Their cover was blown, no doubt about it. But what was done was done. The plan their client had paid for still had to move forward.
After spamming the bad reviews, the trolls followed the plan and flooded the Federationâs food forums, posting en masse to stir up the controversy.
Posts like "Million-Star-Coin Streamer Treats Cooking Like a Joke," "Youâre Better Off Drinking Nutrient Liquid," "Shameless Persona Baiting Students for Cash," and "The Food Was Just Too Disgusting" popped up one after another.
Seeing these posts, clueless onlookers started asking what was going on.
The haters were on standby, ready to pounce. They quickly replied with the "whole story": how they went to check out the stream because of a million-Star-Coin dish, only to find that the streamer was nothing more than a sweet talker.
They didnât say anything particularly nasty, but the implication between the lines was obvious to everyoneâ
Sheâs a food streamer who canât cook, but she has a silver tongue. Thatâs why people watch her. Thatâs why people eat her food.
Wow, now that was some juicy gossip.
Faced with this kind of story, any random bystander would just shake their head and mutter, "What has the world come to?"
The posts gradually gained some traction, but these fabricated stories were like a house of cards. All it would take was one person to poke it, and the whole thing would come crashing down.
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In Li Ranâs original vision, the plan was supposed to go like this.
First, she would use the million-Star-Coin dish incident to make Jiang Qiuqiu notorious in the Federationâs biggest food community. Then, she would attach a few socially damaging labels to her name. After that, the trolls would incite Jiang Qiuqiuâs own fans, drawing them into the forums to fight with the onlookers.
The arguments between the two sides would inevitably create conflict.
This would send a mob of angry onlookers storming into Jiang Qiuqiuâs livestream. People say nasty things when theyâre riled up, and even if they held back, the trolls would be there to make things uncomfortable for the new streamer.
She was just a newcomer. Rattle her a bit, and her composure would likely shatter.
Once she fell apart, how good could her food possibly be? Besides, itâs impossible to please everyone; there would always be someone who didnât like her.
That would be the moment to unleash a massive wave of bad reviews and continue flooding the forums with negative information about Jiang Qiuqiu.
In this day and age, information moves incredibly fast. People have endless choices for streamers to watch. Once they were familiar with Jiang Qiuqiuâs "scandal," they would subconsciously skip past her channel, even if they happened upon her stream.
With her popular support gone and her reputation in tatters, the newcomerâs composure was bound to break.
Once she had a mental breakdown, it would be easy to slowly wear her down with a coordinated campaign of troublemaking. The streamer would gradually fall apart.
Of course, that was the ideal scenario in Li Ranâs mind.
The reality of the situation wasâ
Every single development had run completely contrary to the plan.
Who could have predicted that a new streamer would be able to chat and laugh so cheerfully in the face of haters?
Who could have predicted it! The moment the dish was served, not a single person gave it a bad review! This forced the trolls to post their low-star ratings with "tears in their eyes" amidst a sea of praise, getting their accounts exposed instantly.
They had finally managed to orchestrate another wave of drama in the forums, and it seemed to be working, but thenâ
...
Dong Dongdong was a very chill, middle-aged man.
And why was he so chill? Because heâd had a smooth and easy life from the day he was born.
His father was cultured and his mother was rich. He himself wasnât exceptionally talented, but he was good enough to get by and had managed to coast his way to a degree in the Federationâs capital.
After graduating, he used that degree to coast into an equally laid-back job.
He could be at his post for days without a single person coming by.
His short list of hobbies followed a simple routine: watching online drama and surfing the web for food.
Due to his seniority, his familyâs considerable wealth, and the fact that he had a proper job, heâd also managed to become a minor admin for one of the Federationâs food forums.