Not only the true controllers behind the three major pharmaceutical groups in the Beautiful Country were furious, but at the same time, angry roars were also heard from the Black Palace General Office.
Director Smith · Lunen of the Beautiful Country's Intelligence Bureau watched the trial footage from the Sea Cliff Military Court during the day, observing Jing Mingqiu directing his girlfriend to cause a scene in court and wildly mock Joseph Biden as a clown. His expression was extremely distorted, appearing as if he had gone mad.
"They've gone too far! They've gone too far! You are the President of the Beautiful Country, how dare he be so presumptuous! He is trampling on America's face!"
"I don't believe he wears that mecha all the time, I don't believe that mecha is truly invincible. Mr. President, if you give the order now, I will act immediately and, at all costs, kill that guy named Jing Mingqiu."
"With his blood, I will wash away America's humiliation!"
"Smith, don't be so hasty." Unlike Smith · Lunen, who looked very angry, Joseph Biden sat in his large executive chair with a very calm expression, a faint smile even visible at the corners of his mouth.
"This was indeed embarrassing, but it also allowed me to thoroughly understand what kind of tricks the Dragon Country is playing!"
"There's no need to kill Jing Mingqiu. He is merely a target released by the Dragon Country to attract our attention. The Dragon Country's epoch-making inventions and that mysterious hacker have nothing to do with him."
"Even if we kill him, it will only give the Dragon Country an excuse to rally its people. It will not help in finding the true inventor at all, and might even lead us astray by the Dragon Country."
"But," Smith · Lunen ventured cautiously, "what if Jing Mingqiu really is the inventor of these epoch-making technologies, and also a mysterious, world-dominating top hacker?"
Joseph Biden shook his head, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! I suspected it at first, that the Dragon Country was using Jing Mingqiu as a counter-strategy, employing the 'shadow under the lamp' approach."
"But from the moment he started making a name for himself, to causing a scene at the Sea Cliff Military Court, he has done many attention-grabbing things. But when have you ever seen him obediently stay in the laboratory to conduct research?"
"Well, he occasionally locks himself in the laboratory for several hours..."
Smith · Lunen's voice grew softer. He suddenly realized, "That's not right. These technologies he invented were not developed overnight; they require extensive experimentation! How could he have achieved them in just a few hours?"
"Of course he couldn't have," Joseph Biden laughed heartily. "He was just pretending to research, to attract our attention and prevent us from discovering the scientists the Dragon Country is hiding."
"Smith, recall everyone around Jing Mingqiu. We need to find the true inventors of these epoch-making technologies as soon as possible. We can't be led around by the nose by the Dragon Country anymore."
Smith · Lunen showed his reluctance, "Mr. President! Jing Mingqiu was so boisterous before, completely defecating on us! Now, to let him off the hook directly, where will America's face, your face, be placed?"
"Let him off? How is that possible?" Joseph Biden looked at the table, then at the screen showing Jing Mingqiu with women on both sides, his smile becoming increasingly ferocious.
"It is indeed inconvenient for us to kill Jing Mingqiu directly right now, but that doesn't prevent us from making this fabricated hero of the Dragon Country disgraced, turning him into a rat on the street that everyone wants to beat!"
"An army maintained for a thousand days is used for one hour. Smith, immediately contact those public intellectuals and rational objective commentators we've funded heavily. It's time for them to act..."
When it comes to manipulating public opinion, public intellectuals are professionals.
Upon receiving the order from their benefactor, a soft article titled "Three Questions for Professor Jing" began to circulate rapidly online.
In the first half of the soft article, the author used very flowery language to elevate Professor Jing Mingqiu's achievements to the heavens. Combined with the suffering and rise of the Dragon Country, it successfully resonated with the public.
In the latter half, the author revealed their true intentions.
First question: In an era of universal equality and monogamy, Professor Jing, as a public figure, why did you not hesitate to cause adverse social impact by getting entangled with two women simultaneously?
Second question: The research base of the three major pharmaceutical groups in the Beautiful Country located in Afghanistan did indeed do many wicked things, but among the researchers and soldiers in the research base, there must be innocent individuals who were forced to participate. Why did you not investigate and instead annihilated them all?
Third question: The executives of the three major pharmaceutical groups in the Beautiful Country have been brought to justice. Even if you were dissatisfied with the verdict, you could have appealed. Why did you threaten others with force and then execute those seven people in court?
As expected of those specializing in manipulating public opinion, these three questions were progressive. The first question, seemingly trivial, merely a personal conduct issue, could effectively damage Jing Mingqiu's image and reduce the feasibility of his explanations.
After all, being infatuated with women is often associated with incompetence and corruption.
The second question was also a bonus. The author wasn't seeking justice for those individuals but purely to brand Jing Mingqiu as tyrannical and murderous.
The last question was the killing blow. Although not explicitly stated, normal people could easily infer the implied meaning.
Jing Mingqiu's direct execution of the seven executives of the pharmaceutical groups in court was not for justice but purely to silence them.
As for why he would silence them? It must be because he had unspeakable transactions with them! A lecherous and tyrannical individual, could he truly be acting for justice as he claimed?
After "Three Questions for Professor Jing" successfully sparked heated discussions, these public intellectuals and rational objective commentators continued to manipulate public opinion in the comment section.
Some attacked, some defended, some impersonated, some used reverse psychology.
Many public intellectuals, using multiple accounts and switching between them, staged self-directed arguments in the comment section, causing endless disputes.
A large number of public intellectuals and rational objective commentators, supported by the Beautiful Country's internet trolls, finally managed to push this soft article to the top of the trending search list before dawn.
The next morning, Jing Mingqiu was still lying in bed, sleeping in with Jing Rou and Mo Ruixue, when his phone suddenly started ringing incessantly.
"What the hell? Why are so many people looking for me so early in the morning?"
Jing Mingqiu complained as he pulled his arm, which had gone half-numb from being pinned, and quickly snapped his fingers twice.
Upon receiving the command, the casing of Jing Mingqiu's phone transformed into a miniature drone. With the rapid rotation of its micro-propellers, it grabbed the phone from the chair, traced a smooth arc in the air, and hovered directly in front of Jing Mingqiu.
"Ah~"
Jing Mingqiu yawned, took the phone, and with a light swipe, found that many people were frantically tagging him on Weibo, urging him to read an article titled "Three Questions for Professor Jing."
Out of curiosity, Jing Mingqiu clicked on "Three Questions for Professor Jing," which had already reached the top of the trending search list.
Five minutes later, upon reading the article filled with overt praise and veiled criticism, and large sections of misrepresentation and distortion of facts, Jing Mingqiu let out a laugh of extreme anger.
"Heh heh! Don't think you're the only one who can play with words. I got full marks on my composition several times in high school!"