My Ability Pool is Superior-Chapter 104 - 103: The Allure of Journalism

"Suspected?"

Lv Bai noticed the wording of this special agent was not very precise.

Moreover, he wasn’t directly notified, and instead, a special agent was sent to inform him, indicating it probably wasn’t an urgent matter.

"A janitor said he saw a monster in the restroom. Based on his description, it indeed sounds like a parasitic creature."

The special agent thought for a moment and then added, "But when the police went to the restroom the janitor mentioned, they found no trace of any parasitic creatures."

Clearly, this special agent felt there was something odd about the situation and believed he should report it to Lv Bai.

"No need. Have someone question the janitor, and just report the findings to me afterward,"

Lv Bai replied.

Strictly speaking, he wasn’t concerned about these isolated parasitic creatures at all.

If he wasn’t aware that the Mayor wouldn’t easily let him go, he wouldn’t bother considering countermeasures.

It’s crucial not to mix priorities.

Though he officially joined the Special Affairs Bureau and reached the position of field team leader, it was all just to facilitate his hunting of the Death Fighters.

What’s more, this might be a trick by one of the Death Fighters to lure him away from the real action.

With the double points reward from "Node" soon coming his way, Lv Bai naturally wouldn’t rush to deal with shadowy rumors.

The special agent didn’t find it problematic, saluted, and exited the ward.

Seeing there was nothing else, Yao Yi continued playing on his phone.

...

Time passed quickly, and soon a few hours went by.

Lv Bai waited for the countdown to end while exploring the use of [All Ink].

The patient on the bed, Yao Yi, suddenly exclaimed.

"Why are you so jumpy?"

His train of thought interrupted, Lv Bai glanced at Yao Yi.

Yao Yi looked somewhat anxious, "It’s not what you think, Brother Lv, just, sigh, check the news first."

"Hm?"

Lv Bai didn’t develop any negative feelings toward Yao Yi despite the interruption. Hearing this stammered description, he quickly checked his phone.

He didn’t need to search specifically; he clicked into the hot topics list and immediately realized what Yao Yi was referring to.

It was still negative news about him.

More importantly, this time the news was very fresh.

The informant was a nurse from this hospital.

The exposé subtly explained the tragic incident that happened at the hospital last night, indicating that the Special Affairs Bureau and the police were jointly conducting an investigation.

Using this as a background, it detailed how this morning, a janitor saw a parasitic creature while working and opted to report it.

Then came the twist—the article praised how the police took the matter seriously, and how the veteran officer surnamed Pu bravely led a team to investigate the restroom despite the potential danger.

In contrast, the Special Affairs Bureau, whose primary responsibility was dealing with parasitic events, just casually sent an agent to ask the janitor a few questions before dropping the matter.

By this point, the narrative had already gained momentum.

But it didn’t stop there. Afterward, another post claimed that the person in charge from the Special Affairs Bureau was the deputy field team leader of the third squad, who had been at the center of controversy without explaining himself—Lv Bai.

The post included a video of a special agent receiving the message and heading to the ward to notify Lv Bai, only to reemerge a few minutes later as if nothing had happened, returning to his previous post.

This stirred quite a storm, and public opinion exploded once more.

Now, the focus of contention was not limited to Lv Bai himself or Xu Qiang who had elevated him.

Even the entire Special Affairs Bureau was being questioned by the public.

The allure of journalism lies in this.

The public hardly cares about how many parasitic creatures the Special Affairs Bureau has handled or killed in this period.

They just question the very purpose of this department’s existence?

A dropout from high school with a tarnished track record somehow got rapid promotions.

Having a questionable moral standing is somewhat acceptable if one is willing to work, people might vent with a few words but let it slide; after all, these backdoor dealings happen to everyone.

Failing to handle parasitic creatures could be seen as a lack of ability, but not even bothering to show pretense? That reflects an attitude problem.

You can’t just take a spot and do nothing, can you?

The comments section below these articles was filled with voices condemning Lv Bai and the Special Affairs Bureau.

Conspiracy theorists were rampantly promoting their hopes of digging deeper into the matter.

Some even fabricated lies claiming Lv Bai and Xu Qiang were relatives, articulating them quite convincingly.

But oddly enough, the more outrageous the statements, the more readily they were accepted by the public.

The internet prominently features whoever shouts the loudest appears right.

Lv Bai watched for a while. Despite not feeling any resentment or anger due to his health condition, he was very aware of the troubles brought by this surge in public opinion.

It’s certain there’s someone behind this escalation of sentiment.

What truly troubled him, however, were the revelations in this wrongful blame maneuver—

Parasitic creatures from the Mayor’s side collaborated with the Death Fighters.

The reason is straightforward.

From the Mayor’s perspective, whether Lv Bai would go to the restroom following the janitor’s report was a Schrödinger’s situation, inherently unstable.

All this preparation, even designating someone to take photos, just to bet on Lv Bai not going to the scene?

That’s clearly illogical.

Only the Death Fighters could be certain that Lv Bai wouldn’t leave for trivial matters during this period.

"What will they do next? Are they just trying to force Xu Qiang to remove me from my position?"

Lv Bai wasn’t sure what other information those collaborating Death Fighters might have revealed to the Mayor, so he could only guess.

He thought for a while, pulled up his contact list, and called Xu Qiang.

As soon as the ringtone sounded, the call was answered, suggesting he was looking at his phone too.

Xu Qiang’s voice came from the other end, "Hey?"

"Are you at the press conference site right now?"

"Yeah, I haven’t left yet."

"Turn around."

The wind blew past the microphone.

"I don’t see you, though?"

"Not this side, turn the other way."

Another round of turning sounds.

"I’ve looked all around, where are you?"

Lv Bai replied cheerfully, "I’m at the hospital." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Xu Qiang: "..."

After a moment of silence, Xu Qiang was somewhat consternated, "Fine, it seems you’re taking this well, have you seen the news yet?"

"Already read it."

"Don’t worry, I can still hold on here. I won’t suspend you. It’s just that this sudden public opinion wave might drastically undermine the impact of this press conference."

Xu Qiang spoke with a solemn tone, though his support for Lv Bai was unequivocally clear.

Hearing this, Lv Bai shook his head.

Realizing that Xu Qiang couldn’t see him shake his head, he added, "No need, suspend me for now."