Chapter 65
Just as the onlookers and the poisoned were going crazy, the police and ambulances finally arrived.
Police found cleaned remains of a blue-ringed octopus in the kitchen waste.
"Who handled the ingredients?" the police officer asked.
"Yes, it was me," the helper said in a panic. "But I was only responsible for cleaning, removing impurities, and cutting the octopus into pieces. I had no idea what a blue-ringed octopus was!"
"Where did you buy the ingredients?" the police officer asked again.
"Supermarket," the helper announced the supermarket's name.
At this moment, someone whispered, "We received several reports today about blue-ringed octopus poisoning. They must be from the same batch. During the retrieval, the blue-ringed octopus was accidentally mixed with the regular octopus, and they couldn't pick it out."
This is normal; similar incidents have occurred before.
Aside from its bright blue rings, the blue-ringed octopus is not significantly different from other non-venomous octopuses.
If you're not careful, you might mistake it for a regular octopus and eat it.
However, this octopus is actually one of the most venomous marine creatures known, and there is no antidote.
"Take away the kitchen waste and vegetables, and get the victim to the hospital immediately," the captain ordered.
In fact, even if he hadn't said anything, the medical staff had already planned to take the victim to the hospital emergency room for treatment.
The police and ambulance arrived in a hurry and left in a hurry.
The workers who survived were still shaken and filled with lingering fear.
After the meal, Yunxin was surrounded by the workers.
"You're the new clerk, Yun Xin, right? That's impressive, you even knew octopuses are poisonous!"
"Luckily you stopped me in time, otherwise I would have eaten the octopus too."
"The restaurant used to serve us chicken leg mushrooms. Those mushrooms tasted like soft tofu and were incredibly delicious! Unfortunately, the owner said that these mushrooms were poisonous when they got old, and she was afraid something might happen, so the restaurant stopped serving that dish. Not only that, but they also stopped serving all other types of mushrooms, just in case something went wrong."
"Who would have thought that not only mushrooms are prone to causing problems, but also that octopus bought from the supermarket could be poisonous!"
Yun Xin smiled and nodded, "It's too dangerous outside right now."
"Yes! A few days ago on my way home, I witnessed a major accident! A truck was driving along just fine when suddenly the steel bars strapped to it fell down! It was horrible, so much blood, so many injured people. And..."
The female worker was about to describe her dangerous experience when she was interrupted by the boss's wife, "Yunxin, come here for a moment, I have something to tell you."
"Coming right away."
Yun Xin said apologetically, "The boss's wife is looking for me, I'll go over there first."
The female workers were very understanding and readily allowed them to pass.
In the office.
The proprietress was unusually kind. "Yunxin, I heard that you discovered the octopus was poisonous in the staff canteen and stopped everyone from eating it?"
Yun Xin nodded honestly and said, "My sixth sense is sharper than most people's, and I can always detect something is wrong before others do. I had a particularly bad feeling at the time, and when I saw that someone had already collapsed, I stopped it."
"Oh dear, you have such abilities, why didn't you say so sooner?" The proprietress spoke very warmly. "If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have assigned you such tiring work. Wouldn't it have been better if you could use your spare time to sense things and warn others?"
"My sixth sense is sometimes right and sometimes wrong, so I was too embarrassed to tell anyone," Yunxin said, covering her forehead, half-jokingly. "Besides, I get really tired afterward... I was afraid it would affect my work."
"That's no problem at all!" the landlady said solicitously. "You saved everyone, so I'll give you three days of paid leave. Take a good rest during this time, and come back to work when you're well-rested and full of energy!"
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Yun Xin hesitated.
“What’s wrong with it!” the proprietress glared. “If anyone is dissatisfied, let him come and tell me himself.”
"If you hadn't stopped it, many more people would have been killed. You've made such a great contribution to the factory, what's wrong with taking three days of paid leave? No matter where you go to seek justice, it's your duty!"
"Take a vacation without worry, I'll take responsibility if anything happens!"
Having said that, it would be impolite to refuse any further.
Yun Xin smiled and said, "Thank you, boss lady."
"Oh, why are you being so polite with me? I should be thanking you."
