What?
Hearing this, they were all dumbfounded. Someone cried out involuntarily, "It's obviously this damn yellow monkey who dared to discriminate against us! Why should we apologize? She should be the one apologizing! Are you even Portuguese?"
How could they help an outsider beat their own people?
The officer frowned, and in the next second, his heavy military boot landed hard on the speaker. He conveniently followed up with two strikes of his military baton.
"You pig, who gave you permission to speak?"
He spat on the ground. The man who had been beaten was already so swollen that his own parents wouldn't recognize him.
Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, he then announced with self-righteous indignation:
"Although I am Portuguese, I am foremost a man of conscience and judgment. Looking at the scene, it is clearly you who are committing racial discrimination. These banners and everything else are the evidence laid right in front of you. And you, daring to say 'yellow monkey' right to my face, you are nothing but an evil racist!"
Hearing this, the beaten man didn't even know how to begin defending himself.
The others were so stifled with anger that their faces turned completely red.
An old sailor looked at his suffering compatriots around him. Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward under everyone's astonished and moved gazes, his voice ringing loud and clear to the heavens:
"No, she discriminated against us first!"
Fists and kicks rained down as expected.
But the people around him tacitly helped block the blows. When they could no longer fend them off, they did not hesitate to take the hits themselves. The old sailor, trembling, used an extremely fast pace to roughly repeat what Su Ning had said.
"...God is my witness, I haven't spoken a single lie, or else let me go to hell."
Under the gloomy sky.
The old sailor stood up fearlessly, making the sign of the cross to represent his determination and the solemnity of his vow. Tears welled up in some people's eyes.
"I can swear too, this is the truth."
Another person stepped forward.
"And me..."
"Me!"
A third, a fourth, a fifth... Many people stood up. Even after enduring the beatings, they refused to change their stories, their eyes filled with unparalleled resolve.
Even some of the soldiers were infected by this spirit.
They stopped their actions.
The officer's heart was as hard as iron. He only felt as if shiny golden cuties were leaving him one by one, not even daring to look back. Waving his baton, he shouted sternly:
"What truth or lies? I see this is just you covering for each other and making things up. Beat them..."
"It is true."
"What?"
The officer thought someone else was daring to interrupt him and was about to make an example of them, but then he realized something was wrong... His baton stopped awkwardly in mid-air.
"I said, what they are saying is true."
The weather was already very cold. Su Ning wore a fur-lined coat over her shoulders. The fluff at the collar looked like light snow. Her skin was very white and delicate, while her hair was as black as ink, creating an extreme and striking color contrast.
It reminded one of a statue carved from cold stone.
Fittingly, her eyes were just as cold, seeming to lack any human emotion.
"Ding..."
Su Ning casually glanced at the officer. To think he was actually a plot character. She didn't take it to heart, and under the protesting crowd's incredulous and pleasantly surprised gazes, she said lightly:
"Why make it so tragic and solemn? You could have just asked me for verification. I have always been a very honest person and never tell lies. For instance, I did indeed say those words."
"Did you hear that? She admitted it! She admitted it!"
The old sailor was ecstatic.
Even his gray beard seemed to radiate joy, bristling upwards.
The others also laughed happily.
"Quiet."
The officer scolded, then froze in place, wondering what to do next. The main issue was that this situation was too bizarre; he couldn't figure out what Su Ning was trying to do.
Seeing this, the protesters were more than happy to watch him make a fool of himself.
Suddenly, they heard again:
"However, I've thought it through. I'm actually not a racist against white people."
Su Ning continued speaking to herself:
"I just don't really like white people, but I can overcome this distaste, tolerate their existence, and even treat them well. Even though I think your skin looks like newborn piglets, I haven't directly called you white pigs."
"Therefore, it's all your fault for acting as if there's something wrong with your brains, being so fickle and capricious, which made me misunderstand myself."
"So it was a misunderstanding."
