Chapter 702: If Elder Wu Hasn't Plagiarized, Where's The Evidence？
Translator: Yunyi Editor: Yunyi
"There are no buts. Nothing is too difficult for the Tangning I know. Even when she had never studied acting before, one word from me was enough to make her start from scratch. Right now, you are no different. You're just a little flustered..." Mo Ting comforted. "I've read through Elder Wu's script. A person's writing style remains consistent. So, our only hope is within these 540,000 words."
After listening to Mo Ting, Tangning calmed down and finally nodded her head, "OK, I'll listen to you. You are never wrong."
"You must be tired, go get some rest..."
Tangning looked at Mo Ting, checking to see if there was any chance of avoiding his orders. But, Mo Ting's expression was firm, so she had no choice but to nod her head, "OK, I'll get some rest. But, I need to stay by your side to be at ease."
She couldn't be too impatient in finding her answers. What she needed to do now was regain her composure.
Afterwards, Tangning lay in Mo Ting's arms and slowly fell asleep.
It seemed, she was truly tired...
Seeing this, Mo Ting opened his laptop and selected the novel, 'The Tracker'. Reading one word at a time, Mo Ting ended up spending an entire night running his eyes through the whole thing. Of course, he gained a lot from doing this...
The next morning, Tangning woke up in Mo Ting's arms. Seeing his focus locked on the novel, Tangning's heart ached, "Have you been reading all night?"
"Don't mind that for now. Come and have a look at this."
Mo Ting showed Tangning a screenshot, "See what you can find."
Tangning leaned on the computer desk as she sat between Mo Ting's arms looking carefully at the laptop screen. Soon, she spotted the problem, "The writing style is different; the vocabulary is different; it doesn't feel like it's from the same person."
"The differences are found around the 200,000 words mark, 250,000 words mark, 400,000 words mark and the 450,000 words mark."
"Are you trying to say that this novel was completed by a few different people?" Tangning asked in an unsure manner.
"Yes, and it was done in a short period of time," Mo Ting replied. "I asked Lu Che to do some research into people in the web novel field and discovered that the fastest record amongst the most famous writers is 50,000-80,000 words in 3-4 days. If a few people took on a few ten thousand words each, a book could be completed within 10 days."
"But, the contract existed long ago..." Tangning remembered the contract.
"The contract is real, but who could guarantee that this was the original content?"
Tangning was awoken by this simple query, "In other words, the other party deliberately lied to us. Let's go look at the contract and question them about the content."
"I've already asked Lu Che to look into it. Web novels are different to tangible books. It's possible to edit a web novel after it's been published. The reason why we couldn't find any information about this book online is proof of one thing: it has either been tampered...or it has never had so many words to begin with and someone added to it."
After listening to Mo Ting's analysis, Tangning had to admit that she was impressed by this man.
Of course, she was also impressed by Song Xin's evilness.
"So, if we find these writers and records of the web novel being edited, can we prove Elder Wu's innocence?"
"I don't need to make a move myself," Mo Ting brushed his hand across Tangning's cheek lovingly before he rested his chin on her shoulder, "All we need to do is release our findings to the public. I've realized, the best writer amongst the group has begun to clean and edit the chapters. This must mean that they are afraid of being discovered."
"Since someone's actually editing it, let's approach it from another angle and accuse the web novel platform owner of being a part of it."
"Actually, I trust in the judgment of the netizens more," Tangning said after calming down. "The only reason why they are so angry is because they support the original writer and dislike plagiarism. But, Elder Wu..."
"Everything will pass."
After hearing Mo Ting's words of comfort, Tangning nodded her head.
"I feel like my brain doesn't work anymore."
"Baby brain lasts three years, I won't blame you," Mo Ting kissed Tangning gently on the forehead.
Of course, the netizens requests for Hai Rui to apologize and to ban their film was as loud as ever. At the same time, their scolding towards Elder Wu did not cease. As his family couldn't handle it anymore, Elder Wu's wife decided to accept an interview with the media to show them his manuscripts, records of character design, places he had visited and people he had interviewed.
"My Old Wu has dedicated his life to his art. For the sake of film, he has done everything possible. I never expected that he'd be insulted like this in the end."
"I don't know what the culprit's motive is, but they shouldn't dream of getting anything from us."
"What goes around comes around. This evil person will definitely get their retribution."
Because of Madam Wu's willingness to speak up, all those that Elder Wu had interviewed began to step out and vouch for him.
"Elder Wu always does a lot of real-life research when he designs his characters so he can understand their emotions. This isn't something that a plagiarist does."
But...there were still more people that were against Elder Wu.
"Plagiarism is plagiarism, end of story."
"If Elder Wu hasn't plagiarized, where's the evidence?"
There was no evidence!
If he had evidence, would he attempt suicide?
At this time, the author of 'The Tracker' couldn't stand being slandered, so his attitude became even more arrogant, "If he didn't plagiarize me, I'll break my hands!"
Both parties appeared like victims, but evidence was only favorable towards the author of 'The Tracker'...
However, during this frustrating time, Hai Rui finally spoke up and released a PR statement titled, 'Remember what you've said'.
The main purpose of the statement was to tell everyone that Hai Rui would begin to release evidence of Elder Wu's innocence that night at 7pm; if Hai Rui managed to prove Elder Wu's innocence, the author of 'The Tracker' better remember his promise.
He said he'd break his arms!
The author did not think it was possible for Hai Rui to find anything, so he replied confidently, "If I promise something, I'll do it!"
As a result, the incident escalated to a new high. This time, a pair of hands were involved!
"What kind of evidence can Hai Rui show us? I'm curious how they plan to turn the tables."
"Their not going to use lame excuses and perverted logic to manipulate the public, are they?"
"Hai Rui has never done anything like that. They've always been straightforward and honest, so I'm really anticipating tonight."
"Can they still turn the tables? Isn't the evidence already clear? I don't want to hear any excuses!"
"If Hai Rui plan to make excuses for the plagiarizing dog, I will hate them for life! Even if I like a celebrity from Hai Rui, I will not accept them."