Chapter 66
The water pollution incident caused an uproar online.
"What time is it? Why are you still so careless?"
"A master key? Walking into a sewage treatment plant, finding the aluminum sulfate storage tank, and pouring the aluminum sulfate in? Is that something a normal person could do?"
"What's even more outrageous is that after the incident, when the staff realized something was wrong, instead of trying to clean up the mess, their first reaction was to cover their mouths. So, as long as they silence those in the know, they can pretend this never happened?"
"...Could the surrounding residents have actually drunk that water? Black water is absolutely undrinkable! Go to the supermarket and buy a few cases of bottled water. We have to hold out until the tap water returns to normal before drinking it."
“I didn’t want to drink it at first!! But when I called the water authority, they kept saying ‘no problem,’ ‘safe,’ ‘drink it without worry,’ and I was easily swayed, so I believed them… I’m not going to say anything more, I’m going to the hospital for a checkup right now.”
"How immoral! How utterly immoral! Doing such a bad thing deserves divine retribution! But then again, why did you only complain to the Water Resources Bureau when you encountered this? If the Water Resources Bureau won't handle it, you should have sought other channels to continue your complaints."
"To be frank, who knew the water authority would lie? I heard the operator say the water quality was fine, and I thought I was just being paranoid. Apparently, there was a superhuman who felt something was wrong with the black water, so he was determined to expose it. The other ordinary residents, hearing that nothing was wrong, were all fooled."
It's causing a huge uproar online.
In real life, people who accidentally drink black water are extremely anxious, fearing that one day they will close their eyes and never open them again.
The boss's wife was so anxious that blisters appeared on her lips—she was cautious, extremely cautious! In order to reassure the workers and let them feel at ease drinking tap water instead of demanding that the factory provide drinking water and instead drink bottled mineral water, she collected the black water, filtered it, and boiled it multiple times to ensure that it was completely sterilized before leading the way in drinking it.
I thought everything was foolproof, but looking at this operation now, it's like drinking heavily contaminated concentrated water!
The proprietress suddenly felt a darkness before her eyes.
Even if we install a water dispenser, since everyone drinks bottled purified water for only a few days, it won't cost much.
But she always felt it was unnecessary.
The tap water is just a little dark and a little sour, right? It won't kill you, there's no need to waste money on it.
Besides, the water authority said the water is safe to drink, so just treat it like lemon juice.
Due to a combination of factors, she drank black water for several days in a row!
It was at this moment that the proprietress finally understood why, despite all four of her attributes having improved to varying degrees, she had been experiencing persistent itchy skin lately.
It's all because of the water!
Improving the four-dimensional attributes is a slow process.
To effectively resist, the "physical" attribute must be at least 3.
To be completely unaffected, the "physical" attribute should probably exceed 6, and the best superpower to awaken is one that strengthens the body and enhances resistance.
Looking at it this way, all her hard work only gave her a +0.9 stat boost, which is hardly enough!
We have to think of a way.
The proprietress had a gloomy expression.
"Let's set another fire," the proprietress said with a stern face.
"Let's go big this time, and put out the fire when it gets really bad."
"It's just a small-scale project, so the evaluation isn't high. I can only get a C."
"I once encountered a fire in a shopping mall. The fire was huge; the entire floor was on fire. I just happened to notice it early and shouted for the people around me to escape, so I got an A."
Xiao Chen trembled, her whole body filled with resistance. "Auntie, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
What if the fire gets out of control and really starts burning?
"What's the problem? The factory is mine. If I set fire to my own factory, who dares to say a word?" the boss's wife said confidently.
Xiao Chen didn't want to do this kind of thing anymore, but he couldn't go against the boss's wishes, so he had no choice but to compromise.
“Just this once,” Xiao Chen emphasized. “I’m only doing this one last time.”
"Alright, alright, you said before that you didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing anymore, I know. I'll find someone else to replace you when I have time," the proprietress said impatiently.
In her opinion, it's really foolish not to seize the opportunity to boost reviews.
"I shouldn't have given Yunxin the day off..." the landlady muttered, full of regret. "Who would have thought that just a few days of her absence would cause such a huge mess at the factory!"
In short, the mistake has been made, and regret is useless.
