Chapter 12

[Is this video actually a smartphone advertisement?]

Even with its vast collection of data, the system still couldn't fathom what complex creatures like humans were thinking.

Among the numerous comments under the video posted by Ah Chu's account, featuring Three Five Five cat-catching, this particular comment unexpectedly rose to popularity.

Most viewers who stuck around had seen the previous two videos and were familiar with the "setup" of the "Ah Chu and Three Five Five" account: mama cat Three Five Five, human kitten Ah Chu, and the hardworking system formed the three foundational elements of this account... Those who could accept it found it interesting, while those who couldn't thought it was just attention-seeking.

Today's video was shot by Chu Tingwu using a handheld phone, as explained by the system in the narration. However, viewers' attention peculiarly focused on this point: ...What kind of phone could produce such good results with handheld shooting?

The system was bewildered. That's because it helped during the filming! It did post-production to remove unstable footage and added frames... and most importantly, the little one's hands were incredibly steady! This had nothing to do with the phone, it was all about the person filming!

Of course, you can't achieve this without such an amazing little one.

The system was quite cold-hearted and didn't reply to these comments. It simply deleted some disharmonious remarks as usual, then silently opened another verified new account and chose to post.

This account's name was its seemingly high-end foreign video post-production team name. The documentary "Animals and Us in the City" was officially invested by Fenghua Network, making it easy to get account verification through this connection.

However, the first video posted on this new account had nothing to do with the documentary. Instead, it prominently featured Qiao Hu's name and was published as a "joint submission".

[Joint Submission] "Malicious Editing! Inciting Cyberbullying!? What kind of world is 'Qiao Hu Observes the World' really showing you?"

The list of joint submitters for the video was extensive, totaling 56 Fenghua Network content creators. Right from the start, the main speaker calmly and rationally brought up several videos Qiao Hu had published... These videos could also be called "brainwashing videos", just like what his team did to Chu Tingwu: they targeted new content creators without verification, stirred up public opinion, then retreated after achieving their goal. Whether the content creator successfully proved their innocence or withdrew from the internet covered in mud, in this entertainment-driven era, Qiao Hu had harvested enough traffic.

And now, it was his turn to be targeted.

Many content creators weren't unwilling to retaliate or hadn't tried reporting to the police, but most were ordinary people without that kind of energy. Victims weren't necessarily perfect victims either, and exposing themselves might lead to more criticism.

But now the system had arrived.

As this video was published, almost simultaneously, the jointly submitting content creators also released new videos. The covers were similar, the scale uniform, all produced by the system. Unlike the short videos on the main account, these were long videos with detailed evidence and substantial content, mainly serving as supplementary explanations.

But this kind of unified action itself easily became a focal point. Just as Qiao Hu's team was playing dead due to his live streaming mishap (praising Chu Tingwu), the video topped Fenghua Network's homepage recommendations at midnight and stayed there until morning.

Qiao Hu angrily threw his pillow.

He was woken up from a nap, and at this point, he couldn't care less about cat-rescuing content creators or pet content creators. His temples were throbbing, and everyone's expressions looked grim — now, with just a couple of scrolls, you could see the jointly submitted videos on other automatically recommended lists, videos from different content creators.

Qiao Hu quickly issued an apology statement in the early morning, but it was useless. In fact, content creators who had successfully proven their innocence had all received his groveling apologies before, but after a while, Qiao Hu's team would quietly delete the apology videos, or only apologize in status updates, then hide them.

Now, they were telling him through their actions:

"You apologized, but I don't accept it."

No one stipulates that victims must accept the perpetrator's apology... Sometimes it's not even an apology, just a form of secondary harm.

Qiao Hu tiredly rubbed his eyes. "...Has that team still not replied to our private message?"

That initial team, the one that did video post-production for the cat food content creator, that mysteriously officially verified team... They were the ones who started going after him! Qiao Hu was willing to pay to avoid trouble, pay to delete videos, even temporarily withdraw from the internet if necessary, but such large-scale black history must not be left behind—

"Old Wolf made a video about this incident," a team member said numbly, "Along with other big content creators, they've all released new videos."

