Chapter 121: Mob Mentality (5)
Chapter 121: Mob Mentality (5)
Splash!
Gu Yi jumped into the water.
"What's that kid doing?"
"Oh my God, he really jumped in!"
Members of the strategy team watched the screen. Gu Yi sank like a stone to the bottom of the water and didn't resurface for quite some time.
"Why are you all panicking?" Qu Kangping said, with a cigarette in his mouth and smoke obscuring his face. "Gu Yi grew up by the river. Do you really think he'd drown? This is his tactic. Just wait and see."
"The current is so fast. Even if Gu Yi is a good swimmer, he might not survive!"
"What does it matter? Have you forgotten the test rules? This is a dream simulation. Whatever happens during the test won't affect reality. Gu Yi would only do this if he was sure of himself."
"Do you remember one of the rules written for the exam?
'Please answer using a black ink pen or fountain pen. If neither works, please use fresh blood.'
Both Chris and Gu Yi understood the hint in the rules. 'Use fresh blood' means one can kill. But while Chris chose to kill others, Gu Yi chose to kill himself."
Qu Kangping snuffed out his cigarette and continued to stare at the screen.
The camera was still focused on the turbulent river. Many passersby quickly called the police for help.
However, the online hate didn't stop.
[Gu Yi is just showing off, right? I remember he knows how to swim.]
[He's really committing to this act, huh?]
[Can you guys above show some decency? He's been in the water for so long and hasn't been rescued. I hope he's okay.]
[If Gu Yi dies, all of you engaging in this online attack are accomplices.]
[Gu Yi was willing to prove his innocence by risking his life, and you're here making sarcastic remarks? Are you even human? To the girl who spread the rumor, Gu Yi dared to risk his life to prove his innocence, would you?]
Seeing the situation deteriorating, the girl who made the original post deleted it overnight.
However, the angry netizens were far from satisfied.
Overnight, the forum of Wapeng University was bombarded by netizens from various websites. All of them pointed fingers at the girl who made the post, just as they had cyberbullied Gu Yi before.
[Can people be judged without evidence? Now that Gu Yi is gone, are you internet judges happy?]
[What was your motivation for framing Gu Yi? Don't you have a conscience?]
[I'm a reader of Gu Yi. From his writings, I can tell he's a kind-hearted and upright kid. He could never commit an indecent act against a girl. Even if he accidentally touched someone, I believe it was unintentional and a misunderstanding.]
[Women can accuse men of indecency without evidence and a bunch of people believe it. Meanwhile, men, in order to prove their innocence, have to resort to suicide by jumping into a river? Is this the ending you cyberbullies wanted to see?]
"Public opinion has truly shifted..."
Members of the strategy team saw this outcome. They should have felt happy, but they couldn't muster a smile.
Qu Kangping took out a new cigarette and didn't light it for a long time, "Look at the comments from the netizens. Gu Yi really did commit suicide. The live broadcast never once showed Gu Yi, which further confirms it."
"Why did this happen?"
"I can't believe it..."
"This isn't a good sign," Qu Kangping said with a furrowed brow. "It means Gu Yi has fallen into a trap. He's been brainwashed by the dungeon, thinking that suicide is the solution. He could have hidden after jumping into the water, waiting for the exam to end, and the public opinion would still have shifted."
"True, there must be more harmonious ways."
"Maybe, but they wouldn't score high. This dungeon from start to finish hints at the adventurer committing suicide, even suggesting that after suicide, one can successfully clear the level. This is highly abnormal.
We all know that when an adventurer dies, it means failure and a weird force will invade the real world. So, how could an adventurer still achieve a normal level clearance after dying?"
"If you say it like this..."
Everyone fell into deep thought.
A young agent suddenly had an idea and made a bold guess, "What if... the invasion of the weird force and normal level clearance aren't contradictory? What if the weird force invades because the adventurer died, not because they failed the level?"
...
Inside the Weird World.
The voice of the invigilator echoed in his mind.
"Proved innocence with death, Emotionality: 8 points, Rationality: 8 points."
Gu Yi had experienced death countless times, so drowning this time didn't make him feel uncomfortable.
He had once tried to fake his death in deductions.
But in the end, he only scored 12 points, barely passing.
Only by committing suicide and having the police retrieve his body could Gu Yi achieve an excellent score of 16 points. He couldn't think of any better way to pass the level.
To earn more credits, Gu Yi had no choice but to truly die. He tied many heavy objects to himself, drowning himself in the water while also ensuring his body sank and wasn't quickly washed away.
He had tried to use his skill in deductions to manipulate the accusers, urging them to give up their false claims against him. But once the duration of his skill ended, they would start all over again, cyberbullying him through other means.
Gu Yi opened his eyes, finding himself back in the exam room.
The exam paper in front of him was filled with incomprehensible text. The first third was written in ink, and the latter two-thirds were written in blood.
At the moment, Gu Yi's score was Emotionality: 14, Rationality: 14.
"What a great death, die again!"
"It would be even better if you truly died."
"Drop dead, just die already!"
The annoying barrage of messages appeared again. Gu Yi, now accustomed to them, skillfully used a psychological suggestion to block these pesky distractions.
Yet he had to admit, that without these messages constantly urging him to die, he wouldn't have achieved such a high score. The trolls provided the inspiration he needed to clear the level.
"The exam is over; everyone stop writing."
The moment the invigilator finished speaking, a bell rang.
She stepped down from the podium and collected everyone's exam papers.
Just like the previous time, Gu Yi and the other students rested in the waiting room, exchanging experiences and insights.
"This exam was tough."
"Yeah, I think I can only score 12 points at most."
"12 points is already good. Be content."
Gu Yi tried to join the discussion, "How did you all answer?"
"How did we answer? We guessed randomly."
"In theory, you shouldn't be concerned about such public opinions. The correct method is to kill that girl before the rumors spread. That way, your rationality score would be the highest."
Gu Yi looked at the speaker and realized it was his roommate, Chen Zeyu. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "So you completely gave up on the emotionality scores?"
"You can't have the best of both worlds. You must sacrifice one," Chen Zeyu replied without even looking at Gu Yi. "If you try to excel in everything, you'll end up being good at nothing."
Gu Yi remained silent.
At this moment, the invigilator walked into the waiting room.
"Student Gu Yi, your final score is 16 points. You have received a special reward. Please follow me to the office."
Gu Yi closed his eyes, deduced the situation in his mind to make sure there were no traps in the office, and then followed her.
The invigilator took out a black box and handed it to Gu Yi with both hands.
"Congratulations on achieving an excellent score on this exam. This is your reward."
"Thank you, teacher."
Gu Yi took the box, and a system notification rang in his ear.
"Congratulations on successfully passing the first exam."
"Your plot exploration rate has been increased."
"Current plot exploration rate is 17%."