Chapter 22: The Justice in Your Heart

Ping'an District is the political hub of the Far North City, housing both the Governor's Office and the Star District Council. Many members of the landed gentry also choose to reside in the "Palace Precinct" near the Governor's Office, rather than the "Government Office Street" favored by the island-born bureaucrats.

Chen Zi'ang was at the wheel, while Xia Qingyu sat in the passenger seat, gazing silently out the window. For some reason, the memory of his beautiful superior crying and apologizing to him at the Historical Memorial Hall suddenly surfaced in his mind:

"Chen Zi'ang."
"Everyone has taboos in their heart that cannot be touched."
"So, I am sorry. I cannot explain this matter to you..."

It was truly surprising that Xia Qingyu would say "I am sorry." Although he had been too busy with the urgency of the situation to dwell on it then, reflecting on it now, he realized that there must be some complex, hidden reason behind her constant coldness toward him—the "untouchable taboo" she had spoken of.

But... whatever.

Chen Zi'ang was not the type to pry into others' secrets. Even though Yuegong Lingnai had never told him the truth—such as why she was so well-versed in his personal preferences—he had never held it against her. Some things people are unwilling to tell you are not because they don't trust you, but likely because their wounds have not yet healed. If you force the truth out of them, you might succeed in finding the answer, but you will also cause harm and shatter the relationship in the process.

"We're almost there," Chen Zi'ang said suddenly.

"Go into the underground garage," Xia Qingyu commanded.

After parking the car, the two of them took the elevator upstairs. It didn't stop on the first floor and continued to rise smoothly. Through the reflection in the metal elevator doors, Chen Zi'ang could see that Xia Qingyu was wearing a white shirt and a beige high-waisted skirt today, revealing her smooth calves and sneakers. No black stockings. Honestly, without the black stockings, much of her cold, icy aura seemed to have vanished. If one ignored her dark, temperatureless eyes, her outfit made her look like a fashionable, sexy, sweet girl.

A sweet girl... Chen Zi'ang shivered. It was hard to associate that word with Xia Qingyu.

"What's wrong?" Xia Qingyu asked coldly. "Are you having a seizure?"

"It's nothing, just a cramp in my neck," Chen Zi'ang opted for a nonsensical excuse.

As expected, even though she knew he was talking nonsense, she didn't bother to pursue it, merely turning her head coldly to look at the floor indicator. The elevator finally reached the 28th floor, and Xia Qingyu took out her key to open the door to unit 2802. Chen Zi'ang followed her in, closing the door behind him.

He followed her into the bedroom, where there was no bed or furniture, only a single chair placed in the center. He was about to ask what the chair was for when he saw her sit down and produce a silver key between her fingers. She inserted the key into the empty air and gave it a gentle turn, opening a door in the void. To be precise, it was a screen the size of a doorway, showing what appeared to be... the view from behind the wall?

*What kind of power is this silver key?* Chen Zi'ang wondered in amazement. *It can lock powers, trap ghouls, seal mists, and now it can even peer through walls?*

He watched as a woman sat in the room across the way. She looked nervous, pacing back and forth as if gripped by fear and anxiety. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and she stood up to open the door, ushering the visitor inside. The newcomer was another woman, dressed far more elegantly. She scanned the room before speaking:

"Kumiho Tsurumi, why did you choose to meet here?"

"Ms. Watanabe, it's not safe outside," Kumiho Tsurumi said nervously. "Many of my friends... have gone missing. I suspect they've been arrested!"

Watanabe Maho let out a disdainful scoff and said calmly, "That's what dictators do—they only use crude, physical liquidation against dissidents. Don't worry. If you perform well, I can recommend you for our organization, and then you won't have to worry about being implicated."

"No," Kumiho Tsurumi refused flatly. "You must let me join you immediately, or I will stop cooperating with you!"

"Tsurumi, you'd best not take yourself too seriously," Watanabe Maho sneered. "I have at least fifty prominent bloggers under my command; what impact could losing you possibly have? I'm only sparing you from becoming a sacrifice. Don't be ungrateful and turn my good intentions into a bargaining chip. Now, what progress has been made on this month's public opinion campaign?"

"About the same as last month," Kumiho Tsurumi said, swallowing her pride as she handed over a file. "Take a look."

"You didn't keep a digital copy, did you?" Watanabe Maho asked, frowning as she took the papers.

"No," Kumiho Tsurumi shook her head hurriedly.

Watanabe Maho sat on the edge of the bed and began to review the report, critiquing it without reservation:

"You aren't doing this well enough. You need to learn to use grand narratives, understand? No single victim's case is isolated; behind it lies the structural oppression of the entire society..."

"...It's just like writing a novel. You can't just have a villain defeated one day and another one appear the next; people will get bored of that mechanical repetition. You must establish a long-term, grand, and seemingly invincible ultimate enemy to unite everyone for a sustained, long-term struggle."

"...Right, this engagement case is well-handled; the organization commended your results last week. But there are still flaws, you know? Debates online require friction to generate heat..."

"...Go to forums with a higher male demographic, find posts with extreme opinions, and use burner accounts to provoke them. A common enemy increases group cohesion; I shouldn't have to teach you that, should I?"

"...The vast majority of people on the internet lack independent critical thinking skills. When they see a news story, they form a judgment instantly, and then they only look at the comment section to confirm their own bias. If the majority of the comments are dissenting, they'll just close the page and leave, and the fire won't catch..."

"...Therefore, for your news to reach its intended propaganda effect, the top comments—at least the first screen—must be posted by our own people. Use an army of bots to push them to the top. Most people only scroll once or twice; once you occupy that first screen, the trend of public opinion is basically set. You can leave the rest to them to vent freely; it doesn't matter..."

In the room next door, Chen Zi'ang watched all of this in silence, feeling a sudden, chilling sense of horror.

"How is it?" Xia Qingyu asked with a sneer. "This is the person you wanted to protect from Takano Seiko. How do you feel now?"

"Takano Seiko is indeed committing crimes, but what about these two? I won't test your intelligence—I can tell you that current law has no way to deal with people like this, because when Takamagahara joined the Federal Star Alliance, one of the treaties signed was to ensure 'freedom of speech' and 'freedom of the press'."

"So-called freedom of speech doesn't mean anyone can say whatever they like; it means that when the enemy organizes a large-scale war of public opinion, you cannot use simple administrative censorship to defend against it. Takamagahara has already lost its greatest home-field advantage."

"Takano Seiko's actions cannot reverse the current disadvantage in the opinion war in one fell swoop, but at least she can slow the trend of deterioration. Of course, those who are obsessed with law, morality, and justice are free to disagree with me."

She took out her phone, quickly keyed in a long string of numbers, and handed it to Chen Zi'ang.

"This is Watanabe Maho's number. If you call it now, she will immediately become suspicious and leave, avoiding her fate of being killed by Takano Seiko. Of course, many more people will suffer as a result of that."

"Come on, make your choice. Tell me, what exactly is the justice in your heart?"

The corners of Xia Qingyu's mouth rose slightly, her cold smile possessing a bewitching charm that left Chen Zi'ang breathless.