Chapter Seventy-Six
Because the video received a good response, the head of the publicity department seized the opportunity and released a second and third video.
Apartments, villas, parks, shopping malls, riverbanks, and roads—public officials can be seen busily working everywhere.
Two superheroes, who were originally intended to be promoted as superheroes, also quietly appeared in the video.
The man carried the injured person through the rain, seemingly doing his best to get the injured person into an ambulance for emergency treatment.
The woman sensed a major disaster during the meeting and informed her colleagues. Everyone united and worked together to minimize casualties.
Everyone was deeply moved after watching the video.
"Waaaaah, I'm sure of it again, I'm just a useless piece of trash. Even if the federal government has done something wrong, it's still a hundred times better than me trying to save myself!"
“Every time, people say that so many people have died and the government is not doing its job. But have these people ever thought that if there were no government, the number of deaths could be three, five, or ten times higher?”
"Seriously, stop criticizing them. Quite a few public officials have already died from overwork. They work so hard and still get criticized. Aren't they being treated unfairly?"
"Disasters are merciless, but people are compassionate. The fault lies with the environment, not the government!"
Unbeknownst to many, public opinion began to shift.
Many netizens even commented that they gained strength from the video! They felt that with a little more effort, humanity could overcome disasters.
With everything seemingly progressing in a positive direction, a staff member remarked wistfully, "Isn't the level of discussion surrounding the two superhero candidates a bit low?"
Comments usually say things like "public officials are like this" or "I feel how hard the government works," but very few people say things like "this superpowered person is amazing, he's practically my idol."
The head of the publicity department said in a deep voice, "That's why I strongly recommended Xiao Wei before."
Both were superhero candidates, but fearing Xiao Wei might back out, he only uploaded two work photos. The other two, however, posted three photos each. As a result, Xiao Wei generated the most discussion and left the deepest impression on the public.
The other two... it's not that the promotion was ineffective, but comparisons are always a problem. When you compare them, it's easy to be completely outshone.
"They're both 9+ superpower users, so why is there such a big difference in the level of discussion?" The staff member was completely baffled.
The propaganda minister scoffed, "Niu Meng is a 9+ strength-attribute superpowered individual, a tough guy, but still within the human realm. Ge Xi is a 9+ spirit-attribute superpowered individual, has saved many lives, but her credit is easily diluted by others. As for Xiao Wei—"
Looking at the edited footage, he sighed, "That's a behemoth of the wilderness! It can take on dozens, even a hundred at once! If it were an enemy, it would be terrifying to even look at. But it's an ally. With it around, the people can probably sleep much more peacefully..."
As if to corroborate the propaganda minister's judgment, the staff member managing the official Weibo account looked strange and turned to ask the minister for instructions, "Many people are sending private messages to the official Weibo account, requesting Xiao Wei merchandise, preferably photos and postcards. They say that if you put them under your pillow when you sleep, it might ward off evil spirits."
The head of the publicity department's face darkened, and he sternly rebuked, "What are you releasing! What time is it and you're still thinking about merchandise? Don't you know that superpowered people are very busy!"
"Should I politely decline?" the staff member continued to inquire.
"Yes, we must refuse! Public officials are so busy they don't even have time to sleep, how can they have time for peripheral products? If we tell the truth, the public will understand." That's what the propaganda minister said, but in reality, he was thinking, "If they don't understand, there's nothing we can do. If we push them too far, they might run away at any time. Then, forget about the photos warding off evil spirits, even the real person won't be around!"
"Okay, I understand." With clear instructions, the staff continued their work.
Seeing the online sentiment almost completely reversed, the head of the propaganda department breathed a sigh of relief. It was all settled!
Recently, Xiao Wei has been experiencing a series of misfortunes.
The promotional video featuring everyone at work looked perfectly normal. For some reason, he was the only one singled out and discussed repeatedly.
Xiao Wei was puzzled. How did the others manage to spot him? Why were they always able to catch him so accurately?
He couldn't figure it out no matter how much he thought about it, so he mentally made one, two, three notes about the head of the propaganda department.
For a long time afterward, he kept thinking about secretly putting a sack over the other person's head, but he never found the opportunity.
