99: Information warfare

Soon, Bai Ming returned, bringing back the 200 pieces of green jade mine that had been taken from them. However, at this point, what they were fighting for was no longer the Ore, but their lives.

He signaled Bai Ming to point the shadow recording stone at him, and then began to speak with indignation and sorrow: “I, Azure Scale Demon General Gu Yuchuan, have fallen into mortal danger countless times on the front lines. For the sake of my Yao Race, I have slain four Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators and countless Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators, achieving glorious military merit. Yet, here at home, I am insulted by a mere small demon! Someone must be backing him. Let's go explain the situation clearly to the Black Shark Demon King."

He knew very well that the Black Shark Demon King was the Black Tortoise Demon General's superior. In that place, relying on the Black Tortoise Demon General, he could still have a little Face. The Crocodile Great King was stunned. Was this really how their Yao Race should handle things? Didn't the Yao Race usually fight immediately upon disagreement? How could it be like this?

Soon, they arrived at the Tidal Palace of the Black Shark Great King. Gu Yuchuan took out the Black Tortoise Demon General's jade token, and no one gave him trouble. He met the Demon General in charge here. Coincidentally, the other party was also a turtle, named Jade Turtle Chancellor. It was said that he had some familial relationship with the Black Tortoise Demon General, which made Gu Yuchuan even happier.

He immediately bowed: "Chancellor, I have come to accuse this small demon of two major crimes. First, infiltrating the rear and spying on military secrets—this is a capital offense. Second, disregarding the laws of the outer Cloud Sea Marsh and plundering the resources of my Bright Stream. I ask the Chancellor to investigate thoroughly."

Since the Chancellor was related to the Black Tortoise Demon General, he naturally knew that the Black Tortoise Demon General, the Azure Scale Demon General, and the Ink Scale Demon General had formed a unified group. In other words, politically, they were one body, and this included the Chancellor himself. Therefore, how he would handle the matter was predictable.

He looked at Gu Yuchuan, then at the Crocodile Great King, who looked like a stray dog, and asked: "Why would a mere Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivator dare to attack the territory of a Foundation Establishment Demon General, and even manage to obtain military intelligence? There must be a hidden agenda here. Guards! Lock this Crocodile in the dungeon and make him talk. He must confess everything."

As expected, the other party was on their side. Gu Yuchuan smiled and said, "Thank you, Chancellor. Our first meeting was truly rushed, and I failed to bring a gift. That was very inconsiderate of me. I will certainly make it up to you next time I visit."

The other party waved his hand: "No need. Black Tortoise is my nephew, and I know your relationship. He sent me a message asking me to look after you, so naturally, I will help. In my opinion, this matter is not simple. Someone is definitely backing him. Be careful."

Since the person in front of him was an ally, Gu Yuchuan thought for a moment and decided to offer a warning: "Chancellor, you should also be careful. It is said that he is backed by an internal Demon King."

The Chancellor's expression shifted a few times, but quickly settled down: "Hmph, just an internal Demon King, nothing major. We aren't internal personnel, and besides, Lord Black Shark's internal standing surpasses many Demon Kings. Otherwise, how could he hold such a high and powerful position? Don't worry, we are all on the same side. I will help you."

At this moment, Gu Yuchuan felt genuine gratitude toward the other party. He bowed deeply, his attitude extremely sincere: "Thank you, Chancellor. After this matter is resolved, I will certainly reward you handsomely. I shall take my leave now."

The Chancellor summoned a maidservant to escort him out: "Go back and wait for my news with peace of mind. I will certainly investigate this matter thoroughly until the truth is revealed. Even if it’s an internal Demon King, I guarantee he will pay dearly."

After Gu Yuchuan left, he rushed straight back to Bright Stream without stopping. What he needed to do now was edit the video. Since his Simulation had lost due to public opinion, he would make the opposition taste the backlash of public opinion too.

In his previous life, he had actually studied video editing. He understood everything from scriptwriting and shooting scripts to post-production editing. He guaranteed that the public opinion storm he created would be far more powerful than what the opposition managed.

Lying on the ground, holding the shadow recording stone, he began preparing to edit.

The first scene was his return from the army, a high-spirited Demon General. The background narration stated that Azure Scale Demon General had achieved glorious military merit in the army, accumulating over a thousand military merit points, and was now returning home in triumph.

The next shot was the scene of their meeting, where Bai Ming tearfully explained that when he was not home, the Crocodile Great King frequently came to steal their possessions.

The third shot showed Gu Yuchuan sitting on the bed, his eyes dim and his tone filled with despair: "I risked my life for the Yao Race on the front lines, yet back here, I cannot even protect my own home."

The fourth scene: They arrived at Little Chuan Stream. The Crocodile Demon General was extremely arrogant, claiming that he was backed by a Flower Demon King from inside the Cloud Sea Marsh. He said this was all done to kill Gu Yuchuan. Gu Yuchuan tightly clenched his fists, yet dared not kill him.

The fifth scene: He stood in front of the Tidal Palace, tears streaming from his eyes: "Can a Demon King really cover the sky with one hand? I am a soldier, a warrior who fights for the Yao Race. Just because I somehow offended a Demon King, must I be schemed against and killed? I refuse to accept this!"

That was the video. What he wanted was public opinion from the lower ranks; for the sake of stability, those in power could not possibly ignore it.

He called Bai Ming over: "Spread this content out as quickly as possible. Ideally, let the entire outer region of the Cloud Sea Marsh know about this incident."

Bai Ming nodded: "Great King, may Song Chuan and I do this together? He also has many friends."

Gu Yuchuan agreed to the suggestion: "Good. Go find him. Do this yourselves, and remember, you must be fast."

The Battle of Public Opinion emphasizes speed, essentially leveraging information asymmetry. If they slowed down, it definitely wouldn't work. Soon, the content spread throughout the Cloud Sea Marsh.

However, bad news came from the Chancellor: the Crocodile Great King had died in the prison. But this allowed them to trace the Demon King who ordered the attack—it was the internal Other Shore Demon King, whose true form was an Other Shore Flower. Gu Yuchuan immediately thought of the Yellow Springs Sect. First, because few people held such deep, bloody hatred for him, and the Yellow Springs Sect was one of them. Second, the affinity between the Other Shore Flower and the Yellow Springs Sect was too perfect, making it hard not to believe they were allies.

He secretly spread this news as well, using it to corroborate the previous shadow recording stone. Suddenly, the entire outer region of the Cloud Sea Marsh became restless. The vast majority of people who saw this immediately sided with Gu Yuchuan. They developed a strong feeling of disgust toward that Demon King, an emotion that was continually brewing but had not yet fully erupted.