In front of the Los Angeles Police Department, Eric smiled at the somewhat flustered paparazzi.
He had been planning for this moment for several days.
Without the support of mainstream media, especially television stations, MGM had always been at a disadvantage in this public opinion battle.
He thought for a long time about how to turn the tide and finally devised this strategy.
He would use himself as bait to set a trap, attracting all these guys, and then use their influence to build momentum for himself.
To attack your shield with your spear, how will you counter this, I wonder?
If you accept the challenge, then I'll show you something truly eye-opening!
If you don't accept the challenge, then your credibility will be severely damaged in front of a United States audience.
Eric was playing a double-edged game, a choice for Su Wei.
At this moment, tens of millions of people in front of their televisions were watching the screen, finding this drama increasingly interesting, enjoying watching the big shots battle it out.
Lionheart Network members who received system notifications also switched to the live broadcast interface, and soon millions joined, with the number continuously increasing.
"What does Eric Cooper want to do? What's going on? Where is he? It looks very lively."
"Can't you see the words next to it? LAPD, this is the Los Angeles Police Department, and below are reporters from major TV stations and newspapers, surrounded by Lionheart Network reporters."
"What? That sounds exciting, are they going to fight? A massive paparazzi brawl in front of the police station, that sounds entertaining."
"Hahahaha, that's a good idea indeed!"
"Idiot! It's clearly Eric Cooper's strategy; he wants to put the TV stations on the hot seat, forcing them to compromise!"
"Have you watched TV? The police said Eric Cooper passed the polygraph, meaning he dated Gal Gadot for a year before consummating their relationship. Do you believe it?"
"No, I absolutely don't believe it! If Gal Gadot were my girlfriend, I wouldn't wait a minute."
"Agreed! Even in a public area, I would definitely make her mine on the spot!"
"transformers is really good, she's hot. From a man's perspective, I absolutely don't believe anyone could resist for a year."
"Brother, let alone a man's perspective, even as a woman, I couldn't resist for a year. This kind of behavior simply violates human physiological structure."
"But Eric Cooper passed the polygraph, how do you explain that? Did he undergo special training? Don't joke, he's not a secret agent or a military official; I can't think of any reason he would do such training."
"Perhaps it's because Eric Cooper possesses an inherently strong psychological fortitude. He's a genius, the youngest super billionaire in history, the youngest best screenwriter, he created YouTube and Facebook, and brought MGM back from the dead—it's like magic!"
"That point makes sense! Eric Cooper must be the kind of person with extremely strong psychological fortitude."
"I also agree with this point. Anyway, I absolutely don't believe that any man could endure a year when facing Gal Gadot, unless he can't… poke."
The views of Lionheart Network members also represented the views of the vast majority of people. If Eric heard their discussion, he would probably cry himself to sleep in the bathroom; what was the point of enduring so much difficulty back then!
However, some people offered a different perspective.
"I think you're overcomplicating things. Eric Cooper's restraint isn't due to any inherent deficiency, but because he has other alternatives. Don't forget, he has many other female celebrities around him."
"Hmm? That makes sense! I almost forgot about that. He's been rumored with Nicole Kidman and Robin Wright. If this guy wants to, there are countless beautiful women willing to willingly open their legs for him."
"Exactly, Eric Cooper must be juggling several relationships or keeping multiple mistresses. A young and powerful entertainment mogul like him must have countless 'canaries' under his wing."
It must be said that netizens' ability to think divergently is quite strong, and they accurately deduced the original situation of the incident.
"Wait, the Olsen Sisters were also rumored with this guy, and they were underage at the time. Should that be investigated again?"
"Is there no end to this? Is there no end? He even took Elizabeth Olsen to Jackson's estate to play. With this kind of guilt-by-association method, there would be no innocent person in the world!"
"Anyway, I've always believed in Eric's character. He's really too handsome. If he just crooked his finger, I'd be very willing to climb into his bed."
"Get lost, you fangirl!"
"Bro, this person's avatar is a man."
"Ugh!"
"Meaningless discussion. The police have already made their determination, and Bar Refaeli's description was very vague. More than this, I want to know what Eric Cooper wants to do. It looks like he's about to unleash a big move!"
In front of the police station, Eric said, "Do you want to know where the real hotbeds of sex crime are? Now, let me tell everyone!"
Beside him, Carol took out the prepared manuscript and handed it to him. Eric read aloud, "On August 21, 2003, in Montgomery, Alabama, a 45-year-old white man sexually assaulted a 14-year-old black girl, and tragically, the girl was killed."
"On September 9, 2003, in Little Rock, Arkansas, another 31-year-old white man sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman, but compared to the 14-year-old girl, at least she was not killed."
"On September 13, 2003, in Dover, Delaware, a 16-year-old black boy lured a 13-year-old white girl to his home and sexually assaulted her. Fortunately, she eventually escaped, but it was still a nightmare."
"On October 5, 2003, in Atlanta, Georgia, a 38-year-old white woman drugged a 13-year-old boy and held him captive in her home for a day and a night, during which she sexually assaulted him multiple times."
"On October 6, 2003, still in Georgia, three black men kidnapped, imprisoned, and serially sexually assaulted a 21-year-old white woman. This poor woman suffered immense torture, but even with her desperate pleas, she was ultimately abused to death, her body covered in wounds!"
Eric loudly read out case after case, most of which were sexual crimes, interspersed with murders and kidnappings. Without exception, all these cases occurred after August of last year.
The paparazzi below listened to him, exchanging confused glances, not understanding what he meant.
Even Prosecutor Leonard beside him was bewildered. He had heard of a few of these cases, but what did that matter?
The United States is a vast country, the fourth largest in the world by area, with a population of 300 million, the third most populous country in the world.
