Chapter 55: Follow-up
After learning what happened from Lin Yao, an announcement popped up on the Baita official website at 12 noon that day.
The title is concise and clear - "Explanation on the Accident During the Assessment on Barren Planet No. 73", and the content characterizes everything as a "chain accident caused by force majeure":
Mutated rats forced a change in route, a landslide caused Zhou Yan to stray into the depths of the Red Zone, the Zerg hatching caused Zhou Yan's mental power to lose control, Wen Yu was unfortunately killed by mistake, and Lin Yao was seriously injured and fell into a coma...
The words were full of regret, and at the end were Lin Yao's diagnosis, Zhou Yan's coma diagnosis report and Wen Yu's death confirmation, all stamped with the red official seal of the White Pagoda.
The moment the announcement was made, StarNet was like being thrown into boiling magma.
#Red Zone Assessment Accident# #Wen Yu's Death# #Zhou Yan's Coma#
The three terms rushed to the hot search at rocket speed, followed by the bright red word "explosion".
When you click on an entry, the comment section is refreshed almost in real time, with hundreds of messages scrolling through in one second.
Wen Yu’s fans were the first to explode.
"Accident? Who are you kidding?!" A comment from a verified fan was pushed to the top of the hot comments.
"Three people entered the Red Zone, my Yu Yu was torn to pieces, Zhou Yan is still alive and dead, and it's unclear whether he can wake up, but Lin Yao was rescued? Is this an accident?"
"Could the Zerg hatching accurately stimulate only Zhou Yan? Could the landslide just happen to block the other two paths? Did Wen Yu just appear out of nowhere in the red zone? The announcement didn't even mention why she was there!"
"Don't be too ridiculous! My Yuyu is the White Tower's genius guide, with A-level mental power. How could she be killed in an instant by Zhou Yan's out-of-control behavior? There's definitely something fishy going on here!"
Doubts came like a tide, and soon deviated from the discussion of the "accident" to more sharp speculation.
"Come to think of it, who's behind Lin Yao? Marshal Ye Heng, right?"
"!!! Someone above reminded me! Ye Heng! One of the Ten Marshals, the one that all the White Tower councilors have to be polite to!"
"No wonder... One is dead, the other is in a coma, but he's fine. And he even lets Baita blame it all on an 'accident'. Doesn't that mean he has someone backing him up?"
"It's terrifying when you think about it! The Wen Yu family is quite well-known on Central Star, so how come they can't defeat Lin Yao? Isn't it because of Ye Heng?"
Rumors spread like wild vines, gradually evolving from suspicions about an "accident" to condemnations of "Ye Heng's protection" and "Bai Ta's shielding."
Some fans dug up old news about the Firefly Ferry incident three years ago and attributed Lin Yao’s “survival” at the time to “Ye Heng’s operation.”
Of course there are different voices.
"No, Wen Yu's fans, stop talking nonsense. Where did Marshal Ye Heng meet Lin Yao three years ago?"
"The official announcement has already been made, along with the diagnosis report. Why don't you believe it?"
"That's right! Lin Yao wasn't uninjured. He was attacked by Zhou Yan just like Wen Yu, and was also poisoned just like Zhou Yan. It's just that the other person's spirit body was more effective in protecting him!"
"Wen Yu fans, can you please stop being so obsessed? The Red Zone is inherently dangerous, and it's not unprecedented for Zerg to trigger a mental breakdown!"
"And her own actions are also confusing. She heard the noise and went there herself, sending her partner, the Sentinel, away. Shouldn't it be the other way around in real life? Does she think she's the Sentinel?"
"What's wrong with Ye Heng protecting Lin Yao? They're an engaged couple! Isn't it natural for a sentinel to protect a guide?"
But these voices were quickly drowned out by angry questioning.
Wen Yu's parents even posted a cryptic message through their family account:
"My daughter died tragically, and the truth remains unknown. I implore the White Tower to conduct a thorough investigation and bring justice to my daughter."
This post was forwarded hundreds of thousands of times, making the public opinion lean towards the speculation of "something shady".
