"The Infected" had been screening in Columbia for a full month, and it had been screening in other countries for the better part of half a month. It could be said that it had received high praise across most of Terra, a tide of positive reviews. Of course, there was also a heap of negative ones.
Some people who previously didn't understand the Infected had their perspectives changed after watching the documentary. But the film also seemed to have touched the interests of many people in various countries. In Columbia alone, countless individuals were trying to find the two directors through various channels. Furthermore, because Lucas Reeve and Nian had once received an award at the Columbia Music Festival, and there was even surveillance footage of them in the grand theater, many people with ill intentions were able to lock onto Nian's appearance.
However.
Just as they were locking onto Nian and Lucas Reeve, Raythean Industries had already locked onto them first.
It had to be said.
After a month of turmoil, every day in the villa, Nian and Lucas Reeve would receive a list from Jessica detailing who was investigating them. This list was absurdly detailed, including the investigator's name, address, affiliation, and even their distant relatives had been dug up.
It was a good thing it was Lucas Reeve and Nian.
If any other director had filmed this documentary, even if it couldn't be screened in theaters, if it had been posted online and gained significant viewership and influence, that director would likely have been secretly 'taken care of' by those whose interests were threatened.
Of course.
These people could also choose to send assassins to take out Lucas Reeve and Nian. As long as they had the ability, the two had no objections.
"Hmph hmph, I'm a famous director now, you know. What if I go out and crazy fans mob me for an autograph?"
Nian sat cross-legged on the carpet, sipping fruit juice and chatting away. She had just finished scrolling through the online evaluations of her. However, it seemed the attention on her wasn't that high. Those who liked the movie were all sympathizing with the Infected. Only the dissenters would directly curse the director. And, after the cursing, no fans stepped up to defend Nian.
"I feel like... that's unnecessary."
Laurentina scrolled through her phone, chuckling as she retorted.
"Actually, you don't have many fans online at all. It seems the topic of discussion online has long since shifted from your movie to the entire situation of the Infected. However, there are quite a few people cursing you. Anyway, the comment section has hundreds of thousands of replies, and at least a hundred thousand of them are cursing you."
"Oh, found one. This one's a classic."
"An ID called 'Columbian Top-Laner'."
"He's cursing, 'Nian! When are you gonna f***ing _die_!!'"
"And another one called 'I'm Arrogant, What're You Gonna Do' says."
"'Nian! I'm going to kill your _mom_!'"
"'Nian! I'll f*** your X!!!'"
Pfft!!
Instead of making Nian angry, such comments made her and Dusk burst out laughing.
"Err... actually, if he has the ability, I'd really like him to try. If he could really kill Sui directly and stop the old bastard from reviving, I would probably kowtow and express my sincere gratitude. After all, he would have accomplished an achievement that even Yan couldn't accomplish. At best, Yan could only beat Sui into scattering, but this guy could supposedly kill Sui directly."
Now that Nian put it that way, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
What a dark joke.
Suddenly.
Nian discovered a tricky problem.
"Hold on? I remember when I wrote the directors' names, I specifically put Lucas Reeve as the first director. Why is this group of netizens all cursing me, and no one is cursing Lucas Reeve? This isn't fair. The blessings should be shared equally!"
Laurentina looked at Jessica, who was sitting next to Lucas Reeve.
And Jessica smiled, a little embarrassed.
"Actually... I... I really didn't want to see anyone cursing Mr. Lucas Reeve online. There was one person who cursed Mr. Lucas Reeve before, and I couldn't help but have someone warn them... So, I had Uncle Jones remind all the platforms in Columbia to set the two words 'Lucas Reeve' as a forbidden term. Any post containing the words 'Lucas Reeve' will automatically be sent for review, and if it doesn't pass, it's automatically deleted. It can't even be posted."
Nian: "....."
"But, all things considered, the hearts of people on the internet are truly chaotic."
"Of course."
Dusk said while playing her NS.