On the other hand, ever since having the nightmare, Xiao Wei has become even more clingy to Yun Xin, always wanting to follow her around.
Xiao Wei knew it was wrong to do this, but as soon as Yun Xin left his sight, he felt inexplicably uneasy, afraid that someone would break into his home.
This went on for several days until Yunxin had to bring the puppy to her and give it a pep talk: "Don't worry too much. With my abilities, it's pretty difficult for me to die."
Xiao Wei lowered his head, humbly accepting the criticism, but secretly planned to never learn his lesson.
Yun Xin was both annoyed and amused. She found some paper and pen and quickly wrote down a few lines: "Here, these are my attributes and abilities."
Xiao Wei took it and examined it closely.
Four-dimensional attributes: Strength: 8.7, Agility: 8.7, Constitution: 9.1, Spirit: 9.5.
(Total: 36)
Power-attribute superpowers: Mastery of hand-to-hand combat and mastery of melee weapons.
Agility-related superpowers: Super-fast reflexes (incredibly fast reaction speed, even able to catch bullets with bare hands), and rapid escape (able to find the best escape route at the fastest speed regardless of the environment).
Physical attributes and superpowers: toughness, super resistance, and super regeneration.
Psychic-related superpowers: lie detection, death countdown, and enhanced perception.
Xiao Wei stared blankly at the words on the note.
“It’s not that I lack the ability to deal with crises, it’s just that I never put myself in danger, so I don’t need to,” Yun Xin said solemnly. “I respect death, I never get close to it, and I would never flirt with death.”
Xiao Wei took the paper and pen, quickly wrote a few lines, and handed them to Yun Ting, saying, "This is mine."
Four-dimensional attributes: Strength: 8.5, Agility: 8.4, Constitution: 9.2, Spirit: 9.1 (Total: 35.2)
Power-attribute superpowers: Fighting proficiency, critical strike.
Agility-based superpowers: Stealth (reduces one's own presence), Speed.
Physical attributes and superpowers: toughness, super resistance, and super regeneration.
Psychic superpowers: early warning, location, and the eye of truth (what you see is the truth, and no means can deceive you).
Yun Xin was quite surprised after reading it. "Our attributes were the same before, so why is your growth slower than mine? Don't you work in a government department?"
“We’ve only dealt with minor cases.” After a slight pause, Xiao Wei added, “To be more precise, the cases were detected by spiritual superpowered individuals before they escalated, and then the government sent people to stop them.”
For example, in the rice bran oil incident, if we had waited a little longer, it wouldn't have been impossible to get an SS rating. However, because it was reported as soon as it was discovered, the final rating was pitifully low, and no attributes were added.
There's one more thing he didn't mention: with multiple people collaborating, the credit will be diluted. Everyone probably already knows this, but it's always been speculation, without any evidence to prove it.
In an instant, an idea flashed through Yun Xin's mind—to obtain an S or higher rating, the key lies not in the superpowered individual, but in the general public. Only when enough people are involved, and the superpowered individual resolves the situation, can they achieve an S, or even SS or SSS rating!
Thinking of this, Yun Xin felt a chill run down her spine.
Evolution, in its essence, may have always meant becoming stronger by stepping over the corpses of the mediocre.
Yun Xin felt a chill run down her spine. Xiao Wei examined the note back and forth, and said with satisfaction, "Whether it's the four-dimensional attributes or the superpowers, they all seem to match perfectly! We really are a good match!"
Yun Xin chuckled to herself, and all her negative emotions vanished instantly.
Recently, Yunxin discovered that she was having a bit of bad luck.
I won't even mention losing his bodyguard job.
It's not a big deal if the boss is gone.
Reporting fraud rings and sending the ringleaders and accomplices to prison, but only receiving a B grade because most victims only lost money and were not killed, is understandable.
After updating her resume, very few companies proactively called her, a far cry from the booming situation two weeks ago... This is seriously problematic!
Yunxin wanted to ask herself, what's wrong with this world?
She finally received a phone call, but it wasn't an interview invitation. Instead, they asked her for the contact information of her previous job and the company before that. The interviewer said they needed to verify this by phone.
