"Do we really need a plan? What kind of plan are you even thinking of?" Jing Shu's head tilted as her eyes narrowed slightly. The longer those stolen supplies stayed gone, the harder they would be to retrieve from the city. If they had already been used or divided up among cronies, then even killing the thief wouldn't get them back. The best time to act is right now.
That batch of supplies she had hauled from the underground black market in America wasn't some small deal to be brushed aside. Most of it had been traded using the tens of thousands of black-market coins Xiao Dou earned for her. The haul included tons of grain and wheat, salt, oil, fabric, pig bristles which were a strategic material, and cattle and sheep hides. Every one of those items was precious to her, so she would never let them go without a fight.
At first, she thought the theft might've been some kind of organized, premeditated operation. Maybe someone high up in the administration had taken a liking to the goods. Maybe it was Li Yuetian's superior. Maybe it was collusion at the top level of the local government. But she hadn't expected this particular situation; Wu City's dying governor couldn't even keep his own son in check, and that idiot ended up dragging her into the mess.
People had already been extorted by Jin Baba or straight-up robbed by him in the streets. And instead of fighting back, they just swallowed the insult down. The sad part is, he knew exactly who to mess with. Guys like Li Yuetian, with little to no background, were easy targets for him.
Jin Baba had cleaned him out completely, and he still didn't dare make a sound of protest. Even after begging everyone he could and getting nowhere, he realized just how powerless he truly was. Jin Baba had even sent a message: "I will make a call to whoever in the capital. It's just selling someone a favor, isn't it?"
That kind of arrogance could suffocate a man. Li Yuetian knew the truth of the matter. If he asked the capital for help, he would only offend both sides. He might get the supplies back, but he would owe a favor to the capital and piss off Jin Baba in the process.
As for reporting him to the supervision department? That's kid's talk. In the adult world, if you're going to pull a weed, you had better be ready to rip out the whole root, not just a single blade of grass. In short, if you're going to fight, fight to the end. Don't cry to the authorities expecting miracles. That's what being powerless feels like, whether in the apocalypse or before it happened.
"Then let's go. You're right, no plan is needed." Li Yuetian sighed, the sound heavy in the room. He had already tried everything, even called up Yang Yang. Yang's only reply was, "If it's already in that local Tyrant's hands, just assassinate him. Everyone in Wu City will back you up."
Jing Shu had plenty of ways to take her supplies back. One of them was exposure. If she leaked the news online, such a cruel and despicable act would definitely blow up, spark outrage, and she wouldn't only get her supplies back but probably gain some fame too.
The problem is, once the noise died down, she would probably die too. She couldn't afford that risk. Even if the higher-ups executed Jin Baba because of public pressure, as long as his family lived, she would be next on the chopping block. Sure, Jing Shu was strong enough to kill anyone who came for her, but her family wouldn't be safe from retaliation.
Another option was to crush him with higher authority, like joining the S-Class National Elite; this is an independent organization with untouchable power and no restrictions. She could use that to suppress him completely. But that's still far beyond what she planned to do for now.
"When a spoiled brat screws up, it's his dad who has to fix it. It's not that serious. However he took my stuff, that's exactly how he's going to return it," Jing Shu said lightly, trying to calm Li Yuetian's nerves. Honestly, if she didn't vent this anger, she would feel like she had betrayed herself.
To Li Yuetian, Jing Shu had always been polite, gentle, and kind. She was a girl who liked to help others. But ever since she came back from America, she seemed to have torn off that polite mask and hypocritical smile. She had revealed her real nature underneath it all.
"She's going to blow the roof off this time," he muttered as they walked to the car. "What are we even going to do once his old man dies?"
As they sat together in the pickup truck heading toward the government compound, Li Yuetian was already wondering where to transfer once the governor passed. "No, I've got to talk to a few old comrades when I get back. Or maybe I will go to my wife's hometown in Sichuan. I heard there're plenty of henpecked men there to swap tips with."
Jing Shu's thoughts drifted as the tires hummed on the road. The truth is, there was another reason she wanted to meet Wu City's governor face-to-face. She needed to know if her own butterfly effect had somehow killed the man early.
