Chapter 482 - 4: The Chaos of the Spiritual Energy Era

May 23, 2016, 9:00 AM.

Netizens following shows like *Walking into the Ruins* and *Stop at the Point* began to discover a shocking fact, one after another.

Without any warning, Su "Elegant and Easygoing" Zhou—the ace judge who had been mysteriously missing for three months, a top-tier troll, a man whose words alone could make contestants weep and agents cry, the most ruthless mentor, and an internet Giant—reappeared on Weibo. He declared that he had achieved a certain degree of Commander Tier strength.

[Ace_Judge_Su_Zhou]: [Went into seclusion for a bit and accidentally broke through. Sigh. The life of a genius is just that simple, ordinary, and dull.]

He casually attached a picture—a selfie, likely taken in the stratosphere at an altitude of 10,000 meters. In the distance, an aircraft with mysterious markings flew past.

Comments:

[JustSayin]: [?]

[DramaKing]: [I don’t know you. Who are you? Why are you on my followed list?]

[WhatDoYouKnow]: [Oh, okay, got it. You’re sooooo great. (Read in a monotone.)]

[RationalAnalysis]: [To be fair, I’m more interested in what’s up with that plane behind Chief Judge Su. It doesn’t look like any current-generation fighter jet, does it?]

Although the Weibo post garnered several thousand replies in just half an hour and topped the trending charts within half a day, at least half of the replies were from highly-skilled anti-fans, experts at being passive-aggressive and stirring up drama. Some hot-tempered guys even replied directly with things like, "’Broke through?’ My ass," setting off a frenzy. Su Zhou himself even joined in, sarcastically replying to his own sarcastic comments and blending in perfectly.

And while a large number of military hardware enthusiasts suddenly popped up to analyze the blurry silhouette in Su Zhou’s photo, trying to determine if it was Zhengguo’s new generation of Spiritual Qi supersonic fighter jet, others came to a different conclusion: Su Zhou’s own speed when he took the selfie had likely surpassed the sound barrier.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Su Zhou had very likely truly broken through to the Commander Tier—but what did that have to do with the peanut gallery?

Of course, aside from the anti-fans, there were also genuine fans asking when Su Zhou would return to the show. They wanted him to once again display his masterful way with words and piercing glare, and to critique the new star agents from various countries who had recently appeared. Su Zhou engaged with them in real-time, assuring them it would be no problem.

However, besides Su Zhou’s anti-fans and fans, fans of another person were expressing their concerns on other major online forums.

[Judge Su is back and even stronger than before, which we’re all used to—but does this mean Selos will have to step down as a permanent judge?]

[Yeah, Su Zhou, Danika, Liumen Mingu, and Mrs. Maciel are the four permanent judges. When Su Zhou disappeared, Selos took his place. But now that Su Zhou is back, she’ll probably have to step down...]

[My heart aches for poor Selos, *sob*. She’s so gentle, kind, and cute, yet she’s being replaced by that troll.]

[Actually, if we’re talking about looks, Judge Su is pretty handsome too, but his general vibe just can’t compare at all.]

「European Federation, Mycenae.」

A young woman with short, brownish-black hair, dressed in goose-down pajamas, was also online. She had a look that was more dashing than cute.

The young woman had black eyes and a slender figure. Her features were soft; while she could be called beautiful, it wasn’t an intimidating kind of beauty. She was very approachable, like the girl next door.

At that moment, she was scrolling through comments on her computer—and you could see she was logged into three different accounts at the same time.

[Judge_Selos]

[WhatDoYouKnow]

[SuZhouFanClub0189235]

"Oh my god, he’s finally back!"

You could see that as soon as the young woman, Selos, saw Su Zhou’s declaration of his return—which had become a global trending topic hailing him as ’The First of Modern Humanity to Reach the Commander Tier’—her eyes lit up. Her hands immediately began to fly across the keyboard, posting three completely different comments as if she had multiple personalities.

[Judge_Selos]: [Congratulations on your return, Elder Su, and on breaking through to the Commander Tier! *streamers*]

[WhatDoYouKnow]: [Oh, okay, got it. You’re sooooo great. (Read in a monotone.)]

[SuZhouFanClub0189235]: [Su Su is the GOAT! To celebrate Su Zhou’s return, I’m starting a Weibo giveaway right now.]

You could see that in her home, there were many strange and unusual objects lying around. Among them was a large, fluffy Pikachu plushie and game consoles scattered carelessly about. On the TV in the living room, a pre-recorded show was playing, and Su Zhou’s voice could be faintly heard coming from it.

Of course, among these strange objects, the most conspicuous was a dazzling, golden, collector’s edition, chibi-style porcelain figurine—it depicted a certain someone sitting leisurely in his chair, a turn-button placed before him!

[2015 Best Judge of the Year: Collector’s Commemorative Edition]

At this very moment, a twisted smile spread across Selos’s face as she posted her comments. On one hand, she was leaving passive-aggressive remarks; on the other, she was hosting a giveaway to celebrate Su Zhou’s return. You could even see that she was an administrator for a Su Zhou fan group, and an extremely active one at that!

And when faced with replies attacking her own passive-aggressive comment, she justifiably hammered out a response on her keyboard: "What’s wrong with it? He’s so strong that no one can even hope to catch up to him. Are you saying people aren’t even allowed to hate on him a little?"

—An anti-fan is still a fan.

"Isn’t that the truth!"

At this exact moment, in Zhengguo’s Western Capital, a certain Miss Garuda was drinking milk tea. When she saw that comment, she felt an intense kinship and exclaimed, "Exactly! What’s wrong with all these replies? Who do these people think Su Zhou is, that they won’t even let anyone hate on him a little?"