Chapter 268: Invidious Comparison

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Invidious Comparison

Su Yuqing believed that the public’s anger stemmed from their fear of an uncertain future.

Therefore, only a victory—an undeniable victory—could serve as the powerful morale booster needed to eliminate this fear.

Meanwhile, far away in Yuquan City, Pei Xianjue was also keeping a close eye on public opinion online.

Her feelings were complicated. On one hand, she hoped Feng Ling would successfully conquer the Maze and return safely. On the other, she worried that Feng Ling would be *too* successful, *too* smooth.

Because Pei Xianjue knew very well that in the public’s mind, there could only be one hero.

Any more, and people wouldn’t remember.

Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to feel jealous of Feng Ling. People only get jealous of those they can reach. Feng Ling was so much stronger than her, separated by a vast chasm, that all Pei Xianjue felt was shame at her own inadequacy.

Baozi knocked softly on the office door and said to Pei Xianjue, "The new fall outfits have arrived. They use an upgraded fire-resistant material. Do you want to try one on now?"

Pei Xianjue clutched her phone, her heart growing more agitated as comment after comment scrolled past her screen.

"I’m not in the mood today. Go tell them at the training grounds that I’ll be over in a bit to train," she said.

Baozi asked, "What are you planning to train today?"

"Basic physical conditioning, I guess." Pei Xianjue was on edge. "The more exhausting, the better. I want to be so tired by the end that my mind goes blank and I don’t have to think about anything."

Baozi chuckled. "Alright, I’ll go contact the coach right away."

Pei Xianjue let out a long sigh. She swiped on her phone, and hundreds of new comments instantly appeared.

The Inspection Bureau’s official account was about to be overrun.

[Ju Yu: What are the Inspectors even doing? Clearing a Maze should be the sole responsibility of the Inspection Bureau. Now they’re pinning their hopes on a Hunter? This is ridiculous.]

[SlowAndSteady213: It’s been three days. Three days with no news. She’s probably dead in there already.]

[Eyo-weowei: Is the Inspection Bureau going to send people in to rescue her? They wouldn’t just do nothing, would they? Would they?!]

[Xian Shu: I think the Inspection Bureau is doing this on purpose! Every branch is short-staffed right now; they can’t spare anyone. So they’re sending a Hunter to her death!]

[SorrowfulNanmu: I actually had a good impression of this Hunter named Feng Ling. Wasn’t she that helpful citizen from Qingjiang City? What a pity she’s dead now.]

[MakaBaka’sBigFirecracker: Death was inevitable. Being a Hunter is already risky, and she specifically seeks out Mazes. If she doesn’t die, who will?]

[Aaaaa Luo Jiu: She risked going into the Maze for the public’s safety, and you people are on here mocking her? Isn’t that going too far? Don’t forget how the Sanqing Mountain Maze was conquered. She obviously knows what she’s doing if she went into a Maze.]

[NineCauldronsLuminous: The Sanqing Mountain Maze was conquered by a team led by Pei Xianjue. This time, there’s no Pei Xianjue in the Guangshan City Maze.]

[BeHappyToday: Pei Xianjue is an Inspector who’s had professional training. Of course she’s much stronger than a Hunter.]

[MountainMoonLuna: I don’t care about some Feng Ling or Pei Xianjue right now. I just want to know when the Maze quarantine zone will be lifted! I want to go home!]

...

The sudden appearance of Pei Xianjue’s name in the comment section was like a needle pricking her eyes, making it unbearable to look.

’I’m dying of second-hand embarrassment!’

No one knew better than her how the Sanqing Mountain Maze was really conquered.

Pei Xianjue flipped her phone face down on the desk and muttered to herself, "Please don’t let this fire spread to me, please don’t let it spread to me..."

Outside the office, Baozi knocked again to inform Pei Xianjue that the training grounds were ready.

Pei Xianjue shot up from her seat, unable to wait.

If she stayed in the office any longer, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from scrolling through her phone, and sooner or later, her composure would shatter.

She called for Baozi and Da Xiong to join her at the training grounds, wanting to throw herself into training so her emotions wouldn’t be affected by the online chatter.

