Part 28
Julian Grant's viewers, on the other hand, were feeling quite upset. They had once again missed the best part of the story, and were extremely frustrated, constantly urging Julian Grant to hurry up and do something productive instead of just lying on the ground and letting the pros carry him to victory.
"Officer, you can't keep doing this!"
"Middle-aged uncle, why are you always lagging behind? Others are already on 10G, and you're still happily surfing on 2G. Are you living up to your viewers?"
"Do something big and I'll tip you a dime."
"Quincy bro, if you keep this up, you'll be called the middle-aged weird uncle again. For the sake of Quincy's dignity, get moving!"
"I feel so disrespected, but I'm just here to watch the stream."
·
Julian Grant quickly pulled up The Vault's contact info and called.
After barely two rings, The Vault hung up directly, then sent a text.
The Vault: Phone is charging, too hot. Just talk here.
Julian Grant: What's going on? The internet is blowing up. Weren't you supposed to stir things up? How did you end up getting burned yourself?
The Vault: Hm?
Julian Grant: [web link] What is all this! They hired paid posters, accusing you of extortion and theft. It's already gone viral online, and your photos and personal info have been exposed. Where are you now? Are you safe?
Julian Grant: Come to the police station first, so we can protect you.
The Vault: I rented a new computer and I'm editing videos somewhere safe. You should go protect Wendy Ward's mom first, make sure nothing happens to her.
Julian Grant: ...Are you really sure about this? It's a huge operation—don't let it backfire.
The Vault: To destroy them, first drive them mad. I stirred things up just fine, didn't I? The fire is burning now, isn't it?
Julian Grant: Was the audio edited? How much? Is it enough to nail them?
The Vault: Hm?
Julian Grant: Do you need paid posters?
The Vault: Oh, the police offer that kind of service now? I'll wait a bit longer, let the momentum build.
Julian Grant: Hiring paid posters is illegal. The police don't offer that service. Just a reminder—don't go looking for paid posters online. If your stream goes the wrong way, it'll get banned.
The Vault: ...
The Vault: Oh. [tsk]
Viewers in the livestream started wailing dramatically, wishing they could take off their shirts and slap Julian Grant in the face:
"No—we've developed eyes that can go blind at will! Don't mind us, just go for it, boss!"
"Why is Quincy so timid? Quincy, you're not a firefighter, can't you get fired up?"
"Quincy is the inspector this time, right? Staff from Trident? The word 'timid' is written all over your heart."
Chapter 17, Part 2
The situation escalated too quickly, and the news spread fast. After giving her statement, Quinn Sinclair immediately saw the news push notifications, and the class group chat exploded.
Quinn Sinclair ran over with her phone, grabbed Julian Grant, and asked anxiously, "Winter Gray, what's going on? What should she do now? It must be the school leading the questions—she couldn't have done those things! Is she in danger?"
Julian Grant softened his tone to reassure her: "It's okay. She recorded the full video, and once it's processed, she'll release it to clear things up."
Quinn Sinclair: "But..."
Julian Grant cut her off: "This way, we can prove the school was guiding campus bullying and pushing students to suicide. We'll also investigate the accounts doxxing people behind the scenes, see if we can dig up their paid posters. Once the truth comes out, the public will have a bad impression of the school leadership, and the focus will shift from sexual assault to forced suicide."
Quinn Sinclair gradually calmed down at his words, though her chest still felt tight and a sense of panic lingered: "Are you sure it's really okay? Everyone is looking for her right now."
"It's fine. The school doesn't know you and Melanie Spencer have already called the police, or that Nathan Sanders left clear evidence. They think they're cutting off the problem at the root, but they're actually exposing their own weaknesses. It's a terrible move, don't worry." Julian Grant said, "I just contacted Wendy Ward, she's editing the video and sounds pretty stable. Everything is under her control. She's got a good head on her shoulders."
Quinn Sinclair nodded at this, her tone low: "She's being attacked for our sake."
