Cleanup Is Never Easy / A River of Sorrow

Now, after the explosion, the Originium particles have begun to settle, and the Originium concentration on the ground has begun to rise again.

After landing, Suika found Scout.

"This place is too dangerous. I estimate that at least a kilometer radius around here is an area of Originium subsidence..."

"I know, but our mission is to establish forward relief outposts and rescue as many survivors as possible within the blast radius..."

"If we set up outposts too far away, then it's pointless."

Scout looked at Suika calmly and said, then he looked at the people being carried over behind Suika.

"You rescued all of these people. Quickly get them into the tent. Little Mary, prepare to receive them!"

"Sigh... you people are so stubborn..."

Suika sighed and then had her clone send those people over.

"This one was already dead when I arrived, but since it was with the others, I brought it along."

Suika pointed to the last person, and immediately an operator brought over a body bag specifically for Infected and put him in it.

"Suika!" Scout looked at her.

"Oh, is there anything else?" Suika looked up when Scout called her name.

"Among us, you are currently the only one who can move freely in this environment, so the initial rescue work can only be entrusted to you."

It's been less than half an hour since the mine explosion. Based on past experience and calculations, in such disasters, if there are any survivors, there's still a chance to be rescued within the first three hours. So... it's up to you."

Suika nodded. Her abilities naturally had room to be utilized in this environment, and since someone needed help, she would naturally step forward to help.

"Then I'll go check again... These little ones can stay here; they can help disperse the Originium particles in the air, at least ensuring the surrounding environment is safe. If I find anything inside, I can also notify you through them."

Before leaving, Suika left several clones next to Scout, and then turned back to the previous cave entrance.

Because of the messages coming from the Little Suika ones inside, there are still many people deeper inside.

However, most of them have already lost their lives, but a very lucky few are still alive.

But in such a harsh environment, if it weren't for someone like Suika, who has the ability to cross dangerous mining areas full of Active Originium to come deep into this place to rescue people, it's hard to say whether these lucky ones are truly fortunate or unfortunate.

Because of their extreme instability, Active Originium are prone to explosion. In the outside world, these Active Originium are scattered throughout the mining area. If even one of them explodes, it will almost certainly trigger a chain reaction, causing a secondary explosion within the mining area.

Therefore, for everyone at this moment, time is life.

With this in mind, Suika, upon reaching the mine entrance, did not re-enter, but instead blew out hundreds of Little Suika that flew into the cave.

This time, their goal was very clear: they ignored the dead and tried their best to get the living out of the area as quickly as possible.

As for safety? The faster you leave here, the safer you will be.

Suika, who hadn't gone inside, reopened the video link with Rhodes Island. While the Little Suika were busy rescuing people, she investigated the situation at the explosion's epicenter based on the guidance from Rhodes Island.

Rhodes Island believed that such a violent explosion, which affected the entire mining area, was definitely not a simple accident.

All Originium veins that can be mined must undergo evaluation and testing to confirm that the Originium activity within the vein will not be accidentally activated before mining can proceed.

Moreover, this kind of assessment is a task that relevant personnel need to do every day.

Given the alarming activity and explosive intensity of the Originium, it's unlikely that such a severe explosion would have occurred if no inspection had been conducted for a long time, or if personnel had been evacuated at some point during the inspection period.

With the help of the cameras, Rhodes Island found some things involved, especially the unexpected discovery of the damaged but not completely destroyed mine safety monitoring sheet.

The record showed that the last inspection was conducted half a month ago, meaning that the most basic activity monitoring of the Originium veins in this mining area had not been carried out for half a month...

"This is a very important piece of evidence; you must keep it safe."

As for the negotiations with the town, let this ship handle them...

Once you're sure most of the survivors have been rescued, then evacuate.

After confirming with Suika that most of the survivors had been rescued, Kal'tsit ordered Suika to evacuate the danger zone.

Upon receiving the order, Suika pocketed the evidence and prepared to leave. Just then, a nearby exposed Originium suddenly began flashing rapidly, like a warning light before a bomb explodes, emitting an extremely dangerous signal...

Chapter 157 The work of cleaning up after the disaster is never easy.

At that moment, an alarm sounded from the mobile observation equipment that the Little Suika had helped set up at the temporary outpost not far away.

