118: Chapter 118 Spreading Rumors: A Puppet? The Guild Should Be Shut Down Immediately.

The sound of the second watch gong had just drifted away through the streets and alleys of Saint Light City, and the gilded palace lanterns in the side hall cast a warm glow. Su Ninghua had just transmitted the adjusted purge plan to the Shadow Guard, her fingertips still stained with the red traces of cinnabar ink.

Xing Jianwan walked in quickly from outside the hall, holding her terminal, her cold brows slightly furrowed: "Sir, Your Majesty, someone is manipulating the narrative on the world channel, and it's causing quite a stir."

Lin Zhe lifted his eyes, his fingertips still pinching the handwritten letter sent by Saintess Yun Qingwan, his expression indifferent.

Su Ninghua leaned over to look at the terminal in Xing Jianwan's hand. The messages on the world channel were scrolling rapidly across the screen, all from players with the [Temple Knights] prefix, their phrasing so uniform it was as if they had rehearsed in advance:

"Don't be fooled by Lin Zhe! He's just a puppet raised by the Queen! All that Power of Rules authority is just given by the empire to scam you out of your money!"

"All those benefits in Luofeng Village and the drop rate bonuses in the Elf Secret Realm are just tricks for the empire to harvest leeks! Everyone, unite to boycott all his events! Don't go to Luofeng Village! Don't buy maple coins!"

"The previous bans on this and that weren't because he had any real ability; it was all the empire backing him! Once the Queen is done with him, he'll just be a useless NPC!"

Many new players who didn't know the truth were misled and followed along by spamming boycott messages in the channel. There were also veteran players who had enjoyed the benefits of Luofeng Village who stood up to refute them. The two sides were arguing incessantly, and the channel's message refresh speed was so fast that the text was impossible to read. In less than ten minutes, the spread of the relevant topic had exceeded one million posts.

"These conservative nobles certainly know how to find ways." Su Ninghua's expression turned cold instantly, the sleeves of her black imperial robe clenched tightly. "It must be the remnants who were dealt with before, unwilling to give up. They bribed the guild to wage an opinion war, hoping to incite players to pressure us."

Lin Zhe didn't speak, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table, his expression so indifferent that it seemed as if these rumors had nothing to do with him.

He didn't need to think to know that Lin Chen, far away in Luofeng Village, must have already received the warning. This little guy was the most protective; daring to spread rumors about his father meant they would absolutely not be let off lightly.

The scene cuts back to Luofeng Village, thousands of miles away. Red maple leaves swirled and landed on the stone table on the earthen slope. Lin Chen was nibbling on half a piece of osmanthus spirit honey cake, his short legs dangling and swinging, as he crouched by the stone table scrolling through the complaint records of the server-wide Novice Area.

Beside him, Lin Yueyao was hugging the High Priest's staff, which was taller than she was, crouching on the ground and poking a thousand-year-old fire dragon egg for fun. The eggshell made a thumping sound as it was poked, and the Great Elder of the Elves stood nearby, watching with sweaty palms.

"Buzz—!" The pale gold light screen in front of Lin Chen suddenly popped up with a glaring red warning, jumping three times higher than a normal complaint: [Malicious rumors about the host detected. Propagation volume has exceeded 1 million. It may affect the host's prestige. Requesting immediate handling!]

Lin Chen's little brows furrowed instantly. He slapped his little paw down on the stone table, setting aside the unfinished spirit honey cake. His milky voice carried obvious anger: "Daring to spread rumors about my father? Tired of living!"

His fingertips tapped on the light screen, and the pale gold Power of Rules instantly swept through the server-wide backend data. All the IP addresses and backend records of the rumor-spreading accounts popped up. Tracing the clues upward, the transfer records and secret chat logs between the Temple Knights guild leader and the conservative nobles floated clearly on the light screen:

The conservative nobles had transferred two million gold coins to the guild leader, demanding he hire internet trolls to manipulate the narrative and incite players to boycott all of Lin Zhe's activities, preferably forcing the officials to revoke Lin Zhe's authority, promising another three million gold coins as the final payment after the deed was done.

"They really dared to spend money." Lin Chen wrinkled his little nose and turned to look at Lin Yueyao beside him. "Little sister, how do you think we should punish them?"

