Chapter 284

“Alright, take a slice of the cake. What’s our current highest viewership rate?”

“It feels a bit pointless to mention since we keep updating the record little by little… but it’s 44.72% Director. It seems that with no major entertainment shows airing at this time and our other programs being quiet, it really helped us. Yes…”

Compared to the somewhat dim indoor lighting overall, the dazzling lights of the typical modern monitoring system applied to a giant single panel, displaying various broadcasting screens from inside the building and multiple channels, were blinding.

However, on the flip side, this place—one of the many hearts of Memorial Times, belonging to the news department—also coexisted with an outdated landscape, as dozens of small monitors were stuck together, forcing images with poor resolution to stretch.

Despite the evacuation order to hunker down in that small room, there were only two people in this space that ought to be filled with competent and skilled employees.

“44.72…!? Damn. I’ve never thought a number could make me feel this way! I feel so uncomfortable I could strip off my pants and underwear right now…!!”

“Director Morgan, please… why are you putting such trivial information in my brain.”

The senior staff member in charge of the monitoring room, lamenting desperately, soon realized that merely expressing such sentiments wouldn’t make this hell end any quicker.

He began to communicate more actively with the newsroom staff who were being overworked even with double the salary as hostages, starting to adjust the screens.

Hoping that if they could raise the abhorrent viewership to 50%, maybe the viewership-crazed ghost, Pete Morgan, would faint.

Yes… it was a painfully obvious but undeniable fact.

No matter how hard the crews in the studios and live channel rooms tried to shoot something with their cameras, if the omnipotent monitoring room with all broadcasting rights decided, “Are you guys insane? Nope, can’t use this for the broadcast~,” it would all be pointless.

In essence, they were ready to block the live broadcast in real time, adhering to broadcasting ethics and content regulations.

Thus, if terrorists barged in during a live broadcast to hold a reading session reciting the scriptures they had fervently crafted, it would only be possible after several threats and negotiations like “If you don’t cooperate, all hostages will die!” had been made.

…Did such preliminary processes even exist?

As soon as those Arcadia guys burst in, didn’t Director Morgan halt all the side programs and focus on this like a long-awaited guest had arrived?

As if… there had been some close agreement. No, an implicit pact.

“Um, Director Morgan…? I just wanted to mention something just in case.”

“Hmm? What is it? You can say anything as long as it doesn’t interfere with my work, but if this is about viewership plummeting and questioning my judgment, I would truly be disappointed in your abilities.”

“I was just trying to quickly share the joyful news that we’ve just recorded our highest viewership again! Yes!!”

Hastily correcting his previous statement, the subordinate aimed to divert the topic, wanting to affirm that there was no sacrilegious agreement, at least for appearances.

Behind the usually protruding belly and the plentiful beard that gave him a benevolent impression, the underlying crazy trait seemed ready to break through his skin at any moment.

Even in a situation where one would inevitably learn a lot, he kept reminding himself that it was safe to stay ignorant as much as possible.

In reality, the truth he arrived at through logical deduction was not all that different.

The Arcadia group aimed for an opportunity to broadcast their ideology, wanting to escape their underground cult status and make a significant name for themselves in the world as the end date approached.

Meanwhile, Pete Morgan, the news department head, used the pretext of an emergency to ignore all broadcasting-related laws and hoped to serve up very provocative and primal material on the table.

Yet this cult was not only aligning to minimize their damages but had even reversed the offending droids they handed over and were now joyously doing something underground.

The cunning director had put safety measures in place by inviting the mad inspector Anema, who could take down even family members in public if provoked, to ensure their arrival matched, making it a setup.

To put it nicely, it was a precaution, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that even before the agreed event could occur, they had already plotted and executed their backstabbing plans amongst themselves.

One fortunate aspect was that as long as there remained an apparent agreement, there wouldn’t be a drastic beheading show during the live broadcast, and as long as they cooperated, no one would die; this tidbit was fortunately hinted at to those present.

Despite being mere guidelines, the notion that the stunningly beautiful announcer would be performing her duties while bleeding fulfilled something viewers perhaps didn’t even realize they yearned for—exhilaration, or dark desires.

The viewership soared high, the struggle was a given, and some security personnel may have even died… but since it was all part of the originally contracted duties, there were no issues!

The only variable here could be the very watchful subject matter they had carefully summoned—the ferocious attack dog—was entirely sprawled out as if full, instead of ripping apart the exceeding cult nuisances?

“Douglas. Is our Edamatsu director still lounging in the holographic studio?”

– …Yes, it’s not that he doesn’t understand it will take longer for anti-terror special forces or military personnel to enter, but he’s comfortably waiting as if the internal standoff is about to be resolved. So I’m starting to want to know what’s going on as well… Director? Hello? Director?? –

“Well, well…”

Having extracted only the desired information, Morgan’s eyes swiftly rolled, scanning the cyberware screens and monitoring room monitors.