Scout's expression changed upon seeing the Originium concentration rapidly rising again.

"Everyone, take your equipment and personnel, and retreat!"

Then he looked at a Little Suika standing on the top of a tent, using her ability to disperse the surrounding Originium.

"Tell your main body that the concentration of Originium in the mine is abnormal, and a secondary explosion is very likely. Tell her to evacuate immediately!"

Little Suika lowered her head and blinked.

"She indicated that she understood and is currently leading the last group of wounded back."

Scout nodded, then arranged for the evacuation to begin.

"This is Scout. The temporary detectors set up at the front end show that the concentration of Originium inside the mine has risen abnormally again. There is a high possibility of a secondary explosion at the mine. To avoid danger, we are preparing to retreat to a safe distance."

"Permission granted. Anto's follow-up medical team and the town's security force are setting up a medical zone for the Infected one kilometer behind you. You can move closer to them," Kal'tsit's voice came again.

"Understood!" After hanging up the phone, Scout glanced around. By then, everyone had finished getting ready, and the wounded were being carried on makeshift stretchers after receiving emergency treatment.

Fortunately, the Suika clones that brought the wounded back did not disappear. Scout temporarily recruited them to make up for the manpower shortage, and then led everyone to begin the retreat away from the mine.

The squad had just set off when another explosion was heard behind them.

Upon hearing the explosion, Scout and his group ran even faster.

On the way, he also checked on the patients being carried by Little Suika. He breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that they were all safe and that Little Suika was still there.

The existence of these little creatures proves that Suika form is still alive and well.

Otherwise, without the power supplied by the spellcaster, these clones should have dissipated.

Just as they arrived at the camp, Suika's voice came from behind.

"Oh my god... that was really scary!"

Scout turned around and saw Suika floating in the air unharmed, while beside her, several Little Suika were carrying the last two wounded people and catching up with the group, looking disgusted.

"It's good that you're alright!" Scout smiled at Suika, relieved to see that she was safe and sound.

Upon arriving at the campsite, everyone was greeted by a burst of water vapor.

Scout said this could clean the Originium particles carried on the bodies of people returning from dangerous areas. Although it wasn't very effective, it was at least a decent psychological comfort for most people.

In the official language of Great Yan, it's called "welcoming the guests and washing away the dust of the journey".

Then one by one, the wounded were sent to the temporary camp.

"How are these people?" The town's sheriff, with his head held high, looked at Anto, who was examining a patient.

Anto shook his head.

"In that kind of environment, even if you survived, you couldn't possibly be unharmed."

Preliminary findings indicate that half of the more than twenty people have mild infections, three have severe infections, and the rest have moderate infections.

Rhodes Island can temporarily allocate a batch of medicine to control their condition, but...

Anto didn't continue, because the sheriff had already turned and walked away into the distance.

For most towns, the tensions are focused on protecting ordinary people, not Infected, even those who were recently infected due to an accident.

After learning that all of these people had become Infected, the sheriff's disdainful look was clearly visible even to Suika was far away.

"What do we do?" Scout asked Anto helplessly as he watched the sheriff leave with his guards, completely ignoring the mine that had just been devastated by a second explosion and the Infected that Rhodes Island operators had risked their lives to rescue from the mine.

Anto, however, was used to this kind of "bureaucracy".

"These people work at this mine, so they probably have families in this town. Let's temporarily take care of them, then send them to a place not far from the town. We can then have this ship negotiate with the town to let their families come and claim them!"

Although these people probably can't return to their familiar town and homes and can only settle down in more remote Infected areas, at least they still have hope for survival.

Scout nodded. For now, this was the only thing he could do, even though he was furious at the damn sheriff's brutal and contemptuous treatment of the Infected. There was nothing else he could do.

Otherwise, if a conflict were to break out with the local sheriff, not only would it be impossible to stay in Rhodes Island any longer, but it could also affect the rest of the itinerary.

After the town's military and police left, a brief silence fell over the camp. After all, it was clear from the sheriff's personality that this place was not friendly to the Infected.

"Wouldn't it be a good thing if these guys left?"

