The livestream exploded.
The viewers, already seething with anger, had previously tolerated the paid trolls and keyboard warriors. But now? Meng Hao, the CEO of Huarong Technology, the developer of mechs hailed as the strongest on Earth by the Russian Federation, the man who had toiled tirelessly overseas to ensure China's lithography machines were no longer bottlenecked by foreign powers – he had been imprisoned due to a celebrity's machinations.
And now, these trolls and keyboard warriors were maliciously slandering Meng Hao for a pittance. This had crossed the line for the netizens. Those who provided for others should not be left to perish in the storm. Meng Hao was precisely that Prometheus, who stole fire for China's scientific research.
"You trolls upstairs, go die!"
"Even working in a factory screwing bolts would be better than taking this conscience-money!"
"Say, were you orphaned as a child, is that why you earn money like this?"
Unexpectedly, the enraged viewers, who usually didn't engage in such arguments, were now fiercely united. Meng Hao, too, frowned. He was already in a foul mood. For the first time in his life, he had been sent to a detention center, and for no apparent reason. Who wouldn't be upset?
"Mech Ji, blacklist and ban all those who are spreading misinformation..."
"Have you all been getting too much leeway?"
"How about this, after I get out, I'll livestream the repair of a lithography machine..." Meng Hao said calmly, as if repairing a lithography machine was no different from fixing a semiconductor radio to him.
"Brother Hao is awesome!"
"Brother Hao is a legend!"
"Brother Hao is a true man!"
"Brother Hao, I'm going to Thailand to change my gender right now, I want to have your babies!"
"You guys are going off-topic!"
Watching the chaotic livestream, Meng Hao, who had been in a terrible mood, couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Thank you all for your support. We must trust the country, and I'll be out soon. Wait for my good news! Mech Ji will post the list of prize winners later... I'm signing off!"
Meng Hao, still feeling down, set a record for the shortest broadcast time. Having started at almost five o'clock, he waved his hand a little past five, signaling Mech Ji, Qin Muyan, to end the stream after drawing the prizes.
As Meng Hao went offline, public sentiment online fully ignited.
The slogan "Support national technological conscience, demand the release of national hero Meng Hao, boycott unscrupulous artists, and arrest Brother Ji and Kun Kun!" unknown from which platform or witty netizen first shouted it, and then exploded across the entire internet. This time, it wasn't just China's police official website that was overloaded by angry netizens. The official accounts of all social media platforms, including Douyin, Toutiao, Zhihu, and Weibo, were flooded with pleas for justice for Meng Hao.
"Those who provide for others should not be left to perish in the storm..."
"Immediately release Prometheus Meng Hao, who brought technological sparks to China..."
"Demand a thorough investigation into Brother Ji and Kun Kun's assault on the elderly lady in the wheelchair, and a strict rectification of the chaotic entertainment industry..."
Brother Ji and Kun Kun, who always relied on hired trolls to spread misinformation, felt the fear of internet backlash for the first time. Countless angry netizens, too bothered to engage in online popularity contests, completely overwhelmed Brother Ji and Kun Kun's accounts across all major platforms. To incite such widespread public disgust, the popular artist Brother Ji and Kun Kun was truly unprecedented. And their usual fans and artist friends had all disappeared – naturally, who would want to be a target and draw fire in such an enraged atmosphere! Not even a single statement was dared to be issued.
Especially Kun Kun's management company. They wished they could curse their idiotic artist to death. They had caused such a massive public outcry that even other artists under the management company were implicated. Strangely, artist Kun Kun and his agent seemed to have vanished into thin air, completely unreachable.
Zhao Chen was in a terrible headache. The entrance to his police precinct was also surrounded by an angry mob. When the online dissatisfaction spilled offline, countless righteous individuals, not far from Zhao Chen's precinct, surrounded the entrance. They held up banners demanding Meng Hao's release. If they had not maintained a basic level of rationality, they would have stormed the precinct to drag Zhao Chen out and question him.
Zhao Chen was almost driven mad. Damn artist Kun Kun. You truly deserved to die, dragging him, Zhao Chen, into this mess. Seeing the situation escalating beyond control, Zhao Chen was about to call his superior, Li Kan, for help.
Suddenly, the shouts of the crowd ceased.
Huh? What happened? Zhao Chen pulled down half of the window, risking being pelted with eggs by the enraged crowd, and stuck half his head out to look.
Huh? Isn't that Brother Ji and Kun Kun? Why is he here?
Huh? Looking at him, he seems to have been apprehended along with his agent. The person behind Kun Kun looks familiar... He remembered. He had seen them when he was on official business at the Shanghai General Bureau. They seemed to be experienced and capable investigative officers who had handled many special cases. So, Kun Kun was also arrested.
Zhao Chen was amused. He quickly led a few capable subordinates and rushed out.
"Hello, comrades from the General Bureau..."
"Is there any official business?"
It wasn't that Zhao Chen was feigning ignorance. He wanted to spread the situation in front of the angry crowd. Otherwise, his precinct would be constantly blocked, severely impacting their work. The senior detectives from the special task force were also cooperative. They winked at Zhao Chen and raised their voices by an octave. If it weren't for not wanting to appear too conspicuous, they would have used a loudspeaker.
"According to the requirements of the General Bureau, the incidents involving Meng Hao and artist Kun Kun have now escalated to criminal cases."
"As the incidents occurred within your jurisdiction, artist Kun Kun is being detained at your precinct."
"This is a copy of artist Kun Kun's medical report. Apart from a concussion, there are no internal or external injuries, so he meets the detention criteria!"
"Do you have any spare cells at your precinct?"
The crowd instantly fell silent. Countless onlookers pulled out their phones and took pictures of artist Kun Kun, who was now wearing handcuffs. As the instigator of the incident, artist Kun Kun was also arrested. This was truly satisfying.
So, when will Brother Hao be released? Full of curiosity, the onlookers awaited Zhao Chen's next words.
"Yes, we have spare cells."
"Recently, we've arrested several perpetrators of sexual assault who used force and coercion against male will. It should be fine to lock Kun Kun up with them, right?" Zhao Chen now hated artist Kun Kun to death. If it weren't for this guy, how could such a huge public outcry have occurred, implicating his precinct as well.