The Reporter

Coincidentally, BCC's London headquarters is located near the area where Kang De was active.

It's two or three kilometers from Hyde Park, and about the same distance from the Buckingham Palace. What's more, this historic broadcasting building is on the same street as the China Embassy, just 300 meters to the north.

Kang De had strolled over and was observing with great interest the significance of this legendary building.

The world's first television station.

The world's largest media group.

To move and create news.

In addition, it has contributed a large number of exquisite and stunning documentaries to the world.

--Although a small portion of it is fabricated, staged, photoshopped, and fake.

Moreover, it has produced many popular and excellent TV series.

One of the most famous children's programs was once popular all over the world, but for some subtle reason, it has become a very ridiculous thing in the modern era.

That's right, it's Teletubbies.

As dawn transitioned into the morning, the once quiet streets of London began to bustle, especially the street near the BCC broadcasting building. Proud journalists set off or returned triumphantly from this street, while tourists took photos, for it truly was a legendary place.

Kang De strolled slowly down the street, the Brotherhood cloak hidden beneath his trench coat hood exerting a wondrous effect through its subtle and exquisite arcane weave—using a kind of shadow quality and passive mental interference, causing people with mediocre mental strength to subconsciously ignore the cloak's owner, as if he were merely a roadside stone, a gust of wind, or sunlight falling from the sky... no one would pay him any attention.

"She's here," Horus's voice rang in my ears. "She looks quite well."

Kang De turned his head and saw that the reporter had already jogged to the side of the street and was looking around.

Her smooth blonde hair was styled in a bun at the back of her head, with only a few curls framing her face, giving her an air of both competence and femininity. A khaki trench coat protected her beautiful, tall figure, with only the neckline revealing the secret beneath: a white sweater with a high collar that hugged her swan-like neck. The coat hem reached her knees, revealing slender legs encased in black stockings, paired with elegant high heels that accentuated her straight legs.

Passersby, some discreetly, others openly, cast admiring glances at this urban beauty from the press.

Kang De said softly, "This way, look to the right directly ahead."

The wind carried his whispers to the delicate ear of the beautiful woman opposite him.

The female reporter glanced at him, then flashed a bright smile, waved to Kang De, and then jogged over, her delicate heels tapping merrily on the pavement.

Oh my god, it really is you!

Kang De wanted to shake hands, but the enthusiastic United Kingdom people gave him a reunion hug instead. The scent of perfume, the brand and number of which he didn't know, but which was indeed very pleasant, filled his nostrils. The reporter's curly hair brushed against his cheek. With this hug, his serious and gloomy mood began to lighten.

He smiled and said, "Alina, it's been a long time."

My acquaintance with this reporter stemmed from the Battle of Comora.

At that time, when Gambia invaded Comora, Miss Alina, who aspired to become a great journalist, and her partner Cole entered this small, underdeveloped and poorest country in Africa.

They wanted to delve deeper into the Shadow behind this war, but by a twist of fate, they captured extremely exciting and cool footage—they witnessed Kang De's explosive scenes of charging through a city surrounded by mercenaries after rescuing his father, killing indiscriminately, in a way that was "more like Hollywood action hero."

What happened next was just like in a movie—they were kidnapped by a group of mercenaries, and then rescued by Kang De during a fierce chase.

In this process, the film genre shifted from war documentaries to superhero films.

She saw puppet warriors that were not products of modern technology, saw Kang De fight with abilities that could not be explained by "China Kung Fu", witnessed the Fr*nce mercenaries using white phosphorus bombs on the entire city, saw a divine eagle with vibrating wings soaring across the sky, and recorded the process of Kang De saving a city.

During this time, her colleague Cole tragically died.

She survived and remained in Comora after the war, documenting what happened afterward—the people helping each other rebuild their homes amidst the ruins, the aid from various countries standing with the Comora People, and the country's gratitude to Kang De.

This refers to the entire process of the "Chief Conferment Ceremony".

Now, she has returned to London to complete the tasks she must undertake.

Alina took Kang De to a coffee shop and they chose a corner to sit down. Kang De waved his hand lightly, and an invisible hand moved the camera in the corner aside. The coffee was served, and the reporter's fair hands touched the cup, dispelling the chill of the cold weather.

Kang De asked about her recent situation.

"Cole... he was buried five days ago."

A hint of sadness flashed in the reporter's eyes. "His family is grieving, but they can only accept the reality. Fortunately, the insurance he purchased before his death, the BCC's compensation, and the copyright fees from the photos and videos he took are enough for his family to start a new life..."

It's worth noting that the "Kang De Saves His Father" story, a modern-day version of the Twenty-Five Filial Piety tale, achieved phenomenal popularity worldwide. The footage Cole shot was constantly cited by media outlets large and small, resulting in extremely high copyright fees—certainly a substantial sum.

As for me...

Alina suppressed her grief and smiled. "We've formed a new team to expose what happened in Comora. It won't be easy, so we need to be discreet and fully prepared... After all, the people we're going to accuse are quite powerful, aren't they?"

