Judge of Souls - Chapter 55

Just over an hour ago, a new batch of internet trolls suddenly appeared online.

At first, they stirred up trouble, then pretended to be Hu Xi’s relatives and friends, beginning to post all kinds of obscene insults in various comment sections, damaging public opinion. Judging by the frequency of their posts, this troll army was clearly larger than their own team.

They referred to Wang Xian and Mother Wang as “sluts,” cursing them with vicious personal attacks, while also expanding the topic to regional discrimination and gender insults, successfully angering many bystanders.

Some netizens’ online comments weren’t carefully worded, and others particularly enjoyed nitpicking, causing both sides to start arguing over trivial disagreements.

The trolls weren’t even needed anymore, as netizens were already arguing bitterly, each side believing the other consisted of hired hands brought in to confuse the issue.

The scene was chaotic, and the focus of the topic was no longer about Hu Xi having her photos manipulated by unknown persons or her privacy being violated, but had deviated into irrelevant territory.

Subsequently, another group of people posing as Hu Xi’s classmates/friends/besties emerged, describing Hu Xi’s daily oppressed life in exaggerated and unrealistic ways. Their stories were so fake they couldn’t withstand scrutiny; one look and you could tell they were trying to disrupt the situation.

After seeing too many of these, netizens developed a contrarian attitude. Regardless of who was right or wrong, they simply disliked Hu Xi as a person.

Hu Xi was so angry she wanted to smash the keyboard and crawl through the internet to beat them up.

Kong Su said, “This is clearly a professional, high-level troll army hired by your father! Your dad is really rich.”

But that wasn’t the end.

After heating up the atmosphere, the high-level trolls hired by the company began a new round of operations.

First, a group of “rational moderates” appeared, stating that Wang Xian and her brother weren’t Mr. Wang’s biological children. The company had already issued a statement urging netizens to remain rational and see the facts before speaking. They also exposed Hu Xi as having a volatile temper, frequently taking out her anger on Wang Xian and her brother.

They also accused Hu Xi of cheating and having romantic relationships at an early age, which resulted in her being caught by the school and publicly criticized.

They said that although her grades were good and she had skipped grades, her character was terrible. She was obsessed with dating, defied her teachers, frequently skipped classes, was violent and willful, and engaged in campus bullying. Everyone who attended school with her knew what kind of person she was, causing teachers considerable trouble.

Because she disliked the two siblings from her father’s second marriage, she forced her father to rent an apartment for her in the school district, but outwardly claimed she was kicked out, thereby smearing her stepmother.

——[Think about it, comrades. No matter how much Mr. Wang favors his new lover and her children, would he kick out his underage daughter from his previous marriage? Isn’t that insane! Isn’t Hu Xi his biological daughter too? Isn’t this insulting our intelligence?]

——[As for the doctored pornographic photos, it’s obviously because of her own bad behavior that she offended certain people. Without evidence, she chose to throw dirt on her sister. Picking on the weaker target.]

——[This isn’t the first time. Last year during the college entrance exam, she missed the test time because she got sick from bad food. My goodness, she immediately pushed the blame onto her stepmother. Is being your stepmother some kind of terrible curse? Why should she take the blame for you?]

——[Please note, a stepmother is not the same as a mistress! Don’t make stepmothers take the blame for mistresses, thank you!]

——[This person is treacherous and vicious, obscuring the main point and reversing black and white. Now she’s using the same old tricks, spouting nonsense. Everyone should be careful about taking sides.]

The tide quickly turned.

Very obviously, this group wanted to direct all the dirty water toward Hu Xi.

Because of the earlier commotion created by the trolls, which had already damaged public perception, this narrative quickly took the upper hand. It sounded reasonable and well-founded. After all, Mr. Wang was Hu Xi’s biological father. Could he really do such a thing?

[Wow, the stepmother is so pitiful!]

[A stepmother is not the same as a mistress. Angry repost! Did the stepmother kill your entire family? People harbor too much resentment toward stepmothers nowadays.]

