years. Letting him die so simply would be letting him off too easily, wouldn’t it?”
Jiang Fu forced herself to persist. “What about the others? If we follow your one-size-fits-all approach, we’ll inevitably wrong some people. Not everyone will turn against us.”
“Simple. Set up a trap and see who jumps out. Whoever does—return their beloved relative to them. By then, you’ll be the most responsive and kind-hearted base commander. Anyone who tries to accuse you of being cold and inhumane won’t have a leg to stand on.”
After hanging up, Jiang Fu kept thinking about the phrase “responsive and kind-hearted.”
Her lips twitched. More likely she’d become the most capricious and unpredictable base commander in the public’s eyes.
Well… that wasn’t unacceptable.
Anyone who wanted to stir up trouble in the future would have to weigh whether she might pull a stunt like this again.
Even so, she hesitated. She still didn’t know whether the other party was friend or foe.
In the end, what truly convinced her was the last thing the woman had said.
“In this world, everyone should receive precisely the retribution they deserve. You really don’t need to shoulder karmic consequences for those who aren’t worth it.”
That struck straight at her heart. Just imagining the expressions of those troublemakers when the time came made her want to laugh in advance.
This feeling—being supported while doing something wicked…
It was very hard to resist.
No. She needed to prepare the labor reform camp. When the time came, the death-row inmates spared by the “victims” could reunite with those very victims in the camp—one big family, living together in perfect harmony.