Baita’s public relations department was in a state of panic, deleting posts, controlling comments, and issuing supplementary explanations, but it was like trying to block a dam from which water kept gushing out. The more they tried to block it, the more chaotic the situation became.
In the treatment room, Lin Yao was still lying in the treatment cabin. He could not move to the ordinary convalescent area until the toxins in him were completely eliminated.
The computer screen was on, with comments scrolling in real time from the Star Network.
His dark fingers slid across the screen and stopped at the popular comment "Supported by Ye Heng", and the whites of his eyes moved slightly.
When Fang Yuanqiu came in, he saw this scene and sighed:
"Don't take it personally. Public opinion is just like that. It will be fine after a while."
Lin Yao looked at Mr. Fang and nodded, tapping the screen lightly with his fingertips, thinking to himself: What they said... is not wrong.
After all, these two people really died at his hands.
The light brain suddenly vibrated. It was a message from Ye Heng. It only had five words: "Don't look around. Don't be afraid."
Lin Yao stared at the three words for a few seconds, then smiled and closed the Star Network page.
The cabin wall reflected his dark face, with only the whites of his eyes and teeth white, like stars hidden in thick clouds.
Lin Yao knew that this storm of public opinion would probably not be so easy to quell.
But it is destined that he will be safe, and Wen Yu's parents will probably soon accept the matter with a wry smile.
-
In the study of the Lin family's main residence, the air pressure at both ends of the long sandalwood table was so low that water could be wrung out of it.
Wen Zhenbang was just about to reach out to touch the laptop to try to see the current public opinion situation when his wrist was grabbed by a huge force.
The next second, a crisp "bang" sound exploded in the silent study.
Lin Zhixiong's slap hit him hard on the face with such force that Wen Zhenbang stumbled and hit the corner of the table, and five red marks instantly appeared on half of his cheek.
"Idiot!" Lin Zhixiong retracted his hand, his knuckles turning white with anger. He pointed at Wen Zhenbang's nose, his saliva almost spraying on his face.
"What's the point of sending that? Don't you think we're hiding enough secrets? So you have to expose them to the whole galaxy?"
Wen Zhenbang covered his face, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, but he didn't dare to express the slightest dissatisfaction. He hunched his back and nodded repeatedly:
"Yes, I was confused! Xiaolin...she just couldn't accept that Yuyu was gone, so she acted impulsively..."
"Impulsive?" Lin Zhixiong sneered and kicked the table leg. The heavy sandalwood table groaned under the weight.
"What does she know? Does she know about those 'things' we're raising in the underground lab? Does she know that Zhou Yan's actions this time were meant to clean up the mess we made back then?"
These words were full of poison, and Wen Zhenbang trembled all over.
He looked up suddenly, his eyes full of fear. These things were the core secrets of the Lin family. Even he only dared to play around the edges and would never dare to put them on the table.
"Three people entered the red zone, one died and one was unconscious, but only Lin Yao came out alive. What does this mean?"
Lin Zhixiong panted heavily, walked to the window, and looked at the sycamore trees in the courtyard swaying in the wind.
"It means we are not as skilled as him and that guy outsmarted us!"
"Do you really want to find out the 'truth'? Find out the results of our experiments?
We found out that there were not only fluctuations in Wen Yu's gloves, but also the Zerg genes that we secretly modified?
Or do you want the people in the White Tower to follow the clues and find out who was responsible for Ye Heng's 'accident' five years ago?"
With each sentence, Wen Zhenbang lowered his head even lower, until it was almost touching the ground:
"No, I dare not... Mr. Lin, I will delete it right now, right now..."
"Delete?" Lin Zhixiong turned around suddenly, his eyes as sharp as a hawk.
"Will deleting it help? You're trying to cover up your mistake! Or do you think everyone in the galaxy is stupid and can't see that you're only making things worse by trying to hide it?"
He walked up to Wen Zhenbang and looked down at him.
"The White Tower's announcement has been issued. Accept it! You must accept it! This is the only way to keep the lid on this right now!"
Wen Zhenbang was stunned: "But, but Yuyu..."
