CHAPTER 126: THE DIRECTION OF THE HUMAN HEART, THE TREND OF THE TIMES

Wu You’ai’s words cast a heavy silence over the group, one filled with dawning horror. If even law-abiding citizens struggled to find enough to eat, what fate awaited criminals? Perhaps only death.

Zhu Fan shivered, accidentally touching his wound, which caused him to grimace in pain. He stretched out his withered, aged hand, unable to stop it from trembling. Why, why has it become like this?

The wound kept festering and oozing, then formed sores. Despite the hot weather, it didn’t seem to become inflamed, yet it looked as though it would never heal. Zhu Fan had asked the other two, and they were experiencing the same issues. Their bodies’ fluids seemed to have been drained in an instant, making them appear many years older.

Jing Shu was also pondering this problem.

Just the other day, Su Meimei’s phony dad had been stung by the bees Jing Shu released. Eager to know what happened, Jing Shu had secretly inquired the next day. She learned that Su Meimei’s phony dad had hitched a ride out of Wu City overnight.

This left Jing Shu, who had further plans, feeling slightly regretful. Well, he got away fast.

With no "real dad" to protect her anymore, Su Meimei had returned home from the hospital, where Zhang Hanhan was taking care of her.

On the day of her discharge, Jing Shu had caught a glimpse from afar. Su Meimei looked truly pitiful. Her eyes were wrapped in gauze, and she stumbled along, following Zhang Hanhan.

Her entire body was oozing pus, some of which had dried into hard crusts. Her skin was wrinkled and withered like that of a sixty-year-old woman, her cheeks sunken.

Zhang Hanhan, who was supporting her, wore a look of disgust. Zhang Zhongyong, who had come to pick them up, kept frowning, impatiently telling them to hurry.

Jing Shu sneered. Some people’s self-inflicted misfortunes are just beginning to be repaid. Su Meimei has more to suffer; let her first taste the bitterness of being abandoned by everyone.

Jing Shu continued to observe the other people who had been stung. An unbelievable thought began to rise from within her, becoming unstoppable. She faintly guessed something.

I wonder what effect Money Plant + Spiritual Spring + bee stinger will achieve? Jing Shu was excited for a long time, just waiting for a suitable person to experiment on again.

Jing Shu felt that she had always been stuck in a misconception, believing that using the Spiritual Spring must lead to positive development. But what if it was the other way around? If consuming the Spiritual Spring increased life force, then being stung by a bee that had consumed Spiritual Spring would cause one to rapidly lose life force. Yes, that must be it! I am truly a genius!

Magic Cube Space, such a miraculous space. It seemed as though endless abilities were waiting for her to unlock. Jing Shu was already practicing the Magic Cube impatiently, hoping to level up soon and glimpse even more abilities!

「Time blinked by, and it was July 2023.」

The government enacted sweeping reforms, clearing region after region of suspected criminals and conducting household checks to confirm identities, as well as to educate on new laws.

The apocalypse theory had been circulating on the internet for a long time. The nation, initially opposed, now seemed to acknowledge it. Jing Shu knew that this year’s National Day would bring the official announcement accepting the apocalypse theory. January 1, 2023, the day the sunlight vanished, would be designated the first day of the apocalypse.

Jing Shu distinctly remembered the speech from that day: "More than seventy years ago today, Huaxia was established. Seventy-odd years later, on this very day, we are indeed facing the apocalypse, but that’s not what’s terrifying. The terrifying part is our inability to unite and overcome this crisis!..."

It was because of the apocalyptic discourse and the pervasive talk of an eternal Dark Day that many people scorned laws and regulations, revealing the dark and primal desires of human nature. This led to the police being caught off guard during crackdowns, with those about to die still displaying expressions of disbelief.

After all, in the world-ending scenarios of movies and novels, what role did the government ever play? They usually just served to accentuate the protagonist’s awesomeness.

More often, these stories highlighted the hideous faces of high-ranking government officials, showcasing their utter incompetence as social structures collapsed overnight. For instance, many police officers abandoned their posts because they had families to care for; numerous government employees left their positions because money had become useless; and the ineffectual government couldn’t devise any countermeasures, among other things.

Murder, robbery, and arson were commonplace, since nobody was in charge anyway. The only thing missing was the scenario from novels where supermarkets were looted for supplies; all resources had vanished into thin air.

「While these people were dreaming of doing whatever they wished in the apocalypse, the reality was this:」

Two months before the apocalypse, the government executed corrupt officials. One month before, they slaughtered "fat sheep." When the apocalypse arrived, they took control of food and canning factories. By the second month, all grain supplies were levied.

In the third month, arrangements were made for the families of all police forces. By the fourth month, they decisively dumped all resources into the massive undertaking of the Artificial Sun. Arguably, half of Huaxia’s resources were poured into it—a true case of burning one’s boats.

By the fifth month, after inflation had devalued the currency to the point where it couldn’t buy food, Virtual Coin was urgently substituted. Regardless of the chaos, they first secured the loyalty of government and public institution employees by rewarding them with vegetables and Virtual Coins, ensuring these groups were unwaveringly committed to protecting their own interests.

In the sixth month, "comfort officers" were implemented, working in conjunction with big data to solidify these measures. By the seventh month, murderers were summarily executed on the spot, bypassing the processes of filing cases or sentencing.

If you were to say the government was incredible... Jing Shu, however, felt that it had simply captured the hearts and interests of the people, then harnessed their collective power.

This probably perfectly interpreted the true meaning of ’where the people’s hearts align, the general trend will follow.’

Apart from those who didn’t manage to escape at the very beginning, everyone else fled. They thought that without sunlight to reveal their faces and no surveillance cameras, how could they possibly be caught?

Of course, many were also apprehended right in their homes, dying without ever knowing how they were discovered. If you asked Jing Shu, this was the government’s cunning: they never told the public about the big data.

As for the criminals who fled, committing further crimes wasn’t easy. Most knives had been traded for meat, and more importantly, no family had any food left—what could they possibly rob? Don’t envy the era when people could sleep without locking their doors; there was nothing worth stealing back then!

After implementing the knife collection policy for two months, Huaxia had essentially recovered all knives and dangerous weapons. To this day, it’s still one steamed bun for a knife. Faced with the choice between eating maggots and eating steamed buns, few refrained from trading in their kitchen knives. Once Huaxia completed this round of sweeps and fully guaranteed safety, every household would once again trade their last life-saving knives for steamed buns.

So what could these people do? They had no choice but to "voluntarily" catch insects in exchange for work points. Virtual Coin transactions and usage required facial recognition for identity confirmation, which exposed them. Subsequently, depending on the severity of their crimes: murderers were executed on the spot; robbers who caused injury or death were also executed without exception; and thieves were sentenced to labor reformation. This meant endless work every day, a diet of maggot-infested food, and, reportedly, a 60% mortality rate.

Wu You’ai: "@everyone, today the Second Team’s police force will sweep our area. To ensure everyone’s safety, please stay at home and do not go out. Also, assemble in the basement at noon; everyone’s situation will be assessed. Anyone who does not show up will be charged with absconding, with the exception of civil servants and public employees."