037: A Surprise Interview; The Perfect Answer

Through the blood that was still warm, Su Yi saw that everyone's eyes were on him.

He knew his judgment had been right.

The wasteland refugees below barely reacted to his words.

Where they came from, families often traded children to eat when they were on the brink of starvation.

But the scene struck a nerve with the wealthy elites who prided themselves on being respectable.

They needed an excuse to make tax-deductible donations.

And they needed those donations to bring them satisfaction and a good name.

At least save the children!

What cause could be more justifiable?

What cause could be more righteous?

After a brief silence, a piercing rush of air sounded overhead. An Emergency Medical Ship descended from the sky, roughly forty meters long, silver-white from end to end, and marked with the Black Sun Group's insignia.

Four medical workers descended on Anti-Gravity Flight Packs. Their white uniforms and the blue exhaust streaming behind them made them look like angels coming down from heaven.

The middle-aged doctor leading them approached the blood-covered Su Yi and called out:

"We received an emergency request from Miss Iris Barrett! Please hand the injured child over to us."

Su Yi quickly passed him the child, who was barely clinging to life. "Thank you for your kindness and generosity, Miss Barrett!"

Click! Click! Click!

The reporters nearby began snapping photos like mad, recording a scene that could win them an award at next year's photography competition.

Ilis's voice rang out again. "Bring every medical ship in logistics here immediately. Clear an area to treat and shelter the injured."

"Take every critically injured child to the General Hospital for emergency treatment!"

"All patrol officers, move in and restore order!"

As Ilis issued one orderly command after another, the bloody, chaotic scene was rapidly brought under control.

Rick had received his orders and used the data center to identify the target.

"Su Yi Horus..."

Rick was surprised to see the name. It rang a bell.

The stray dog who had risked his life to save the young lady and, by sheer chance, awakened a Void Abyss Projection.

"Interesting."

After quickly reviewing Su Yi's record, Rick's interest grew.

"Did someone coach him, or did he figure it out himself?"

Rick did not believe someone with that background could possess such noble character.

After a moment's thought, Rick contacted Weber, the director of the Patrol Bureau.

"Captain Rick, what can I do for you?" Weber asked, looking up at him with a deferential smile.

Weber might rule Rootvine District like his own kingdom, but beside someone of Rick's standing, he was still a nobody.

Rick projected a holographic image. "Send someone to speak with this man. The reporters will interview him soon. Make sure he doesn't say anything he shouldn't."

Weber's eyes shifted as he listened. "To be safe, why don't I send one of my own men?"

Rick said nothing more, tacitly agreeing.

Nothing could be allowed to go wrong this time.

While the two of them were making their arrangements, five or six reporters flew straight toward Su Yi on Micro Flight Belts.

To broaden the event's reach, Ilis had arranged for roughly a third of the reporters there to come from major newspapers in the neighboring Lila Star System.

They had come looking for a big story, and quite a few hoped to dig up something damaging to Ilis.

They loved a sudden turn of events like this.

Ilis contacted Rick. "How is it going?"

"Weber has sent his men over," Rick replied respectfully.

By then, five reporters had already descended in their haste and surrounded Su Yi, who was covered in blood.

One nearly shoved a microphone into his mouth before demanding:

"Sir, who told you to save these children?"

"What was your motive for saving them?"

The questions were aggressive and direct, leaving Su Yi no time to think.

But Su Yi had prepared his answer long ago. Just as he was about to speak, another group crowded in.

Cairo, Weber's trusted aide and the Wolf Fang Gang's deputy leader, smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, our brother here is badly hurt. He's not thinking clearly."

"I'll answer for him!"

With that, he shoved Su Yi aside and declared, "Our kind and upright director of the Patrol Bureau, Weber Nigel, told us to help these poor children whenever and wherever we could."

The moment he said it, Ilis's face darkened. She immediately demanded of Rick, "Where did this idiot come from?!"

Both of the reporter's questions were traps. Answering on their terms meant falling straight in!

And that fool had claimed the credit for a mere district director while forgetting the woman who was actually behind it all!

Weber, meanwhile, looked pleased with Cairo's answer.

He was already imagining how he would use this public appearance to claim credit with his brother-in-law, the mayor!

The coverage might even make him a prominent figure in society.

Having risen through connections, he knew little about officialdom or its unwritten rules.

Some credit was not yours to take.

Take it, and you would not be able to bear the consequences!

Rick glared at Weber, his face livid with anger.

Stealing credit was bad enough. He had never expected the man Weber sent to be this stupid!

"Get the doctors to intervene at once. Have them take everyone away..."

Just as Rick put his backup plan in motion, he heard Su Yi's voice.

"Why are you lying?"

The reporters, sensing they had just uncovered a major story, saw that Su Yi wanted to speak. They pushed Cairo aside before he could say another word and packed tightly around Su Yi.

"Sir, what did he lie about?"

Su Yi answered in a plain, guileless voice, "First, I don't know him. I'm not with the Patrol Team."

"I think he came over to cover up the truth."

Cairo's expression turned ugly, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

You're asking for death! You dare steal the director's credit!

In the distance, Weber's face darkened too. He clenched his fists and ground his teeth.

On the platform, the reporters grew excited. They had found a huge story!

And the man before them seemed rather simple. It should be easy to get him talking.

One immediately pressed him. "Then who told you to save these children?"

"What was your motive for saving them?"

Su Yi blinked. "No one told me to save them."

The reporters froze. "What do you mean?"

Su Yi asked in return, "Why would I need an order to save someone?"

"Children are society's hope, humanity's future, flowers waiting to bloom. Isn't saving them the natural thing to do?"

After a pause, Su Yi asked, "Why do you assume someone had to order me to save the children?"

"And that I must have had an ulterior motive?"

"In your upper-class world, is even saving children driven by such naked self-interest?"

The five reporters went still. For a moment, none of them knew what to say.

Su Yi raised a hand and touched the blood on his face. Two wounds near his brow gaped like an infant's lips, still bleeding.

Yet his dark eyes were clear and calm.

"!!!"

Hearing that perfect answer, Ilis immediately told Rick to call off the medical workers.

She stared intently at Su Yi. "Get me his file at once. This man is interesting!"

Rick sent her the file immediately, surprise written across his face. "That kid... No wonder the goddess favored him."