"Just a dead man!" Lin Zhixiong interrupted him, his tone without any warmth.
"Rather than keep her reputation, it's better to save all of us!"
He paused, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, "Lin Yao is a tough guy. Since we didn't kill him, we have to find another opportunity.
The most important thing now is to calm down those internet lunatics. If Bai Ta is forced to conduct a thorough investigation by their public opinion, do you believe that Lin Yao can immediately produce evidence of "self-defense"?
They can even find out about us, which would be enough to send everyone to interstellar prison for three hundred years!"
Wen Zhenbang's face turned pale, he was completely at a loss, and could only nod like a puppet:
"Yes, yes...I'll listen to Master Lin..."
At this moment, a voice came from the side: "Father..."
Before he could finish his words, Lin Zhixiong picked up Wen Zhenbang's laptop on the table and smashed it hard.
The computer crashed down at Lin Ruheng's feet with a clang. The screen instantly cracked into a spider web, and blue electric currents rushed around, splashing tiny sparks.
Lin Ruheng didn't even dodge, and the hem of her moon-white gown was blown by the air current.
He simply lowered his eyes to glance at the broken laptop at his feet, his fingertips stroking the jade button on his cuffs. The faint smile that usually hung on the corner of his mouth faded a little, but still did not fade away completely.
"It's my fault for making father angry." He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze as calm as a deep pool, without any embarrassment of being scolded.
"Why should you be so nosy?" The veins on Lin Zhixiong's forehead bulged, and the anger in his chest burned even more fiercely.
He hated Lin Ruheng the most for being like this. She was always calm, always standing on the sidelines watching the joke. Even when she was being scolded, she looked calculating and distant. She was just like his mother who died early, and was disgusting.
Lin Zhixiong took two steps forward, his spit almost spraying onto Lin Ruheng's face. "Get out! I need to talk to Wen Zhenbang, I don't need you to be an eyesore here!"
Wen Zhenbang huddled at the other end of the long table, covering his face with his hands, not daring to breathe.
Lin Ruheng seemed not to have heard the word "get out". She bent down to pick up the remains of the optical brain, pinched the cracked shell with her fingertips, and said slowly:
"Father, have you forgotten? I am Lin Yao's primary rescue doctor."
"Rescue the doctor? How dare you say that!" Lin Zhixiong was angered again. He grabbed the teacup on the table and wanted to smash it again, but he was stopped by his reason. That was his treasured ancient porcelain.
After looking around and finding nothing useful, he glared at Lin Ruheng, "I think you left him alive on purpose! Can't you just let him die?"
"Father, Fang Yuanqiu is guarding right there, how can I do anything?" Lin Ruheng threw the remains of the computer back onto the table, making a dull sound.
When he raised his eyes, the smile in his eyes completely disappeared, leaving only a coldness like an icy lake:
"Let me, the lead doctor, say a few words and attribute Lin Yao's survival to the doctors' efforts. The public opinion will naturally subside."
Lin Zhixiong was moved by his words, his chest heaving, but he didn't yell "get out" again.
He hated the boy's calmness and the way he looked like he had everything under control, but unfortunately, this boy always found a way out of a dead end.
This was the case before, and the current suppression of public opinion does sound credible.
"Don't give me that face." Lin Zhixiong turned his face away, his tone still as fierce as if he wanted to eat someone.
"If I didn't think you were of some use, do you think I would let you step into this study?"
"Son, I understand." Lin Ruheng put on that gentle smile again, as if the scolding just now had never happened. "Then I will send it now?"
Lin Zhixiong didn't respond, which was considered as his agreement.
Lin Ruheng bowed slightly, turned around and walked out.
As soon as the door closed and Lin Ruheng's footsteps were cut off, Lin Zhixiong's curses rang out from the study: "Hmph, you pretentious thing!"
After cursing, he glared fiercely towards the door, but the anger in his chest did not subside. Instead, he directed his anger at Wen Zhenbang who was huddled aside.
"What are you still standing there for?" Lin Zhixiong slammed the table, causing the sandalwood tabletop to jingle.
