Apology

Katown.

The state administration of television.

Having received a phone call from their chief, the management team was holding an emergency meeting.

"I don't think it's so simple!"

"But I've never heard of shutting down a TV station on such short notice. Even if we're shutting it down, it would take months to prepare. Do you have any idea what impact it will have?"

"I haven't received any phone calls so far. We can't shut down the station, not until we know who gave the order!"

Suddenly, a secretary stumbled into the room, pushed by someone behind him.

"Who are you people?! Sir, they broke in! I couldn't stop them!"

The directors rose to their feet and glared at the intruders. "Who are you? Who permitted you to come here?!"

The chief of the administration stopped them because he recognized someone among the intruders, someone that he feared.

"Mr. Soan? What brought you here? Has something happened to Dr. Soan?"

Tim said coldly, "Shut down the TV station right now. That's an order from Dr. Soan. This is an ultimatum! You have no right to argue! Shut it down!"

"This is ridiculous! He's just a doctor! Who gave him the right to tell us what to do?!"

"So what if we don't do as he says?"

Two directors shouted at Tim one after another.

Their chief immediately stopped them. "Shut up! Do I need to tell you who Dr. Soan is?"

"Of course, we know who he is, but he has no right to give us orders! He doesn't even work in our field!"

Tim said coldly, "Dr. Soan said that if you don't shut down the TV station, the Traditional Medicine Association will stop working with any outsiders from now on! You can make your own medicine!"

"He can't do that!" said one of the directors.

"Of course, he can!" A man stepped out and took out a letter, slamming it on the desk. "Read it yourselves!"

The chief picked it up, and his face went ghastly pale.

"We're shutting it down right now!"

"Sir!"

"Do it now, or we're all going to be fired! Do you want to lose your jobs?! Shut it down!"

...

"Team 7 has arrived at Bywater!"

"Team 9 has arrived at Bywater, but the Patriarch isn't here! The hospital is empty!"

"Team 17 has arrived at Bywater! We're on our way to the hospital!"

"There's no one there! Everyone stop heading for the hospital! Go to Caroline Soan's villa and bring the Patriarch back!"

"Team 1 copy!"

"Team 3 copy!"

"Team 7 copy!"

Meanwhile, a group of mysterious people wearing costumes arrived at Bywater. Although the costumes were of an ancient style, they weren't too over the top and could pass as everyday outfits.

...

"What? The TV station has been shut down?"

"Who on earth is that old man? Why are all reports on him removed from the press?"

"The TV station was shut down? Have we offended some important man?"

"Big deal! That president of IF Security must have paid them off. She's bluffing, but she won't scare me! Bite me! It's not like she can find aouijngaljsgayw…"

"What's he talking qwoirksnfg…"

Something strange began to happen. The comments some users left became unreadable.

It only happened to a few people at first, but soon, the phenomenon spread out like a disease, and many more comments became unreadable.

"cojgnalkpv…"

Such random combinations of letters were seen everywhere.

Before long, the first apology video was posted on social media. It came from a user called "Diss_Everything".

In the video, he held a cardboard sign that read "I'm sorry" and was kneeling on the floor. There were also some angular marks on his cheeks as if he had pressed his face on something.

They looked like the shape of a keyboard!

He knelt on the floor and raised the cardboard over his head with tears in his eyes. It seemed that someone had kicked him around. He said sincerely, "I'm Diss_Everything. What I posted online has offended Mr. Soan, and I'm truly sorry for what I did. I apologize. The internet isn't a lawless land! I'll take responsibility for my comments. Please forgive me, Mr. Soan!"

He then banged his forehead on the floor.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

He kowtowed three times and apologized again.

"What a wuss!"

"He's gone soft!"

"Lmao. What a coward! What will your parents think of you? So what if qokvjqglq…"

Someone else's comments became a series of incoherent letters in the middle of his criticism.

Behind the screen, a man was pressing his face down on the keyboard and rolling the guy around, hence the unreadable letters.

All the users who had "typed" those letters would post an apology video within two minutes.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Soan. I'm 'Fearless'. I shouldn't have said those offensive things to you. I'm kneeling on the floor here. The internet isn't a lawless land…"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Soan. My ID is 'Catchamouse'. I sincerely apologize to you…"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Soan…"

More and more similar videos were posted online. Some people were dumbfounded, but some people were experiencing the same thing.

The Shanes decided to hire more paid posters. When Luna made the phone call, the person on the other end shouted at her.

"Hey, it's me again. I need the same package—"

"Fuck off! Do you know how much trouble I'm in? Get lost, you bitch! Don't ever call me again! Go to hell! All three of you!" the man screamed.

"You…"

"What? What do you wanna say? I'm broke because of you! All my money is gone! You've messed with the wrong person! Once I know where you are, I'm gonna kill you myself!"

Luna was frightened and hung up. She slumped to the floor with a blank face and mumbled, "Why is this happening? Why is this happening? Who on earth is that old bastard?"