Turbulent times call for harsh laws.
Under the threat of apocalyptic disaster, the Security Committee had enacted the strictest criminal laws. For ease of communication via broadcast, the core principle was simplified into a single, ironclad rule: anyone who intentionally commits murder will, upon being reported and confirmed, be sentenced to death.
To this end, the Defense Operations Department even established a dedicated Law Enforcement Team.
The current situation wasn’t one of lawless, anarchic chaos.
Besides, the people yearned for peace and order.
The weaker a person was, the more they feared the collapse of order.
They had zero tolerance for murderers like this one. The crowd of onlookers, who had gathered to see what was happening, became incensed. In a flash, they pinned down Qian Biao as he tried to get up and flee.
"I’ll leave him to you."
Su Chen scooped up the little calico cat at his feet with one arm. He didn’t involve himself any further, content to leave such tedious public affairs to the mature and reliable Liao Dahai.
Back in the RV camp, it was like they were cheering a returning hero. Led by the same spirited young man from before, a wave of applause erupted around him.
Su Chen smiled. He had to admit, the show of appreciation felt good.
"Want a medium-well steak? Don’t worry, it’s not monster meat." The gourmand, Bao Fusheng, hadn’t seemed to move from his spot and was still tinkering with his food ingredient evaluation guide.
"Sure."
Su Chen didn’t refuse.
It was well past lunchtime, and cooking on his own induction stove while hungry would have been a pain.
After dropping his gear off in his RV, he first went to the bathroom to wash up. He thoroughly rinsed the blood from his black hair. The towel he’d forgotten to return to Ruoruo was soaking in the basin, a faint red halo blooming from it in the water.
He didn’t linger. After leaving the RV, he went straight to the grill to eat his lunch.
To be fair, the man’s cooking skills were genuinely impressive. The steak was grilled to perfection—crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. It was no wonder he’d heard that morning that Bao Fusheng used to be a food vlogger, even if his channel never took off.
"How’s that Otherworld Cuisine Evaluation Guide of yours coming along?" he asked.
"I was hoping to add to it. While I was fishing in the reservoir, I saw a drowned monster sheep, but I decided to leave it," Bao Fusheng said, sounding genuinely regretful.
Asking for details, Su Chen learned that the reservoir to the east was filled with monster corpses.
Worried about a potential plague outbreak, no one dared to touch the bodies.
How to dispose of the corpses had also become a problem.
The sweltering heat caused a foul, rotten stench to hang in the air. Bao Fusheng had only managed to catch two live fish before scurrying back. In the end, since no one else wanted them, he boiled, steamed, and grilled them all for the little calico cat.
Su Chen’s caloric intake was at least double that of an average adult male, so for a balanced meal, he also cooked up a pot of boiled napa cabbage for himself.
Gradually, as the others saw him listening to the official broadcast, they made sure not to disturb him.
Besides, everyone was curious about any news related to the Legacy Sanctuaries and the class system.
"We have conclusive testimony and physical evidence."
General Manager Shao of the campsite had already begun handling Qian Biao’s murder case. It was the third violent incident he’d dealt with that day, but the only one with a confirmed murderer and solid proof.
Beyond the witness testimonies...
According to Liao Dahai, the original RV owner’s four-camera surveillance system had likely recorded the crime.
Sure enough, when a large group of people located the RV in the backyard of the guesthouse, they successfully retrieved the footage of the attack.
The footage showed not only Qian Biao but also an accomplice who had helped him and stolen the Rune Essence the victim dropped upon death.
The accomplice had not yet been found.
"I will have the broadcast room report this to the Law Enforcement Team immediately. I won’t tolerate this, even if they’re my own security personnel," General Manager Shao announced, clearly stating the course of action and officially quelling the public’s outrage.
’In a way, dealing with this was a small favor to me,’ he thought. ’To acquire the land for this campsite from Cyan Dragon Village, I had to grant those people a great deal of convenience and jobs.’
’Now, that same group has formed a mutual-aid organization right under my nose. What’s more, according to a report from my staff this morning, some villagers even crossed Cyan Dragon Ridge just to join them.’
’It’s like they don’t take me seriously at all.’
’This is the perfect opportunity. I can use this incident to clip their wings a bit.’

Comments

Loading...