Chapter 432

“Lin Yongkun has to step down! A leader who twists right and wrong can’t give us true fairness!”

“Punish Chenyang! We can’t let a villain like him get away!”

“Give our Brother Ji the justice he deserves! We want fairness!”

“We want fairness!!”

Incited by the die-hard fans, the initial chorus of criticism and gossip directed at Lin Jiji instantly transformed into a unified chant.

In an instant, the entire hospital courtyard erupted once more. The roar was deafening, drawing in more and more passersby until the scene was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Even when several police officers stepped forward with bullhorns or tried to single out the ringleaders and tell them to calm down, it had no effect. As the crowd surged forward, they even pushed several of the officers out of the way.

Seeing this, the expressions on the faces of Zhang Hongtu and the other city officials grew grave.

“I used to hear stories about fans driving bystanders insane or bullying them into jumping off buildings just to defend their idols, and I always thought it was absurd, completely outrageous. But seeing it with my own eyes today… I have to admit, a celebrity’s influence is truly powerful. And when their fans go wild, it’s genuinely terrifying.”

“Terrifying? It’s beyond that. It’s horrifying. Just two minutes ago, they were wondering if their idol’s career was over, but with one shift in the narrative, they’re back to being his most devoted followers. Look at this solidarity. At this rate, if Lin Jiji ordered them onto a battlefield, I doubt they’d even hesitate.”

“Bullshit!” Lin Yongkun cursed indignantly. “This mob only knows how to defend people who aren’t worth defending. If you actually sent them to a battlefield, every last one of them would run faster than a fucking rabbit!”

Zhang Hongtu frowned. “That may be true, but this situation is clearly becoming more and more disadvantageous for you and Chenyang. If we don’t figure out a solution, forget clearing Chenyang’s name today. Even you will get dragged through the mud and have your reputation ruined!”

The corner of Lin Yongkun’s mouth twitched. These fanatical followers of Lin Jiji, who knew only blind devotion, were giving him a real headache.

For a moment, the assembled city officials could only look at each other, at a complete loss.

Seeing this, a smirk spread across Lin Jiji’s face as he shot a gloating look at Chenyang.

The look clearly said, ‘So what if you exposed all my scandals? The fans and the public will always be on my side. You can’t beat me! And neither can Lin Yongkun.’

Chenyang saw the look and sneered. “You’re just getting lucky, exploiting the fact that your fans don’t know the truth to regain the upper hand. To put it nicely, this is the last flicker of a dying candle. To put it bluntly, it’s nothing more than your final, desperate struggle.”

Lin Jiji snorted. “Everything I’ve said is a fact. And facts speak louder than eloquence. The truth is on my side, which means I can’t lose! The one who’s truly on their deathbed is you!”

Chenyang didn’t bother responding to Lin Jiji. He just shot him a look like he was an idiot before turning to Lin Yongkun and the others. “This situation isn’t as complicated as you all think,” he said. “Everything that’s been exposed online, all the disgusting things, are things Lin Jiji actually did. Those are the facts. No amount of his desperate scrambling will change that.”

“We know they’re facts, but his fans don’t.”

“Exactly. And right now, they’re all still targeting you, trying to use you as a scapegoat to cover up all of Lin Jiji’s scandals. How do we break this stalemate?”

Seeing the leaders looking completely frazzled, Chenyang smiled calmly. “Of all these problems, the hardest to solve are the fans. They only defend Lin Jiji because they’re ignorant of the truth and are clinging to some beautiful fantasy they have of him. In that case, we’ll just have to let the facts shatter that fantasy for everyone. Once that’s done, everything else will fall into place.”

“And how do we do that?” Zhang Hongtu asked.

Chenyang’s smile was full of hidden meaning. He nodded to Rongrong, who was standing a short distance away. “Let’s give them the hard evidence. Also… notify our allies. The time has come. No more holding back.”