Wendy Lynch didn’t think the security guard was brushing her off. After all, now that such a serious security loophole had been discovered, the park and the hotel would definitely deal with it. Otherwise, if an accident really happened, it would inevitably affect their business.
However, the accident was supposed to happen tomorrow. Even if the hotel was willing to deal with it promptly, it would probably take days to put up a proper fence. Wendy’s eyes darted around, and a new idea immediately formed in her mind.
"Let’s not wait until tomorrow. We need to set up some protective measures right now," she urged. "Otherwise, if an accident really happens, it’s going to be a huge mess."
The security guard’s mouth twitched slightly. He wondered if this guest couldn’t sleep at night and was just messing with him for fun. Although he was already grumbling inwardly, he still asked politely, "Then how do you think we should handle it, miss?"
"I saw that your hotel has those metal isolation barriers," Wendy suggested. "Bring a few over and fence off this rock. I won’t make you work for free—I’ll pay you an extra hundred yuan."
As she spoke, she pulled a crisp hundred-yuan bill from her wallet and shoved it into the guard’s hand. Seeing the cash, the guard—who had been somewhat reluctant just a moment ago—immediately beamed with a radiant smile. It was only a ten-minute walk from here to the hotel. A round trip would take half an hour, and he’d make an easy hundred bucks. This was incredibly easy money.
"You’re too kind, miss! This is what our hotel should be doing anyway, how could I take your money?" Despite his polite words, the guard swiftly stuffed the cash into his pants pocket, not showing the slightest hesitation.
The two quickly returned to the hotel. A moment later, the guard appeared before Wendy pushing a small trolley containing seven or eight metal barricades.
"Ma’am, do you think these barriers will work?"
Wendy carefully inspected the barriers on the trolley. They had heavy, weighted bases, and the gaps in the middle were tightly wrapped with a layer of wire mesh. Although they were covered in a thick layer of dust and the edges were a bit rusty—looking like they hadn’t been used in a long time and lacking in visual appeal—they were incredibly sturdy. They would be more than enough to stop a hyperactive child.
"Yes, these will do," Wendy nodded.
"Alright, wait right here!" Humming a little tune, the guard pushed the trolley over to Divine Turtle Spring.
Although the rest of the path was made of uneven stone slabs where the trolley couldn’t roll, the guard didn’t complain. Huffing and puffing, he lugged the metal barriers one by one to the base of the steep rock face behind Divine Turtle Spring. The piercing SCREECH of metal dragging against the ground echoed far into the silent night.
Wendy stood to the side, watching the guard link the barricades together. He sealed off the exposed rocky area completely, without leaving a single gap.
After finishing the job, the guard wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled obsequiously. "Ms. Lynch, how does this look? Each barrier’s base weighs about thirty or forty pounds. A normal kid definitely shouldn’t be able to climb in now."
"Thanks for your hard work." Wendy was extremely satisfied with the result and thanked the guard again.
Upon returning to the hotel room, Charlotte Lynch was sound asleep, smacking her lips as she dreamed about who-knows-what. Wendy tip-toed through her evening routine and slipped back into bed. Although she had been busy half the night, she felt at peace knowing she had prevented a tragedy.
The next morning, the two sisters finished their breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Still feeling a bit uneasy, Wendy dragged Charlotte back to Divine Turtle Spring for another look.
The park was a completely different sight during the day. Sunlight pierced through the thin mist, scattering over the damp stone-paved paths. Beside Divine Turtle Spring, the yellow-and-black metal barriers looked rather jarring amidst the lush greenery. A few early-rising tourists were already pointing at them with curious expressions. But seeing the barricades firmly in place, the last trace of Wendy’s anxiety finally vanished.
The two returned to the hotel to check out, then caught a ride out of Thermal Sea Park toward their next destination: Aethel Old Town.
However, the scenery at Aethel Old Town left Wendy somewhat disappointed. The atmosphere was far too commercialized. The streets of the ancient town were densely packed with all kinds of shops on both sides. They sold the exact same cheap trinkets and so-called "ethnic" silver jewelry. It was noisy and bustling, yet completely lacking the rustic tranquility she had been looking forward to.
They found a seemingly clean restaurant at random and sat down. Just after they finished ordering, Charlotte, who had been scrolling through her phone, suddenly let out a gasp. All the color drained from her face.
"Holy crap, Wendy! Look at this! Something happened at Thermal Sea Park!" Charlotte’s voice trembled slightly as she shoved her phone across the table. "A kid accidentally fell into a hot spring pool and got severely burned. It’s on the news!"
Wendy was completely stunned. She had explicitly hired someone to fence off that hot spring. How could an accident still happen? Did someone move the barriers? She snatched Charlotte’s phone, her eyes glued to the screen.
[Accident at Thermal Sea Park: Young Boy Accidentally Falls into Hot Spring, Rushed to Hospital!]
Wendy tapped the news article and quickly skimmed the details. After finishing, she could only let out a long, helpless sigh. The situation had indeed changed because of her intervention.
According to the report, the hot spring involved in the accident was not Divine Turtle Spring, which reached temperatures of up to eighty degrees Celsius, but another decorative pool named Butterfly Spring. Out of pure mischief, the child had secretly climbed inside while his parents weren’t paying attention. While playing, he unfortunately fell into the water.
Although Butterfly Spring was twenty degrees cooler than Divine Turtle Spring, sixty degrees was still far too hot for human skin. Unsurprisingly, the boy was scalded once again. As a small blessing amidst the misfortune, there were tourists nearby, and the child was quickly pulled out. Although he suffered shock and burns, the spring’s temperature hadn’t been lethally hot. His life wasn’t in danger, and his injuries fell far short of the horrifying eighty-percent full-body burns mentioned in the future email.
Wendy leaned back in her chair, feeling utterly exasperated as a million curses ran through her mind. She finally understood the saying that the pitiful always have a hateful side.
She had busied herself half the night yesterday just to prevent this kid from falling into a boiling hot spring. However, she never expected that while she had successfully eliminated the hidden danger at Divine Turtle Spring, the little brat would just go and fall into a completely different one.
She sighed helplessly to herself. Honestly, she had already done enough. She had gone out of her way in the dead of night, worked for three or four hours, and even spent her own money to hire help. It wasn’t like she could fence off every single pool in the entire scenic park.
Based on the current situation, the child was simply too unruly, and the parents had failed miserably in their duty to supervise him. Even if he had completely dodged a bullet this time, something else would definitely happen to him later! This kid was simply destined for a disaster.
Turning life-threatening, severe burns into minor scalds was already the best possible outcome. Aside from feeling like there was nothing more she could do, her heart was filled with a helpless sense of irony. She could foresee danger, and she could take precautions against it, but at the end of the day, she was completely powerless against a bratty child’s sheer determination to court death.