[A slap in the face? This reversal is so fast. As expected of a listed company, their PR is too powerful.]

[How could they not be? Look at their stock price fluctuations. We’re talking hundreds of thousands up and down in a minute! Look at their last trending topic, they’ve already dried up several hundred million.]

[I think this isn’t over. I’m not taking sides yet. I’ll continue to wait. My face is still swollen from the last slap.]

[Arrest the rumor-mongers, quick, where’s the government?]

[Where’s Hu Xi’s big move? I’ve already bought my popcorn!]

Hu Xi didn’t dare to look too closely, but she also couldn’t stop. After scrolling through some comments, she stopped.

She took her phone, pulled up her contacts, and hovered back and forth over the names. After hesitating for a moment, she slammed it down with a “bang” and wailed, burying her head in her hands.

“Your dad is really—” Kong Su said indignantly, “F*ck, let him eat sh*t!”

She had never seen this kind of father before, going to all lengths to smear his own biological daughter. What kind of person was he? Others might have an ocean in their hearts, but this man surely only had a cesspool.

Hu Xi was fighting under her real name. Her age, appearance, and address had all been exposed. In this era of advanced internet technology, with the company’s team working so relentlessly to defame her, her future was essentially ruined. Which university would dare to admit her in the future? How would she find work?

Why not just force her to die directly?

Kong Su comforted her. “It’s okay, strengthen your resolve to be independent. They won’t be proud for long.”

Trying to change the subject, she said, “Oh my, why isn’t our troll team reliable today? Dock their pay! Don’t settle the bill!”

As if by special affinity, the friendly troll team leader seemed to sense her brain waves and suddenly sent a message.

“We’ve met formidable opponents this time. This is really difficult.”

Hu Xi: “Are you up to it?”

Troll leader: “We are, but the key is whether you are.”

Hu Xi asked: “What’s wrong with us?”

“The other side has too many people. I’ve decided to summon my allies. The price will go up,” the leader said. “It won’t take too long. Let’s take advantage of the current heat to suppress the momentum of the other side. My technical team is searching for IPs and organizing information on the trolls’ accounts. If we can get through this period, we’ll win.”

Hu Xi turned to look at Ma Shiluo.

The wealthy Ma Shiluo waved her hand grandly. “Go ahead! Call whoever you need. We have money. But we absolutely cannot lose.”

Hu Xi relayed Master Ma’s words to the troll leader.

The troll leader happily said, “I was waiting for you to say that! We’ll freestyle now!”

****

It had to be said that the troll team Kong Su hired, although small in number, consisted of real talents. They were technically superior to ordinary trolls.

They hired some low-end troll allies to imitate the other side’s previous operations, using the identity of “Wang Xian’s relatives and friends” to engage in widespread abuse.

It was exactly the same tactic, making bystanders feel disgusted.

An hour later, the heat of the event gradually subsided.

Bystanders, not wanting to become weapons for either side and wanting to protect their intelligence, chose to watch or ignore.

At this point, the friendly troll team finally finished their preparations and methodically released their solid evidence.

Point by point, clear and unambiguous.

——[I just finished processing images and found out whose dog got loose and is biting people. First, I’ll publish a batch of accounts that need rabies vaccines. Several of these accounts have been blocked. All are new accounts with extreme language and brain-dead content, claiming to be Hu Xi’s classmates, but they’re obviously trolls.]

——[Picking my nose. This drama isn’t juicy at all; it’s making me a bit sick. As shown in the images above, these trolls were clearly hired by the company to smear Hu Xi.]

——[Friends, pay attention! If a biological father can now so mercilessly spread rumors about his own daughter, forcing her into a desperate situation, what’s so impossible about the earlier claim that he kicked her out of the house? My naive friends, do you still believe your father is your guardian angel? I thought after seeing so many news stories about beast-fathers raping their own daughters/sons, you would have woken up. Beasts are everywhere, and the country hasn’t chemically castrated them. Being a father doesn’t mean he’s a decent human being!]

