Chapter 5 Headlines

The black Chevrolet was moving very slowly. As Murphy passed by on the other lane near the accident, he couldn't help but keep his eyes on it. The wrecked car was already on fire, flames shooting out from the front hood, illuminating the surroundings brightly. Firefighters, disregarding the potential explosion risk, were busy extinguishing the fire, while others were rescuing the trapped passengers inside the car.

All of this reminded Murphy of scenes he had seen on TV news before, and it brought to mind another video stored in his laptop. His eyes involuntarily turned to the handheld camera placed on the passenger seat.

A voice in his head told him that this was valuable footage, something he should capture immediately.

As the car passed the accident scene, Murphy hit the brakes and stopped on the shoulder. He grabbed the handheld camera, swiftly got out of the car, and ran towards the accident site while skillfully opening the camera.

It felt as if he had rehearsed this scenario countless times.

Two patrol officers had already set up yellow police tape around the perimeter, creating a simple barricade to prevent people from entering. Inside the perimeter, the fire was gradually being contained, and firefighters were working to dismantle the deformed car doors to rescue the trapped driver.

Just as Murphy decided to film the accident, several cars also stopped nearby, evidently drawn to the spectacle, a universal fascination.

Some people even approached, seemingly wanting to get a closer look, but two patrol officers quickly went over to maintain order.

This presented an opportunity for Murphy.

As he approached, he had already started filming with the handheld camera. With his background as a film school student and the memories from his past experiences, Murphy had some skills in this area. However, due to the nighttime lighting conditions, the footage from outside the police tape wasn't optimal.

In the moment when the two patrol officers were distracted by other onlookers, Murphy didn't hesitate to bend down and slip under the police tape. Then, taking a few quick strides, he hid behind a fire truck, found a suitable angle, and, aided by the glow of the fire, captured the scene near the car in his lens.

His past experiences had taught Murphy that there were many people in Los Angeles doing similar work. Whenever there was a crisis, these individuals swarmed in like sharks smelling blood. Therefore, he needed to capture the footage that those people couldn't see.

As the fire dwindled, the footage became blurry. Murphy glanced to his left at around ten o'clock, where the two patrol officers were still maintaining order, and the rest of the firefighters were focused on rescuing the trapped driver, with no one paying attention to his location.

It was at this moment that the deformed car door was finally pried open by the firefighters, and a long-haired woman was pulled out from the car.

Even without professional training, Murphy knew this was the most valuable footage. Without hesitation, he switched on the handheld camera's front light and quickly approached the stretcher where the injured person lay. Through the gaps between the firefighters and medical personnel, he accurately filmed a close-up of the injured woman's face.

The woman lay on the stretcher, emitting weak moans. Her golden hair was stained with blood, and her left side of the face seemed to be one of the injuries, covered in a blur of blood and flesh, looking quite horrifying.

"Blood pressure is 95-65, slow heartbeat..."

A medical staff member was conducting necessary checks. "Dilated pupils..."

Despite feeling nauseous, Murphy's hands were steady. He immediately switched to a close-up shot, accurately recording this scene that could rival American splatter films.

However, Murphy's filming lasted for less than ten seconds.

A living person running to such a place, with the light on the handheld camera, was bound to attract attention.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

A rough voice sounded, and then the camera lens was blocked by someone wearing firefighter uniform. "What are you doing?"

"Back off, you back off!"

One of the patrol officers maintaining order hurried over, not as polite as the firefighters, pointing at Murphy and sternly saying, "You! Get out of here!"

Being someone who had spent time in prison, Murphy knew American police were definitely not as good as portrayed in the media. He quickly turned off the light on the handheld camera, raised one hand, and backed away, saying, "Okay, okay, I'm leaving right away."

Seemingly impatient with Murphy's slow retreat, the patrol officer followed up and forcefully pushed him, "Back up a hundred feet!"

He pushed with great force, causing Murphy to stumble backward, tripping over the shattered car debris behind him and nearly falling to the ground.

Although he felt somewhat annoyed, Murphy knew he couldn't argue with the police.

Steadying himself, Murphy increased his pace to retreat, while the patrol officer stood with his arms akimbo, displaying an air of authority.

