Chapter 38: Chapter 38: This is an Attempt

Control a Divine Being? The sheer implications were clearly beyond what Li Kang could process, causing him to shut down completely.

Then, Chu Bamboo pushed the matter to the back of his mind and went back to watching his movie. He already had a concrete plan, and all he had to do was execute it, step by step...

The killer’s capture was a foregone conclusion. The only thing left to consider was how many lives Chu Bamboo would need to sacrifice to make it happen.

Nine in the morning.

The base’s main gate opened again.

This time, it was Guan Fei, his eyes bloodshot, and Wall Announcements, who was drenched in sweat.

"...Mr. Zhu! Something terrible’s happ—uh." Guan Fei’s shout died in his throat. He was dumbfounded, watching Chu Bamboo play Tetris.

At that moment, each block in the game of Tetris simulated by Nuwa No. 17 slammed down with immense noise. If not for the lack of vibrations, it would have been as if someone were tearing down the base’s load-bearing walls to stack blocks.

Wall Announcements was speechless.

They had, of course, spoken with Li Kang before coming. And while Li Kang had told them that Chu Bamboo was doing things far beyond their imagination... this scene was still impossible for them to comprehend.

Then, Wall Announcements pinched Guan Fei hard in the soft flesh of his waist.

"OW! You little brat, you’ve got a death wish!" Guan Fei erupted in fury. Wall Announcements hurriedly pointed toward the distant Chu Bamboo, who remained perfectly still, playing his game.

"...Oh, right!" Guan Fei came to his senses, his anxiety returning in a rush. "What are you... no, you have to step in! Things have already gotten out of control."

"The union guard has mobilized! They’re saying they’re going to hang every last Factory Director. They’ve already swept up a huge number of workers and are pouring out of the shantytown district... Outside, it’s absolute chaos!"

"You’re the only one who can stop this!" Guan Fei’s voice was pleading. The situation outside had become extremely critical. Based on what they’d heard from Li Kang over the phone, the huge commotion had already alerted the higher-ups in Jinghai City.

The city administration has already started organizing meetings with the various district leadership teams. If this isn’t resolved as quickly as possible, the higher-ups might genuinely make a... less than ideal decision.

"Oh," Chu Bamboo said, his face devoid of expression. He picked his ear and asked casually, "How many people have died?"

Guan Fei was baffled.

Wall Announcements’ eyes glazed over; he almost thought he’d heard wrong.

"Not yet... no, what do you mean, ’how many people have died’?! I-if this turns truly violent, even you will have a hard time stopping it!" Guan Fei’s voice trembled.

"You don’t understand." Chu Bamboo turned to look at Guan Fei then, with a look that Guan Fei found impossible to decipher. "This is a test."

’Use the heads of the Factory Directors to beat the grass and flush out the snakes.’

Then, Chu Bamboo calmly resumed his game of Tetris.

"...You... you!" After a brief silence, Guan Fei finally understood. His whole body trembled, purely out of anger. "How could you... be this kind of person? Th-this can’t be..."

Guan Fei bit his lip, giving Chu Bamboo a long, hard look, his face etched with disappointment. "I’m leaving. Goodbye, Mr. Zhu. Goodbye for good."

Guan Fei had always deeply respected Chu Bamboo. He knew Chu Bamboo was the one who had changed everything in the shantytown district, that he was possibly the only person in the world who treated its residents as actual human beings. It was precisely because of Chu Bamboo’s words and deeds, because he led by example, that the union had been able to transform the district so much.

That was why he couldn’t understand it. Why was Chu Bamboo now so utterly indifferent to the union and the shantytown district? Why didn’t he care how much damage and turmoil his detached inaction would cause to the district, to all of Jinghai City? And why didn’t he care how many people his current indifference would ultimately get killed?

This was not the Chu Bamboo he knew! He left without a single look back. Wall Announcements glanced from Chu Bamboo to Guan Fei, gave a bitter smile, and followed close behind him.

As for Chu Bamboo, he remained as impassive as ever.

Twelve noon.

Chu Bamboo got up, stretched his back, then had Nuwa No. 17 shut down the light screen and left the base. ’Time for lunch.’

...

The moment he stepped out of the Police Chief Bureau, Chu Bamboo noticed the change in atmosphere.

Soldiers in Leather Armor patrolled grimly outside the City Gate. It was a scene of heavy security, with a guard post every ten steps and a sentry every three.

Chu Bamboo was stopped for inspection several times on his way out. Fortunately, his status as an Honored Guest Elder of the Police Chief Bureau’s special task force carried significant weight, allowing him to pass through without trouble. All in all, the air was thick with the smell of smoke and conflict.

As he entered the Third District proper, Chu Bamboo paused and narrowed his eyes. There were still pedestrians on the streets, but they were few and far between. They were almost all men, with no women to be seen, and they all hurried along with faces full of panic and fear.

The glass of many storefronts was shattered, and some wood-framed buildings were burning.

Corpses and severed limbs were scattered along the streets, blood soaking the ground black.

Hanging from the roadside lampposts were "sunny-day dolls," one after another. They were dressed in fine clothes—some in solemn Zhongshan suits and matching caps, others in Tang suits. Every one of them was paunchy and thick-waisted, with soft, pudgy fingers. A single glance told you they were men who had enjoyed a life of immense privilege.

But now, they were all just hanged ghosts.

"This technique... not bad at all," Chu Bamboo remarked after a moment’s observation, nodding in satisfaction. "It has my old flair."

He, too, had made a name for himself hanging "sunny-day dolls" back in the day. The difference was, he had mostly hung thugs from the criminal underworld.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire erupted in the distance.

Chu Bamboo’s steps faltered. He glanced in that direction and made a quick mental calculation. ’Hm... that’s right in the direction of my old home, the shantytown district.’

’Sounds pretty intense.’

Then, Chu Bamboo nonchalantly walked off in the opposite direction. In the current environment, however, finding a place for lunch was no easy task. After searching for a full hour, he finally managed to find a noodle shop near the wealthy district.

He was halfway through his bowl of noodles.

A shadow fell over him.

Chu Bamboo raised an eyebrow with interest and looked up. He saw Li Kang, his face a mix of bitterness, helplessness, and powerlessness; a stone-faced Guan Fei; and the ever-casual Ning Linglong.

"Found the killer yet?" Chu Bamboo asked placidly.

"You’re still asking about the killer?" Guan Fei spoke up, his tone a world away from his previous admiration and respect. "I would have thought," he said with a sneer, "you’d be more concerned with how many people have died!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Then how many people died?" Chu Bamboo asked, following his lead.

This left Guan Fei feeling like he’d thrown a punch into a ball of cotton. He opened his mouth several times, but not a single word would come out.

"Probably in the triple digits, for a start," Li Kang said. "From the looks of it, the union guard, which was already operating in a gray area, will definitely be forcibly disbanded by the higher-ups. All of its core members will be arrested and wanted. The only saving grace is that the guard didn’t have many firearms. Otherwise, the situation would have been much worse... and the casualties would be in the four digits, at least."

"Heh heh... the guard disbanded?" Guan Fei let out a laugh that sounded worse than a sob. "At this rate, I’m afraid the entire union will be disbanded!"

"Uncle Zhu!" Ning Linglong completely ignored Guan Fei, who hadn’t been emotionally stable since leaving the base that morning. She said softly, "You really need to thank the captain this time. If he hadn’t insisted... and on top of that... you might have been implicated."

"Then again, looking at it from another angle, it’s also because you never once interfered with the union guard... That’s how the higher-ups concluded that you weren’t the mastermind behind this riot."