Mastering the Sword Manual, sweeping across the globe

“That road is difficult to travel, forty kilometers, a round trip would take an afternoon. What could you possibly find out if you went? If you really found something, you'd have to write a report, collect evidence, coordinate with the police, and argue with the boss. If the boss has some connections, it would most likely end up being settled through mediation. And the whistleblower might not be willing to testify, what if they just said it offhand? What if I went and found nothing, and then came back saying I wasted my time…”

"I didn't do it..." the female team member burst into tears, "I know I didn't do it. But I don't know how to do it! You're so amazing, please teach me, what should I do?"

"I'll teach you?" Zhang Qiliang was baffled. "I don't own a tobacco company, and I don't take a salary from the national treasury. Why should I know what to do?"

This... is way beyond the scope of the curriculum. The female technician, her face covered in snot and tears, didn't know how to answer.

“You chose this profession, so you should know what to do,” Zhang Qiliang said. “As for us, we just need to know that you didn’t do a good job.”

Two seconds later.

The ponytail is still there, the uniform is still there, and the epaulets are still new.

But she no longer needs to think about "why she didn't go".

She stared blankly at the person in front of her, then looked around at the people standing or slumped in various positions, trying to understand everything before her.

His gaze swept over the six inmates who were staring longingly at him from the wall.

These people...

It seems we should get to know each other.

It seems like I should do something for them.

She frowned, thinking hard.

I can't remember.

Forget it.

---

In the corridor, fewer and fewer people retain their intelligence.

Inside the dormitory, the eyes of the six migrant workers grew increasingly clear.

---

"It's determined by DNA! It's fate! What can the imperial court do?"

"It's just that we're unlucky! Go and see, out of all the countries in the world, which one can properly handle the care of people with intellectual disabilities?"

"There are many cases like this where even their own families are abandoned!"

"At least they'll have food to eat! If we let them roam the streets, they'll all die by the end of winter, believe it or not!"

---

“That’s all true,” Zhang Qiliang made a sword gesture, “If you’re unlucky, you really can only rely on yourself.”

Inside the dormitory, the eyes of the six migrant workers were clearer, almost indistinguishable from those of ordinary people.

"As for you..." Zhang Qiliang turned around. In the corridor, only one person remained conscious. "You are lucky. The imperial court will take care of you."

“No matter what you are,” the county magistrate of Hope County said, though he was paralyzed, his eyes showed little fear: “Such blatant audacity will not be tolerated by the imperial court.”

"Mm." Zhang Qiliang nodded.

Raise your hand.

Raise your hand again.

70 children wielding the knife

Two hours later.

The provincial government compound, the core area.

The old man showed no anger when he was woken from his sleep.

He sat on the edge of the bed, wearing an outer robe, and watched as his personal secretary hurried in. He asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"

The chief secretary briefly recounted the report from the half-team of the Hope County leadership—the other half was gone—and the urgent report from the entire Lingjiang leadership confirming the situation was true.

After listening, the old man showed no change in expression, only nodding.

"I see."

He stood up, and the chief secretary quickly stepped forward to help him put on his outer robe.

"Inform those people as well."

---

Another half hour.

When the more detailed summary report was delivered, the old man was already sitting in the conference room attached to the compound.

The lighting was soft, and several important colleagues were already seated, their faces appearing calm and solemn under the light.

No one whispered; the only sound in the air was the soft rustling of pages turning.

The person in charge of reporting was the Deputy Councilor of the Provincial Administration Commission, a fourth-rank official whose function was to assist the Provincial Administration Commissioner in handling government affairs and coordinating reports from various prefectures.

Councilor Chen, in his early fifties with slightly graying temples, had been working in the political and legal field for many years. At this moment, he stood to the side of the projection screen, his voice steady and clear.

"1. Limb injuries. Six people suffered finger fractures or comminuted fractures, including village head Li Defu, forestry assistant Zhou Jianping, and household registration officer Ma Guodong. On-site investigation revealed that the fractures were caused by repeated external pressure, not by ordinary blunt force trauma. Emergency treatment has been given, and further specialist treatment is required."

"Second, lifespan impairment. Preliminary tests by the accompanying medical team showed that all the controlled individuals exhibited varying degrees of accelerated physiological aging. The testing methods included... a comprehensive assessment of bone age, telomere length, skin elasticity, and organ function."

At this point, Councilor Chen paused and added, "The duration of the damage ranges from one to eight years, and is positively correlated with... the severity of the case involving the person involved, as evidenced by the leftover mobile phone."

In the conference room, someone tapped their finger lightly on the table.

Councilor Chen turned to the next page.

"Third, intellectual impairment. Of the sixteen people detained on site, preliminary observation and simple cognitive assessment showed that all of them had obvious intellectual decline, manifested as severe cognitive decline, inattention, loss of basic logical ability, and behavioral patterns similar to... patients with moderate to severe intellectual disability."

“It is worth noting that—” Councilor Chen raised his head, “some of the personnel have begun to show signs of gradual recovery of cognitive function after an hour of observation.”

Someone gave a soft "oh".

The senator continued, "To date, six people have regained some ability to communicate. The medical team believes that if the recovery trend continues, these individuals are expected to return to their pre-existing cognitive levels in about two months."

"These six individuals share common characteristics: they were involved in relatively minor cases, were at the lowest rank, or had served for a short period of time. For example, Chen Xiulan, a street and community worker; Zhou Min, a member of the labor news team; and two on-duty express workers."

silence.

