On the second day after becoming an inspector, Natsume received a new mission, which was to go to Area E to find out about the recent frequent water contamination.
This mission is not easy, and is even quite dangerous, so before setting off, the leader of the patrol team specially assigned Natsume a handy weapon and two plainclothes guards.
However, after Natsume learned about the personnel composition and regional environmental information of Area E, she did not feel as if she was facing a formidable enemy. Instead, she felt that this matter may seem unusual, but the truth may not be complicated.
Sure enough, after two days of investigation, Natsume found that there were mostly women and children in Area E, and most of them were upper-class people. Their conversation and behavior reflected a very high level of quality, which made Natsume's investigation progress quite smoothly.
However, whenever Natsume reaches a critical place, there is an invisible and intangible resistance in Natsume's investigation work.
Natsume found that although the women and children here seemed to be very cooperative with the investigation, once they got to the key points, they all had a tacit understanding to selectively forget or simply ignore Natsume's questions.
After several attempts to no avail, Natsume decided to sneak in during the break period in Area E to find out.
In the end, the investigation didn't matter... I almost got Natsume himself involved...
…
Masato was shocked when she heard that Natsume had been arrested. Fortunately, she came back in time and "fished" Natsume out before the staff could use force.
Although this move allowed Natsume to escape, it also caused a lot of trouble for Natsume's subsequent work.
Because everyone knows the relationship between Natsume and the Shimizu family.
But Natsume doesn't care very much because he has already figured out the reason why the water body in Area E is often polluted.
This is also the reason why he was almost beaten when he was caught...
…
"What? They use drinking water to swim?!" Masato was shocked. She had no idea that the people in Area E would do such a crazy thing.
You must know that if this matter is exposed, the civilians above who can only get 2 liters of water for cleaning their bodies in a month are afraid that they will riot!
Of course, Natsume also knew how bad the impact of this incident was, so when he was arrested by the people in Area E as a voyeur, he remained silent throughout the whole process and did not expose those girls.
"Well, that's not all. There are also some families with private pipes that bring drinking water into their houses for bathing their children. Then the water is sent back to the water purification center for secondary purification, but the purification center's
After all, the water purification capacity is limited, so it causes water pollution in a larger area, thus forming a vicious circle." Natsume briefly explained the truth he had discovered to Masato.
After hearing this, Masato was not only shocked, but also angry.
You must know that there are only three water purification nodes in Zone E in the entire refuge that can provide water purification services for the refuge, and now the water bodies in at least two nodes are irreversibly polluted. If this pollution continues to worsen, there will be another
Within a month, not to mention there will be problems with drinking water, even the production area in Area A will stop operating due to substandard water quality, not to mention the algae cultivation tank in Area C.
"They...how could they do this! Didn't they think about the consequences?" Masato could not understand the thoughts of those who used drinking water for swimming and bathing in Area E.
Natsume said: "Most of the time, people act blindly and without rational thinking. Perhaps in their view, as long as they return the used water to the water purification center without anyone noticing, they can get clean water again."
, this is a cyclical process. What's more, most of the residents in Area E are the second-tier funder members of the shelter. It is their capital injection that helped the shelter build supporting facilities. If the problem is directly expanded at this time,
Culturalization may not only fail to solve the problem, but may also cause bigger problems.”
After hearing what Natsume said, Masato didn't understand what Natsume meant. She frowned and said, "Why do you say that? Even if they are funding it, everything in the shelter is under the direct jurisdiction of the government and is not private property.
, including the investment of our Qingshui family, if there is a problem with our Qingshui family, we will definitely face it actively and accept the corresponding punishment."
Natsume smiled, nodded and said: "The Qingshui family is one of the leading families in the world. Your family rules and traditions are well-known. Naturally, I will not doubt it. But the problem is that these things are happening now."
The problem is not caused by the Qingshui family. What's more, the Qingshui family has always been synonymous with "privilege" in the shelter. Although everyone currently reserves their personal opinions on this "privilege" treatment, if anyone jumps out to point it out, I will
I think... the problem this time has not been resolved yet, the Qingshui family may become the first innocent victims."
"The first innocent victim? How could it be? Natsume, do you think too badly of everyone?" Masato felt more and more uncomfortable the more he listened.
Natsume sighed softly: "Maybe...but we really have to prepare for the worst, right?"
Natsume did not explain the source of her thoughts. After pondering for a while, Masato chose to respect Natsume's intention. She asked: "Then how should this matter be resolved?"
Natsume thought for a while and then said: "I thought of three solutions when I was locked up last night, but one of them is not mature yet, and the other two are a bit risky."
"Three? Tell me."
"The first way is very simple, that is to directly find the families whose private water pipes are occupying drinking water, explain to them one by one, and give them a secret warning. At the same time, start dismantling all private connection facilities and guard the drinking water source transmission area.