"Didn't you hear what I just said? Your Wen family must accept Baita's statement!"
Wen Zhenbang shuddered and quickly stood up. Half of his swollen face was still burning, but he didn't dare to be vague when he spoke:
"Yes, yes! Mr. Lin, I'll have my family issue a statement right now, fully supporting Baita's announcement. Just say... just say that Yuyu unfortunately met with an accident, and our whole family accepts this result..."
"More than that." Lin Zhixiong interrupted him, his eyes sinister.
"Tell your wife to delete that crappy post and then post a eulogy, expressing gratitude to Baita for their efforts in the search and rescue and lamenting their daughter's tragic death.
Don't play tricks on me, let StarNet see that your Wen family has no objection to this 'accident'."
Wen Zhenbang nodded vigorously: "Understood! I'll do it right away! I guarantee it will be flawless!"
"It's better this way." Lin Zhixiong walked to the window, his back to him, his voice as cold as ice.
"If anything goes wrong again, I'll report all of your Wen family's shameful experimental data to the Imperial Police."
Wen Zhenbang trembled all over, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he said repeatedly:
"I wouldn't dare! I absolutely wouldn't dare! Don't worry, Mr. Lin, I'll go now, right away!"
As he said this, he didn't care about the pain on his face and almost ran out of the study, fearing that if he was a step slower he would be burned by Lin Zhixiong's anger.
The study returned to silence, with only the howling of the wind outside the window.
Lin Zhixiong looked at the sycamore leaves blown all over the courtyard by the wind, and rubbed his fingers hard on the windowsill, leaving tiny red marks on his fingertips.
"Just wait..." He cursed in a low voice, not knowing whether he was cursing Lin Yao or his son who had just left.
The wind blew the fallen leaves against the window, making a crackling sound, as if responding to the struggle hidden in the dark.
The Wen family’s statement came quickly.
The controversial post was deleted and replaced with a long eulogy.
The beginning is a heart-wrenching recollection, describing Wen Yu's excellence and understanding from childhood to adulthood, and the words are filled with the pain of losing a daughter;
The author then shifts gears midway, mentioning the dangers of the Red Zone assessment, and thanks the White Tower rescue team for their dedicated search and rescue efforts, stating frankly that "my daughter's unfortunate death at the hands of the Zerg was fate, and had nothing to do with anyone else."
At the end, it was even implicitly mentioned that Wen Yu's kindness and insufficient assessment of her own abilities led to the accident.
Almost at the same time, Lin Ruheng's words also appeared on StarNet.
He did not mention the specific disputes in the Red Zone, but only focused on Lin Yao's condition:
When the patient Lin Yao was sent to the L003 starship, he was severely poisoned and his skin was as black as charcoal. During the rescue process, his heart stopped three times and he was barely brought back to life by purifying himself with mental power.
The toxin is still being treated...
The article was accompanied by a side view of the treatment cabin.
Lin Yao was lying in the cabin, his dark skin faintly visible in the light blue therapeutic fluid. The monitoring line on his chest rose and fell, and the infusion tube inserted in his wrist was connected to a complex instrument, revealing a sense of fragility on the brink of life and death.
Lin Ruheng finally wrote: As a doctor, I just hope he can get through this. As for the rest, it is not my place to comment.
As soon as the two articles came out, the direction of StarNet changed visibly.
The Wen family's eulogy used the "family card" to dispel some of the doubts.
Even the parents of the deceased have accepted that it was an "accident". It would be inhumane for others to continue to hold on to it.
A passerby left a message in the comment section: You may have been too sad before about the loss of your beloved daughter, but now you have figured it out... Who can remain calm after losing a child!
The doctor's article was like a heavy stone thrown into the pool of public opinion.
"Oh my god... three cardiac arrests? It's like crawling back from the brink of death..."
"Look at that picture, his skin is completely black. Is the toxin that strong? Poisoning and mental image collapse, no wonder Zhou Yan can't wake up. Wen Yu... Sigh."
