The Anointed Ones (10)
Guangzhou's atmosphere had shifted. Pro-government demonstrators, who had been cowering in fear of the Black Sea Party, once again took to the streets, hanging red banners emblazoned with patriotic slogans in shopping districts and residential neighborhoods. Five-star red flags fluttered everywhere amid the festive mood, and the middle class and above chanted Gao Xusen's name with fervent enthusiasm.
War was all about momentum. The Chinese government would never admit to calling it a war out of sheer face-saving, but they knew exactly what they needed to seize the upper hand against the Black Sea Party. Thus, Gao Xusen and the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau received concentrated support from both provincial and central authorities.
In essence, it was a plan to stabilize the vast metropolitan area stretching from Foshan through Guangzhou to Dongguan, using Guangzhou as the cornerstone. The combined population of these three cities alone exceeded twenty million. Moreover, this Guangzhou metro area formed the critical rear base directly bordering the Hong Kong-Shenzhen metro, now emerging as China's biggest powder keg.
Following the recent failed assassination attempt on the Chief Executive, Hong Kong's democratization forces had pivoted to armed independence struggles leveraging Awakened Ability Users. Securing a broad rear base like this would inevitably sap the momentum of those pushing for Hong Kong's secession.
In this atmosphere, Gao Xusen—suddenly thrust into the spotlight as the central figure on the anti-Black Sea Party front—had no time to grieve over the death of a mere concubine.
"They wrote this on the hotel wall in Jia's blood. 'Death to the enemies of the people!'... The rebel scum must have killed innocent Jia just to send me a warning. Hmph. Filthy cowards. They wouldn't dare touch me themselves."
Jia was the name of the secretary Miju had killed. I nodded along appropriately.
"Still, be careful, sir. The support of Guangzhou's people and the scrutiny of the reactionary forces are all focused on one man. If you don't watch yourself, this city's order will crumble."
You are the order itself. Stroking his ego like this, Gao Xusen nodded solemnly.
"Of course. This is precisely when a leader must stand firm. Charging in recklessly and falling would be the height of folly, wouldn't it?"
He then praised me. "Your lecture to the bureau chiefs was excellent, Comrade Director. Concise, hitting the nail on the head—perfect. I could see the cadres' mindsets shifting right before my eyes."
"No need for such praise. I merely delivered the warning in place of the section chief."
The "lecture" in question was the mental training session for Public Security Bureau cadres that Gao Xusen had personally requested from me. With a massive purge of department heads across all levels, he'd argued the need to heighten his subordinates' awareness of reality and ideological fortitude.
In truth, it's closer to dumping an unpleasant role on an outsider. He seemed eager to play the good boss, but first he'd need to fix his everyday attitude toward his underlings.
In that training session, I'd stood at the podium in plain clothes, looking down at the uniformed cadres seated in neat rows, and laid out our past failures plainly from the start.
"Can anyone tell me why we've kept losing to the Black Sea Party all this time?"
Over half the attending cadres were new to me, but they listened with rigid discipline regardless. Gao Xusen had shown proper respect beforehand, followed by his three trusted deputy directors.
The unknowns probably pegged me as some shadow power broker or a covert central inspector. The first to raise his hand was the new head of the Criminal Police Detachment.
"Our forces are limited, but there are too many places to defend—we couldn't concentrate our strength. They could focus freely while we couldn't, so we got picked off one by one."
"Is that all?"
"Our deployments are public knowledge, while theirs are secret, forcing us into purely defensive strategies. They always held the initiative—how could we win?"
"Correct. And?"
"Well, and..."
As the criminal chief hesitated, the head of the Discipline Inspection Detachment raised his hand.
"I believe the biggest failure was the lack of courage among some officers and leaders. Frankly, the pathetic performances from all detachments except Patrol were a historic disgrace. We all must emulate Section Chief Gao Xusen's bravery."
"Bravery" translated from Korean as something like "hat spirit"—meaning they lacked bold, daring resolve. It sounded like outdated moralism, but it was true that the Public Security forces—not to mention the People's Liberation Army units deployed in Guangzhou—had abysmal ideological armor.
However.
Can corrupt cops and soldiers ever be strong?
Absolutely not. Corrupt forces only flex against the weak. The powerless and weak nations.
"How should we address that issue?"
I asked, and the inspection chief replied confidently. "To fix rotten mindsets, we need harsh punishments and strict oversight."