This matter... wasn't over.

While Qiao Hu's team was in a state of panic, "Ah Chu's" fans were cheering.

Their content creator was just someone who made cat food, inexplicably targeted by videos with accusations, inexplicably required to prove themselves innocent, and even implicated the neighboring cat rescuer... Now seeing Qiao Hu in trouble, the fans who previously didn't dare to speak up much in the comments section finally felt vindicated.

Among the hundred thousand plus fans, there were always some who were genuinely invested, even loyal fans who came over from the Little Sun cat rescue account.

As a result, the comments section quickly turned into a large-scale cyber electronic kitchen.

[I hadn't posted before, but I actually tried following along when Ah Chu posted the first video. I confess, even though it was meant for my cat, I ended up eating half of it myself. The ingredients are quite simple, the taste is very mild, but it's just very fragrant, feeling like the natural aroma of the food itself (588 words omitted). Anyway, everyone can try making it. I directly had the remaining half pot for dinner!]

[Me too... I initially wanted to make cat food to feed stray cats, but ended up eating half of it myself. It actually felt a bit greasy, but I still finished it all. Maybe there was too much meat. UP, when will you come up with a version more suitable for human consumption?]

[No way, isn't cat food supposed to be tasteless?]

[The main thing is that UP's cat food actually works well as a packed lunch. Aside from the appearance, the ingredients and cooking methods are quite healthy... *burp* It's just that my cat scratched me while I was eating. UP, do you have any ideas about that?]

[My cat says you're all acting. Nevermind, I'm going to try making it today too!] S~eaʀᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[I went to feed the little strays nearby. The little stray buried its head right in. It wouldn't let me pet it before, but this time I took the chance and had a good petting session! Highly recommended!]

[You're making me feel tempted too. UP, can your cat food be used to lure stray cats? I happen to want to adopt one recently.]

[Local people wanting to adopt stray cats can go to Little Sun Pet Hospital for adoption! If it's a nearby cat, you can also call for cat-catching services. Little Sun Hospital has been undertaking voluntary cat-catching and on-site adoption work for three years now, very reliable. Don't believe that bullshit Qiao was spouting!]

[If adopting a cat, can we catch UP in person... mainly want to see if you really have a system!]

Although the "Ah Chu" account never said anything from start to finish and was quite aloof, barely replying to fans, the comments section was still full of laughter and cheer as if it were New Year's. The recent events also caused the Little Sun Hospital account's followers to surge, also breaking a hundred thousand and heading towards two hundred thousand.

Hang Ling, who had been keeping an eye on the situation, looked at Chu Tingwu who was adding water for the cats, then at the account backend, still feeling a bit dazed.

After the previous video was targeted by Qiao Hu, she didn't release the video about rescuing Little Black — even though the video was already completed.

Because the video featured Chu Tingwu, and Three Five Five who was a great help in rescuing cats... Hang Ling worried that if she released the video, it might give others an excuse to attack little Chu, or let them nitpick about "how can a cat rescue cats", wondering if it was staged or if they deliberately placed the cat there. Public opinion seemed like invisible shackles; she appeared unconcerned, but in reality, she had become restrained.

After pondering for a while, Hang Ling called out to Chu Tingwu and expressed her concerns: "Chu Chu... can we post a video with a bit of a disclaimer? I'm thinking, not all cats are like San Wu Wu. I've only seen San Wu Wu as a cat capable of assisting in rescues. Won't it mislead others into thinking they can use their cats to communicate with other cats, or might it cause trouble for you?"

Chu Tingwu thought for a moment, then nodded: "I understand."

Hang Ling: "?"

What did she understand?