After a moment, Yun Xin walked out of the office, her smile completely gone.
At first glance, they seem eager to exploit their employees to the point of exhaustion, ensuring that every minute and second of their working hours is filled with busy activity.
After successfully rescuing the workers, his four-dimensional attributes were enhanced. He began to find fault with everything about ordinary employees, as if he had the arrogance of a superior being looking down on inferior beings.
Now, they discover she possesses superpowers, and her attitude is kind, amiable, and even inexplicably attentive, as if she's fawning over someone stronger.
The attitudes used towards different people are calculated clearly and distinguished precisely; everything is so realistic that it's frightening.
"If someone is an ordinary person without superpowers, does that mean they deserve to be trampled on?"
Yunxin couldn't quite describe how she felt. For a moment, she just felt that the world was utterly meaningless.
It's supposed to be a three-day paid vacation, but with the weekend included, you can actually have a total of five days off.
Yunxin didn't know what to do during such a long holiday. After thinking for a moment, she asked someone for Xiao Hu's address.
"He's so bad, he won't admit his mistakes, why are you looking for him?" the female workers asked curiously.
Yun Xin smiled helplessly, "I saw Xiao Hu earlier and he looked like he was under a cloud of misfortune. He might have some bad luck these next few days, so I was a little worried. If I hadn't run into him, I would have let it go, but if I had and hadn't helped him, I would have felt guilty."
"What a nice guy!"
The female workers sighed and shared Xiao Hu's rental information.
Yunxin, who neither knows fortune telling nor feels guilty about not being able to save anyone, happily accepted the detailed address.
The next day at noon.
Xiao Hu went out to pick up his takeout and immediately saw Yun Xin waiting outside.
"I'm a new employee at the factory, and I have something to ask you. Can we talk?"
Xiao Hu scoffed, "There's nothing to say."
Yun Xin took out a thick wad of cash. "Let's talk for a fee."
The situation in garment factories is too complicated; even if one wanted to investigate, there's nowhere to begin.
She chose to take a shortcut, paying to ask former employees.
Xiao Hu stopped in his tracks, shamefully tempted.
After picking up the takeout, Xiao Hu let Yun Xin in. As soon as she sat down, he said, "Even if I told you the truth, you wouldn't believe me. I have no proof that what I'm saying is true."
Yunxin didn't care. "Whether you say it or not is your business. Judging whether it's right or wrong is my job."
Xiao Hu then took the money and put it in his pocket. "Okay, go ahead and ask."
The first question is, "You said the cigarette butts near the warehouse were a setup. Why would they be a setup? What do you know?"
Xiao Hu sighed inwardly, "Money is hard to earn, and shit is hard to swallow. The first question was quite sharp."
"Because I knew things I shouldn't have known, and my conscience bothered me, I refused to go along with them." Xiao Hu didn't hide anything and spoke his mind directly.
"The clothing factory run by the boss's wife is a small workshop, and the brand she created is not well-known, so sales have never been very good."
"In order to increase profits, the boss lady came up with an idea—to imitate popular designer clothing items."
“For designers, once they get a sample, they can simply cut it up and make an exact replica. This kind of behavior isn’t even illegal.”
"By simply making minor design changes and switching fabrics, they can shamelessly claim that the designs were created by their own brand's designers. The reason why two pieces of clothing look alike is because they shared the same inspiration."
"It's so common in the fashion industry to copy designs and then slap on their own brand label that it's not even illegal."
"In fact, this approach did work. The factory's business improved significantly, and the owner earned more in one year than in the previous two or three years combined. But she wasn't satisfied and wanted more. She planned to completely imitate designer clothes, put other people's labels on them, and sell them. This was illegal, and when I refused, she found a reason to fire me."
“She even has dirt on me. If I expose this, she can accuse me of littering cigarette butts in the factory, almost causing a fire. She harbors resentment after being fired and deliberately spreads rumors and slander.”
The superpowers didn't work.
This is probably the truth that Xiao Hu believes.
Yun Xin asked again, "Why are you so sure that the boss's wife framed you? Isn't there even the slightest possibility?"
