Seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control, the head of the paid trolls immediately contacted the employer behind this smear campaign against Qi Gu: Qi Gu's former manager, Wei Cai.
The moment Wei Cai heard that many of the trolls had received legal letters and had their accounts banned for inappropriate language, he hung up, declaring that this was the troll boss's own problem. Since he had taken Wei Cai's money, he should do the job and solve the problem! Besides, they had yet to sign a contract, so they were not officially working together.
Staring at the disconnected call, the troll boss was so angry his face twisted.
His chest heaved as he panted, thinking about what to do next.
Judging by the current situation, he definitely would not be getting the remaining payment... and he had lost a large batch of accounts he had painstakingly cultivated!
Hatred for Wei Cai surged through the troll boss. I've lost so much, and you think you can walk away unscathed?
He simply posted in the work group: We can't let things escalate to actually getting sued, going to court, and paying damages over that measly payment. Everyone, just post apologies on your accounts. The smear job is canceled, but... remember to name Wei Cai before apologizing and explain that he was the mastermind!
He had more than a dozen troll studios under him, and the one working with Wei Cai was only one of them. Even if exposing his employer ruined its reputation this time, it did not matter. As long as he still had the trolls and accounts, he could rebrand and start over whenever he wanted!
A small price to pay to get back at that payment-dodging scumbag Wei Cai. Why not?
Soon, the troll accounts were all identifying Wei Cai as the instigator on Weibo and in the livestream chats, sparking another wave of avid gossip among netizens.
Some condemned Wei Cai for leaving no room for future goodwill, while others thought he had done the right thing and that Qi Gu deserved his revenge. In short, opinions were divided.
As events unfolded, a major star who had been hesitating over whether to sign with Wei Cai finally decided to cut her losses...
Wei Cai seemed good-tempered on the surface, yet in private he held such grudges that he would spend a fortune smearing an artist whose contract had ended a year ago!
If she ended her contract with Wei Cai in the future, how would he treat her?
She was better off not signing at all!
While that side descended into an ugly dogfight, Qi Gu was positively relaxed and at ease in the second-floor corridor of the clinic. All that had changed was that he was eating five-spice braised eggs instead of tiger-skin chicken feet.
[Ah... everyone out there is fighting over him, and he's still eating? This guy's on another level of unbothered.]
[So what brand are those braised eggs? I can't quite make it out right now.]
[Snack list.jpg. Here you go, no thanks needed.]
[Thanks, sis!]
[Ah... don't you guys think the comments have gotten a lot nicer since those trolls posted their apologies?]
[They really have. Looks like a lot of people were getting led around by the trolls earlier.]
[Seriously, looking at Qi Gu, I'd believe you if you said he hid in a hotel gorging himself on snacks, but if you said he was sleeping with fans there... it just doesn't feel very convincing.]
[Quietly seconding this. Feels like this guy put all his desire points into food. Can't be bothered to latch onto a rich woman, can't be bothered to catch a handsome guy throwing himself into his arms.]
[Oh, let me show you a GIF of Qi Gu playing a wild man at a scenic attraction. He was in exactly this mental state back then. All the other wild men were shrieking to scare the visitors, while he alone huddled with his back to them, secretly stuffing his face with bananas from the attraction's banana trees!]
[He even got reported to the attraction's management afterward for slacking off on the job.]
Inside examination room one, the moment Lin Hanzhi entered, a snow-white skeleton displaying organs of various colors came into view.
It was presumably a custom-made skeletal model designed to make explaining the locations of the organs to patients easier.
Lin Hanzhi and his camera operator walked around the skeleton and searched the examination room.
Halfway through their search, they suddenly heard a clinking behind them, like wind chimes stirred by a breeze.
Looking closely, they discovered that the skeleton was moving toward them without any wind!
Its white bones gleamed eerily, its organs and blood vessels starkly exposed.
Terror filled Lin Hanzhi's handsome face, and he looked as frail as a willow in the breeze... then he snatched up a ten-centimeter-thick medical tome beside him with swift, precise force and brought it crashing down on the skeleton's head.
Clatter, clatter.
The skeleton shattered into pieces, beyond reassembly.
Meanwhile, Lin Hanzhi maintained his delicate expression, his pale cheeks flushed from the strenuous exercise.
He nudged the skeletal model on the floor with the toe of his black leather boot, looking sincerely concerned. "I won't have to pay for breaking this, will I? I'm so sorry. I tend to overreact when I'm startled, and I can't really judge how far to go."
At that, the camera operator immediately stepped twice to the side, terrified of inadvertently startling this precious young man and then having his head smashed in with a ten-centimeter-thick tome.
[Wait... are you kidding me?!]
[When the skeleton started moving in the background, I was already getting too scared to look. I had my incantations and hand seals ready to go... who knew it would end like this!]
[Same here.]
[So... absolute strength can defeat all ghosts and monsters?]
[That non-celebrity guy reacts so fast. Didn't expect someone who looks so delicate to be that strong, though. Look what he did to that poor ghost. You couldn't even glue it back together.]
[Ghost: Could you show a little courtesy?]
[You know, the contrast is kind of cute. He's super scared of ghosts, but one blow with a book and the evil ghost instantly crumbles to bits...]
[That persona really is cute.]
[Meanwhile, in a corner no one's watching, the camera operator is quietly distancing himself from the easily startled non-celebrity guy, hahahahaha.]
[I'd keep my distance too. My HP bar's too short to survive a hit that heavy.]
[Ghost: Never mind humans. Even ghosts can't take that hit...]
Lin Hanzhi was the first of the four to find a clue card and return to the corridor.
"Master Qi!" He looked aggrieved, like a child running to a parent to complain after being bullied.
"What happened?" Qi Gu saw that his clothes were neat; he did not look as though he had been through anything intense.
"A skeleton in there suddenly started moving. It scared me to death!" Lin Hanzhi looked pitiful, his eyes shimmering with moisture.
Qi Gu frowned and professionally looked him up and down. "Are you all right? Why didn't you call me?"
[Because he smashed it to pieces with a single book, hahahahaha.]
[I'm dying. Shouldn't the skeleton be the pitiful one? It's in pieces all over the floor. Who's it supposed to complain to? Is there any justice left? Any law?]
[I seriously can't stop laughing.]
"No," Lin Hanzhi said, earnestly raising his pale, jade-like hand and pointing to a cut on his palm so tiny that it would heal if it went unnoticed any longer. "That skeleton cut my hand. Do you have any medicine? Could you put some on for me?"
Qi Gu stared at the cut, which had absolutely no need to waste medical resources, and said nothing.
Lin Hanzhi tilted his head. "?"
Qi Gu kept it brief. "Wait three seconds."
Lin Hanzhi obediently stayed where he was and waited.
Three seconds later, Qi Gu glanced expressionlessly at his palm and delivered his verdict. "It's healed."
"..."
Before you continue