"It was said before that Lin Yao was protected by Ye Heng. Look at this rescue process, it seems like he was being 'protected'? I'm afraid he almost died..."
"The Red Zone is inherently dangerous. Zerg spawning, teammates losing control, that's a natural disaster..."
Of course, Wen Yu’s die-hard fans are still relentless.
"Don't let this fool you! The Wen family must have been threatened! The doctor is from the White Tower, can you trust what he says?"
But they were all retorted:
"You're crazy! Threatening the Wen family at this time, is Lin Yao personally handing over the evidence?"
"That's right, that's Lin Ruheng! He's not just any ordinary doctor, he's the chief physician of the White Tower! You're questioning his words? You're a brainless person!"
More and more people began to sympathize with Lin Yao's situation, and some even dug up his experience of surviving from Liuying Ferry three years ago, lamenting that "this man has a really strong physique, but it's too miserable. He encounters this kind of thing every time."
Public opinion was like a faucet being turned on, slowly changing from a torrent of questioning to a trickle mixed with regret, sympathy and sporadic dissatisfaction.
Although there are still people arguing in the comment section occasionally, the term #There is someone behind Lin Yao# has fallen out of the top ten hot searches, replaced by #May Lin Yao recover soon# and #Red Zone Assessment Risk Warning#.
The Baita Public Relations Department breathed a sigh of relief and sent the latest public opinion analysis report to Fang Yuanqiu.
The old examiner looked at the trend chart on the computer and tapped his fingertips on the table. This war of public opinion was temporarily calmed down.
In the treatment room, Lin Yao and Ye Heng chatted casually.
Suddenly, Ye Heng sent a picture. It was the picture that accompanied Lin Ruheng's statement. Then Ye Heng asked:
Are you refusing to communicate with me via holographic projection because you are hacked?
Lin Yao stared at the picture on the computer screen. That was when he was most poisoned. Not only was the color dark, but because he closed his eyes, it was so dark that he couldn't see anything clearly. He was indeed in a very miserable state.
He poked the screen with his fingertips and rolled his eyes noticeably under his inky brows.
"What are you talking about?" He replied to the voice message, his voice still a little hoarse from the residual poison, but revealing a sense of unconvinced. "It's a bit dark, but when have I, Lin Yao, ever cared about this?"
Then, feeling that he hadn't expressed his attitude, Lin Yao quickly sent several messages to the computer, his tone full of toughness:
"What's wrong with being dark? Boys should be darker!"
"This is a medal, understand? It's the mark of a head-on confrontation with a conspirator."
"Besides, once the toxins are cleared, I'll be fine again. It's no big deal."
"That's not why I reject holography. It's just..."
Just as the message was sent, a holographic communication request suddenly popped up on the optical brain, and the caller was "Ye Heng".
Lin Yao's hands trembled and he almost threw the laptop away.
He subconsciously wanted to click "Reject", but his fingertips paused as they hovered over the screen. He couldn't really reject the call, as it would make him look like a thief.
In a panic, he tugged at the light grey shawl on his shoulders, trying to cover up more of the dark color from his neck to his chest, and raised his hand to tidy up his hair, even though he knew that those few strands of hair could not cover up his entire dark face.
"Just answer it, who's afraid of who?" He muttered stubbornly and tapped "Connect" with his fingertips.
Holographic light and shadow lit up in front of the treatment cabin, and Ye Heng's figure emerged clearly.
He was wearing the regular uniform of the Red Shadow Legion. The dark circles under his eyes were darker than when Lin Yao communicated with him before the accident. It was obvious that he had not had much rest.
Their eyes met in mid-air, and Ye Heng was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Lin Yao to accept the call this time.
When he learned that Lin Yao had woken up, he called dozens of times, but was rejected every time.
When the call was picked up, all sound fell silent again.
Lin Yao could see the emotions surging in Ye Heng's eyes, including worry, helplessness, and a bit of heartache that he couldn't hide.
That gaze was like warm water, slowly flowing over his dark body, burning him so much that he wanted to hide in the repair fluid, but unfortunately it was not the treatment time.
Ye Heng was also looking at him.
