Jiang Fu lowered the phone from her ear and looked at the cracks she had crushed into the casing. The screen in particular was shattered into fragments, thin wisps of smoke even curling out from it.
The fact that the phone had lasted until the call ended was already a small miracle.
She removed the SIM card, crushed the phone completely, and tossed it into a roadside trash bin. Then she braced herself against a tree and coughed violently, as if something inside her throat had splintered apart.
Not far away, a sanitation worker riding a street-cleaning cart watched her warily, looking ready to rush over and sweep up whatever she might cough out.
Jiang Fu straightened up, adjusted her coat, and walked away calmly.
The black cat poked its head out from her hat. “You just had a remote call with yourself and you managed to wreck your throat like that. If you two ever locked eyes face-to-face, wouldn’t you go blind on the spot?”
Jiang Fu did not respond.
The cat continued curiously, “She really just accepted your suggestion like that? Not worried you might be hiding something?”
Only then did Jiang Fu speak, her voice still hoarse and rough. “This benefits her. She has no reason to refuse.”
“Even so, that means she at least trusts you a little, right? Logically she should be wary of you—maybe even hate you. Is this some kind of telepathy?”
Jiang Fu ignored it and continued moving through the darkness, following the paths etched into her memory. She found the homes and hideouts of those who had once jumped the highest to oppose her and make her life difficult, and continued her curses.
The black cat: “…Your throat’s wrecked and you’re still diligently cursing people. How hardworking.”
“Why not just curse all the men in the base at once? Would save you the trouble of going door to door.”
After finishing cursing a certain man who, in the middle of the night, had been throwing knives at a photo of Jiang Fu, she moved on to the next location and said calmly, “If everyone is cursed, it’s the same as no one being cursed. With contrast, they’ll suffer more when the time comes.”
The black cat replied, “Isn’t it actually because your ability isn’t strong enough to curse too many people at once?”
Jiang Fu: “…Shut up.”
…
The mass execution of death row inmates—something the public had been closely watching—finally had an outcome.
That morning, the base’s official website and the publicity offices across every district posted an announcement. It listed over four thousand names scheduled for execution, each accompanied by a brief summary of what they had done and when.
After the notice was posted for three days, if no objections were raised, a collective public execution would be held in People’s Square in the central district. Anyone would be allowed to attend and witness it.
As soon as the announcement went up, it was as if the scent of blood spread invisibly through the air. Some people sighed in front of the bulletin boards; others applauded.
“This xxx is from our village. He tried to bring in the zombie virus to poison us. Didn’t succeed, but how terrifying is that? Good riddance—he deserves it!”
“This xxx relied on his connections to bully people and terrorize the town. Finally he’s going to die—fantastic!”
“This xxx wasn’t even human. Gambling, drinking, whoring—ruined his whole family. The world’s cleaner without someone like that!”
Amid the wave of satisfied discussion, some people quietly slipped away and passed the news along.
…
“Jiang Fu is really going to execute them. Public response is generally positive.”
“Hmph. That’s because people haven’t reacted yet. Go—guide public opinion. Say that executing so many people at once proves Jiang Fu is violent and psychologically unstable.”
…
“The gender ratio among the death row inmates is seriously skewed. Use that—say Jiang Fu is shielding female criminals!”
…
“There are quite a few minors on the list. Jiang Fu is being too harsh. Let’s spread that narrative.”
…
“There are children and relatives of powerful families and strong ability-users on that list. Do you think they’ll just sit quietly? Let’s pay them a ‘visit.’”
…
“Brother X, the execution list is almost identical to the one we obtained—plus nearly a thousand more!”
“According to plan, go stir up trouble for the victims’ families.”
…
Thanks to the mysterious person’s warning, Jiang Fu had people closely monitor public opinion as soon as the announcement was released.
Sure enough, many were making moves, doing everything they could to steer the narrative toward her being excessively ruthless and bloodthirsty.
Jiang Fu dismissed it with contempt. So this was the extent of their ability.
Then she noticed that some of the victims’ families—those who might waver—had begun attracting whisperers. They were mocked by others because their relatives were on death row. Some people appeared out of nowhere to express “concern” for their future. Others encouraged them to go to the relevant departments immediately to withdraw charges and plead for mercy.
