Chapter 384: One Wave Three Folds, Layer Upon Layer of Reversals?

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

His gaze fell once more on that computer screen, fingers tapping lightly on the mouse, the webpage scrolling up and down, flowing past were line after line of eye-catching news headlines.

On the screen, overwhelming reports surged like a tide, every single headline like a brilliant arrow, pointing straight at the focal point of public attention:

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

"Second Prison Reform — The Story I Have to Tell About the Last Place Elimination System."

"Qian Huan, A Wronged Reformer!"

".. …."

These headline news, some true some false, some half true half false, some entirely fabricated, but every single tone sounded dead certain.

Anyone who didn't know would think they were all prison guards from the Second Prison, eyewitness insiders, or that the wronged souls who died in the riot had visited media people in their dreams.

But whichever kind, they were all a sustained and forceful response or rebuttal to that earlier prison exposé by the well-known independent media figure 【Mound Old Tree】.

The voices of these media outlets were not unified; that would have been too deliberate, and instead would have made it easy to sniff out traces of "manipulating public opinion."

The masses are stupid, but not completely stupid.

So, in these media reports, a portion of the media firmly supported Mound Old Tree, standing on the side of justice, speaking out for him.

Their articles were filled with attacks on Prison Warden Qian Huan, sparing no effort to expose his so-called "inhuman" conduct,

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

While another portion of the media clearly stood on the opposite side, writing article after article of "restoration" and "deconstruction."

They conducted a meticulous re-analysis of the Second Prison incident, breaking Mound Old Tree's exposé into pieces, picking out the loopholes and "suspicions" within.

Even worse, some directly packaged the whole affair as a meticulously planned conspiracy, claiming 【Mound Old Tree】 was a pawn of evil reactionary forces.

Vicious intent, ulterior motives, his exposé was eating human blood steamed buns, inciting the masses against the Executive Government, destroying the stability and prosperity of the Nine Districts.

These "opposing voices" intertwined and mixed, seemingly providing a diversified arena of public opinion, in reality making the entire incident increasingly puzzling.

The dispute between support and opposition grew ever more fierce, mud and sand mixed together, truth and falsehood hard to distinguish.

And the final result was that Mound Old Tree's original detailed and powerful, heart-striking exposé, instead got unknowingly submerged in this endless stream of media reports.

And as the party at the center of the public opinion storm, Qian Huan was absolutely the one who knew the inside story best, who saw most clearly.

He sat in his office, coldly watching netizens argue until there was no opening, two viewpoints clashing head-on, as if every single person grasped the "truth."

The corner of Qian Huan's mouth curled up slightly, carrying a trace of mocking amusement.

While browsing those fierce disputes, he silently reviewed the whole course of events in his heart:

The start of the matter, thanks to the independent media figure 【Mound Old Tree】, that article was like a heavy bomb, thrusting Qian Huan and the Second Prison onto the crest of the public opinion wave.

At that time, voices online were almost entirely one-sided, public opinion like rising seawater, surging and unstoppable.

Everyone was attacking the Second Prison's "Last Place Elimination System," cursing him Qian Huan as a "cold-blooded bureaucrat" plus "capitalist," some even comparing him to a "modern-day slave owner."

Netizens were collectively enraged, jointly calling on the Executive Government to thoroughly investigate the Second Prison, to prosecute Qian Huan.

For a time, he Qian Huan nearly fell into a sure-death situation; to seek a way out, he had no choice but to seek help from Councilor Wang Xinfa and General Manager Lu Chenjia.

A truly heavyweight combination of a genuine bureaucrat and capitalist, he invited them to the table together, using his own flesh.

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

A media person broke the news that Qian Huan was merely an airborne "bare-bones commander"; although nominally the Prison Warden, in reality he was just a puppet placed on the stage.

The Last Place Elimination System was not proposed by him at all, but was cooked up by a bunch of powerful Zone Chiefs inside the Second Prison.

The evidence was, on that "Last Place Elimination System" document, there were not only Qian Huan's signature, but also the signatures of a whole crowd of Zone Chiefs.

The "truth" was actually — those Zone Chiefs joined forces to pressure Qian Huan into signing, then deliberately provoked the prison riot, the purpose being to force him out of office.

And behind all this, what was involved was not merely the Second Prison's internal struggle, but rose to the level of the entire Prison System's reform push and obstruction.

The waters inside run deep indeed.....

This exposé, like a heavy bomb, instantly exploded into bloom on the internet.

The originally one-sided condemnation began to show cracks; people started to question whether Qian Huan really was the chief culprit, or rather, was he just a scapegoat pushed to the front?

The direction of public opinion began to sway, like a reed blown about by the wind, uncertain whether to lean left or right.

Soon, public opinion split into two camps.

One camp still insisted Qian Huan got what he deserved, was that cold ruthless bureaucrat, should bear full responsibility for the prison riot;

The other camp began to defend him, believing he was merely a sacrificial victim of power struggle, the real black hands were those powerful figures hiding behind the scenes;

The two camps argued until there was no opening, and just when public opinion fell into deadlock, the "Gong Lao's Suicide Note" incident added another fire to this storm.

The suicide note was exposed by Chen Yang, its content pointing directly at Qian Huan, accusing his "Last Place Elimination System" of causing extreme injustice and oppression inside the prison.

Thus, the previously slightly balanced two camps were thrown into chaos again, angry condemnation surging like a tide.

However, the development of events soon became puzzling and mysterious.

Not long after the suicide note was made public, Chen Yang committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

The Patrol Bureau subsequently announced the case details, pointing out that Chen Yang was suspected of accepting bribes during his lifetime, intending to frame and plant evidence.

And, the Patrol Bureau further disclosed that the bribes Chen Yang accepted had intricate connections with the Second Prison's interior, provoking endless speculation.

This discovery was undoubtedly another bomb, making the whole affair even more complex.

The whole affair was like a roller-coaster suspense drama, one wave three folds, layer upon layer of reversals, leaving the public dazzled yet crying out in satisfaction.

The masses' brains seemed to have been thrown into a high-speed blender, thoroughly stirred into mush.

The vast majority of people's meager simple brain cells, at this critical juncture, were clearly no longer enough.

But this was far from over.

The Patrol Bureau immediately posted the investigation progress online, stating they had used technical means to restore Gong Lao's computer email, discovering there was yet another suicide note in the inbox.

The contents of the two suicide notes were almost completely identical, the only difference being the wording and phrasing.

One suicide note wasn't enough?

Two?

What kind of person needs to write two suicide notes before dying.

End of Chapter