The livestream countdown hit 0.
The livestream suddenly went dark, all images disappeared without a trace, leaving only the netizens from the real world, now flipped upside down just like the virtual world.
【Ahhhhhhhhhhh】
【Oh my god ahhhh】
【The truth of the world has been revealed!!!!!】
【It's too thrilling, my scalp is tingling!!!】
【Damn, after watching so many seasons of Justice Trial, this is the most exciting scene ever!】
【I kneel for Song Juyao and Jiang Baiqi, what kind of black and white evil are these two people?】
【The NPCs in the virtual world knowing the truth of the world shouldn't be a big deal, right??】
【My mom is asking why I am kneeling while watching the livestream. The last half hour of this episode was too intense, there were truly no dull moments. It was so full of energy and shocking plot twists, my eyeballs are about to pop out!!】
【Ahhhhhhhhh don't you just want my votes huh? Here take it, take it, take them all!!!】
Song Juyao's grievance redressal votes once again exploded like the final stage of the first episode, with the votes count already exceeding 30 million. There's only a little over 10 million votes left to reach the 50 million vote threshold for sentence reduction. It was almost certain that if Song Juyao continued her outstanding and flawless performance in the third season, she would get her sentence reduction just after the third episode.
Unprecedented.
The hype exploded again, massacring the internet once again. This time the explosion was even wider than the network frenzy of the first episode. After all, this round the scene was even more sensational.
#Song Juyao#
#End of Justice Trial Episode 2#
#The Person in the Fish Tank#
#Jiang Baiqi#
#Disqualified Production Team#
#Wen Zhulian#
#......#
People were fervently discussing it everywhere. Their strong desire to talk led them to discuss the 2nd episode in various places like schools, cafes, company pantries and even offices.
"She's so damn awesome!"
"I just want to know, when was Wen Zhulian thrown into Survival Island Paradise."
"I wonder if she never came out from the beginning?"
"No, I think it was from when she left her home and met Jiang Rong. Song Juyao said Jiang Rong was fake. If he's fake, how could she meet Jiang Rong and be saved by him so heroically? She should have entered the virtual world within the virtual world from the moment she was thrown out by Wen Yingting, that door was a sign..."
"Virtual world within a virtual world is making my head spin. I'm convinced by this set!"
"It's so exciting, unlike any previous season. Song Juyao is really outstanding. She said she always had doubts about that world, then she must have discovered some flaws. Do you think a person like her would forcibly r*pe a boy who doesn't meet her aesthetic standards in reality? It sounds absurd..."
"I really want to read Song Juyao's 'The Person in the Fish Tank'..."
"Do we even need to read it? That is the allegory of reality. You can see its core from watching the Judgment Trial. Doesn't Wen Zhulian falling for Jiang Rong resemble the kind of love the production team usually arranges for the defendants? Being helped up by a helping hand in the most desperate moment, as the judge, she fell into the same trap..."
"Hey, don't you think the NPC Jiang Baiqi is too amazing? He actually created a virtual world within the virtual world created by our King!"
"No way, the Survival Island Paradise is still far from comparable to the virtual world created by His Majesty. The characters in the Survival Island Paradise are played by extras, real people going in to act. While the NPCs in the virtual world created by our king are just data, the difference between both is heaven and earth apart!"
"In other words, Jiang Baiqi was also created by His Majesty, so the amazing one is still our king!"
"......"
People continued their frantic discussions, completely disregarding their studies and work.
"Ahhhhh it's so awesome!!" Ming Shu jumped up and shouted excitedly.
Huo Sen leaned back in his chair, unconsciously revealing a look of admiration on his face. Song Juyao… as expected of Song Juyao. He believed anyone who watched this show would understand well why he was so attracted to her.
But as he looked at the number of plea votes in the bottom right corner, the expression on his face disappeared again.
Downstairs, Yuan Manzhi's hysterical voice rang out once again, shouting and screaming to kill Song Juyao, to make her pay with her life, but no matter what, it was just futile rage.
She couldn't stop anything.
"The Day Will Dawn" forum.
The members in the group chat were screaming wildly, jumping and screaming uncontrollably in their own little nests, making their neighbors frown.
They pounded the keyboard with red-rimmed eyes.
[One step closer to the dawn!]
