As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 137 The Art of Slinging Dirty Water
Thanks to the technological replication of the "Fourth Era, the Mechanical Civilization," the "small information processing terminal," or computer technology, of the Heroic Era is actually quite advanced.

Regardless of whether it is steam-driven, the difference engine is composed of countless gears and bearings.

It's still a computer made up of transistors and a spherical display.

Both can efficiently process massive amounts of information.

The problem is the network.

Since the Great Cataclysm, the world of the Heroic Era has been filled with a large amount of highly radioactive particulate matter. In addition, extreme weather and geological changes such as earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, and volcanic eruptions can also cause serious interference to wireless transmission.

Intercity cable networks spanning multiple regions are also susceptible to being bitten off by snakes, insects, and rodents possessed by the remnants of the past, or to being washed away by earthquakes and floods.

An even more serious problem is that the remnants of the past, as "energy-like life forms" or "information-like life forms" in a certain sense, have a certain probability of moving along wired and wireless networks, constantly replicating and upgrading in large-scale information processing terminals with extremely high computing power, and thus stirring up huge waves throughout the entire network world.

The former "Fourth Era, the Mechanical Civilization" was destroyed by the "Intelligent Crisis" caused by the awakening of artificial intelligence.

In the Age of Heroes, where remnants of the past are active, even slightly complex mechanical or electronic devices can become the vessel for these remnants.

In ordinary households, telephones and answering machines can be invaded by external, remnant spirits, which may start talking nonsense or even interfere with the owner's brain, plunging the owner into nightmares.

Not to mention computers, which are hundreds of times more sophisticated than ordinary household appliances and connected to external networks.

In this situation, the Alliance of Heroes did not establish a global network covering the entire territory.

Only as needed, and with approval, were some local area networks deployed in certain cities.

Terminal devices connected to the local area network must also undergo rigorous review and daily monitoring to ensure that no unauthorized remnants of the past infiltrate the network and spread harmful information to internet users.

This has resulted in high internet access costs, poor information dissemination, and a very small number of users, mainly concentrated among middle- and high-end consumers with a certain social status and economic ability.

Newspapers remain the primary channel for ordinary citizens to obtain and exchange information.

Moreover, the newspaper content was more detailed and richer than Xu Yan remembered, with more interactive elements such as "reader's mailbox".

Even in a border city like Dawn City, which is not very economically developed, there are twenty or thirty different kinds of newspapers and magazines, making the competition extremely fierce.

Many newspapers even published twice a day, as a "morning paper" and an "evening paper," to ensure the timeliness of information.

Today, the hottest topics in all the major newspapers in Dawn City are the farce that happened at the Mad Iron Club yesterday.

Even if it wasn't the front page headline, it filled an entire page with content in the most popular and important sections for readers, accompanied by very eye-catching color photos.

For example, the newspaper that Xiong Ruyue is clutching has a photo of Xiong Tieshan clutching his chest, looking pained, as he falls backward.

The title was even more sensational: "The End of Cardless Streaming".

Other newspapers, however, presented vastly different stories, revealing numerous dark secrets about the Kuangtie Club from various angles.

Some newspapers have analyzed the various fatal flaws of cardless data transfer.

Some newspapers have discussed how believers in the Absolute God Path have fallen behind the times, gradually becoming radical and extreme. They have transformed from heroes who helped humanity suppress the remnants of the past and reclaim the right to develop civilization into arrogant, complacent, and fanatical believers who hinder the development of civilization.

Some newspapers have focused on digging into various problems of the Kuangtie Club, such as its overly simplistic and brutal training methods, the excessive side effects of improving strength, and the fact that Xiong Tieshan used to beat and scold people, leaving deep psychological scars on students like Chu Zhifeng, which led to Chu Zhifeng's decision to abandon the dark side and join the light yesterday.

Chu Zhifeng was both unfortunate and fortunate; at least he made a name for himself and traded his numerous injuries for a bright future.

Many students who didn't make it to the top became victims of the no-card system.

Some newspapers also paid close attention to Xiong Rutie's condition.

It was determined that his collapse was not purely due to extreme anger, but rather the result of long-term overtraining. If even this grandmaster of the cardless style could not withstand the consequences of long-term overload on his flesh and blood, wouldn't an ordinary person practicing the cardless style be courting death?
In this light, the "multi-card flow" is still the most suitable for ordinary people. It doesn't take much effort or trouble to unleash extraordinary power. So what if there's a "Summoning Snail"? Humans originally relied on various tools in a broad sense to become the most intelligent of all beings!

In short, based on these newspaper reports, the cardless style is indeed a backward and doomed school of thought, Xiong Tieshan is a fanatical follower of the Absolute God Path who brought this upon himself, and the Kuang Tie Club is a den of iniquity that disregards human life. The fact that it hasn't been shut down by the Spirit Card Association to this day suggests there's a deep and unfathomable secret behind it. Xiong Ruyue trembled with anger.

He wanted to tear all the newspapers to shreds, but he also knew that the news had already spread to every household in Dawn City.