"So, you mustn't let her down," Julian Grant said. "Protect yourselves, and bring those people down. We're with you."
"Mm..." Quinn Sinclair's eyes grew moist. "Thank you all."
Julian Grant patted her shoulder and had colleagues escort the girls home, staying with them that night to make sure their emotions stayed stable. He also arranged for other team members to monitor several suspects, and once enough evidence was collected and the paperwork approved, they would proceed with arrests.
Julian Grant returned to his desk, closely monitoring the situation online. They had already contacted the cyber police to screen out obviously suspicious accounts and block harmful information.
Sometimes, watching a public opinion storm unfold with clear eyes is a helpless and infuriating experience.
The situation was developing rapidly, showing just how anxious the people behind the scenes were.
Those pushing things from the shadows were probably watching their glowing screens and celebrating wildly. Meanwhile, a huge crowd of passionate netizens, egged on by paid posters, were busy "seeking justice."
A large number of netizens flooded Wendy Ward's account, leaving abusive comments. Even Wendy Ward's mother's workplace was affected.
The company's complaint hotline was overwhelmed, seriously disrupting their work. Some radicals even took advantage of the chaos to vandalize the company. For safety, Ms. Ward was forced to take leave and go home.
She refused police protection, only asking them to send people to look for Wendy Ward first.
Looking at the hateful faces of the netizens attacking her, Ms. Ward was baffled. Why did people who were usually polite and gentle suddenly become so cruel? Thinking of Wendy Ward made her even more afraid. She kept repeating to the police the conversation she had with Wendy Ward before she left, trying to assure them of her daughter's character.
She was now deeply regretting letting her daughter leave so easily. She felt that if Wendy Ward hadn't been so desperate, she would never have confronted the school leadership alone. If only she had talked things through with her daughter, Wendy Ward wouldn't have chosen such a self-destructive path, and things wouldn't have reached this irreparable point.
She thought she could smooth out her daughter's rough edges and help her adapt to society, but in doing so, she became a knife herself, cutting a piece of flesh from her daughter's heart.
The more she thought about it, the more she regretted it, until she broke down in tears, clinging to a policewoman: "Did you hear her voice? She's in a terrible state. What if she can't take it anymore? Please find her quickly—I don't even know where she is now. If someone else finds her first, will they beat her to death? I'm begging you, please find her!"
The police could only comfort her, telling her not to look at online comments, and used the official account to urge citizens to stay calm and strictly prohibit cyberbullying.
But such efforts were clearly very limited.
As night fell, the situation didn't calm down—instead, it spread even further. This was largely because of Wendy Ward's sudden appearance. She posted a few fragmented messages on her account in response to the incident.
"Stop cursing me, and leave my mom alone. The school is lying! Why won't you believe me!"
"I didn't extort the school, they're doing this on purpose!"
"Do you want to drive someone to death? What do you even know?"
Netizens never expected her to show up, and not to apologize but to shirk responsibility. This was like pouring oil on the fire, making the "righteous" even more frenzied, shouting things like "just die already," "kill yourself to atone," "you deserve to die," and other extreme comments.
The entire comment section became a toxic mess.
Around 10 p.m., a well-known local media company released an interview video with a student from No. 1 High School, pushing the incident to a new climax.
Reporter: "Do you know Wendy Ward?"
In the video, a boy with his face blurred said, "Yeah, everyone in the school knows her."
Another boy next to him chimed in, "Didn't she just get called on stage for a public self-criticism a couple of days ago?"
Reporter: "What do you think of her?"
The two grinned and said, "Super arrogant!" "Really fierce!"
Reporter: "I heard that because of her, a girl in her dorm jumped to her death. Is that true?"
Boy: "Yeah. That's what everyone says."
Reporter: "Was it direct violence?"
Boy: "I don't know. They all say there was, so I guess there was."
Reporter: "Were there any other behaviors?"
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