Chapter 470: Comprehensive Smear Campaign

While the Gaia Organization branch was being searched, the internet had erupted into a frenzy. Many people had originally thought that Adam was only doing this to put on a show, but it was now apparent that he was very much serious!

After the initial shock, the general public was immediately stirred up into a frenzy of excitement, and news of what was taking place in the Gaia Organization branch was spreading like wildfire, but it didn't take long before the tide started to turn.

Initially, everyone had been expressing unanimous support for Adam, but soon, people began expressing doubts and objections toward Adam's actions.

These dissenting voices hadn't come from an attempt made by Adam's enemies to slander him. Instead, they were genuine voices, and many of the people who had been expressing support for Adam just a moment ago had suddenly turned against him. Why was this happening?

It appeared that Adam was upholding justice for the masses by uncovering the crimes of these major organizations so that they could be punished by the law, and this was a good thing, but sometimes, good things could turn into bad things.

In the Adam Eradication Group, Blake was watching the rapidly turning tide in public opinion, and initially, he had thought that this was a result of the measures that they were taking to manipulate public opinion, but he quickly realized that this wasn't the case, and with this realization, he immediately burst into laughter.

"Ha! I knew it! He's being way too barbaric in the way that he does things, and it was always going to eventually come back to bite him! As soon as his operations begin to harm the interests of the people, they'll immediately turn on him!"

He quickly pulled up a summary report of all of the dissenting voices that were rising up against Adam, and he discovered that virtually all of them were lower or middle-class individuals with family members participating in the Gaia Organization's Digital Life project, or had purchased stocks in companies related to the Gaia Organization, or were working in those companies!

Blake couldn't help but feel a little sorry for those people. They were leading such pathetic existences, working themselves to the bone to fund the bottomless pit that was the Digital Life project, just so they could cling onto the illusion that their deceased family members were still alive in some form.

This is the underlying logic of how the world operates. There's no way to shake the foundation of the world just by striking down a few criminal organizations.

With that revelation, Blake had developed a new understanding of just how much power he possessed.

The Adam Eradication Group immediately pounced on this opportunity, releasing all of the news stories that they had manufactured to slander Adam at once before pushing those stories to the top of the hot search lists through technological means.

"Is Barbaric Law Enforcement Compliant Appropriate in Keeping With the Current Needs of the People?"

"Is Adam on a Crusade of Justice, or Merely Trying to Solidify His Own Position in the Ongoing Election?"

"Mr. Adam, have you considered how the general public feels about your actions? You're going to kill them if you keep this up!"

"We have to see the so-called crimes committed by these major organizations through a lens of objectivity. Measures that are excessively aggressive will only severely damage the normal operation of the economy."

"He's clearly just lashing out at his detractors for his own benefit! I have evidence to prove that he's manufacturing a conspiracy out of nothing!"

"Even law enforcers have to act on evidence and consider the social impact of their actions. Maintaining societal stability should be the top priority."

"If you're going to take down the Gaia Organization, what's going to happen to everyone in the Digital Life project? Is everyone supposed to just stand by and watch as their loved ones meet their demise in the digital world!"

"You're nothing more than a charlatan who's willing to stoop to any means to achieve your own ends! We don't need a terrorist as a mayor!"

……

These waves of dissenting voices were becoming louder and louder. In the face of the Gaia Organization's plummeting share prices, all of its shareholders chose to protect their own personal interests, imploring Adam to cease all operations until the stock prices returned to normal.

However, everyone supporting Adam, including the northern congress, and even the likes of Kevin Reed, were more than happy to watch the situation unfold.

They had been informed before everyone of Adam's target, and they knew that Adam wouldn't have lashed out at the Gaia Organization unless he truly had concrete evidence. Hence, they had immediately begun shorting the stocks of the Gaia Organization and all of its related companies, and in the instant that the stock prices began plummeting, many of them had already begun popping open bottles of champagne in celebration.

"We really did make a great decision by choosing to support him!"

"I wanna see him do this a few more times so those bastards from the southern congress can lose even more money!"

……

At the headquarters of the Gaia Organization, Mr. One and Madam Tree were facing all of the organization's board members and major shareholders, providing an explanation for why they had chosen not to hold the market.

"We can't keep fighting on our own. We have to get more allies involved and make the people supporting Adam realize that his actions are harming their personal interests. Only then can they calm down and accept the reality that they'll never be able to escape our control."

"You want us to count on those foolish commoners? What could they possibly do? We can manipulate the election outcome and stock prices as we see fit, there's no need to rely on their support," a portly shareholder declared in a matter-of-fact voice.

Indeed, at their level, even if they were to blatantly manipulate elections and stock prices, there was nothing that anyone could do to them. They were the rulers of this world.

Mr. One's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he explained, "The tittytainment plan has to continue, at least until Metaverse has reached complete success. A purely digital world is unable to evolve on its own, and we need the spark that those commoners can provide, so we need them on our side for now."

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Alright, then do whatever it is that you see fit, but try to act as quickly as possible. If the stock prices drop too low, it'll be difficult for us to answer to our families."

All of the people present in the meeting were businesspeople, and they were quickly able to reach a consensus.

As Adam's operation continued, it was as if everyone had found an opening to vent the enormous pressure and conflict that had been brewing in society for so long. Everyone was suddenly becoming irrational, and as the stock market continued to collapse, an unprecedented sense of panic began to arise. All types of conflicting emotions began to accumulate and marinate, warping their mental states and severely impacting their actions.

The majority of the people didn't dare to object against their bosses and the companies that were exploiting them, so they could only turn on the only person who was willing to help them.

Countless peoples stormed onto the streets, holding signs with Adam's portrait on them, all of which were bearing large red crosses. They stormed toward the election center, the Gaia Organization branch, anywhere that they could possibly find Adam, obstructing traffic and disrupting public order in the process.

It seemed that all of a sudden, the entire city had turned against Adam.

"We need to put food on the table! We need jobs! We need the stock market to return to normal! We don't need a despotic tyrant for a mayor!"

The deafening collective voices of the masses were rumbling throughout the Gaia Organization branch, and Adam turned around with an inexplicable smile on his face.

It's finally come to this point.