Li Hao and Li Mai were twins, fourteen years old, and in the second year of junior high.
Jiang Ning’s words almost made the two brothers cry.
They clung to each other, like two timid quails, pale-faced, their bodies shivering.
Without waiting for Jiang Ning to ask again, they hastily confessed about buying cyber troops recently.
Neither of the brothers was interested in studying; instead, they were addicted to electronic devices, such as game consoles, mobile phones, and computers.
When they had money, they would come to internet cafés after school to play games, just like they did today.
If they didn’t have money, they would rush home to sneakily play with their parents’ phones.
The day they decided to hire cyber troops to smear Jiang Ning was, to them, truly an accident.
"We were browsing forums on our phones that day, initially looking for game guides, but somehow we ended up on a post about you..." Li Hao started, the brothers both recalling the events of that day.
They didn’t even know how they ended up on that post, but they were quickly captivated by the so-called insider information.
As two youths often surfing the internet, they were no strangers to the name Jiang Ning and even held some admiration for her privately after watching numerous videos of Jiang Ning saving people.
But that admiration shattered into pieces instantly after seeing the post that claimed to expose insider information.
"We also doubted the post at first, but not only did the original poster write at length, but there were also many other netizens echoing the sentiments, saying your past character was quite deplorable... We were really upset, and that led us to join in hating you, hiring cyber troops so more people would learn about your true face..." Li Mai chimed in, glancing up cautiously at Jiang Ning, as if afraid of angering her.
Jiang Ning’s face didn’t show any signs of anger; as someone who had been frequently cursed and trending on social media due to negative comments, she would have already collapsed if she took every harsh word to heart, probably before even getting tied to the System.
Listening to this, Jiang Ning had come to understand what had happened.
It was nothing more than a post denigrating her that these brothers had taken seriously.
"We don’t have much pocket money; we just transferred a little over two hundred yuan to that person, and he said he could provide us with two thousand comments..." Li Mai stammered.
Li Hao quickly interjected, "Right! That was all of our New Year’s money, we transferred it all to him. We still have the transfer records on our phones!"
They still remembered the shock they felt when they first read that post.
The more they had idolized Jiang Ning previously, the more they detested her after reading the post, convinced that she was utterly ruthless and hypocritical in her pursuit of fame.
The reason they spent all their savings was to prevent more netizens from being deceived by Jiang Ning’s hypocritical facade.
When they transferred the money, they even felt they were doing an immensely good deed, akin to those in ancient times who did good without seeking recognition.
It was only now, with Jiang Ning coming to them in person, that the brothers realized they were not noble vigilantes but two incredibly foolish shrimps!
The audience in the livestream room also found the brothers’ statements outrageous:
[What the hell, that’s it?]
[Are kids nowadays really this stupid? No wonder it’s so easy to make money off them.]
[A little over two hundred... I have to work myself to death just to make that in a day.]
[LMAO, they really went all out, that must be all of their pocket money, probably saved up from Chinese New Year until now, only to end up giving it all to the bad guys.]
[Sigh, these two brothers sound young, still minors without much experience in life. They clearly don’t understand the dangers of the internet, lacking the ability to discern right from wrong. In a way, they’re victims too... Let’s just let this slide.]
[Yeah, minors are protected by law, and the amount of money involved isn’t substantial. It didn’t cause any significant harm to Jiang Ning or Qi Xingzhou, so even if Jiang Ning reported them to the police, they’d probably just get a verbal warning.]
[Reporting to the police would be a total waste of police resources.]
Jiang Ning responded, "Okay, take out your cell phones, let me have a look."
Li Hao and Li Mai were taken aback by Jiang Ning’s unangry expression for a couple of seconds, then subconsciously reached for their pockets before quickly realizing, "We, we don’t have our phones on us... they’re at home."
Jiang Ning nodded, "Alright then, let’s go to your place."
She wasn’t angry, and her demeanor was gentle without showing any strong intent to hold them accountable, which made the Li brothers feel slightly less afraid.
Just thinking... if they really brought her back to their place, they probably wouldn’t need Jiang Ning to scold them; their parents, once they found out about this, could instantly turn their backsides into blooming flowers.
The brothers hesitated, and Li Hui, who had been silent until now, couldn’t help but push them out, "So it was you who messed up! Hurry up and take us back to check your phones!"
She was eager for Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou to follow them quickly!
That way, the matter of their internet cafe allowing minors to use the internet might just slip by unnoticed while everyone was distracted.
The brothers were clearly fearful of her and were quickly pushed out of the internet cafe by Li Hui.
Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou followed them out as well.
A smile appeared on Li Hui’s face, and just as she thought everything was settled, Jiang Ning, who had left the internet cafe, suddenly turned to look at her, her expression a mix of a smile and not, "The fact that your internet cafe allows minors to use the internet has been live-streamed and will surely draw the attention of the relevant authorities soon. You might want to call your boss now."
Li Hui’s previously smiling face froze, and she stood there stunned.
Jiang Ning didn’t care about what she was thinking. After asking the twins and learning that their home was a significant distance away, she opened the car door and let them in.
[HAHAHAHAHA! Jiang Ning is right on point! @Anyang Police, it’s your turn to get to work!!!]
[Which department is responsible for minors using the internet? Should we tag @Anyang Market Supervision Bureau??]
[So thrilled, after watching the live stream for so long, it’s finally our time to contribute. Jiang Ning can’t report to the police, so we will!]
[Hehe... I recorded the entire screen, so even if the internet cafe owner comes and tries to sneak the minors away, I still have evidence.]
The popularity of Jiang Ning’s live stream was soaring, and the relevant authorities in Anyang Town quickly received reports from concerned citizens from all over, becoming aware of what had happened online.
Less than ten minutes after Jiang Ning had driven away, officials from the regulatory department arrived on the scene. They issued corrective notices not only to the owner of that internet cafe but also visited other internet cafes on the street, severely punishing and criticizing those businesses that knowingly broke the law.
After that, no internet cafe owners in Anyang Town dared to harbor any illusion of getting away with it for personal gain, and with no fun places to hang out, the truancy rate among students decreased significantly.
But that’s a story for another time.