Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 340 London Bridge Collapses

The joint appeal case reported in the news has caused a huge stir in the city center.

The news had just been reported in the morning, and by the afternoon, it had become common knowledge. Whether in coffee shops, restaurants, or office gossip, or among police officers who already knew about it—even the employees working in the Steiger Building started talking about it in secret.

"Suppress it! Suppress this matter!"

In his office, Steiger was hysterically yelling into the phone: "Do I have to teach you how to do things?! Pay me what you owe, threaten me what you need to do, this isn't your first time doing this! Do the same thing you did before!"

"But the boss's voice on the other end of the phone was a bit off: "In the past, only two or three people wanted to cause trouble each time, and it was easy to suppress them, but this time the impact seems to be a bit big. And there are a few annoying reporters who are like ghosts that won't leave, and they won't accept money."

"Get their editor-in-chief on board! Newspapers are all about getting paid to do things; do you think I don't know them?"

Steiger gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table: "It's all about getting more money! Give them more! Shut up the media, and this will all be over soon!"

The subordinate on the other end of the phone thought to himself that this was not necessarily true. The news had already spread all over the city. Even a child could tell how popular this matter was. Rather than helping a Steiger Group that was about to be ruined and collapse, it would be better to earn himself a good reputation as a conscientious media outlet.

Moreover, the high viewership ratings are a source of profit for the television station.

“Oh, right, right, and... what about the council members and the mayor?!” Steiger blurted out, as if suddenly finding a lifeline: “They’ll definitely save me! I’ve poured so much donations and political cash into them—”

“You’ll have to make the calls yourself, boss,” Gawa continued on the other end of the line. “And that big shot who was talking about cooperation before, he said you have to settle this matter first before considering cooperation, and he also said…”

"What else is there to say!"

"He even said he wouldn't mind collaborating with a researcher who has nothing to his name, since the patents and intellectual property rights are the same, and he might only need to pay him half of what you get."

"Let him eat his fill! No one can take my things from me!"

In a fit of rage, Steiger transformed into a desktop cleaning master, shoving everything off his desk onto the floor with a single elbow.

"I want them dead! I'll sue those bastards until they're bankrupt!"

However, the outcome of the lawsuit is no longer so important at this point.

Steiger Group's stock price plummeted by 17 percent that day, like a rooftop plunge, and continued to fall the following day.

The brilliant scientist, conscientious entrepreneur, and philanthropist who was originally awarded the best contribution of the year turned out to be a fabricated persona meticulously crafted with money and lies by appropriating the achievements and intellectual property of countless others. Even his entire company was built on this foundation—basically the kind of exciting plot twist that all of humanity loves to watch.

Most people aren't really concerned with verifying whether Steiger's infringement was genuine or not; in fact, they're more inclined to believe that Steiger's infringement cases are real. Although many can't remember the names of the victims, everyone's enthusiasm for one thing is unprecedentedly unified—they want to see the edifice collapse.

Since the media has already reported this news, they can't be lying, right?
Discovering a bad guy, whoever he is, kill him on the spot, the matter is over, and world peace is achieved—this is probably the most perfect process of justice in everyone's mind. Of course, actual justice is always much more complicated and troublesome than this process, and distinguishing between good guys and bad guys is never so easy.

But at least this time, Steiger really deserved it.

The saying goes, "Three men can make a tiger," and "Many voices can melt metal." After Steiger used this tactic against countless victims in the past, he encountered the same situation again today. Only this time, he became the one with the quietest voice.

In a sense, these hundreds of counterclaimants were all accumulated by him one by one, which can be seen as a kind of karmic retribution. "London Bridge, fall down, fall down~"

Ma Zhaodi rode his food cart, humming a song, past the gleaming glass building. He didn't even turn his head to look at the strangely shaped building, but rode straight into the distance.

"Once the wave begins, the trials cannot be stopped."

The three-wheeled vehicle spoke into Ma Zhaodi's earpiece: "This method can be used to deal with bad people, or it can be used to destroy good people."

"You think it's not just?" Ma Zhaodi remained noncommittal: "But my suggestion is limited to a joint appeal and media reports. Which of these two things is not just?"

“The defamation by other people is not just enough to affect the person in question. If the target were a good person, he would be ruined.”

"I didn't suggest defamation, just as I didn't suggest the media's silence in previous cases. If everyone could learn to stick to the facts, Steiger would have lost his first case more than a decade ago."

The three-wheeled vehicle remained silent.

“Building public trust is difficult, but breaking it is easy; all you have to do is make everyone see it or feel that you are being unfair.”

Steiger's case has caused quite a stir in the city center, and the protracted debates in the courtroom are gradually unfolding. As expected, some elite and big-name lawyers see this as a good opportunity to further enhance their reputation.

"To fight a just, widely supported, and high-profile lawsuit against a giant corporation, with abundant evidence, countless witnesses, and hundreds of plaintiffs."

At this point, the elderly Black lawyer couldn't help but smile at Denton.

"At this point, I can't imagine any court daring to rule against you, and gaining the jury's sympathy would be absolutely a piece of cake."

“Blake, you said this lawsuit was also to save your wife, right?”

"Yes, thank God she had more time, otherwise I really would have had no hope."

“If the media publishes your story again, you will almost certainly win the case—of course, it all depends on you.”

"I don't want my wife to be disturbed too much."

"Of course, whatever you say, Mr. Blake."

The old black man stood up.

“Now, you should go back and spend time with your wife. I need to look at other evidence and cases—hundreds of victims. Sigh, I think I should find some lawyer friends to help me.”

"Thank you, Mr. Freeman."

"No, I should be thanking you—I guess very few lawyers can write such a brilliant case on their resume, it's almost impossible to lose."

(End of this chapter)