With three superpowers at his fingertips, he could dominate the 1970s.

Both of them had keen hearing, and the noise coming from the tent made Jiang Zhiyu and Ji Buzhi's expressions change simultaneously.

Without needing to look at each other or discuss anything, the two quickened their pace simultaneously, almost jogging towards the tent.

The sound became clearer and clearer even before we got close.

"No... Uncle... don't scare me..."

Then came a nauseating male voice, low and sinister, cloyingly husky: "Little girl, don't scream! If you scream again, I'll hit your brother! It's chaotic outside right now, if you dare to scream..."

There was also a faint, almost inaudible voice of a little boy, about two or three years old, who was so frightened that he could only whimper.

With each step closer, the fire in Jiang Zhiyu's heart surged even higher.

When she reached the tent entrance, she heard a muffled whimper coming from the little girl's mouth—

Without hesitation, Jiang Zhiyu flung open the tent flap and rushed inside.

The sight inside the tent made her pupils contract sharply.

Jiang Zhiyu grabbed the man by the collar and threw him out of the tent like a chick.

The man fell face-first into the mud, and before he could react, Jiang Zhiyu had already taken out a whip from his spatial storage—a black, long whip with barbs at the tip—which he had specially made from mutated animal hides during the apocalypse, and he never expected to use it today.

With the first lash, a bloody mark appeared on the man's face, and beads of blood immediately seeped out.

"ah--!"

The second lash tore the clothes on his back open, revealing a shocking bloodstain running across his back.

The third lash, the fourth lash, the fifth lash—

Jiang Zhiyu whipped him harder and faster, each lash whistling through the air, each strike landing precisely on a different spot, as if deliberately designed to inflict pain on every inch of his skin. The man rolled and howled on the ground, clutching his head, but the whip seemed indiscriminate, looping around his arms and striking his back, shoulders, and thighs.

Ji Buzhi stood aside, not knowing where Jiang Zhiyu had taken the whip from, but he didn't want to stop her at all.

All the emotions I suppressed today have now turned into the sound of a whip falling.

It was satisfying to beat him up.

The commotion quickly alerted the surrounding tents.

People came out one after another, initially thinking something had happened. When they came closer to take a look, they saw a young girl covered in filth, holding a long whip, lashing a middle-aged man on the ground again and again. The man was already a bloody mess, curled up on the ground and unable to move.

"What's going on?"

"Are they hitting someone? That's too brutal..."

The patrolling security team also arrived, and two soldiers wearing red armbands rushed forward to try to stop Jiang Zhiyu.

"Comrade! Comrade! Stop for a moment, tell us what happened—"

Jiang Zhiyu stopped whipping the whip, turned around to look at them, her eyes blazing with anger.

Her voice was cold and hard, "This beast climbed into a little girl's tent? Do you know what he was going to do?"

Everyone present was an adult. The moment Jiang Zhiyu said that, everyone understood.

Those who had been whispering that the beating had gone too far have now fallen silent. Their expressions have shifted from surprise to disgust, and from disgust to anger.

The eldest woman, standing at the front, her face ashen, walked forward without a word and stepped on the man's thigh, rendering him immobile.

The man's screams were so loud they almost tore his throat apart.

The head of the security team also looked full of remorse.

She took her ID out of her pocket and handed it to the person in charge.

"In ancient times, harsh punishments were used in times of chaos. This person today serves as a prime example for us."

She glanced around, her voice low but each word carrying weight: "Gather the torches around here, and call everyone over. I want to see if anyone else dares to do this again!" She knew Zhuge Yunhe would support her; she wanted to intimidate everyone first, and then deal with the authorities when they arrived!

After saying that, she picked up the half-dead man on the ground and dragged him toward the platform set up next to the command center.

The man dragged a bloody trail on the ground with his heel, howling in pain, but Jiang Zhiyu ignored him completely.

More and more people gathered in the surrounding tents.

The news spread quickly, and in no time, hundreds of people had surrounded the makeshift platform. The torchlight illuminated their angry faces.

Jiang Zhiyu left the man on the stage and turned to give Ji Buzhi a wink.

Ji Buzhi followed her gaze—at the edge of the crowd, the little girl who had been bullied was holding her two-year-old brother, standing there timidly.

"Go and bring her here," Jiang Zhiyu said in a low voice.

Ji Buzhi walked over, squatted down, and tried to make his voice sound gentle: "Come on, come with me."

The little girl glanced at him timidly, then at the man on the stage, and instinctively shrank back.

"Don't be afraid," Ji Buzhi said softly. "The wicked will be punished. You have to watch, watch him get his comeuppance—that way you won't be afraid later."

