Kill them all

(Universe safety statement: everything in this chapter is a reasonable fictional scenario devised to serve the plot of an imaginary setting. It is not intended to promote any harmful ideas. All language and events are solely for advancing the plot and have no connection to reality. Reviewers, please go easy on this.)

Click, bang.

Ailiveer, the Secretary of State and head of the Secretariat, walked in clutching her ever-present blue folder, her eyes deadpan. The office door slammed shut behind her.

"Oh, my most adorable Miss Ailiveer, what brings you here?" Xi Yan's eyes narrowed into smiling crescents.

The petite Secretary of State immediately looked horrified, as if to say: What the hell is wrong with you?

"Seriously, are you really twenty? Your taste in clothes and your looks make you seem like a total kid."

Ailiveer's petite frame flushed red. Clenching her fists in embarrassment and anger, she cried, "Marshal? What are you talking about?!!!"

"Nothing, sorry. I was just arguing with someone online and forgot to switch my language settings back. Got a billion times more aggressive than intended."

Xi Yan covered his mouth and gave a light cough. "All right, what did you need to report?"

At that, Ailiveer's brows shot up. She pointed at him. "Marshal, what exactly did you say online? All sorts of corporate executives and big shots have been coming to me, trying to fish for information. How am I supposed to know anything?"

What else could it be? The nationalization, obviously!

Those capitalists must be scared out of their minds and want to ask whether I'm serious.

"Then have them come right now. Send a representative. I'll personally put their minds at rest. Heh, permanently." Xi Yan spoke with a genial expression.

Ailiveer stared at him suspiciously for a long while, then agreed and turned to leave.

Watching her hurry out on her short, slender legs in black stockings, Xi Yan shook his head.

Putting a grown woman with a little girl's build in office attire was a real test of taste. He personally had no interest in the little thing.

Xi Yan promptly slumped over his desk and opened his computer's browser.

Time to find an online game. Put work off whenever possible.

So, now that it's the twenty-third century, what games are popular online?

Minecraft! 190th anniversary!

Fuck! Xi Yan lost his composure again. This game is still around?

Wait, if this game is still around...

Struck by an idea, Xi Yan opened his browser and searched for "Stellaris" in Chinese.

No results. He tried another search term: "stellaris."

Still no results. Refusing to give up, Xi Yan searched for "Paradox, P Studio," but again found nothing.

"Hiss... Now that's really strange..."

Xi Yan narrowed his eyes and stared hard at the blank search page.

What exactly is going on here...?

Knock, knock, knock.

A crisp knock sounded from outside.

"Someone's here. Don't recognize him," Beta said eagerly. "Looks like a business representative, here to fish for information on behalf of those capitalists. Want to see him?"

"Yes. Let's see what tricks these capitalists can pull."

"Come in."

Xi Yan answered, casually closed the hentai site, and sat up straight.

A man in a sharp suit cautiously entered and bowed to him.

"Hello, Marshal. My name is Wang Defa. I represent the business community of the entire colony."

As a renowned lobbyist among the Empire's wealthy elite, he had naturally been entrusted with the important task of meeting the Marshal and sounding him out.

The entire business community was deeply concerned about the Marshal's policies. Some alarming rumors circulating online had terrified the wealthy.

He had come to negotiate with Xi Yan on behalf of all the capitalists.

"Wang, my boy, sit down, sit down." Xi Yan warmly invited him to take a seat.

Although he was much older than Xi Yan, Wang Defa obligingly put on a respectful smile and sat opposite him.

"You may be young, Marshal, but your resolve is extraordinary. Everyone in our business circles admires you." Wang Defa placed a briefcase on the desk and nudged it toward Xi Yan with a smile. "These are a few small gifts for you on behalf of the Empire's entire business community."

Xi Yan took the briefcase, opened it, and glanced inside.

There was a stack of signed checks for enormous sums, apparently totaling over a hundred billion, along with ownership transfer certificates for various assets.

The total value approached a trillion.

Looks like this country's bourgeoisie is exceptionally rich.

Now, take a guess where all this money was squeezed out of.

The thought that these glittering assets and banknotes were actually soaked in the blood of countless ordinary citizens made Xi Yan's blood surge. He could barely contain his murderous intent.

The damned bourgeoisie needs a crushing blow!

"What are these supposed to be? Dirty money for a bribe?" His expression unchanged, Xi Yan calmly returned the valuables to the briefcase.

"No, no, no. These are gifts from every member of our business community," Wang Defa said with an ingratiating smile. "You've purged so many corrupt officials and made the country's business environment much cleaner. Everyone is very grateful."

More like you're scared, aren't you? Scared I'll come after you, so you're trying to bind me to you with money?

Xi Yan looked straight into his eyes, his gaze probing.

But I don't care about any of this. Once nationalization is complete and the new system is established, all this wealth and the old economic system will become part of the ruins.

On the ruins of the old system, we'll build a glorious new one.

Just as Wang Defa broke out in a cold sweat, Xi Yan suddenly withdrew his gaze, smiled brightly, and lifted the briefcase over to his side.

"I've received your gifts. Please convey my thanks to all our capi... merchant friends who have contributed so much to the country's economic development."

Xi Yan spoke pleasantly.

He's finally accepted them. Now we can get down to the details.

