Chapter 76: Chapter 73 Ke Da: Super Double!
Three hours later.
A shadow darted quickly out of the dormitory building, running to the base of a large tree and removing a mask.
"Yue," he dry-heaved.
Behind him, Xu Yun and Director Guan, among others, also walked out of the dormitory building with tired faces.
Three hours earlier, upon arriving at the ’scene of the incident,’ Xu Yun and the others immediately started the cleanup work.
Compared to the complex and numerous scenes, their method of cleanup was actually quite simple:
The campus’s agricultural institute provided a large vacuum cleaner, which was reportedly developed to clean up locust corpses and could inhale large objects.
Xu Yun and the team retained the front suction port, while the latter part containing the storage box was modified into easily detachable burlap sacks.
One person held the front, while another blocked the sack, directly sucking up the roach corpses from the ground.
Once a sack was full, they would tighten it and set it aside, then continue with another, repeatedly collecting the roach corpses.
Of course.
This process might sound simple, but actually doing it was quite challenging.
After all, many roach bodies were no longer intact, and white eggs or sticky liquid could occasionally be seen, which was quite disgusting even through protective clothing.
While cleaning, occasionally a roach with strong vitality would suddenly flutter into the air, rushing straight at your face.
Even with a mask as a shield, such an encounter would be extremely shocking to an average person.
As such, Xu Yun and his team spent a full three hours to finally clear the roach corpses - which was only the first step of the entire process.
The subsequent disinfection, cleaning, and student accommodation arrangements were also highly bothersome issues.
As for Xu Yun and the team’s achievements...
Do you see those fifty-seven sacks over there? (Note: I called and asked a doctoral friend who studies insects, and he said a 180-pound sack can hold about 1,500 American cockroaches, so fifty-seven sacks should be reasonable.)
The remaining follow-up matters were handed over to Director Guan to handle, while Xu Yun hurried over to the waiting Tian Liangwei.
At this moment, Tian Liangwei was talking with someone, and as Xu Yun approached, he first greeted him:
"Teacher, I’m out."
Then his gaze turned to the man beside the teacher, hesitated for a few seconds, and said:
"...Hello, Principal Zhang."
The "Principal Zhang" in Xu Yun’s words was fully named Zhang Rui, who was the dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences and also held a concurrent position as the executive vice-principal of Ke Da.
Zhang Rui was also one of the most promising local mathematicians for the Wolf Prize, having graduated from Krypton Gold College at Zhangshuo University.
Therefore, students from the Math Institute generally called him Dean Zhang, while those from other colleges referred to him as Principal Zhang.
Zhang Rui’s duties primarily involved miscellaneous aspects of campus life, which simply put, meant student and staff necessities, thus earning him the nickname ’the housekeeper of Ke Da’ by some staff.
With such a big incident involving student accommodation at building 14, Zhang Rui’s presence there wasn’t really unexpected.
After Xu Yun greeted them, Tian Liangwei glanced at Zhang Rui and asked:
"Xiaoxu, is the dormitory all cleaned up?"
"Yes, everything is cleaned up, only the disinfection remains."
"...Now, can you still keep up, or do you want to rest for a bit?"
Xu Yun was momentarily stunned upon hearing this and then immediately understood:
"Not tired, not tired, if you have something to say, just say it."
His advisor’s words hinted at something more, especially since Zhang Rui was also on site, making the upcoming discussion quite apparent.
A four-character summary would be...
Accountability, punishment!
Thinking of this, Xu Yun felt a bit heavy-hearted.
Although in strict terms, the main responsibility for this accident lay with Chang Licheng and Ye Guohong’s operational errors, if responsibility was to be pursued, as the initiator, he couldn’t entirely escape the blame.
Once penalties were issued, some things could become quite troublesome, potentially even recorded on his file, which would invariably be a hassle.
Of course.
Xu Yun wasn’t without any confidence, to just let others dictate his fate.
Although the incident at building 14 was unexpected by all, it inadvertently proved the efficacy of imidacloprid, and Ke Da couldn’t overlook its commercial value.
