Double evil in the business district

Hong Shuijun's sinister laughter echoed through the luxurious living room, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, chilling and chilling. Xiao Yue and Detective Luo exchanged glances, each seeing shock and confusion in the other's eyes. Why was Hong Shuijun here? What on earth was he trying to do?

"You...how could you..." Xiao Yue suppressed the fear in his heart and tried to keep his voice calm.

Hong Shuijun smiled contemptuously: "What? Are you surprised? I told you long ago that we would meet again." The dagger in his hand spun flexibly at his fingertips, reflecting the cold light, adding a bit of dangerous atmosphere.

Detective Luo observed the surroundings vigilantly, and quietly protected Xiao Yue behind him. "Hong Shuijun, what do you want to do?"

Hong Shuijun stood up and slowly walked in front of the two of them, his eyes full of amusement. "What do I want to do? Of course..."

Before he could finish his words, all the lights in the villa suddenly went out, plunging the living room into darkness. Then, the sound of fighting could be heard, accompanied by a few muffled groans, and it seemed as if figures were moving in the darkness.

Before Xiao Yue and Detective Luo could react, the lights suddenly came on again. They were startled by the scene before them: several men in black appeared from nowhere, engaged in a fierce battle with Hong Shuijun's thugs. Meanwhile, Hong Shuijun himself was being firmly restrained by a towering figure.

"Shen Ting!" Xiao Yue recognized the figure at a glance, and a warm feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

Shen Ting nodded slightly at her, his eyes filled with comfort and determination. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

It turned out that Shen Ting had long anticipated that the Flood Army might harm Xiao Yue and secretly arranged bodyguards to protect her. The "man in black" just now was sent by Shen Ting.

With the assistance of Shen Ting's bodyguards, Detective Luo quickly subdued the remaining thugs. Hong Shuijun's arm was twisted behind his back, his face livid, but he was powerless to resist.

"Take him away!" Shen Ting ordered coldly.

The bodyguards escorted Hong Shuijun and his thugs out. Shen Ting walked up to Xiao Yue and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

Xiao Yue shook her head, her heart filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Shen Ting."

Shen Ting patted her shoulder gently, his eyes full of tenderness. "I said, I will protect you."

Detective Luo retrieved his briefcase from the chaos, pulled out a document, and handed it to Xiao Yue. "Ms. Xiao, this is the evidence we collected earlier. Now we can hand it over to the police."

This document contains the names and transaction records of Hong Shuijun, Zhang Bozhu and other people who participated in the online water army attack on Xiao's enterprise, which is sufficient to prove the fact that they maliciously slandered and spread rumors.

Xiao Yue took the document, took a deep breath, and called the police. After receiving the report, the police quickly took action and arrested the suspects. Hong Shuijun's company was also taken into police custody, pending further investigation.

Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction, but Shen Ting's expression remained grim. He walked to the French window, gazing out at the distant cityscape, and whispered, "This isn't over yet..." His gaze fell on the flashing news feed on his phone—"Has the Xiao family crisis truly been resolved? Let's wait and see." He turned to Xiao Yue and said, "There's still a lot to do."

Shen Ting's words made Xiao Yue's heart sink. She knew that even with this evidence, it would not be easy to reverse the public's negative impression. This war of public opinion had just begun.

At that moment, in the hospital, Public Relations Officer Lin leaned weakly on the hospital bed, her face pale but her eyes gleaming. An assistant handed her a phone, the screen displaying news of the police investigation into online trolls.

She clutched her phone tightly, a smile of relief playing on her lips. "Xiao Yue, you really didn't let me down." Upon learning that Xiao Yue had found crucial evidence, she immediately contacted her colleagues in the Propaganda Department and instructed them in a hoarse voice: "Prepare a press conference immediately to clarify the facts, publish positive publicity materials, and contact all major media platforms. We must fight back!" Despite her frail body, her tone was full of strength, like a lamp about to burn out, releasing its last dazzling light. Her colleagues in the Propaganda Department were inspired by her spirit and threw themselves into the intense work.

Online, the tide of opinion began to shift. Netizen Feng, who had initially called for a boycott of Xiao's company, began to feel uneasy after hearing about the police investigation. He had initially merely followed the trend with a few comments, not delving into the underlying situation. Now, seeing the gravity of the situation, he realized he might have been misled.