She didn't remember exactly when he had died in her past life, but the Tyrant who replaced him had only taken power in the fourth or fifth year. That meant the governor definitely hadn't died in the third year. Unless, of course, in her past life he had been on the brink of death around now and barely managed to last until the fourth year.
Either way, as long as he's still alive, Jin Baba couldn't cause too much trouble, and getting her supplies back would be a lot easier. Jing Shu also wanted to see how bad the governor's condition was and how long he could hold on. She couldn't help thinking how incredible it was. In her last life, she wouldn't have even dared to imagine this, yet now she can actually meet the highest authority of Wu City face-to-face.
They soon arrived at their destination. To her surprise, the government family compound was in the city's remote outskirts, on the opposite side of Xishan, also known as East Mountain. It was at the foot of the mountain, sitting high enough that it hadn't been flooded by the rising waters, and it looked like the quakes hadn't damaged its foundations either.
"This place was built just four years ago. Pretty, isn't it? It's a shame the apocalypse hit after only a year," Li Yuetian sighed as they approached the gates.
Jing Shu nodded. This wasn't some regular housing area; it's a cluster of retro-style three-story villas. The people living here're obviously the real power players of Wu City. Aside from a few five-story office buildings, there were no tall structures at all. Safe from earthquakes and self-sustaining in the apocalypse, it really was like a hidden paradise.
An old soldier stopped their pickup at the gate. Li Yuetian was just about to explain their business when a man with yellowed teeth popped up in front of the vehicle, waving his arms excitedly.
"Make way, make way! Our vice president from the Medicinal Herb Association, Vice President Jing, is here to treat Lao Jin!" he shouted.
Instantly, everyone around saluted in unison and ushered Jing Shu out of the vehicle with warm smiles. Outside cars weren't allowed in, so a young soldier drove them further in on a quiet patrol buggy.
That yellow-toothed man was none other than Zhou Bapi, the vice president of the Medicinal Herb Association. It looked like he had a good relationship with the governor. Jing Shu felt a twinge of guilt. These past few months, Zhou Bapi had taken responsibility for her absence, letting her disappear under the excuse of her "studying abroad."
Both Jing Shu and Li Yuetian were momentarily dumbfounded.
"Wait, what the hell? I'm here to take back my stuff!" Jing Shu blurted.
Zhou Bapi still looked as scruffy and lazy as ever, but when he saw her, he broke into a grin like he'd just reunited with an old friend. That warmth somehow smoothed out the killing intent she had been holding in, calming her rage a little.
===
If you like this novel, and I'm pretty sure you do since you literally read all the way to this chapter, I want to share the next project I picked up on AO3. It's a xianxia comedy called "When Everyone Cultivates, I Snatch Opportunities." The protagonist is, quite literally, a thief, and her stuff gets stolen as the background of the story. She also has multiple lives, always reincarnating with the same name because her fate and luck were stolen from her.
The funniest part is how her habits start rubbing off on her pet. They turn into a little troublemakers, it cracks me up every time.
I couldn't resist picking this project. I found the novel yesterday, and by this morning I realized I didn't enjoy reading it through machine translation anymore. I tried Edge first, then switched to Chrome, both on Android, but the reading felt off. It was a bit better on my laptop, I read it through ARC, but all three rely on Google Translate anyway. The novel is still ongoing and has around six hundred chapters if I remember correctly.
Here's the blurb. If it sounds like something you'll enjoy, feel free to check it out on my AO3, and don't forget to join my discord. The link is on my profile.
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Transmigrated? Check. Doomed to an early death? Check.
Feng Qinghe's response is to pull off the ultimate heist, emptying the protagonist's family vault before making her grand escape.
Suddenly, the cultivation world is in chaos. Destined encounters vanish and hard-won treasures disappear, all without a trace or a villain to blame.
When questioned, Feng Qinghe just shrugs. "It's a gift from the heavens~ You snooze, you lose."
Faced with an untraceable enemy, the entire cultivation community makes the only logical choice: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So they become a legion of opportunity-snatchers, too. The spiritual energy is pure, but the collective morals have hit rock bottom. After all, why fight destiny when you can just steal its lunch money?
The new rule of cultivation is simple: See it. Want it. Take it.