"Online, you're behind a screen. No one knows who the other person is, so naturally, they can spout their opinions unscrupulously or just curse people out for no reason. And for people like that, we can't exactly reach our hands through the computer screen and slap them, can we? So, when facing such people, the keyboard is our weapon of attack. I've seen too many people like that. I run into several in just one game. See? Lately, I've just been playing the NS, not online games anymore."
Nian couldn't help but let out a big sigh.
"I really want to learn Third Sister's 'prophetic words' ability. That way, whenever I see someone cursing me online, I can just write their ID on a piece of paper and curse them to have children without *ssholes."
"You can learn from **Brother. Learn all our abilities. Doesn't Second Brother know 'prophetic words'?"
Nian 'tsked'.
"Although we all curse Second Brother for being an idiot with brain problems, we have to admit, Second Brother is really strong. Even stronger than Sister Ling. If I had the ability to learn anything, I'd be even stronger than Second Brother. That way, the next time I meet Second Brother, I wouldn't just curse him. I'd just attack him directly, beat him so hard his old man wouldn't recognize him."
The place where the documentary had the greatest effect was not Columbia, but Lungmen.
Under Officer Ch'en's instruction, all theaters in Lungmen were allowed to screen the documentary. Many ordinary people in Lungmen gained a completely new understanding of the Infected after watching it, and many of their previous misunderstandings were diluted.
Officer Ch'en decided to strike while the iron was hot, organizing a donation drive. Ordinary people from the downtown and upper districts could send clothes they no longer wore or unused household supplies to the Lungmen Guard Department, and the L.G.D. would periodically deliver these supplies into the hands of the Infected in the slums.
All these years.
Officer Ch'en had been working hard. She hoped to integrate the Infected into the city of Lungmen. And it was true that during her time in office, violent incidents involving the Infected in the slums had significantly decreased compared to before she took charge. In the past, violence stemmed from poverty and hardship. But Officer Ch'en found ways to get some companies to build factories for simple manual labor or assembly line work in the slums, giving these Infected and slum-dwellers, who had no hope in life, an opportunity to work.
After getting a job.
Even if the wages were low.
It gave them a new hope in life. At least they could spend money to eat their fill, and even have a little left over. The crime rate in the slums dropped significantly.
This was all thanks to Officer Ch'en's efforts.
But how to get the ordinary citizens to truly accept the Infected was a major problem. These citizens had an innate misunderstanding of the Infected. However, after this documentary was screened, Officer Ch'en seemed to see a ray of hope. In addition to the donations, she also prepared to screen the documentary once in the slums.
When Officer Ch'en reported her idea to Lungmen's true ruler, Wei Yenwu.
Wei Yenwu said nothing. He neither agreed nor objected.
Under Officer Ch'en's deliberate arrangement.
Officers of the Lungmen Guard Department had already set up a simple movie screen in an open space in the slums, near the residential area.
Many of the Infected and poor in the slums couldn't believe it when they heard the L.G.D. was actually going to screen a movie for them in the slums. Many suspected it was a trap and didn't dare to go. However, on the day of the screening, many people still obediently went over.
In an instant, the originally spacious plaza was almost too crowded to stand.
Although the slums were much better off now compared to The Wastes, it was still a mixed bag. To prevent any accidents, many officers were stationed in the slums that day.
And as the documentary began to play.
The crowd, which had been noisy, instantly fell silent.
During the screening.
Many of the Infected watching couldn't help but shed tears...
It's true...
It's absolutely true!
These two directors really managed to capture the most aggrieved and helpless parts of being an Infected!!
Many of the Infected even memorized the names of these two directors, expressing their most sincere gratitude to them for paying attention to the plight of the Infected and for risking danger to film the truest side of their lives.
+40000
Lucas Reeve was sitting on Rhodes Island, but a pure stream of Prayer Power inexplicably poured into Lucas Reeve's soul.
Huh?
Lucas Reeve was stunned. Where did this Prayer Power come from?
"Hm? Doctor, is something wrong?"
Amiya sat opposite Lucas Reeve as usual, asking while she ate.
"Uh... I just had a strange feeling, as if someone was thanking me."