“After all, that’s your son/daughter/spouse/sibling!” And so on—playing the emotional card, making threats, sneering with sarcasm. The rhetoric was all the same.
And indeed, some people began to waver.
In a certain village—
“Old woman, that boy Ah Wei just didn’t want to support us in our old age. That doesn’t mean he deserves to be shot!” an old man sighed repeatedly.
The old woman sat in the doorway patching clothes. “In the dead of winter, he sealed all the doors and windows to try to make us die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Did you forget?”
“…But nothing happened in the end, right?”
“He put rat poison in our food. Did you forget?”
“…We pumped our stomachs and survived.”
“He went mad in the middle of the night and beat us half to death. Did you forget?”
“…But he didn’t actually kill us.”
“He even poisoned the village well!”
The old man huffed and puffed. “But nobody died from eating it.”
The old woman threw down the clothes she was holding and snapped viciously, “Even if we could pull him back, the village definitely wouldn’t keep us anymore. No house to live in, no relief rations to collect—what, you want to sleep on the streets? And at that point, do you think your son will be reliable?”
The old man fell silent. After a while, he muttered again, “Without a son, who’s going to smash the mourning basin for me when I die? The Zhang family line’s cut off—how am I supposed to face the ancestors… Sigh, I’d even accept a lifetime in prison. That base commander’s just a young girl—how can her heart be so cruel?”
…
In a factory.
Several workers gossiped as they worked, casting glances at a female worker bent over her task. “She’s the one who reported her husband?”
“They say he snatched her back then. Oh please—during those ten years of catastrophe, everything was chaos. A man willing to keep a woman was already kind enough. He fed her and clothed her all these years, and then she turns around and sells him out. No conscience at all.”
“I heard it wasn’t just that. They say he forced her to scam people with him—set up honey traps together. A few years back it even got someone killed…”
“You just said they did it together. Who knows whose idea it was? How come the man got executed and she’s totally fine? Maybe he took all the blame on himself!”
“Because of this, even her kids won’t acknowledge her anymore. They’re making her retract her testimony.”
“A woman with a heart like a snake and scorpion—no wonder they won’t recognize her. Just wait, when she’s old, she’ll suffer.”
The female worker being discussed kept her head down, lips pressed tightly together, focusing only on her work. If one looked closely, her gaze wavered slightly.
She had only wanted to get rid of that man. She never expected he would receive such a heavy sentence.
…
In a hospital.
A man with a broken leg lay in a hospital bed while a group of people crowded around him, talking over one another as they tried to persuade him.
“Your brother just lost his head for a moment. If he really wanted to harm you, you’d have died out there.”
“You’re an ability user. Your brother’s just an ordinary person. Of course he might feel resentful. Be the bigger man.”
“It’s just a conflict between brothers—how did it turn into a death sentence? Once this gets out, do you think your reputation will be any better? Later when you’re looking for a partner, if people hear you pushed your own brother to execution, won’t they be scared?”
“Erkai, think about how good your brother was to you when you were kids. If you go ask for a lighter sentence now, it’s still not too late!”
Bombarded from all sides, the man on the bed finally softened. Thinking of the deep brotherhood they once shared, tears welled in his eyes.
How had things between them ended up like this?
…
Jiang Fu looked at the reports delivered by the Intelligence Department—one after another, victims wavering in their resolve. There wasn’t the slightest ripple of emotion on her face. Neither disappointed nor surprised. She had expected this long ago.
She was only curious.
When would these wavering people finally step forward?
She waited. And waited. Three days passed, and not a single victim came out to request a reduced sentence.
So they wavered, yes—but they were unwilling to truly let things go. They were even more afraid of harming their own interests.
“Governor, the execution time is almost here.”
Jiang Fu stood up and brushed at imaginary dust on her clothes. “Let’s go.”
…
In the central square, prison trucks had already arrived. One by one, the condemned prisoners were brought out in handcuffs and shackles, lined up in rows.
Beyond the cordon stood crowds of onlookers. The television station was even broadcasting live, ensuring that everyone in the base could watch this rare public execution.
