The Moment That Showed the Power of Journalism

"Suspected?"

Lu Bai noticed that the special agent's word choice was not very precise.

Moreover, since he wasn't notified directly, but rather through special agents, it probably wasn't an emergency.

"A cleaner said he saw a monster in the toilet, and based on his description, it definitely looked like Parasitic Organism."

The special agents thought for a moment, then added, "But the police at the scene checked the toilet the cleaner mentioned and didn't find any trace of the Parasitic Organism."

Clearly, this special agent simply felt that something was amiss and thought he should report it to Lu Bai.

"No need. Just have someone ask the cleaning lady, and let me know the result."

Lu Bai gave his reply.

Strictly speaking, he didn't care about these lone Parasitic Organism at all.

If he hadn't known that the mayor wouldn't let him off the hook, he wouldn't have bothered to think of any countermeasures.

The primary and secondary points must not be reversed.

Although he officially joined the Special Affairs Bureau and even rose to the position of field team leader, it was all just to make it easier for him to hunt down fighters.

Moreover, this might just be a diversionary tactic devised by one of the die-hards.

Now that he's about to receive Double Points Reward for the "Node," Lu Bai figured that doing less would mean fewer mistakes, so he wouldn't rush off to deal with something based on mere rumors.

The special agent didn't think there was anything wrong with it, saluted, and left the ward.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Yao Yi simply continued playing on her phone.

Time flew by, and several hours passed quickly.

While waiting for the countdown to end, Lu Bai explored the usage of [Ink Dye].

Yao Yi, lying in her hospital bed, suddenly let out a startled cry.

Why are you so easily startled?

His train of thought interrupted, Lu Bai glanced at Yao Yi.

Yao Yi looked somewhat anxious. "No, Brother Lu, well, you should check the news first."

"Um?"

Lu Bai wouldn't harbor any negative feelings towards Yao Yi just because his train of thought was interrupted. Upon hearing this stammering description, he quickly checked his phone.

He didn't need to search for it; as soon as he entered the trending topics list, he realized what Yao Yi was referring to.

It's still about his negative news.

Most importantly, this news is truly new.

The whistleblower is a nurse at this hospital.

The exposé downplayed the tragedy that occurred at the hospital last night, indicating that the Special Affairs Bureau and the police are conducting a joint investigation.

Against this backdrop, the text details how a hospital cleaner saw the Parasitic Organism while working this morning and chose to report it to the police.

The article then takes a dramatic turn, praising the police for their seriousness and the bravery of the veteran detective surnamed Pu who led the investigation, unafraid of potential dangers, and personally going to the restroom to investigate.

In contrast, the Special Affairs Bureau, whose job is to deal with Parasitic Organism incidents, simply sent a special agent to ask the cleaner a few questions and then let it go.

At this point, the rhythm has already started.

But this wasn't the end of it. Later, someone posted that the person in charge of the Special Affairs Bureau in this incident was Lu Bai, the acting leader of the Field Team Three Special Affairs Bureau, who had been in the spotlight recently but had never come forward to explain.

The video also included a clip showing a special agent who, upon learning the news, ran to the ward to inform Lu Bai, but returned to his post just minutes later as if nothing had happened.

This was a serious matter, and public opinion was once again ignited.

By now, the controversy has expanded beyond just Lu Bai himself and Xu Qiang, who promoted him.

As a result, the entire Special Affairs Bureau has come under public scrutiny.

That's the charm of journalism.

The public has absolutely no interest in how many Parasitic Organism the Special Affairs Bureau has dealt with or killed during this period.

They'll only question the very purpose of this department's existence.

A guy with a terrible record and who dropped out of high school was able to get promoted like a rocket.

If you're talking about moral issues, as long as someone is willing to do the work, then venting with a few curses is fine. After all, as long as you're human, you can't avoid things like using connections.

Being unable to deal with Parasitic Organism can be attributed to a lack of ability, but not even bothering to do anything about it is a matter of attitude.

You can't just occupy a toilet without using it, can you?

The comment sections under these articles are all filled with condemnations of Lu Bai and the Special Affairs Bureau.

Conspiracy theories are being widely spread below, with hopes of digging deeper into the matter.

Even worse, some people directly spread rumors that Lu Bai and Xu Qiang were relatives, and they said it with such certainty.

But you know what? The more outrageous the statements, the more approval they get.

On the internet, the main thing is that whoever has the loudest voice is right.

Lu Bai watched for a while. Although he didn't feel any resentment or anger due to his physical condition, he was well aware of how troublesome this escalation of public opinion would be.

It's certain that there's someone pulling the strings behind this trend.

However, what troubled him was that this attempt to frame someone revealed a certain piece of information.

That means there's a collaboration between the Death Fighter and the Parasitic Organism on the mayor's side.

The reason is simple.

From the mayor's perspective, whether Lu Bai would go to the toilet because of the cleaner's report is actually in a Schrödinger's cat state, which is very unstable.

All that preparation beforehand, even arranging for people to take photos, just to gamble that Lu Bai wouldn't show up?

This is clearly illogical.

Only those who fight to the death can be certain that Lu Bai won't leave over some trivial matter during this time.

"What will they do next? Are they just going to force Xu Qiang to fire me?"

Lu Bai was unsure whether those who had collaborated with the mayor had revealed any other information; he could only speculate.

He thought for a moment, then pulled up his contacts and called Xu Qiang.

The call was answered as soon as it rang; it seemed the person on the other end was also looking at their phone.

Xu Qiang's voice came from the other end of the phone. "Hello?"

Are you at the Press Conference right now?

Yes, I haven't left yet.

"Turn your head."

The sound of wind whistling past the microphone hole.

"I don't see you?"

"Not this way, turn to the other side."

There was another sound of someone turning around.

"I've looked around, where are you?"

Lu Bai chuckled and replied, "I'm at the hospital."

Xu Qiang: "..."

After a moment of silence, Xu Qiang, who had a slight toothache, said, "It's good. It seems you're in a good mood. You've already seen the news, haven't you?"

"I've seen them all."

"Don't worry, I'm handling things here. I won't suspend you. It's just that this sudden surge in public opinion has probably diminished the effectiveness of my Press Conference."

Xu Qiang's tone was solemn, but his support for Lu Bai was still very clear.

Upon hearing this, Lu Bai shook his head.

Realizing the other person couldn't see him shaking his head, he quickly added, "No need, just suspend me first."