Lin Yueyao shook the High Priest's staff in her hand, her light brown deer-like eyes full of seriousness, and spoke in a milky voice: "Ban their access to the Elf Secret Realm! Don't let them use maple coins! Don't let them claim any benefits!"

"Right!" Lin Chen nodded. With a wave of his soft little paw, pale gold threads of the Power of Rules instantly surged into the server-wide announcement backend, without a moment's hesitation.

Buzz—! The next second, a bright red pinned announcement popped up simultaneously in the vision of all online players across the server. It shone for a full fifteen seconds before disappearing, the scarlet characters making everyone's eyes dizzy:

[Server-wide Announcement: Upon investigation, the top ten guild [Temple Knights] has accepted bribes from conservative nobles, maliciously spread rumors about the highest authority holder of Luofeng Village, Lin Zhe, and incited player opposition. The evidence is conclusive. The following penalties are hereby issued:

1. All members of the Temple Knights are permanently banned from accessing all Novice Areas across the server, permanently stripped of eligibility for the Elf Secret Realm and all official events, and have their right to use maple coins permanently frozen;

2. The guild leader of the Temple Knights is permanently banned from all server-wide permissions, the account data is wiped, and they are never allowed to set foot on the Aethera Continent;

3. The definitive proof regarding the rumors has been simultaneously publicized. Anyone who dares to spread malicious rumors again will be punished doubly! The final right of interpretation for this announcement belongs to the Archon of Luofeng Village, Lin Chen!]

Below the announcement, complete screenshots of the transfers and the secret chat records between the two parties were attached, and even the family crest of the conservative nobles was clearly marked, so there was no room for any fakery.

The entire server was deathly silent for three seconds, and then it exploded completely!

In the Temple Knights guild channel, the guild leader was triumphantly showing off the two million gold coins that had just arrived to his subordinates when a glaring red ban notification suddenly popped up in front of him. Before he could even react, the guild channel had already exploded:

"What the f*ck? The three Elf Secret Realm tickets I just bought are completely useless? That's money I saved for half a month!"

"I can't use the maple coins I've saved for half a year? I only came here for the guild benefits, and now I can't even participate in an event. Why am I staying in this crappy guild? Leaving the guild, leaving!"

"Guild leader, you idiot, you took dirty money and implicated us? I just got the exclusive Lin Zhe avatar frame, and it's not even warm yet! Go to hell!"

In less than half a day, all 300,000 members of the Temple Knights had run off. The large guild, originally ranked in the top ten of the server, disbanded on the spot. The guild leader's account was completely wiped, and he couldn't even enter the Novice Area. He had no choice but to delete his account and quit the game, not even making a splash.

The manipulation on the world channel stopped completely and cleanly. All the troll accounts that had been following the narrative were banned. New players who didn't know the truth, after seeing the definitive proof, immediately ran to the channel to apologize. Small guilds that had wanted to jump on the bandwagon were scared into deleting the rumor posts they had just edited, fearing that they would be the next ones to be banned.

All players on the server remembered clearly: the fate of spreading rumors about Lin Zhe was to be banned until they quit the game, without any leniency at all.

The scene cuts back to the side hall of Saint Light City. Lin Zhe held the terminal with his fingertips, looking at the handling results sent by Lin Chen, a faint curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

After reading the announcement, Su Ninghua's cold face softened slightly, and she snorted coldly: "These clowns, engaging in assassination after manipulating public opinion—their methods are never fresh. When the purge happens, all the involved conservative nobles will be dealt with for treason. Don't let a single one escape."

The night watch gong in the distance had just struck the third watch. The sound of orderly armor plating clashing came from outside the hall. The Royal Guards and the Shadow Guard had all assembled, and the murderous aura could be felt even through the palace doors.

Su Ninghua stood up, her black imperial robe whipped by the wind, making a hunting sound. Her gaze toward Lin Zhe was full of certainty: "Sir, all personnel are in place. We can set off."

Lin Zhe also stood up, pale gold patterns of the Power of Rules flowing slightly on his fingertips. He could clearly feel the entire rule network of the Human Empire converging toward him.

He lifted his eyes and swept across the pitch-black night outside the window. Those remnants hiding in the shadows were still dreaming of a comeback, not feeling at all that the Grim Reaper had already arrived.

Lin Zhe calmly uttered two words, his voice not loud, but carrying an unquestionable majesty: "Set off."