"Is the Xiao family truly being wronged?" he silently asked himself, his previously heated rhetoric gradually subsiding as he turned to wait and see how the situation developed. There were many people like Feng, who had initially been swayed by public opinion, but now, seeing the turn of events, they began to reflect on their actions. The online abuse gradually subsided, replaced by observation and discussion.

After Xiao Yue and Shen Ting left the villa, they didn't go straight back to the company. Instead, they went to a quiet cafe. Shen Ting handed Xiao Yue a cup of hot coffee and whispered, "Have a drink to warm yourself up." Xiao Yue took the coffee, holding the cup with both hands, feeling the warmth, and her heart gradually calmed down. She knew the road ahead was still long, but she no longer felt lonely and helpless, because she had Shen Ting by her side, and her friends and colleagues who supported her.

"What should we do next?" Xiao Yue raised his head, his eyes full of determination.

Shen Ting pondered for a moment and said, "What we need to do is not only to clarify the facts, but also to find the mastermind behind this and completely resolve this issue." He took out his phone and dialed a number. "Help me check which competitors have been shorting the Xiao Group in the stock market recently..."

Meanwhile, in another upscale apartment, blogger Zhang paced anxiously. He had just received news that Hong Shuijun had been taken away by the police, and the huge sum of money he had previously received had become a hot potato. With trembling hands, he tried to delete the articles he had previously posted that slandered the Xiao family, but it was too late. Those articles had already been widely reposted, causing a huge backlash online.

He slumped on the sofa, his face pale, muttering to himself: "It's over, everything is over..." He picked up the phone and wanted to make a call, but hesitated.

"Hello..." A deep voice came from the other end of the phone, "How's it going?"

When blogger Zhang heard this voice, his whole body trembled, and his phone slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a crisp sound...

Blogger Zhang collapsed to the ground, his clothes soaked with cold sweat. The news of Hong Shuijun's arrest and the investigation of his financial backers was like thunder, leaving him completely bewildered. He frantically grabbed his phone and tried to delete the articles smearing the Xiao family, but it was too late. The articles had already spread like a virus, deeply rooted in every corner of the internet. He closed his eyes in despair, knowing he was finished, completely finished. The phone rang again, like a death warrant, and Blogger Zhang pressed the answer button with trembling hands.

"How's it going?" The voice on the other end of the phone was low and cold, with a hint of impatience.

Blogger Zhang explained incoherently, trying to defend himself, but the other party did not give him a chance at all, leaving only a cold warning: "You'd better pray that you don't leave any handle, otherwise..." After the phone was hung up, Blogger Zhang collapsed to the ground dejectedly. He knew that what was waiting for him would be an endless abyss.

Meanwhile, news of Shen Ting's mortgaged assets finally reached the Shen family. The family was in an uproar, with many accusing Shen Ting of reckless behavior. Elder Shen was furious, summoning Shen Ting to his study and giving him a beating.

"Do you know what you are doing? You actually mortgaged all the company's assets for a woman!" Mr. Shen's voice was trembling, and he was obviously very angry.

Shen Ting stood there calmly, knowing he had to give an explanation to his family. "Grandpa, I'm doing this not just for Xiao Yue, but also for the company. If the Xiao family's crisis isn't resolved promptly, it will impact our cooperation and even the entire market." He spoke with a firm tone, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

Although Mr. Shen was dissatisfied, he did not pursue the matter any further when he saw that the situation had improved. He just snorted coldly, "I hope you can handle it well this time and don't let me down again."

Xiao Yue and Detective Luo compiled the evidence they gathered into a detailed report and released it publicly. The report detailed the activities of the online troll army, the source of their funding, and evidence of Zhang's bribery. It even revealed some clues about the mastermind behind the scheme. However, online public opinion hasn't completely subsided, and some netizens remain skeptical of Xiao. They believe the evidence may have been fabricated or deliberately fabricated by Xiao to clear his name.

"I don't believe it! These evidences were provided by Xiao himself. Who knows if they are true?"

"Exactly. With all the negative information about him, how could he be cleared of all this in one go?"

"They must have paid for the "troll army" and now they're paying to whitewash it. Money really can get you anything you want!"

Xiao Yue frowned as she looked at these comments. She knew that relying on this evidence alone wouldn't be enough to completely reverse the public's negative impression. She had to find a more effective way to convince those netizens who were still skeptical.

"It seems we need to do something," Xiao Yue muttered to herself, her gaze fixed on the computer screen, a determined glint flashing. "Perhaps..." She suddenly had an idea, picked up her phone, and dialed a number. "Hey, please contact a professional videographer for me. I need to record a video..."