Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

"First, all images will be wiped clean. From this moment forward, all images, photos, and hand-drawn sketches on the entire internet related to the moment of Yunxiaofu's self-immolation, even those that are pixel-perfect and blurry, will be permanently destroyed by the firewall's underlying program. Any related files on any private storage media that are detected during scanning will be physically destroyed."

"Second, wording restrictions. All public channels and news reports are prohibited from describing in detail the visual aspects of Li Rui's self-immolation. All internal files must be revised, replacing sensitive terms such as 'turned into sparks, dark red light, final roar' with: 'The person involved caused a fire during the resistance to arrest and died on the spot.'"

Wen Guangping's hands trembled: "Is this... to completely erase him from history?"

"It's erasure, and it's sealing away," Han Qiming continued coldly. "Third, name erasure. The name 'Li Rui' will become a no-go on social media and in the records system. All his files in the police force will be classified as top secret, and no one may access them without special permission from the National Security Bureau. This name will not appear in the medals awarded for his contributions to the fight against organized crime in Chenxi City."

"Fourth, visual obstruction. The Special Investigation Bureau will form a special 'purification team' to conduct regular psychological monitoring of all witnesses from that night. If any are severely infected, they will be sent to a special 'sanatorium' within the province for lifelong isolation and observation."

Zheng Guofeng suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with a strange sorrow: "Deputy Director Han, Li Rui is seeking revenge for justice. Aren't we, by doing this, helping those evil people he burned to death to cover up their final judgment?"

Han Qiming stopped what he was doing, turned his head, and stared intently at Zheng Guofeng.

At that moment, Zheng Guofeng felt an unprecedented pressure.

"Director Zheng, remember this." Han Qiming's voice was low, but every word was like thunder. "What we need to uphold is the legal framework of this country, not the private 'justice' of some superhuman. If justice can only be brought about by 'polluting people's souls,' then that kind of justice is itself another form of evil."

"What a nation needs is stable order, not out-of-control deities."

Han Qiming turned around and distributed the document with the gold-lacquered fire seal to everyone.

"Once the order is issued, all departments will work together to execute it. Mayor Wen, you are in charge of the newly established 'Abnormal Risk Management Team.' I hope that within the next 48 hours, I will see Li Rui's 'presence' in this city disappear to zero."

Wen Guangping looked at the document in his hand; the thin paper felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"Understood," he replied in a deep voice, his eyes closed.

……

Late at night, in the computer room of the Chenxi City Police Department.

Thousands of servers hummed low as they ran at high speed.

As Han Qiming activated his permissions, a series of commands instantly swept across the city's digital network.

Countless photos stored in the cloud were precisely erased, turning into a broken string of error codes.

Countless posts discussing the miracle of that night vanished without a trace the moment the enter key was pressed.

In the archives, paper files bearing the name "Li Rui" were fed into a shredder and turned into a pile of unrecoverable white scraps.

The ruby ​​brooch, which had lost its luster, was placed in a sealed storage cabinet deep underground within the Special Investigations Bureau.

From then on, apart from a few powerful individuals, no one remembered it anymore.

At the top of that towering building called Yunxiao Mansion, a man once used his soul to ignite a fire that burned through the entire night.

……

Inside a military quarantine zone in Lieyang Province.

This place holds the original core members of the Special Investigation Bureau.

After three weeks of close observation and psychological evaluation, the names of fifty-one people were marked in bright red.

Severe infection.

This is an "infection" that originates from the depths of the soul.

Inside his single room in the quarantine camp, Gu Heng sat cross-legged on the hard bed, his eyes closed.

Every day at four o'clock in the morning, regardless of wind or rain, he would wake up on time, face east—the direction of Yunxiao Mansion—and sit quietly for an hour.

His lips moved slightly as he murmured silently, "The fire... isn't strong enough."

The former frontline commander, who would stop at nothing to capture samples, has now completely lost that refined egoism.

Instead, there was an almost ascetic devotion and fanaticism.

In his conversation with his psychologist, he repeatedly said, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have tried to use him as a case study. He was a prophet, a spark. I should have knelt down and accepted his judgment."

It wasn't just Gu Heng.

Liu Changhe, the former deputy director of the provincial political work department and chief inspector of the special investigation bureau, was once a bureaucrat who was most particular about procedures and discipline, but now he has spontaneously organized a "study group" in the quarantine camp.

He recounted the details of Li Rui's self-immolation to the other infected individuals, his eyes shining with a martyr-like light: "Procedures? How many evils have procedures protected? Li Rui's death tells us that true justice doesn't have to be late."

Also included is Wu Yong, the former administrative coordinator of the Special Investigation Bureau.

This administrative staff member, who used to prioritize stability and fear making mistakes, has now become taciturn.

On the last page of his notebook was a drawing of a dark red flame, next to which was written: "To make no mistakes is the biggest mistake. To remain silent in the face of evil is to be an accomplice."

Lin Zhenshan stood outside the one-way glass, looking at his subordinates inside, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

These individuals are not in question regarding their loyalty to the country, and their professional competence remains top-notch, but their values ​​have created a structural incompatibility with the existing judicial system.

"There's no going back," Lin Zhenshan said in a low, hoarse voice.

Behind him, Han Qiming, deputy director of the Special Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of State Security, closed the assessment report in his hand.

"We can't kill them, we can't release them, we can't keep them." Han Qiming calmly summarized the current dilemma. "Executing meritorious officials would cause internal panic and confirm the accusation that 'the state persecutes those who uphold justice,' which is exactly what Li Rui's 'meme' wants. Releasing them back into society would make them walking 'sparks,' completely destroying social stability."

The meeting room was dimly lit, reflecting the solemn faces of the senior executives present.

"Therefore, we need a win-win solution." Han Qiming looked up. "The Federation's peacekeeping forces in a certain overseas mission area have recently encountered serious problems. Local armed forces are abusing hostages and using civilians as a shield. Conventional troops are restricted by the rules of engagement, which is hindering their actions and causing low morale."

He paused, then revealed the plan he had been preparing for some time: "What they need over there are people who can fight tough battles, and the enemy they face is precisely the kind of 'extreme evil that conventional forces cannot eradicate.'"

"Special Punishment Brigade," Zheng Guofeng read out the code name on the document cover.

"That's right." Han Qiming nodded. "Using these thirty-one severely infected individuals as the core, we will select volunteers from across the military who share similar ideals and pass psychological assessments to form an independent operational unit directly under the Ministry of National Security. Our base will be located at a federal overseas support base, specifically tasked with dealing with evil forces involved in 'crimes against humanity' such as the torture and killing of civilians and the use of child soldiers."

"There is only one principle of operation—once a target is locked, it is not subject to the conventional rules of combat, and 'complete elimination' is the sole criterion."