He's so young, yet his presence is every bit as imposing as the Former Marshal's. I really can't underestimate him.

Seeing Xi Yan relent, Wang Defa was overjoyed. He lowered his voice and asked, "Well, Marshal, about what you said on the forum regarding plans for nationalization reforms..."

"Ah, that. I do indeed want to move it forward. After all, calculations show it's entirely feasible."

Xi Yan gave a affected cough.

It gave Wang Defa quite a fright.

If public ownership really goes ahead, the upheaval will be unimaginable!

How are we capitalists supposed to keep exploiting people?

What if we're held accountable for all the dirty things we've done?

With their position now weaker than his, the entire bourgeoisie had been forced to cautiously send Wang Defa to offer goodwill and sound out Xi Yan's true intentions.

"However-"

Xi Yan gave a dry cough and changed tack. "Though it's feasible in theory, I don't know what everyone thinks. We do have to consider public opinion, after all."

Bullshit! Beta, who had been silently listening, snorted.

Since when does this kid care about that?

"That's why I asked everyone on the forum, to see how they felt about it. But since you've come to inquire, Mr. Wang Defa, perhaps you have your own views?"

Xi Yan regarded the elegantly dressed, well-mannered man before him with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Under the Star Sea Tyrant's gaze, Wang Defa's expression shifted repeatedly. He was finding it hard to maintain his polished facade.

But when he thought of their hard-won standing and the personal interests of the entire bourgeoisie, greed and fear for his survival finally overcame his fear of Xi Yan.

We have to protect the interests of the bourgeoisie! We absolutely cannot compromise!

Otherwise... otherwise we'll make trouble!

Wang Defa gritted his teeth. "We... everyone in the business community unanimously believes that nationalization is unacceptable!..."

"Stop right there. I know what you're going to say." Xi Yan interrupted him with a smile.

"Nothing more than how it'll damage the economy, and so on."

"Of course, I also know that nationalization would be a tremendous blow to our business sector, especially to all of you."

Xi Yan smiled warmly, as though they were the best of friends.

"Then could you-"

"Hold it!" (A little Ace Attorney syndrome.)

"I'd like to ask a question."

Xi Yan interrupted him again, speaking with a faint smile.

"Mr. Wang Defa, how much did that suit cost?"

"Not much. A little over a million dollars." Thinking Xi Yan had taken a liking to his suit, Wang Defa hurried to answer. "It's custom-made, using the finest materials and techniques. If you like it, I'll have someone make you an identical one right away-"

"Stop."

Hearing the price, Xi Yan fell silent for a moment.

"Then do you know how much our lowest-paid workers earn in a month?"

Wang Defa paused to think. "Well, at my company, we pay even our lowest-level employees a generous three thousand dollars a month. That's more than enough for their daily expenses."

Xi Yan suddenly scoffed.

Three thousand dollars, huh? Do you see the gap between that and a million?

Enough for daily expenses?

"Then take a guess at how much they spend each month on food alone."

"Two thousand dollars!"

Their Engel's coefficient was through the roof!

Anger finally surfaced on Xi Yan's previously calm face.

"But they still have a thousand dollars left, don't they? Marshal, if you're concerned about those people's living conditions, we can raise their wages. It's negotiable, all negotiable." Although puzzled, Wang Defa hurried to soothe Xi Yan when he saw his anger.

Xi Yan sucked in a sharp breath.

Do you fucking spend the whole month doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and working?

Xi Yan slowly exhaled. After his furious frustration, he suddenly felt a measure of resignation.

He murmured to himself, "Of course. Of course. No matter the era, the bourgeoisie is always this repulsive."

He laughed in anger. Wang Defa had displayed the arrogance and extravagance of the bourgeoisie in all their glory.

But through that glittering facade, Xi Yan saw the blood, tears, and anguished cries of countless ordinary citizens.

"Old Marx was right. Capital comes into the world dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt..."

"Marshal, what did you say?" Watching Xi Yan mutter with his head lowered and his body trembling, Wang Defa had a bad feeling.

"I said you and everyone behind you can go die!"

Xi Yan's expression rapidly twisted into a snarl.

He pulled a pistol from beneath the desk and shoved its dark muzzle into Wang Defa's mouth.

"Die, you damned exploiter! I'll kill you myself on behalf of all our citizens!"

Bang!

The capitalist's head burst apart, spraying fragments of him all over the floor.

Xi Yan stood, aimed at the headless corpse, and pulled the trigger repeatedly until the magazine was empty.

Under the repeated gunfire, the corpse became a mangled heap of flesh, splattered everywhere. The thick stench of blood lingered in the air.

Xi Yan lightly licked his lips. After taking a moment to calm down, he slowly sat back down.

He opened his Wristband and sent a message.

{Xi Yan: Change of plans. No need to arrest the bourgeoisie or their supporters. Eliminate them on the spot!}

Don't even hook them into the Power Grid. Kill them all!

Using Energy Credits squeezed out of them would make me sick!

Ignoring the two generals' replies, Xi Yan settled back into his own chair and watched the professional cleaners enter expressionlessly to clear away the corpse.

At Xi Yan's orders, Prigozhin, who was already at the Army Command Center, pressed his earpiece, then nodded to the Army officers around him.

The operation began. Objective: eliminate the entire bourgeoisie and all their supporters.