Chapter 150: The Tables Have Turned! It's Over!

Luo Yan was truly taken aback when she saw that she had been tagged by the Min City Culture Department.

It was just a new product, a minor commodity like cooking wine—why would an official body publicly back it?

More importantly, what possible connection could cooking wine have with a cultural department?

Yet, the statements from the Min City Culture Department sounded entirely reasonable, leaving her with no room for argument.

She noticed that many people in her livestream room were already asking what was going on:

"Luo Yan, aren't you going to explain what this is about?"

"That's right, the official culture department explicitly stated that Linyao cooking wine isn't even available through online channels yet."

"Yeah, given their situation, how on earth did you manage to get your hands on the cooking wine so quickly?"

"You better respond to the Min City Culture Department, or I'm unfollowing!"

"Luo Yan, what should we do now?" her assistant asked with a nervous expression, already nursing a bad premonition that she might soon be looking for a new job.

Luo Yan had no time to answer; she hurriedly pulled out her phone, found a contact, and dialed.

The public sentiment shifted instantly, and Luo Yan found herself entirely on the receiving end of the abuse.

Things were completely out of her control.

Anyone else would have long since felt too ashamed, ended the broadcast, and played dead.

"I just unfollowed that so-called righteous crusader and followed Sister Mo Mo instead, as an act of penance."

"These thirty-something files are the case materials already accepted by the court. Some are filed by me, and others are on behalf of internet users who spoke up for me and were subsequently cyberbullied. I believe the police and the court are already processing them, and actions will be taken soon."

"Exactly, she wouldn't dare respond to how she obtained the cooking wine in the first place."

All it took was a single phone call.

"Have the higher-ups investigate the people in Min City."

"As expected, you shouldn't randomly comment on online matters before the dust settles. The turnaround has already begun."

Going up against official authorities, however, was an absolute dead end.

"..."

Yet, the public mood had clearly shifted. With an official department stepping forward to speak out, many people were naturally more inclined to trust the authorities, and upon reflection, they now realized there were huge problems.

A uniform wave of comments appeared, flooding the screen.

Even he himself was feeling a bit scared now.

"I don't wish to argue with the other party. We live in a society governed by the rule of law, and I only hope to use legal weapons to protect myself. Therefore, the case has already been registered at the police station, and the lawsuit has been submitted to the court."

"Earlier, Luo Yan claimed that Zhao Mo had all sorts of messy social connections and even suggested a thorough investigation!"

Within a short span of time, her backend stats showed she had lost over a hundred thousand followers—such was the sheer power of official endorsement.

Vague rumors suggested that someone had made a single phone call.

"..."

Luo Yan had been caught completely off guard; this was not part of her plan.

"Has Min City become completely corrupt? This kind of behavior must be exposed."

On the other end, hearing the dial tone from her phone, Luo Yan was left completely dumbfounded.

Yet, possessing strong mental fortitude, she continued her broadcast. After all, everything was within her calculated projections, and she had prepared herself mentally beforehand, allowing her to keep her composure.

Luo Yan was utterly stunned: "President Lu, you can't just turn on me and pretend you don't know anything! You're the one who ordered all of this."

"666!"

Clearly, while brainless fans were dime a dozen, rational people were hardly scarce either.

Driven by such massive online traction, the video effortlessly surpassed 100,000 likes, then 200,000, then 300,000, and the count was still climbing rapidly.

"So this is the 'righteous crusader'?"

"Haha, whatever happened to having a conscience?"

With that, President Lu hung up the phone without leaving an ounce of face.

"6666!"

More importantly, given Mo Mo's remarks, the police and the court were practically about to take action—how could things have escalated to this point?

Internet celebrities engaging in hype in the past had never triggered a reaction like this.

How could they be so ruthless?

After all, the controversy had blown up over the past two days, generating astronomical traffic. Douyin loved driving traffic through such polarized conflicts, especially since most onlookers were troublemakers eager to watch high-stakes, sharp-edged drama.

He might have had a few minor connections in Min City, but emphasis on *minor*. Could those tiny connections possibly resolve an issue of this magnitude?

Even if the other party sued her, could there really be over thirty separate lawsuits? What on earth was she being sued for in so many ways?

The other party had initially assured her to go all out, claiming their connections could easily handle the fallout.

The livestream chat was entirely filled with identical comments.

"Yeah, where did you even get that cooking wine?"

Facing these comments, Luo Yan had no way to respond and simply chose to ignore the barrage. At the same time, she picked up her phone and messaged her assistant, telling her to hastily block all those users.

Before she could finish her thought, malicious comments began appearing in her chat:

"Luo Yan is right! There's definitely a shady cover-up!"

If it were a minor matter, Luo Yan might have been willing to sleep with him a couple of times, and he would have settled it by taking the relevant contacts out for a few meals.

"???" Luo Yan was dumbfounded when she saw these comments.

Once the call connected, she blurted into the receiver, "President Lu, the other party is going to sue me! Didn't you say you had deep connections in Min City? You have to help me. After all, I only went out of my way to smear Linyao cooking wine because I was doing it for you."

