Butcher Demon - Chapter 231

Eugene published an article about me the very next day at noon.

He first published a feature on the Daily Lazy, an online news outlet that he usually contributes to.

　The title was “Bigfoot Descends on 88. 10 Essential Tips to Survive an Attack by the snow monster.”

 It was a very bizarre occult article, including photos of my footprints on the snow, interviews with people in the slums who claim to have seen me, and other information about Bigfoot, especially that Bigfoot is very aggressive and scary, kidnapping people and eating them, which arouses readers’ fears.

He also used message boards and other media to spread other rumors.

The real focus was on this one, where he spread the stories and evidence I had in the guise of rumors.

In addition, he linked these incidents to the legend of the Beast of Gevaudan. By using many account and pretending to be many different people, He spread the rumor that a beast sent by a god was going around punishing the corrupts in order to bring justice to 88.

I was skeptical that such a juvenile rumor would conveniently incite people to action, but I was surprised the very next day.

Complaints about the government erupted, mainly in anonymous Internet forum.

High-pressure by officials and the military under the guise of being on the front lines of the war against the enemy. The nepotism and hierarchy of the organization. Even criticisms of unfair troop assignments began to emerge on their own, without Eugene’s input.

In particular, a sense of unfairness in the organization was a significant factor. With its universal military system, survival rates differed too much between different units.

The beast of Gevaudan took out those who were sucking the sweet profits from oppressing the citizens by force.

Such a phrase seems to have captured the hearts of these people.

The justice administered by this imaginary hero, the Beast of Gevaudan, was not limited to those I dealt with, but it also included a case that a cleaner did and other unsolved cases too, So the snowball effect continued to grow.

　In addition, an occult article called “Bigfoot” was already posted on the Internet with evidence. This kind of thrill of connecting seemingly unrelated dots reinforced their delusions. By the way, Eugene says he is making quite a bit of money from this case, thanks to the explosion in the pageviews of his articles. 

The government side rushed to cover up the situation, but the government’s whack-a-mole tactics were not able to keep up with the information that was being sent and copied across the Internet. Furthermore, the voices of distrust toward the government continued to heat up, with some even accusing the government of restricting and controlling the information.

The citizens frustration and anger seem to have grown to such an extent that the government was unable to stop them.

The beast of Gevaudan, who brings false justice was the perfect outlet for the pent-up frustration of the 88 critizen.

　It was Eugene who lit the fire. He skillfully steered online public opinion and let the public take the story I provided and put it together themselves.

This is not a story that someone made up, something that came down from higher up.

It is a story that emerged organically, a hero created by the citizens of Fort.

　So everyone is happily dancing around the lie.

　Journalists are a force to be reckoned with.

　–Frenzy.

　Or mass hysteria.

As predicted, Abigail’s allegations of being a double agent started circulating on the Internet a little later than we expected, but it was too late. It was probably just a stunt on the part of the government, but releasing a government-manufactured propaganda is like pouring oil on a fire in the face of the frenzy and turmoil that has already flared up.

it is a quagmire.

Conspiracy theories is a terrifying thing, where government actions such as crackdowns and suppressions have had the opposite effect, reinforcing once ambiguous stories. Once spread, the rumor became a bottomless swamp that swallowed the Fort whole starting from its feet.

The uproar caused pre-election polls to show that public opinion has tilted in favor of Yasmin’s opponent, Rutherford. The government’s reaction to the situation began to grow impatient.