"Do we really need a plan? What kind of plan are you even thinking of?" Jing Shu narrowed her eyes slightly. The longer those stolen supplies stayed gone, the harder they'd be to retrieve. If they'd already been used or divided up, then even killing the thief wouldn't get them back. The best time to act was now.
That batch of supplies she'd hauled from the underground black market in America wasn't some small deal. Most of it had been traded using the tens of thousands of black-market coins Xiao Dou earned for her, including tons of grain and wheat, salt, oil, fabric, pig bristles (a strategic material), and cattle and sheep hides. Every one of those items was precious to her, so she'd never let them go.
At first, she thought the theft might've been some kind of organized, premeditated operation. Maybe someone high up had taken a liking to the goods. Maybe it was Li Yuetian's superior. Maybe it was collusion at the top level of the government.
But she hadn't expected this—Wu City's dying governor couldn't even keep his 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. And instead of fighting back, they just swallowed it down. The sad part was, he knew who to mess with.
Guys like Li Yuetian, with little to no background, were easy targets. Jin Baba had cleaned him out completely, and he still didn't dare make a sound. Even after begging everyone he could and getting nowhere, he realized just how powerless he was. Jin Baba had even sent a message:
"I'll 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. If he asked the capital for help, he'd only offend both sides—he might get the supplies back, but he'd owe a favor to the capital and piss off Jin Baba in the process. As for reporting him to the supervision department? That was kid's talk. In the adult world, if you're gonna pull a weed, you'd better be ready to rip out the whole root, not just a single blade of grass.
In short, if you're gonna 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.
"Then let's go. You're right, no plan needed." Li Yuetian sighed. He'd 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 it online, such a cruel and despicable act would definitely blow up, spark outrage, and she'd not only get her supplies back but probably gain some fame too. The problem was, once the noise died down, she'd 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'd 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.
Another option was to crush him with higher authority, like joining the S-Class National Elite—an independent organization with untouchable power and no restrictions. She could use that to suppress him completely. But that was 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 gonna return it," Jing Shu said lightly, trying to calm Li Yuetian. Honestly, if she didn't vent this anger, she'd feel like she'd betrayed herself.
To Li Yuetian, Jing Shu had always been polite, gentle, soft-spoken, and kind—a girl who liked to help others. But ever since she came back from America, she seemed to have torn off that polite mask, hypocritical smile and revealed her real nature underneath.
"She's gonna blow the roof off this time," he muttered. "What are we even gonna 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 gotta talk to a few old comrades when I get back. Or maybe I'll go to my wife's hometown in Sichuan. I heard there are plenty of henpecked men there to swap tips with."
Jing Shu's thoughts drifted too. The truth was, 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'd 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'd been on the brink of death around now and barely managed to last till the fourth.
Either way, as long as he was 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 could 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—East Mountain. It was at the foot of the mountain, sitting high enough that it hadn't been flooded, and it looked like the quakes hadn't damaged it either.
"This place was built just four years ago. Pretty, isn't it? Shame the apocalypse hit after only a year," Li Yuetian sighed.
Jing Shu nodded. This wasn't some regular housing area—it was a cluster of retro-style three-story villas. The people living here were 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, 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 when a man with yellowed teeth popped up in front of the vehicle, waving 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 in on a 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 "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'd 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.