In other words, bolstering his own Discipline Inspection Detachment's authority. The other cadres naturally soured.
No one among the newly appointed was outside Gao Xusen's circle anymore, but heading a core like inspections meant significant weight in his faction. For Gao Xusen's face, I nodded first. True systemic reform was impossible without the whole Party overhauling itself anyway.
"Fair point. Any other views?"
More answers followed with each question: public sentiment, foreign interference, drug effects, tactical disparities. But the response I wanted never came.
In the end, I stated it myself.
"I'm surprised no one pointed this out. Their assault teams are entirely Awakened Ability Users with superhuman strength, while ours mix them haphazardly with normals. Units tried concentrating Ability Users independently, but it was just patchwork without unity. Am I wrong?"
The cadres nodded outwardly but looked uneasy. It was the topic they'd deliberately skirted.
Why avoid it?
"Our weakness is cronyism and connections."
Pacing with hands behind my back, I voiced the uncomfortable truth for all. This was likely why Gao Xusen put an outsider like me on stage.
"I get the reluctance. Times change, Ability Users are suddenly vital—but you can't just fire all the existing cops who never awakened. They've served the nation lifelong, yet upstarts who just got lucky eye their spots? Who'd accept that? Naturally, you'd want to protect your underlings' rice bowls forged by connections."
This plagued every nation worldwide. To counter surging Ability User crime, police needed replacing with them too. But where do displaced veterans go?
Defense was the same. Ability User capabilities varied wildly, complicating standardized group ops and gear for now—but once new doctrines and systems solidified, every country would prioritize Ability User units or get outcompeted internationally.
Budgets aren't infinite, so neither are slots. Worse, Ability Users demand higher pay than normals, so absorbing them into police and military meant mass layoffs and demotions for incumbents.
Would they accept that quietly? Especially in China, where guanxi culture amplified resistance. Everyone's tangled in thick webs—where to even start? Displaced personnel could fuel social unrest too.
From cadres' views, dumping loyalists undercut their own painstakingly built power bases. It wasn't just losing bribes and kickbacks. New underlings rising purely on merit and trends—would they respect non-powered superiors? Hardly. Being tolerated as "old relics" would be lucky.
Chinese were fish; guanxi, water. I spoke to fish fretting drought.
"Cast aside your fears."
Scanning the audience, reactions split starkly: those with awakened primitive magic versus those without. The three deputy directors I'd handpicked—all Ability Users—took it calmly.
"Crisis is opportunity. Countless officers died in Black Sea Party attacks, letting us infuse fresh blood with minimal pushback. Fail to overhaul now, and we'll sink into endless defeat. You and your loved ones won't survive. Anyone think otherwise? Raise a hand."
No hands rose, naturally.
"This time, prioritize nation and your connections over petty ones. Don't drown in worthless self-preservation during recruitment! Awakened Ability Users are the people's patriots too—trust and rely on them! To them, you're the Party's face. True patriots won't dream of insubordination."
That was my assigned role. Discussion then turned to practical troop ops and policing strategies.
Among attendees was Hu Sugwang, deputy Party committee director at the Public Security Bureau, captured by Black Sea Party militants. Spared by Gao Xusen's mercy, he'd returned before fully healing to aid the takeover. Desperate even without intact fingers.
Afterward, he approached me privately.
"Thank you again. Without you, I wouldn't have escaped alive."
"Feeling better? You still look rough."
"How could I lie home now, no matter the pain? I force myself with strong meds. Must move, shatter bones for the nation."
"You've suffered much."
Not mere courtesy, so I asked his purpose.
"Anything else?"
"Well—"
Glancing around and confirming privacy, he lowered his voice.
"I heard you're smuggling lots out by sea discreetly. As acting head of the Waterway Sub-bureau, I can help plenty. With my aid, you could move goods boldly in broad daylight—no inspections."
I just wanted you to know that."
"...Appreciated. If you want something in return, name it."
"Nothing specific. Just want ties with someone who swept Black Sea Party scum like nothing. Who knows when I'll face peril again?"
Life insurance, in short. After all that torture nearing death, trauma made sense. No harm indulging greed slowly.
"If so, fine. Once recovered and the crisis passes, visit the pier under Liede Bridge. I'll treat you to fine tiger bone liquor."
"...I'll be there!"
At mention of tiger bone brew, his eyes lit up. True communist noble—bone-deep craving for health tonics.