Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

"Sis! Look! That fat pig... he posted a video!"

The three heads immediately came together.

The video's thumbnail shows a face bruised and swollen, with blood at the corner of the mouth and eyes swollen like walnuts. The title is:

"I'm just an honest person who wants to care about young people, why did I get a beating in return?"

Click to watch the video.

In the video, the man referred to as "Team Leader Zhou" is crying and pleading with the camera.

The injuries on his face were clearly visible in the phone camera lens, especially the chipped front tooth.

"I...I really didn't expect that."

"These young girls have just come to the factory. I see they are young, so I want to show them more care about their work and life."

"That day, I noticed her technique wasn't quite right, so I wanted to go up and give her some pointers, reminding her to be careful..."

"Who knew...who knew she'd slap me right away!"

As he spoke, he covered his face with his hands, his shoulders trembling, and his voice choked with emotion.

"I'm a man in my forties, and I was beaten up by a young girl in front of so many people. Don't I have any dignity? I was furious, so I argued with her for a bit, and then the three of them... the three of them cornered me and started punching and kicking me..."

"They knocked out this tooth of mine," he said, pointing to his gapping tooth. "I just want to ask everyone, is there no law anymore? Just because they are women, does that give them the right to beat people up? Am I, an honest and law-abiding worker, just supposed to be bullied like this?"

The video is short, but very effective. It immediately establishes the image of an honest person being bullied.

The comment section of the video completely exploded.

"Holy crap! So that's the truth!"

"That's a complete distortion of the truth! Those three women are so vicious!"

"Support Team Leader Zhou in protecting his rights! We must call the police!"

"Get out of Hegang! We don't need this kind of violent woman!"

Online public opinion completely reversed at this moment.

Wang Min and the other two stared blankly at their phones, their minds completely blank.

They returned to their account homepage, and the comments section was full of insults directed at them.

"A violent woman!"

"Social scum!"

"Looks decent enough, but has such a black heart!"

Refreshing the page reveals hundreds of new insults.

Just then, an official notification from the platform popped up at the top of the phone screen.

Dear creator, your account content has sparked significant controversy and poses a risk of negative influence. Therefore, the platform will be imposing strict traffic controls on your account. Please publish positive, healthy, and uplifting content to help maintain a healthy community environment.

"Traffic...control?" Wang Min muttered to herself, still not understanding the meaning of those four words.

With trembling hands, she clicked on a newly posted video next to her, which recorded them eating a luxury business set meal.

Released ten minutes ago.

Views: 32.

Likes: 1.

Comments: 0.

It’s over.

……

Meanwhile, Li Li was wearing a face mask and leisurely scrolling through her phone.

When she saw the "violent female internet celebrity" incident going viral in local groups, she laughed out loud with schadenfreude.

"Serves them right. A few uncultured young women, do they really think they can rise to the top overnight?"

She shared her opinions within her close circle of friends, enjoying the praise she received for her "foresight."

"Sister Lily, you knew they weren't good people a long time ago."

"Exactly, vulgar people won't go far."

While replying "Of course," Li Li clicked on the viral video that had made her jealous all afternoon, wanting to see how these clowns would fall apart.

But as she watched, the smile on her face slowly disappeared.

Having worked in the self-media field for two years, she understands the ins and outs far better than the average person.

She realized something was wrong.

It's not right.

The video's pacing is fantastic. The silly, wolfing-down-food-on-the-train moment, interspersed with the highly theatrical dance, creates a very unique effect.

In particular, Wang Min's monologue, used as voice-over narration alongside the scenes of them dancing, was a stroke of genius.

The narrative structure, the editing techniques, and the perfectly timed music...

Li Li felt a chill run down her spine.

This is definitely not something a few young girls could come up with!

If they had that kind of brain, their account wouldn't have only had a few dozen followers after half a year.

A name suddenly popped into her mind.

Gu Ming.

The man in the coffee shop who said he had opened a company called "Star Media" and wanted to promote internet celebrities.

The thought made her head spin.

Is it...

Did he make that video?

Was he the mastermind behind all of this? From igniting public opinion to the current widespread online condemnation?

No, the subsequent online backlash was probably not his doing; it was an accident.

But the initial surge in popularity was definitely orchestrated by him!

Li Li immediately understood.

He used a story about resistance as a starting point, which perfectly captured the feelings of the working class who watch the most videos on short video platforms.

He exploited their authenticity while amplifying their labels.

This man... he's creating a story!

Li Li gasped.

She had even mocked him before, calling him a good-for-nothing who couldn't make it in a big city and had returned to a small county to sponge off his parents.

My tens of thousands of followers are like children playing house in front of a professional trader like him!

She finally understood why the man had remained so calm throughout the entire encounter at the coffee shop.

That was a kind of indifference that completely disregarded him.

……

"Waaaaah... What do we do, sis... Everyone online is criticizing us..."

In the rented room, no one spoke; the atmosphere was heavy.

Zhang Hong and Liu Liu hugged their knees, huddled in the corner of the bed, tears streaming down their faces.

The more arrogant they were before, the more pathetic they are now.

This was the first time they had experienced the devastating power of cyberbullying; the insults felt like knives stabbing into their hearts.

Wang Min's face was deathly pale, and the cigarette in her hand had burned down to the tip before she realized it was hot.

She tried posting a video to clarify, saying that Team Leader Zhou was the one harassing them.

Half an hour later, the number of views remained in the double digits.

Seeing her two younger sisters crying uncontrollably, and recalling Team Leader Zhou's twisted logic, Wang Min's remaining pride and confidence crumbled.

She panicked completely.

She thought of that calm face.

The man who gave them bread and instant noodles, casually edited a video, and made them famous.

He was the only hope.

With trembling hands, Wang Min retrieved the number from her call log.

She took a deep breath and dialed.

The call was connected.

"Feed?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Wang Min could no longer hold back all her pent-up emotions.

Her voice was thick with sobs as she cried out:

"Brother...we...we seem to be in big trouble..."