Just as the "Approaching Science" TV crew had begun investigating in the direction Yang Lin had anticipated, the executives at Ming Corporation's office building were on the verge of losing their minds.
Ming Tianlai, the executive director, had already smashed three ashtrays.
"Everything was fine before, so why are all these mutated creatures suddenly appearing?" he demanded.
Hearing this, a middle-aged man nearby quietly suggested, "Could it be because of our wastewater discharge into the Yong River? I heard that Japan has already seen many mutated animals."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ming Tianlai smashed the last remaining ashtray on the desk with a loud bang.
"Are you an idiot? Our products are just everyday chemical goods at most. How could these cause animal mutations?"
"We're a chemical company, not a biochemical corporation. You've been watching too many movies!"
"Chairman, I think it might actually be related to us. Didn't you previously instruct us to skip one step of the chemical precipitation treatment? The untreated components all exceeded national regulatory limits..."
Another middle-aged manager stood up in the conference room.
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes turned to Ming Tianlai.
Ming Chemical Company originally had its own clear pollution discharge standards, but Ming Tianlai had eliminated the most crucial treatment step to save on disposal costs.
They were dumping incompletely treated wastewater directly into the Yong River.
As Ming Tianlai had said at the time, it was better to spend a million yuan on bribes than ten million on proper wastewater treatment.
Seeing all eyes on him, Ming Tianlai exploded in rage.
"So you're all blaming me? You weren't complaining when we were making money, you bastards!"
While the people in the conference room were arguing, the "Approaching Science" TV crew on the live broadcast had begun taking water samples.
Using Backwater Bay as the center point, they set up sampling points every 500 meters, collecting a total of 10 samples.
Half an hour later, the analysis results of these 10 samples were presented to everyone.
When people saw the data reports, they were stunned, especially by the water sample from Backwater Bay.
"My God, how is this possible? The water pollution has reached such severe levels."
"This isn't river water - it's industrial waste!"
"All indicators are dozens of times over the limit. How did the water get this bad?"
"Even Sample #10, the farthest point, shows levels more than ten times the limit. This is outrageous!"
"Good grief, this water contains almost every element from the periodic table."
"Drink from the Yong River, be reborn as a Ningnan resident."
"One cup of Yong River water equals half the periodic table."
"With water quality like this, I wouldn't be surprised if it spawned Godzilla, let alone mutated animals."
......
The data before them clearly showed the pollution levels at each sampling point.
The worst readings exceeded national standards by dozens of times, and even the least polluted sample was about ten times over the limit.
Everyone on site - whether from the Fisheries Research Institute, the Ocean University, or the "Approaching Science" crew - was shocked by the data.
Perhaps only Yang Lin wasn't surprised.
The online viewers in the livestream chat exploded with comments.
"As expected, the zoo director saw through everything - the problem was indeed with the water quality."
"The calculating frog has been feeling your belly all along."
"And we used to mock India - this water quality is absolutely insane."
"No wonder fish don't bite here anymore. If any fish survived this, it would be supernatural."
"Forget fish - even the Dragon King would die from this poison."
"Even the River God wouldn't dare fish here."
"Dilute this river water and you could use it as pesticide."
"Turns out my pee in the river was the cleanest thing in there."
"If I took a drink, would I mutate? Maybe grow three heads and six arms?"
"More like one head and two arms - you'd drop dead instantly."
"I doubt drowning would be the cause of death if someone fell in here."
"Wait, isn't the Ningnan water treatment plant sourcing from here? Does that mean I've been drinking this water for over twenty years?"
"Investigate! We must find out which bastard has been poisoning our water!"
.......
As the topic gained traction, almost everyone realized the severity of the issue.
Compared to water pollution, the water monster problem suddenly seemed trivial.
While water monsters could only harm a limited number of people, water pollution could have endless consequences.
The entire Ningnan City could be affected.
Almost immediately, everyone on site started thinking about the pollution source.
But looking around, they couldn't find any discharge outlets.
While people were puzzled, Yang Lin suddenly suggested:
"What if someone installed discharge pipes at the river bottom? That way, it would be harder to detect, and the river pollution wouldn't be immediately obvious."
Hearing Yang Lin's words, the TV crew had a moment of revelation.
"Yang Lin has a point. Such severe water pollution couldn't have happened overnight. Perhaps the problem has existed for a long time, but we just never noticed."
"Indeed, whoever did this is no different from a poisoner."
"Let's get divers down there to check immediately."
The Fisheries Research Institute staff quickly contacted their diving team.
Soon, a fully equipped diver plunged into the river water under everyone's watchful eyes.
In less than five minutes, the diver surfaced.
"Found them! I discovered three huge discharge pipes down there!"
As the diver's voice reached the shore, people felt both elated and furious.
They were relieved to finally discover the cause of the water monster incident but enraged that someone had been so brazenly dumping heavily polluted water into the Yong River.
The anger wasn't limited to those present - Ningnan citizens following the event online were equally furious.
Anyone would be outraged upon learning their tap water contained such high levels of pollutants.
Almost immediately, relevant authorities' phone lines were flooded with calls, and the incident made it onto Focus Interview program that same day.
By early the next morning, Yang Lin saw the news that Ming Chemical Company had been shut down and Ming Tianlai and other executives had been arrested.
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