The holographic projection showed Lin Yao's appearance clearly. His whole body was covered with ink, and even his lip lines could not be seen. Only the white in his moving eyes was visible.
Ye Heng suddenly remembered Lin Yao's snow-white neck when they first met.
He wanted to say something, like "Does it hurt?" or "Don't do this again next time," but the words were stuck in his throat.
The treatment room was so quiet that the breathing sounds of the holographic projection seemed to be amplified, creating subtle awkwardness in the air.
At this moment, a head suddenly popped out from behind Ye Heng. It was Ye Mang.
He held a nutrition bar in his mouth, his eyes wide open, staring at Lin Yao in the hologram for three seconds, and suddenly burst out:
"Hey there! Guide Lin?! How's your recovery going? You're really dark!"
"Ye Mang!" Ye Heng frowned and growled.
Lin Yao was stunned by the shout, and then his face turned even darker.
Although it was originally dark, the tips of the ears were clearly warm.
He glared at Ye Mang in the hologram and said through gritted teeth:
"Eat your nutrition bar! If you keep yelling, I'll throw you into the red zone to feed the bugs!"
Ye Mang shrank his neck when he yelled at him, but he was not afraid of him. Instead, he winked at Ye Heng:
"Marshal, look, I told you he cares, otherwise how could he be so anxious?"
Ye Heng ignored him and looked at Lin Yao again. His eyes softened and his voice became lighter:
"How does it feel?"
Lin Yao turned his face away and snorted, but his tone was not as hard as before: "That's it, I can't die."
The light from the holographic projection fell on his inky face, reflecting some tiny bits of light.
The awkwardness just now was dispelled by Ye Mang, leaving only the unspoken concern between each other, slowly spreading in the air.
After finally opening the projector communication, the two began to chat with each other, talking about the two articles on Starnet.
Lin Yao curled his lips. "The Wen family's statement and Lin Ruheng's article both bear traces of deliberate manipulation. It's self-evident who is behind this."
Ye Heng asked him what his plans were for the two articles. Lin Yao said that he would definitely have to say "thank you" to Lin Ruheng, and as for the Wen family!
To be honest, Lin Yao really didn't want to give Wen Yu this face, not even to Lin Ruheng.
But it is probably impossible not to reply, because the Lin family has no intention of breaking up, and it is even more impossible to reply to only one side, so the situation is stuck here.
"Let's talk about it after a while!" Lin Yao was upset and his tone was a little impatient.
"Don't worry about it, I'll do it." Ye Heng couldn't bear to see his anxiety. "You are a patient, and recuperation is the most important thing."
-
Watching Ye Heng issue a statement in his personal capacity on behalf of Lin Yao, who was recuperating from illness.
He gave Lin Ruheng two cold "thank yous" and secretly felt sorry for Wen Yu's overestimation of his own abilities.
This matter is completely concluded.
After living in the White Tower Treatment Cabin for half a month, Lin Yao's toxins were eliminated by two-thirds and he moved to the ordinary convalescent area.
Of course, this was the result of him controlling Shasha's absorption of the toxin, otherwise he would have gone back in vain the next day after waking up.
After staying in the ordinary sanatorium for another two days, Lin Yao told the doctor of the White Tower that the remaining toxins should not cause any serious problems.
Let them prescribe some medicine and you can take it when you get home. You can also take treatment in your own home.
Because he didn't want to live in the White Tower anymore, he felt a bit bored.
After the doctor examined him, he agreed to this plan.
After prescribing medicine for him and instructing on the dosage, Lin Yao finally left the white tower where he had lived for almost twenty days.
But he did not choose to return to Delin's house. He lived in Boyue Mansion. After all, it was difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Zhuyuan was good, but Boyue was more to his liking.
-
That afternoon, the housekeeper of Boyue Mansion called him and said that someone wanted to see him and asked if he needed to let him in.
It’s Uncle Fu!
This kind old man who had been in the original owner's life came to visit Lin Yao.
The first sentence he said made Lin Yao terrified.
He said, "Lin Yao, I was the one who killed him."
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