"Who else could it be but her?" Xiao Hu retorted. "During that time, she forced me to break the law with her, which put a lot of pressure on me. I would hide away and smoke every day."
"Cigarette butts were found next to the warehouse, but only if the cigarette butts I had smoked were collected beforehand."
“Apart from her, I have not offended anyone, and she has no reason to harm me.”
Yun Xin paused for a moment, then asked, "Why didn't you agree to work with her?"
"I'd like to too, but my conscience won't allow it." Xiao Hu laughed self-deprecatingly. "Plagiarism isn't just a problem in the clothing industry; it happens in every industry."
"In the home furnishing market, there is a very outstanding designer who uses 6 sticks to make a coat rack."
“Those who see the finished product may think it’s simple because the product is presented to everyone. But working back through the process, it took a full two years.”
"He was determined to use the simplest materials to make the easiest-to-assemble, most practical, and stylish coat rack."
"With this design, he won a huge award in the design world. It was granted a federal patent, permanently collected by a museum, and even appears in movies and TV shows."
"Later, he opened an online store, which received 200,000 views. The store sold two items, with a total transaction amount of 239 yuan."
"At the same time, nearly 300 shops were selling knock-offs of this product, and each of them had very impressive sales. The only reason for this was the lower price."
"That design took two whole years to complete. In order to bring the product to life, the designer sold everything he owned and invested all his savings."
"But the result was that the inventory piled up and couldn't be sold. The factory couldn't start production and the workers didn't get their wages. Those counterfeit shops that were reported and complained about even kept calling him to threaten him, and some people maliciously bought fake traffic for his shop so that the platform would judge him as violating the rules and shut down his online store."
"He could have achieved great success with his coat rack designs, enjoying wealth, fame, and status, living a leisurely life, and creating more outstanding works. However, he was burdened by worldly affairs, wasting a lot of energy and physical strength, and finally died suddenly from staying up all night."
"From the day I learned about this designer, I could no longer copy or imitate him, and leaving the factory was only a matter of time."
At this point, Xiao Hu smiled softly and curled the corners of his mouth. "It's like when you painstakingly spend months writing a paper, only to have it criticized by your supervisor as utterly worthless. Then, your supervisor makes some changes, submits it to a well-known journal under his own name, and in the end, your supervisor becomes famous and gains both fame and fortune."
"It's like when a probationary employee closes a big deal, the boss takes all the credit without saying a word, and doesn't even share the commission with the employee."
"They are all thieves who stole the fruits of other people's labor."
"Sadly, the thieves are doing very well, while the creators themselves are destitute."
"And only when the person themselves encounters such a thing will they feel grief and indignation. When others encounter such a thing, it is even difficult for outsiders to understand or sympathize with them."
"Therefore, I hate all humans equally, including myself. If one day humanity is destroyed and the world is destroyed, that would be fine too."
Yun Xin remained silent.
She sought out Xiao Hu simply to investigate the truth.
After hearing the story, I felt down and didn't get any clear answers about the garment factory.
Yun Xin was about to grab Xiao Hu and make him explain himself, but Xiao Hu said, "Some things I just guessed and made up. What I know may not be the truth, and saying it out loud might mislead you."
"I'll just say one thing: Xiao Chen is a distant relative of the boss's wife. She probably doesn't have superpowers and can't sense danger."
This short sentence contains a wealth of information.
After that, Xiao Hu kept his mouth shut and refused to speak again.
Yunxin didn't insist and left for the time being.
Happy times always fly by, and the five-day holiday passed in the blink of an eye.
It's workday again in the blink of an eye.
Yunxin went to work with a sense of curiosity, but when she arrived at the factory, she found the workers shrouded in black mist, looking like they were about to die.
Yun Xin randomly grabbed someone and asked, "During the few days I was away, did anything unusual happen?"
The female worker thought for a moment and then asked, "If the tap water turns black and has a strange smell, does that count?"
Yunxin pressed, "What happened? What's wrong with the tap water?"
"The water turned black and tasted strange," the female worker explained.
"When I called to complain, the water authority said there was nothing wrong with the water. It might be a little acidic, but it's definitely within the safe range."
