Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Peach Blossom Value +1

Upon hearing this, the man in yellow shot back, "I didn’t touch her! Officer, I swear I just bumped into her by accident. You can’t just railroad me because they’re women!"

Just then, an old man stepped out from the crowd of onlookers. He frowned and said, "It’s dark out; you can’t see anything clearly. Maybe he really was just careless. Is it serious enough to warrant a formal warning? Two of those and he won’t be able to get his supplies. Isn’t that a death sentence?!"

After the old man spoke up, a couple of others in the crowd chimed in to agree:

"That’s right. A while back, someone was robbed, and you police said it was too dark for the cameras to see anything. How can you see clearly now? If you ask me, you’re lying!"

"Exactly! You police can’t just frame this young man. Why are you taking these two women’s side of the story? Can they show you any proof? You can’t convict someone over something that might not have even happened!"

Seeing the three of them step forward to defend him, the man in yellow grew smug.

Then, he turned to the mother and daughter with a sneer. "Little girl, if you’ve got the guts, why don’t you take off your pants and let everyone see? If you’ve got a mark on your behind that proves I touched you, I’ll accept the punishment. Otherwise... otherwise, you’re just slandering me!"

He then looked at Officer Sean Pierce and said, "Officer, doesn’t false accusation also get a warning? Oh, and this woman slapped me a minute ago. You should give her two warnings right now and ban them from making purchases! Otherwise, they’ll just go on to frame their next victim!"

The little girl’s mother, her voice trembling with rage, shrieked, "Shut up! I saw what you did with my own eyes! How dare you defame my daughter!"

The little girl buried her face in her mother’s chest, sobbing even harder.

Seeing the mother’s fury only made the man in yellow more gleeful. In a jeering tone, he said, "Everyone, take a look. This woman is completely unstable. Probably just some hysterical shrew. You should all keep your distance."

At this, Crystal Lynch clutched the paper bag in her hand, muttering under her breath, "This is outrageous. What is wrong with that guy? Talking about taking her pants off... didn’t he hear? The girl is only nine!"

Melody Summers, however, gestured for Crystal Lynch to calm down and be patient. If the man in yellow thought there was no evidence, he had seriously miscalculated...

Officer Tristan Tanner addressed the crowd with a sigh. "Actually," he said, "since those thefts started happening under the cover of darkness, all the surveillance cameras in the complex have been upgraded to the latest full-color, night-vision models. And on the footage, we can clearly see that this man did, in fact, grope the little girl. More than once."

Officer Sean Pierce nodded, pulled out his phone, and brought up the security footage for everyone to see.

The footage clearly showed the man in yellow reaching out his hand to the little girl’s rear end and kneading it repeatedly.

They hadn’t wanted to reveal the camera upgrade; they were hoping to catch the thief. They never expected that instead of a thief, they’d end up catching a pervert.

Now they’d tipped their hand. Once the thief found out about the upgraded surveillance, he likely wouldn’t be so bold anymore.

The man in yellow, who was still on the ground, froze.

He’d heard that people were getting things stolen, but that the complex’s cameras couldn’t get a clear shot, which is why he had been so bold.

But he never in a million years imagined they’d been upgraded—upgraded with night vision!

He was absolutely screwed.

With the ironclad evidence on display, the three people who had spoken up for the man in yellow fell silent. They took advantage of the distraction to quietly slip to the edge of the crowd, and without even collecting their supplies for the day, they turned and fled.

The rest of the crowd, however, turned on the man in yellow, their faces furious as they pointed and jeered:

"What a piece of filth, laying hands on a nine-year-old girl. Castration would be too good for him!"

"You bastard, you were putting on such a good act. If it weren’t for those new cameras, you would’ve actually gotten away with it!"

"And the things you said! Telling a little girl to take off her pants to prove her innocence... You monster!"

"Don’t you ever show your face in front of that mother and daughter again, or I’ll beat you every time I see you! *Ptui!*"

"..."

Officer Sean Pierce quickly intervened to hold back the incensed crowd while Officer Tristan Tanner escorted the man in yellow to the Emergency Management Office.

Just then, a voice echoed in Melody Summers’s mind:

[Peach Blossom Value +1. Current Peach Blossom Value: 1.]

