Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism
Chapter 84 Zelena, You're Quite Hateful

Casey found Violeta's smile to be mocking.

She stared at Violeta and felt an intense hatred towards her.

The situation at the scene was incredibly chaotic.

The Minister of External Affairs Department took the microphone and announced, "We will launch an investigation into this matter. Casey, Zelena, do not rush to admit your mistakes. We will uncover the truth." Casey left the stage silently.

Violeta's lips curled up slightly as she turned her head to look at Zelena below the stage. Her gaze was filled with a hint of mockery.

Zelena met her gaze, a flicker of darkness passing through her eyes.

The two of them locked eyes from a distance.

This feeling was peculiar.

It was as if they were lifelong archenemies, the ones who understood each other the most.

Casey's appearance brought about a tremendous change in the situation.

Having been a member of the dance club for two years, no one had expected Casey to be the mastermind. After stepping down from the stage, everyone in the dance club swarmed around her. This time, Violeta couldn't expose Zelena, but she wasn't too regretful about it. She knew it wouldn't be easy for Zelena to reveal such a significant flaw, so she hadn't had high hopes to begin with. She believed the matter had already come to an end.

But unexpectedly, the senior from the tennis club in charge of the campus belle competition also took the microphone and walked onto the stage at some point.

"Everyone, please wait a moment. Now that the incident of the props being destroyed has come to an end, there is still one thing I need to address publicly. Zelena, I have a question for you!" The audience erupted in uproar, but they returned to their seats and eagerly awaited the revelation.

It seems like they will witness a very interesting drama today!

This is so exciting!

The senior gave Violeta a reassuring look.

Then, she turned to Zelena and asked, "Zelena, you are currently in first place in the second round of the campus belle competition. Tomorrow, the second round of the competition will come to an end, so today I must clarify something with you."

Zelena clenched her fist under her sleeve and smiled faintly, saying, "Please go ahead, Senior."

The senior continued, "Three weeks ago, we tracked your vote count and found suspicious activity indicating vote manipulation. We discovered that most of the accounts voting for you were not within the campus area, but rather within the southern district of the city. Are you aware of this?"

Zelena didn't expect her vote manipulation to be discovered.

She felt panic momentarily but quickly regained her composure.

The person who helped her manipulate the votes had assured her that with the rudimentary technology of the campus belle competition's backend, they would never be caught. Even if they were investigated, there would be no evidence.

So as long as she didn't admit it, the school wouldn't be able to do anything without evidence.

Zelena feigned innocence and replied, "I don't know, Senior. Could it be a mistake? I have no idea about any southern district."

The senior responded, "Okay. Since you say you don't know, let me inform you that your vote count skyrocketed last week, far surpassing Violeta's vote count."

"It's not just us who noticed this anomaly. Other contestants have also complained about your suspected vote manipulation. After investigating the complaints, we found that most of the accounts that voted for you were newly registered within the past three days. Their IP addresses were not within the campus area. Were you unaware of this?"

"I had no idea."

At that time, Zelena was solely focused on surpassing Violeta. She didn't consider the possibility of being discovered.

Now, she realizes that she was too impulsive back then.

If only she had taken it slow...

But now, there's no way out. She can only stubbornly deny it.

Both Violeta and the senior had anticipated Zelena would refuse to admit it.

That's why Violeta had a contingency plan.

The senior turned to the audience and made a gesture, causing a map to appear on the large screen behind them. The map displayed small red dots, each accurately pinpointed within a range of five meters. Zelena was taken aback when she saw the map.

The senior smiled faintly and said, "This map is the result of a thorough IP tracking conducted by Violeta and George."

"Based on these locations, we discovered that over one-third of your votes were cast from the same computer. Zelena, do you have anything to say now?"

"Wow!"

The audience erupted.

"Over one-third of the votes were cast from the same computer, and they all originated from the same address. Isn't this vote manipulation?"

"Well, just a moment ago, I thought this girl named Zelena was kind-hearted. But I didn't expect her to be someone who engages in these tricks."

"Isn't this treating people like fools? I knew it. Everyone in my dorm voted for Violeta, and all my friends around me also voted for Violeta. So who is voting for Zelena? It must be rigged!" "Who knows? I even used my parents' phone number to vote for Violeta."

"I can't believe it. Zelena still denies it. What's the difference between this and cheating?"

Zelena never expected that they could trace the exact IP address.

Didn't the person assure her that it couldn't be traced?

It must be George helping them!

George is a genius in the computer science department. No one else could possibly trace it.

Zelena truly despised Violeta. She had originally planned to win over George. But now George is on Violeta's side, and they even traced the location of the vote manipulation.

It seems that she can no longer pretend to be innocent.

Zelena quickly changed her tune.

She lowered her head. When she looked up again, her eyes were teary and pitiful. She said, "I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on. Could it be that someone maliciously rigged the votes for me, trying to disqualify me from the competition?"

"Please believe me. I'm not the kind of person who would do such things. Sis, I really want to reconcile with you. How could I secretly engage in these activities? You know me, right? Please help me explain ....

Of course, Violeta believed her!

Who else, besides her, would have the audacity to maliciously vote against her?

Upon seeing Zelena crying, Casey and the others from the dance club quickly stepped forward to defend her. "Lena, someone must be intentionally trying to sabotage you from behind. We all believe in you!" "All the members of our dance club are voting for Lena. She doesn't lack votes. Why would anyone need to manipulate the votes?"

"There must be a misunderstanding here!"

The members of the dance club stood united at this moment.

Initially, Zelena had willingly manipulated the votes. But now, the situation had been twisted to make it seem like someone was maliciously manipulating the votes against her, with the aim of disqualifying her from participating.

Her whitewashing technique was remarkable.

Violeta stood on the stage, casually targeting Zelena's vulnerability.

"Zelena, it seems like you have quite a few enemies. Manipulating votes requires a significant amount of money. By my calculations, these manipulated votes must have cost thousands of dollars. Someone spent so much money just to maliciously target you. You really know how to make people hate you."