Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 302 - 221: Another Battlefield

Chapter 302: Chapter 221: Another Battlefield

"The Untold Story Between Morgan VII and His Butler".

As soon as this news report was released, it ignited an extremely heated discussion. Although the report was deleted less than half an hour after publication, there were still those quick enough to save it and share it around.

The author of the report believed that it was the improper relationship between Morgan VII and his butler that had led to serious mistakes in his judgments on a series of cosmic issues recently. When people considered that Morgan VII was already over a hundred years old, the discussion became even more intense.

Before long, some anonymous enthusiasts pointed out that within the Silver Lotus Family, there is a tradition of hereditary butlers, with each head of the Silver Lotus House having a "close" and capable butler.

This revelation about the Silver Lotus Family’s customs made people wonder whether every head of the family had certain peculiar habits.

Those who had grown accustomed to war reports and major cosmic events could finally breathe a sigh of relief and turn their attention to their favorite gossip.

For those who enjoyed entertainment, there was nothing more intriguing than gossip about one of the controllers of the Shanqi Commerce Association. Although the entire universe was in chaos, for those who thrived on amusement, it was a rare feast.

Under the strong impact of Morgan VII, the discussion about the summit and Duan Mingyuan cooled down quickly.

This was mainly because, although the headline "Cosmic Level Terrorist" was eye-catching, it did not offer much for ordinary people to discuss. Even those who were fervent about online political debate mostly elaborated on the United Front’s positions and Universe Company’s tactics. Compared to delving into Duan Mingyuan’s private life, they were more willing to discuss the impact of the recently concluded Sixteen Star Summit on the future cosmic structure.

The public statement by the commander of the Eastern Battlefront fleet added insult to injury for the Silver Lotus Family.

During a recent interview with the media, Mocking Pigeon openly acknowledged the commerce association’s relationship with the cosmic pirates and also hinted that the Oasis organization on Mechanical Star was supported by the commerce association.

Thus, some online deduction masters drew conclusions.

If the report’s accusations against Morgan VII on Mechanical Star were true, then those untold stories between Morgan VII and his butler could also be possible.

That same evening, numerous fan creations featuring Morgan VII and his butler as prototypes emerged on major forums, including short stories, comics, and videos.

"Who would have thought that there was such a hidden story between Morgan VII and the butler!"

Duan Mingyuan sighed after reading the report.

He guessed that Morgan VII must be extremely sad now. Although the Laurel’s disaster had nothing to do with him, as the news published in the past few days was fake, the death of the butler had been confirmed by the company rescue team.

Professionals believed that given the wreckage at the scene, it seemed more likely that the Laurel had been caught in some unknown cosmic phenomenon that resulted in the complete destruction of everyone on board before they could even counterattack.

However, Duan Mingyuan did admire the courage of the person who published "The Untold Story Between Morgan VII and His Butler". Even though it was anonymized, with the hacking technology held by the chamber of commerce, pulling an anonymous individual from the net did not seem too difficult.

"Most likely rumors."

The Third Prince gave a sharp critique of the topic that had been causing quite a stir online recently. The article was undoubtedly the most typical example of speculative rumor-mongering. Judging by the writer’s use of classical persuasive techniques and understanding of audience interests, he was undoubtedly a professional in the field.

He was adept at how to hype a topic and create hot catchphrases that people enjoyed.

Although it was a rumor, the Third Prince supported the actions of this anonymous journalist.

The Shanqi Commerce Association had been spreading rumors about Duan Mingyuan and Blue Star, painting Blue Star as a hotbed of terrorists under their excessive hype. His reports to counter these news stories had fallen on deaf ears, with no response at all.

It was time for Morgan VII to taste what it’s like to be slandered.

"Nobody’s even watching our exclusive interview!"

Jiuyue flipped through her phone with dissatisfaction, saying,

"The Owl also published an exclusive interview with the Blue Star delegation in the ’Peace Dove Daily’, but it hardly got any page views, and there were barely any comments. The hottest comment had only 20 likes, and it was just ’Look at the Fox Demon’."

Obviously, people were not interested in them or Blue Star; they were putting all their attention on Morgan VII.

"It’s best that no one pays attention to us at such a critical time,"

the Third Prince said.

The merger between the Chamber of Commerce and the company was making a huge stir. The internet had already turned into a battleground of opposing stances, with no neutral ground. Accusations, curses, and insults were prevalent everywhere, and anyone who carelessly stumbled onto the "battlefield" would be laden with labels.

Even the forums he usually lurked on to collect resources started to argue, which clearly showed that the war of public opinion had become intensely heated.

What was even more aggravating was that his alternate account had been banned.

The reason was that he complained about the recent bad atmosphere where everyone was arguing and few were actually sharing useful resources.

The ban was for spamming and inciting fights, and for being a freeloader.

"What about the rumor-monger? Isn’t he afraid of the Chamber of Commerce?"

Duan Mingyuan knew the measures the Chamber of Commerce could take. Before the Sixteen Star Summit, several council members who had expressed opposition to the merger bill in public had encountered spaceship accidents. Now that rumors had targeted the head of the Silver Lotus House, could Morgan VII tolerate this?

"Obviously, he’s not fighting alone; the faction within the company opposing the merger is about to counterattack,"

The recently concluded Sixteen Star Summit had kicked off the prelude to war, or rather, had sounded the call for a counteroffensive.

The smoke of war did not exist solely on the frontline. In this era, the importance of the battleground of public opinion was self-evident. Before the story of ’Morgan VII and His Butler’s Indisputable Tale’ was released, the company had been losing ground in the arena of public opinion, so this report came as a timely rain for them, and they naturally could not miss the opportunity.

Defaming the enemy’s leader is one of the most common tactics.

"The fact that we can see this report indicates that public opinion is currently in a state of war; otherwise, no one would have seen this report, and the publisher would have mysteriously disappeared the very night it was released."

The mood of the Third Prince, however, was far from relaxed.

Because no matter what, peace was becoming increasingly distant from them, and no one knew how this war would eventually end.

As a bystander, he could only hope that a full-scale war would not break out.

With the arsenal amassed by the company and the Chamber of Commerce, they had enough weapons to turn several Star Zones into uninhabited areas.

Beyond them, there was another force lurking in the shadows, watching closely.

Eisenberg-Adler.

The Third Prince silently recited this name, looking out of the spaceship cabin at the sea of stars. In that darkness, a planet was approaching closer and closer to them.

A pitch-black planet, without a single glimmer of light, as if it were dead.