Before long, hundreds of thousands of citizens throughout the city will probably know that Xiong Tieshan suffered a backlash from the no-card flow, and just how brutal and dangerous the training methods of the Kuangtie Club really are.

Her face was deathly pale, and the veins on the back of her hands appeared and disappeared intermittently.

In the end, he managed to control himself, gently tossing the newspaper aside and saying with a wry smile, "Xu Yan, you're right. I never expected that a reputable media outlet would be so unable to distinguish right from wrong, distorting the truth and spouting nonsense."

"The Crazy Iron Club may have made some mistakes, but the no-card strategy is definitely not as useless as the newspapers say. Don't believe it!"

"of course."

Xu Yan slowly finished eating a meat pie, clapped his hands and said, "The way so many newspapers are moving so uniformly is obviously a setup to harm the Kuang Tie Club. How could I possibly believe that?"

"Sister Xiong, you don't need to worry too much. Although the overwhelming negative news is not a good thing, in a sense, it has also helped Kuangtie Club gain recognition throughout the city. As the saying goes, 'negative publicity is still publicity.' In terms of exposure alone, Kuangtie Club is now the undisputed number one in Dawn City!"
"Moreover, I feel that the other party has gone too far and made a mess of things. It might provoke a backlash from the readers, which could actually be a blessing in disguise for us!"

Xu Yan felt that the evil media of the Heroic Spirit Alliance had not been baptized by the Internet wave. No matter how shameless they were, they were still too naive and immature. From a technical point of view, they were too immature and clumsy.

When it comes to exposing scandals, the key is to play hard to get, to touch on the topic but not to reveal too much, like a pipa player partially concealing the truth, to arouse the audience's curiosity and guide them to "explore" the so-called truth themselves.

They might even deliberately delete non-existent truths, pretending to be completely banned online, to evoke empathy from the audience who share their vulnerability, thus secretly implanting the desired information into the minds of those who believe themselves to be clever.

If you want to smear someone, saying they kicked a cripple and cursed a mute, or knocked on a widow's door and dug up a childless grave, that's the limit.

If you insist on saying that someone is a traitor to heaven and ancestors and violates human ethics, then the audience will be curious about just how bad they have to be to deserve such a bad reputation.
Once it is discovered that someone's actions fall far short of these eight words, things will change.

In short, if Xu Yan were in charge, he would never have used up all his resources on the first day.

On the first day, getting one or two media outlets involved is enough; you can gradually increase the dosage later.

When it comes to spreading dirty water, the key is to do it slowly and subtly, like a gentle rain nourishing the earth. It would be ideal to write a long story of seventy or eighty episodes and serialize it for three to five months!
Xiong Ruyue, however, was not as optimistic as him.

While the opponent's methods were clumsy, their offensive was as fierce as a tsunami. If the Crazy Iron Club cannot withstand this insane attack, what use will it be even if the truth comes out in the future?

Moreover, she couldn't understand it at all. The Crazy Iron Club had always operated legitimately, never causing trouble, and never engaging in vicious competition that would harm both sides.

She was kind to everyone and changed her father's stubborn and unpleasant temper. She worked hard to expand her network and make friends in the circles of spirit masters and card makers. She even humbled herself to learn from the three major clubs in the city and actively cooperated with the "single card style" and "multiple card style".

After thinking it over and over, she still couldn't figure out when she had offended the Shattered Star Club.

They couldn't understand how the other side possessed such immense power to incite all the media in the city to slander the Kuangtie Club, seemingly determined to destroy them.
"..."

Xu Yan was speechless for a moment.

To reiterate, Xiong Ruyue may have some business acumen, but it's really not much, and it would be better if she had none at all.

"Sister Xiong, don't you think that Grandpa Xiong is the real master with great wisdom?"

Xu Yan said, "That's right, his temper is indeed stubborn and inflexible. He often spouts nonsense about other schools of thought, and he clings to the outdated ideas of the Absolute God Path. He is only willing to teach the purest cardless style. At first glance, he is simply the public enemy of the circle."

"But have you noticed that the old man is just talking big? He has never posed a real threat to the major spirit card clubs in Dawn City in terms of business interests?"

"On the contrary, many consumers strengthen their muscles and bones, and improve their blood and qi at Kuangtie Martial Arts School. With their vitality, they can support the activation of more sealing cards at the same time, and thus go to various clubs to buy more sealing cards!"

"From this perspective, Kuangtie Martial Arts Academy is actually a 'youth training camp' for various Lingka Clubs, and they have a cooperative relationship in the upstream and downstream industry chain."

"When it comes to business, as long as there is money to be made, let the old man create the persona of a 'mad believer in the Absolute God Path,' and what's wrong with him cursing people?"
"The old man is actually very clear-headed. In order to maintain his position, he was reluctant to change the signboard from 'Martial Arts School' to 'Club'. This was to show that we were not on the same track and were not competitors at all. Why would anyone target him?"

(End of this chapter)