Oliver didn’t catch his breath until midnight. The source of this content ɪs N0veI.Fiɾe.net
The final exams are over, but there’s a week of supplementary classes before the winter break. This weekend, each subject teacher handed out test papers, and he doesn’t have the habit of procrastinating; it took him until now to finish the papers.
Feeling a bit tired, Oliver rubbed his temples and opened the drawer, taking out his silenced phone.
Today is Friday, with updates for "First Ruins" and "Base No. 9". He’s been so busy that he hasn’t had a chance to see them yet, but he can catch up before sleeping.
As soon as the phone screen lit up, he saw countless messages. He was momentarily stunned and clicked to see that many friends and groups were discussing the same thing—
"First Ruins" plagiarizing "Base No. 9".
After triple-checking, Oliver was sure he wasn’t mistaken.
Last week, it was "Base No. 9" plagiarizing "First Ruins," and this week, it was clearly "First Ruins" plagiarizing "Base No. 9".
Oliver opened the dialog box with Steve and browsed through the messages Steve had sent him.
[Steve]: Hey, smart guy, are you there? Did you see "Base No. 9" and "First Ruins"? There’s a twist!
[Steve]: Okay, you’re probably battling it out with your test papers.
[Steve]: Zero directly drew the protagonist of "First Ruins" as the villain in tonight’s update. The setup is identical, it’s unbelievably daring. Now everyone is convinced that "First Ruins" is plagiarizing "Base No. 9".
[Steve]: UU is your sister, right? How’s she doing now?
[Steve]: She could get Zero’s concept before it was published; she must’ve had private contact with Zero. Does she know Zero?
[Steve]: Smart guy, come out, it’s explosive, I can’t handle it!
[Steve]: If you don’t come out to clear things up, I’m going to explode!
After reading Steve’s messages, Oliver had a bad feeling. He frowned slightly and opened CC Comics to check the updates of "Base No. 9" and "First Ruins", and after reading, a strong premonition hit him—
"First Ruins" has plagiarized, unmistakably.
Soon, he randomly pulled up a popular analysis thread, and upon viewing it, saw various pieces of solid evidence of plagiarism, directly condemning "First Ruins" without any chance of struggle.
With his lips pressed tight, Oliver thought of the triumphant Sophie from earlier this week and Eleanor Taylor’s previous doubts and debates. For a moment, his feelings were complex.
He didn’t want to see people online mock and ridicule Sophie, taking advantage of her misfortune, but Sophie’s plagiarism was undeniable, unarguable. He wavered between emotion and reason, his moral compass swaying without conclusion.
The urgent knocking on the door interrupted Oliver’s dilemma.
"Young Master! Young Master!"
Lisa called anxiously from outside.
Oliver was startled, recognizing Lisa’s anxious tone, quickly put his phone down and hurried to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, he saw Lisa’s expression of nervous panic. Oliver sensed something was wrong and, before Lisa could speak, he heard cries from Sophie’s room.
"Young Master, Madam just went to find Miss, now—"
Before Lisa could explain the situation, Oliver stepped out and quickly ran towards Sophie’s room.
However, the door was tightly locked, and Oliver couldn’t push it open.
Sophie screamed painfully.
"After raising you so big, is this how you repay me?!"
"Sophie, why do you have to plagiarize of all things? Where should I put my face now?!"
"I was still praising you in front of relatives and friends a few days ago, and look what you did? You’ve turned me into a laughingstock!"
"Didn’t I tell you not to touch comics, not to touch comics! Did you ever listen?!"
Inside was Alma’s heartbreaking roar.
Sophie’s response was only her crying and screaming.
Among them were the sounds of punching and kicking.
Through the door, Oliver felt a chill imagining the scene inside.
He hesitated no longer, and with his body, slammed against the door. After several hits, the door finally gave way with a "bang —" and he stumbled in with the momentum.
The crisp sound of a slap rang, clear and distinct.
Oliver was stunned for a second.
Sophie, wearing pajamas, shrank in a corner, her hair messy, eyes red, looking extremely distressed, with conspicuous handprints on her face, swollen and red, the corner of her mouth cracked, with fresh blood flowing.
Alma stood in front of Sophie, in no better condition, almost deranged, glaring furiously, her face twisted, lacking all of Oliver’s previous impressions of "gracefulness and virtue".