Chapter 151 - 143: Believing in the People’s Wisdom

Chapter 151: Chapter 143: Believing in the People’s Wisdom

That accusation was a blow straight to the heart!

Wang Dingbei’s brow furrowed, and he snorted angrily.

He was already grieving the recent deaths of several colleagues, his mind a tangled mess of unanswered questions. And now, someone was practically begging for a fight.

Even if he had a hundred questions and complaints about Yu Dong, he had to give him credit for saving all those people. If it had been him... he wasn’t sure he could have rescued so many in such a short amount of time.

’An ungrateful wolf... Interesting.’

Officer Wang scoffed, ready to teach this person a lesson.

Just then, Yu Dong grabbed Officer Wang’s hand and said calmly,

"Officer Wang, let everyone finish what they have to say."

Hearing this, Wang Dingbei gave Yu Dong an appreciative look and leaned close to his ear.

"Are you trying to smoke out all the sewer rats who think like this? ...Not bad. You’ve got a ruthless streak."

Yu Dong just smiled and said nothing.

Seeing that the police weren’t intervening, the woman who had just spoken grew even more brazen and stepped out from the crowd.

She was a woman in her thirties with permed hair, her face caked in a thick layer of foundation that created a stark contrast with the skin on her neck.

"The police and firefighters are right here! Tell me, isn’t it obvious this man was engaged in terrorist activities? He’s the one who lured us all here! Otherwise, nothing this terrifying would have happened. I almost didn’t make the jump!"

At this, others in the crowd chimed in, "That’s right! There was no danger at first, but his actions got so many people killed! Now we’re trapped in this godforsaken port. How are we supposed to eat or sleep?"

Another person spoke up, "If he knew there was a problem, why didn’t he say so sooner? Why wait until the last second? Was he trying to save people or kill them? Couldn’t he have let us in earlier? I don’t get why a lab like this even exists... I think the government needs to investigate. For all we know, this virus came from their lab."

A strongly built man strode forward from the back. He had dark skin, thick lips, and a thuggish look on his face.

"Hey! You’re the one who set our ship on fire this morning, aren’t you! You did all this on purpose, leaving so many of us trapped outside, and now you’re pretending to be our savior? You’re the one who started the fire! Officer, you have to disarm this punk and arrest him immediately! There’s definitely something shady about him!"

After hearing all this, Wang Dingbei tightened his grip on his baton. But when he looked at Yu Dong, the young man was still calm and unruffled, as if they were talking about someone else entirely.

Fire Captain Liu Hao looked at Yu Dong, unsure of what to make of the situation. But he had to admit... what these people were saying seemed to have a sliver of truth to it.

They had already investigated the fire alarm from earlier that morning. It had been started with a special kind of firebomb. If Yu Dong was responsible, then he had indeed committed a crime and caused a massive public safety hazard.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Sun Shan watched Yu Dong, breaking out in a sweat on his behalf.

’Say something, Hacker Bro! Now is not the time to be striking a pose and acting cool!’

Sun Shan was counting on Yu Dong’s foresight to get by in the future. If he was toppled by an angry mob, who the hell were they supposed to follow?

Huh?

He glanced at Officer Wang. ’This guy... he seems pretty capable, too. If things go south, maybe I can make a living under him.’

Zhou Jian Country tugged on Yu Dong’s arm, preparing to say a few words about the experiment himself.

He could build on what Yu Dong had said, fabricating a cover story that ordinary people couldn’t possibly distinguish from the truth. With his status as an expert, he could gain their trust more easily.

But Yu Dong stopped him.

"See? We hit a nerve! He’s speechless!" Sister Nizi tossed her curly hair like a triumphant hen and raised her arm to the crowd behind her.

"A bad guy like him should be locked up and interrogated properly! Am I right, everyone?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

Only three scattered voices echoed her call from behind, creating an extremely awkward silence.

Everyone else remained silent, staring at the four of them as if they were idiots. After exchanging glances with the rest of the crowd, they realized... they weren’t the only ones who felt that way.

A blunt high school girl spoke up, "Are those four morons?"

A collective "Mmm-hmm" of agreement rippled through the crowd.

An elderly man nodded. "Total morons. They’re the snake from the fable of ’The Farmer and the Viper.’"

With that, it was as if a seal had been broken, and the other 61 people erupted.

"You’re old enough to know better... Can’t you see he was doing everything he could to save you?"

"If you weren’t here, you’d be out on the streets, right? Going to the supermarket? Getting food? Where are there no people? If you turned into a zombie out there, who would save you?"

"Are you all alone in your family? Oh... maybe your name’s the only one on the household register. In that case, never mind. But if you want to stay home, be my guest. Right now... I’d rather stick with the police and the scientist."

"He risked his life to save you, even almost got shot by the police! The officer himself understands, and you’re still here yapping away. You people are heartless!"

"Wang Xinxin, you fucking prick, just because you’re tall you think you can put on an act? When he was burning those zombies, why were you hiding in the back like a fucking quail? And you call yourself security... It’s a goddamn embarrassment to be your colleague! Goddammit, think about it! If we were on that ship with everyone else, we’d all be dead! No one would’ve survived!"

"Yeah... Thank god we didn’t get on the ship. Otherwise, at this hour... it would be mealtime in the dining hall. A hundred times more dangerous than here."