[She didn't disappoint us]
[Wuuuuuuuuu!!!!]
[We've gained so many new companions. Everyone, let's keep supporting our goddess in the next round too! Best of luck!!!]
The "The Day Will Dawn" forum had grown from 20,000 to 50,000 members. There might still be many loyal fans who were not yet absorbed, but the founder and admins need to review each member, and the workload had become quite large, so the process was naturally slower.
However, two new administrators were added recently, increasing the reviewers by two, which should slightly improve efficiency.
[This Jiang Baiqi is a pretty good NPC! Although I'm a bit annoyed that he's favored by the goddess, considering his loyalty and usefulness, I reluctantly approve of him.]
[Speaking of, what impact would the NPCs knowing the truth of the world have on the production team?]
[Don't know!]
At this moment, the rarely seen founder popped up.
[It will cause the loss of some NPCs, and the production team will also suffer heavy losses. The chief director or even the entire team may be replaced]
[!!! That's great!! That Tan Wei should have been kicked out long ago, he's so disgusting!]
The founder didn't say anything more.
Inside the Judgment Show studio, chaos ensues.
Chief Director Tan Wei fainted, and they hurriedly called an ambulance. After Wen Zhulian got up from the bio-capsule, she had an emotional breakdown, yelling and screaming, until her agent also had her taken away in an ambulance. She calmed down only after taking a sedative from the doctor.
The ambulance drove away with flashing lights, and the studio gradually quieted down.
The assistant directors wiped their faces, their hands were covered with sweat. The staff also had their shoulders slumped, looking defeated and dejected.
It's over, it's over. Jiang Baiqi revealed the truth of the world, so according to the rules, all NPCs who believed this truth will be reclaimed by the main system.
The virtual world system was originally created by their King for military training and talent cultivation. At that time, the Fire Nation was constantly making trouble, and their King realized that the humans on his land seemed to have been raised too weak by him, they were useless without technological weapons, so he specially created this thing to greatly improve the military power of the empire.
The King's usual approach was to provide humans with a direction and then step back. This thing would be operated by the human government since he had given humans the right to manage their own kind from the beginning. Or perhaps he just got bored with this toy.
The government still used the virtual world system for military training and talent development, but some people saw the huge business opportunity that this technology could bring, so they bought one of its small branches from the government to produce the Judgment Reality Show.
Each NPC had a clear marked price.
When the King learned about the production of the Show, he showed displeasure and disgust, but considering the rights he gave to humans, he didn't forcefully intervene, only set some rules.
Among them was the rule that the number of NPCs for Justice Trial show was fixed. Every NPC who sees through the truth of the world would be automatically reclaimed by the main system. And the Judgment Show won't be able to purchase more to replenish.
That means they were going to lose a lot of NPCs this time. It might not affect the third episode, after all, believing their world is not real isn't so easy, right? There are plenty of people who would pretend to be blind even when evidence is shoved in their face, not to mention there are still many people who don't have internet access.
Only NPCs who believed in this truth would be reclaimed.
But the loss was still huge, because it was irreversible. If this continued, this show might disappear.
As members of the production team, they must bear the wrath of the major shareholders and these losses.
Tan Wei was the first to bear the brunt, but whether they would also share the responsibility was still unknown. They might collectively become unemployed and have to compensate.
…...
Song Juyao opened her eyes and was helped up by a policewoman, and left the Dream Factory building under police escort.
There are more onlookers this time compared to the first episode. She had gained a bit of weight since the first episode, no longer looking all skin and bones, but was still very thin. Her complexion was still pale, but her obsidian-like dark eyes were even more piercing.
She walked silently in the midst of the police officers, her lips devoid of the faint smile she often showed in the virtual world.
The onlookers couldn't help but feel a slight pang in their hearts. She was such a brilliant, intelligent, and kind girl in the virtual world. If it weren't for Huo Hai, she could have shone brightly just like her virtual self.
"Song Juyao, jiayou!" Suddenly, a female staff member shouted out. Her crisp and loud voice rang in the quiet hallway.
Song Juyao looked up at the red-eyed female staff member and showed her a somewhat surprised but grateful smile. The staff member immediately bursts into tears, covering her mouth.
The number of reporters waiting outside the Dream Factory building this time was at least 5 times more than the first episode. The front and back doors were completely blocked by them. Seeing Song Juyao coming out, they immediately pounced like hyenas spotting their prey.
