Chapter 64: Standing Up for Her
Recalling her supervisor’s words, she thought, ’It can’t just be about those two things, right?’
After all, both of those issues had to be cleared up anyway. Her supervisor wouldn’t have needed to give her a special heads-up about them.
Sophie Wexler’s finger slowly scrolled down the screen. Her gaze froze on one of the topics. Just as she’d thought.
It had been exposed that Karina’s music wasn’t self-produced at all—she had stolen other people’s work.
While many songs in the Galaxy were synthesized by AI, there were still those written by artists themselves—original compositions.
Creating original music was difficult and costly, so most singers preferred to use AI. That was why so many people were shocked when Sophie Wexler first announced her songs were original.
And Karina had also branded herself as a streamer who created original music; otherwise, she would never have become so popular.
But now, it had been exposed that almost all of her previous work was the plagiarized fruit of other people’s labor.
Her platform had a team of people dedicated to producing songs for her, which they would then release under her name.
Instantly, StarNet was flooded with voices condemning her.
[Trash streamer. I can’t believe I actually thought her songs were original. That was the only reason I liked her.]
[No wonder she had the guts to frame Sue Shiver. Turns out she’s a repeat offender.]
[She must have thought that with her platform’s backing, a small-time streamer like Sue Shiver couldn’t touch her. She never expected Sue to confront her directly and challenge her to a live showdown.]
[This contrast just makes Sue Shiver’s original talent seem even more incredible!]
[I know, right? How can one person write so many amazing original songs? What is her brain made of? Is that even a normal human brain?]
[That’s it, I’m blocking Karina and going to follow Sue Shiver.]
[Me too!]
Sophie Wexler’s fans were ecstatic. The truth was finally out, and their "Teacher Sue Shiver" was finally getting the recognition she deserved.
[Everyone, you have to check out Teacher Sue Shiver! I promise, you won’t regret becoming a fan.]
[Her songs are 100% original, and not only do they sound amazing, but they can also soothe a turbulent Spiritual Sea. Don’t just scroll by, you can’t miss this!]
[Holy crap, for real?! It soothes the Spiritual Sea?!]
[That was confirmed over a month ago. You’re just finding out now? Didn’t you notice during the all-platform StarNet broadcast? Every time she sang, didn’t the turbulence in your Spiritual Sea calm down?]
[Not really. I wasn’t in a Disorder Period, but I did feel like my Spiritual Sea became more active at the time.]
[But some of her songs definitely made my Spiritual Sea feel a lot calmer.]
In an instant, countless people flooded Sophie Wexler’s homepage and followed her account.
They even followed the platform’s official account while they were at it.
Sophie Wexler glanced at the various discussions on StarNet, let out a small laugh, and turned off her Light Brain.
He hadn’t needed to dig up all this dirt on Karina, but his people had done it anyway and even made it public. It was all, in a sense, to get justice for her.
Sophie Wexler picked up her communicator, her fingers tapping out a message. She sent the other party two words: "Thank you."
With everything settled, Sophie Wexler returned to the military base.
The members of the Seventh Legion had become quite familiar with her, and they all greeted her enthusiastically when she appeared.
"Miss Wexler, you’re back."
Sophie Wexler smiled and nodded. "Yes, I’m back."
"Miss Wexler, I was just on StarNet, and that Karina is getting absolutely torn apart. Serves her right for accusing you of plagiarism."
"It’s bad enough she hired a bunch of paid shills, but then she accused *us* of being shills too! Do we look like shills? Do shills have this kind of firepower?!"
His words made Sophie Wexler laugh. "Of course they can’t match your firepower. You guys are the most powerful of all."
Hearing Sophie Wexler’s praise, the group of soldiers puffed out their chests with pride.
"I have to thank you all for backing me up. To show my appreciation, I’ll cook for you today."
The moment Sophie Wexler said this, the soldiers’ eyes lit up, and they erupted into cheers.
After all, the Tammy that Miss Wexler had made last time was unbelievably delicious.
Even though the head chef had learned the recipe, the one Miss Wexler made was just better.
They had been craving her cooking ever since, but they hadn’t dared to bother her, knowing she was busy.
And now, Miss Wexler was finally going to cook for them herself again.
Instantly, the news spread throughout the entire military base.
Cillian Forrest looked up from a file sent from the Capital Planet when he heard the news. "She’s cooking again?"
Ethan Cross nodded. "That’s right," he said, taking the file from the Marshal’s hands. "Everyone in the Seventh Legion knows about Miss Wexler’s cooking. I’m still disappointed I missed out last time."
"I’m definitely going to get a taste this time."
At his words, Cillian Forrest’s fingers paused. "There should be some movement on the Capital Planet in the next few days. Go investigate."
Ethan Cross replied, "Yes, Marshal. I’ll get it done right after I eat."
"Go now."
Ethan Cross: "...?"
He glanced at the Marshal’s expression and immediately corrected himself. "I’m going right now!"
With that, he disappeared in a flash, muttering under his breath as he left, "He clearly just doesn’t want me to eat Miss Wexler’s food."
Cillian Forrest: "..."
At the base cafeteria, Sophie Wexler decided to make lotus root and pork rib soup. There were too many people for her to cook for all of them, so, just like last time, she taught the recipe to the head chef and demonstrated the process herself.
As she carried a bowl out, she saw Cillian Forrest sitting not too far away.
While everyone else was gathered in groups, he sat alone, making him particularly conspicuous.
Sophie Wexler walked over to him. "What are you doing here?"
Cillian Forrest stood and very naturally took the bowl of soup from her hands, giving a concise reply: "I’m hungry."
Sophie Wexler: "..."
She gave him a skeptical look. ’Doesn’t he prefer nutrient liquid? He even told me before that cooking was a waste of time.’
But seeing the look on Cillian Forrest’s face, she didn’t say anything and simply ladled a bowl of soup for him. "Here you go."
"Did you make this?"
Sophie Wexler nodded. "Of course."
Cillian Forrest took a sip and commented, "It’s good."
The other soldiers could only watch as the first bowl Miss Wexler brought out was given to someone else.
Every last one of them was green with envy.
Seeing their expressions, Sophie Wexler said with a smile, "Don’t worry, there’s more, and I made it as well."
Cillian Forrest’s hand, which was holding his chopsticks, froze. "..."
Sophie Wexler had indeed taught the recipe to the cafeteria’s head chef, but she had also made a large batch herself during the demonstration.
After all, she had promised to thank them, so she couldn’t just teach the chef how to make it and leave it at that.
She had just dished out one portion first, that’s all.
The soldiers were instantly delighted. "Thank you, Miss Wexler!"
Sophie Wexler’s eyes curved into crescents. "I’m the one who should be thanking you."
Everyone went off happily to eat. Sophie Wexler also got a bowl for herself and said as she ate, "Speaking of thanks, there’s one other person I should thank."
Cillian Forrest, sitting beside her, asked, "Who?"
"My stream’s top supporter. He’s helped me a lot, too."
"You should know who I mean, right?" Sophie Wexler said, turning to look at him. "You watched my stream too, didn’t you?"
Cillian Forrest’s expression flickered. "I don’t know who you’re talking about."