I asked you to write a light novel, but you wrote about living?

The host could only look at Walker.

"Mr. Walker, the media outlet that published this report has been a long-time supporter of your campaign. Did your team know about this investigation beforehand?"

"no."

Walker replied:

"I only saw the relevant content for the first time after the report was published."

Grant immediately turned to look at him.

"Why did Mr. Walker pause for two seconds just now?"

Walker frowned.

"I didn't pause."

"So, when faced with the host's questioning, could your two seconds of silence also be interpreted as a sign of guilt?"

Laughter erupted again at the scene.

Walker's expression finally changed.

"This is the last gubernatorial debate in Redwood State, not an entertainment show about a novel."

"I agree."

Grant said:

"That's why we should discuss evidence, not an unverifiable number."

The two argued for several minutes about the thirty-seven witnesses.

The host tried several times to steer the conversation back to housing and healthcare issues, but was unsuccessful.

Finally, he could only turn to Reed, who had remained silent.

"Mr. Reed, do you believe the allegations made by those thirty-seven former employees?"

Reed adjusted his glasses.

"I have not met those thirty-seven people, nor have I seen their testimonies."

"So I don't know."

The host seemed surprised to receive such a simple answer.

"Don't you think voters have the right to know the truth?"

"Of course."

Reed said:

"Therefore, the media should provide evidence, rather than providing a number and then demanding that the accused prove that the number is false."

The host then asked:

"So, what's your take on the debate between the two candidates just now?"

Reed glanced at Walker, then at Grant.

"I've read that novel."

"But I'm not prepared to participate in the sequel."

After a brief silence, applause suddenly erupted from the back of the audience.

At first there were only a few people, but soon they formed a large group.

That night, "I am not prepared to participate in the sequel" became the most widely circulated debate video in Redwood State.

Many people search for Elias Reed's name for the first time.

They later discovered that this candidate, who had hardly ever run any major campaign campaigns, had publicly shared his campaign accounts on WeLight months earlier.

His homepage contains no edited clips of his opponents' gaffes, nor any insider information provided by so-called insiders.

The largest number of items were long pieces of content that seemed to have no potential for dissemination.

[Redwoods' Housing Gap and Land Supply Plan for the Next Five Years]

[State Health System Budget Calculation and Three Recommended Adjustments]

[Complete Opinion on Tax Relief Policies for Artificial Intelligence Enterprises]

Reed's campaign team did not have enough money to buy exposure on major platforms, nor were there any local media outlets willing to publish the content in its entirety.

They can only publish policy documents on Weiguang and wait for people who are willing to spend time reading them to click on them.

After that debate, Reed's homepage received more visits than the other two candidates for the first time.

It seems that Walker suffered a great loss in the "37 Witnesses" case.

But Grant's advantage lasted for less than a day.

The following morning, an internal document from Grant's campaign team was anonymously posted on StarNet.

That was a campaign attack plan compiled using a public opinion model.

It lists several options available for the last ten days:

Did Walker abuse illicit drugs during his youth?

Is there any transfer of benefits through the charitable foundation managed by Walker's wife?

Did a distant relative of Walker profit from a state government contract?

The model provides corresponding propagation suggestions for each direction.

If the other party refuses to respond, emphasize their continued silence.

If the existing evidence is insufficient, the title can be changed to a question to avoid drawing a direct conclusion.

[No need to prove the accusations are true, just make the voters suspicious.]

Grant's team quickly issued a statement claiming that the documents contained a large amount of spliced ​​and fabricated content.

But they had attacked Walker the night before using "Running for Governor".

When explained at this point, all the languages ​​seem exceptionally familiar.

[Good news: Ms. Grant understood "Running for Governor".]

[The bad news: Her public opinion model has already finished writing the sequel.]

Two people argued all night about who was Mark Twain, only to find out they were just newspapers.

Walker was responsible for preparing witnesses, and Grant was responsible for explaining his silence; the entire supply chain was very complete.

In the days that followed, the gubernatorial election in Redwood State completely lost its original direction.

Walker's camp continues to release negative material about Grant.

Grant's campaign discovered financial ties between the "37 witnesses" report and Walker's campaign advisors.

Both sides presented some authentic evidence.

Both sides also added a large number of unprovable inferences to the materials.

After each attack article is published, the comment section quickly displays "thirty-four witnesses" and "a rather suspicious silence".

Both sides are trying to prove that the other is the same newspaper featured in "Running for Governor".

In the end, he wrote himself into the novel.

Meanwhile, Reed continues to update his campaign content in the dim light.

While Walker and Grant argued over anonymous witnesses, he released the state's budget shortfall for the following year.

When both sides accused each other of manipulating the media, he disclosed all of his campaign's expenses for that month.

As local media began discussing the family members of the two candidates, he uploaded a public Q&A session about the state hospital budget.

A week ago, the approval rating was less than 10%, but it has started to rise rapidly.

Thirteen percent.

Eighteen percent.

Twenty-four percent.

By the time Walker and Grant finally realized that the third candidate, whom they had long ignored, had become a threat, there were only three days left before the official vote.

Walker's camp was the first to issue a statement, arguing that while Reed had experience governing small cities, he lacked the ability to manage large states.

Grant's campaign followed suit, urging reformist voters not to waste their votes, arguing that it would only help Walker remain in power.

For the first time in the past six months, the two camps that had been attacking each other have shown surprising unity on a certain issue.

They all wanted Reed to withdraw from the race.

Faced with pressure from both sides almost simultaneously, Reed only posted a video of less than a minute on StarNet.

"The two candidates spent six months proving to the voters of Redwood State that the other was not fit to be governor."

"Now, they have finally reached a consensus on one thing."

"Voters should not have a third option."

This concludes the video.

Both camps had hoped to force Reed to withdraw.

The result, however, has led more and more voters to seriously consider whether they really only have a choice between Walker and Grant.