Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 277 I Don’t Want to Play with You Anymore
Duan Shuxun quickly received a reply from above, which was simple and vague: respond to all changes with constancy, be reasonable, well-founded, and restrained, and resolutely counterattack when necessary.

It seems like everything has been said, yet it also seems like nothing has been said at all.

It's not hard to understand, really. Of all the East Coast offices across the US, Salleton was the first one to be blocked by US staff for protests, and the situation behind it wasn't exactly simple.

Therefore, the authorities must take an appropriate stance to prevent similar situations from happening again. Otherwise, any Tom, Dick, or Harry will try to extort money from us, and the local offices will be too busy dealing with unexpected events to do anything else.

Regardless of what others think, Duan Shuxun understood the essence of these words: the meaning was simple, as long as you don't go too far, just go for it, and if anything goes wrong, the higher-ups will cover for you!

Duan Shuxun felt as if he had taken a reassuring pill, and all his unease and anxiety vanished.

Meanwhile, various rumors gradually spread in the office, such as why these old Americans appeared outside the door, who was supporting them, and what their purpose was.

Each of them spoke with great detail and conviction, and their analysis was even more logical and well-reasoned.

After listening to everyone, Zhu Yiming started to ponder: "Judging from this, these people were deliberately arranged by that female mayor to force the office to take sides!"

Ou Yang had heard plenty of this before, and shook his head, saying, "It doesn't seem that simple; it also seems to be a way of shifting the blame."

"Contradiction? What contradiction?" Zhu Yiming asked.

Jiang Yuwei listened with a curious expression.

“I didn’t quite understand either.” Ouyang scratched his itchy head. “The gist of it is that too many people have died recently, and not all of the locals did it voluntarily. Many of them were forced into it by that Tayya. Those who died voluntarily are fine, but those who died involuntarily definitely have to demand an explanation from her. So they deliberately created some trouble to divert attention from the problem.”

Zhu Yiming was completely dumbfounded: "How can this even be related?"

"I'm confused too." Ouyang had to admit that his brain wasn't really good at this. "What's that saying again? Contradictions neither arise nor disappear, they only shift from one aspect to another... Is that how it goes?"

Zhu Yiming nodded: "It seems so."

Jiang Yuwei also affirmed: "It should be."

"In short, that's not what the Lord meant." Ouyang skipped the process and went straight to the conclusion, "There are definitely internal conflicts in Salaiton, but they were covered up by the pressure from the outsider, the old American. Now that the external pressure has disappeared, the internal conflicts have become the main problem, so Mayor Ta plans to find a target to divert attention!"

Zhu and Jiang burst out laughing at this remark.

Ou Yang was a little embarrassed, so he quickly coughed twice and said, "Well, you two can laugh if you want!"

"No, that's not what I meant." Zhu Yiming made up a lie with a straight face. "What you said is not wrong. I just think that it's quite a contrast coming from your mouth."

Jiang Yuwei immediately nodded in agreement.

Ou Yang glanced at Zhu Yiming sideways: "Who do you think you are?"

"No, no, I didn't mean that," Zhu Yiming quickly clarified. "Hey, this black woman is quite the player!"

"It's just routine operation; the old man does this all the time," Ou Yang said.

This isn't just something he's making up. The US attacks this and that all the time, but what's the purpose? To maintain world peace?

Don't be ridiculous, even the Americans themselves don't believe it.

Ultimately, it all comes down to profit, or to put it more bluntly, money!
The methods are nothing more than carrot and stick: on one hand, a formidable military strength, and on the other hand, a global economic system dominated by the US dollar.

The combination of the two will allow them to reap the rewards of the entire world.

Ouyang couldn't say for sure what the specifics were, but he remembered seeing comments about it online.

While Duan Shuxun was idly rambling on, Secretary Liu quickly walked up to him and said, "Director, we just received a repair call from the city hall saying that our equipment is malfunctioning."

Duan Shuxun narrowed his eyes, his mind perfectly clear: blocking the door to protest was the first move, and reporting the repair was the second!
Secretary Liu added, "We've already received three repair requests from different locations, and there may be more later."

Duan Shuxun pondered the matter carefully and began to understand Talia's intentions: "Is she planning to renege on her debt?"

According to the agreement reached by both parties, the purification equipment provided to Lao Mi is not something that can be done once it is installed; subsequent maintenance is equally important.

