He Ping busied himself with the skewers, all the while stealing glances at the customers behind him. He dreaded the thought of someone getting drunk and going crazy again.

Over several evenings, he had come to understand the origins of these out-of-towners. They all seemed to be defendants. He figured their gloominess stemmed from the uncertainty and unpredictability of what lay ahead.

"Your skewers are ready."

Having finished grilling a batch, he personally brought the plate to the table of two customers. Just as he was about to turn away, one of the customers suddenly called out, "Hey, boss, let me ask you something. Do you barbecue here often?!"

He Ping was taken aback for a moment. He grinned and said, "Of course. I've been barbecuing here for several years, and my customers mostly come back time and again."

The customer nodded. "It does taste good." He continued, "I haven't been in Jin City for long, and I heard there was a huge case here before with three thousand defendants. Do you know about that?"

A strong curiosity gleamed in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, He Ping suddenly became very talkative. With excitement, he said, "Of course I know! When they were here last time, my business got a big boost too, but it's nothing compared to this time.

"That time, three thousand defendants were all staying nearby, and they would come out every night to enjoy some nightlife.

"They damaged quite a few of my tables, but they were reasonable about it and paid up.

"I thought that sort of thing would only happen once in a lifetime, but just half a year later, here you all are."

As he talked, He Ping couldn't hide his joy; all his true feelings were written on his face.

A few more times like this, and he could make enough for a down payment on a decent house in Jin City.

The customer, however, looked somewhat stiff, as if unsure how to respond.

After a long pause, he asked again, "So... do you know what happened to those people in the end?"

His name was Xiang Ning. He, too, had come to Jin City at the court's "invitation," a reluctant visitor.

But upon arriving in Jin City, he discovered what "not being alone in his plight" truly meant.

In the hotel where he was staying, the occupants of the room next door, the room next to that, the room next to *that* room's neighbor, and so on down the line... Every single one of them was a defendant!

After some conversation, he realized that he wasn't the only defendant this time. There were a staggering fifteen thousand of them!

Furthermore, he learned about a previous major case in Jin City involving three thousand defendants. Their current situation... was eerily similar.

"Those people? They all got sentenced," He Ping replied casually. "Most received suspended sentences, and a few were sent to prison."

"Prison?!" Xiang Ning's eyes widened, and he swallowed hard.

This time, he had happened to see a video online of an old man who had killed a dog and was acting exceptionally arrogant about it. So he helped spread the video and "slightly" criticized the old man and the nursing home. Unexpectedly, he was directly "invited" here.

Now, he even heard that some of his "predecessors" had ended up in prison.

He Ping nodded affirmatively. "Definitely prison. My cousin works in the jail. He told me many of them were sent to Jin City's prison. After that incident, the place was almost full.

"But I heard they're showing good remorse, waking up every day telling themselves not to curse at anyone. They're being quite well-behaved.

"Ah, that time, my cousin had to work overtime for two whole months; he was busy as a dog.

"With so many of you here this time, I don't know if the prison has enough empty cells. My cousin is probably going to be worn out again..."

Talking about this, he once again became chatty, sharing an endless stream of stories, most of which he had heard from his cousin. He also began to worry for his cousin, concerned that the prison might not have the capacity.

After hearing all this, Xiang Ning fell into a deep silence, saying no more.

His concern wasn't whether the prison had enough capacity. What worried him was... whether he would be one of those sent to prison.

A feeling called regret began to quietly seep out from within him, taking root and spreading through his heart.

If only he had known then what he knew now... he never would have participated in that online vitriol.

「Jin City.」

「Nursing Home.」

「Deputy Director's Office.」

"Dean Wan, all the online criticism against our nursing home has suddenly disappeared," the head of public relations reported to Wan Zhongyuan.

Since the incident involving Zhang Qingyuan killing the dog had erupted, the nursing home's reputation had suffered greatly. Over the past half-month, their business department hadn't managed to bring in a single new resident; their new business was practically non-existent.

After the event, their public relations department had immediately issued a stern statement, attempting to explain the incident to netizens. But alas, no matter how they defended themselves, the netizens wouldn't believe them. The insults and criticism remained rampant and unceasing.

These netizens were willing to believe only the "truth" they chose to accept.

However, over the last two days, the scathing comments, negative posts, and videos on the internet had suddenly vanished. The netizens who had posted them had proactively deleted them.

Now, on the internet, one could only find a few scattered posts about their nursing home, with little engagement and very few views.