The sanitation work has been changed to a rotation system to prevent similar things from happening again."
"Well..." Yaren nodded after hearing this: "This method is good... but I'm afraid these people are not that easy to deal with."
"Yes, and this matter cannot be solved by the Qingshui family. It must be solved by the management of the shelter. According to my current investigation, the family that abuses water the most is a member of the shelter management named Zhao.
Senior official, although it is not clear whether Mr. Zhao knows what his family has done, once the matter is reported, he will have to find a way to pretend to know even if he does not know." Natsume looked a little scary when he was thinking calmly.
Masato is still not used to Natsume's thinking style of thinking the worst about people, and she feels that Natsume has changed a lot since the rescue work ended.
Not only did his personal temperament become more melancholic, but even the originally brilliant light in his eyes calmed down.
"Well... it is indeed possible. Then... is there any other way?"
"Yes, but this method is a bit extreme. Once discovered, it is likely to have an adverse impact on the Qingshui family."
"Hey? Why do you say that?"
"The second method is very simple, which is to add acetic acid directly to the source of drinking water. This kind of thing is very irritating. After direct contact with human skin, it can easily cause allergies and itching in the contact, but it is basically harmful to human health.
It’s harmless, I think as long as the water body becomes not clean enough, they will naturally stop using drinking water for swimming and bathing.”
"Eh?! Natsume! How bad are you!" Masato never expected that Natsume would come up with such a method. In her opinion, Natsume seemed like a man who could do some dirty tricks.
Natsume had no choice but to come up with such a strategy. He explained: "The characteristic of acetic acid is that it is volatile, so it is best to use it to teach the privileged people in Area E, and the water with acetic acid added will be used again.
After the second pressurization is sent to the upper area, the properties will gradually fade. It will not have a great impact on everyone in the entire shelter. It is the simplest and most effective method... Of course... doing this will soon cause the E-area
Those people are suspicious, and after all, acetic acid can cause allergic reactions. If the people who use these water bodies with acetic acid are healthy, it will be fine. If they have physical problems... it may bring a lot of trouble to the Qingshui family.
, so...this plan can only be considered a bad move."
After listening carefully, Masato asked: "What about just now..."
"Zhongce." Natsume's appearance now lacks a feather fan.
Masato admired him, and she asked eagerly: "What's the best solution?"
"As for the best solution...this requires the help of Colonel Fang and the entire management level." Natsume said seriously.
"Hey? Why?"
Natsume explained: "What impressed me most when I went to New Tokyo to participate in the rescue work was not the hundreds of thousands of civilians who froze to death in the dark, but what happened before they froze to death and starved to death.
The traces left behind.”
"trace?"
"Yes, I listened to a few people chatting on the way back home and learned that there had been a fight in the shelter that might have been over a source of drinking water. The two sides of the fight were the Zhengxing Self-Defense Forces who were relatively small in number but well-equipped.
, the other side was a large number of unarmed civilians. They fought in a fifty-meter-long passage. In the end, the civilians won, but the passage was also filled with corpses..."
Before Natsume finished speaking, Masato covered her mouth in shock. She could almost imagine the scene at that time from Natsume's description.
But...how could the Shoko Self-Defense Forces, who are the last watchmen of Neo-Tokyo City or the Japanese, shoot at unarmed civilians at such a time?
She couldn't understand, couldn't accept, and couldn't agree with it.
"No, Natsume...my sister is one of the Shoko Self-Defense Forces. I know the Shoko Self-Defense Forces. They will never shoot at unarmed civilians!"
Natsume did not argue with Masato, nor did he tell her any more details... In fact, according to the findings of the rescue team, the Zhengxing Self-Defense Forces members should have stuck to their posts, but the rioting civilians still attacked them. In desperation,
, they will fight back... but once the gun is fired, the nature will completely change, and the conflict will be completely intensified.
Of course, Natsume kept these things deep in his heart, and he did not want to explain too much so as not to pollute Masato's heart.
"Well, I also believe that the Zhengxing Self-Defense Forces would not do such a thing, but there were indeed riots in Shelter 03 over the drinking water source, and there were more than one..." Natsume paused at this point.
Then continued: "So... I came up with this best idea. I hope to use your brother's power to reveal the situation in Area E to the management, and then tell all the people in the shelter about what happened in Evacuation No. 03 through broadcasts and video programs."
The tragedy in the institute, of course, requires certain modifications to avoid causing panic, and at the same time, attention must be paid to the control so that the people in Area E cannot feel pain and discomfort, and the civilians in other areas must be united."
After listening to Natsume's best advice, Masato understood what he meant.
But indeed, as Natsume said, although the outline of this best strategy is very clear, it is indeed not mature enough.
"Well... this method is indeed better, and I think most people are still very concerned about the situation in Shelter 03. When I chatted with my brother before, I also discussed whether to turn this rescue into a program."