The officer nodded, lying through his teeth:
"This is clearly just a matter of ordinary personal preference. For causing trouble to such a distinguished person as yourself, they practically deserve to be sent to the gallows."
He bowed to her again:
"I apologize. I offer my apologies to you on their behalf. I hope this does not affect your feelings toward Portugal. This is merely the mistake of a few individuals; other Portuguese people are very warm and friendly."
"It won't."
Su Ning expressed magnanimously that she didn't have a habit of taking her anger out on others.
"Distinguished miss, thank you for your tolerance."
The protesters were dumbfounded as they listened to their conversation. Besides anger, there was a deep sense of powerlessness. At this point, what was there left to not understand? This Eastern witch had bribed her way through.
What was even more hateful and infuriating was:
The army, which was supposed to protect them, was actually so shameless as to turn around and help Su Ning trample all over them.
A demon, a demon that crawled up from hell. Someone gripped a cross, closed their eyes, and muttered to themselves, tempting people to commit sins with money and attack each other.
Those around who heard this revealed sorrow in their eyes.
They also closed their eyes to pray.
Meanwhile.
The line graph for the non-plot quest rewards in front of Su Ning visibly ticked upward a bit faster, but it was still too slow...
Glancing at the comical monkey portrait not far away.
Her eyes turned chilling.
The officer naturally heard these words as well. He nonchalantly adjusted the brim of his hat. If all demons gave enough pounds like Su Ning did, he would be willing to bear the pain of such temptation on behalf of all mankind!
Of course, this was just a beautiful wish.
A person still had to live down-to-earth and seize the opportunities at hand.
Therefore, he immediately grabbed the person muttering about demons by the collar, lifted them up, and shouted harshly:
"Bastards! To still be slandering a respectable lady at this point, you are completely hopeless. I really don't understand. She is clearly the one being discriminated against, so why do you all look so aggrieved? Oh, I know."
The officer grinned.
His stark white teeth flashed by, like a beast that had caught its prey:
"You damn racists, as soon as you discovered Miss Su was Eastern, you hatched a wicked scheme. First, you slander her, then you riot and protest, and your ultimate goal is to seize the property in her hands—Taikoo Shipping!"
His words shocked everyone present.
In the crowd, some people's expressions suddenly changed. Except for the part about slandering her being false.
The rest was actually true.
Even Su Ning raised an eyebrow, re-evaluating this plot character who had appeared from who-knows-what obscure corner of the original work.
They were all such talents.
However, most people were very indignant upon hearing this. They were clearly protesting out of desperation just to protect their own interests.
"It's not like that..."
Before the words of defense could be finished, the officer said, "Shut up. Don't even try to make excuses anymore."
Then he turned around, looking at Su Ning seriously and solemnly:
"Perhaps I have uncovered a massive conspiracy against you. Someone is inciting these ignorant fools, plotting to strip you of your property. They are trampling on the image of our country. As a soldier, I cannot tolerate such a thing happening."
His voice was firm and fearless:
"I also beg you to grant me the opportunity to make amends on behalf of Portugal."
"Oh? And how do you plan to do that?" Su Ning asked.
"By catching those swine hiding in the shadows and dragging them before you to beg for your forgiveness, of course."
As he spoke, his gaze was so fervent it seemed to catch fire.
The others were completely stunned.
Su Ning almost laughed out loud. Casting a playful glance at the officer, Su Ning was met with an eager, flattering smile in return.
Was someone secretly making trouble behind the scenes?
Of course there was.
Did Su Ning know about it?
Of course. Not only did Su Ning know, but everything had already been arranged long in advance. The only reason for holding back and coming here instead was to add a touch of theatricality—it was much more effective for cementing a certain public persona.
As the saying goes, even the emperor does not send hungry soldiers into battle.
The officer had been well compensated, which was why he was putting in so much effort. But now, it seemed he wanted to earn even more, and the best way to do that was to keep working for Su Ning.
As for whether he might be stealing a colleague's job in the process...
Oh well, he could always apologize.
