Warning ⚠️ : The following chapters contain scenes of graphic violence, including sexual violence and wartime brutality, which may be distressing or triggering for some readers. Reader discretion is strongly advised. Please prioritize your well-being, and if needed, skip or approach these chapters with caution.
"What are you doing? Didn't you say you'd let us go if we talked? Get out of the way!" The man shouted angrily, protecting the woman behind him.
"St*pid!" The PN Soldier didn't understand what the man said, but he knew the man ruined his fun.
Bang! A bullet hit the man in the chest, and he fell down limply.
"Qiangzi! Qiangzi! Ahhhh Qiangzi!" The woman cried loudly, hugging the man's body.
The PN Soldier didn't care. He forcefully dragged the woman away.
In that moment, the room filled with the woman's cries, along with the howls and laughter of the PN Soldiers.
The other men wanted to help, but when they saw Qiangzi's body, they were too afraid to move.
It's not that they didn't want to help, but even if they risked their lives, they couldn't save the woman. They would just die for nothing.
Besides, those women were just neighbors, not their wives.
Paige didn't know what was happening in the city.
Right now, she was happy.
Because the seeds she planted in her space had sprouted and were growing taller every day.
They looked pretty good.
She watered them once a day, using her bathwater so it wouldn't go to waste.
Using her spiritual power, Paige made the water fall gently from above, like rain, onto the soil.
Once the soil looked wet enough, she stopped the rain.
Her little grassland was now covered with wild grass.
Even though she didn't have cows or sheep, she had let two hens roam around.
The hens lived peacefully and even laid two eggs every day.
Paige thought this free-range method was great. After all, chickens eat grass too. It was just planting some grass—one-time work, long-term benefits.
She controlled everything in the space. Cleaning chicken poop or collecting eggs only took a thought.
She threw the chicken poop into the unused soil as fertilizer.
Since the vegetables in all four directions grew similarly, Paige thought maybe the whole space was the same.
So, she stopped worrying about what to plant where.
She fenced off three acres of land in front, planning to grow rice there.
When she finished the first section, she started growing rice seedlings.
Now, the three acres were ready, and the rice seedlings had already sprouted.
Paige didn't stop there.
She still asked the housekeeper to keep buying cement, bricks, and waterproof glue.
The housekeeper was getting tired.
He had bought enough bricks and cement to build a house, but whenever they were sent to the backyard, they disappeared the next day.
He didn't dare ask questions.
If the lady of the house asked him to buy something, he would just keep buying.
As for where the materials went, he figured they had some other use.
And what that use was, it wasn't his concern.
Paige appreciated that the housekeeper knew his place.
At first, she wondered if what she was doing was too suspicious. Should she make up an excuse?
But then she thought, why should she?
They were paid to do their jobs. That was enough.
Back then, she had made it clear: no matter what they saw or heard, they had to keep it to themselves. As long as they didn't go around talking, everything would be fine.
Since the people in the villa wouldn't spread anything, what was there for her to be afraid of?
If someone did go out and talk.
Unless they left her observation range, as long as they opened their mouth, everyone who heard it would have to be buried with them.
Who told them they couldn't control their curiosity and listened to something they shouldn't have?
Even though she was only level two right now, she could monitor everything within a five-kilometer range.
That almost covered the whole city.
But she wasn't interested in other people's secrets.
She only kept her awareness on the people in the villa.
If they did anything unusual, she would immediately know.
Now, her powers were already more than halfway through level two. She believed if she worked harder, she could reach level three soon.
By then, she wouldn't have to worry so much.
Level three could block most of the dangers in this world.
Once the protective shield was activated, it could even withstand cannon attacks.
The Public Security Bureau had been a little anxious lately, mainly because too many people had gone missing.
Most people who left the city never came back.
For a while, the city was in panic. No one knew what was going on.
The number of orphans in the city had increased. Many were children whose parents had gone out and never returned. Now, no one was there to take care of them.
Some parents had taken their kids with them and disappeared together.
Eventually, the Public Security Bureau decided to send out two teams of patrol officers with loudspeakers to shout out messages on the streets.
"Dear villagers, PN Soldiers are everywhere outside. Don't believe the lies of traitors.
PN Soldiers are extremely cruel. Even if a place they take over isn't completely wiped out, only one in ten people survives.
Our city hasn't been taken because our guards risked their lives to protect it and won a hard-fought victory.
As long as everyone stays in the city, the guards can protect you.
If you leave, your life or death is your own responsibility.
The army won't send people to search for anyone. Everyone's duty is to defend the city.
No one knows if this is a trap by the PN Soldiers to lure the army out and destroy them one by one.
Everyone should think about the bigger picture. We can't risk the whole city for a few people.
One last thing: the PN Soldiers are extremely cruel, worse than animals.
Those who spread rumors that PN Soldiers are kind were all sent by the PN Soldiers.
Many of them were PN Soldiers. They just learned to speak our language and turned around to deceive the public.
The Public Security Bureau has already arrested all of them.
They'll be paraded in the streets tomorrow.
If you have any rotten vegetables or spoiled eggs at home, save them for feeding chickens or pigs. Don't waste them on those PN Soldiers.
If you want to throw something to vent your anger, just find some small stones or clumps of dirt.
These days, food shouldn't be wasted if you have it."
The patrol officers took turns shouting through the loudspeakers from morning until afternoon, making sure every resident in the city could hear them.