Beiluo City had stopped screaming and started humming. The sound of weeping was replaced by the rhythmic clanging of the new Steel Mill Jiang Chen had erected in the market square. Black smoke billowed into the grey sky, but the citizens didn't complain—the heat from the furnaces melted the snow on the nearby streets, making the sector bearable for the first time in years.
But while the factories were loud, the Bureau of Order was silent.
Jiang Chen sat in the City Lord's office, now stripped of its silk tapestries and gold vases. In their place were banks of black monitors and a large slate map of the city.
"Loyalty is a resource," Jiang Chen said to the man standing before him. "And like any resource, it leaks."
The man was Chen Wei. He was a former tax scribe, thrown in the dungeon by Fatong for refusing to cook the books. He was gaunt, pale, and possessed a hatred for the nobility that burned colder than liquid nitrogen.
"The merchants are restless, Administrator," Chen Wei said, his voice dry. "The Grain Rationing Act cost them their profits. The Labor Draft took their servants. They are whispering in the teahouses."
"Let them whisper," Jiang Chen said. "I need to know who is screaming."
He placed a small metal box on the desk. He opened it.
Inside sat a dozen mechanical flies. They were crude compared to the nanotech of his home world, but for this era, they were miracles of clockwork and basic piezoelectric crystals.
[Item: Surveillance Drone (Class: Insect).][Range: 1km.][Function: Audio Transmission.]
"These are your new ears, Director Chen," Jiang Chen said. "Plant them. I want to know what the Merchant Guild is discussing when they think the doors are locked."
Chen Wei looked at the metal insects with a mix of terror and reverence. He picked one up. It felt cold.
"And if I find treason?" Chen asked.
Jiang Chen looked up from his screens.
"Then you introduce them to the Bureau."
The Golden Teahouse - Midnight
The Golden Teahouse was the last bastion of luxury in Beiluo. While the streets outside were patrolled by the "Blackcoats" (Jiang Chen's soldiers), the private room on the second floor smelled of jasmine tea and incense.
Five men sat around a low table. They were the heads of the Merchant Guilds—Salt, Iron, Silk, Grain, and Wine.
"This 'Administrator' is insane," the Grain Merchant hissed, slamming his cup down. "He seized my entire warehouse! He paid me in 'Industrial Credits.' What am I supposed to do with paper tickets?"
"He is turning the city into a prison," the Silk Merchant agreed. "My weavers have been drafted to make... sandbags. Sandbags! With silk hands!"
"It won't last," the Iron Merchant lowered his voice. "I have sent a runner to Iron-Blood City. General Ma hates rebellion. When he hears a 'Prince' has usurped the city, he will bring the Legion."
"Are you sure the runner got out?"
"Positive. He slipped through the sewer grate in Sector 4. General Ma will be here in a week. We just need to..." The Iron Merchant leaned in, his eyes gleaming. "...open the South Gate when he arrives."
Unseen by the conspirators, a small metal fly sat on the rim of a decorative vase in the corner. Its crystal eyes pulsed faintly.
The City Lord's Office
Jiang Chen listened to the audio feed. It was crackly, but clear enough.
"Open the South Gate," Jiang Chen repeated. "Classic."
He looked at Chen Wei. "You have the names?"
"Yes, Administrator. Master Wang (Iron), Master Liu (Grain)..."
"Do we have a holding cell?"
Chen Wei smiled—a thin, cruel smile. "We have the 'Re-Education Center' in the basement."
"No," Jiang Chen stood up, adjusting his coat. "Arresting them in secret creates martyrs. We need to make a statement."
"Platoon 1," he spoke into his radio. "Gear up. Breaching charges. We are going to a tea party."
The merchants were toasting to the return of the Empire when the wall exploded.
BOOM.
Wood splinters and plaster turned into shrapnel. The Iron Merchant was thrown out of his chair. Smoke filled the room.
Through the hole in the wall, laser sights cut through the dust.
"BUREAU OF ORDER! ON THE GROUND!"
Li stormed in, his AK-47 raised. Behind him, four soldiers in black tactical vests (printed from tire rubber and steel plates) fanned out.
"What is the meaning of this?!" The Grain Merchant shrieked. "I am a citizen of the Empire! You cannot—"
THWACK.
Li butt-stroked him in the face with the stock of the rifle. The merchant collapsed, spitting teeth.
Jiang Chen walked in through the shattered wall. He stepped over the debris, his heavy boots crunching on the expensive porcelain. He held a piece of paper—the transcript of their conversation.
"Master Wang," Jiang Chen looked down at the Iron Merchant. "You mentioned a sewer grate in Sector 4. Thank you for the tip. I'll have it welded shut."
Wang's face went white. "How...?"
Jiang Chen leaned down. "There are no walls in my city, Wang. Only windows."
He turned to Li. "Drag them to the square. Wake up the city."
The Square - Dawn
The 15,000 citizens of Beiluo were awoken by the air raid sirens—another new addition to the city. They gathered in the central square, shivering, watching the platform that had been erected overnight.
The five merchants knelt in a row, bound and gagged.
Jiang Chen stood before a microphone.
"These men," Jiang Chen's voice boomed, "wanted to sell you back to the Empire. They wanted General Ma to come here. Do you know what General Ma does to rebel cities?"
The crowd murmured. Everyone knew General Ma. "The Butcher." He would burn the city to the ground to kill one rebel.
"They wanted to trade your safety for their profits," Jiang Chen continued. "They hate the ration tickets because they cannot hoard grain. They hate the factories because they cannot exploit you."
He looked at the crowd. He saw anger.
"The Bureau of Order has one law: The City Survives. Anyone who threatens the survival of the City is a cancer."
Jiang Chen nodded to Li.
Li didn't use a sword. He pulled a pistol.
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.
Five bodies slumped forward.
"Justice is efficient," Jiang Chen declared. "Dismissed. Back to work."
As the crowd dispersed, they didn't look horrified. They looked... safe. The merchants had been the leeches of the city for decades. Seeing them executed was a dark form of catharsis.
Jiang Chen walked off the stage. Chen Wei was waiting.
"The runner?" Jiang Chen asked.
"Intercepted by a drone three miles out," Chen Wei replied. "He never reached Iron-Blood City."
"Good." Jiang Chen looked at the sunrise. "But General Ma will come eventually. We need to be ready."
"System," he thought. "Unlock Tier 2 Military: The Artillery."
[Blueprint Unlocked: 105mm Howitzer.]
"It's time to teach this world about indirect fire."