The little girl bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and finally followed after her brother with her in her arms.

Jiang Zhiyu pulled her to the front of the stage and made her stand at the very front.

"Watch," she said, her voice low but firm. "You'll see how the wicked are punished."

This kind of thing is devastating to a little girl's psychological development. Jiang Zhiyu can't let her spend the rest of her life in fear and helplessness—at least she has to see with her own eyes that the perpetrators paid the price and that justice was served.

Jiang Zhiyu turned and walked towards the command center. When she pushed open the door, the murderous aura on her face had not yet dissipated.

Zhuge Yunhe was standing in front of the table looking at a map when he looked up and saw her like this. He frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Zhiyu briefly recounted what had just happened.

Zhuge Yunhe's face immediately darkened.

He paused for a few seconds, then slowly spoke, his voice low and deep: "In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary. This kind of person must not be let off lightly. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble will ensue later."

He picked up the walkie-talkie on the table and called out a code name in a deep voice.

A moment later, a middle-aged man in military uniform strode in. He stood tall and straight, with eyes like an eagle; he was clearly a veteran of the battlefield.

"Commander Yu," Zhuge Yunhe nodded, "You accompanied Advisor Jiang to handle a matter that had a very negative impact. I want you to set an example—punish him publicly, without any leniency."

Commander Yu glanced at Jiang Zhiyu, asked no further questions, and saluted: "Yes, sir."

-

When Jiang Zhiyu returned to the scene with Commander Yu, the crowd was already in a state of agitation.

The torches illuminated the platform brightly, revealing a man huddled in a ball, covered in blood, too afraid to even lift his head. The crowd below roared with curses; some threw stones, others slapped their thighs, and several burly men seemed ready to rush up and kick him a couple more times.

Commander Yu stepped onto the stage and shouted in a deep voice, "Silence!"

His voice carried the imposing authority of someone who had been through countless battles, and the crowd instantly fell silent.

"In the face of disaster, the law remains!" Commander Yu swept his gaze across the audience, his eyes sharp as knives. "Those lawless individuals who take advantage of the disaster will be severely punished!"

He read aloud the man's crimes in public.

"Sentenced to life imprisonment!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd.

Commander Yu gestured for them to stop, then continued, "But this is a critical time for rescue efforts. We can't just keep this person locked up like this—we have to make use of even a useless person!"

He glanced at the several burly men in the front row: "You lot, can't you keep an eye on him? Let him be on the front lines, fighting disasters and saving as many lives as he can, consider it his atonement!"

"Yes!" several burly men patted their chests and guaranteed, "We'll make sure he saves the most people; not a single one less!"

Commander Yu nodded, then turned to the crowd below the stage, his voice steady and stern.

"Let me mention a few more—"

"First, relief supplies will be distributed uniformly; no one is allowed to seize, hoard, or resell them! Anyone found doing so will be dealt with severely, without exception!"

"Secondly, the tent area will be arranged by family, with single men and families with women staying separately. Patrol posts will be set up in each area, with 24-hour shifts! No one is allowed to enter another person's tent at night; violators will be dealt with according to military discipline!"

"Third, any found property should be handed over for registration and will be returned after verification. Those who take advantage of the disaster will suffer the same fate as this person on stage!"

Fourth, all uninjured able-bodied men must obey unified command and participate in rescue and evacuation operations. This is not a matter for discussion, but an order!

"Finally—" His voice softened slightly, but carried more weight, "We've already suffered enough from this disaster. We can't let human calamities follow natural ones. Everyone must take care of themselves and watch out for each other. If anyone sees anything wrong, shout it out, stop it, report it! Don't let a bad person take advantage of the situation, and don't let a good person suffer!"

There was a moment of silence in the audience, then a burst of applause erupted.

After dealing with these matters, Jiang Zhiyu dragged her tired body back to her small room to rest.

It was called a room, but it was just a makeshift bungalow with a cot, a thin blanket, and even the light was a kerosene lamp. But at this moment, this narrow cot was more important than anything else.

Jiang Zhiyu sat on the edge of the bed, but couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did.

What happened this afternoon reminded her of the apocalypse!

She rubbed her temples and said to Seventeen in her mind, "It's not just these criminals."

"What is the host thinking?"

"A spy." A cold glint flashed in Jiang Zhiyu's eyes. "With such a massive disaster, those both domestically and internationally who are eyeing Dacheng Mountain won't let this opportunity pass. Spying, infiltrating, and stealing intelligence amidst the chaos—that's far more dangerous than these beasts."

She looked at the gray sky outside the window and made a decision.

I'll go talk to Zhuge Yunhe about this first thing tomorrow morning.