News Spreads

Time always seemed to fly by unnoticed when everyone was busy.

For the battle-hardened Daily Bugle, landing a fat sheep like the Life Foundation was not something that happened often.

This was big business!

Time to boost those KPIs and wait for the year-end bonuses!

Everyone was fired up.

Since the newspaper's front page had been changed, everything had to be redesigned.

Besides, Anton had said they needed to use the footage to spark public discussion as soon as possible.

Time was extremely tight.

Fortunately, newspapers were usually finalized at night, printed after midnight, and delivered to distribution points at dawn.

Scrapping the scheduled front-page story a day early would hardly count as a loss. At most, it would upset the original editor.

But in the face of a huge story and bonuses, every grievance had to make way.

"How's it going?"

Anton showed no tenderness toward the exhausted Betty.

He asked, "Is everything arranged?"

"Yes."

Betty had been run ragged today, while Anton had done nothing but move his lips. It made her teeth itch with irritation.

Such was the dull, boring life of a boss.

Anton nodded. "Then get the video up on our official website as soon as possible. Arrange online promoters to build hype. Whether it's Twitter, Facebook, video sites, or major forums, I want to see our people working everywhere."

"No problem. I won't let you down."

Betty was extremely confident.

After two years on the job, she was far more familiar than Anton with the newspaper's usual methods of manufacturing buzz around hot topics.

"Oh, right. Send an email to the Life Foundation's official inbox now. Warn them to immediately stop their illegal experiments on human volunteers."

Anton had not forgotten Eddie. He said with a headache, "You know, this is the only way we can ensure Eddie's safety."

First, expose what was happening at Homeless Home.

With video evidence in hand, the Life Foundation would immediately face condemnation from public opinion.

Then, expose the Life Foundation's ongoing illegal and unethical human experiments, which had crossed the bottom line of human morality.

Even without evidence, it would still make the Life Foundation wary of taking action.

The Life Foundation would be caught in a dilemma.

To ease public pressure, the San Francisco government would most likely launch an investigation into the Life Foundation.

That would give the homeless volunteers captured at the experimental base some chance of survival.

The worst-case scenario was that the Life Foundation would "dispose of" the homeless volunteers to eliminate all evidence.

However, the Life Foundation's recruitment of homeless volunteers was no secret—the secret was that no one knew about its unethical actions that violated the bottom line of human morality.

The early traces could not be erased. Doing that would be tantamount to exposing themselves.

Carlton Drake was a smart man. He probably would not do something so stupid.

"Eddie, all I can do now is wish you good luck!"

Anton sighed.

So far, this was the only thing he could do for Eddie.

At least at this stage, maintaining the status quo was already the best option.

For the rest, they would have to react as things came.

While the Daily Bugle staff methodically uploaded the news and waited for it to spread, the Life Foundation received an email from the Daily Bugle, with several photos of Homeless Home's interior attached.

Anton had deliberately signed the email with Eddie Brock's name.

It was also a way to throw the Life Foundation off, creating a blind spot so Eddie would not be exposed to Carlton Drake too early.

"This..."

The employee who received the email turned pale with shock.

It was reported upward level by level.

When Carlton Drake received the news, his expression became extremely ugly.

Bang!!

"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to keep a close eye on Homeless Home? How did this Eddie Brock get those photos?"

He smashed the ashtray beside him and glared furiously at the senior assistant standing before him.

The senior assistant, dressed in a sharp suit and carrying himself like an elite, now hung his head in defeat and trembled like a quail.

"B-Boss, I don't know where they got the photos. I just checked into it. Everything at Homeless Home is normal. There are no signs that anyone infiltrated it..."

The assistant swallowed and said shakily, "My guess is that they disguised themselves as homeless people and got inside."

"Investigate every homeless person at Homeless Home and cross-check the information. If you find that person, you know what to do." Drake took several deep breaths, his tone icy.

"Understood."

The assistant nodded frantically.

"What did the Daily Bugle say?"

Drake continued, "Other than this email, did Eddie Brock send any other message? For example... how much money he wants before handing over all the photos without keeping copies?"

"N-No!"

The assistant shook his head.

He opened his mouth, about to say something.

Bang!

The office door was pushed open by someone else.

It was the head of the Life Foundation's publicity department, a man of exceptional ability.

When the Life Foundation had faced the earlier rocket crash incident, it was this man who had turned public opinion from negative to positive, earning Drake's high regard.

But now, his face was filled with panic. He burst into the office without even knocking.

"Mr. Drake, something happened!"

As if that was not specific enough, he added in a grave voice, "Something huge happened!"

Seeing this, Carlton Drake seemed to anticipate something. His face instantly darkened, and his already displeased expression became as ugly as that of a corpse.

Just as Drake had expected.

The contents of the email the Daily Bugle had sent to the Life Foundation had already been fully exposed online.

Everything that had not been in the email was also online.

Along with it came an introduction to the Life Foundation and... mockery.

What enraged him even more was that the photos he had received were merely screenshots from the video.

What was circulating online was not static photos at all, but actual video footage.

The evidence was irrefutable!

Now they did not even know how to deny it!

Even the battle-hardened head of publicity was suddenly at a loss.

In the video, managers wearing the Life Foundation logo swaggered through Homeless Home, beating and berating the homeless people at will.

The homeless people's helplessness and utter lack of dignity deeply stirred the sympathy of netizens.

Information about Homeless Home was quickly revealed by interested parties.

Homeless Home itself was a charitable organization. When the Life Foundation had previously cooperated with the San Francisco government, it had used charity as a pretext to win a great deal of goodwill from San Francisco residents. Quite a few people remembered the name.

Now that they had seen the truth, those people were instantly enraged.

They felt as though they had been played like monkeys by the Life Foundation and the San Francisco government.

"Online promoters are fanning the flames."

Carlton Drake scrolled through the comments. On major forums, video sites, Twitter, and Facebook, he could see obvious traces of coordinated online promotion.

"Find them!"

He gritted his teeth, rage filling his eyes. "Find the source of those online promoters. I want whoever is hiding behind this to pay the price!"

"What about the Daily Bugle?"

The head of publicity hesitated.

He glanced at the assistant, but the latter did not even dare meet his eyes.

"Use our connections among New York's upper circles to talk to them. No matter what conditions they name, we cannot let this situation worsen any further."

Drake said coldly, "Also, Eddie Brock. I don't want to see that man again. Deal with him."

"Understood."

The head of publicity nodded.

The contract has arrived in Shanghai. It should be signed for on Monday, and the contract status changed on Tuesday. Anyone who hasn't invested yet should hurry—there's still plenty to earn! Good night, friends!