CHAPTER 131: SHERLOCK HOLMES WALKING PUBLISHED TO THE PUBLIC

Meanwhile, Minister Niu had cleared up many of Jing Shu’s confusions.

Jing Shu and Minister Niu, riding in a Maybach, were sent back to the Management Department, where Mrs. Jing worked. According to Minister Niu, this Maybach was exclusively for chauffeuring VIPs. Qian Duoduo himself got into an all-black stretch limousine. From the outside, it looked rather ordinary, not like a luxury car and without even a brand name. If it weren’t for the license plate number 88888, Jing Shu wouldn’t have believed it was Qian Duoduo’s personal vehicle.

But according to Niu Mou, Qian Duoduo had two such privately customized cars, made entirely according to his wishes. They were extremely luxurious on the inside, with the body made from carbon fiber—the cutting-edge aerospace material over which there was a global monopoly, and which was incredibly valuable. In addition, it was equipped with the most advanced safety system. If the car fell into water, it could be used as a yacht; if it tumbled off a cliff, it had an emergency parachute and glider wings; and if it got crushed by a large truck, Qian Duoduo could be instantly wrapped in a safety cocoon. The car could protect against 98% of life-threatening dangers from weapons. Put simply, it was designed to ensure the passenger couldn’t die in any dangerous situation. This car cost over a hundred million, and there was another one said to be even more incredible, but unfortunately, no one had ever seen it.

Jing Shu’s eyes sparkled as she heard all this. Okay, the world of the rich sure is great.

"A few months ago," Minister Niu explained, "the authorities merged many private oil companies. After the Dark Day arrived, oil became a reserved material, and resources had to be managed uniformly. But Qian Duoduo is an exception. Now he calls the shots at the oil fields, and he still has stakes in them... It’s a bit complicated, but you just need to know he has the mining rights—a perfectly legitimate windfall. Wu City is building the Artificial Sun and pouring countless resources into it. It’s a Bottomless Pit, especially now when they are so reliant on Qian Duoduo, with everyone eyeing the oil he controls... This Artificial Sun is a real drain. Earlier experiments consumed hundreds of thousands in energy per second, but we can’t stop building it. Water resources are so heavily polluted—besides the reservoir water, groundwater is already over-extracted. If this continues, who knows how many places will collapse."

Jing Shu nodded in agreement. Indeed, caught between a rock and a hard place, the situation is tricky. The Artificial Sun, huh? Is a sun that easy to make?

The Management Department was busier than ever. With severe water shortages, the water allocation here had also decreased significantly, and naturally, fewer vegetables could be harvested. If it weren’t for Jing Shu’s hundreds of frogs CROAKING and eating insects, perhaps Wu City’s last vegetable farming area would have been gone.

Jing Shu saw Yu Caini shoveling manure. Compared to several months ago, when Yu Caini had at least looked human, she had now completely deteriorated into an old woman reeking of a foul odor. If not for her eyes filled with hatred, Jing Shu would have failed to recognize her. It appeared Yu Caini’s life was very hard, and this reassured Jing Shu.

When Yu Caini’s challenging gaze met Jing Shu’s, she seemed to recall the events of that day, lowered her head, and fled in panic.

"Minister Niu," Jing Shu asked, "how can I strip Yu Caini of her official employee status? Her base is in the new district."

"If someone makes a mistake causing severe financial losses, her official status can be directly revoked," Minister Niu replied.

"`I see. I understand,`" Jing Shu said, narrowing her eyes. In my previous life, Yu Caini was the main culprit who caused Mom to lose her job within the system. In this life, I won’t kill Yu Caini. I’ll just make her lose this job too, and then watching her family become happier and happier will be good enough for me.

Niu Mou couldn’t help but sigh. Just a few months ago, Yu Caini was a manager within the system, well-connected and surrounded by a team of researchers. Now, she has fallen to such a state, unable to even keep her ’iron rice bowl.’ Who can she blame but herself for offending someone she shouldn’t have? The people backing her probably can’t prop her up anymore. However, Jing Shu’s family truly is my lucky star. Niu Mou rubbed his hands together, unable to stop himself from recalling that blissful night.

「...」

Jing Shu had forewarned her family about several things: the diesel fuel, the motorhome, and the fact that they would soon have a new delicious ice cream snack. This was to prevent them from being too surprised when these things appeared. Jing Shu had also sent a container of it to Wu You’ai and her advisor. She hoped to get on the advisor’s good side in advance. They say accepting a gift makes one more obliging, right? If I ask him to do the modifications later, he should be more agreeable then, shouldn’t he?

The much-discussed South Sea migration issue had finally been settled again, and Huaxia’s second migration had begun. Although the first migration had resulted in a shocking death toll exceeding half, people in Africa had built underground housing and were now comfortably settled inside. Consequently, the mere mention of migration stirred widespread lamentation in the South Sea. But that was to no avail, for Huaxia took a very firm stance this time: no migration meant no food, while those who migrated received a daily meal of white rice, along with various other benefits. In the end, the migration went ahead.

That was a good place indeed. It was submerged in the second year, and everyone thought it had disappeared from the map. However, by the fifth year, it reemerged and was thereafter known as Huaxia’s most temperate habitation zone. While the rest of the world suffered from low temperatures—Russia, the ’fighting nation,’ hit a record -78°C again, and Huaxia experienced -50°C to -70°C—only Hainan and Guangzhou hovered around -20°C. This was practically a warm spring by comparison. Migration was, therefore, necessary.

By the end of July, Wu City had almost completed its citywide sweep, with hundreds of criminals being killed every day. Some had fled out of town, while others had fled from different places to hide in Wu City, but it was all in vain. Every community now had a visiting specialist keeping track of the population and all situations. In just two months, they had reduced the high crime rate to below 1%, and it continued to decrease. The appearance of any stranger was promptly reported, and their identity registered. Moreover, the big data system was nationwide.

No matter where you fled, you had to eat, right? You had to drink, right? To eat, you had to scan your face at supermarkets owned by the Government, and anyone on record was captured, with no place to hide. Of course, some clever individuals sought jobs like private bodyguards, but unfortunately, they too were mandated to connect with big data, becoming sub-datasets, with all staff required to register.

Wu City’s news was now broadcast daily, reporting how many criminals were killed that day, how many were captured, and what crimes they had committed—shown repeatedly to the public as a deterrent.

Meanwhile, the topic of big data finally made it to the news on July 27th. A special fifteen-minute segment explained its functions. Only then did everyone have an ’aha’ moment, realizing why the state knew so much about the criminals’ recent activities. Big data was incredibly powerful, like a walking Sherlock Holmes.

After disappearing for half a year, Jack Ma resurfaced, making a grand appearance as the CFO of the big data initiative. He said on the news: "Big data is not for surveilling all of you, but for better protecting everyone. Therefore, as of today, everyone must carry their mobile phone on their person so that big data can understand your whereabouts. Of course, those who don’t will be considered to have unspeakable secrets and will be recorded, you know."