After shooting himself, Qi Tongwei opens his eyes again in the capital in 1965.
There's no Handong, no Lonely Eagle Ridge. Before him stands only a courtyard full of scheming neighbors.
His golden finger isn't a System, but all the skills he accumulated in his previous life.
Reading traces, interrogating witnesses, finding weak points, following procedure: the dead ends ordinary people see are just a few documents waiting to be filed in his hands.
Yi Zhonghai uses schemes to secure his old age and hold the entire courtyard hostage. He Yuzhu uses public supplies to curry favor. Xu Damao hides ration coupons and sells out his wife to save himself. Everyone thinks the law can't punish them all, but Qi Tongwei seals the courtyard gate and investigates them one by one.
"Don't talk to me about courtyard rules." He tosses his handcuffs onto the table and looks around. "Your rules won't get past the security office."
Just as the beasts of the courtyard finally bow their heads, an interest group at the factory secretly forges his seal.
This time, what must Qi Tongwei overcome: a few beasts, or the turbulent currents of an entire era?
Want to argue with me? Talk about rules? When Yi Zhonghai tries to force my hand with his hypocritical ultimatum, I slap him with the charge of "attempting to overthrow the dictatorship of the proletariat," then pull out my gun in front of the whole courtyard and press it to Jia Zhangshi's forehead. With a click, the bullet is chambered. The old woman is so terrified she wets herself on the spot, and every beast in the courtyard goes limp.
You want my meat? Qin Huairu, those few pounds of yours are worth more than my pork! I use the most brutal methods of absolute power to grind this gang of lowlife clowns into the dirt, making the lofty factory beauty and heiresses kneel at my feet, tears of humiliation and submission streaming down their faces.
If the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you with my gun. But if you want to live, you'd better know whether you can follow the rules I set.