Yunxin: ? ? ?
Background checks before employment? Even civil service exams aren't this strict!
"Please forgive me if I have offended you." The interviewer's voice was full of fatigue. "Things have been very chaotic lately. There are people with superpowers who are deliberately persecuting the boss, and they keep causing trouble at the police station and the hospital. For the boss's safety, we must investigate thoroughly before the interview."
Yun Xin: "..."
The previous boss was Liu Zheyu, who was recently sent to prison by her own hands.
The boss before her was the wife of a garment factory owner, who is currently in prison for rehabilitation.
The boss two years before that was Anze, who drank excessive amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls and got cancer.
Going back further, some died, some were crippled, some went to prison, some went bankrupt, and some closed their shops.
Even if she had the intention to cheat and deliberately only mentioned the good things, looking back on her "glorious" work history, she couldn't find a single job she could talk about.
In the end, Yunxin said in frustration, "I think I'll find another job."
The interviewer was very disappointed, and then hung up the phone without hesitation.
Yunxin thought sadly that if all companies conducted background checks before hiring, she might never be able to find a job again.
Feeling so down, she decided to go out for a walk to clear her head.
Many of the shops along the street closed and never reopened. Some food stalls are still open and seem to be doing good business.
A customer was in line when a man rushed over and complained loudly, "What time is it? You eat out every day, aren't you afraid of getting sick from eating out!"
"What can we do? I love the taste of this place!" A customer in line retorted, "If I can never eat it again, I'd rather die!"
The person who came was blocked and couldn't speak.
The customers in line argued vehemently, "I buy food from him every day. If something were going to happen, it would have happened long ago. Why would we be waiting until today?"
The person thought about it and agreed, so he immediately changed his mind and said, "Okay, you can buy one for me too."
The customers in line, "..."
Others: "..."
Therefore, there is a reason why restaurants are thriving.
Using the same ingredients to make the same dish, others can't replicate the taste, so if you want to eat it, you can only buy it.
Yunxin was particularly curious: just how delicious was the food at this shop? Even with their backsides on fire, customers were still thinking about it.
She stood at the end of the line and joined the queue.
This shop specializes in sesame seed cakes, which come in three flavors: white sugar filling, sesame filling, and salt and pepper filling.
Because they are baked in an oven, each batch produces a fixed number. One customer might order eight, another six, and one batch of flatbread isn't even enough for three people.
Yunxin waited for a while, and finally it was her turn.
I can't remember which batch of sesame seed cakes came out of the oven, but as soon as the lid was lifted, a fragrant aroma wafted out.
"Three with white sugar filling, three with sesame filling, and four with salt and pepper filling."
Yunxin wanted to try every flavor and also wanted to save one for Xiao Wei, so she ordered ten.
The shop owner quickly packed the sesame cakes into a bag, saying, "Please keep this safe."
Yun Xin took out a sesame-filled sesame seed cake and took a small bite. It was a little hot, but she was a superpowered person, so she wasn't afraid!
The outer crust is crispy, and the filling inside is like syrup—sweet, fragrant, and delicious, without being greasy at all.
It's no wonder it's a flavor that people crave even in the end times; it truly has something special about it.
Yunxin sighed and took another bite.
The sesame seed cake is round, slightly larger than the palm of your hand.
Yunxin quickly finished the sesame seed cake, bite by bite.
"Try the salt and pepper flavor too."
The salt and pepper sesame flatbread has a savory aroma, and after chewing for a while, it becomes slightly sweet. However, the balance of saltiness and sweetness is just right, not excessive, and it actually makes the flatbread especially fragrant.
"Something's strange, not sure, let me try it again."
Yunxin finished the whole thing just like that.
The sesame seed cakes were a bit dry after eating so many, so she looked around and noticed that the milk tea shop was still open, so she decided to go in and browse.
Not long after Yun Xin left, an employee shouted, "We're out of flour!"
"We have some in the warehouse, go get a new pack," the pancake shop owner replied casually as he busied himself with calculating accounts and collecting money.
“Okay.” The employee turned and went to the warehouse to get it.
(End of this chapter)
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