The Narrative Spun Out of Control!

Time slipped quietly by.

It was already time to return to work in the afternoon.

Before they knew it, they had spent the entire lunch break watching Ye Jin.

They hadn't had any time to rest.

Yet they didn't feel sleepy at all.

They were brimming with energy.

Even when it was time to return to work, they kept the livestream open on the side.

Reading was already a super boring activity.

Watching someone else read was even more boring.

Only people with a screw loose would do something like that.

But they would rather have a screw loose than miss a single thing about Ye Jin.

Ye Jin remained seated, unmoving as a mountain, like a statue of Acala, the Immovable Wisdom King.

If an ordinary person were reading such a boring book, they would have been unable to sit still long ago and might even have started yawning.

But Ye Jin looked as though he had been pumped full of chicken blood. He was bursting with energy, without the slightest sign of fatigue.

The book in his hands still flipped past at a rapid pace.

There wasn't the slightest pause.

All his movements flowed like clouds and water, utterly natural.

Sitting there, he looked like a scholar absorbed in contemplating life and exploring Humanity's Future.

Time slowly passed.

One minute...

Two minutes...

Three minutes...

Five minutes...

Eight minutes...

At last, at the eight-minute mark, Ye Jin closed the book.

He had finished the book in eight minutes from start to finish.

He didn't need to read the contents carefully at all. One glance was enough.

It was enough to trigger the Talent Points mechanism.

The moment he closed the book, viewers all over the world let out a breath in unison, as though the pressure in their hearts had been released.

He had finally closed the book.

Watching Ye Jin read had been sheer torture for them, too.

If a high school student had read for that long, that would have been one thing.

High school students were at the stage when their powers of concentration were strongest. Even if they were made to pore over the most difficult books, they could keep at it.

But Ye Jin... was already an adult.

After spending their university years relaxing, how many people could still focus on a book as intently as he did?

More importantly, Ye Jin hadn't majored in computer science. He had studied architecture.

Nor had he attended a national Double First-Class university. It was just an ordinary first-tier university.

That made it even harder for them to understand.

He had crossed into another major and a different field of knowledge, yet he could still read with such relish.

Was there treasure in there?

They hadn't believed it was beyond them at first, thinking they could do it too.

But when they found a few computer science textbooks to read, they nearly threw up.

There was no way they could say Ye Jin was just dabbling.

His expression was far too serious, far too focused.

To say he wasn't being serious would be speaking against one's conscience. Heaven would strike them down with lightning for it.

But to say he was reading seriously, damn it... heaven would strike them down for that too!

Ye Jin stood up again.

"He's finally finished. Surely he won't read anymore, right?"

"Damn it, if Ye Jin keeps reading, I won't be able to hold out. What can he possibly learn from this?"

"This is insane! He can even get absorbed in such a boring book. I read one for a little while and nearly coughed up blood!"

And yet...

Eyeballs dropped to the floor all over the comment section once again.

The breath they had just released caught in their throats again.

Ye Jin had walked back to the same bookshelf, put the book back where it belonged, and picked up another one, The Engine of Logic.

He returned to his seat and began his reading journey once more.

The previous book had actually lit up two points of light for him.

It was an unexpected little surprise.

Two hundred and eighty Talent Points.

That would let him read fourteen books.

He had read two now, leaving... twelve.

He had only just begun!

Here he went again!!?

Here he went again!!!

Here he went again!!!

Countless viewers roared in their hearts.

This was simply the most supernatural event of the year.

He just kept flipping through books without end.

Was he possessed?

Brian narrowed his eyes. "Ye Jin of the Nine Domains Nation has picked up his third book. This is already the third book he's finished reading... no, finished flipping through."

"I really don't understand. Is there any point in him doing all this?"

"If it's all meaningless, then why is he doing it?"

Brian had an ulterior motive in saying that.

He had made a comment intended to steer the narrative.

"Brian is right. None of this means anything. It's a complete waste of time."

"He finished a book in eight minutes. Do you think that's possible?"

"So this is how people from the Nine Domains Nation treat knowledge. He's wasting time, wasting his life, and showing no respect for the original author. He needs to apologize and beg the author for forgiveness."

"Exactly. Even if someone like that wins, there's no honor in it. This is a desecration of knowledge. It's all for show."

"I seriously suspect he's in cahoots with the production team, and might even be someone they selected for the show from the start. Everything he's doing is just pretending to work hard."

"Production team, get your asses out here and apologize! What kind of trash show is this? You're deceiving the audience and wasting our time. Get out here and apologize, trash!"

"Host, I believe this has nothing to do with you, but the production team behind you isn't innocent. I hope you can see the situation clearly and join us in standing up to boycott them."

The narrative was being steered further and further off course.

Gradually, it headed toward a point beyond anyone's control.

When Brian heard the comments that followed, cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

He cursed every one of them in his heart and sent his regards to their families dozens of times.

Damn it, if you want to court death, can you leave me out of it?

Fuck your mothers, you can run your mouths without a care, but what about me?

The audience didn't know how deep the waters ran here, but how could he not know?

The waters here were too deep to fathom.

At the thought of the terrifying forces behind it all, his body went limp and his scalp tingled.

As he steered the narrative, it had somehow turned on him.

He had dug a pit and fallen into it himself.

He was the first.

This was insane, absolutely insane!

He wanted nothing more than to spit a mouthful of blood onto the camera in front of him.

He seemed to see the director's utterly icy face.

He desperately wanted to tell these people to shut up.

But this was a global livestream. If he did that, his reputation would be ruined.

The commenters still refused to let him go. Instead, the narrative they were steering grew more and more extreme.

"The host has such a strong sense of justice. He'll definitely join us in boycotting the show!"

"If the host hadn't spoken up, I wouldn't even have realized this show was rigged. The host is a hero!"

"The rigging is far too obvious. They're practically sewing a wedding dress for someone else. A show like this is the trashiest of trash. It's deceiving billions of viewers around the world."

Brian instantly gained countless supporters.

Brian desperately tried to shake off all the halos they had placed on him.

But the more he tried to shake them off, the tighter they clung.

And as the comments grew more and more outrageous, he seemed to see his miserable future.

Although he also had the power of capital behind him, that capital wasn't even worth mentioning before the Human Destiny Alliance.

He would only be thrown away as a disposable pawn.

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Ailiya didn't dare say a word, terrified that an explanation of her own would bring trouble down on her.

Brian's hands were trembling. Unable to hold back, he roared on the show, "All of you, shut up!"

His roar instantly silenced the comment section.

Only after shouting did he realize he had lost his composure.

He hurried to make amends.

"Please, viewers, be rational in how you view the show. The production team has dozens of the world's top psychologists as guests. They would never falsify anything. Please trust the production team."

After he finished speaking,

the director's icy voice came through his earpiece.

"Come to my office after the overnight shift change."

Hearing those icy words, he felt a chill run through his heart.

He seemed to have already seen the miserable end awaiting him.

At that moment, he utterly hated the viewers in the comments who had echoed him.

He had never hated a group of people so much.

He wished every last one of them would die.

The recommendation votes haven't been very strong these past two days, and I'm starting to lose it. Brothers, let's go, let's go!