The collected spores need to be processed, and the corresponding consumables need to be replaced in a timely manner.

Installation costs money, maintenance costs money, and consumables also cost money.

Does it look familiar?
It's good to be familiar with these tactics. These are the same methods that foreigners used on the University of Tokyo back then. Now the tables have turned, and they're being used on the Americans.

In other words, since the pandemic hasn't spread yet, if there's an opportunity, we must promote this business model.

Return what you took from me, and spit out what you ate from me!
Anyone who screwed over Dongda University back then will get their revenge, twice as much!

Logically, this situation falls under the category of force majeure and does not constitute a breach of contract, but that old black woman Talivia is definitely up to no good.

“Okay!” Duan Shuxun said, “Make arrangements so that the technicians can prepare to leave, but the car should stay in Yuanzi City and not go out. Then contact the city hall and say that the current situation is unclear and the risk is too high, so our people cannot go out to repair it.”

Secretary Liu agreed, then asked hesitantly, "What if she removes the rice outside the door?"

"Then let her send someone to escort them. It's a simple matter." Duan Shuxun patted his secretary on the shoulder. "Go!"

Soon after, several cars parked in the yard, ready to go.

Next came the communication between the two sides. When she heard that the office had asked the old man outside the door to be removed, Talivia flatly denied it, insisting that the old man who was protesting had nothing to do with her or the city hall, and that it was purely out of personal volition.

This made the situation very clear, and we didn't even need to use the excuse we had prepared beforehand.

From morning till night, he received more than a dozen repair calls, but Duan Shuxun didn't send any of them out.

Later, whether it was because of the cold weather or because Talivia had a new idea, fewer and fewer old rice people blocked the door, but Duan Shuxun still did nothing.

Sending people out is easy, but what if they get controlled by the US and then turn around and threaten the office?
Some might say, "It's a first-level administrative body of the United States, surely they wouldn't do something so despicable?"

However, Duan Shuxun absolutely dared not believe in Lao Mi's integrity.

They were used to being domineering and arrogant even before the pandemic, and they didn't care about anyone. Now, in these extraordinary times, even if that crazy woman does something outrageous, she'll have plenty of excuses to deny it afterwards.

Salleton is their territory. No matter how reasonable or powerful the office is, it's impossible for them to overturn the city hall.

Unless there is a large-scale spore leak, everyone will be infected with Phantom Lung.

cough.

The office does have a batch of spores stored up, but the question is, who has the guts to release this stuff?

Not only do we not dare to, but we also have to prevent the Americans from causing trouble!
After nightfall, all the old folks who were blocking the door ran away; not a single one was left.

But the next morning, another group appeared, even larger and more imposing.

Duan Shuxun remained calm and composed, and the staff performed their duties diligently, while the trio idled away their time speculating. Ou Yang felt that his previous guesses were somewhat unfounded, but he couldn't think of any more plausible reasons.

Initially, the old man only protested without making any demands, but then some idiot suddenly demanded that the office apologize.

Duan Shuxun almost laughed in anger. What a joke! An apology? What kind of apology? What wrong did the office do?
Even if we assume the worst, the office represents the University of Tokyo, so it can't just speak up casually even if there's a real problem.

By the third day, there were even more old rice.

During this period, the higher authorities communicated with the Rice Palace, hoping to resolve the Salaidon issue through negotiations. The Rice Palace also had this idea. However, the emperor was far away and the Rice Palace's control over various regions was not as strong as before, so it was really beyond their reach.

While contacting the Mi Palace, they also engaged in intensive exchanges with the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, but unfortunately, they also failed to achieve any results.

In addition, through special channels, the above-mentioned individuals learned some previously unknown inside information.

Later that day, the office received a secret notification from above: given the deteriorating environment in Salaiton and the possibility of the situation spiraling out of control, it was decided to evacuate the office in Salaiton!
In short, I'm not playing with you guys anymore!

Since you dare to smash the plate, I dare to flip the table!

Duan Shuxun immediately relayed the order, but only to key personnel, keeping it secret from others for the time being.

Next came the intensive preparations. The already installed purification equipment couldn't be removed, but spare parts and consumables were different. Everything that could be taken was taken, and everything that couldn't be taken was destroyed, leaving nothing for Lao Mi.

All the files that needed to be processed were disposed of promptly, and the hard drives of the computers were removed and taken away. Even if no important information was stored, nothing was left for the Americans.