After all, if he hates the Infected and insists on staying here, he might find fault with everything and start criticizing everyone. And since others represent the authorities, they can't argue with them. That would be the most painful thing!

Suika, however, didn't think so. People with such obvious emotions and attitudes are relatively easier to deal with. If he hates Infected, then let non- Infected communicate with him.

On the contrary, those who secretly dislike someone but pretend to like them, and then deliberately trip them up, are the ones who are the most troublesome.

Scout paused for a moment after hearing Suika's words, then gave a thumbs up.

At this moment, a teammate next to him asked...

"Suika, you see things so clearly. Speaking of which, what should we do now? Should we continue the search and rescue operation in the mining area?"

"What else is there to search for? The second explosion is enough to bury all the remaining living and dead underground."

"Besides, weren't all those who could be saved rescued by Suika?" Scout rolled his eyes at him. Who knows how highly active the Originium inside Originium had exploded twice in such a short period of time would be? Going in again at this point would be a death sentence for anyone who went.

For now, we can only wait until the active period of the Originium has passed before we can explore the mine again.

However, after an explosion of this magnitude, the mine is likely ruined, and it remains to be seen whether the local authorities are willing to spend a large sum of money to conduct a second exploration of this nearly abandoned mine.

Everyone waved again and looked towards the mine. The smoke and dust from the explosion completely enveloped the area. Unless a heavy rain came and suppressed the smoke and dust, that area would be a forbidden zone for living beings for a short time.

Scout grabbed a Little Suika that ran past his feet and curiously poked its face amidst the Suika's outstretched claws.

"Speaking of which, these clones or whatever you have, they all seem to have their own consciousness!"

Chapter 158 Sorrow Flows Like a River

"Otherwise what?"

Suika also grabbed a Little Suika and, despite her objections, forcibly held it in her arms.

"Do you think creating a clone is like splitting your brain into dozens or hundreds of parts to control each one?"

Of course not.

Each clone is essentially a slice, cutting and copying my memories from that moment on, and then acting according to my wishes.

They are connected to me, and all their memories will return to me after they disappear.

So although each clone has its own independent consciousness, and they all appear to be me, in reality they are all me.

The Little Suika in her arms nodded. "Ah, that's right, I'm Suika too! So, you lazy, good-for-nothing self, can you let me go? You don't have to work, but I do!"

"Ah, I love my job that much?" Suika asked in surprise, looking at the Little Suika in her hand who seemed to have a workaholic spirit.

"If you're willing to do it yourself, I can reluctantly take a break..." Little Suika said, pointing to the other clones who were helping to move things not far away.

"Never mind then, you go ahead..."

Seeing this, Suika put the Little Suika down from her arms, and then looked at Scout, who was dumbfounded after seeing Suika bargaining with herself.

"So, do you understand now?"

Scout shook his head, indicating that he didn't understand, but respected.

"Perhaps Pith or Logos would be happy to discuss these things with you. My research on magic and Originium Arts is not as in-depth as theirs, so I don't know whether what you're doing is good or bad."

"Did you find any information in the mine? Logically speaking, with this level of increased Originium activity, the local security personnel should have detected it much earlier."

After discussing the clones, Scout steered the conversation back to the mine explosion.

Suika pulled the security log she'd found in the mine from her handbag and tossed it to Scout.

"You know what, I actually found something. See for yourself."

Scout picked up the log and started flipping through it, his brow furrowing more and more as he read.

The record clearly states that half a month ago, the security inspector discovered an anomaly at the edge of the Originium mining area and applied for a work stoppage for preservation.

For the next five days, security personnel continued to monitor and record the data; the monitoring stopped ten days ago.

Logically, such a cessation of record-keeping should only be due to the mine ceasing operations, thus eliminating the need for continued safety checks.

However, it's clear from the fact that there are still over a hundred people at the mine that there's no sign of work stopping.

In other words, after the safety inspection discovered the problem and reported it, the people in charge of the mine did not order a shutdown, but instead concealed the problem, allowing more than a hundred people to continue working in an environment where an explosion could occur at any moment.

After seeing this, Scout roughly understood the cause of the accident. It was purely because capitalists disregarded the lives of civilians and concealed the danger, allowing miners to continue mining the Originium on the verge of peril, which led to this tragedy.