Indeed, behind the Comora incident lies a new form of colonization and oppression of Africa by old-line Western imperialist countries. One of the most important reasons why the BCC dared to agree to let Alina lift the lid and support her is that they are United Kingdom media, and the targets of their criticism are Fr*nce.

Ecstasy, ecstasy.

"Alright, let's not talk about me anymore." The reporter took a sip of her coffee. "Why did you suddenly come to the United Kingdom? You should have told me beforehand, and I could have booked a 'BCC-tour' for you to visit our headquarters. But I can't now; company policy dictates that I can't be an exception."

"Of course..." She put down her cup, a beautiful smile blooming on her face, "If you're willing to grant an exclusive interview and reveal some of Zhuerban's hidden secrets, I guarantee our CEO will rush downstairs and here within five minutes to personally invite you into his office."

Kang De smiled faintly, then turned to look out the window at the outline of the BCC headquarters. "I'm here to settle accounts with the BCC. They consistently use deep-seated prejudice and inexplicable hostility to emotionally chargedly criticize, slander, and even spread rumors about our country. I'm going to throw your CEO and those rumor-mongering machines off the London Eye into the River Thames and kill them."

Alina was taken aback and stammered, "Wait, wait a minute! I... we... actually..."

Just kidding.

Kang De smiled and said, "I don't care too much about that. We don't need to get so angry over foreigners' slander, nor do we need to be overwhelmed with gratitude for their praise. We should do what we should do— the China believe in 'the time is not yet ripe,' and I think the time is not far off."

Alina hesitated, then found herself speechless.

Although the news industry touts objectivity and neutrality, true journalists know that this is a hypocritical Paradox —unless journalists are all replaced by artificial intelligence with strictly pre-defined stances, news can never achieve absolute objectivity and neutrality.

As for the topic of China, it is a traditional skill of the Western press—all media outlets must presuppose a hostile attitude towards China because they need to demonstrate their unwavering democratic stance by attacking China. On a deeper level, they want to deny the legitimacy of China's path to prosperity and strength through smearing, belittling, ignoring, and being sarcastic.

Because in their narrative system, their "democracy and freedom" is the panacea for the world, the only cure for all problems. If China has become increasingly powerful without this system, something must be wrong—you must be doing bad things behind the scenes, and I have to find out.

If you can't find the answer, just make it up. Anyway, I'm a good person, so you must be a bad person.

Alina was already fully aware of the logic behind this propaganda, so she could only sigh deeply, and after a moment, she said weakly, "I think this won't affect our friendship, right?"

Kang De laughed.

"Of course it doesn't matter," he said. "You are also a member of the world's people."

Alina laughed too, "So, you came this time..."

Kang De's expression turned solemn.

"Alina," he stirred his coffee, "I came to the United Kingdom illegally, without going through customs. For some reason, I can't let your government know I'm in London right now. What I'm about to tell you is very important, and I hope you can keep it a secret."

"Of course, you can leave now if you don't want to participate, but I still require you to keep this a secret and not mention my affairs to anyone—I need your commitment."

Alina glanced at Kang De in confusion, her expression gradually becoming serious.

"I have my motherland. If it involves national security and interests... then I have no choice but to refuse."

Kang De smiled upon hearing this, his gaze profound. "That depends on how you define national interest."

Alina gestured for her to speak, "Tell me, and I promise you, even if I choose to back out, I won't tell anyone what you told me."

"Alright," Kang De said, "A friend of a friend... well, consider her my friend. She was kidnapped in London last night. She was staying with her student friend..."

Alina's eyes widened. "Last night's disappearance... was that your friend?"

Kang De nodded—last night's commotion was considerable, and even now, a team of disgruntled reporters is lurking around the apartment where the incident occurred; it's no surprise that Alina knows about it.

"Oh my God!" The reporter covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Kang De."

"It's alright, I'm here to rescue her," he said. "So, I need your help."

"I'd be happy to help, Kang De, but..." Alina hesitated, "I've heard some inside information—the police haven't leaked any news to any media outlets, allowing us to probe and investigate discreetly without letting a word slip. And I can assure you, there's no exclusive news; if the BCC doesn't know, no other media outlet in the United Kingdom will know—they're extremely tight-lipped about this."

"I know," Kang De said calmly. "After the incident, I first contacted my government, asking them to lodge a diplomatic protest and requesting the London government to quickly solve the case and rescue my citizens. Your government initially agreed readily, but quickly changed its attitude."

"They've become perfunctory and irresponsible, refusing to provide real-time updates, offering CCTV footage of the incident, or even sharing updates on the case. I just went to the apartment where the incident occurred and found that almost all the cameras along the escape route that could record the kidnappers were damaged, and the surveillance hard drives had been taken by the police..."

Upon hearing this, Alina, with the keen intuition of a journalist, sensed that something was amiss.

"Something's wrong!" she exclaimed definitively. "What are the police hiding?"

Having doubts and distrust of the government is a traditional skill of Westerners. The reason for this is not that Westerners are inherently fearless of power or have a skeptical spirit.

--But their government has really done all sorts of rubbish.

