Era of Magic and Martial Arts

Chapter 400 - 384: Twists and Turns, Layer Upon Layer of Reversals?

After Feng Mu left, Qian Huan lazily leaned back on the chair, raised his hand to touch his chin, and grinned, a hint of deep meaning in his smile.

His gaze fell again on the computer screen, his fingers gently tapping the mouse, scrolling the web page up and down. Flashing by were rows of eye-catching news headlines.

On the screen, an overwhelming flood of reports surged like waves, each title like a shining arrow, pointing directly at the public’s focus:

"Truth of the Second Prison Riot Exposed, Who Is the Real Culprit."

"Reform of the Second Prison—The Untold Story of My Experience with the Elimination System."

"Qian Huan, a Wronged Reformer!"

"....."

Among these headline news, some are true, some are false, some are mixed with half-truths, and some are just fabricated, but every tone sounds conclusive.

One might think they were all prison guards in the Second Prison, informed insiders, or perhaps dead spirits in the riot who aided the media in their dreams.

Yet, regardless, they all serve as continuous and powerful responses or refutations to the previous renowned freedom media figure [Graveyard Tree]’s prison revelations.

These media voices are not unified, which would seem too deliberate and might instead reveal traces of "media manipulation."

The public is foolish, but not entirely.

Therefore, within these media reports, some media resolutely support Graveyard Tree, standing on the side of justice, voicing for him.

Their articles are filled with attacks on Prison Chief Qian Huan, tirelessly exposing his so-called "inhuman" conduct,

Every word and phrase like a burning torch, trying to illuminate the darkness buried deep in the Second Prison.

Meanwhile, another portion of the media stands distinctly on the opposite end, composing articles on "restoration" and "deconstruction."

They conducted a meticulous re-analysis of the Second Prison incident, deconstructing Graveyard Tree’s revelations into fragments, pointing out flaws and "doubts" within.

Some went so far as to package the whole incident as a meticulously planned conspiracy, claiming [Graveyard Tree] was a pawn of evil reactionary forces.

With malicious intent, with an ulterior motive, his revelations feed on tragedy, instigate opposition between the public and the Executive Government, disrupting the peace and prosperity of Zone 9.

Such "opposing voices" intertwine, seemingly providing a diversified public opinion arena, but actually making the entire incident more perplexing.

The debate between support and opposition grows more intense, with mud and sand mixed together, truth and falsehood indistinguishable.

Ultimately, the result is that Graveyard Tree’s original detailed, powerful, and heartfelt revelations are unknowingly drowned in the endless media reports.

As the person at the center of the media storm, Qian Huan is absolutely the one who knows the inside story the clearest.

He sat in the office, coldly watching the heated arguments among netizens, with two opposing views clashing as if everyone held the "truth."

The corner of Qian Huan’s mouth slightly raised, with a trace of sarcastic smile.

As he browsed the intense debates, he silently reviewed the course of the whole incident in his mind:

The beginning of the matter was thanks to the freedom media figure [Graveyard Tree], whose article was like a heavy bomb, pushing Qian Huan and the Second Prison to the forefront of public opinion.

At that time, online voices were almost one-sided, the public opinion like a rising tide, raging and unstoppable.

Everyone was attacking the Second Prison’s "elimination system," condemning Qian Huan as a "cold-blooded official" and "capitalist," some even comparing him to a "modern slave owner."

Netizens were furious, collectively calling for the Executive Government to thoroughly investigate the Second Prison and prosecute Qian Huan.

At one time, Qian Huan seemed almost doomed, and to seek relief, he had to seek help from Member of Parliament Wang Xinfa and General Manager Lu Chenjia.

An exceedingly strong combination of a true bureaucrat and capitalist, he invited them to the table, serving his own flesh.

As expected, just when the one-sided momentum of public opinion reached its peak, some "different voices" began to emerge.

A media person exposed that Qian Huan was merely a "bare commander," though nominally the Prison Chief, he was essentially a puppet on display.

The elimination system was not his proposal, but crafted by a group of powerful Prison Chiefs within the Second Prison.

The evidence was that on the "elimination system" document, not only was Qian Huan’s signature present, but also those of many Prison Chiefs.

The "truth" was actually that these Prison Chiefs conspired to force Qian Huan to sign, then deliberately incited a prison riot, aiming to force him out of office.

And behind all this, it involved not only internal struggles within the Second Prison but also escalated to the entire prison system’s reform promotion and obstruction.

The depth inside was unfathomable.....

This revelation was like a heavyweight bomb, immediately exploding on the internet.

The originally one-sided condemnation began to show cracks, with some starting to question whether Qian Huan was really the culprit, or if he was just a scapegoat pushed to the front stage?

The direction of public opinion began to sway, like a reed blown by the wind, undecided.

Soon, public opinion split into two factions.

One faction still firmly believed Qian Huan deserved his retribution, being the cold-blooded official who should bear full responsibility for the prison riot;

The other faction began to defend him, believing he was merely a victim of a power struggle, with the real culprits being the powerful figures behind the scenes;

The two factions argued fiercely, and just as public opinion was deadlocked, the "Gong Lao’s testament" incident added fuel to the storm.

The testament was exposed by Chen Yang, directly accusing Qian Huan, condemning his "elimination system" for causing extreme injustice and oppression within the prison.

Consequently, the previously somewhat balanced factions were once again disrupted, with angry condemnations surging like waves.

However, the course of events quickly became more perplexing.

Shortly after the testament was made public, Chen Yang committed suicide in fear of his crimes.

The Patrol Office subsequently disclosed the case details, indicating that Chen Yang was suspected of accepting bribes and intending to frame another.

Moreover, the Patrol Office further disclosed that the bribes Chen Yang accepted had intricate connections with the internal matters of the Second Prison, sparking speculation.

This discovery was undoubtedly another bomb, complicating the whole matter even more.

The entire affair played out like a suspenseful thriller, with twists and turns, reversals layer upon layer, leaving the public dizzy yet deeply engrossed.

The public’s brains seemed tossed into a high-speed blender, becoming completely muddled.

The majority’s simple brain cells, at this juncture, clearly seemed insufficient.

But this was far from over.

The Patrol Office immediately released the progress of the case investigation online, stating they had restored the emails from Gong Lao’s computer through technical means and found another testament in the mailbox.

The contents of the two testaments were almost identical, with only wording differences.

One testament isn’t enough?

Need two?

What kind of person needs to write two testaments before dying....