Chapter 26 The Torrent of the Times

Boom—!

These few sentences were like a bolt of lightning, striking directly at the crown of Zhou Tiejun's head.

Personally approved by Elder Qian!

Endorsed by the General Command Headquarters!

In this base, this was the Imperial Sword, the Death-Exemption Gold Plaque!

Zhou Tiejun looked at that red seal, his scalp tingling.

The hand that had been resting on his holster pulled back instantly, as if it had been burned.

No matter how tough he was, he wouldn't dare to go against the General Command Headquarters!

"A misunderstanding... this might be a misunderstanding."

The few officers behind Zhou Tiejun had already quietly hidden the seals behind their backs.

Zhao the Scabby slumped completely to the ground, his lips trembling:

"No..."

"Impossible..."

"How is this possible..."

Lin Xi, however, had no intention of stopping.

Beating a dog in the water is the minimum respect one should show to a villain.

He put away the documents and turned to face the hundreds of onlookers.

Though the wind and snow were heavy, he seemed to be radiating light.

"Fellow villagers!"

Lin Xi pointed at the dilapidated workshop behind him, his voice impassioned:

"What was this Service Center before?"

"It was a garbage station! A sewer!"

"But what about now?"

Lin Xi looked around, his eyes burning bright:

"The country calls for us to 'increase production and practice economy,' to 'turn waste into treasure.'"

"We responded to that call, turning a pile of scrap metal into heaters that warm everyone!"

"We solved the livelihood problems of over a dozen unemployed youths, sharing the base's burdens and saving money for the country!"

"May I ask, is this speculation and profiteering?"

The entire field fell silent.

Then, it erupted.

"Well said!"

Suddenly, a roar erupted from the crowd.

A technician wearing thick glasses squeezed his way out.

"I saw Engineer Lin on the train!" The bespectacled man's face was flushed with excitement. "I know it—the successful launch of red star no. 2, Engineer Lin was a hero. If it weren't for him, red star no. 2 would have exploded that day..."

"Yes! I was there too!"

An auntie wearing a floral padded jacket also squeezed in; she was the same auntie who had looked down on Lin Xi on the train.

At this moment, her face was full of guilt and pride:

"We were blind back then, not knowing that the Wenqu Star had descended to earth."

"Engineer Lin is a good man!"

"He's a hero of our base!"

"I can testify too!"

Officer Zhao from the Materials Department popped out from somewhere, raising his hand and shouting,

"That scrapped 'Man-eater Machine' in the Fifth Workshop was fixed by Engineer Lin!"

"That pile of scrap in the Fifth Workshop had been ignored for five years."

"It was Manager Lin who turned that waste into treasure!"

"That's real skill!"

The people's eyes are sharp, especially when someone takes the lead.

The tide of public opinion shifted instantly from suspicion to admiration.

"Good job, Engineer Lin!"

"This is a man who gets things done!"

"We were almost fooled by that scoundrel Zhao the Scabby!"

Lin Xi watched this scene, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

He turned around, his gaze passing over the crowd and landing on the fat man who had been hiding behind the jeep.

The manager of Dongfeng Department Store, Sun Dafu.

Even in minus twenty-degree weather, Sun Dafu was currently sweating profusely.

It was over.

He had intended to use a borrowed knife to kill, but the knife was too hard and had snapped back on him!

Feeling Lin Xi's half-smiling gaze, Sun Dafu's heart skipped a beat.

He was an extremely clever man, and even more so, a top-tier opportunist.

In a life-or-death moment, there was only one thing to do—kneel fast!

"That... Section Chief Zhou!"

Sun Dafu suddenly jumped out from the crowd, looking righteously indignant, pointing his finger straight at Zhao the Scabby on the ground.

"I want to report him too!"

"I want to expose him as well!"

Zhao the Scabby's eyes widened as he looked at his "backer":

"Manager Sun, you..."

"Shut up! You scum!" Sun Dafu was filled with righteous fury, his acting skills explosive.

"Engineer Lin was innovating in response to the national call, yet you actually slandered a good man! And—"

Sun Dafu pulled a part from his pocket; it was the low-quality resistance wire that had just fallen off Zhao the Scabby.

"Look, everyone! This is the real speculation and profiteering!"

Sun Dafu held up the crude coil.

"Zhao the Scabby stole industrial waste and privately manufactured high-power electric stoves without any safety measures!"

"He's the culprit behind the transformers burning out these past two days!"

"He's committing murder for money!"

"What? The electric stove that almost burned down my house was made by him?"

"Beat this scoundrel to death!"

"So he's the black sheep!"

The crowd was furious. Someone even threw rotten vegetable leaves, hitting Zhao the Scabby directly in the face.

The situation had completely reversed.

Zhou Tiejun took a deep breath.

The way he looked at Lin Xi had completely changed.

From the initial scrutiny, it had turned into respect, and even...

A hint of fear.

This young man was terrifying.

Not only was his technology top-notch and his background immense, but even his methods of manipulating the situation were as seasoned as someone far beyond his twenty years.

"Men!" Zhou Tiejun waved his hand, pointing at Zhao the Scabby.

"Handcuff him! Take him back for strict interrogation!"

"Slandering a hero, privately manufacturing low-quality appliances that endanger public safety, speculation and profiteering—investigate them all!"

"No! I don't accept this!"

"Sun Dafu, you set me up!"

"Section Chief Zhou, have mercy!"

"Lin Xi! You'll die a horrible death..."

Zhao the Scabby was dragged toward the jeep, screaming.

As he passed by Lin Xi, he stared at him with eyes full of venom.

Lin Xi just looked at him calmly and whispered a sentence that only the two of them could hear:

"Times have changed, Master Zhao."

"People who only know how to play the rogue are destined to be swept into the trash heap."

"Go in and reform yourself well. The world outside no longer has a place for you."

The farce came to an end.

Zhou Tiejun walked up to Lin Xi and actually gave a formal salute.

"Engineer Lin, it was my professional error; I almost wronged a good man. My apologies."

"Section Chief Zhou, you're being too formal. You were just doing your duty."

Lin Xi smiled back, being so magnanimous that no one could find fault.

"In the future, the Security Department will pay close attention to the safety work of the Red Star Service Cooperative."

This was a promise and also a protective umbrella.

The crowd gradually dispersed, but as everyone left, their eyes were filled with awe as they looked at the sign of the Service Center.

Lin Xi stood in the wind and snow, looking at the red-headed document in his hand.

"Manager Lin..." Liu Guihua was still wiping her tears, overwhelmed by the excitement of surviving a disaster.

"Don't cry."

Lin Xi handed the document to her, his tone relaxed, "Go, find a frame to mount it and hang it in the most prominent place."

"In the future, this thing will be more effective than a door god."

He turned around and looked at the group of employees behind him, their eyes sparkling with light.

After this battle, the Red Star Service Cooperative was no longer that looked-down-upon 'shelter,' but a regular army with a soul.

And Lin Xi's name didn't just represent 'Warm Sun'; it had become a synonym for 'absolutely not to be trifled with' throughout the base.

"Everyone, get back to work," Lin Xi said indifferently.

"You're getting this excited over such a small scene?"

"The big things we're going to do in the future will be a hundred times more thrilling than this."