Why do Western people reject vaccines? Because their governments have actually used free healthcare as a pretext to experiment on their own citizens. Why do Western people always feel that their governments want to control their minds? Of course, because the CIA has actually done so. Why are they unwilling to join the military and fight for their country? Because their countries have ordered active-duty soldiers to enter nuclear blast zones without protection to test data on the effects on the human body.

You laugh at others for being anti-intellectual and foolish, while they laugh at you for being naive and making a fuss over nothing.

"I'll join... count me in."

Alina said, "It is my responsibility to rescue the innocent and expose evil, and since he is your friend, it is even more my duty. Moreover, since it involves dereliction of duty or even crimes within the London police and even the government system, it is an inescapable mission for me. In short, what can I do for you?"

Two things.

Kang De held up two fingers.

"The first thing I want you to do for me is right now."

"The second thing is something I suggest you do, but I'm not forcing you—it should have some benefits for you, but there are definitely corresponding risks. It's up to you to choose."

Alina replied without hesitation, "Please speak."

"First, the London police were ambiguous and uncooperative, taking away key evidence. The surveillance footage was crucial to identifying the kidnappers... I didn't want to alert them, because I didn't know if this was an ordinary kidnapping and trafficking case—if not, but involved a clandestine affair within the United Kingdom power structure, then contacting the London police rashly would be alerting them."

"Because your country's power structure knows my true strength, and also knows my character."

"At that time, my friend might simply vanish into thin air, disappear without a trace, or become a mangled corpse without any clues. And to appease my anger and stop my investigation, several scapegoats would be silenced forever with the broken leads—this is not the outcome I want."

"So..."

Kang De said in a deep voice, "I will use my own methods, from a different angle, to find my friend. I won't look for the missing hard drive; I will go directly to the London gang responsible for the kidnapping and trafficking business."

"Those Albania."

"I need to know where their leader is, their general area of operation, and any gang leader, if I don't have detailed information about them."

Kang De looked at Alina: "I'm not familiar with London, and I have no intention of seeking help from the police, so I came to you, Alina. If anyone knows most of the secrets of this city—besides the government—it must be the media, especially a prestigious and powerful old media giant like the BCC. London's crime situation is a big story worth digging into, and you must have intelligence reserves."

He tapped the table and said in a deep voice, "I need a list, urgently."

Alina nodded. "I'll help you—it's not difficult. I got a promotion after I came back, and the new authorization allows me to freely access a lot of the group's internal information reserves."

Kang De tentatively asked, "I hope this won't put you in a difficult position."

Do you know what I'm thinking right now?

"What?"

Alina smiled brightly, "I was thinking, thank goodness, finally someone's come to teach those scumbags a lesson."

Kang De laughed too, "I'll teach them a lesson for you."

"And the second thing..."

"It's very simple... If, during my investigation, I find that the London police or even higher authorities played a highly dishonorable role in this matter, either by covering it up or by participating in it... I can provide you with the relevant evidence, and you can choose whether to expose it."

Kang De said, "This would bring you great honor and prestige, but it could also cause you trouble, so I won't force it, after all..."

"No need to say anything, I'll do it."

Alina laughed, "Why are you looking at me like that? Is this the first day you've met me? Why do you think I would go to that godforsaken place Comora?"

She smiled, leaned forward, and gazed into Kang De's eyes with her grey eyes.

"I will help you, and in exchange, Kang De, you must repay me, right?"

Upon hearing this, Kang De nodded with pleasure. "That makes perfect sense, please go ahead."

"It's simple," Alina said. "In this operation, let me be your logistics personnel. I will provide you with translation, intelligence, and information support. In return, you need me to record your operations."

Kang De frowned and said, "This cannot be news—even disregarding my opinion, your government would never allow you to report on a China superhuman roaming the streets of London... It's top secret worldwide."

"Not now—but who knows what the future holds," Alina chuckled. "Besides, even if it can't be reported, it still means I have exclusive access to this invaluable news, and that's enough."

Kang De fell into deep thought, gazing at the reporter's beautiful face, and finally nodded slowly.

A gleaming silver cell phone appeared in his palm, which he pushed across the table. "Use this to contact me... If you're working in logistics, you need a secret and secure communication channel."

Alina picked up the cold, futuristic-looking phone. The screen lit up, revealing a simple and clear interface. She laughed, "Wow, so professional! You even need special communication equipment."

"Of course not," Kang De said calmly, "After all, your cell phones are being tapped by the United States."

"Oh, that's really embarrassing." Alina wrinkled her nose and made a face. "Is this why you hacked into my work computer and left a message?"

She waved her hand. "Okay, you can wait here for me. I'll go back and check the list for you now. It won't take long, it'll be quick."

Kang De also stood up and shook hands with the beautiful reporter.

He stared at the phone in her hand. The reporter probably didn't notice that part of this futuristic-looking electronic device had quietly detached and was attached to the inside of her trench coat.

"... sorry."

Kang De said softly.

Alina paused for a moment. "Huh?"

"I mean..." he said calmly, "Thank you for your help."

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PS1: In the midst of a tug-of-war...