Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 317 - 236: The Magic of News

Chapter 317: Chapter 236: The Magic of News

"Sorry, some accidents have occurred during the live broadcast, please do not go away, we’ll be right back."

Although the production team immediately cut off the live feed at the moment the "Debt Collector" violently erupted, the audience nonetheless got to see the twisted smile they so craved, and the bloodthirsty look in his eyes as if he were a demon straight out of Hell.

Their familiar defending champion had returned.

This was what they truly wanted to watch, and Jiuyue was also among those who reveled in the spectacle, suddenly feeling much more alert, with all traces of drowsiness from the previous night’s lack of sleep gone.

The downside of chatting on the phone late into the night was that it resulted in poor sleep; she had to sneak peeks at her phone every so often until she was so sleepy she couldn’t keep her eyes open, and then she would fall into a deep slumber.

She couldn’t help but envy Duan Mingyuan’s quality of sleep.

Wherever and whenever, Mr. Mingyuan was always able to fall asleep instantly, enjoying a baby-like slumber.

Jiuyue excitedly posted a series of cartoon foxes with clenched fists in the live chat room, rooting for "Debt Collector" Mr. — Fight, fight!

Mishchievous foxes have a keen sensitivity to conflict; they’re the type who can feel happy all day after seeing a fight break out on the street.

For Owl, who was directly at the receiving end, things were not so easygoing.

He covered his neck, still shaken, with a ghastly pale face.

The "Debt Collector" moved fast, and by the time Owl realized what was happening, he had been tackled to the ground with his neck fiercely grasped by two hands.

"Old Duan, that’s not actually what I meant," he said.

Talking tough before a battle, setting up a ’flag’—these were typical segments of such entertainment shows, but choking the host was going too far, and it cost the host dearly.

He had just proven with his life that all the rumors about the "Debt Collector" were true.

This was indeed an anarchic psychopath, brazen enough to erupt violently in front of the camera, even leaving Warden Norton stunned and agape at the sudden turn of events.

Owl now seriously suspected that the "Debt Collector" had spent too long in D17 cell block and fried his brain.

Fortunately, Duan Mingyuan, with his quick reflexes, elbowed the "Debt Collector" in the back of the neck, causing the thug to momentarily stiffen, and then he was dragged away by two mechanical prison guards that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

The mechanical prison guards responded swiftly, as if they had been in the room all along.

"But the audience seems quite satisfied," said Duan Mingyuan.

Duan Mingyuan pointed to the screen which had gone black yet was still filled with a dense barrage of comments. Many people were concerned for the host’s safety, and some excited troublemakers even pretended to be prison guards, unilaterally announcing the fabricated news of Owl’s demise.

The rest of the production team also sighed in frustration.

Cutting off the broadcast was an instinctive reaction, but it was only after coming to their senses that they realized it might not have been the wisest decision.

They could have been more "flustered," cutting the live feed after the "Debt Collector" had tackled Owl, thereby increasing the discussion about the broadcast even further.

This was a classic case of camera trickery; an abruptly halted scene can provide people with endless space for imagination. Even if the thug was subdued the next second, it wouldn’t stop gossipmongers from concocting a sensational news story.

After all, that’s how news often works these days: start with a short video clip, fabricate the content, and the key is to attract people with eye-catching headlines.

As for the unfortunate Mr. Owl...

They would just have to inconvenience him a bit.

After all, who asked him to be the closest to the "Debt Collector" at that time?

"What do we do now?" asked Owl.

According to the original schedule, the next two hours were supposed to be for interviewing "Debt Collector," with the production team arranging many topics such as the trouble between "Debt Collector" and the debt collection company, as well as the truth behind the tragic death of an heir to the throne.

A reigning champion plus some conspiracy theories provided just the right hook.

But before they could delve deeper into an exchange with "Debt Collector," Duan Mingyuan, the king of Block D17 who had suffered an elbow strike, was led away by the mechanical prison guards, his arm in their grasp. He was likely to face more than two weeks in isolation and to be disqualified from the competition.

"What’s next? You can go back to your trailer and have a cold drink to calm your nerves,"

The director’s face bloomed with joy at the unforeseen turn of events, which had given them a head start on their material. "Everyone else stay here with me, just shoot some footage inside the public baths, and casually ask passersby for their opinion on ’Debt Collector.’"

All the prisoners here were at odds with the company, and compared to "Debt Collector," who had become talkative since registering, the reactions of the other prisoners were much more genuine and natural.

Therefore, they could imagine the responses with their toes.

"Debt Collector" is a person who loves life, a good prison mate, full of humor, always joking around in daily life; he shouldn’t face these accusations.

"The focus is on timing."

As the director watched the rolling comments, an idea took form in his mind. "The next live broadcast will start in an hour, with a change in the host. Make a note to avoid any mention of Mr. Owl’s whereabouts."

"Doesn’t that basically confirm that I’ve been choked to death?"

Mr. Owl, a fellow news worker, saw through the director’s intentions at a glance.

The trial hadn’t even begun, and already a host had been killed on live broadcast.

Such a stunt was enough to hit the headlines.

"Mr. Owl, you should understand that this is the charm of the news,"

Selective reporting, though all based on truth, can lead to entirely different interpretations.

They had never announced Mr. Owl’s death, but it was the vigilant viewers, through the timing of the broadcast’s suspension and the details of the host change, who guessed that Mr. Owl had fallen victim.

"In that case, I don’t need to show up for the entire day, right?"

Mr. Owl, accepting the production team’s arrangement with satisfaction, gave Duan Mingyuan a meaningful look, signaling him to follow back to the trailer.

Since they would have some free time, it was the perfect opportunity to invest this abundance of time in investigation and research.

For instance, they could explore to where Eisenberg-Adler had actually gone.

But before that, he was full of curiosity and wanted to ask Duan Mingyuan—Mr. Owl had noticed that when "Debt Collector" lunged at him, it was Duan Mingyuan who instead seemed to suddenly become cheerful and clear-headed.

Exiting the bathhouse and returning to the trailer, now with only the two of them inside, the air conditioning set to 16 degrees made Mr. Owl feel as if he had returned from Purgatory to the living world.

He sat down on a chair right under the air conditioning in front of the refrigerator. "What exactly did you discover?"

"Side effects of the soul extraction ritual."

This also explained the changes experienced by "Debt Collector" and the other prisoners, as well as what the mechanical prison guards referred to as "deprivation."

While their Life Energy still remained, its total amount had been greatly reduced.

This led to the fact that regardless of how the Life Energy of those prisoners changed, only one condition could remain.

The dead calm of still water or uncontrollable rage.

"You’re right; ’Debt Collector’s’ mind has indeed been fried. He has become a person with a single-threaded thought process."