After careful consideration, the proprietress told Xiao Chen about the revised plan.
The two men, one with cooking oil and the other with a lighter, sneaked into the warehouse.
Just as the proprietress lit the scraps of cloth, Xiao Chen hesitated and said, "Auntie, what if the fire gets bigger and the warehouse really catches fire, and all the cloth inside is burned?"
"Do you think I don't feel bad?" the proprietress hissed. "If I hadn't drunk too much polluted water and was afraid I wouldn't live much longer, I wouldn't have done this!"
It's strange.
Before she drank the contaminated water, her employees kept urging her to buy a water dispenser, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
After drinking polluted water and developing a skin disease, she was willing to give up the entire factory as long as she could recover her health!
"What if the criterion for judgment is not the size of the fire, but whether it endangers everyone's lives?" Xiao Chen asked again. "Maybe the fire is big and everyone is indeed threatened with death, so that would be considered a rescue."
"But our actions were minor; we deliberately set fires, and the fire source was far from the workers. Even if we hadn't extinguished them, very few people would have been injured, so is that why we received a low rating?"
The proprietress was focused on her work when someone started chattering incessantly in her ear, which immediately annoyed her. "What exactly are you trying to say?!"
As he spoke, he snatched the cooking oil, opened it, and prepared to pour it out.
Xiao Chen lowered his head and mumbled, "I was just thinking, what if the warehouse burns down and the ratings don't improve?"
The proprietress, "..."
This is indeed a problem.
But why didn't you say so sooner?
The proprietress wanted to put out the fire and was considering changing her plan before taking action, but just then someone pushed the door open and entered.
"Boss lady, the police are looking for you. Don't rush to check the inventory..."
Before he could finish speaking, the director froze.
Flames, scraps of cloth, a lighter, cooking oil... This is clearly arson!
The police officer behind the director saw this and immediately drew his gun, shouting, "Don't move!!"
The proprietress had no sense of responsibility as someone in power and obediently surrendered.
Throughout the entire process, I couldn't help but glare angrily at the director—couldn't the police have waited in the lobby? Why bring them here?!
The manager was completely baffled as to why the boss's wife would set fire to her own factory. He kept muttering, "Boss's wife, why? Did you do that when our factory caught fire before?"
Upon hearing this, the police officer standing nearby exclaimed, "Good heavens, this isn't the first time he's committed arson; he's a repeat offender!"
No more politeness was needed. "If you have something to say, go back to the station and come with us."
The proprietress nearly tripped over herself while walking, her eyes filled with fear and unease.
Xiao Chen, as an accomplice, was also handcuffed and taken away.
In the lobby, the female workers were sewing clothes on their machines when they saw the boss and Xiao Chen being handcuffed and taken away by the police. They panicked and asked, "What happened? What did they do? Why are they being arrested?"
The only person in the know, the director, stared blankly, looking dazed. "The police said they deliberately set fires at the factory multiple times, most likely to use everyone's reviews to inflate their ratings."
Upon hearing this, the workers felt a chill run down their spines and goosebumps rose all over their bodies. "Are the boss's wife and Xiao Chen really that unethical?!"
Interrogation room.
The police asked, "Did you deliberately set the fire to use your employees to boost your online reviews?"
The proprietress shook her head frantically, denying everything, "No. I... I just wanted to burn the scraps of cloth..."
Before the words were even finished, the superhuman had already made his judgment: "He's lying."
The policeman slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Burning scraps of cloth in a warehouse? Burning scraps of cloth with cooking oil to help them burn? Who are you trying to fool!"
The proprietress was terrified. "I'm just burning something in my own factory, is that not allowed?"
“Burning something in an empty factory at night is a different matter from burning something during employees’ working hours,” the police pointed out. “Your actions have threatened the safety of other citizens, and you cannot escape the charge of arson.”
The proprietress was both frightened and furious. "If I hadn't drunk the sewage and might have died, I wouldn't have had to do this!"
The police didn't hesitate to expose him, "However, before you drank the sewage, you had already set fires several times."
The proprietress was speechless.
Police officer: "Do you know that staging a fake review is illegal?"
The proprietress: "I don't know!"
Superpowered Person: "Lying."
