Chapter 3 — The Power of Rumors
Outside the alleyway, the streets were bustling with people going about their daily business.
A few people had gathered near the entrance of the alley, talking among themselves about the noises they had heard earlier.
"What was all that shouting?"
"Sounded like someone was fighting."
"I heard some screaming too."
Before they could discuss it any further, hurried footsteps echoed from the alley.
Ren suddenly appeared.
He was running as fast as he could, his bruised face and dirty clothes immediately catching everyone's attention.
"Stop running!" Kael shouted from behind him.
Ren glanced back.
Kael and the other two boys were chasing after him, their faces filled with anger.
"Ren! This time, I'm definitely going to kill you!" Kael yelled. "My dad works for the police! I'll have him beat you up, lock you in prison for the rest of your life, and make sure you suffer!"
Ren had been waiting for this moment.
He suddenly turned toward the crowd and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"HELP! They're trying to kidnap me and harvest my organs!"
The people nearby froze.
"What?"
"Kidnap him?"
"Harvest his organs?"
Ren kept running while repeatedly shouting for help.
"They're trying to kidnap me!"
"They want to harvest my organs!"
The three boys continued chasing him, far too angry to realize what they were making themselves look like.
The crowd stared in shock, unable to process what was happening.
A short distance away, more people had gathered after hearing the commotion.
Ren spotted them and immediately shouted again.
"Grab them! They're trying to kidnap me and sell my organs! If you don't stop them, they'll do the same thing to your children!"
That finally snapped some people out of their hesitation.
Several men stepped forward and grabbed the three boys.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"Let go of us!"
"What happened, kid?" someone asked.
"What's going on here?" another person asked.
Ren stopped running.
He looked around.
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Several people already had their magic phones out, recording everything.
Perfect.
Ren's eyes reddened.
Then tears began streaming down his face.
"Do you see my face?" he cried, pointing at his bruises. "These three did this to me! It hurts... it hurts so much!"
The crowd looked at his battered face.
Some people immediately frowned.
Ren continued between sobs.
"They said their fathers work for the police. They said their fathers are involved in illegal trafficking and organ harvesting."
"What?!"
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
"Shut up! He's lying!" one of the boys shouted.
"No, I am not lying!" Ren cried. "Look at what they did to me!"
"You were the one who attacked us!" another boy yelled.
A middle-aged man holding one of the boys firmly frowned.
"Shut up, you three. We have eyes. We can see what happened."
He pointed toward Ren.
"That kid is covered in bruises and his clothes are a mess."
Then he looked at the three boys.
"You three look perfectly fine."
The boys immediately fell silent.
Ren lowered his head and continued sobbing.
"They've been doing this to me for a long time..."
He began naming the three boys.
Then he named their parents.
He claimed their parents were involved in trafficking and organ harvesting, and that the three boys had been instructed by them to target him.
"They beat me every day..."
"They stole my money..."
"They threatened me..."
"They kept trying to isolate me..."
Ren's story grew more elaborate with every sentence.
He mentioned the school he attended.
Then the teachers.
The principal.
The staff.
His classmates.
According to Ren, everyone was involved.
"That's why nobody helped me," he sobbed. "Everyone at the school is part of it. They all know what they're doing."
There were countless holes in his story.
Anyone who carefully examined it would notice that it didn't make much sense.
But the crowd wasn't carefully examining it.
They were looking at a crying five-year-old with a bruised face while three boys stood nearby desperately trying to deny his accusations.
People tended to believe what they saw.
And what they saw was enough.
"Don't be afraid, kid. We're with you!"
"Nobody is going to hurt you!"
"Those bastards!"
Several people shouted in support.
Ren sat down on the ground and covered his face with his hands, continuing to sob.
Meanwhile, the people recording everything began posting the videos onto the magic net.
It didn't take long for the situation to spread.
More people arrived after hearing about the commotion.
"What happened?"
"What's going on here?"
"Why are there so many people?"
Those who had already heard the story began explaining it to the newcomers.
But as the story passed from person to person, it began changing.
Some details were exaggerated.
Others were misunderstood.
Some were completely invented.
Before long, people who had just arrived were convinced that the story was true.
They began cursing the school.
They cursed the police.
They cursed the government for allowing such an organization to operate openly.
The situation became even worse on the magic net.
Magic phones had built-in editing functions, allowing people to cut and rearrange recordings before posting them.
A short clip of Ren crying was enough to make people furious.
Another clip showing the three boys shouting that their fathers worked for the police made things even worse.
The original story was distorted further with every repost.
Within a short time, the public's version of events had little resemblance to what had actually happened.
Meanwhile, the three boys were still shouting desperately.
"He's talking nonsense!"
"He's lying!"
"Don't believe him!"
But their anger only made them look more suspicious.
Kael, already furious beyond reason, suddenly shouted again.
"My dad works for the police! He'll lock you up for slandering me! You'll rot in prison!"
The crowd went silent for a moment.
Then the murmurs began again.
"So his father really is a police officer?"
"He's threatening the kid with his father's position?"
"How arrogant."
"Could his father really be involved in this?"
Kael's face paled.
He finally realized that his words had made everything worse.
But it was already too late.
The story had taken on a life of its own.
It was spreading through the crowd and across the magic net at the same time.
A while later, a loud siren echoed through the street.
The crowd turned toward the sound.
"Police!"
People quickly moved aside as several police magic cars arrived.
The vehicles came to a stop, and a group of uniformed officers stepped out wearing matching equipment.
One of the officers looked around at the enormous crowd.
"What happened here?"
Before anyone could answer, Ren's expression changed.
His eyes widened in fear.
He pointed directly at the officers.
"No! The traffickers have come!"
His voice trembled as he screamed,
"They're going to kill me and harvest my organs!"
The crowd immediately became restless.
Ren backed away from the approaching officers, his face filled with terror.
The police officers stared at him in confusion.
For a moment, none of them understood what was happening.
The officer who had spoken earlier looked around at the crowd.
"What's going on here?"