Chapter 321: Borrowing a Head for a Use
In these past few days, a series of vicious incidents, all challenging the existing order, occurred one after another across various regions. This only piled further agony onto the already excessively heavy burden on public security, which was already strained by the rampant, infectious Spirit Devourer virus.
Existing societies across all nations, no matter how much they championed their own fairness and justice, evidently couldn't avoid the presence of such vulnerable groups, intent on throwing caution to the wind—much like the annual school shootings in the United States.
The emergence of the Red Radiance was akin to handing a gun to each of them, granting these individuals the power to exact their revenge.
In this regard, it was quite different from the emergence of Spirit Qi a decade ago.
The awakening of power brought by Spirit Qi was a random occurrence, affecting anyone. Thus, the probability of power appearing in the hands of the disgruntled minority was relatively much lower, and the actual impact wasn't as severe as one might imagine. The number of people willing to uphold the existing order grew far beyond the order-breakers who gained power.
The former was akin to an even distribution of stat points: everyone grew stronger. Statistically, the minority remained the minority, and the majority remained the majority. Not to mention, the military, responsible for maintaining order back then, had entered the Spirit River as organized units, acquiring abilities at a rate that far exceeded ordinary people.
The latter, however, specifically granted stat points to the minority, with the sole purpose of individually strengthening their power.
"Director Mo, your affairs have come to light. Please come with us and answer the questions within the designated time."
"Boss Chen, please return and assist us with our investigation."
Suddenly, a large number of officials and businessmen who had engaged in illicit exchanges of interests, harming the public, were taken away by official representatives. A diverse array of evidence also surfaced.
The media, having received a hint, daily launched into grand, overwhelming propaganda, proclaiming the nation's resolve to combat corruption and abuse of power.
Concurrently, some highly flawed and controversial cases were re-examined. A portion of the victims were vindicated, and the true culprits were brought to justice.
All of this began with a single command from Chen Bo.
After reviewing the detailed reports of various cases related to the Red Radiance over the past few days, he broadly analyzed the outcome: the opposing party was likely attempting to gradually destabilize the foundations of rule by inciting conflict among the lower strata of society.
Thus, while dispatching investigation teams to search for the mastermind behind the Red Radiance, Chen Bo decided to employ the strategy of "cutting off at the source." He would first purge a group of individuals who had incited the greatest public outrage, and in doing so, compel others to behave themselves during this period, ensuring they and their subordinates remained disciplined.
Concurrently, a portion of cases with clearly problematic verdicts—cases that had previously been subject to human interference—were re-examined. This offered a glimmer of hope to the initially wavering victimized populace, encouraging them to abandon extreme retaliatory measures.
As long as they could weather this period, develop a cure for the Spirit Devourer, allow the nation's Ability Users to return to the core of governance, and regain control of the overall situation, any further unrest wouldn't amount to much.
It was precisely during this unique period, with nearly all those possessing power having retreated to remote, uninhabited areas, that the Red Radiance was able to set the pace and cause trouble.
"Chen Bo's move is clearly intended to kill two birds with one stone." Cheng Mu observed the list that had been thrown out. Eighty percent of the names belonged to their faction, and he easily discerned the other party's intention to leverage the situation for a purge.
However, he had no better counter-strategy. Almost everyone on that list had either provoked considerable public outrage or had irrefutable criminal evidence against them. With their faction currently weakened and the military faction strong, they could only strategically abandon these individuals.
"How about this, let's add some of their people too." Liu Chen, standing nearby, voiced his thoughts, instructing his confidential secretary to add dozens of names to the list.
And so, following a tacit compromise between the three major factions, a super-headline event unfolded: thousands of officials fell, and hundreds of cases were re-examined. Every day, a large number of people were taken away to "assist with investigations."
Through media propaganda, the operation truly allowed the public to understand the government's internal resolve, and it also gave hope to the vast majority of those discontent with society.
For a time, the public trials of these scapegoats garnered such intense media attention in the Huaxia Federation that they even overshadowed the Spirit Devourer virus incident, which had already caused over twenty thousand deaths and nearly a hundred thousand hospitalizations.
Indeed, the tactic of "using someone's head" to appease public anger was a strategy that had proven unfailingly effective throughout history. While purging a portion of dissenting or backward elements within the organization, it also garnered public support.
"Who exactly is this 'new protagonist' it speaks of?" Bai Mo also saw the grand public trials on television, but he didn't dwell on them at all. Instead, he pondered the question Gaia had posed.
He had also reviewed several detailed reports concerning those avengers, discovering that something even more complex might be hidden behind the Red Radiance.
From these cases, Bai Mo felt that the Red Radiance's true nature was more akin to a disguised usury: lending power to victims to accomplish their revenge, then taking everything from them in return.
Always one to interpret others' intentions with the greatest malice, he was accustomed to attributing everything to conspiracy. Especially with Gaia, a super-life form whose attitude and intentions remained unclear, stirring up trouble in the midst of it all.
Against a fellow capable of significantly influencing the emotions of all living beings, no amount of caution could be excessive.
As the Spirit Devourer had no effect on ordinary people, the lives of the vast majority had already returned to normal after the initial two days of panic.
Ultimately, Ability Users constituted less than five percent of the entire human population. Even if they were to suddenly perish one day, the impact on humanity as a whole might still be less severe than the super-catastrophe Seres had unleashed back then, which caused hundreds of millions of deaths both before and after its climax.
The Heaven-Man Unity Towers, simultaneously under construction in various locations, were completed one after another with ample financial support, continuously drawing the Primal Matter from Bai Mo's distributed forms back to his main body. He was rapidly concentrating his power to confront the mysterious Gaia.
Due to a complete intelligence disadvantage, the initiative currently remained in Gaia's hands, forcing Bai Mo to maintain a defensive stance.
This further solidified his resolve to alter the Earthly God plan. From now on, newly constructed Spirit Energy Networks would no longer involve his own Primal Matter, but instead be entirely controlled by projections.
Because Primal Matter scattered across various locations was more susceptible to targeted destruction, and given Gaia's vastly superior level, Bai Mo didn't believe Gaia would fail to discover the presence of his Primal Matter within the Spirit Energy Network.
Even if it truly came to the point of "when the map is unrolled, the dagger is revealed," and all Heaven-Man Unity Towers were destroyed, the loss would merely be a portion of the projected power, with little impact on the main body. However, the consequence of having a part of his Primordial Spirit destroyed was something he certainly didn't wish to test himself.
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