"Song Juyao! Song Juyao, do you really like Jiang Baiqi's type?"
"Song Juyao, look over here!"
"Song Juyao, do you have anything to say about your case?"
"Song Juyao, were you wrongly accused?"
"Say something, Song Juyao..."
Fortunately, the police were also well prepared this time. The protective net was activated first to block their approach, and then signal jammers were activated to disable the camera drones, to make them lose control and unable to catch up.
The police car carrying Song Juyao drove away. The reporters who weren't able to interview anything weren't discouraged. They knew the police wouldn't let a death row inmate like her speak unless her votes exceed the threshold for sentence reduction. So they weren't particularly disappointed, and were satisfied with the captured photos of Song Juyao.
As expected, these photos cause a great deal of attention and discussion as soon as they are posted.
Seeing her trending again, celebrities in the entertainment industry couldn't help but feel jealous.
"She's just a murderer, but has become a top celebrity now."
"Would you want to trade places with her?"
"Umm… it's better to forget about it."
"Well, there you go. She can become top-ranked because she has real talent and skill. If there is no real talent… just think about Wen Zhulian."
"Wen Zhulian... is a typical case of greed and not being satisfied. I wonder if she regrets using her real-life existence for eight years of a dream-like life in a fake world."
Wen Zhulian's situation was of course known to all in the industry. Initially, on the surface they scorned her for plagiarism, but were secretly extremely envious of her. Who hadn't fantasized about all the excellent works coming from their own hands, that they were a genius! But who could have imagined things would develop this way?
After this episode, Wen Zhulian lost over 5 million fans, her passers-by approval crashed, and anti-fans skyrocketed. Her outcome was comparable to Jiang Mi who struck out before the livestream even started. She originally had a chance to become first-tier, but now she couldn't even make it to the third-tier.
It wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't bring it upon herself. Her obsession and greed for the glorious life in the virtual world was obvious to many. And in the end she not only completely failed in her duties. as the judge, she even screamed and revealed the truth of the world to the defendant. Compared to Song Juyao, her breakdown and hysteria looked too ugly.
Wen Zhulian was given a dose of sedatives. When she woke up again, she finally calmed down and immediately asked her manager rationally, "How is the company handling the public relations? Show me the online comments quickly!"
Her agent was by her bedside, with an unpleasant expression: "I advise you not to look. The company did PR for you, but the results weren't great. The boss wants me to tell you that you've worked hard in the past half month, so take a good rest now."
Wen Zhulian's face immediately turned pale: "What do you mean? I just came out of the Justice Trial, this is when my popularity should be peaking, and you want me to rest instead of taking jobs?"
The agent grew a little impatient: "The company gave you such a good opportunity, yet you made a mess of it. Now you still have the nerve to question the company?"
"This is all Song Juyao's fault!" Wen Zhulian yelled, "She framed me! Didn't you see? She's so cunning, she played me like a fool! Didn't I do my duty? I clearly showed you what kind of person Song Juyao is! She's scheming, and has a deep mind, put in real society, she's a typical antisocial personality, a highly intelligent criminal!"
The manager's expression turned numb. "Do you know who was the last person to say that?"
Wen Zhulian: "...who?"
"Jiang Mi. Do you know what happened to her afterwards?"
The manager directly searched for the page and threw it in front of Wen Zhulian. She quickly picked it up and the more she read, the worse her complexion became. Her face grew increasingly pale and her hands started trembling.
"Everyone has seen what you did in there. Also, do you know Director Tan Wei is in the next ward? He woke up before you and just threw a fit, saying he won't let you off. Wen Zhulian, the company hasn't mistreated you, one should be grateful and content."
Wen Zhulian's performance in the virtual world was too poor, and finally admitted to Song Juyao that the world wasn't real, which offended Tan Wei, and also indirectly offending the major shareholders of the Trial show. The company didn't dare to protect her at all.
Watching her agent's departing back, looking at everything online, she had a dull expression and knew she was finished. In this moment, she thought of Wen Guohua, Li Xin, Wen Yingting, and the life of endless glory she had in the virtual world. Tears welled up in her eyes.
She regretted it, truly regretted it. If she had known the consequences would be like this, she would never have been so greedy...