"If we could find and end this disaster in a short ti, it would naturally be a good thing, but what if we can't find a solution quickly?"
"Most people within the city are focused on finding soone, especially those with power and influence, no one resists anymore, and those zombies are going to slaughter unabated as if entering an uninhabited region."
"At this ti, we can't let the morale of Broken Pot City's inhabitants disintegrate."
"And even if they die, most of those who die will be those desperate outlaws; consider it a belated execution."
"Do you understand?"
Today, he had spoken a lot of words, unusually so, as he wasn't typically that talkative.
"I understand."
Chi Qiu nodded his head with a complex expression, it was so complicated; he felt like he understood a bit, but at the sa ti, he did not fully grasp it.
"Right, don't let this news get out; it's an unverifiable decision."
The mayor spoke softly with an indifferent expression, knowing that if this matter were to get out, being labeled as a mayor of Fengtian City who stood by in the face of death would invite a barrage of incomprehension and curses.
He couldn't be sure if spreading the news would lead to a better outco.
It was an unverifiable matter.
But he still believed in his judgnt, that his decision would result in fewer deaths.
What the two of them hadn't noticed was that, far from them, a reporter's eyelids slightly drooped, carefully watching the recording pen not far from their feet.
...
"Liu, I've found explosive news!!!"
A girl who appeared very youthful and energetic, holding a recording pen, excitedly rushed to a middle-aged man, her voice trembling with excitent, "Liu, haven't you always said that our television station doesn't have any explosive news or much attention?"
"I've found so now!"
"I had accidentally lost my recording pen earlier and spent ages following its tracker before realizing it had fallen close by. Just as I was about to go pick it up, I saw the mayor there talking to soone. Afraid of causing a misunderstanding or being seen as eavesdropping on purpose, I didn't approach."
"Only after they left did I go over, and then I discovered that the recording pen was on. Out of curiosity, I listened to it, and do you know what I heard? Huge news!!!"
The girl cautiously played the recording, revealing the conversation between Chi Qiu and the mayor.
"Can we broadcast this?"
"We cannot."
The man known as Liu rolled his eyes at the girl, "You and Xiaohua are both interns who recently joined our television station. I'm grateful that you understand the struggles that the station is facing, but sotis, you need to think more seriously."
"The mayor himself said this shouldn't get out, and you want to leak it. Isn't that going against the mayor's wishes?"
"Oh."
The girl hung her head slightly in disappointnt, fiddling with her clothes without giving a response.
But just then—
The other girl standing to the side, nad Xiaohua, spoke up angrily after hearing the conversation, "The mayor of Fengtian City clearly knows there's a way to resolve this disaster sooner; why would he hide this news?"
"Isn't this condemning millions of lives in Broken Pot City to death?"
"No, this ssage must be released. If we can find the person with the plum blossom tattoo within seven days, do you know how many lives could be spared?"
"It can't be leaked."
Liu shook his head expressionlessly, "I am the boss, and what I say is the command."
"We are journalists, not lapdogs."
"If everyone tells us not to leak news, should we just comply? Then there's no need for us to write press releases either. We could just let novelists make up a story every day instead, since we can't tell the truth anyway."
After speaking, the tall girl nad Xiaohua, standing at an impressive 175 cm, stord off in a huff, clearly disagreeing with her boss.
...
"Sigh."
Watching Xiaohua walk away, Liu sighed softly; this intern was the most troubleso for him, yet due to certain relationships, he had no choice but to offer her a permanent position.
"Liu."
Continue your adventure at empire
At this mont, the girl who originally found the ssage spoke up softly, frightened by the tense atmosphere, trying to defend Xiaohua, "Don't be mad at her. Xiaohua is just a bit too straightforward and overly zealous for justice."
"When she sees soone spitting or smoking in public, she will go up to them and loudly reprimand them, not sparing any feelings."
"And she's very impartial."
"Once, I saw her on the street with her dad getting milk tea. When her father spat on the ground, she called him out on the spot, accusing him of lacking manners. She doesn't tailor her actions to the person."
"She has a good heart, it's just that her way of doing things can be a bit unpleasant."
"A good heart?"
Liu looked at Xiaohua with a complex expression and after a while spoke softly, "Perhaps she simply enjoys the feeling of criticizing others from a moral high ground. Publicly chastising her own father— is that righteousness or the loss of humanity?"
"And it's clear she was never disciplined as a child."
"Even if the other's behavior is wrong, this kind of relentless public criticism can end your life if you happen to co across a desperate criminal."
"You might not encounter one a thousand tis, but just once is enough for you to be done for."
"That's not justice."
"It's the disgusting hypocrisy of enjoying the thrill of criticizing others who cannot fight back."
The girl stood there stunned, not quite grasping the aning of Liu's words.
However, just then—
A news broadcast appeared on every outdoor screen and wristwatch in Broken Pot City.
"Hello everyone, I am Liu Xiaohua, a reporter intern with Supre Television Station from Jingjiu City. I must tell all the citizens of Broken Pot City a truth— you've been abandoned by the governnt."
"Your lives are nothing more than disposable pawns in the eyes of the governnt."
"Before we proceed, let play you a recording."
"The recording is quite long, so I've extracted so key information."
「Mayor, why don't we spread this ssage, it could help Broken Pot City have fewer deaths.」
「What kind of people are most in Broken Pot City?」
「Desperate outlaws.」
「Even if they die, most who die will be those outlaws; consider it a belated execution.」
"I stumbled upon this information by chance, and when I found out the mayor of Fengtian City had decided to give up on your lives, I almost lost my mind in that instant. I cannot sit by while the governnt uses the lives of ten million people as a political tool."
"I'm here to reveal crucial information, that the Sea of Zombies event was manually activated, with soone completing a task chain that triggered this fixed event."
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