Chapter 97: Explosion
Chapter 177 of "Player Reload" opens with suspenseful action: Chapter 97: Chapter 97: ExplosionOn the high-definition screen, Annie’s votes quickly increased, surpassing Leonardo to... Keep going!
Chapter 97: Chapter 97: ExplosionOn the high-definition screen, Annie’s votes quickly increased, surpassing Leonardo to become number one in votes.
Underhanded and terrifying, indeed.
Several players wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost, guessing that Annie’s move was likely inspired by the real-world case of Carol versus Trump.
On April 25, 2023, 79-year-old American female writer Carol filed a lawsuit in the federal court of New York Manhattan, accusing former United States President Trump (at that time still a New York businessman) of committing coercive actions against her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Despite the long time passed, lack of key physical evidence, and Carol’s own unclear memory about the exact date, only recalling that it was around the mid-90s,
because she filed a civil suit, not a criminal one. The jury decided that Trump bore some responsibility and ordered him to pay Carol 2 million US Dollars for sexual assault damages and 3 million US Dollars for defamation.
(According to United States law, criminal proceedings in such cases require concrete physical evidence, while civil proceedings only require unanimous jury opinion for a penalty)
Trump was extremely dissatisfied with the outcome, repeatedly publicly disparaging Carol, and on January 16 of the following year, the federal jury in New York Manhattan decided to order Trump to pay a total of 83.3 million US Dollars to Carol for defamation damages and penalties.
Watching her votes rise dramatically, Annie smirked inwardly. Evidence? Screw evidence. Setting aside the facts, are you not responsible?
The so-called spread of rumors takes just a movement of the mouth, debunking them breaks your legs, those who wrong you know even better how wronged you are. This whole thing was fabricated by Annie on the spot, how could Irfan possibly have evidence?
Even if Irfan provided photos or other physical evidence to prove he hadn’t been to Boston City two years ago, Annie could instantly change her story, claiming maybe she remembered the timing wrong due to long-term psychological torment, perhaps it was three, or four years ago.
’This isn’t a court where the burden of proof lies on the accuser. Besides, even in court, with the precedent of the Carol case, you can still manipulate the audience into judging Irfan guilty.’
Annie had these thoughts, maintaining an expression of fear, pain, and terror on her face.
"You..."
Indian handsome Irfan, infuriated to the point of steaming, was a second-generation Indian elite immigrant in the real world, his parents both high executives in Silicon Valley, and his own skin relatively fair Brahmin caste. His looks definitely did not lose to Leonardo’s.
Additionally, he possessed a Skill called , allowing him to temporarily increase his Constitution and Charm Attribute after yogic exercises, giving him an edge in this current love-themed reality show.
However, the slanderous accusation unleashed by Annie completely disrupted his plan—he was now on the back foot, trapped in an endless tunnel of proving his own innocence.
At this moment, anything he said in front of the camera was useless; rational explanations would be seen as making excuses;
Admitting guilt and asking for forgiveness would be seen as insincere;
Using violent means would be deemed as a rage-fueled reveal of his true colors;
"Playing this game, huh? Fine, let’s die together!"
Irfan’s face turned fierce as he shook both hands, grabbing a pair of ornately decorated Fist Swords and charged at Annie.
In a full-on sprint, Irfan quickly blurred like a shadow, the Fist Swords slicing through the air and whistling.
"Help!"
Like an ordinary person, Annie screamed and closed her eyes. She had already stepped back several paces and now sidestepped directly behind Leonardo.
’Fuck!!!’
Leonardo internally cursed, Annie played a good move in drawing disaster eastward—it was now if he acted slow in response or dodged, he’d end up being deemed incompetent and cowardly by the audience, bound to lose popularity in the upcoming reality show.
’Annie, you wait for me!’
Leonardo clenched his teeth, forced to pull out a Two-handed Greatsword from the Backpack, blocking Irfan’s slash.
Simultaneously, a slight smile played on his lips, feigning a relaxed demeanor, faintly said, "Mr. Irfan, please show some gentlemanly manners."
"Helping her? You can die too!"
Irfan glared, pushing down hard with his right hand to counter Leonardo’s Two-handed Greatsword, while his left hand swiftly thrust like a specter, aiming straight for the opponent’s neck.
Leonardo kept his composure, grasping the sword handle with both hands and dragging to the right, using the counterweight sphere at the end of the handle to slam Irfan’s wrist. If hit, this would completely shatter the wrist bone and disable the Fist Sword before it struck its target.
Irfan knew he couldn’t take this hit head-on, immediately altering his thrust into a horizontal slash. Yet, this brief moment was also seized by his opponent, retreating half a step to where the Two-handed Greatsword was most effective.
Clang, clang, clang, clang—
Their weapons collided at high speed, the aftermath of battle sweeping across the living room, smashing tables and chairs into pieces.
This bloody skirmish further escalated the livestream’s intensity, directly breaking through the two-million viewer mark, reaching 2.3 million.
A flurry of comments floated across the screen timely.
Black beauty Harley didn’t want to get involved in the fight, immediately standing up, putting on a face full of shock and helplessness.
Jin Huixing also came to her senses, stood in place, and shouted, "Stop fighting, you guys!"
Her acting was so realistic that she burst into tears.
’Each and every one of them is such a good actor, spectacular. I won’t watch the Oscars this year if they’re not in it.’