Among the 65 survivors here, at least half were either tourists preparing to board or crew members. When they imagined the scene of over 5,000 tourists and 1,000 crew members all having a meal at the same time... they were terrified!

That would have been a true living hell!

"Instead of thanking the man who saved our lives, you’re here making baseless accusations. You fucking deserve to die! I say we grab these four and throw them out! What do you all say?"

A young man raised his arm and shouted, and a chorus of voices rose up behind him.

"Yeah! Throw them out!"

The old man pointed at the curly-haired woman. "We should definitely throw them out. They’re disgusting."

The four people who had been clamoring just a moment ago instantly went pale.

The curly-haired woman who had led the charge stumbled back several steps in fear, only regaining her courage when she reached Officer Wang’s side.

"The officer is right here, what are you all getting so worked up about! Officer, look, this mob is trying to kill me! You have to protect me!"

"Protect you, my ass!" Wang Dingbei kicked her to the ground.

"What are you doing! I’m an honorable taxpayer!"

"Honorable, my ass!"

Wang Dingbei kicked her again!

"I’m going to report you!"

"Report this, my ass!"

Wang Dingbei kicked her again, sending her tumbling across the ground, which finally vented a bit of his pent-up rage.

The other three reacted a moment too late and were pinned down by the crowd, led by the old man. A few kicks sent them to their knees.

Once someone took the lead, the crowd showed remarkable efficiency. Some weren’t good with words, so they simply held the four down, expressing their stance through sheer force.

The old man single-handedly pinned down the burly ship security guard, Wang Xinxin. Wang Xinxin struggled with all his might, his face turning red, but he couldn’t break free from the old man’s grip.

The more articulate ones took the lead in speaking with the officer and Yu Dong.

"Officer, Scientist, these people aren’t ordinary citizens anymore. You have to deal with them harshly!"

"We all barely survived, and instead of thinking about how to keep living, they’re here spreading malicious rumors. In ancient times, this would be the crime of demoralizing the troops, punishable by immediate execution!"

"These are special times. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We can’t be lenient."

"Absolutely not. Their behavior is vile!"

Wang Dingbei’s kicks had already made his stance clear. Jing Yanwei and another male officer took out two pairs of handcuffs, while Liu Hao and a firefighter grabbed a few plastic zip ties from a nearby warehouse. Together, they tied up the four buffoons who were pinned to the ground.

Seeing this, Yu Dong finally smiled, gratified. Wang Dingbei glanced at him.

"Smug little bastard... Look at you, so clever."

Despite his words, Wang Dingbei could also feel the confidence radiating from Yu Dong. "What were you thinking? Weren’t you angry?"

"Because I know most people in society are decent. It’s just that the bad ones are louder, jump higher, and seem more imposing..."

"When people like that are actually faced with the general public, they’re easily seen through."

"Officer Wang, we have to trust in the wisdom of the people."

Yu Dong gave Officer Wang a small smile, one that was both confident and powerful.

If the people he’d saved couldn’t even figure out the simple question of who was helping them and who was harming them, then what was the point of saving Yanhai City? He might as well just steer the ship to a small island and let everyone lie down and give up.

Fortunately, the outcome was just as he had expected.

A few people might not see the truth, but with a group as large as 65, the decent ones would definitely be the majority.

There are bad apples in any crowd, but the eyes of the people are sharp.

Wang Dingbei looked at Yu Dong’s mature demeanor and couldn’t help but chuckle.

"You little brat, now you’re lecturing me..."

At that moment, it was as if Zhou Jian Country was truly seeing Yu Dong for the first time. He felt that his past self must have been brilliant to have started following Yu Dong so early on.

Sun Shan, who had been ready to abandon Yu Dong and side with Officer Wang, sucked in a sharp breath.

’Whoa! Change of plans. Yu Dong’s side looks way more impressive and far-sighted... We’ve got to stick with him.’

"Damn, Boss Yu is so calm under pressure. He’s a total badass!"

His four work buddies weren’t old, and they knew Sun Shan was skilled, low-drama, and had good judgment. Following him was definitely the right move.

Just then, the fiery sunset clouds faded, and the sky turned dark. The sea breeze picked up, and the temperature dropped.

CLICK!

The lights at A Port automatically switched on.

Yu Dong walked into his A-50 warehouse and took out eleven sets of gear, including stab-proof vests, helmets, spears, tactical knives, and tactical flashlights.

He gave them to Wang Dingbei, five of the fittest police officers and firefighters, and Sun Shan’s group of five strong workers.

"We’re working overtime tonight. Let’s clear out the zombies on the ship before we rest."

The group began to put on the gear.

Just then, one of the 61 survivors stepped forward. It was the same old man who had led the charge to subdue the morons. He looked quite old.

Yu Dong guessed he had to be around sixty.

"Young man, get me a spear, too. I’ll go with you to kill zombies."

"Huh? Sir, at your age... you can kill zombies?" Yu Dong asked in surprise.

"I am getting on in years, it’s true. But killing a few zombies... shouldn’t be a problem."

The old man said with a cheerful laugh, his face full of kindness.

He looked like the kind of sweet old man who wouldn’t even get angry if a neighborhood kid’s baseball broke his window.