"Heh heh heh... without power, yet you still want to do good deeds? Like an ant trying to shake a tree—overestimating yourself. Who are you putting on this act for? Your audience, Reporter Tan?"
The investigative reporter with an eyepatch clenched his camera tightly. Just moments ago, he had already recorded the entire process of Old Hans being murdered.
Old Hans had long anticipated that something might happen to him, so he had placed the reporter's camera in his bedroom, capturing everything that occurred in his home.
However, when the reporter tried to secretly retrieve the camera, he unfortunately ran into Madam Ma blocking the door. She had also noticed something unusual and had been secretly watching outside Old Hans' house, waiting to see if anything suspicious would happen.
And with that watch, she caught him.
Unfortunate? Of course not. Madam Ma had already seen everything through surveillance.
In reality, she had long installed listening devices and surveillance cameras throughout various locations.
Not only did this allow her to control the movements of everyone in the area, it also increased the "credibility" of her divinations.
As she spoke, Madam Ma swung a steel pipe and struck Reporter Tan.
Seeing that even with his head bleeding, Reporter Tan still desperately protected the camera against his chest, Madam Ma revealed an extremely ugly, twisted smile.
"Heh, Reporter Tan, do you really think that by protecting that antique, you can get the information out? Let me tell you—this entire area has already been cut off from signal by my 'rituals.'"
Of course, Madam Ma knew no such rituals. She had simply installed signal jamming devices at high points.
Signal access itself had become a lucrative business. Anyone here who wanted to watch television or contact others had to obtain Madam Ma's permission. After undergoing her so-called "ritual," they would be allowed to access broadcasts.
Along with water and signals, Madam Ma monopolized everything the people here needed. That was precisely why she could act as the local tyrant of this region.
"What you're doing now—you won't even get paid for it. Is it really worth risking your life like this?"
"Oh, I get it. You want to use this story, this footage, to prove you're a hero when you return to Shenzhou, then become famous, right?"
"You've probably filmed enough by now. How about this—I'm generous. I'll spare your life. You're an educated man, you can help me..."
"Pah!" Reporter Tan spat fiercely at Madam Ma. "For fame? Ridiculous. I'm just doing what's right."
The spit splashed onto Madam Ma's clothes, but she didn't care. Compared to how Reporter Tan had interfered with her plans in the past, this act only showed that her most stubborn enemy had run out of options.
It only made her more patient—more eager to watch this self-proclaimed hero's downfall.
Reporter Tan had once been a rising star in Shenzhou's media industry.
Now, he had lost one eye and lay crawling at her feet.
And yet, Madam Ma still refused to believe that someone from such a prestigious background—from an upper-class circle like Shenzhou News—would truly care about others.
She wanted to win psychologically as well. She wanted this man to taste complete defeat.
"Doing it for someone to see?"
"Even if you're doing the right thing, what does it matter? As long as everyone else is doing the wrong thing, you become the greatest outcast."
After fighting him for so long, the one who understood him best was his enemy.
Reporter Tan indeed held quite a bit of evidence, but none of it was decisive. Even if he revealed it, others would not accept it.
After all, the gang backing Madam Ma—the Ghostfire Syndicate—was very real. Even if the evidence was true, what then? Were they supposed to go against the Ghostfire Syndicate?
What a joke. How could ordinary people fight against those howling gang thugs?
It was better to pretend ignorance, pay protection fees, and preserve one's life.
As long as they stayed alive, that was enough.
So some people chose to play dumb despite knowing the truth.
They would even recommend or report their own friends and family.
That was why Madam Ma could so easily eliminate most of the resistance in Twilight Street.
Human nature simply could not withstand the test of crisis.
But this scruffy, bearded middle-aged man was an investigative reporter. Deep down, he had backbone. He withstood the pressure.
"That's right. You can block signals, you can blind people—but you can't blind truth and justice."
"Even when drowning with only a single straw, a kind person still thinks about sharing half of it with others."
Even as he watched his former companion Old Hans be framed and killed by Madam Ma, his fingers trembled on the camera—but he would never yield to evil.
"Doing good deeds still needs a reason?"
"Only someone like you—someone who commits unforgivable acts every day and fears what comes after death—would need excuses to do good!"
"Hmph. Keep dreaming... Even if we all fall here, your crimes will be exposed. When support from all across Shenzhou arrives, that will be your end!"
Madam Ma wiped the spit from her clothes with a handkerchief, then pulled out a gang-issued stun gun from her pocket.
"Hmph. Such backbone. I calculated today as inauspicious—shouldn't kill two people. But since Reporter Tan has already made his resolve, no need to wait for tomorrow. You'll die today."
Madam Ma's method for dealing with the disobedient was simple. She would do to Reporter Tan exactly what she had done to Old Hans—turn him into a mindless zombie that could only howl, then claim he had ignored warnings and been cursed.
The residents of this street would raise no objections.
Life and death were entirely in her hands.
"Perhaps the source of this 'great misfortune' is you. As long as I eliminate you—this last tiny bit of trouble... then I can raise water prices whenever I want."
"Even if I sell water like gold, no one will dare defy me. Heh heh heh."
"Most importantly, I've already made contact with the 'Company.' As long as I join them and become part of upper management, I'll have a chance to obtain the anti-aging drugs developed by Heliopolis Life Sciences."
Good people die young, while scourges live long.
As that thought flashed through Reporter Tan's mind, a sharp crackle rang out as the gun spat out dangerous electricity, like a vicious venomous snake lunging toward him.
Facing the snake-like electric attack, Reporter Tan could only tremble all over, clutching his camera tightly, trying to resist the incoming strike.
Like a hen protecting its chicks before a predator.
Except what he held in his arms was the voice of others.
Meanwhile, Madam Ma saw before her a bright future—and Reporter Tan's tragic end.
For a good person, facing darkness was always so powerless—like a tiny candle trying to illuminate a vast forest.
Such stark contrast only made Madam Ma more pleased with her own cleverness.
Crackle!
Just as Reporter Tan cried out, a crystal ball suddenly flew in, intercepting the stun gun's shot and deflecting it away.
"Oh my, my divination crystal ball tells me there's a so-called 'seer' here scamming residents, even claiming to foresee the future—and now trying to kill someone."
"That won't do. Such low-grade tricks won't impress an audience... it's about time I took the stage instead."