With the arrival of Jiang Fu, the noisy scene abruptly fell silent. People watched as she ascended the high platform, as the large screen magnified her figure—upright posture, solemn expression, sharp, cold gaze.
This was her first public appearance since taking office.
She was undeniably beautiful, but appearance was the least noteworthy trait of someone in power.
Standing at such a height, everyone forgot her looks. What pressed heavily on their hearts instead was her overwhelming presence and imposing authority—so powerful it made one’s heart tremble at a single glance.
A few people initially rushed out from the crowd, shouting pleas for mercy or accusing Jiang Fu of cruelty. But she merely cast them a faint glance, and they froze on the spot before being swiftly dragged away.
The commotion lasted only a moment, then sank into even deeper silence.
People stared at the figure on the platform, dazed and shrinking back. This was the new governor of Teyun State, the base commander of Fu’an Base, the strongest person in all of Teyun!
Jiang Fu gazed over the sea of dark heads. She did not bother to consider how many among them were waiting to make trouble, how many harbored ulterior motives, how many appeared obedient and respectful while inwardly refusing to accept her.
Her voice rang out, amplified by the microphone:
“To everyone present, to all viewers watching the live broadcast, to the citizens of Teyun State and Fu’an Base—today, I, Jiang Fu, stand here to publicly execute 4,151 people.”
“Some say I am doing this to display my power. Some say I am using the blood of four thousand people to fuel the first blaze of my new administration.”
“But I say that I stand here today to defend the bottom line of law and morality, to sound a warning bell for everyone—to make people seriously recognize what is right and what is wrong.”
“The people before you—some pushed others forward to take the blade during a crisis; some abused their authority and embezzled life-saving grain from the masses; some, unable to tolerate others living better than themselves, committed murder out of jealousy; some are psychologically twisted and specifically preyed upon children and the weak; some sought only to harm society, thinking day and night about bringing viruses into the base and poisoning different locations…”
“These people are dangerous elements who endanger the safety of the base and the interests of the people. Today, by executing them, I am clearing out the vermin within our base, making it more united, safer, and better.”
“I hope everyone takes this as a warning. Any existence that seeks to destroy our home is an enemy—and should be eliminated!”
She looked at the silent crowd and said in a low voice, “Verify identities. Carry out the sentence.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out. Bodies fell one after another, blood splattering across the ground.
Many people began vomiting or fainted after watching only briefly. By the end, there were hardly any spectators left in the square.
But from beginning to end, Jiang Fu remained on the platform, never leaving, watching everything with cold detachment.
People stared at the glaring blood and the rows of lifeless bodies, then at the cold, unfeeling face of Jiang Fu on the big screen, and shivered involuntarily.
…
That day, gunshots echoed across the square from morning until night. Blood and brain matter smeared the entire square. The corpses were loaded onto carts, one per cart, paraded along the long street.
Dignity after death? None. These people did not deserve it. The point was to make everyone recognize and remember each sinful face.
After severely intimidating the populace, this move of Jiang Fu’s soon sparked backlash. Her reputation for brutality, cruelty, and inhumanity spread rapidly. The victims who had hesitated to step forward finally began jumping out one by one, crying injustice.
Back in her office, upon hearing the news, Jiang Fu gave a cold laugh. “Go add fuel to the fire. Say that many of them were wrongly killed—that I stuffed people into the list to make up the numbers and create a grand spectacle. Make people think that if they stir things up and get cases overturned, they can receive substantial compensation.”
Her secretary looked at her as if wanting to speak but stopping herself. In the end, she quietly accepted the order.
Jiang Fu rested her chin on her hands. In her eyes flickered a restless eagerness. She had already displayed her decisiveness and cruelty—it was time to show her unpredictability as well.
…
Elsewhere, Jiang Fu switched off the television broadcast and tapped her fingers on the desk.
“There were many ability users hidden in the square. They blurred the prisoners’ faces and people’s perceptions…”
She murmured, “More than four thousand people—at least half didn’t die. She’s planning something big.”
One slap wasn’t enough to satisfy her; she intended to strike back with an even harder, louder one.
She had meant for her to go with the flow—but instead she extrapolated and turned it into a fishing operation.
Much crazier than she had been back then.
A smile curved her lips as she looked out the window.
A true tyrant was about to be born.