She grabbed Oreo as it darted past her feet. This three-legged cat ran incredibly fast, but once caught by the scruff of its neck, it looked docile and innocent. Chu Tingwu stroked its head: "We can add a note in the video stating that San Wu Wu has received special training. Then in subsequent videos, we can demonstrate that through this training, not only San Wu Wu but other cats can also be trained as rescue cats. That should avoid any problems, right?"

Hang Ling: "...Wait, don't call me 'sister' anymore. Just call me Lingdang."

Although she was eight years older than Chu Tingwu, for some reason, watching her effortlessly grab a mischievous cat made Hang Ling feel a tightness at the back of her own neck. She had a strange urge to call Chu Tingwu "Sister Chu."

Then she realized: "You mean...?"

Chu Tingwu pondered: "Whether a cat can act as a translator between humans and cats to assist in rescues actually depends on the cat's intelligence, not just San Wu Wu's unique ability."

The cats in the living room were already quite friendly with people and very familiar with the staff at Little Sun Hospital. She could try to help train them.

Of course, if their intelligence was similar to that sales champion cat at the cat café, even she couldn't do it.

Hang Ling's eyes widened as she reached for her phone—

Damn, she really wanted to film this.

It turns out that her video-making and account management weren't just about promoting adoption over buying... it was also because she truly loved recording moments through video and images.

Hang Ling: "Can you say that again, Sister Chu?"

Chu Tingwu: "?"

Why suddenly call her sister?

-

As Hang Ling went to help clean the litter boxes for the kittens, Chu Tingwu opened her phone and once again looked at the clean backend of her account. She then asked the system: "Is everything taken care of?"

The system played dumb: "Hmm?"

Chu Tingwu: "When I posted the video earlier, there were some disharmonious voices in the comments section, right?"

She hadn't actually seen them, but she had deduced it from Hang Ling's expressions and the system's attitude—

After "becoming a cat," reading human facial expressions became even simpler than reading cat expressions.

[How could there be? Everyone was praising you. Just a few people said some unpleasant things due to misunderstandings... so I deleted and blocked them all!]

As for those people now trying to apologize by @ing Ah Chu's account, the system ignored them completely.

[You're still just a cub. You don't need to worry about these things. Just focus on your studies and eat well.]

If it weren't for considering the host, the system had many faster and less legal ways to deal with Qiao Hu. Now that the cub knew, the system no longer concealed it:

"That troublemaker who caused the misunderstandings will soon disappear. Don't worry about him."

Chu Tingwu: "Hmm... It's not his corpse that's going to disappear, is it?"

Of course not! It was a system that used legal methods!

The system confidently replied: "Just wait and see."

That evening, the post-production team that had released the collaborative video published a new video. More than just a video, it was truly an advertisement—an ad for the documentary "Animals and Us in the City."

With official help, the system reciprocated by offering free editing for this 20-some-second promotional clip. This time it was a joint post with the documentary's official account, and its real "private goods" were hidden in the post's self-introduction, which directly included all the videos posted by @Ah Chu and San Wu Wu's account.

Then, for the first time, the system replied to a comment asking if the "Ah Chu" account was a rich kid with money to burn, posting cat food videos with movie-level post-production.

The system's modest reply:

"We didn't charge anything. That's our boss's cub."

It was both the "boss" and the "employee," so this explanation seemed reasonable, right?

There was no need for the "Ah Chu" account to prove itself. As Qiao Hu's account was banned and he received lawyer's letters from other content creators, the system gleefully showed this reply pop-up to Chu Tingwu.

Chu Tingwu responded with an "Oh" and showed the system her phone screen—

[Lu Tinglan: Sis, I accidentally came across this. Is this account yours? [Picture]]

[Lu Tinglan: Um... I saw this team's reply...]

[Lu Tinglan: Mom doesn't have this kind of business, right? Don't tell me she remarried without telling me? (shocked.jpg)]

[Lu Tinglan: Or are you secretly being someone else's daughter? (head scratch.jpg)]

System: "..."

Chu Tingwu: "Is this what you wanted me to wait for?"

System: "......"

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