I Am the Law

The hall fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Zhang Xueming kept his head bowed. He picked up a piece of pork, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

He swept his gaze around the hall, his eyes icy.

"Anyone else have an objection?"

A blue-eyed, blond-haired man who looked like a reporter from Sam Country mustered his courage and stood.

"General, we received a tip that your troops once... massacred White Bear Country soldiers who had already surrendered at Xingxing Gorge."

Another reporter from Ying Country stood up and added,

"Yes, we have reason to suspect your troops of seriously violating basic human rights. How do you explain that?"

Zhang Xueming set down his chopsticks and rose to his feet.

He didn't answer. He simply waved to the guards.

"Throw these two out as well."

"Tell them this is Fengtian, not their colony. Want to talk about human rights? Go back to your own countries and talk about them!"

"On my turf, I make the rules!"

The guards had barely taken a step when a clear female voice rang out.

"Wait."

It was Lu Xiaoya.

She emerged from behind the crowd, her heels striking the wooden floor with a steady clack, each step beating against everyone's heartstrings.

She took her place beside Zhang Xueming and calmly looked over at the blue-eyed, blond-haired reporter from Ying Country.

"Sir, I'll answer your question."

Lu Xiaoya's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every ear in the room.

"You mentioned human rights just now, didn't you?"

She smiled faintly, but there was a chill in it.

"I happen to have read some history. On the European battlefield not long ago, I recall it was your country that first used chemical weapons on a large scale. The kind of Poison Gas Shells that rotted people's lungs and made them suffocate to death in endless agony."

Her voice suddenly turned cold.

"Thousands upon thousands of soldiers died at the hands of their own country's invention. Sir, when your country treated fellow human beings as test subjects, what right do you have to stand here and talk to us about human rights?"

"Do you?"

Those last three words landed like a hammer.

The Ying Country reporter opened his mouth. His face flushed bright red, but he couldn't muster a single word in reply.

His colleagues beside him all turned their eyes away from Lu Xiaoya.

It was a stain that could never be washed away.

Just then, another reporter wearing a Hexagon Country hat, clearly from Hexagon Country, thought he'd found an opening.

"Well said!"

He began with a compliment, then abruptly turned sharp.

"We've heard that Chinese civilians spontaneously donated to the Eighth Brigade of the Feng Army, raising a total of forty million Silver Dollars. That's an astronomical sum. General Zhang, how do you intend to use it? As military funds, or... for something else?"

The question was vicious to the core.

If he said it was for military funds, he'd be accused of militarism. If he said it was for something else, he'd be accused of misappropriating public funds. Either way, he'd be wrong.

Everyone's eyes turned to Lu Xiaoya.

But Lu Xiaoya only smiled.

She looked at the reporter from Hexagon Country and spoke unhurriedly. "Your question reminds me of something, sir."

"At the Paris Peace Conference, your country was among the victors and received enormous reparations from Prussia, correct?"

The reporter from Hexagon Country was taken aback. He nodded instinctively.

Lu Xiaoya's smile grew wider, but her gaze sharpened.

"Then let me ask you this: how much of those reparations did your government set aside to support the families of the soldiers who died in the war?"

"They gave their lives for their country. Did their families receive enough to buy even a decent gravestone?"

The reporter from Hexagon Country went deathly pale in an instant.

The world seemed to spin around him. An invisible hand clamped around his heart, and even breathing became difficult.

"We Chinese believe in repaying kindness and settling scores."

Lu Xiaoya's voice rang out again, clear and firm.

"These forty million Silver Dollars were earned through the blood and sweat of the people of the three provinces. They represent their trust in our army. We'll use this money to build our home and ensure that everyone who has shed blood and worked hard for this land can live a good life."

"As for how exactly it will be spent, that's a domestic matter for us Chinese. There's no need for an outsider like you to worry about it."

She paused, then looked at the reporter, who seemed ready to topple over, and delivered one last blow.

"Or... are you hoping to manage our accounts for us Chinese?"

"Thump."

The reporter from Hexagon Country rolled his eyes and fell straight backward, nearly fainting on the spot.

The hall erupted into chaos.

Just then, a reporter who hadn't said a word until now shot to his feet. His question was like a poison-tipped dagger, aimed straight at the heart of the matter.

"Ms. Lu! General Zhang just admitted that he is a Huaxia Army soldier! Does this mean the Feng Army has decided to abandon its separatist rule, submit to the Northern Prefecture, and accept the unified authority of the central government? Can China finally look forward to true peace and unity starting today?"

The question was devastating.

The entire hall fell silent in an instant.

Every reporter pricked up their ears, their cameras trained on Lu Xiaoya.