After a moment, the old man slowly spoke: "It seems that he just wanted them to experience what it's like to be on the margins."

Beside him, a colleague with gray hair and a gaunt face scoffed, "A novice is handling this."

Beside them, another colleague with an even more stern appearance remained silent, asking, "Where are the other ten?"

The senator turned the page of the document:

"Brick factory operators Wu Laosi, Li Qiang, and Sun Fucai; village head Li Defu; deputy head of the town's express constable Zhao Zhigang; ninth-rank official Ma Guodong of the Household Registration Office; and..."

"The magistrate of Xiwang County is Hu Ming."

"These ten people have shown no signs of recovery so far."

A longer silence followed.

"...What about lifespan?" the gray-haired colleague asked again.

The senator bowed slightly.

"Among them, the three people from the brick factory were selected for the longest period of time: Wu Laosi was selected for about thirteen years, Li Qiang for eight years, and Sun Fucai for six years. The years of time selected for the remaining personnel were matched with the severity of their involvement in the case. County Magistrate Hu Ming... was selected for five years."

"All of them... have permanent damage."

The old man remained silent, leaning back in his chair, his gaze fixed on a point in the void.

The gray-haired colleague then asked, "The report mentions that several victims of forced labor showed signs of cognitive recovery?"

"Yes." The senator opened another folder. "The six intellectually disabled people who were forced into labor have all recovered to the cognitive level of normal adults after on-site communication and assessment."

"Of course, due to the long-term lack of education and normal social life, their knowledge reserves and social adaptability still have obvious shortcomings, but their cognitive function itself is no different from that of ordinary people. The medical team conducted basic scale tests, and all results were within the normal range."

"It is worth noting that the cognitive recovery of these six individuals did not fluctuate along with the recovery of other detainees."

"Anything else?" the old man asked.

“Most importantly,” Councilor Chen bowed slightly, clearly aware of the questioner’s true concerns, “the physical condition and energy of all six victims have improved slightly. According to the medical team’s preliminary assessment, their average physiological age… is about five years younger.”

"That's exactly the number of years they were forced to work in the brick factory."

The conference room was so quiet that you could hear the faint hum of the air conditioner vents.

The old man remained expressionless, but something flickered slightly in his deep-set eyes.

The other colleagues also looked thoughtful.

For everyone present, apart from the county magistrate who carried some weight—after all, he was the head of a county and his position concerned the face of the imperial court—the others were really no different from ants.

The significance of this event goes far beyond the lives of a dozen or so people.

"Keep an eye on it," the old man finally said.

Councilor Chen nodded: "...What about the victims?"

The old man glanced at him.

“Take good care of them and notify their families. Apologize where necessary and compensate where appropriate. If they want to go home, send them home; if they want to see the world, take them sightseeing—arrange for someone to accompany them, provide excellent food and lodging, and let them see and learn about the world they haven't seen in decades.”

At this point, the old man paused: "Of course, in order to prevent foreign forces from having ulterior motives, appropriate protective measures are still necessary."

The senator understood immediately: "Yes, arrange it right away."

The old man did not speak again.

The meeting room lights remained soft, and the provincial map on the wall stood silently in the interplay of light and shadow.

The night outside the window was still very deep.

--------

Compared to the solemn atmosphere in the provincial capital, the atmosphere in the Lingjiang prefectural government office was much more volatile.

The prefect, surnamed Zheng, was in his early fifties and had a sturdy build. He stood in the center of the signing room and slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacups to jump half an inch and spill tea all over the table.

"Look what mess you've made of me!"

Pointing at the clerks from various departments of the prefectural government standing in a row, trembling with fear, Prefect Zheng's spittle almost sprayed onto the other side.

"How many times have I said it? This kind of garbage GDP should have been cut off long ago! It should have been cut off long ago! How much money can that piece of junk brick factory contribute to the county in a year? How many crooked people can it support? Now look what's happened, it's brought out a living devil!"

No one dared to speak.

"Damn it!" Prefect Zheng kicked the chair next to him again, causing it to overturn and fall to the ground. No one dared to help it up. "It's a good thing that Hope County isn't attached to the prefectural government! Otherwise, I'd be drooling over you guys right now!"

These words sent a chill down the spines of the people in charge.

"What are you still standing there for?!" Prefect Zheng's eyes widened like saucers. "Investigate! Investigate right now! Every similar place in your jurisdiction—brick factories, illegal workshops, small coal mines, private mines—go through them all! Are there any problems with their employment practices? Are they restricting personal freedom? Are they hiring people they shouldn't be hiring? I want to see the list before dawn tomorrow!"

"Go now! Go immediately! Go right away!"

The people in charge scrambled out of the room.

Behind him, Prefect Zheng was still cursing:

"Damn it, a dignified seventh-rank official sitting in court, gone just like that!"

"This is intolerable!"

"Get me to Y City immediately!"

"If that bastard dares to create another targeted trending topic again, I'll go to Cao's hometown and fuck his mother!"

--------

early morning.

1 points.

"Superman! There's video evidence!"

The person filming the video was clearly a night owl, crouching on some unknown hilltop, using his phone to film the high-speed train passing by at the foot of the distant mountain.

I originally intended to photograph the train at night, but ended up capturing something I shouldn't have—

In the video, a high-speed train is speeding past at the foot of the mountain, its headlights casting a flowing ribbon of light in the night.

About 100 meters to the right of the train, a blurry figure was running side by side along the railway line.

The figure moved at a speed that was visibly equal to, or even slightly faster than, that of the train.