Ten minutes later, they released several photos of Wang Xian and Hu Xi together.

——[Several photos extracted from their classmates’ friend circles, wow, there are surprises! Attention again. First look at photos one and two. Although they’re both wearing school uniforms, the shoes and watches are personally purchased. Wang Xian, a person supposedly ‘bullied and humiliated’ by Hu Xi, is wearing a luxury watch and brand-name sneakers. See that? Now look at Hu Xi’s peeling canvas shoes.]

——[Photos three and four are from their class dinner, both wearing casual clothes. I don’t need to say more, right? Miss Wang Xian is living quite luxuriously. The total value of everything the original daughter is wearing doesn’t equal one piece of your clothing. It makes people want to be ‘bullied’ like this.]

——[Mr. Wang must be a saint of a father, extremely generous to the children from his blended family, while being so stingy toward his own biological daughter. Yes, yes, looking at it this way, it’s good that Wang Xian isn’t his biological child.]

Ten minutes later, photos of Hu Xi’s rented apartment were exposed.

——[For those saying Hu Xi forced her father to rent her a place in the school district, open your eyes and look. My goodness, not living in a luxurious villa but staying in this haunted old house? This area doesn’t even have natural gas yet, they’re still using coal gas.]

——[I contacted the school and they said Hu Xi’s tuition hasn’t been paid yet. Hahaha, the daughter of a listed company’s boss can’t afford tuition!]

[Lies have blinded my eyes, preventing me from seeing the truth.]

[Could someone summarize? Can I take sides now?]

[This seems more reasonable. I’ve decided to take sides early, friends. I’m on this side.]

[My face hurts. What do we do now? Give me a straight answer, can I take a side?]

[I don’t think it’s over yet. Keep waiting.]

[This is really amazing.]

While the netizens were still wavering about which side to take, feeling that the truth wasn’t so simple, most still wanted to believe in Mr. Wang’s humanity as a father, thinking he couldn’t have done such things. Both sides began to argue again.

Before a winner could be determined, another piece of news dropped.

This time it seemed to shock everyone.

——[Interesting, just received a tip from a hospital nurse. On Chinese New Year’s Eve, Hu Xi was sent to the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning and almost died. Just visited the rental house, and neighbors confirmed this is true.]

——[February 11th, the anniversary of Hu Xi’s mother’s death. Look at the photos on Wang Xian and Wang’s mother’s Weibo. What was the family doing that day? They were having a party. Having a great time, oh, and Hu Xi isn’t in the photos~]

[F*ck, kindness has limited my imagination.]

[F*ck, humanity has limited my imagination.]

[This is really too much. I don’t expect men to be deeply affectionate, but Wang, don’t forget you married into the family. Your current luxurious lifestyle is at least half thanks to Mrs. Hu. On the anniversary of her death, you hold a celebration party? What’s the meaning of that? And the elder daughter must have been adopted, right? Must be adopted, right?]

[Carbon monoxide poisoning? Terrifying to think about. It wasn’t suicide, was it?]

[If I had such a father, I might.]

[Seriously thinking about it, in this world and on this internet, black can be washed into white. I almost sided with Wang Xian just now. They have money and connections now. If I were Hu Xi, I would truly feel this world is hopeless. So pitiful, and still being smeared.]

Ten minutes later, the final bombshell news.

——[Here it is, IP comparison. Volunteer hacker, couldn’t stand by and watch, no need to thank me. Just traced the IP of whoever posted the photo package on the school forum. Although they used a proxy, I still found it. Tried to locate it, and it’s at this place. Well, well, isn’t this Mr. Wang’s home? Who did they offend to get revenge? No evidence so they splash dirty water? Hehe.]

——[So who’s really the victim? Miss Wang Xian, come out and explain.]

Once it was discovered who sent the photos, online sentiment immediately exploded.

The crowd was instantly enraged, denouncing them one after another.

