Su Meimei's phone screen clearly displayed the big data report, the white text stark against a dark background:
Jing Shu: 55 points. Owns a villa with outstanding mortgage payments and a car with outstanding payments. On May 29, 2023, between 13:00 and 17:00, she stayed at the office building opposite Ai Jia Supermarket in the development zone. On the same day, five brutal murder cases involving community residents occurred there. +30 points.
Jing An: 20 points. Credit evaluation: Good. Works at the Livestock Breeding Center.
Su Lanzhi: 10 points. Credit evaluation: Good. Works at the Planting Industry R and D Management Department.
The big data system had only been in use for half a month, but it had already proven highly accurate, its algorithms chewing through location pings and incident reports. A score of 55 indicated a 55 percent probability of criminal behavior. Reaching 100 points meant confirmed criminal activity, and 200 points indicated a history of repeated robberies and murders, a digital brand of infamy.
Reportedly, the highest score so far belonged to the leader of Zhetian, whose score had reached 800 points, reflecting numerous crimes, a towering monument to violence.
Access levels determined how much detail could be seen in someone's file. The highest level reportedly allowed 24 hour surveillance, including browsing history, photos taken, and apps opened, a complete digital dissection.
Cloud data preserved every trace of a person's activity, while big data cross referenced incidents in their vicinity to create a comprehensive analysis. Privacy no longer existed, stripped away layer by layer.
Su Meimei's role was to confirm whether high scoring individuals were actually guilty. Once she reported someone, a team of interrogation experts would take over, using methods too brutal to mention to extract confessions, the process hidden behind closed doors.
"Hmph, even if you beg me when the time comes, I won't forgive you." She muttered it to the screen, her breath fogging the glass.
She could already picture Jing Shu's entire family kneeling at her feet, pleading, their faces twisted in fear. The image was sweet.
With an air of authority, she instructed Wang Qiqi to remove confirmed deceased members from the group chat. In a blink, the group of over 100 members dropped to about 80, the list shrinking with grim efficiency.
"@Everyone, change your nickname to this format: Real name + building number and unit + gender. It will make organizing easier. Wang Qiqi, please add everyone else from the community who hasn't joined yet." Her message was a command, not a request.
The group went completely silent. No one followed her instructions. Everyone pretended not to see her message, the chat frozen.
Even Wang Qiqi, usually patient and kind, said nothing, a pointed silence.
After all, she claimed to be from the government, but she came in bossing people around, turning a casual group chat into her workspace and demanding obedience. Who did she think she was? The resentment was a palpable current.
Jing Shu munched on a fresh carrot, the crisp snap loud in the quiet room, as she watched the spectacle unfold. Su Meimei really was bold, daring to pull stunts like this. Jing Shu almost admired her for managing to survive this long, a cockroach thriving in the cracks.
When the group continued to ignore her, Su Meimei snapped, her patience a thin thread. "What, are you all pretending you didn't see my message? Change your nicknames and report in. Don't you understand?" The words were sharp, typed with angry jabs.
At that moment, someone finally spoke up.
[Zhang Bingbing's Elder Husband]:"Why should we listen to you? Are you going to feed us every day you make us sign in? You want a daily report of everything we do? Should I tell you every time I sleep with my wife too?"
[Zhang Bingbing's Younger Husband]:"Yeah! Who do you think you are? The government isn't even distributing food anymore. We dig bugs every day for points, and all we get is bugs. Why isn't the government handing out its grain reserves?"
Su Meimei was furious. She had planned to make a strong impression as the new official, but her authority was being challenged before she could even start. "@Wang Qiqi, who are these two? What are their real names?" She would start with them, make an example.
She had access to files, so she could look them up. First, she would make an example of them.
Wang Qiqi said, "We don't know their names. They assaulted Zhang Bingbing in her home, made her mentally unstable, and she even got pregnant. We wanted to kick them out, but the unstable Zhang Bingbing refused to let them leave." The explanation was flat, exposing the community's ugly secret.
[Fat Girl No. 25]:"They are father and son. Beasts!"
"You all allowed this to happen? These two men are obviously criminals. I'm reporting them right now so they can be arrested. And you're asking why I should control you?" Su Meimei's voice dripped with superiority, a chance to play the righteous enforcer.
Wang Qiqi asked, "Then what about Zhang Bingbing? Who will take care of her? She's pregnant. Are you, as a government official, going to look after her?" The question was a trap, practical and brutal.
Su Meimei froze. She wanted to say Zhang Bingbing's fate was none of her business, but saying that in front of everyone would be dangerous if it got back to her superiors. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
"Fine. I will deal with those two later." She backed down, the retreat clumsy. "Wang Dazhao, are you here? You've been listed as a high probability criminal. If you don't speak up, I'll report your information and put you on record."
Silence returned to the group, thick and waiting.
Jing Shu smirked, a private curl of her lip. Fortunately, she had arranged for Wang Dazhao to infiltrate the armed police system. Once he completed his mission, his identity would be cleared, making Su Meimei's threats meaningless, empty air.
"Don't say I didn't warn you, Wang Dazhao. Anyone who doesn't respond will be treated as if they're on record." Su Meimei tried again, her bluff wearing thin.
"Shi Zi, are you here? Were you at the Xishan murder scene on May 24? Zhu Fan, did you rob and kill at Ai Jia Supermarket on May 15? Luo Zhu, did you bomb Ai Jia Supermarket with Zhetian on May 29? If you don't speak, I'll mark you as confirmed criminals. You will all go on the blacklist and won't be able to buy anything, not even water or food." She fired off the accusations, names and dates like bullets.
This barrage sent a shockwave through the group. People scrambled to reply and explain themselves, messages flooding in, a panicked chorus of not me and I was home.
Within two minutes, most group members had changed their nicknames according to Su Meimei's format. In this world, excuses like "Sorry, I was busy" no longer carried weight. Survival was the only currency.
Jobs were scarce, and those who had them were highly respected. Most people stayed home in the scorching 60 degree Celsius heat, only venturing out in the evening to catch bugs for work points, their lives reduced to a desperate cycle.
Luckily, there were still two hours of electricity daily, but it was barely enough to charge phones and power a few lights. Gas had been cut off, kitchen knives confiscated, and food supplies depleted. Cooking was pointless; survival depended entirely on government rations, the maggot gruel and bug bars.
That was why everyone feared Su Meimei. With control over all food and water distribution, being blacklisted was a death sentence. You might still scrounge some raw food, but without water, death was inevitable, a dry, cracking end.
She truly held everyone's lifeline in her hands. Most residents didn't even understand what big data was, but they knew if Su Meimei could name their actions, she had power. Even those who had never committed a crime feared she might falsely accuse them, the suspicion a poison.
The chat quickly became lively, with people explaining their actions on those dates, insisting they were innocent, and trying to curry favor with Su Meimei. In no time, they were flattering her, calling her Specialist Su and Ma'am.
This showed how much power a Consolation and Counseling Specialist held in the early days of the apocalypse. It was the power to feed or to starve.
Su Meimei's vanity soared, a hot balloon in her chest.
"And what about those who haven't changed their nicknames yet? Xiao Shu from the villa area? Oh, isn't that Jing Shu?" She zeroed in, her typing deliberate. "On May 29, five residents from our community disappeared and were later found tortured to death at Ai Jia Supermarket. According to reports, you were there from 13:00 to 17:00 that day. You are highly suspicious. So, Jing Shu, are you the one who tortured those five people to death?" The accusation hung in the digital space, a direct challenge.
She followed with, "I created a new group. Everyone scan this code and join directly."