Chapter 21: Misunderstanding

A new week began.

Although Chen Ziang agreed with Rena Tsukimiya’s assessment at the izakaya last time—that they currently knew too little about Seiko Takano and could only proceed methodically with the preliminary work—he still felt like tearing his hair out after reading the case reports from the previous week.

Seiko Takano was practically killing herself into a frenzy.

She had nearly wiped out the entire network of companies that employed paid posters to manufacture online hype.

Then her targets shifted to self-media operators. In a single weekend, she killed more than four hundred people...

With so many abnormal deaths occurring so frequently and on such a massive scale, the Extreme North City Public Security Office could no longer conceal the matter. At a press conference held last Saturday, it admitted that remnants of the “Southland Guerrillas” were active within Extreme North City and promised to bring them to justice as soon as possible.

What were the Southland Guerrillas?

Ever since Governor Shi Bowen took office, the minerals in the shallow strata of the planet Takamagahara had been mined nearly to exhaustion. At the same time, the widespread adoption of automated equipment and machinery had brought wave after wave of layoffs to the mining industry for more than thirty years.

Large numbers of unemployed miners returned home, then began gathering in Extreme North City to protest and demand that the government resolve the problem of employment for laid-off miners. But the government of Extreme North City had no money to spare. All it could do was argue with the mining conglomerates and drag matters out until the protesting miners could no longer support themselves financially and were forced to return to their hometowns and villages.

Among those miners, a portion of the more radical unemployed later formed numerous guerrilla groups, large and small. Using the vast frozen wastelands and violent storms as cover, they began carrying out all manner of illegal acts of violence. Extreme North City collectively referred to such people as the “Southland Guerrillas,” because the military cracked down on one batch every year, only for another to emerge from somewhere the following year.

In truth, there was a major difference between these guerrillas and members of the underworld. Criminals in the underworld committed crimes purely for money, whereas the guerrillas had political convictions of their own...

But the latter was a forbidden subject in Extreme North City, so the Public Security Office could safely pin the blame on them. It was not as though any guerrilla group would come forward to announce that it was taking responsibility.

Chen Ziang picked up another document, this one from the Network Surveillance Group of Extreme North City’s Inspection Division.

The Extreme North City Public Security Office was currently under the command of Izumo Yuki. Since he was one of Xia Qingyu’s people, the Public Security Office cooperated with the Fifth Intelligence Division in every respect. When it came to intelligence resources, they naturally provided whatever was requested.

According to the report, although the Public Security Office had made the Southland Guerrillas take the blame, these were still hundreds upon hundreds of murder cases, and panic had already begun spreading across the internet.

Some people claimed that the authorities were “hunting down” and “secretly executing” equality activists, just as they had brutally dealt with dissenters and opponents during the period of military rule under Shi Zhiqing, the first governor of the star district. They would brand their victims as pirate remnants, then secretly execute them and destroy their bodies. In many cases, even years after their deaths, the victims’ families remained unaware of what had happened.

The claim sounded utterly absurd. Yet as one major influencer after another—each of whom had built a following by stirring up controversy over relations between men and women—stopped posting new content, more and more people began to believe it.

Some radical female netizens declared that they would organize rallies and marches, determined to make the incident as big as possible. Otherwise, they said, they would merely be sitting around waiting to be slaughtered and carved up.

But launching online harassment campaigns with nothing more than a keyboard was one thing. Throwing oneself into the fray in person was another.

As the islanders’ national tendency to revere authority began to prevail, the overwhelming majority of those who had claimed they would join the protests lost their nerve within a week and pretended that nothing had happened.

Perhaps that was why the higher-ups were in no hurry to stop Seiko Takano...

Even if she killed every citizen involved in inciting public opinion, the resulting chaos might still be less serious than what Mie Nishikawa had caused by releasing a ghoul in a crowded urban district.

Chen Ziang did not particularly like the higher-ups’ excessively self-serving double standard. A crime was still a crime, even when it posed little danger. If they could say today that it was acceptable for Seiko Takano to kill bad people, what would they do tomorrow when she began killing good people instead?

But he also knew that he did not yet carry enough weight for his opinions to matter.

If the Frost-Cold Scythe could cleave Extreme North City in two, and the Abyssal Touch could shatter Takamagahara, then of course everyone would have to heed his views and ask his opinion.

