The day the storm officially began, there was nothing unusual. People went to work and did their jobs as usual, as if nothing had changed.
As for those who had participated in the protests, been locked up for a few days, and then released...
At first, they naturally kept their heads down, living in constant fear. But as the days went by, hey, nothing happened.
Well, you couldn't exactly say nothing happened.
The newspapers published their protests and Su Ning's heinous actions!
"She must be scared."
Someone said in private, a look of relief on their face.
"Hmph, that's how it should be. Otherwise, she'd think we Portuguese are all cowards. Those stupid, greedy swine of ministers might be swayed by her money, but not all Portuguese are like that!"
"That may be true, but let's just pretend we don't know anything. Don't mention this outside."
After saying that, the person quickly added:
"It's not that I'm a coward. You all know she's an absolute lunatic. We are normal people who need our salaries to feed our families, so why provoke her?"
It was a feeble explanation.
But the others silently nodded, and the days went by one by one.
Every day was calm and peaceful.
Gradually, even the public outcry against Su Ning died down quite a bit.
No matter how explosive a trending topic is, without any follow-up, people's attention will eventually shift.
Just like a bonfire that seems to burn brighter and brighter; once it reaches a certain point, it will gradually die down unless new firewood is tossed in to stoke the flames.
And then, the firewood arrived.
It happened to be payday. Everyone had smiles on their faces, making plans to grab a drink at the local tavern. Then, as many of them received their pay, they heard a single sentence:
"Don't bother coming in tomorrow."
"Why?"
The person being questioned had a cold expression and gave no answer. He simply waved his hand, and someone behind him dragged the protester out.
Familiar clothes, familiar people, familiar actions... even the people being dragged out were familiar!
That's right.
People who love money and work hard always have good luck.
The military officer smiled without saying a word.
By the next day, the highly anticipated Daily News once again righteously published this story on its front page, instantly detonating public opinion.
The Portuguese were even more furious than before.
And even more in disbelief.
With so many of us boycotting, we thought your silence meant you had turned over a new leaf, but you actually dare to provoke us!
One thing was for sure.
For at least a decade, there would not be another Chinese name more deeply etched into the minds of the Portuguese than Su Ning.
They spontaneously began petitioning and protesting for their poor compatriots who had been fired and lost their source of income. Other newspaper agencies keenly sensed the trending topic.
They were still relatively cautious, though.
After waiting a day and finding that Su Ning still hadn't taken any retaliatory actions against the Daily News, they were in disbelief but also breathed a sigh of relief.
Thus, someone quickly went to interview the fired employees.
The results were fantastic.
The papers sold out that day.
Even Su Ning noticed. The reward line graph for non-plot characters spiked a little again. After seeing it, she sighed in realization that, no matter the time or place, journalists always had such a sharp sense of smell.
There was nothing unusual about the main text of the interview.
It narrated the interviewee's experiences and how many years they had worked for Swire Shipping.
How hard they worked, how much they suffered.
How deep their affection for the company was, and how much they wished it was all just a nightmare.
The crowning touch was the accompanying photo.
In the center of the newspaper was a haggard, melancholic middle-aged man with a typical Portuguese face. Behind him stood his wife, several children, and elderly parents.
Nothing more needed to be said; any normal person would immediately feel a surge of sympathy upon seeing it.
The system commented.
"Are you saying I'm not a normal person?"
Su 'Super Sensitive Skin' Ning was very dissatisfied:
"I have to say, Sys, you really need to take a good look at yourself. Taking the side of outsiders... only a kind-hearted tasker like me could tolerate this from you. You should know how many systems dream of having a high-achiever like me. You just don't realize how lucky you are, which is why you have so many complaints and grievances."
"By the way, I don't know how a system's age is calculated, but you shouldn't be a rookie anymore. Translated into human years, you should be well past your edgy teenage phase."
"You need to let go of your stubbornness and listen more to the opinions of other Sys. That whole everyone is drunk and I alone am sober mindset... based on my years of experience arguing online, in the vast majority of cases, it just means you're uniquely stupid."
