Prefect of the Capital

[Be Careful with Fire] A cyberpunk, plot-driven novel with a strong female lead. The blurb is at the bottom. All readers are welcome to visit the author's page and add it to your collection~

Reason for entering the contest: The heroine, Guo Lin, has lived disguised as a boy since childhood and guarded the borderlands. After earning merit by saving the emperor, she became the Jingzhao Prefect, responsible for protecting the capital. She cleverly navigates court intrigue, remains true to her original resolve to defend the realm, and rises through the ranks to become a general. Later, caught up in the political struggles at court, she is set up by the emperor and nearly dies fighting on the border. She fights her way back from the brink, leads her troops to the capital to purge the emperor's corrupt advisers, and restores peace and prosperity to the realm.

Having spent so long disguised as a man, when a woman falls for her, she can keep a straight face and solemnly talk her out of it. When an elder tries to arrange a marriage for her, she can deftly drag her unmarried sworn elder brother, the heir apparent, into the line of fire instead.

But now, a man has actually confessed to her!

And the other party is none other than Chen Yuxiu, the peerless and supremely talented Grand Preceptor?!

After racking her brains and turning the matter over and over, Guo Lin finally manages to squeeze out a reply: "So, Grand Preceptor... you're into men?!"

He smiles like a breeze stirring a jade tree: "A Lin, you can give it a try."

The cherished young daughter of the Ning family, left alone after her family was destroyed. At the Battle of Qiongguan, she earned merit protecting the emperor.

Appointed Prefect of Zhaojing, she enters the court, where intrigue and shifting fortunes abound, and love and hate run deep.

The heir apparent is like a brother; Ziyu remains composed. The Seventh Prince is consumed by love, while Xun Xue's thirst for vengeance surges.

Now, with a cinnabar-red mole and phoenix eyes, she stands shoulder to shoulder with her love in the court, devoted to the realm for miles around.

Who has the discerning eye to tell male from female?

[Be Careful with Fire]

"The local government gives you a 150,000-yuan rental subsidy after you pass the interview and get hired?! Is that for real?"

Zhaoge read the text message she had received three times, very carefully.

"[Litai City Talent Development Bureau] Dear job seeker: Congratulations on becoming one of Litai City's emerging talents! Your application for the special benefits under the 'Young Saplings Housing Plan' has been approved. Once you successfully sign an employment contract with a local company, 150,000 yuan in housing funds will be deposited into your Litai Bank account within three business days. (Funds can only be used for in-person purchases in the city or payment for subsidized housing.) Building a nest to attract talent, Litai looks forward to building the future with you!"

She had just graduated from college and become one of the wage slaves. With no family to support her and a meager salary, she could only share a place in an old neighborhood an hour's subway ride from work. Every day, she hoped she'd win some money in a repost giveaway so she could afford somewhere better.

Recruiter: "Of course it's real."

Zhaoge: "But I can't find Litai City on the map."

Recruiter: "It's an up-and-coming tech metropolis created to compete with the United States. All kinds of support programs are kept under wraps."

Zhaoge: "If the policies are this good, why didn't they come promote them at our school?"

Recruiter: "If everyone knew about it, would there still be a spot for you?"

That made sense.

Still, Zhaoge thought it over cautiously for several days. Then she caught her male roommate standing up to pee with the bathroom door open again. Forced to clean and disinfect the entire toilet, Zhaoge made up her mind and quit her job in the capital.

She couldn't find any train or plane tickets to Litai City, so on the recruiter's recommendation, she bought a train ticket to a neighboring city. The recruiter would take her and the other job seekers into Litai City as a group.

The bus was packed with chattering recent graduates. Everyone looked forward to a wonderful new life, bound together for their ideal city.

The next day.

Leaving the skyscraper where she had interviewed, Zhaoge looked around at the orderly forest of steel and glass. The beauty of technology was everywhere, and passersby wore standard-issue smiles of happiness.

She opened an encrypted app on her phone and typed furiously.

Codename [Firelight]: "Teacher, come quickly! A scam syndicate has built an entire city... I can't take it down by myself!"

*

Zhaoge had originally thought her mission would be simple: go undercover in a fraud compound, rescue her best friend who had been tricked into coming there, and bring back the real intelligence while she was at it.

But after boarding the high-speed train that could never take her out of Litai City to escape, and being killed again and again by an ability user who could rewind time,

she finally understood that the true enemy was not even on the level of humanity. She had stepped into a superpowered fighting arena built with the power of the gods.

A foolish hunter never realizes that she is the prey until the moment she dies.

*

Once, she was the prey. Now, she will become a true hunter.

Theme: Disguised as a man, she makes her way from the martial world to the imperial court, still holding fast to an innocent heart and acting for justice. In the end, she joins hands with her beloved and restores the realm!