But life, more often than not, has other plans.

Pei Xianjue had only been at the training grounds for a short while, just long enough to break a sweat, when Shen Mu called a halt to her training.

Shen Mu was the Inspector Captain of Yuquan City and also the person in charge of the Yuquan Branch.

He pulled Pei Xianjue aside and spoke to her in a low, avuncular tone. "You need to pay more attention to what’s being said online. Don’t wait until public opinion has spiraled out of control to think about how to handle it. The truth is, many people within the Inspection Bureau already have issues with you. Because of that, you need to be even more cautious and keep a low profile, understand?"

Shen Mu’s words made Pei Xianjue’s heart pound with fear.

She asked nervously, "Captain Shen, what’s happened with the online comments?"

Shen Mu looked helpless. "You should take a look for yourself in a bit. It’s not a huge deal, really. I’m just giving you a heads-up. Things are sensitive over in Guangshan City right now, and Feng Ling is on good terms with the Inspectors from Qingjiang City. Tearing her down to build yourself up at a time like this will only create unnecessary enemies for you."

Pei Xianjue had a bad feeling about this.

’Tearing someone down?’

’Did my fan club get involved and start tearing down Feng Ling? ...That can’t be right. The head of my fan club always reports to me before organizing any activities. She wouldn’t act on her own.’

Having given his warning, Shen Mu left the training grounds.

Pei Xianjue stood frozen in place, her expression grim. When she came to her senses, she went to get her phone. The moment she unlocked the screen, a trending news notification popped up at the top—

#Mrs. Pei Questions Choice for Maze Mission#

The headline nearly made Pei Xianjue faint.

She frantically tapped on the news story and discovered that her own mother had suddenly lost her mind and posted a status: "Professional matters should be left to the professionals."

On its own, the sentence was fine. The fatal part was that the status included the hashtag for the Guangshan City Maze.

Countless netizens liked and reposted it. In the comment section, some were singing her praises, some were just there for the drama, and others were being passive-aggressive.

And on top of that, her mom was enthusiastically interacting with the netizens in the comments!

A netizen asked Mrs. Pei if the professional she had in mind was Pei Xianjue, and Mrs. Pei replied, "Of course!"

A netizen asked Mrs. Pei why she thought Feng Ling wasn’t professional, and Mrs. Pei replied, "Isn’t the result obvious?"

Another netizen then asked if Pei Xianjue thought so as well. Mrs. Pei hadn’t replied yet, but Pei Xianjue didn’t dare to read any further.

Her head was buzzing, and her blood pressure was skyrocketing.

Baozi and Da Xiong, who were waiting by the entrance to the training grounds, saw that something was wrong with Pei Xianjue’s expression and walked over to ask what had happened.

Pei Xianjue’s face was taut as she charged out without a word.

She hurried back to her office, slammed the door shut, and called Mrs. Pei. The moment the call connected, she could no longer hold back and roared, "Delete what you posted online! Delete it now!"

Pei Xianjue had almost never lost her temper like this. Mrs. Pei was stunned into silence. After a few seconds, she finally processed it and replied slowly, "What’s wrong...? Isn’t this good publicity...?"

"I told you to delete it!" Pei Xianjue was furious. "Who gave you this terrible idea?! Are you trying to get me killed?!!"

Mrs. Pei recovered from her shock and grew a little angry. "What kind of way is that to talk? I’m just trying to help you! Do you know how much effort the company put into building you up as the next Little Ye Zheng? The moment that Feng Ling entered the Maze, she stole all of your thunder. And you’re just going to take it? Do nothing? I try to help you, and what do I get? You, ordering your own mother around."

"You call this helping me?! When Feng Ling comes out of that Maze, how am I supposed to face anyone?! Have you ever once considered my position?!" Pei Xianjue roared in her office. "Delete it! Just delete it already!!!"

Mrs. Pei said unhurriedly, "It’s already been three days. How could she possibly..."

A weather alert suddenly popped up from the top of her phone’s screen—

Sudden torrential rain in Guangshan City.

Pei Xianjue’s fingers began to tremble.