Chapter 903: Chapter 597: Master Sliver [06] The Entire Internet Crusades Against Nora Scott, You Shameless Thing [03 Updates]

"Why are you looking for me?"

Nora Scott leisurely walked down the stairs.

After a short nap, she changed into casual home clothes. Although the heater was on at home, she still felt cold and draped a long coat over herself. Her demeanor was noble, accompanied by a hint of aloofness, like a fairy untouched by the mundane world.

Frank Ford was momentarily stunned.

He was promptly glared at by Pedro Langley.

Everyone appreciates beauty. There was nothing untoward about Frank Ford’s admiration. His upbringing had shaped a mellow perspective on things, one that was neither impulsive nor extreme. Even though Nora Scott’s performance at today’s meeting was, to say the least, perplexing, Frank Ford still regarded Nora Scott as a sister-in-law.

But the earlier question from Nora Scott left Frank Ford rather puzzled, causing him to stutter, "I... I didn’t call for you."

Thomas Langley chuckled, "Sister-in-law, we were talking about Northwest All-Knowing."

"Oh." Nora Scott walked over, nodded slightly, and asked, "So, what’s the plan?"

"Frank has an investigation project here that needs a capable guide." Thomas Langley explained.

"...Oh."

Nora Scott responded dismissively.

Being a guide is tough, tiring, and doesn’t pay well. She used to take such jobs just to wander around. But now she’s already toured the entire Northwest, and there’s nothing anywhere that piques her interest anymore.

Except for returning favors, she wouldn’t take such jobs again.

She sat down next to Pedro Langley, grabbed a pastry from the side, and ate with lowered eyes. Having just woken up, she felt low on energy.

Pedro Langley smiled at her, "Again, it’s you?"

"When you’re in the Northwest, any mythical titles you hear, nine out of ten are probably me." Nora Scott said casually.

"..."

Truly a modern-day heroine.

Suddenly recalling something, Nora Scott raised her eyebrows with a hint of pride and remarked, "Just last month, I heard from Benjamin Durant that some of my fans have compiled my martial world feats into a book, and it’s quite a bestseller."

"..."

Pedro Langley felt somewhat speechless yet amused. Seeing the proud look in Nora Scott’s eyes, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

—Too adorable.

Frank Ford and Thomas Langley, unaware of what they were discussing, felt like they were witnessing a display of affection, even without hearing the dialogue.

Their eyes met momentarily, and they moved closer to each other for mutual warmth.

Meanwhile, Northwest All-Knowing was left on the sidelines, as they suddenly shifted their focus to the bestselling book Nora Scott had mentioned, discussing it with great interest.

"An entire book dedicated to her martial world exploits?" Thomas Langley exclaimed with amazement, "As if she’s some ancient martial arts hero coming through time."

"It’s true. To understand her better, I even bought a copy, but it’s still on the road, haven’t gotten the chance to read it yet."

"What tales are in it?"

"Seems like everything is included. From the summary, she has a plethora of nicknames like Northwest Wraith, Desert Empress, First Villain Blackwood, the Alternative Encyclopedia... Can you believe in this era, barely anyone knows what she actually looks like? Even a random photo could expose her." Frank Ford remarked, "It feels quite fictional, like readers buy it as a novel for leisure."

"..."

Thomas Langley immediately lost interest.

Frank Ford continued, "But I also heard, this person is ruthless, with an ugly appearance, kills without hesitation. Don’t you think such a person fits the role of a villainess in martial arts novels?"

"..."

Pedro Langley silently glanced at the heavenly-immortal-looking Nora Scott.

Even if she were a villainess, Nora Scott would certainly be the most beautiful one.

"Is it that because she’s too ugly, she fears her photo might ruin her image if leaked?" Thomas Langley speculated suddenly.

"Maybe she’s too beautiful and fears the entire Northwest would become her followers?" Nora Scott teased with a smile.

"Sister-in-law," Thomas Langley spoke earnestly, "Your perspective is rather idealized. What beauty fears her photos being leaked? Besides, nature is fair; it won’t make someone overly perfect. If she could do everything and looked beautiful, wouldn’t that infuriate people?"

"...That would indeed be infuriating." Nora Scott replied with a laugh.

For some reason, Thomas Langley found Nora Scott’s smiling face somewhat eerie.

—Perhaps he was overthinking.

*

The four were busy throughout the afternoon, having little time to focus on other matters. After dinner, while relaxing, they fiddled with their phones and suddenly saw a plethora of posts related to Nora Scott, leaving them momentarily bewildered.

The news was quite significant.

"Sister-in-law, you’ve made the trending list again." Thomas Langley called out, holding his phone while Nora Scott was immersed in her crafting.