Unfortunately, he was nowhere near that powerful at present. All he could do was fulfill his duties within the limited scope available to him...

Speaking of which, what should he have for dinner today?

Chen Ziang took out his phone and began checking the cafeteria menu.

The Intelligence Bureau’s cafeteria served food far better than the Public Security Office’s. It even offered sukiyaki made with a spicy broth base. He had eaten it once with Rena before, and it had been excellent. They had cooked duck blood, bullfrogs, and fish heads in the pot.

A chat window suddenly flashed on the computer screen. Xia Qingyu was looking for him again.

Come over.

Chen Ziang went to Xia Qingyu’s office and found her standing by the window. In a solemn voice, she said, “The midterm elections begin next week. The higher-ups have decided that Seiko Takano can no longer be allowed to continue her killing spree. Otherwise, it will affect the parliamentary elections.”

“Understood.” Chen Ziang’s spirits lifted. “So we’re going to stop her?”

“She is currently tracking a member of the Women’s Mutual Aid Society named Kumiko Tsurumi.” Xia Qingyu continued to face away from him, her voice indifferent. “But we have already taken this person into custody in advance, with the aim of delaying Seiko Takano’s actions.”

“The foreign organization colluding with the Women’s Mutual Aid Society is the Federation’s Human Rights Observers. One of its members, Maho Watanabe, arrived in Extreme North City’s Heian District some time ago.”

“Next, we will arrange for Kumiko Tsurumi and Maho Watanabe to meet. Then we will leak the information to Seiko Takano, lure her over, and negotiate with her.”

“You and Seiko Takano knew each other in the past. The task of persuading her will be left to you. If the mission fails, I will transfer you to the Intelligence Section to work as a desk officer.”

Chen Ziang: ...

Transfer me, the section chief, to desk duty? Never mind the other field agents—wouldn’t Rena immediately rebel against you?

If you dismissed both the section chief and deputy section chief at once, the Field Operations Section would collapse on the spot. Xia Qingyu would have to be completely insane to do something like that.

This woman probably only had a hard mouth. She simply could not stand speaking without provoking someone. Naturally, he was not going to take it personally.

“Are you certain you only want me to persuade her, rather than arrest her?” Chen Ziang asked, puzzled.

“She is still useful,” Xia Qingyu said indifferently.

“Qingyu, I don’t understand.” Chen Ziang pressed the point. “From a legal standpoint, Seiko Takano is already a criminal, and she is continuing to commit more murders. Why aren’t we arresting her? Why are we standing by and allowing her to kill even more people? Doesn’t that contradict the duties of public security personnel?”

“Are you public security personnel?” Xia Qingyu countered.

Chen Ziang froze, rendered speechless.

That was right. Although the nature of their work had not changed much, he and Rena had already left the public security system and become agents of the Intelligence Bureau.

“I remember that Seiko Takano used to be your friend.” Xia Qingyu suddenly turned around.

Her words sounded almost mocking, but unexpectedly, there was not the slightest trace of mockery in her voice.

Chen Ziang looked at her in surprise. Yet within those nearly black eyes, he could see only depth, mystery, and emptiness.

“Yes. She was my friend.” He sighed and lowered his voice. “So I’m supposed to sit by and watch her get shot to death by the military sniper you’ve arranged after committing all these crimes? Or should I try to arrest her and stop her first, then see whether there’s still any room to turn things around?”

“Xia Qingyu, I don’t believe you would let a witch remain at large forever. The only reason you are willing to let her operate freely now is because she is useful to you. But what happens once she has exhausted that usefulness? The more crimes she commits now, the more tragic her final fate will be. I have no doubt about that.”

“Your brain is beginning to develop,” Xia Qingyu said with a cold laugh. “Unfortunately, it has not finished developing yet.”

Chen Ziang helplessly spread his hands, meaning, Mock me all you like. You’re the superior, so everything you say is right.

Xia Qingyu watched him in silence. She continued staring until those black eyes made Chen Ziang’s scalp prickle, then slowly spoke.

“Come with me.”

“Where?” Chen Ziang asked blankly.

“Since you insist on continuing to act foolishly, I will take you to meet the person you want to protect...” Xia Qingyu said coldly.

“...and show you exactly what kind of creature she is.”

(End of Chapter)