All the evil beasts in the world, I feed on demons and monsters

Chapter 351 Public Opinion is Like Fire
A glass of wine.

Ji Ran naturally heard that Cai Lan also planned to take the exam for the Secret Service.

No way.

The government publicly acknowledges the existence of unknown life forms and establishes a special department. This sounds like something out of a movie, like a country publicly admitting the existence of aliens and hiring civil servants specifically to study and contact them—that position would be in high demand.

Although the secret service has specific requirements for external recruitment, Cai Lan, a medical student, also meets the criteria.

Ji Ran and Deng Zhihe exchanged a glance, slightly helpless. The video they had just seen was like a bucket of cold water, instantly shattering Deng Zhihe's enthusiasm.

However, Ji Ran understood that most medical students who entered the secret department would be like Ning Yan now, responsible for logistics within the department, which was not very dangerous.

What he was really worried about was that Deng Zhihe had impulsively joined the secret department. If a frontline security officer like him joined the secret department, he would definitely be trained as a combatant.

Even an ordinary person with excellent equipment can be torn to shreds by a level 1 vengeful ghost with just one mistake.

Even the most advanced spiritual firearms were useless—this was something Ji Ran herself was always worried about.

Spiritual firearms combined with elemental bullets can pose a threat to level 4.

But it's just a threat. Bullets can indeed threaten targets that haven't yet "jumped the dragon gate," but only if they let you shoot at their weaknesses and you hit them.

In fact, even a level 1 traveler can dodge bullets if they are willing. Take the Great Demon of Southern Han as an example; a level 1 Four-Eyed Yaksha can definitely move freely amidst a hail of bullets.

Even a martial arts master below level 1 in the Southern Han world can dodge ordinary bullets.

Thinking of this, Ji Ran felt even more anxious—before his father left, he had to create enough "creations" for him.

"Anyway, I've already told my parents that I'll sign up as soon as the secret service is announced next year!"

Cai Lan, who has a carefree personality, poured herself a glass of fruit beer and said, "I can't stand being in this hospital for even a day longer."

Do you know why I'm late today?

"A patient insisted that we had given him one less bottle of medicine and was making a scene in the hallway demanding a refund. The entire department—the entire department—scoured the trash cans for ten minutes!"

"I'm furious!"

Gulu!

Cai Lan downed a mouthful of wine, but Deng Zhihe looked helpless and said, "In the end, you'll have to reflect on yourselves and apologize to the patient, won't you?"

"Who says it isn't?"

Cai Lan slammed her hand on the table and complained, "They're all acting like they're sick in the head. To avoid messing with idiots, they put us working stiffs on every day."

"Public opinion is of paramount importance."

Deng Zhihe raised his glass, the three of them clinked glasses, and drank.

"If I had known, I would have taken the exam to become a sheriff!"

Ji Ran put down her wine glass and looked at the sullen Cai Lan, saying, "Well, I passed by your hospital yesterday and saw them pulling up white cloths."

"Don't even mention it, that's my master!"

Cai Lan looked grim and said, "A pregnant woman with amniotic fluid embolism had her uterus removed during the emergency treatment to save her life. The family members all signed the consent forms before the surgery."

"The result was very successful; both mother and daughter are safe. This is the first case of amniotic fluid embolism that has been successfully treated in our mountain town."

"You may not know this, but when our textbooks describe amniotic fluid embolism, they always say that it's almost impossible to save someone. If someone can be saved, it's no exaggeration to call them a miracle doctor."

Deng Zhihe asked in surprise, "Isn't that great? Why all the fuss?"

"That woman was very grateful to Doctor Zhou."

Cai Lan said angrily, "But those parents-in-law are scoundrels! After a year, the old man couldn't stand seeing that the daughter-in-law he had spent money to marry couldn't give birth to a son."

"I want to marry another man so my child can have a son, but I don't have the money."

"So I planned to cause trouble for the hospital, but my mentor did not have any problems at all, and the hospital's procedures were all in compliance with regulations."

"There was no other way, so they just made a scene. Before, they would block people every day, and when the security guards kicked them out, they would run to the parking lot and smash my driver's car."

As she spoke, Cai Lan glared at Deng Zhihe and said, "You security guards are just sitting around doing nothing! When the car was smashed, the security guards came, and the old man started crying about stealing organs from the hospital, but you just tried to smooth things over and let yourselves mediate."

"Hey, hey, stop!"

Deng Zhihe waved his hand and said, "I'm in charge of criminal investigations and murder cases; this isn't my job."

"He was just a mud-covered guy who ate from the same pot!"

“When similar things happen in our hospital, you always try to smooth things over.”

Deng Zhihe rolled his eyes and didn't argue. He knew perfectly well that this was the way things were. It's better to avoid trouble; if you can pass the buck, don't get stuck with it yourself.

"Should we just let them keep making a scene?"

Hearing Ji Ran's words, Cai Lan smiled wryly and said, "Otherwise what?"

“That old man mobilized his whole family to post the incident online every day, cursing and distorting the truth.”

"You know how the doctor-patient relationship is now. People believe everything they hear, and a lot of people online are chasing after them and cursing."