"I advise you to cooperate and confess as soon as possible," the police officer warned. "Your accomplice is currently being questioned by others in another interrogation room. If she confesses everything, while you deny everything, she will receive a reduced sentence and a lighter punishment. You, on the other hand, will have to bear most of the responsibility and reflect on your mistakes in prison."
The proprietress felt a pang of anxiety.
Xiao Chen...she already felt incredibly guilty and didn't want to do these things. What if she confesses everything when the police ask her?
Thinking of this, the proprietress's attitude changed significantly. "I'll tell you everything."
"I did set a fire... Once there was a fire in the mall. I saw smoke and shouted a few times to tell others to get out of the mall as soon as possible. I didn't expect to get an A grade, which suddenly added a lot of attributes."
"I... acted impulsively and decided to set fire to the factory and then tell the factory workers to evacuate in time, hoping to boost my ratings through this method."
The police officer glanced at the superhuman and, seeing that he didn't speak, knew that what he said was true.
The police then asked, "I heard that a factory worker previously committed arson and was subsequently fired by you. Is that true?"
Boss lady: "Yes!"
Superpowered Person: "Lying."
"Would it kill you to shut up?" The landlady was seething with anger.
The police then asked, "You started the fire, and you deliberately left cigarette butts nearby to frame that employee, right?"
After hesitating for a long time, the proprietress reluctantly admitted, "...Yes."
The police asked again, "Why did you frame him and fire him?"
The proprietress fell silent again.
The policeman made a move to get up, saying, "Take your time thinking about it. I'll go next door and see how the questioning is going."
"Don't go!" the landlady panicked. "I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"
She stammered, "We had differing opinions about the factory's future development, so I deliberately found a reason to fire him."
"Some people say that your factory counterfeits designer clothes, affixes other brand labels, and sells them. Is that true?" the policeman asked.
The proprietress: "No!"
Superpowered Person: "Lying."
The proprietress, "..."
Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, she reluctantly confessed, "It's true. Xiao Hu said it was illegal and criminal, and refused to work with me, so I made up an excuse to fire him. This is also a way to keep him from talking nonsense..."
Setting a fire not only boosted his reputation but also eliminated his rivals—a win-win situation.
Police: This is absolutely outrageous!
She was caught red-handed while setting the fire, and during interrogation, she confessed to other crimes. The proprietress was sentenced to prison for several years.
In addition, workers who drank sewage during work hours were diagnosed with illnesses at the hospital and were subsequently classified as having suffered "work-related injuries," leading them to seek compensation from the garment factory.
Because of the large number of victims and the large amount of compensation, the factory went bankrupt and closed down.
The proprietress lost both her money and her husband, and was filled with remorse.
Just over half a month after starting the job, the boss was dismissed, and Yunxin became "unemployed" again.
System prompts.
[Congratulations to the player who successfully survived instance number 168462 – “Water Pollution Incident”.]
[Because you indirectly saved 3,189 humans, your pass rating is "SS," and you are rewarded with the following attribute points: Strength +0.6, Agility +0.6, Constitution +0.6, Spirit +0.5.]
Your current attributes are: Strength: 8.7, Agility: 8.7, Constitution: 9.1, Spirit: 9.5.
If your physical attribute exceeds 9, you will gain a special ability.
[Congratulations to the player for acquiring the superpower "Super Regeneration".]
[Super Regenerative Capabilities: Except for the heart and brain, all other parts of the body can regenerate.]
Your current physical attribute superpowers are: Resilience, Super Resistance, and Super Regeneration.
Toughness enhances skin resilience and effectively strengthens its defenses.
Super resistance greatly enhances resistance, enabling it to cope with, but is not limited to, extreme cold, extreme heat, toxins, and radiation.
With its already strong survival ability, and now with its super regeneration, it's hard to die even if it wants to.
But... can they still be considered "human"?
Yunxin stood in the middle of the road, unsure of where to go.
"Oppose atrocities! Strengthen the management of evolved individuals! Resist crimes committed by evolved individuals!!"
A group of people marched by, shouting slogans so loudly that they attracted the attention of passersby.
"Oppose atrocities! Strengthen the management of evolved individuals! Resist crimes committed by evolved individuals!!"
