The instinctive reaction from long-term training and fighting allowed Ed to dodge immediately. It's just that he didn't deploy the "lake" barrier immediately, which would only cause unnecessary panic and commotion among the crowd.
But after a moment, nothing happened. The man in front of him seemed to have been forced to faint simply by the hot weather and hunger.
The restless crowd was focusing on the frothing foreman. No one noticed such a thin and weak man. He was like a microcosm of all living things - he arrived without anyone noticing and left without anyone noticing.
Ed leaned over and put the back of his hand on his forehead. The man's dark skin was as hot as charcoal fire, his lips were as cracked as wasteland, and huge beads of sweat were falling from his cheeks.
Typical symptoms of heat stroke. Ed judged that although this condition is common among workers working at high temperatures, it should not be taken lightly - if left alone, the condition may continue to worsen and even cause organ failure.
what to do? Although it is better to do less than to do more, but...
This does not mean that he will watch indifferently the death of people who have nothing to do with him. Ed held him up, and his severely dehydrated body was very light, no heavier than an empty wooden box to an extraordinary person.
"Make way, please give way - someone has a heat stroke." After noticing that someone had a heat stroke, the angry crowd actually showed some rational tenderness and reluctantly made way for a narrow gap.
Ed squeezed through the crowd and looked for a shaded place to put the person down under the scorching sun.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Well..." The man let out a moan as light as a mosquito, proving that he was at least still conscious.
But this is not enough, men are losing all their body fluids and must replenish salt and water. He needed to find some light salt water to rehydrate those suffering from heatstroke, but he was surrounded by water, so where could he get it?
"Here. He needs some fluids."
A man wearing blue suspender jeans and overalls came up from behind and handed Ed a bottle of drink——
It was a bottle of Clear Sky soda. A bottle costs 6p, which is about the same hourly wage that dockworkers are fighting for, not something someone wearing this outfit can afford.
"Who are you?" Ed became alert. Although the other party was wearing work clothes, his hair was carefully taken care of, which made him look a little suspicious.
Seeing that Ed did not take the drink, the man in overalls smiled nonchalantly, walked to the heat stroke worker, pressed the marble on the bottle mouth and poured some soda into his mouth:
"I also want to ask you this question. You are wearing a worker's hat, but you have a nobleman's cane on your waist. Which side are you on?"
"You can't judge a book by its appearance. Wearing a worker's hat does not mean that I am your friend, and wearing a nobleman's cane does not mean that I am your enemy. I only stand on my own side."
Ed said looking at the man in overalls. His facial features are rough, his forehead is broad, and the distance between his eyes is relatively long. Although he has oily hair, it doesn't make him look more handsome. Instead, he looks a bit like a street kid.
"Very well, as long as you are not our enemy. I am a worker here, you can call me Marvin."
After feeding half a bottle of soda to the person with heatstroke, the man held the soda bottle in one hand and hung it in the air with the other, smiling heartily as he waited for Ed's response.
"Hello, Marvin..."
After using the one-eyed spider to search the surrounding area to make sure there was no ambush, Ed stretched out his hand and shook his hand symbolically:
"Speaking of which, all the shops around here are closed. Where did you get this bottle of drink?"
"I stole it from the shipping containers stacked on the dock."
Marvin magically took out two bottles of soda from behind his back, pressed the marbles with his thumb and handed them to Ed.
"On such a hot day, someone could have a heat stroke at any time, so I simply stole a whole box. Do you want to drink it?"
"Sounds like it's illegal."
Ed didn't take the soda, but stood there and said. Although he will not take the initiative to report the other party, he does not want to be regarded as an accomplice.
"So what? Do you want to remain a good, law-abiding citizen, or do you want to actually take action and save someone's life?"
The four words "unscrupulous" seemed to be engraved on Marvin's face like a tattoo. Seeing that Ed refused to drink, he blew into the bottle himself.
"Since you are here to take care of me, I have something to do, so I will leave first."
Ed didn't want to argue with him anymore, after all, he had already been delayed for several minutes. Just when he wanted to turn around, the man suffering from heat stroke stopped him:
"Wait, kind sir. What do I call you?"
"Oh, there is no need to care about me as a passer-by. Goodbye."
To be cautious, Ed didn't even leave a name, and quickly left here, while leaving the one-eyed spider behind to detect the movements of the two.
Fortunately, Marvin had no intention of following him and just continued to squat where he was to take care of the heatstroke man.
After passing through several more crowds, Ed finally arrived at the agreed-upon place. He saw the fat and thin duo from a distance, the one with a sharp voice carrying a black satchel exactly like his own.
He took off the black satchel from his shoulder, carried it in his hand, and walked in the direction of the two of them, who also moved closer to him.
Finally, in the crowded crowd, Ed and the duo exchanged the satchels in their hands, struggled to squeeze out of the crowd, and continued walking towards each other until they walked out of the dock area.
No one should be following.
After repeatedly confirming that no one was following him, Ed stopped in an alley and opened his black satchel——
Inside is a thick stack of blueprints.