They wish they could even demolish the house.

It wasn't until the next morning that Duan Shuxun announced the impending evacuation to the others. Everyone immediately packed their simple belongings, taking only the most important items and destroying the rest.

In addition, there were two American employees at the office, who had their families with them. When Duan Shuxun asked the two American employees for their opinions, they immediately pleaded with him to allow them to bring their families.

The entire office only had about forty people, so there wasn't a shortage of evacuation space, and Duan Shuxun readily agreed.

That scene reminded Ouyang of the locals who clung to planes when Old Mi evacuated the Imperial Graveyard.

Duan Shuxun specially summoned the trio: "Ou Yang, Zhu Yiming, and Jiang Yuwei, your situations are special, so you don't need to come along."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Yiming asked anxiously. "You're going to abandon us?"

"Of course not, the higher-ups are preparing to send a plane to pick you up." Duan Shuxun glanced at his watch. "Judging by the time, the plane will be here soon. Let's hurry up and get ready."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

In the backyard, ten vehicles were lined up in a row, most of which were off-road vehicles, and there were also two medium-sized buses.

On the surface, they are all ordinary vehicles, but each vehicle is equipped with more than one guard and corresponding weapons.

They might not be armed to the teeth, but they're certainly capable of handling minor troubles.

Ou Yang struggled internally, then suddenly whispered, "You two take the plane first, I'll stay."

Zhu Yiming exclaimed in surprise, "What do you mean?"

"It means exactly what it says." Ou Yang suddenly raised his voice, "Old Duan!"

Duan Shuxun stopped and turned around.

Ouyang said calmly, "I can't be a deserter at this time."

He wasn't a real soldier, but he was well-educated, had sound values, and wouldn't desert his post.

“How can this be called desertion? There must be a reason why the higher-ups made this arrangement.” Duan Shuxun earnestly persuaded him, “Ouyang, don’t make things difficult for me.”

Ouyang remained completely calm, both internally and outwardly: "Just let the plane take them both back; I'll stay voluntarily."

"Hey, what are you saying? So you're the only one who volunteered? Stop talking nonsense. We came out of the epidemic area together, so we have to go back together!" Zhu Yiming stood with Ou Yang without hesitation.

"Old Zhu is right." Jiang Yuwei glared at Ou Yang with dissatisfaction. "My affairs are none of your business!"

Duan Shuxun had a headache: "Hey, you guys, that's enough. I don't have time to chat with you..."

As they were talking, the distinctive roar of a helicopter could be heard in the distance.

He immediately turned around and saw the helicopter flying in the distance: "Look, the plane has arrived. Hurry up and leave, don't cause trouble here."

Ou Yang didn't say anything, just randomly picked a car, climbed into it in front of Duan Shuxun, and stayed inside, refusing to get out.

Duan Shuxun tried to persuade him again, but Ou Yang remained unmoved.

Finally, he simply said, "I'm worried the plane will crash, so I don't dare to fly on it. Whoever dares can go."

Duan Shuxun...

What kind of bizarre reason is that?

Ou Yang wasn't lying; he had experienced a plane crash when he was taken out of Bear State by New Eden.

Having survived such a close call, it's not unreasonable to have some psychological trauma, right?
Zhu Yiming chimed in, "Yes, yes, I can prove it!"

Duan Shuxun was completely speechless.

To be honest, he thought it was a good thing that the trio chose to stay.

After leaving Salleton, the convoy will continue south until it reaches Shrewsdon, a straight-line distance of several hundred kilometers, but the actual distance is likely to exceed one thousand kilometers!
Not long ago, people would have just left, but now the entire Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture is in a state of extreme chaos. Although it has not yet reached the point of being completely out of control, various chaotic phenomena are emerging one after another, and infected people have been found in many places.

The trio is very experienced, and having them in the team might play an unexpected and important role.

The question is, what will the higher-ups think when the message is sent back?
He quickly contacted his superiors to explain the situation and soon received a reply: they respected his opinion.

Duan Shuxun immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the plane had already arrived in Salleton, and since we were already there, it wouldn't be good to go back empty-handed.

So Duan Shuxun selected a few older men and a few weaker men from his own team and sent them back by plane.

The best of both worlds.

The plane landed and took off again. Duan Shuxun jumped into the lead car and waved his arms vigorously: "Let's go!"

(End of this chapter)