Crucially, how could she ever dare to publicly respond to the authorities?

She had been fully confident in her own background. Normally, situations like this ended with a simple apology to smooth things over, preventing matters from blowing out of proportion—wasn't that how all internet influencer drama was handled?

Glancing at the relentless stream of chat comments demanding a response, she hurriedly stammered, "My dear family, there's really nothing to respond to here. After all, personal tastes vary. While this cooking wine might taste great and enjoy high popularity in Min City as a piece of traditional cultural heritage, it doesn't necessarily suit the palate of us folks in Wan Province."

Watching the rapidly increasing likes and comments, Luo Yan's expression turned grim as she read the insults directed at her:

"Just watched Luo Yan's livestream, and she wouldn't dare respond!"

He never expected the opposing side to directly enlist the Min City Culture Department for public backing. Was that a level of influence his meager connections could ever handle?

"Please give us an answer!"

By this point, Luo Yan completely lost the heart to continue broadcasting. She immediately ended the stream, hurriedly searched for Zhao Mo's Douyin account, and tapped into her profile, discovering that she had indeed uploaded a new video.

"True, I saw it too. She was beating around the bush—something is definitely fishy."

"..."

Countless viewers who had seen the video poured into the comments section.

"Heh, what a masterclass in defamation. How much were you paid, pray tell?"

"..."

"This has blown up into a massive issue! Is there no rule of law left? They can turn black into white and even mobilize official government bodies!"

With 3 million followers, as long as she could manage to retain 2 million, she could always buy a few more fake followers later and maintain the illusion of having a 3 million fan base.

Yet, no matter how composed she tried to remain, enduring a constant barrage of attacks eventually fractured her composure, and she couldn't help letting out a complaint: "Stop spamming the chat, everyone. Nothing in this world is absolute..."

The internet celebrity surnamed Chu had caused a massive uproar earlier, generating even more heat than her own scandal, right? In the end, didn't that Chu person simply issue an apology, patch things up, and even join the same company? She had never seen anyone face such ruin just for spreading a few malicious rumors and throwing some dirt around.

---

The video explicitly declaring her intent to use the legal system for self-protection, coming right on the heels of the official endorsement, had the explosive impact of a bomb.

"..."

When had she ever said such a thing? Was she trying to go to war with the Min City authorities?

She lacked the sheer audacity for that.

Weren't that Chu-surname influencer and the brand currently collaborating on livestreams and raking in cash happily?

Why did things here have to escalate to over thirty separate indictments? Everyone in the online industry was just playing a game—did they really have to play it this ruthlessly? Weren't they afraid of being ostracized by other online creators?

Even so, she knew the situation demanded an immediate resolution.

Luo Yan was currently undergoing a trial by fire, driven completely speechless by the backlash.

As the video played, Zhao Mo appeared on screen, her voice ringing out: "Everyone already knows about the events circulating online. The whole affair started when I shot an advertisement for Linyao cooking wine, which was followed by a wave of online smear campaigns. I hadn't responded until now because none of those allegations were true."

Immediately, waves of doubt arose among the audience:

"What about what the Min City Culture Department said—how you couldn't possibly have obtained the cooking wine?"

Moreover, with the official backing, she realized she had completely overplayed her hand.

Just then, her assistant approached her with an even uglier expression. Ignoring the fact that they were no longer live, the assistant blurted out frantically, "Luo Yan, you're being sued! Go look at Mo Mo's profile right now—she posted screenshots of over thirty separate indictments, and every single one of them is against you."

Following the public statement by the Min City Culture Department, online discussions regarding Linyao cooking wine surged to unprecedented heights of popularity.

"What do you mean, *what did I order you to do*?" President Lu retorted coldly over the phone. "Do you have proof? Is the transaction record tied to my account or my company's account? Watch your mouth, or I'll sue you for defamation!"

Were these people brain-dead?

Even if they wanted to defend her, they shouldn't do it blindly without a single brain cell!

Terrified, she hastily ordered her assistant to speed up the process of muting and banning those users as well.

"..."

"I just unfollowed Luo Yan. I used to bash Sister Mo, but now I've followed her. Whenever she streams, I'm definitely tuning in."

One by one, netizens began flooding Luo Yan's livestream room, heaping mockery upon her:

"Waiting for a response +1"

"Luo Yan, I have no idea what you're talking about," a middle-aged man in Min City said calmly into his phone.

The moment an incident broke out, they had directly pushed the cultural management department to publicly take a side. Upon investigating, he discovered that the order had come out of nowhere, issued directly by the top executive of that very department.

Clearly, those words had been overheard by everyone in Luo Yan's livestream room.

"6666"

What on earth was going on?

"Post your purchase receipts to prove yourself."

"What?" Luo Yan was utterly dumbfounded.

"It looks like the other party has immense backing in the open as well. This whole affair is a collusion between shady forces and the authorities."

Were they trying to hoodwink her?

What on earth was she supposed to do now?

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—only this path could save her, resolve the crisis, and allow her to remain a top-tier internet celebrity.