These people, wearing headscarves, holding banners, and chanting slogans, appeared to be well-trained.
As they passed by Yun Xin, someone in the group reached out and slipped a flyer into her hand.
Yunxin picked it up and examined it closely.
The flyer was filled with descriptions of the evil deeds of evolved beings, including but not limited to robbery, violent assault, discrimination, and murder.
In order to protect the rights of ordinary citizens, they demanded that the government strictly regulate the evolved beings.
Yunxin: I was walking along the road when I felt like I was kicked.
She quickened her pace and threw the flyer into the trash can. But then she heard a loud crash behind her. Turning around, she saw the bridge not far away beginning to collapse!
Coincidentally, the parade was crossing the bridge, and at least half of the people were on the bridge.
On the other side of the bridge were several cars.
At this moment, the bridge collapsed, and people and cars fell into the water like dumplings.
“Run!”
Someone shouted, and the crowd standing at the edge of the bridge quickly retreated, staring at the center of the bridge in fear.
Rocks are also falling from the top of the bridge.
A large piece of gravel fell down, nearly hitting someone.
"Watch out!" A young man leading the parade rushed out and pushed his companion away from being hit.
In the blink of an eye, a young man wearing glasses among the leaders saw a large piece of gravel fall and instinctively ran over to catch it.
The onlookers were in an uproar.
"How can you catch such a big rock?"
"When a rock falls from a great height, it's not just the weight of the rock itself, but also its gravitational potential energy. This is the same principle as how even a very light object falling from a great height can kill a person."
"Has he awakened superpowers?"
"Quick, take a picture! It's going to go viral!"
Someone urged my friend to take out their phone and start recording. My friend replied helplessly, "There are so many people around; others have already started filming. If you start filming halfway through, how can you compete with them for the complete version?"
The person who had encouraged the filming was speechless.
A person nearby yelled, "Shoot you on the head! Call an ambulance right now and get him out!!"
After Ping An caught the rubble, the bespectacled young man was also stunned. He had acted entirely on instinct and couldn't explain why he had run over.
Before they could even think, the bridge continued to collapse, and more people fell into the water.
The young man with glasses felt a chill and wanted to evacuate from the middle of the bridge.
With a push of his foot, he bounced a few times and returned to the side of the bridge.
Once he was sure he was safe, the young man with glasses froze, staring blankly at the collapsed bridge.
"Is there anyone who can swim? Hurry down and save them!"
Some people responded to the call and jumped into the water to save people.
Some people who can't swim stood on the riverbank, grabbed the car's rearview mirror and door handle, and pulled the car directly ashore...
The parade participants on the shore were stunned.
One person hesitated before saying, "It seems that not all evolved beings are bad people."
Soon after, police cars arrived, and more people joined the rescue effort.
Among them, Xiao Wei was the most efficient at saving lives.
Pull on the collar, grab the back, pull on the belt—do whatever's convenient.
He was fast, strong, and ruthless; in the blink of an eye, he "rescued" (captured) the three people and brought them ashore.
The department head, drenched in sweat, explained loudly, "To save more citizens, we will do everything in our power to carry out the rescue as quickly as possible!"
Yes, the fastest speed, so don't worry too much about comfort...
Even his superpowered colleague couldn't help but think to himself, "This is just too unprofessional."
Before he could even speak, the vice-captain slapped him on the back of the head. "What are you daydreaming about? Get back to work! Xiao Wei has saved twenty or thirty people and is still running around. You dare to stop after saving two or three??"
The colleague with superpowers retorted, "He's too casual, that's why he's so efficient!"
The vice-captain glanced at him. "Do you also want to conduct a survey and ask the victims whether they would rather be treated roughly but survive, or be treated with great care but not necessarily be able to be rescued in time?"
The colleague with superpowers was speechless.
"Hurry up, saving as many people as possible is more important than anything else," the deputy captain urged.
Half an hour later.
Most of the people who fell into the water were recovered, but a small number are missing and may have been swept away by the current.
Of those rescued, some had choked on water, some were revived after CPR, but some closed their eyes forever.
The bridge collapsed and immediately became a trending topic on social media.