There was no need for a separate process of analysis or deduction.

Even assuming one flipped the entire broadcasting station upside down, the actions outside his envisioned picture were already determined.

All of them were his invited guests. However, among these, what caught the director’s attention wasn’t the Arcadia faction but… the group of black girls arriving at the newsroom, effortlessly crushing everything in their way.

Anastasia Makarovitch, former biotechnologist from Enema.

Not only did she outright reject the fervent advances of someone from the Amagi family, but she also boldly quit her job at Mega Cop, which many would consider a lifetime goal to stick with, to become a wild outcast.

…It seemed she had suffered quite a bit, as her newfound identity as Valentine briefly crossed his mind.

The demure girl dressed in a formal gown she greeted at a social event looked cozy with the Director Edamatsu, enough to surprise even a seasoned Director like Morgan.

However, compared to the odd control she had enough to signal her rejection of his intentions clearly, that sense of friendliness was nothing at all.

Just considering the level of their IDs created a power balance that absolutely could not exist under normal circumstances. So initially, he thought she might have some kind of leverage, but their reactions were both subtle.

Given that the director himself had some embargo on killing him, they simply finished observing someone else’s romantic game with eager attention and intended to keep it on the down low.

However, now, rather than merely parading her subordinate combatants and demolishing paths, she even donned some makeshift disguises and confidently strode into the newsroom.

Independence hidden beneath glamour.

He had long known she was a woman armed with a dagger, but was she also a wild horse that could tear down walls when no appealing path was visible?

Seeing someone reveal such a different aspect of themselves was always intriguing, but this time it was a rather joyful miscalculation.

No matter how much fulfilling their mission of maintaining the performance (The Show Must Go On) was for them, it was time to show the unmistakable taste of defeat to the Arcadia faction and send them packing.

Her captivating allure, mixed with the scent of persistent trouble and headaches, was just as fitting.

Indeed, didn’t she embody the qualities of a perfect star? While her official debut surely would never happen, in a situation where viewership was this concentrated…

“Ahem!”

Morgan paused momentarily from his excessively pleasant imaginings.

Why? Because it was far from a situation without concerns at all.

Given the show’s nature, where they seemed to treat Anastasia like something they didn’t even want to show to others, when rolling out something like, “A newcomer who appears out of nowhere resolves a stagnant terrorist standoff in one go!” live could become a real headache for many.

No, it wouldn’t be a mere inconvenience. Some who bore responsibilities might find themselves waking up in a nearby sanatorium after going under the knife.

Even if the atmosphere around Enema was tumultuous nowadays, wasn’t there little need to verify how many tightly packed explosives were hidden in the minefield?

“Make sure no girl’s face is shown. But adjust so that the overall picture and potential actions can be clearly captured. Use the pretext of environment maintenance to put the live stream on hold, and instead, create a record that can be edited.”

“Since it’s during a terrorist act and they entered the filming site, we can absolutely do it that way… but you do know this can be seen as a violation of personal rights, right, Director…?”

“Hey, you!! If the face isn’t shown, what do you mean personal rights violation, you idiot! Stop talking nonsense and change those settings quickly!”

‘……Given the laws on personal data and information protection after the amendment, even capturing parts of the body without mutual consent is pretty damn touch-and-go, you know?’

Swallowing what could have been the last legitimate argument he could have made today, the man hurriedly moved his hands.

They could have stopped broadcasting earlier, but the risk of infamy to the broadcasting PR (Public Relations; the social perception of figures, brands, companies) from having been daringly bold with the consequences weighed heavily on him.

Until now, he had acted like a madman obsessed with viewership, while playing the role of a pathetic rationalist… now that he had shifted to the core duty of regulating the footage flowing in smoothly, he could feel the blood circulation speed up.

Even though he wasn’t directly drawing the attention of billions of humans due to working backstage.

The thrill of knowing that the remaining lives of everyone watching the news and the works crafted from his fingertips would leave an indelible mark on their subconscious was an experience no drug could replace.

That’s probably why the broadcasting industry has become a collection of peculiar eccentric people burning their own bodies, he thought with a bittersweet conjecture, shoving it deep down.

“Uh, um! We are Doctor Anastasia and Nurse Bethany! They said that if you come here, the higher-ups from the Arcadia sect would decide our treatment for us…”

“……If it’s not too much trouble, I would like our security personnel to treat the critically injured patients first and check on the external injuries of the announcer here.”

And as soon as their voices echoed softly in the newsroom.

The camera sharply turned towards the guns of some terrorists, capturing the image of the loose yet striking small doctor against the backdrop of the tightly constrained nurse duo, embodying the world’s commentary.