Shrek Academy's public relations department also played a huge role, taking control of the online discourse.
Through their operation, the situation quickly stabilized and did not worsen any further.Some posts on the interstellar network were being deleted.
The families of the deceased and those who had been injured were quickly located thanks to Shrek Academy's powerful intelligence network.
Generous financial compensation, combined with a touch of intimidation, convinced these people to agree not to pursue the matter any further.
When approached by the media for interviews, they publicly stated that they had already forgiven Shrek and could understand their anger.
One had to admit, there was a reason Shrek Academy had been able to endure for more than twenty thousand years and remain glorious to this day.No matter how violent the storm, it could still hold firm.
Not only did they stop the damaging online chatter at the fastest possible speed, they even launched a counterattack.
Some posts questioning the Dragon Phoenix Hall began appearing on the interstellar network:
"Is it really true that Tang Wulin's disappearance has nothing to do with Dragon Phoenix Hall?"
"That smooth-tongued Vice Hall Master—are there any truths in his words?"
"Two-faced Dragon Phoenix Hall!"
These posts all questioned Dragon Phoenix Hall.
Summed up, their content was this: that Dragon Phoenix Hall had deceived the people, that they were clearly the villains who had abducted Tang Wulin, and yet they dared to bite back, despicable and shameless!
Under Shrek Academy's push, the popularity of these posts quickly climbed, their views breaking ten million.
Three days later—
After Shrek Academy's PR team's work, plus the use of various connections, the buzz about Shrek Academy's powerhouse making a move in Mingdu, resulting in civilian casualties, had completely died down. Some high-click-rate posts from before mysteriously disappeared as well.
In a sense, this incident could be considered closed. Discussion of it on the interstellar network was now pitifully scarce, with almost no heat left at all.
The Federal Police's handling of the matter amounted to nothing more than a single announcement.
It briefly condemned Shrek Academy's heinous behavior and issued a warning, while also ordering Shrek Academy to compensate for damaged buildings.
It made no mention of requiring Shrek Academy to apologize to Dragon Phoenix Hall.
In fact, the announcement didn't even mention the Dragon Phoenix Hall by name.
This announcement was dripping with perfunctory tone, its wording extremely tactful, not daring to criticize Shrek too harshly.
The upper echelons of the Federal Police weren't from Shrek, but they couldn't resist pressure from higher institutions and had no choice but to yield.
Some forces still didn't want the matter to just end quietly and had people post on the interstellar network to attack Shrek Academy.
But in the end, none of it had any effect. Those forces didn't dare truly enrage Shrek, so they didn't push too hard.
When they saw their posts getting lukewarm responses, they simply lost interest in continuing.
…
Inside Dragon Phoenix Hall, in the ninth-floor conference room.
"These bastards are really skillful—They actually managed to suppress this matter so quickly, and even slandered us in return. Truly infuriating!" Xiong Jun said angrily.
Now there were very few posts scolding Shrek Academy online, while many posts were accusing Dragon Phoenix Hall of deceiving the people.
There was no need to guess where these posts came from—Shrek Academy had planted them.
At his words, everyone turned their eyes to him. Except for Yun Ze, the others all had strange expressions.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Xiong Jun felt uneasy under everyone's gaze.
"Uh… if we're being factual, what they said doesn't really count as slander. Like abducting Tang Wulin—that really was something we did. We just don't admit it," Di Tian said.
Unlike Xiong Jun, he hadn't fooled himself into believing their own lies.
"The way you're putting it, it sounds like you're insulting us," Bi Ji immediately followed up.
Strictly speaking, it was they who had slandered Shrek. Xiong Jun's words just now, no matter how you heard them, sounded off.
Chances were, when Shrek Academy talked about this matter, they were cursing them in exactly this way.
"Mm," the Ten Thousand Beast King, Zi Ji, and several others nodded.
"Th—That's not what I meant! I was insulting them, not you,"
Xiong Jun realized belatedly and quickly explained.
"If you don't know how to talk, then say less, or you'll only stir up resentment," Di Tian reminded him.
Xiong Jun shot Di Tian a vicious glare but said nothing.
"I've already asked Dean Xu Lin to help resolve the negative chatter on the interstellar network. I believe those questioning remarks will soon be removed. You all don't need to worry too much about this," Yun Ze said.
Dragon Phoenix Hall didn't have PR capabilities as powerful as Shrek's, so they had to rely on outside help. With Xu Lin's skills, solving this wasn't difficult at all.
"Young Master, why not have Xu Lin help again, put up some posts unfavorable to Shrek online?" Xiong Jun suggested.
Yun Ze gave him a glance and shook his head.
"Even if they're posted, they'll soon be taken down. That's completely meaningless."
"Besides, there's no need to do such things. The conflict with Shrek, in the end, must be settled with hard power. These words have no real impact."
"If you've got free time to pay attention to online chatter, you'd be better off spending it on forging, so you can break through to an eighth-rank blacksmith sooner."
"I was just saying," Xiong Jun said with an awkward smile.
Yun Ze paid it no mind.
He took out over a dozen blueprints from his storage ring, placed them on the table, and gestured for Xiong Jun to take them.
Using soul power, Xiong Jun moved the blueprints closer, picked them up, and looked through them. Soon he shot Yun Ze a questioning look:
"Young Master, what are these?"
"These are the metals you'll be forging next. I've marked clearly which metal is to be used for which part. You just need to forge according to the designs," Yun Ze said.
"For the next few days, don't forge any other metals. Focus only on forging these, and get them done as soon as possible," Yun Ze added.
"No problem. Three days at most, and I'll have them all finished,"
Xiong Jun promised, patting his chest.
There were many metal components on those designs, and all were large parts.
Forging them would be very time-consuming. If it were an ordinary blacksmith, it might take over ten days to complete them. But for Xiong Jun, three days was enough.
After carefully reviewing the blueprints, Xiong Jun couldn't help but say:
"Young Master, what are these metals for? The shape is strange—it looks kind of like a monkey."
Yun Ze gave a faint smile.
"I designed it based on a monkey's shape. It's a mecha meant for a monkey."
"A mecha meant for a monkey?" Gu Yue Na looked at Yun Ze in surprise.She understood mecha better than the others, which only deepened her confusion.
"Lately, I've been reading books about god-level mecha and got some inspiration.That led to the idea of building mecha for soul spirits," Yun Ze said.
"Red-class mecha can already allow soul spirits to inhabit and control them—But that requires a soul master's soul spirit. Ownerless soul spirits still can't do it."
"My design basically just improves on that, allowing even ownerless soul spirits to inhabit mecha and control them."
"And not just red-class mecha. These will let them control black-class mecha," Yun Ze explained.
(End of Chapter)