Countless people questioned, "How could the bridge collapse out of nowhere? Was it a shoddy construction project?"
"Saving lives is the priority, but... wasn't this guy being a bit too rough? At least pull the person out of the water! Grabbing them by their clothes and dragging them ashore, what kind of nonsense is that??"
"One in your left hand, two in your right, are you carrying packages?!"
"I was there and I was completely stunned. Everyone else was very gentle, but this guy was barbaric, brutal, and efficiency was his top priority."
The internet was filled with criticism, with everyone overwhelmingly condemning Xiao Wei.
At this moment, survivors began to surface, saying, "If he had been even a little slower, I might have died."
"It's as if you're saying the process of saving lives is more important. It doesn't matter if fewer people are saved to ensure comfort. As one of the last few to be rescued, I disagree!"
"Seven or eight people drowned because the rescue wasn't fast enough. Even in this situation, they still tell people to slow down... How can someone with a body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius say such cold things?"
“If the other rescuers had been as casual as him, those seven or eight people might not have died. I don’t mean to blame the rescue team, but I just think that in that situation, saving lives was the priority, and efficiency was the most important thing.”
Another onlooker said, "Although I was on the shore at the time, I thought about it carefully. If I were in the water, I probably wouldn't mind him grabbing my collar and throwing me ashore. As long as I'm not dead, even if I'm just slightly injured, I can forgive him."
"I was there and witnessed it firsthand. He was a heartless life-saving machine. He probably saved forty or fifty people all by himself, more than all the others combined. With that level of skill, let's not complain about his service attitude."
As more and more people spoke up for Xiao Wei, the tide began to turn. People started to wonder: why were so many people falling into the water? And why was the rescue effort so extensive?
One person replied, "Several hundred people were marching and demonstrating, and they happened to be passing by the bridge. Nearly half of them fell into the water. How could the workload be small?"
Images are attached below.
Sure enough, many of the people who fell into the water were wearing matching headscarves and uniforms.
It also reads, "Resist the Evolvers."
In fact, it read "Resist Evolvers' Crimes," but coincidentally, it fell into the water, and only the first five words floated on the surface.
At first glance, passersby might mistake it for a protest against the evolved.
A nearby evolved being came to the rescue and was trying to pull the person out of the water.
This scene contrasts sharply with the text on the clothing, creating a highly ironic effect.
Passersby commented, "They boycott the evolved beings on one hand, and then wait for them to save them when something happens? This is an amazing tactic."
"I'm starting to understand the rescue workers on site; it's perfectly acceptable for them to be a little rough!"
"Did you calculate it beforehand? You should have known that there wouldn't be enough time to save everyone, so you did everything you could to save as many as possible."
"If the protesters hadn't stepped onto that bridge, perhaps the rescue workers could have remained calm and gently brought the people who had fallen into the water ashore."
Some people posted data and reasoned, "These past few months, the police have been really busy. One minute it's water pollution, the next it's fire, then it's crime. One policeman is practically doing the work of seven or eight. If you observe carefully, you'll find that there aren't actually many people rushing to the scene for rescue. It's not that the government is unwilling, it's that they simply can't spare the manpower. They have too many things to do every day, and many city residents are waiting for rescue."
"I have relatives and friends who are police officers. It's no exaggeration to say that they can't even get enough sleep every day and are on the verge of dying from overwork."
The situation gradually calmed down.
At this point, someone uploaded the video they had taken that day.
The marchers in front are chanting slogans.
The middle scene shows the bridge collapsing, the leader of the parade carrying out rescue operations, and a young man wearing glasses quickly escaping.
Finally, there was a dialogue.
The young man who tackled the man said, "Ye Heng, the members are injured, so today's parade is canceled. Come to my house tonight for a meeting to discuss countermeasures."
Ye Heng, the bespectacled youth, retorted, "I am already an evolved being, why should I get involved with you and join forces to resist evolved beings?"
The young man who pounced on him stared in disbelief, "You..."
Ye Heng continued, "It wasn't until I gained power that I understood just how vast the gap truly is between ordinary people and evolved beings. The more power one has, the more rights one enjoys. If they were treated equally, wouldn't that be unfair to evolved beings?"
(End of this chapter)
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