Free Web NovelChapter 516: Chapter 516: A Cry for Help
Once he understood the full scope of the situation, Caleb Summers felt all the blood in his body rush to his head, where it felt like it was congealing into a clot, pressing on his nerves until he nearly passed out.
Although the temperature was a pleasant twenty-something degrees Celsius, Caleb Summers felt an icy chill run through him, freezing him from the inside out. Even his heart felt stone-cold.
The next second, his limbs gave out. No longer able to support himself, he collapsed with a THUD onto the sewage-covered floor.
Having been a part of the system for so many years, Caleb Summers knew there were certain things that were absolute red lines—topics you couldn’t even mention, let alone touch.
The background music in this courseware had clearly stomped all over one of those red lines.
And it had already blown up to this degree...
Watching the real-time discussions pop up one after another in the trending topics, Caleb Summers’s mind descended into chaos. His vision blurred, and he stared blankly ahead, murmuring, "It’s over. It’s over. It’s all over..."
’But... how could this have happened?’
He was sure he had used an uplifting song when he made the courseware. How could it have been changed to this kind of subversive music?
’Who the hell secretly swapped out the background music?!’
Just as Caleb Summers was wracking his brain, unable to figure it out, a phone rang, startling him so badly he jumped.
When he saw it was the Director calling again, Caleb Summers hastily answered.
He explained in a frantic voice, "Director, listen to me! This has nothing to do with me! The courseware I submitted wasn’t like this! Someone deliberately changed the background music!"
"Someone must be trying to frame me... That’s right! Someone is framing me!" Caleb Summers was so anxious he was becoming incoherent. He quickly ran through a list of people he’d had conflicts with:
"...It’s Henry Lowell from the enforcement department! We argued over some bottled water a month ago. He must be trying to get revenge, so he swapped the background music when I wasn’t looking!"
"...No, Henry Lowell was transferred a few days ago... I know, it’s Cecilia Adler! It must be Cecilia Adler! She’s in my department. The day before yesterday, when we were getting our employee benefits, I accidentally took her share of rice. She must be holding a grudge! That’s why she secretly modified the courseware!"
"...And Preston Grant, who was transferred with me! I rejected his report yesterday, and he was furious, complaining that I was being too difficult. It’s very possible he did it!"
"Right, and there’s Fiona Hollis from my old department! She’s a bitch, always trying to seduce me at the office. She must have failed to get with me, so her love turned to hate! She knows my computer password! It’s very likely she was the one who changed it!"
"Director, it must have been one of them plotting against me, deliberately changing the courseware! You have to believe me!"
After listening to Caleb Summers’s tearful rant, the Director on the other end of the line was silent for a moment. He then sighed and said gravely, "Caleb, the impact of this incident is just too great... The higher-ups want you to submit your resignation voluntarily."
Resign?
The word struck Caleb Summers like a bolt from the blue, piercing him to the core.
His voice trembled as he said, "N-no... I can’t resign! Director! I can’t resign!"
He still had two sons. If he lost his job now, how would he support his family? And even if he went looking for another job, could he even find one?
He was a man in his late forties, almost fifty, who had spent most of his life in the bureaucracy. He wasn’t cut out for manual labor, and he didn’t have any marketable skills. Even a construction site wouldn’t hire someone like him!
Caleb Summers was on the verge of tears from anxiety. He pleaded desperately with the Director, "Director, you have to believe me, I was really framed! I’m begging the organization to investigate this thoroughly and clear my name..."
Before he could finish, the Director cut him off. "That’s enough, Caleb. Stop. Regardless of whether you added that music or not, you were solely responsible for this courseware! Now that there’s a problem with it, the responsibility is definitely on you. It doesn’t matter how you try to argue it!"
"Besides, this situation has blown up so much that the entire country has seen it. Someone has to step forward and take the fall for this!"
The implication was clear: whether it was a setup or not, the incident had already happened and public opinion was in an uproar. The most pressing matter was to push someone out to quell the popular outrage.
As Caleb Summers listened to the Director’s words, his head started to buzz, as if insects were gnawing at his brain. The pain made him suck in a few sharp breaths. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.
When Caleb Summers didn’t respond, the Director reminded him again, "Caleb, let me give you a piece of advice. The higher-ups are letting you resign voluntarily to help you save face. If you get fired... it’ll be even more disgraceful for you..."
Before hanging up, the Director thought for a moment and added pointedly, "Summers, for the sake of our time as colleagues, let me give you one more warning. It’s not normal for you to have had so much trouble lately... You should think carefully about who you might have offended."
After the call ended, Caleb Summers stared blankly at the phone in his hand, the Director’s last words replaying over and over in his mind.
’Offended someone...’
’That’s right. He’d run into so much trouble recently. First, he was transferred, and now this... He’d most likely offended someone important...’
’But who could he have offended?’
In the chaos of his thoughts, Caleb Summers suddenly thought of someone—
’Could it be...’
’Could it be Deputy Director Walsh?!’
******
That evening, as the Summers family was making dinner, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Nina Summers heard the sound and was about to go see who it was, but Melody Summers grabbed her with lightning-fast reflexes.
"Don’t open it! Anyone coming to the door at this hour is most likely a beggar!"
Lately, the South District had been overrun with Tricolor Parasitoid Wasps, and many frightened people had fled to the North District for refuge. The Metropolis Residences had taken in quite a few of them.
Besides the apartment buildings, even the underground parking garage was filled with people.
Many refugees had also been placed in the villa district, so it was inevitable that some would come around to beg.
It wasn’t that Melody Summers was cold and heartless, unwilling to give them food, but if you gave once, a second time was sure to follow.
But that wasn’t even the scariest part. The scariest part was that word would spread like wildfire.
If you felt pity and gave food to one refugee today, the news would spread throughout the entire complex by that evening. The next day, hundreds of refugees would show up, and when they had you surrounded, not even the police could save you.
That’s why, when faced with beggars, all the homeowners had a tacit agreement not to open their doors or give anything away.
Hearing Melody Summers’s words, Nina Summers nodded obediently.
In truth, she hadn’t been about to open the door. She had heard the news that her biological father was forced to resign and had a feeling he would come over to cause trouble, so she couldn’t help but want to check when she heard the noise.
Just as Melody Summers was pushing Nina Summers back onto the sofa, a familiar shout suddenly came from outside—
"Sis! Help! Save me!"
Hearing the shout, Melody Summers couldn’t help but frown.
’That voice...’
’It’s Silas Lancaster!’