Melody Summers froze on the spot.

*What the hell?!*

She’d just been standing here this whole time. She hadn’t done a thing!

How could her Peach Blossom Value have gone up for no reason?

Utterly bewildered, Melody Summers thought for a moment before following them to the Emergency Management Office.

Inside the Emergency Management Office, Officer Tristan Tanner spoke to the man with a grim expression. "Luke Warren, owner of Building 6, Unit 801. You’ve been cited for molesting a minor. This is your first warning. If it happens again, your purchasing privileges will be revoked entirely. Do you understand?"

The man in yellow—Luke Warren—had lost all of his earlier arrogance.

Listening to Officer Tanner, he nodded meekly and obsequiously, promising to turn over a new leaf and become a new man, swearing he would never do something like this again.

Seeing his changed demeanor, Officer Tanner said coldly, "Alright. You can go."

As if granted a full pardon, Luke Warren spun around and bolted.

He didn’t dare collect his sand vine cake for the day. Amidst a chorus of curses from the crowd, he scrambled back to his apartment building.

After consoling the mother and daughter, Officer Sean Pierce also came inside.

When he saw Melody Summers was also there, Officer Sean Pierce’s stern expression instantly softened into a kind one. He smiled at her. "Thank you, Comrade Summers. If you hadn’t donated those new cameras, this situation wouldn’t have been resolved so smoothly."

Officer Sean Pierce then sighed, adding with some regret, "It’s a shame, though. We’d been waiting for the thief to strike again after the new cameras were installed. Now that this has happened, we’ve tipped our hand."

"He’s gotten away with it a few times already," Melody Summers said reassuringly. "He won’t be able to resist trying again. As long as he makes a move, you’ll be able to catch him."

At the same time, Melody secretly wondered, *Could it be because I donated those cameras? I helped the police solve a community problem, and that’s why I got a Peach Blossom Value point?*

*But what does any of this have to do with "peach blossoms"?*

Melody Summers was still completely in the dark. She had no idea how the Peach Blossom Value was triggered, so after some thought, she asked Officer Pierce, "Officer Pierce, has the volcanic eruption had a major impact on us? Is there anything the Emergency Management Office needs?"

Melody wanted to use this as an opportunity to "farm" some more contributions and see if her Peach Blossom Value would increase again.

Officer Sean Pierce, unaware of her true motives, was deeply moved.

*Look at the sense of civic duty on this young woman!*

Suppressing his admiration, Officer Sean Pierce replied, "We’re short on medicine. A lot of people are developing respiratory and lung infections from inhaling the volcanic ash, but that’s not something you can solve. As for other supplies, we have them. Things like protective suits and masks are sent by the state on schedule, so you don’t need to worry about that."

Officer Sean Pierce found himself admiring Melody Summers more and more. If these weren’t such extraordinary times, he would have had several banners custom-made and hung throughout The Metropolis Residences.

To have such a strong sense of community at a time like this... a young comrade like her was truly a rare find!

Officer Sean Pierce thought of his own disappointing son at home. He was the same age as Summers, but all he did was eat and sleep, which was a constant source of frustration. If only his own kid were half as sensible as she was!

Officer Sean Pierce sighed internally, then said to Officer Tanner, "Thorne, write a post for the official account detailing Comrade Summers’s repeated selfless donations."

Melody Summers heard this and quickly shook her head. "No, no, please don’t, Officer Pierce! I’d rather keep a low profile! Besides," she added, "my mom and uncle both work at the supply distribution point. It’s only right that I do my part to help!"

After finally managing to talk Officer Pierce out of the idea, Melody Summers hastily fled the Emergency Management Office.

In the supermarket next door, a long line of people was waiting to receive their sand vine cakes. Even through their masks, the sound of constant coughing was audible.

Melody thought to herself that in her past life, the volcanic ash had also caused widespread respiratory and pulmonary infections, but no pharmaceutical company had ever developed a specific cure for it.

The damage those ash particles did to the lungs was virtually irreversible. Many people died from the resulting infections.

Melody Summers sighed. She didn’t know anything about making medicine; there was really nothing she could do to help...

And besides... 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Melody still couldn’t for the life of her figure out just how the Peach Blossom Value was triggered.