After casting another glance at the police officer, Murphy turned around, bent down, and slipped under the police tape, parting the crowd that had already formed a circle, and headed back to his parked car.

Back in the car, he took two deep breaths. Starting the engine, he left the scene of the accident and, after a short drive, found a parking lot by the roadside. He drove in directly, parked the car, took the handheld camera placed on the passenger seat, and checked the footage he had just captured.

From the beginning of the filming until being driven away, Murphy had filmed nearly three minutes of video. It included not only the car fire and the firefighters' rescue efforts but also a close-up of the injured person, with significant visual impact.

For Murphy, with some professional background, filming footage of this level was relatively easy.

Since he had filmed the video, he couldn't sell the handheld camera anymore. Murphy left the parking lot, turned a corner, and headed home.

This video was only valuable if sold. To sell it, Murphy needed the contact information of those television station personnel left by his predecessor, which was stored on his laptop at home.

Moreover, this video needed some preliminary editing.

Hurrying home at the fastest speed, Murphy didn't even pay attention to his growling stomach. He went straight to the studio, opened the laptop, where editing software was installed. Although his predecessor was foolish, the equipment for work was still decent. The handheld camera used the latest digital storage technology, not old-fashioned tapes.

Removing the bulky storage disk from the handheld camera, Murphy connected it to the computer via a data cable and used the editing software to trim the filmed video, cutting out all the unnecessary parts. He mainly retained what was filmed after entering the police tape, stored it back on the storage disk, and then opened a folder on the laptop containing contact information for some television station personnel. He dialed several phone numbers in succession.

Perhaps these contact numbers were too old, or perhaps his luck was not good, as most of the calls Murphy made went unanswered, and the few that were answered showed little interest.

"Was all the effort in vain after such a busy day?" Murphy scratched his brown short hair and dialed another number. After a few rings, a voice came from the other end, "Hello, this is Fox Los Angeles Local Station Channel 6."

"Hello," Murphy said as simply as possible, "I'm a freelance journalist,

and I have a video I just filmed..."

The person on the other end seemed very busy and spoke very quickly, "Okay, bring the video over. Do you know our address? You do? Then come over as soon as possible."

Hanging up the phone, Murphy grabbed the storage disk and drove straight to the Fox Los Angeles Local Station Channel 6 in Burbank. Due to some delay on the road, he arrived when it was already late at night.

The Fox Los Angeles Local Station Channel 6 was located in a white building, with a tall television signal tower standing next to it. Murphy got out of the car and entered the building. After explaining his purpose to the security personnel at the entrance, he followed the route indicated by the person and went up to the news department on the third floor.

The entire third floor was a huge newsroom, bustling with people even though it was late at night. Murphy walked in somewhat bewildered and saw someone approaching. He politely asked, "Excuse me, I have a video of a car accident. Can I speak to someone?"

Without lifting their head, the person pointed to the left corridor and said, "First door on the left after you enter."

Following the person's instructions, Murphy found himself in front of an office. Through the glass door, he could see several people sitting in front of screens, seemingly discussing something.

Murphy gently knocked on the glass door, and as the people inside looked over, he opened it slightly and said, "I have a car accident video to sell."

"A freelance journalist?" A woman with long golden brown hair turned her head towards him. "Who are you working for?"

Murphy hesitated for a moment, then walked in. "I'm working for myself."

He could tell that this woman was the leader among them, and he added, "It's a video of a car accident that happened near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood tonight. A woman crashed, and half of her face is destroyed, blood everywhere. If she survives, I'll be very surprised."

These words clearly piqued the interest of the woman. She nodded and said, "Alright, let me take a look."

Murphy took out the storage disk, took a few steps forward, and handed it to the woman with golden brown hair. Following her instructions, one of the staff members connected the storage disk to the screen. After a moment of static, the carefully edited footage by Murphy began to play.

"Oh, my God!"

When the video reached the close-up of the injured woman, the gruesome scene made one of the staff members involuntarily cry out in astonishment.

Standing at their side, Murphy had been observing the woman's expression. Unlike the surprise of the staff member, the sight of the bloody scene seemed to excite the woman with golden brown hair, evident in her blue eyes.

"This could be the headline for the morning news!"

She seemed to have completely forgotten about Murphy standing behind her.