[A stepfather, in order to protect his wife and his wife’s daughter from a previous marriage, sacrifices his own flesh and blood, slashing his biological daughter’s future, tearfully defaming her, falsely accusing her. Hmm, this plot is very realistic and noble. What a selfless saint of a father. I believe it, of course.]

[Damn! This drama is too much!]

[Wang Bully!]

[People like this should die.]

[Stock price crashed again, awesome. Will it hit the limit down today? Delightful to see!]

[This really can’t be tolerated. If Mr. Wang still says he didn’t know, I’ll give him an Oscar.]

[Mr. Wang, keep talking nonsense, I’ll be a fool if I believe another word.]

[I don’t believe this can be reversed now. I beg the Securities Regulatory Commission to investigate this company. I’ll sign in blood!]

[Please investigate! @Securities Regulatory Commission]

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it. The company’s stock truly couldn’t be resurrected this time and directly hit the limit down. Looking at the sell orders and current online sentiment, if they didn’t suspend trading tomorrow to seek refuge, it would likely continue to fall by the daily limit.

Company members could only be extremely grateful for the country’s stock market’s limit-up and limit-down restrictions, temporarily saving them.

Mr. Wang held his head, watching the rapidly scrolling comments on the screen, his eyes fixed, breathing heavily.

He sat behind his desk, using his slightly overgrown nails to scratch his scalp vigorously, feeling the slight pain transmitted to his brain, trying to stay alert.

He completely failed to understand why things had developed this way.

It couldn’t be. How could this happen?

Was it really Wang Xian who posted the photos? His two daughters, why had they become enemies?

He hadn’t planned to abuse Hu Xi, truly he hadn’t.

The landline kept ringing incessantly, interrupting his thoughts. Mr. Wang, in a fit of rage, grabbed the phone and smashed it to the ground.

The poor telephone immediately shattered into pieces.

The secretary standing guard outside the door heard the noise and shrank her shoulders in fear.

Mr. Wang’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he supported himself with one hand on the desk.

What should he do now? Disgraced, assets significantly reduced… this wasn’t how he had envisioned things.

He tightened his fingers.

He reassured himself. Stay calm, this enterprise was now just an empty shell, bankruptcy and liquidation were inevitable. He had made adequate preparations, only losing a portion of his assets.

…It would definitely be fine.

****

Compared to their panic and distress, Hu Xi’s side was much more relaxed.

The troll leader asked, “How was that? Powerful, right?”

Hu Xi: “Powerful, powerful!”

Troll leader: “It’s time for you to appear and reap the rewards! Go post a statement now, saying you’ve hired a lawyer to reclaim your inheritance, to put a final stamp on this matter. I’ll escort you!”

Before they could begin further operations, the Securities Regulatory Commission quickly issued an announcement.

Due to abnormal trading, XX Company was temporarily suspended from trading pending investigation.

This was really…

[Holy sh*t!!]

[Who’s still buying stock in this garbage company XX? Isn’t this enterprise about to collapse?]

[I used to work there, to be honest, it’s getting worse and worse. Just looking at their product market share, you can see it’s dropping at a terrifying rate. The stock price falling is normal; before it was artificially inflated.]

[As long as it drops below one yuan, I’ll buy in with everything I have, charge!]

[By the time it drops below one yuan, it will already be delisted, friend.]

[Damn, I’m preparing for grad school, why are you tempting me like this?]

[Fellow grad school dog +1]

[What grad school? Eat popcorn! You take the grad exam once a year, but can you find drama like this once a year?]

[This drama is poisonous, I’m afraid eating it will kill me.]

Kong Su looked toward Jiang Feng and the others. The latter sighed in relief, put down his phone, and leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed to rest.

The accountant said, “Now we just need to wait. At this point, we should trust the authorities. How can mere words be enough? We need action.”

Not long after, the lawyer boss also flew back.

He said, “I just found the two witnesses who were present when your mother made her will.”