Sitting by the fireplace whittling wood, Nora Scott didn’t even raise an eyelid, clearly accustomed to this, "Oh. What’s going on this time?"

Thomas Langley hesitated on how to explain.

But it was Pedro Langley who calmly informed her, "You’ve been publicly criticized by the experts from Project 1101 one after another."

"Huh?"

Nora Scott looked up.

The situation was a bit complicated.

Repeatedly provoked by Nora Scott, the experts felt uneasy. Although they compromised for money in the end, the more they thought about it afterward, the more upset they became.

—With a project team like theirs, why was Nora Scott allowed to be a phony?!

Moreover, searching for Nora Scott online only yielded praise and admiration, aside from her acting skills there were no other flaws, she was a huge sensation!

But as an actress, what was there to admire if her acting wasn’t up to par?!

This made it clear that Nora Scott’s lack of professional ability wasn’t new, and the phenomenon of thousands of fans idolizing her online was truly anger-provoking.

One professor couldn’t take it anymore and posted a tweet, saying: He participated in a project and collaborated with Nora Scott, initially looking forward to Nora’s Mechanical Techniques, only to be greatly disappointed in her acting. The original post even described Nora Scott as "arrogant," "narcissistic," "acting like a lunatic."

Once the tweet went out, his comment section exploded.

[Here we go, another one trying to catch some fame!]

[Professor, do you know Nora Scott is known as the Queen of Comebacks? You can fool around with food, but not words.]

[As scholars, it would be better to focus on academic research, rather than trying to ride such a wave of popularity.]

...

Having been desensitized by Nora Scott’s frequent comebacks, fans and the public, not knowing the full story, immediately assumed the professor was seeking attention. Additionally, some younger fans’ comments were quite extreme, with some even escalating to personal attacks on the professor.

This was something the other members of Project 1101 couldn’t stand.

They all reposted the professor’s tweet, strongly supporting the professor, taking a stand, and harshly criticizing Nora Scott.

A single professor might be seen as trying to ride a wave... but what about a group?!

Moreover, these professors came from various well-known universities, many of which are dreamt of by students seeking higher education, and they all have some degree of influence in academia.

By uniting to denounce Nora Scott, this went beyond just "trying to ride a wave."

The situation immediately turned.

At that moment, Nora Scott’s anti-fans, rival fandoms, and some trolls and marketing accounts jumped in, spreading the incident far and wide. By the end of the afternoon, the topic "Nora Scott Criticized by Professors" was trending at the top, and its popularity showed no signs of waning.

The comment section was quite a spectacle.

[Hahaha, Nora Scott’s "can-do-anything" persona finally crumbled! So satisfying!!!]

[Did it crumble, did it crumble, did it crumble?! Let’s celebrate, everyone!]

[I always said Nora Scott being the planner for "Escape Room" was too fake, definitely an artificial persona. Now the professors have confirmed it, what else can she say?!]

[@Actress Nora Scott @Zero, come out and say something; hiding behind the screen like a coward. Isn’t she normally quite adept at roasting others?]

[Nora Scott is finished! Finally punished! This past year her news was so annoying, just an actress, yet causing all sorts of trouble, annoying.]

[Does anyone know what project Nora Scott joined? Even if she’s a Capital Tech student, she only studied for two years, how could she compete with these professors? Maybe she was forcibly pushed in by capital to gild her resume, and it backfired, haha, that would really crack me up.]

[Looking at it this way, the credibility of Nora Scott’s various identities seems quite inflated. Isn’t there an insider daring to dig up her stories, expose some real dirt?]

[I’d always felt that Nora Scott’s deeds were too legendary, and sure enough, it’s all capital packaging. Tsk tsk, maybe she didn’t even draw those comics. Now with AI so advanced, streaming can even do face-swapping.]

...

Nora Scott roughly browsed through from Pedro Langley’s phone.

She tossed the phone back to Pedro Langley, then raised an eyebrow, "Could you get my phone for me?"

"Are you going to issue a statement?" Frank Ford asked curiously, a bit concerned, "Or get Master Pedro’s PR team involved? They’re quite professional."

Frank Ford rarely had time to enjoy the drama, only having heard bits and pieces about Nora Scott’s online incidents over the year, not following everything closely.

Mostly he heard from his sister-in-law.

From Frank Ford’s perspective, with Nora Scott producing a draft sketch that even the expert professors couldn’t understand, her move was indeed perplexing. And she was indeed arrogant; from the professors’ standpoint, even though their comments were emotional, they weren’t excessive.

This kind of situation is very difficult to handle.

"No need."

Unhurriedly said Nora Scott, as she took the phone handed over by Pedro Langley.

She logged onto Twitter, mentioned all the expert professors, then asked a question: Am I to blame because you’re too shallow to understand?