"Moreover, two people who had previously undergone surgery with Dr. Zhou have also come forward. One of them had a child born naturally three years ago, but was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and insisted that it was caused by Dr. Zhou's use of forceps during the delivery. However, upon investigation, it turned out that the delivery was very smooth and no forceps were used at all."

"There was another case where a congenital heart defect was discovered during the fetal stage. It was very serious, and surgery was basically required immediately after birth. Moreover, the mortality rate was extremely high."

"But because it was a son, the family insisted on keeping him. After the baby was born, they were worried about the cost and ran home without telling anyone." "As a result, when the child was one year old, he had a heart problem and came crying, begging Dr. Zhou to save his life. They didn't have enough money, so Dr. Zhou paid part of it out of his own pocket."

"The responsibility agreement and the risks should all be clearly explained."

"The child ultimately didn't make it off the operating table. But that family, holding the chat logs, said the child's death was their fault because Dr. Zhou didn't stop them from leaving the hospital after the child's birth. This time, Dr. Zhou is in the wrong for paying for their medical expenses! Otherwise, why would she pay?"

Deng Zhihe's comment was simple and sharp: "If you didn't hit him, why are you helping him up?"

"That's right, it's you freeloaders who know how to talk."

"Shut your mouth!"

Deng Zhihe tapped his wine glass and said speechlessly, "Drink!"

After downing a glass of wine, Cai Lan finally let out a long breath and said, "These three families met online and kept sharing each other's posts, which caused the buzz to grow."

"There's no other way now, we'll just have to play the coward for now. In the face of public opinion, aren't teachers and doctors all pariahs these days?"

"The other day, wasn't it the parent of the child who was run over and killed by a car on campus who jumped off a building because she was a little prettier than him, and was subjected to online harassment?"

"Why doesn't the State Administration of Radio and Television issue a regulation to control this?"

"Harmful."

Deng Zhihe sighed, "Public opinion is indeed something you can't control; once it starts burning, you can't put it out."

"A murder occurred in the city this morning..."

"oh oh!"

Cai Lan raised her hand immediately and said, "I saw it!"

"That 'half-man' who bullied the old man, right?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Ji Ran asked curiously, "What halfling?"

"He was just a tasteless middle-aged man who reclined his seat all the way down, running over an elderly person the whole way. As a result, in the city, a guy who tried to help him broke the elderly person's spine."

Cai Lan waved her little fist and said cheerfully, "Judging from the position in the video, he's most likely a high-level paraplegic, and will be bedridden for the rest of his life."

"Sister, what kind of heroic act is this?!"

Deng Zhihe said speechlessly, "That's a criminal suspect. He committed a crime in the street!"

"However, the online sentiment today is overwhelmingly negative towards the victim, with people calling the suspect a modern-day knight-errant, a mountain city Batman."

Deng Zhihe said wearily, "This afternoon alone, the total number of likes and comments has exceeded one million. And since it's a holiday, many young people in the city are forwarding and discussing it. The hype has reached its peak."

"The main issue is that everyone's anger towards social injustice has been suppressed for too long."

Cai Lan sighed softly and said, "No one wants to distinguish between truth and falsehood, right and wrong. Venting one's anger not only allows one to release suppressed emotions but also to gain a sense of justice that one can recognize."

Gulu!

"Stop talking about this!"

Cai Lan opened a new bottle of beer, sat down next to Ji Ran, nudged him with her shoulder, and said, "What are you grinning about while I'm just chatting with Xiao Deng?"

"Tell me about the news from the Special Operations Department and the Secret Service."

Cai Lan sized up Ji Ran and said, "Tell me the truth, we're tight-lipped."

"Let me see, what department could make our Brother Ji grow more than ten centimeters in just a few months!"

Ji Ran shrugged and smiled, "Okay."

Cai Lan, being a medical student, was far more sensitive to the human body than Deng Zhihe.

Deng Zhihe remained seated and didn't notice any change in his height, but Cai Lan's scrutiny from the moment she arrived revealed the truth.

"Three tables of kebabs, here they come!"

The waiter put down the tray, crossed out two lines on the receipt on the corner of the table, and turned to leave.

The three chatted as they ate, but Ji Ran wasn't concerned with the content of their conversation. What he enjoyed was the feeling of being with friends. That relaxed feeling was something he didn't experience on a normal day.

……

The wind and snow swept through the bustling city intersection, and the flow of people and vehicles completely obscured a murder that occurred that morning.

A boy with curly hair stood quietly at the intersection, wearing a white down jacket.

He crossed the zebra crossing several times while the light was red. His eccentric behavior and handsome face drew frequent glances from passersby.

However, the young man clearly didn't care.

At that moment, the earpiece emitted a faint sound. He stood under the dim light of the street lamp, brushed aside his slightly curly hair, and revealed a pair of eyes that shimmered with colorful light spots.

"Captain Xie, I am Lu Zaiye."

"Yes, confirmed. The murder here at noon left traces of the Traveler's energy."

"Understood, okay. I'll contact Ji Ran and get this sorted out with him."

(End of this chapter)