If there were indeed any financial penalties, at most he would have to advance a bit of his future earnings, and it was unlikely he’d face expulsion or probation.
Most likely, it’d just be a matter of losing face or attracting unwanted gossip.
And just as Xu Yun’s mind was racing, Tian Liangwei spoke seriously:
"Xiaoxu, you were personally involved in this matter, so you should know that from early morning until now, Ke Da has suffered losses in manpower and resources.
Externally, we’ve faced some media and social pressure, even impacting the school’s image..."
Xu Yun listened silently, awaiting the result of the penalties.
"So after a unanimous leadership decision, we have finally come up with a solution — we will conduct a campus-wide cockroach extermination at specified locations in the East District, and broadcast it live online!"
"No problem, I accept the school’s..."
Xu Yun was nodding like a little chick pecking at rice, ready to shoulder all responsibility.
But as he spoke, he suddenly felt something was amiss:
"Uh, wait, what did you say?"
This time Tian Liangwei couldn’t hold back a chuckle, and slapped Xu Yun on the shoulder:
"I said the school plans to hold a large-scale extermination event and broadcast it live online. You need to quickly produce some fifth-generation gel bait for me, understand?"
Looking at the bewildered Xu Yun, Zhang Rui also chuckled.
He happily added:
"Comrade Xiaoxu, actually, at the beginning, the school leaders were indeed a bit troubled by this incident.
Cockroaches swarming into dorms is not negative news, but it’s not exactly positive news either.
If we don’t refute the rumors, people accuse us of playing dead and not responding. If we try to control the narratives, wild conspiracy theories emerge, and if we do dispel rumors, we don’t even know how to issue an announcement.
So, after the leaders deliberated, they decided, hey, there are already so many roaches just in building 14, why not hold a dedicated extermination event in the East District instead?
Additionally, live-stream the whole thing, turning it into a wave of traffic conversion.
Ultimately, it could even be a positive topic, and perhaps help with next year’s admissions — who wouldn’t choose a campus free of cockroaches, right?"
After hearing Zhang Rui speak, Xu Yun stood there in a daze.
According to his teacher and Zhang Rui...
Ke Da not only didn’t plan to penalize him, but they also intended to make a big splash out of it?
After a while.
A very complex emotion surged in Xu Yun’s heart, leaving him deeply moved.
Readers familiar with Ke Da probably know that Ke Da’s motto has eight words:
Combine knowledge and action, integrate theory and practice.
Here, ’theory’ refers to book knowledge, as well as scientific values, outlooks on life and the world, and simply, reason.
’Practice’ refers to actual practice and reality.
Concepts must merge with reality and align with the times instead of sticking to old ways.
Zhang Rui — or rather the leadership’s decision, was undoubtedly the best embodiment of this motto.
Xu Yun recalled a news story he saw before:
About a year or two ago, a freshman girl from Shangdu Normal University won three thousand jin of watermelons in an event by Freshmart.
Originally, she planned to share them with all classmates.
At the time, school forums, Weibo, and Penguin groups were buzzing with discussions about this, the related topic trended frequently.
Even students from surrounding schools expressed intentions to ’seize watermelons’ that day; almost the entire online community anticipated the occasion.
However?
This fantastic opportunity for a flow monetization event was ultimately rejected during the distribution phase by the school administration, leaving the girl no choice but to distribute them to city bus drivers.
Shangdu Normal University even got criticized on trending topics for it, and had to resort to damage control.
A golden opportunity for gaining traction was botched into negative publicity, which eventually led to a drop in enrollment rates the following year.
Yet Ka Da now exhibits its unique side.
Not only did it waive the penalties Xu Yun was supposed to face, but it also effectively retaliated with a huge upside, attacking with a positive move instead.
Of course, many issues still require very serious discussion, such as the arrangements for extermination venues in a way that doesn’t disrupt students. But merely looking at Ke Da’s actions unquestionably makes it quite a fan favorite.
...