"When we asked them when things would return to normal, they couldn't answer. They just said that this has been happening with water usage lately, and it will get better in a while."
"The proprietress told us to boil the water before drinking it. Just to be safe, she boiled it several times."
At this point, the female worker started gossiping, "We asked around and found that it's not just the factory's water supply that's like this; it's the same in nearby office buildings and residential areas."
"Some people use this water to wash their hair and take a bath at night, and their hair turns blue and sticks together as if it has been glued on."
"This whole thing is terrifying to hear. But after drinking the black water for two or three days without any problems, everyone gradually calmed down. Those who were really worried bought bottled water to drink from the start and didn't let the black water enter their mouths."
Yun Xin frowned and remained silent.
The female worker grew anxious, "Don't stay silent! If you don't say anything, I'm getting goosebumps!"
Yunxin vaguely said, "I feel very bad, but I can't explain why."
The female worker repeatedly asked, "Is there something wrong with the water? Did those guys at the water bureau lie to us?"
"Calm down first," Yun Xin advised. "I rested for five days and just got back today. I don't know exactly what happened yet; I need time to investigate."
The female worker thought about it and agreed, "Then you should investigate first. Whatever you find out, you must tell me."
Yun Xin agreed, but cautioned, "Don't drink that black water yet, I have a feeling there's something wrong with it."
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
Yunxin asked someone for the water bureau's phone number and, without saying a word, dialed it directly, saying, "The tap water is all black; there's something wrong with the water."
The operator on the other end was a young woman who insisted, "Although it's a bit sour and has a slightly strange smell, the water quality is fine and you can drink it without worry."
Yun Xin: "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
The operator said, "There are definitely no security issues. I have no reason to lie to you."
lie!
Yunxin then asked, "Does your boss know about what you're saying?"
Operator: "I understand."
"Okay." Yun Xin nodded. "The call has been recorded. If you don't care, I'll find someone else."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
For some reason, the operator felt a sense of unease. Everyone else was skeptical, and in the end, they were all persuaded to turn back after filing a complaint. Only this one insisted on investigating thoroughly.
But she had no choice.
The superiors ordered that no matter who complained, everyone must insist that there was no problem with the water quality.
She had no choice but to comply.
After hanging up the phone, Yunxin skillfully dialed the police station's number. "Hello, my address is xx Street, xx District. The water supply here is severely contaminated, which may cause widespread harm. I hope someone will be dispatched immediately to investigate and restore drinking water safety."
The operator asked in confusion, "How did you discover that the water supply was severely contaminated?"
"The water was black, had an odd smell, and tasted sour. Most importantly, I'm a superhuman. After my colleague boiled the water and drank it, I immediately sensed something was wrong; my sixth sense was screaming at me." Yun Xin was used to hiding this. But then she thought, the evolution game had been public for months, and her partner was still working in a relevant department; there was no point in continuing to hide it.
She bluntly stated that she hoped the government would pay more attention to the matter and resolve it as soon as possible.
Upon hearing that she possessed superpowers, the operator's attitude immediately changed: "Thank you for your call. I will have my colleagues investigate."
The call has ended.
A colleague reminded her, "This number has been specially marked, and the other party has successfully issued warnings several times."
The operator's heart skipped a beat. "Oh no! She said there's a problem with the water supply. If that's true, at least several thousand people are affected."
Realizing the seriousness of the problem, everyone acted swiftly.
Just after Yunxin called the police, she saw Xiao Chen fill an electric kettle with water and prepare to boil it.
"Actually, your sixth sense has never given you a warning, has it?"
Suddenly someone appeared behind him, startling Xiao Chen. Hearing the suspicion, he instinctively retorted, "No, it happened once."
Realizing her words were a slip of the tongue, she turned off the tap, grabbed the electric kettle, and hurriedly left.
"Your sixth sense only warned you once, yet you keep telling the landlady there's danger and asking her to evacuate the crowd?"
Remembering the landlady's inexplicably increased four-dimensional attributes and the superior looks she gave to other ordinary people, Yun Xin finally understood, "She's orchestrating this herself to boost her ratings?"
In a remote location, burning a few scraps of cloth can easily spark a fire.