"You have to believe in one saying: the eyes of the masses are sharp."
The system, who had just made a casual remark: ...
Suddenly, it realized something was wrong.
"Wait a minute." Opinions of other Sys, letting go of stubbornness, plus the earlier mention of complaints and grievances... how could the system not understand?
"Did you peek at my forum posts?! How did you see them?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Su Ning deflected, changing the subject:
"Actually, it's not that I lack sympathy. I've seen this guy's file. He is an employee of Swire Shipping, yes, but he's connected to some executive. He gets paid without doing any work, just a ghost employee, and he even gets promoted from time to time. It really makes me jealous... I mean, angry. Just firing him was already me being lenient."
"It's one thing to be ungrateful, but to jump out and accept an interview?"
"He's clearly provoking both you and me."
"What does this have to do with me?"
The dizzy system temporarily forgot its interrogation and spoke subconsciously.
"Of course it has to do with you."
Su Ning said seriously, "You are the Heartless Rich System, and I am your host. By daring to do this, isn't he questioning whether we are heartless and rich enough?"
That seemed to make sense.
"So, for the sake of our reputation, we must severely punish this guy."
"Right... wait."
The system finally snapped back to reality. "Answer my previous question! Tell me, did you peek at my posts? How did you see them? Explain yourself right now."
"What do you mean peek? How could I be that kind of person!"
A voice full of confidence.
The system was half-believing, half-doubting.
The next second.
"I looked at them openly and honestly," Su Ning said righteously. "Stop slandering..." She couldn't finish her sentence because the system launched a physical attack again, shouting angrily as it attacked: "You actually read them! How much did you read?! I'm going to fight you to the death!"
"Calm down, calm down, don't be so hot-tempered."
"How do you expect me to calm down?!"
The system was on the verge of bursting into tears. Su Ning comforted it:
"There, there, don't cry. Really, I didn't peek. We've been together for so long and know each other inside out. Don't you know what kind of person I am?"
And then... the crying grew louder.
Su Ning: ...
"Now that's just a bit too much. Why won't you believe me?" She revealed a hurt expression, pointing to the sky and swearing aggrievedly:
"This breaks my heart. The day the inspector left, I suddenly found a new letter in my interface inbox, praising us for being excellent partners. Speaking of which, they are way too stingy, not even giving us a reward. If the complaint interface allowed anonymity, I would have filed a complaint..."
"Get to the point."
A certain Sys said coldly.
"The main point is, well, it seems our authority levels have increased, and our binding is even deeper. You can help me out a lot more now. Things that were considered borderline illegal before don't count anymore. How about it, aren't you happy? You never have to worry about being investigated by the higher-ups again!"
More than just happy.
The system was absolutely ecstatic and quickly asked, "Really?"
"Truer than real gold."
Checking it out, it was actually true. Its authority had increased...
What a great opportunity.
Only then did Su Ning say casually, "Then I suddenly noticed a red dot flashing. I thought it was some mission, so I clicked on it, only to find out it was your post. I just took a quick glance."
Hmph, she definitely took more than a quick glance.
But since it was happy today, the system decided to reluctantly forgive her.
Of course, it didn't forget to revoke her permission to view posts.
In passing, it made a post to complain about a certain host's bad behavior and remind other Sys to watch out for this loophole. Nodding to itself, it thought no Sys would flame it this time; the comments would probably all be words of gratitude.
It didn't notice Su Ning's thoughtful expression.
Upon hearing about the 'excellent partner' award, the system hadn't even thought about a boost in authority.
Knowing its authority had increased was a very pleasant surprise.
What did this mean?
Moreover, she had rewards on her end too. The mall's level had increased again, and it looked like it didn't just jump one level... Perhaps the lottery would also give her a "surprise."
Thinking of this, Su Ning couldn't bring herself to be happy.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Thinking back to the reason the inspector came...
Damn it.
Something must have gone wrong with that surviving bastard bound to the outsider!
