Free Web NovelChapter 470: Chapter 470: Settling Accounts
The moment Officer Tristan Tanner finished speaking, Frank York broke down completely.
He let out a wail and shouted in a trembling voice, "No! You can’t! You can’t ban my account!"
Frank York didn’t care about some "resource collection eligibility." In his eyes, the natural disaster was already over, and things like "resource collection eligibility" would soon become relics of the past, just like mandatory COVID tests.
But having his account banned was something he absolutely could not accept!
That account was his livelihood, his only means of making a living!
He hadn’t held a job since graduation and had been surviving solely on the income from that account!
Chloe Sharp, who had been pretending to be invisible on the side, grew anxious upon hearing this. She ran up to Officer Tristan Tanner and pleaded, "Officer, this account is our only source of income. We rely on it to eat! Please, I’m begging you, have mercy! Don’t ban our account!"
Chloe Sharp couldn’t help but panic. She and Frank York had put in so much effort to gain a million followers. They had finally managed to build up the account, and if it got banned now, creating another million-follower account would be incredibly difficult!
Frank York’s eyes were red with desperation as he begged Officer Tristan Tanner, "Officer, I’d rather have a criminal record! Please, I’m begging you, go easy on us and spare our account!"
Watching Frank York and Chloe Sharp’s desperate pleas, Officer Tristan Tanner remained completely unmoved.
His expression was stern as he said, "You should have considered today’s consequences when you uploaded that slanderous video. The internet is not a lawless land. Everyone who influences public opinion must pay the price for their actions!"
’This isn’t twenty years ago. If accounts that spread rumors like this aren’t banned, everyone will start imitating them. What would become of online discourse then!’
As soon as Officer Tristan Tanner finished speaking, Frank York collapsed onto the floor in despair.
Only at this moment did he truly realize his mistake. Because of one video, he had completely lost the account he depended on for survival. A colossal wave of regret engulfed him!
He couldn’t bear it any longer. He grabbed his head with his hands and broke down, crying out loud!
After leaving Apartment 1504, a thought suddenly struck Melody Summers, and she asked Officer Tristan Tanner, "What if they register a new account in a couple of days and start spreading rumors again?"
’Those two are definitely capable of something like that!’ Melody thought.
Hearing this, Officer Tristan Tanner smiled and reassured her, "Don’t you worry. The police will synchronize the online blacklist across all platforms. If they register another account to post videos, it will be banned as well."
Melody Summers was finally able to relax upon hearing that.
After bidding farewell to Officer Tristan Tanner, Melody Summers casually scrolled through the comment section of the new video as she walked up the stairs back to the 16th floor.
Frank York and Chloe Sharp’s million-follower account was already muted. In a few more hours, the account would be gone for good. Melody had to hurry and read the comments.
The video had only been up for half an hour, but it had already garnered tens of thousands of views.
Compared to the previous video’s overwhelmingly supportive comments from fans, the current comment section was a complete dumpster fire:
"User xxx: A cause for universal celebration! Justice has finally been served on that pair of scumbags!"
"User xxx: You finally crashed and burned. I’m just here to visit your grave. Good riddance, ptooey!"
"User xxx: Haha, you actually got muted. Serves you right! I knew you were no good from the start. You totally brought this on yourselves!"
"User xxx: Did you guys not see the post? The vlogger actually slandered a grassroots government employee. That’s just disgusting. I say we should do a background check on their entire family tree!"
"User xxx: That’s The Metropolis Residences, right? My relative lives there. Their residential complex is pretty good; they’ve never withheld supplies. The vlogger doesn’t know how good they have it, and they still spread rumors to slander the staff. That attitude... tsk, tsk."
"User xxx: Getting their account banned is what they deserve. The comment section on that last video was a total cesspool! If I put myself in that staff member’s shoes, I would have been crushed. It’s so unfair to her."
"..."
Although there were still a few negative comments, what was different this time was that many netizens stepped up to refute them:
"User xxx: Um... I don’t know the full story, so no comment."
"User xxx: ’No comment’ but you’re still commenting? Can’t you learn to actually shut up?"
"User xxx: Are you serious? There’s an official police report out and you’re still saying you ’don’t know the full story’? What ’full story’ do you need to know? The location of the vlogger’s ancestral grave?"
"User xxx: The slanderous video was just posted a few hours ago, and the official debunking report is already out? Looks like this female staff member has connections... If you know, you know."
"User xxx: Know what? The vlogger already got banned for spreading rumors. You want to join him?"
"User xxx: You complain when the debunking is slow, and you complain when it’s fast. You people know nothing but conspiracy theories all day! You act like you know everything about the world, but you probably can’t even figure out how to start the washing machine at home! If you’re that bored, go play in traffic!"
"User xxx: Do you guys really not get it, or are you just pretending? The only reason this was debunked so quickly is because she’s a female public official getting special treatment. Sigh, women have it so easy. Just spread your legs and you can get taken care of anywhere."
"User xxx: Yeah, yeah, you’re so experienced. You must’ve gotten a lot of ’special treatment’ yourself that way."
"User xxx: Looking at you, I can tell you’re desperate to spread your legs. I’ve appraised you: you’re worth 3,000 Korean won. Next."
"User xxx: I didn’t notice it when I watched the edited video, but now that I’ve seen the full version... I just want to say, this woman is a sharpshooter! You can tell she’s had training. Both shots were so steady, both kill shots!"
"User xxx: Not only was her shooting steady, but her composure was too. All the other staff around her were scared stiff, but she was the calmest one."
"User xxx: She’s seriously amazing. This is the kind of quality a public servant should have. It’s ridiculous that people in the comments are still spreading rumors about her sleeping her way to the top."
"User xxx: Oh my god, so cool! I declare that from this day forward, this lady is my one and only queen! The people spreading rumors aren’t even enough for my queen to take them out one by one!"
"..."
After reading these comments, Melody Summers let out a sigh of relief.
She was more or less satisfied with this outcome, except...
’This isn’t over.’
She still had a score to settle with Frank York. She couldn’t just let him off the hook like this; she couldn’t swallow her anger.
Musing over a plan, Melody Summers opened her apartment door. Grace Sutton saw her return and asked with some confusion, "What are all those papers you’re holding?"
Melody Summers put away her phone and answered, "Oh, they’re IOUs..."
Melody had gone straight to Apartment 1504 with Officer Tristan Tanner, so she hadn’t had a chance to get rid of the IOUs. Tossing them in the hallway trash can didn’t feel right, so she had just kept them in her hand and brought them home.
Melody casually flipped through the pile of IOUs. The signatories included Cameron Summers, Clark Summers, and other people Melody didn’t recognize.
’It seems Saul Archer and Jay Lowell recruited quite a few people to gamble with them.’
Suddenly, as she flipped to a particular IOU, Melody Summers froze!
Her eyes widened instinctively—although the IOU was marked as void, the signature line clearly bore the two words "Frank York"!
