Full-time Creation Master

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"That's perfect! I'm also going to Shanghai University!" Chu Ming said with a smile. "Let's go together!"

"I'd rather obey!" Gao Yucai already had a guess in his heart, and he lamented, 'Heaven has sent swift and deadly forces; another ten years of calamity for the common people is coming!'

Half an hour later, a convoy of eight cars in the front and six in the back drove away from the Shanghai base.

The black armored car gleamed coldly in the sunlight, with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Eagle emblem branded on the front.

On the rooftops of the escorting SUVs, the muzzles of the special agents' guns were hidden in the shadows, creating an eerie contrast with the hustle and bustle of the city.

The convoy slowed down as it entered Huaihai Road.

The neon signs outside the window, the crowded streets, and the cries of street vendors gradually became clearer, like a moving picture of everyday life.

"Sir Gao, look over there!"

Chu Ming suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the overpass ahead.

Gao Yucai looked in the direction he was pointing, and his brows furrowed instantly.

In the shadow of the overpass, a ragged homeless man huddled beside a pile of cardboard boxes, his gray hair matted and his exposed arms covered with bruises.

Two foreign men were surrounding him; one was a black man wearing a vest with a skull print, and the other was a white man with a cigarette in his mouth.

Their leather shoes kicked the homeless man mercilessly, as if he were toying with an ant.

The homeless man let out a weak groan, clutching his head with both hands, but he didn't even have the strength to resist.

What's even more jarring is the crowd around you.

Dozens of Chinese people stood around the circle, some taking pictures with their phones. The light from the screens reflected on their faces, revealing a numb excitement.

Some people whispered among themselves, a mocking smile playing on their lips;

Several young people in school uniforms clenched their fists, their faces full of resentment. Just as they were about to rush forward, they were held back tightly by their companions.

"Don't go! Those two foreigners look dangerous!"

A bespectacled boy lowered his voice and pulled his companion's arm backward, "Do you want to get punished?!"

"What if I get beaten up? It's not worth it for a homeless man..."

"But they went too far!" The boy being pulled away blushed and struggled to break free. "They're all human beings!"

"But as long as certain people cling to the idea of ​​you being an international friend, you'll never recover!"

"It's better to avoid trouble. Let's go. We'll talk when the police arrive."

The girl next to her also tried to persuade him, her tone clearly showing fear.

"But sister, they've gone too far!" the younger sister cried, her voice trembling with tears. "Grandpa is so pitiful!"

"There are so many pitiful people, how can we possibly take care of them all?"

The older sister pulled her younger sister back forcefully, earnestly advising her, "Have you forgotten the last time Brother Wang next door bravely saved a local child who ran a red light, broke his leg, and now, the person has run away, and the medical expenses haven't been paid off yet?"

Brother Wang himself was left with a lifelong disability!

When Aunt Wang went to their door, they yelled at her, "You country bumpkin, who asked you to save me?"

Later, they couldn't even get through the villa's gate; they were stopped by security guards!

We are all ordinary people, we have no right to make mistakes, let alone the confidence to do good deeds!

Let's just go to work and school quietly and not cause any trouble, okay?

Among the onlookers, the two young sisters were not particularly conspicuous, and what they said was not particularly "harsh"!

My younger sister was wearing her school uniform, her hair in a ponytail, her face flushed red, and her knuckles were white as she gripped the strap of her schoolbag.

Several times I tried to rush forward, but my older sister held me back tightly.

The older sister, dressed in a business suit, her high heels making her footing slightly unsteady, whispered, "Xiaoxiao, don't be impulsive! We ordinary people don't earn money easily; what if you get scammed?"

The old man lay on the ground, his hands bloodied and mangled from being trampled by leather shoes, and could only whimper helplessly.

Meanwhile, the Black and White people were cursing and swearing at the crowd who only shouted but dared not step forward, occasionally communicating in their native languages, saying things like "sick man of East Asia"...

The younger sister bit her lip, her eyes red-rimmed, but was eventually pulled away from the crowd by her older sister.

He kept turning back to look at the old man lying on the ground.

People around were filming with their phones, some were cursing under their breath, and some kept saying they had called the police, but still no one dared to step forward.

Several young people who seemed indignant were also pulled back by the onlookers, their lips twitching as they tried to persuade them.

The convoy rejoined the traffic, the bulletproof windows shutting out the outside noise, but the interior fell silent.

Chu Ming slowed the tapping of his fingers on his knee, his gaze falling on the sycamore leaves flitting past the window. He suddenly spoke, "Minister Gao, do you think those onlookers were really afraid?"

Gao Yucai picked up his thermos and took a sip of tea. The bitterness of the dried tangerine peel spread on his tongue: "I'm afraid, of course."

But more often, it's the inertia of "it's none of my business," and misleading messages like "make more mistakes" and "why would you..."

Furthermore, these years of peace have been too long; a person's fighting spirit, like a knife that hasn't been cleaned for a long time, slowly rusts away.

He sighed, "Everyone says that civilized society requires restraint, but excessive restraint becomes numbness."

"Civilization?" Chu Ming sneered. "Treating bullying as entertainment and indifference as wisdom—what kind of civilization is that?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has all sorts of people, but they turn their swords on the weak while the weak stand idly by. Ha!"

He turned to Gao Yucai and said, "Tell me, is it more shameful to watch your compatriots being bullied, or is it more civilized to fight the enemy to the bitter end?"

Gao Yucai was silent for a moment, then said, "Everyone understands the principle!"

But if you really want to stand up, you have to weigh the consequences.

Medical expenses, time, and even the possibility of lawsuits and record-keeping...

This is the reality of the cost of governance—under order, everyone is calculating their own interests.

Why were those two foreigners so arrogant?

Because they saw through this kind of "self-preservation"!

"Even if things get out of hand, officials who think it's better to avoid trouble and the media that have been bribed... in the end, they'll just have to pay money to settle the matter!" He pointed to the news notification that popped up on the car screen. "Look, someone has already posted a video online with the title 'Strange Spectacle on the Streets of Shanghai'."

A group of people below were discussing whether or not to intervene, and some even said that the homeless man "deserved it"—this is deliberately manipulated public opinion, with our own people being the first to be shamed!

In fact, following the usual practice, this news will be taken down and disappear from the public eye in three days at most!

Celebrity gossip will once again dominate the trending topics!

Meanwhile, those at the bottom had vented their pent-up anger and, under the powerful control of the order machine, were once again content to be beasts of burden!

Gao Yucai frowned even more as he looked at the comments on the screen: "There's nothing we can do, it's a legacy of history!"

Two hundred years of backwardness and several hundred years of the concept of foreigners being number one cannot be eliminated simply by talking about it in peacetime!

In some places, for the sake of "image," some corrupt officials are added, and they are indeed too lenient with them.

"Tolerance is not indulgence." Chu Ming's gaze turned cold again. "Right now, you only have 3% control over Shanghai. We don't have the final say on the rules, so I won't bother you for now!"

However, there are some bottom lines you should remember.

When you are in a position to take charge, you must implement it!

I don't want to see a civilization filled with chaos and disorder!