Natsume smiled after hearing this: "That's just right. Now that you and your brother have an idea, I will feel much more relaxed."
Masato was stunned: "Huh? You don't want to ask about the follow-up?"
summer
Mu stretched and said: "Well——I have been locked up in the detention room all night, and now I am very sleepy. I just want to have a good sleep."
Masato then remembered that Natsume had not slept all night, and immediately blushed and said: "I'm sorry, Natsume, I was careless, um... do you want to eat something first and then go back to rest?"
Natsume stood up and shook his head: "No, I'll go back directly. You don't have to be too anxious. After I made such a fuss about the E-area, it should be calmed down in a short time. You can discuss it with your brother. Of course
It would be better if we could find some think tanks to put it together."
Masato stood up with a smile: "Well, thank you Natsume."
"You're too polite, I'm leaving."
"OK, good night."
…
When she returned to her residence, Natsume didn't just lie down and go to sleep.
He sat down in front of the desk, took out the pistol and put it on the table, wiping the gun body and being in a daze.
In front of his eyes, he recalled the scenes he saw in Area E.
Those usually well-looking guys were enjoying the artificial sunbathing in the infinity pool, listening to music and having fun, looking very uncomfortable.
In contrast, the corpses huddled together in Vault 03 could only sleep forever.
Natsume, who usually never thinks about the justice of the country or the fate of mankind, suddenly felt tired.
Before applying to join the rescue team with Hanako, he learned from Masato that the Xinghan International Space Station confirmed that the last animal still living in the wild on Earth had starved to death in the Arctic ice sheet. From this moment on, the Earth
The last wild land animals on Earth have disappeared.
Although governments of various countries reserve various animal and plant resources in special refuges to prepare for the "sunrise" and the recovery of all things.
But Natsume still felt waves of discomfort.
In the past, he wanted to know what caused the "sun" to disappear, but now he was thinking more about where the real disaster was hidden in this dark world.
Wildfires are of course a disaster, but they are uncontrollable. No one knows where the fire started. Everyone has to face it.
But some disasters are foreseeable.
The "Warrior of the Country" easily infiltrated his clutches into the Pacific Rim nuclear power system. After causing an explosion, the three shelters turned into the largest cemetery in human history!
Natsume thought that after experiencing all this, she had become calm and could take life and death lightly.
Unexpectedly, just yesterday I saw the privileged people abusing water resources, and it suddenly became difficult to calm down...
He could have come quietly and left quietly...
But he chose to come out, stand behind everyone and ask: "What are you doing? Has the 'sun' risen yet?"
No one answered him.
There was only the scream of the topless woman and the angry curses of some men.
Natsume could have drawn his gun to defend himself, but when he had this idea, he suddenly remembered a sentence his grandfather taught him.
"A heaven, a hell".
Taking a deep breath, Natsume pulled out the magazine, pushed the bullets out of the magazine one by one, and then placed them neatly on the table.
The brass-colored bullets sparkled under the light, and looked strangely beautiful.
After watching this quietly for a long time, Natsume looked calm and began to skillfully load the bullet into the magazine, and then press the magazine into the pistol.
Load the gun, aim, and then put your backhand against your chin.
Natsume, who raised his head, suddenly smiled again.
He put down the gun, sighed deeply, and turned to go to bed.
In the dream he saw Hanako.
They sat on the boat and looked at the stars.
Hanako kept asking Natsume the names of the stars in the sky.
Natsume's answer was in her heart but she couldn't say it...
After sleeping in such a hazy state all night.
When she woke up the next day, while brushing her teeth and washing her face, Natsume suddenly felt a strong pungent smell in the water.
In an instant, Natsume, who had not eaten all day yesterday, started retching while holding on to the sink.
He knew that it was the smell of acetic acid, and he often used this thing to clear the cultivation pond, but most of the time he had zero contact with acetic acid, and all the work was done by machines.
Now I have personally experienced brushing my teeth with acid, and Natsume almost vomited everything in my stomach.
After finally calming down, Natsume wiped his mouth, looked at himself in the mirror with red eyes and couldn't help but smile bitterly: 'It seems that Masato still used a trick...'
Just as I was thinking about it, the broadcast system suddenly turned on automatically.
Then, a special program started broadcasting.
After listening to this for a while, Natsume was stunned. He was wondering why Masato and the others took the next best option at the same time.
But he soon understood.
Masato is right.
How can people who make mistakes easily get around it.
Just like what Grandpa Natsume said most often when he was angry with Natsume's father for being cowardly...
"The reason why those bad guys were able to win! The reason why they are so proud! It's because you self-righteous good guys did nothing!"
Thinking of this, the gloom in Natsume's heart was swept away.
He opened the door and happened to see Masato standing at the door in the distance with a smile on his face.
The two saw each other from a distance and waved their arms at the same time to say good morning!