Chapter 659: Chapter 659: Punishment

"Chief, save me! This crazy woman barged into my tent and started hitting me for no reason! I’m about to die! Chief, hurry and arrest her! She’s an extremist! She’s lost her mind!"

Evelyn Ford, who was about to put away her whip, flicked it out again and lashed it viciously at the man. This time, she used all her strength.

"AAAH..." The man screamed, his back a mess of torn skin and flesh, with barely an intact spot left.

"Dr. Ford? It’s you? What are you doing?"

Evelyn Ford walked up to the chief and pulled Wendy over.

"Wendy, tell the chief what happened before I got here. Tell him everything, from beginning to end. The chief will see that justice is done for you."

Upon hearing this, the chief glanced at the barely conscious man on the ground. It seemed there was more to this story. He was glad he hadn’t rashly tried to stop Evelyn Ford.

"It happened like this. This man had heatstroke, so I prescribed him some cooling medicine. I also gave him a fan and told him to fan himself. He claimed he had no strength and asked me to help, but his voice was full of energy. He clearly wasn’t too weak to hold a fan. I ignored him and was about to get medicine for someone else when he suddenly reached out and groped my waist. He’s the one who made a move on me, but he’s framing me, saying I was trying to seduce him."

As soon as the chief heard this, he understood.

Although the man on the ground was covered in blood, his ugly face and sinister eyes were still visible.

"No, she was the one who deliberately seduced me! She kept walking back and forth in front of me and even started talking to me. She was just trying to get my attention."

Seeing that Evelyn Ford was about to lash her whip again, the chief quickly stopped her.

"Dr. Ford, leave him to me. I’ll handle this."

"Fine. But I have a suggestion. Now that the base is starting to stabilize, some people are getting restless. If you let him off easy, won’t that just embolden others? It would be better to put him in the main square and let everyone see the consequences of harassing people. Oh, and Chief, he also slandered me, calling me an extremist. For a dedicated doctor like me to be slandered like this... I can’t let that slide."

The chief’s mind raced. If this wasn’t handled properly, the many women in the base would surely lose faith in its security. His security team would also have a hard time answering to the base leadership.

He had his men drag the man away and throw him into the main square. They used a megaphone to broadcast what he had done, ensuring his social death within the base, and then escorted him to the mining area to dig for coal.

This move of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys deterred others who were getting restless and also served to reassure the women of the base.

"The base has just issued new regulations! Every district has a large blackboard where the rules are written out clearly, one by one. The base will show no mercy to anyone who bullies the weak, women, the disabled, pregnant women, or the intellectually challenged. No one, male or female, is permitted to harass another person. If you are harassed, you must report it to the base. To those who have been harassed: do not be afraid. It is not your fault. The base will punish all wrongdoers. Those who lay a hand on others will have that hand cut off. In cases of sexual assault, the perpetrator will be castrated."

The base was currently in a critical period of restoring production, and it would not allow anyone to cause trouble. Once someone was found to have committed a crime, the base would mete out the severest punishment.

"Of course, the base will also not permit anyone to frame others using despicable methods. Once discovered, they too will not be shown mercy."

The chief held the megaphone, his voice resounding as he read out the base’s various regulations.

Only after seeing the matter resolved satisfactorily did Evelyn Ford put her whip away.

"Wendy, how many medical staff do you have here?"

"There are five."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Get the tricycle and come back with me. I spoke with the chief; you need to rest now."

Wendy was obedient and immediately went back to the tent to get her things. The tricycle was locked up outside, so Evelyn Ford sat directly in the cargo bed.

"Joy Ford, the sandstorm is really bad. You should wrap your head."

"Got it." Evelyn Ford took a headscarf from her pocket and wrapped it around her head.

Wendy had her biggest growth spurt this year. She was already five-foot-five and would probably shoot up even more.

"Hold on tight, I’m starting to pedal."

"Okay, let’s go."

A crowd had gathered by the tent. Seeing the still-dripping bloody whip in Evelyn Ford’s hand, many of them shivered in fear.

Many people had witnessed the scene just now. The man had nearly been beaten to death by Evelyn Ford. If the chief hadn’t shown up in time, Evelyn Ford might very well have taken a life today.

"Wendy, you did great today. When something like this happens, you have to stand up for yourself. Don’t be afraid of how others might look at you. You can’t tolerate things like this; if it happens once, it’ll happen again. And don’t be scared. You have us. Joy Ford will get justice for you."

Wendy nodded. "I’m not afraid. I run into guys like that several times a day. Just yesterday, I slapped a guy with wandering hands."

"Remember to keep the whistle I gave you with you at all times. If you run into a situation you can’t handle, blow the whistle to bring the base security team over. You can only fight back once you’ve ensured your own safety."

"Joy Ford, you were so cool just now! You’re so strong, too. You actually sent that guy flying with one kick. My slap yesterday didn’t go so well; I only knocked out three of that groper’s teeth."

Evelyn Ford didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You did just fine. Keep it up."

Back in the space, Evelyn Ford told Wendy to tell Officer Graham what had happened.

"Will he be worried?"

"No, he’ll think you’re amazing. Your dad is busy in the space every day. Besides cooking, he’s cleaning and washing medicinal herbs. He doesn’t know what you’re busy with outside or if you’re running into bad people. Even if he’s worried, he doesn’t dare ask too much. He’s afraid that you’re exhausted from work and that his nagging will just annoy you. I don’t believe in only sharing good news and hiding the bad. I think you can share everything with your family, good or bad. Especially since you were so brave today."

"I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had a real chat with my dad in a long time. Joy Ford, thank you for helping me see that."

Evelyn Ford patted Wendy’s shoulder. "Come on, let’s go home."

Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling had gone out this morning. They went to deliver a shipment of water. Rhys Chase had stored a lot of water barrels in the space, and since water couldn’t be diverted to the desert training camp yet, Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling made a trip to drop off five hundred barrels of water in the camp’s warehouse.

When they returned to the space in the afternoon, the two of them started potting seedlings.

"Wow, you’ve done so many trays. What kind of seeds are you planting?"

"Mr. Kendrick said these are grape seeds."

"We planted one hundred trays of strawberry seeds," Liam Sterling said, his face practically begging for praise. Evelyn Ford played along and clapped.

"Amazing, amazing! Looks like we’ll have more grapes and strawberries than we can eat in the future."

"What happened today?" Ronan Kendrick was sharp-eyed; he had spotted the bloody whip as soon as Evelyn Ford returned.

"Taught some scum a lesson. It’s already been handled."

Meanwhile, Wendy found Officer Graham and shared everything that had happened that day with him.

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