The sun had just set, but the sky was still light.
A large area of the beach had been cleared of snow, revealing the sand and stones beneath. The pebbles in this area were all black and shone wetly.
Ten people knelt on the ground, their hands bound behind their backs, their mouths taped shut, shivering in the cold wind. Soldiers stood guard beside them, holding assault rifles.
Jiang Ye walked over and examined the captured soldiers kneeling on the ground. Each of them was covered in a layer of mud, their clothes creased and rimed with frost, and some had dried blood on their cheeks. There were seven men and three women, some of whom were quite good-looking.
These ten people were survivors from the C settlement, captured by the Spider Unit. The entire C settlement had 429 people. After two rounds of missile bombardment, 419 had died. The ten survivors had been lucky; they hadn't been in the base vehicle and were acting as lookouts at a distance, so they were unharmed.
Che Zhen immediately stepped forward and saluted.
"Report, they are all here. Their identities have been verified from the list," Che Zhen said, handing over a piece of paper.
Jiang Ye did not take the list. Instead, he walked up to the prisoners.
"Lift your heads and listen to me," Jiang Ye said.
The prisoners raised their faces, their expressions varied. Most were filled with fear, while two glared at Jiang Ye fiercely.
"I am too merciful; I am a great philanthropist," Jiang Ye began. "I will give you two paths: either live in the city under my rule, or take your base vehicle and find a secluded mountain valley to live in isolation."
"Those who wish to live in isolation, place your heads on the ground. Those who wish to go to the city, lean back."
The prisoners hesitated for a moment, looking at each other. Five bowed their heads, pressing their faces against the cold pebbles, while three leaned back forcefully.
The two men at the edge did not move, glaring at Jiang Ye.
"Tear the tape off those two whose eyeballs are about to pop out," Jiang Ye said, pointing at them. "You choose neither. What do you want?"
Che Zhen quickly ran over and, with a tearing sound, removed their tape.
"Murderer! How many innocent people have you killed! You deserve to die!"
"Tyrant! Damn you, tyrant! My wife was killed by your bombs! I curse you to die a horrible death!"
The two men cursed furiously.
Che Zhen quickly re-taped their mouths and kicked each of them, knocking them to the ground.
"Video recorder," Jiang Ye said, holding out his hand.
Liu Jizi, who had been waiting nearby, fumbled and pulled a video recorder from her bag. The recorder had been borrowed from Dai Zong Flying Car Company.
"Don't give it to me. Go and film those two," Jiang Ye said.
Liu Jizi held the small video recorder and walked over, finding a suitable angle to point it at the two angry men.
Jiang Ye drew his pistol from his pocket and walked over with it.
The others kneeling nearby turned their heads to watch in horror, and the guards on patrol also couldn't help but glance over.
"What are their names?" Jiang Ye asked, looking down as he checked the pistol's ammunition.
Che Zhen quickly scanned the list. "Gresham Arnold and Kazuya Nagoe."
"Alright, start recording. Don't show my face; focus on them," Jiang Ye instructed Liu Jizi. "Keep the camera steady, don't shake your hands."
Liu Jizi's hands were already shaking as if she had Parkinson's. Her lips were pale, as if she were the one about to be executed. It was clear she was very timid.
"Don't shake," Jiang Ye said, patting her shoulder. "Relax. Don't forget you're a military civilian. A soldier's job is to kill."
Liu Jizi continued to tremble, her lips chattering. "I... I... no..."
"You're too pathetic. Look, neither of them is shaking," Jiang Ye said, pointing at the prisoners kneeling on the ground. "Don't make me replace you. Be strong, alright? It'll be over in less than two minutes."
Liu Jizi gritted her teeth, and her hands finally stopped shaking. She took several deep breaths and pressed the record button.
Jiang Ye entered his role in an instant, like a seasoned actor, and declared loudly, "We have two war criminals, Gresham Arnold and Kazuya Nagoe, who persist in their acts of killing other colonial officers, participated in organized firefights, and remain unrepentant after multiple warnings. To maintain the safety of other humans, they are now to be executed."
With a shot, Gresham Arnold fell to the ground, half his head blown apart. Liu Jizi screamed in fright, nearly dropping the video recorder.
Jiang Ye reached out, grabbed the video recorder, steadied the camera, and with his other hand, fired again, taking down Kazuya Nagoe with another shot.
The prisoners kneeling nearby were all terrified and slumped to the ground. One person closest to the corpses shivered and fainted.
Jiang Ye held the video recorder, pointed it at the two corpses on the ground, and spoke earnestly:
"I hope that no colonial officer on this planet will repeat this mistake. This is the fate of those who harm their own kind. The planet's development plan has been launched, and in the future, more and more areas will be developed and brought under unified jurisdiction."
"Anyone can submit an immigration application to me and live a true modern life. You can also live in seclusion in the mountains, but those who live in seclusion must not commit war crimes. Everyone, take heed."
After recording, Jiang Ye pressed the stop button.
He then rewound and watched the recording. It was passable; everything that needed to be recorded was, with some background noise, but it was not a major issue.
Jiang Ye handed the video recorder back to Liu Jizi. "Take this video back, export it, and broadcast it on the public channel three times in a row."
"Also, have the photos from the C settlement site been sent?"
"They have been sent," Liu Jizi said, her face pale. "Should they be sent together?"
"Let me see," Jiang Ye said.
Liu Jizi took out her phone, tapped a few times, and handed it over.
The screen showed photos of the C settlement site, with scorched earth everywhere. Destroyed base vehicles lay like corpses, flames emitting pale white smoke. Craters were dense.
Soldiers in the distance were collecting bodies, piling them up into small mounds. They were all charred black and so fragmented that it was almost impossible to distinguish human limbs, more like charcoal taken from a furnace. There were also some heads, their features blurred together, like unformed clay sculptures.
Jiang Ye flipped through the photos and nodded. "Alright, they were taken well. Pick about six or seven of them and send them to the public channel along with the video."
"Yes," Liu Jizi replied softly.
Jiang Ye turned to look at the other prisoners kneeling beside him and waved. "Untie them. They can go wherever they want. Those who want to immigrate, take them to wash up, change into clean clothes, and report to my office tonight."
The guards immediately went over, tore off the tape, and untied the ropes. The prisoners were all shaken and could not stand up, and several of them vomited.
Jiang Ye paid them little attention, turned, and walked towards the seaside, yawning as he headed for the ship boarding area. The guards at the boarding area had been waiting for a long time. They draped a coat over their leader and followed him onto the ship.