With various complex factors including religion and race, a few murder cases are perfectly normal.
However, in an era when the internet was not yet highly developed, these cases generally would not become United States-wide news; most would spread at most to their local city and stop there, not even reaching beyond the county.
What was there to be so surprised about?
Everyone's eyes were on Eric. He rattled off dozens of cases in one breath, then held up the remaining stack of papers in his hand.
"What I just mentioned is only a small part; the reality is even more shocking than you imagine. And do you know why these cases happened?"
"Because the perpetrators almost all used the same method: adding victims as friends online, then luring them out to meet, and finally committing the crime."
"And the tool these perpetrators used all came from the same source—MySpace!"
Boom!
Upon hearing "MySpace," many paparazzi finally realized the danger. It turned out Eric Cooper's true target was it!
Meanwhile, James Murdoch, who was watching TV with great interest in his mansion, suddenly changed his expression drastically.
"Damn it! This guy is going to attack MySpace!"
Due to its different approach, MySpace indeed contained a massive amount of suggestive and unhealthy content, and it also allowed anonymous information, letting anyone register and disguise themselves.
Therefore, it had to bear some responsibility in the occurrence of these cases.
In the past, victims or their families had also sued MySpace, but it never caused much of a stir, and the website's development was quite good, with registered members exceeding 40 million.
Although there was still some gap with Facebook, it was enough to be proud of.
But if Eric Cooper blew things up, once public outrage was incited, it would be terrible. The website would likely face a massive overhaul.
However, if he competed through legitimate channels, he had no confidence in defeating Facebook. All of MySpace's features were copied from Facebook and just given a different skin; how could you fight against them?
Thinking of this, James Murdoch hurriedly picked up the phone to call his father, Rupert Murdoch, but no one answered.
He then called his father's secretary and learned that he was in a meeting, so he could only ask the secretary to find him quickly.
After a while, the call connected, and the elder Murdoch said with some displeasure, "James, what's so urgent? I'm in an important meeting."
James Murdoch quickly explained the situation, but the elder Murdoch didn't take it seriously after listening.
He had invested in the internet a few years ago, only to encounter the dot-com bubble immediately after entering the market, losing an astronomical amount of money.
Since then, he had lost all confidence in the internet. If James Murdoch wasn't his beloved eldest son, he wouldn't have allowed him to mess around with MySpace.
In the elder Murdoch's view, newspapers and television stations were the core of News Corporation; that internet thing might bubble again tomorrow.
If it collapsed, then so be it. It would be a good opportunity for his son to settle down and focus on inheriting his legacy.
"Father, the internet is the future. I painstakingly built MySpace; I can't just let it disappear. Facebook will completely dominate the entire market, and then no one will be Eric Cooper's opponent!"
"If you insist, I can help you once. Contact Singer; you two can discuss it."
"Thank you, Dad."
James Murdoch quickly contacted Singer, the head of Fox Television, but the answer he received poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"James, I understand your concern, but Eric Cooper has us hostage now. The United States audience, the world audience, are all watching. If we suddenly cut the live broadcast, do you know what the consequences will be?"
"Fox Television's credibility will plummet, and we will lose many loyal viewers. This will be a huge blow."
"And even if Fox cuts the live broadcast, what about other TV stations? Do you think NBC and CBS will cooperate with us?"
"Singer, I know you're well acquainted with them. I hope you can help persuade those people, and this is also my father's wish."
The other side was silent for a moment. Just when James Murdoch thought there was still room for salvation, Singer returned a big "NO"!
"James, I'm afraid I'm powerless to meet your request. I will explain to Rupert personally. Goodbye."
Bang!
He didn't expect the other party to refuse him. He had put in a lot of effort to deal with Eric Cooper, and now that he encountered difficulties, he was immediately abandoned. James Murdoch angrily smashed his phone to the ground.
However, the Nokia's material was very sturdy; it bounced and hit him in the face, making him yelp in pain.
"It is precisely because of the systemic problems with MySpace that a series of sexual assault cases have occurred."
"As a social networking site, MySpace contains a large amount of pornographic content, with many people using self-exposure as a selling point to attract attention."
"And MySpace has no age restrictions for registration. Tens of millions of minors, who simply wanted to enjoy virtual socializing, were instead met with pervasive, unavoidable pornographic elements upon logging in."
"Undoubtedly, MySpace has become the best and most convenient tool for countless criminals to find targets. This is a hotbed for crime, a gathering place and base for sex offenders across the United States!"
"I want to ask all the viewers in front of their televisions, especially all fathers and mothers, do you want your children to be in such a filthy online environment?"
"Do you want your healthy, sunny children to become perverts with nothing but sex on their minds?"
"Do you want your children to be lured out by criminals using disgusting methods, only for you to see them again as a corpse?"
"Ask yourselves, do you want these things to happen?"
"Tell me, do you want it?"
The more Eric spoke, the angrier he became. His voice was roaring, his expression turned ferocious, and the veins on his neck were faintly visible.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, he violently flung his right hand, scattering hundreds of papers clearly detailing case after case of crime, like snowflakes.
These papers seemed as thin as cicada wings, but each one was as heavy as a thousand pounds, representing a large number of victims.
Eric's words were like a sharp sword, piercing directly into the hearts of every viewer in front of their televisions.
Even if they weren't parents now, they would be in the future, and moreover, human hearts are made of flesh; who could endure the occurrence of evil?
"NO!"
From somewhere in the crowd, a furious roar erupted, and in the blink of an eye, the area outside the police station was filled with angry voices.
Watching the excited crowd, Gadot knew Eric had done it. He always managed to create miracles, he always managed to turn the tide.
The tall figure in front of her filled her heart, and she felt herself falling for him again.