Chapter 119: Mob Mentality (3)
Chapter 119: Mob Mentality (3)
(You and a girl are standing at the entrance of the cafeteria when a police car arrives.)
(The police take you both back to the station for questioning.)
(With a flash, you're back in your dorm room. You pick up your pen to find it's only a third full of ink.)
(Your roommates are looking at you strangely, and they're all avoiding you in subtle ways.)
(You immediately turn on your computer.)
(This time, the girl who lost her wallet didn't post about it at the university's forum but chose to speak up on Webo, a popular social media platform. Her post went viral overnight.)
(#ThiefAtWapengUniversity#, #UnjustWapengPolice#)
( Wapeng University's Gu Yi, I won't let you off for stealing my wallet. I said you stole it because I have evidence. Just because I'm not a local doesn't mean you can bully me. )
( The police are lying in plain sight. Just because I'm not from here, they don't want to catch the thief. )
( People say that Wapeng is a friendly city to outsiders. Is this how you treat all non-locals? Do you just ignore them when they lose something? )
(You scratch your head.)
(The comments section is chaotic. Students from other regions are collectively pointing fingers at the locals of Wapeng.)
( "Enough said, everyone from Wapeng is a thief." )
( "Our Wapeng roommate is super stingy." )
( "Here's a joke, Wapeng's security is the best in the country." )
(You create an account on Webo to defend yourself, but your post doesn't gain any traction.)
(The girl smartly turned the lost wallet incident into an issue of "regional discrimination," sparking anger among netizens.)
(Now, people are less concerned about who the thief is and more focused on using the issue to air grievances.)
(Then, you receive a call from your counselor.)
(You arrive at the principal's office and, before entering, you discreetly turn on the recording function of your phone.)
(Inside the principal's office, not only is there the principal but also the girl who lost her wallet.)
(The principal places a disciplinary notice in front of you.)
(Principal: "The University has decided to issue a notice of public criticism against you. Both the University's image and Wapeng's reputation have been tarnished because of this incident. )
(You: I've been wrongly accused. On what basis are you saying this? )
(Principal: You've been taken to the police station, and the entire internet is accusing you. )
(You: Just because I went to the police station doesn't mean I'm guilty. The police didn't even suspect me. Why are you listening to this girl's side of the story only? )
(Principal: But you definitely have affected our University's reputation. )
(You: This is unfair. )
(Principal: I don't care whether you stole the wallet or not. What I care about is that you have tarnished our University's name. )
(You: So, the University's reputation is more important than an individual's innocence? Just for this so-called reputation, you can tarnish me? Frame me? )
(Girl: Stop pretending to be innocent, thief. )
(You: Do you have evidence that I stole anything? )
(Girl: Are you implying I'm lying? Why would I, a young girl, frame you? What benefit would I get from doing so? )
(You: I did not steal anything, that's it. )
(Principal: Enough, both of you. How about this, young lady? You delete your post and stop making any more posts, and he will apologize to you. And for you, just return her wallet, and I won't issue a public criticism notice from the University. )
(You: Principal, what kind of compromise is this? I clearly didn't steal anything. Why should I apologize to her? What wallet should I return? Let me ask again, do you have any evidence proving I stole something? )
(Girl: Look at your attitude, so aggressive for a man. Definitely not trustworthy. Who knows what kind of tricks you pull regularly? )
(You: If people can't understand speech, then it's a waste. I'll take my leave. )
(Exiting the principal's office, you notice your pen's ink is nearly depleted.)
(You upload the recording on a popluar forum, with a provocative title.)
( [University's Principal Ignores the Truth, Coerces Confession! For the so-called reputation of the institution, sacrifices justice and the innocence of students. Is the position more important than fairness and justice?] )
(Comments flood in:)
( "Look, this is the true face of a woman." )
( "Does a woman need evidence to accuse a man? If I feel you stole from me, then you did steal from me." )
( "This damn principal isn't even decent, why does he unilaterally favor the girl without any evidence? This isn't a way to keep the peace." )
( "Don't start with the gender opposition. The principal is abusing his power, is this even considered fairness and justice?" )
(Your post has caused a huge stir.)
(A fierce argument erupts across the two major social platforms, lasting for a full 10 hours.)
(Your exam time has come.)
(The voice of the Invigilator echos in your ears.)
(Invigilator: The exam is over, your final score is - Emotionality: 6 points, Rationality: 4 points. )
(There is nothingness in front of your eyes.)
(You end the deduction!)
Gu Yi opened his eyes.
In this deduction, Gu Yi fought fire with fire, using magic against magic.
When the opponent instigated gender opposition and regional discrimination, he continued to provoke public opinion in the "Popular Men's Forum", letting the event ferment further.
In the end, Gu Yi found that he couldn't control the direction of public opinion at all.
From the beginning, what started as regional discrimination turned into a male-female conflict, and finally into class conflict. Although he scored 6 points for emotionality in the end, he only got 4 points for rationality.
This showed that he really didn't know what he was doing; public opinion had long since slipped out of his control.
"This is so hard..."
Gu Yi tapped his forehead, really unsure of what to do next.
At this moment, the annoying barrage of comments appeared in front of him again.
"Enough of this, enough! This idiot Gu Yi just stands there in a daze."
"Look at Chris next door, he's already made his move."
"Exactly, why doesn't he just make a move?"
"die, die, die!"
"Don't overthink it, you don't have a brain, right?"
"If you can't defeat them, just end yourself!"
Gu Yi looked at the barrage comments in front of him, he didn't feel angry, instead gained a hint of realization. "Right... so that's what they mean to answer with blood."
Gu Yi closed his eyes again and began to deduce once more.
...
"Why did you touch my butt?"
"Huh?"
Chris looked at the girl who falsely accused him, still not understanding the situation.
"Why did you touch my butt?"
"Oh?" Chris didn't argue back, but simply admitted, "I'm sorry, I was wrong, I didn't mean to."
"Pervert, scumbag, how could a scum like you exist in the University?"
"I'm sorry, I apologize to you."
"Hmph! Trash, you owe me 520 yuan, we'll consider this matter settled. Otherwise, I'll get the University to expel you!"
Chris pretended to pat his pockets, "Oh dear, I don't have that much money."
"Then get ready to be expelled!"