Chapter 12 News Frenzy

In the throes of a major news scoop, time slips by unnoticed. For the battle-hardened Daily Bugle, landing a scoop as juicy as the Life Foundation scandal was a rare goldmine.

It was time to rack up those KPIs and aim for hefty year-end bonuses. The team was pumped.

With the front page undergoing a complete overhaul, everything had to be redesigned. Anton had instructed them to leverage the video footage to spark widespread public debate as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, newspapers are usually finalized in the evening, printed at night, and distributed at dawn. Scrapping the initial front page a day early caused no major losses, just a bit of annoyance for the editors who'd already put in work.

But when it came to a big story—and bonuses—those grumbles were quickly set aside.

"How's it going?" Anton asked Betty, who was clearly exhausted but received no sympathy from him.

"All set," she replied, though privately she resented that Anton had barely lifted a finger while she'd been run off her feet. Ah, the life of a boss.

Anton nodded. "Get that video up on our website, and start the online hype. I want to see our people all over Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and the forums."

"On it, we won't disappoint," Betty replied with confidence. She'd mastered these media maneuvers over her two years at the Daily Bugle.

"Oh, and send an email to the Life Foundation's official account, warning them to immediately halt their illegal human experiments," Anton added, sighing. "It's the best way we have to keep Eddie safe right now."

Exposing what was happening inside "Homeless Haven" with undeniable evidence would put the Life Foundation under the spotlight of public scrutiny.

With these revelations, the Life Foundation would face fierce public backlash for unethical human experiments that crossed all moral lines. Even if they tried to deny it, the weight of public opinion would trap them.

The San Francisco city government would likely feel compelled to launch an investigation into the Life Foundation to quell the outrage. And in doing so, there'd be a decent chance that the homeless volunteers would remain unharmed.

The worst-case scenario was that the Life Foundation would try to eliminate all evidence by "dealing with" the volunteers.

However, since the recruitment of homeless volunteers was already public knowledge, erasing evidence now would be tantamount to a self-destructive move. Carlton Drake was no fool; he wouldn't make such a reckless decision.

"Eddie, this is all I can do for you right now," Anton murmured. In these circumstances, maintaining the status quo was the best option. Everything else would have to be tackled as it came.

As the Daily Bugle staff went about uploading the news and bracing for the inevitable public reaction, the Life Foundation received an email from Eddie Brock—at least, that's the name Anton used in the sender field. Attached were several photos from inside Homeless Haven.

"W-what…" The employee who received the email was horrified and quickly escalated it.

Carlton Drake was soon informed, and his face darkened.

"Bam!"

"How is this possible? I told you to keep a close eye on Homeless Haven. How did Eddie Brock get these photos?" he shouted, hurling an ashtray and glaring at his senior assistant.

The suited, professional-looking assistant, who usually exuded confidence, now looked as small and anxious as a quail.

"S-sir, I don't know how they got these photos. I just checked, and everything at Homeless Haven appears normal—no sign of an intruder…"

The assistant swallowed and stammered, "My guess is they must have disguised themselves as one of the homeless."

"Then check all the homeless in Homeless Haven. Find out who they are, and you know what to do." Drake's voice was ice-cold as he tried to keep his rage in check.

"Yes, sir." The assistant nodded vigorously.

"And what about the Daily Bugle?" Drake demanded. "Did Eddie Brock mention any demands? Like… how much he wants to hand over all the footage and keep quiet?"

"No, nothing of the sort," the assistant replied, shaking his head.

Just then, the office door burst open. The Life Foundation's head of public relations, an exceptionally capable individual, entered without knocking.

He had previously managed to turn the public narrative around during the recent rocket crash incident, earning Drake's admiration. But now, he looked panicked.

"Mr. Drake, we have a problem!" he blurted, and then, as if he hadn't been clear enough, he added, "A big problem!"

Seeing his PR expert looking so alarmed, Drake's face became ashen. He had a feeling he already knew what had happened.

Sure enough, the contents of the Daily Bugle's email had already gone public online.

The information missing from the email was now plastered all over the internet, along with details about the Life Foundation and a heavy dose of criticism and sarcasm.

To add insult to injury, the photos Drake had received were merely stills from a full video circulating online.

Undeniable evidence. There was no way to refute it.

Even his battle-hardened PR chief seemed at a loss.

In the video, employees in Life Foundation uniforms were seen patrolling Homeless Haven, mistreating the homeless residents, shouting at them, sometimes even physically abusing them.

The homeless people's plight had already stirred a deep sense of sympathy among netizens.

Details about Homeless Haven quickly surfaced. Since it was a nonprofit initiative and had previously garnered public goodwill under the guise of charity, many San Francisco residents were familiar with the name.

But now, seeing the reality, those same people were furious.

They felt like they'd been duped, toyed with by both the Life Foundation and the city government.

"There are paid commentators stirring this up," Drake noted as he scrolled through the comments, noticing telltale signs of bots and trolls across forums, video sites, Twitter, and Facebook.

"Find them!" he hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes blazing with fury. "Trace the source of the bots. I want the people behind this to pay!"

"And the Daily Bugle?" the PR head asked, glancing at the assistant, who didn't dare look him in the eye.

"Reach out to our contacts in New York's higher circles. No matter what they demand, we can't let this escalate any further," Drake replied coldly. "As for Eddie Brock, I don't want him alive. Take care of him."

"Understood," the PR head nodded solemnly.