"Hahaha..."
Amiya laughed, thinking Lucas Reeve was joking.
"Of course, Doctor. After all, you and Miss Nian filmed such a documentary. I think many Infected across Terra will be grateful to you. Perhaps the documentary you filmed can't fundamentally change their lives, but it has given them the motivation to live on in the midst of despair. This world isn't completely dark. In the darkness, there are still people who understand them and care about them."
"The final effect of this documentary is no longer important. At the very least, it has given many Infected the hope to move forward."
News of the documentary "The Infected" had long since spread to Rhodes Island.
At first, Lucas Reeve didn't want to admit it, but the three large words on the director list, 'Lucas Reeve, Nian,' directly gave them away.
Others might not know Nian, but Amiya and the other Elite Operators certainly knew who Nian was, so they naturally figured out that the Doctor and Miss Nian filmed it.
"I hope so."
Lucas Reeve nodded.
At least, the reception the documentary received had exceeded Lucas Reeve's initial expectations. Lucas Reeve's initial guess was that it would quickly be drowned out by the multitude of high-quality films. However, the reality was that "The Infected" had snatched the highest box office of the year so far, with very high ticket sales, even slightly higher than last year's highest. If nothing unexpected happened today, this documentary would basically become the highest-grossing film of the year.
Likewise.
It would also be the only film in Columbia, and perhaps the
world, to become the highest-grossing film of the year as a documentary. With all these titles, Nian had basically reserved next year's little golden man. This little golden man wasn't one Jessica bought for her; it was one she had earned, fair and square.
So much time had passed.
Lucas Reeve and Nian gradually didn't want to bother with the documentary anymore. They'd just let it ferment however it would. They were tired of paying attention to it all the time. Those online could curse all they wanted. Of course, if anyone really had the guts to find Nian for a showdown offline, Nian would be more than happy to welcome them.
Suddenly, a throb came from the depths of Lucas Reeve's soul, which had been quiet for some time. Lucas Reeve was stunned.
—————
Nighttime.
Lungmen.
Sora finished her work very late today. Ever since her fame in Lungmen had grown, the frequency of her new song releases had also increased. Furthermore, the parent company above her had higher and higher demands for her. The excessive pressure was suffocating Sora. She deeply missed the time with her group of friends in Siesta, where she could sing without restraint, without worrying about messing up a dance move or accidentally singing off-key.
Sigh...
Night had fallen.
Sora, wearing a thin nightdress with a face mask on, lay on her cute bed under the cool air conditioning. Since she was home alone, she didn't need to pay attention to her image as usual, so Sora was sprawled on the bed in a very unladylike manner.
The hem of her nightdress was hiked up high, revealing Sora's nearly perfect, slender legs and thighs. Such a vision of a disheveled beauty would make any man here lose control.
"Bailey~~"
Sora hugged the small teddy bear in her arms, calling the name she had given it.
This teddy bear was a gift from Jessica to Sora, so Sora cherished it greatly, even giving it a name, as if it were a family member accompanying her.
"I'm under so much pressure right now, Bailey... What should I do.... Am I not suited to be an idol? I feel like... I'm not as happy now as I was back when I first debuted and didn't have many fans. Back then, my manager-sister didn't put much pressure on me, but now... the pressure is just getting bigger and bigger..."
Sora vented to the teddy bear for a long time. This was Sora's daily complaint session.
"Mmm~~"
Seeing that it was getting late, Sora couldn't help but say: "If only you could move, Bailey. Then you could chat with me and talk to me. Good night."
She turned off the light.
Sora, just like before, hugged the teddy bear tightly, her legs wrapped around the doll's waist as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly!
As Sora was sleeping soundly, she suddenly felt the teddy bear's waist seem to move.
At first, Sora thought it was just her imagination, or the wind from the air conditioner, and didn't pay it any mind.
However, when Sora felt the teddy bear in her arms *move*, she was so terrified that she couldn't help but scream.
Sora: "Ahhhhh!!!"
Doll: "Ahhhh!!"