Let the flames burn for a while, until the fire is almost out of control, Xiao Chen "senses" danger and notifies the proprietress to evacuate the crowd.
Forty or fifty employees were herded to an open space.
Xiao Chen and the boss's wife rushed to the scene to put out the fire.
The fire was extinguished in time.
Both of them, one giving an "early warning" and the other ordering an evacuation, managed to earn decent reviews.
“No wonder there were five warnings in three days, and four of them were wrong. Apart from the fire, the others were all fake.” Yun Xin’s thoughts gradually became clear. “It’s okay to lie about an earthquake, after all, there was a fire somewhere in the factory. Telling a few lies to evacuate people is understandable.”
After figuring it out, she couldn't help but admire it.
They got over 40 factory employees to write fake reviews and made them cooperate willingly. In the end, they thought of Xiao Chen and the boss's wife as kind people and thought they were truly philanthropists.
Despite such exploitation, the employees are incredibly grateful. It has to be said, the boss's wife is truly a genius.
The wind leaves its mark, but nothing can withstand close scrutiny.
Yunxin reported the water pollution to the police station, which immediately dispatched a superhuman to investigate, and the investigation was completed in just half a day.
However, everyone was stunned when they learned the whole story.
Here's what happened.
Four days ago, a driver was asked to deliver aluminum sulfate to the sewage treatment plant in xx district.
Prior to this, the driver had never been to the sewage treatment plant and was unfamiliar with the area.
His colleague handed him a key, saying the job was simple. Just walk through the gate, and the aluminum sulfate container is on your left. Unlock it and pour in the aluminum sulfate.
When the driver arrived at the sewage treatment plant, he found that no one was there to meet him.
He remembered his colleague's instructions: simply put the aluminum sulfate container into the storage container on the left.
But when I went inside, I saw several locked storage tanks. Which one was it?
After waiting for half an hour without seeing anyone, the driver tried to open one of the storage tanks with the key.
With a soft click, the lock was opened.
The driver naturally assumed that it was the aluminum sulfate storage tank he was looking for, and then poured all the aluminum sulfate into it.
However, in reality, the colleague gave him a master key that could unlock all the storage tanks at the sewage treatment plant.
The selected storage tanks contain treated drinking water that will soon be used by nearby residents.
The aluminum sulfate directly contaminated the water after being poured in.
The maximum aluminum concentration in normal domestic water is 0.2 mg/L. However, in contaminated water, the maximum aluminum concentration is 620 mg/L.
That's a full 3,000 times more.
The aluminum content in the water is now dangerously high, posing a significant health risk to drinkers.
Even more outrageous, on the third day after the incident, the wastewater treatment plant staff discovered that the aluminum sulfate storage tank was at a low level.
Aluminum sulfate is used to remove solid particles from water. It was just replenished a couple of days ago, so it shouldn't be consumed so quickly.
The staff then contacted the driver.
The driver truthfully explained his actions.
The staff were shocked and ordered the driver to keep it a secret and absolutely not to tell anyone.
Subsequently, the water authority received hundreds of complaint calls, but all gave the same answer, insisting that there was no problem with the water quality.
Even when the truth came out, the water authority officials insisted that the excess aluminum would be gradually excreted by the body and that the black water would not have any effect on human health.
As a result, the government sent biologists to test the water.
After testing, it was found that there were many problems with the water.
It contains not only aluminum sulfate, but also other harmful substances.
Because the liquid is acidic, it corrodes the copper pipes and fittings made of zinc and lead as it flows into the pipes.
Boiling this water will not only fail to kill bacteria, but will also increase the concentration of pollutants... For example, the concentration of aluminum sulfate will increase at least three times after boiling.
"No, the water is drinkable, it won't cause any problems," the water bureau official continued to argue.
The superpowered person told him, "Some people in the nearby office building have already developed rashes after drinking sewage."
"Some people also have headaches, sore throats, joint pain, and general weakness."
“A resident who drank the sewage died unexpectedly. The autopsy report showed that the aluminum content in his brain was seriously excessive and he had dementia.”
Faced with the facts, the head of the water bureau was powerless to argue and could only lower his head in dejection.
(End of this chapter)
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