Became a CyberPunk Tycoon - Chapter 171



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Episode 171. Eyes and Ears (12)

“Excuse me, are you sure it’s okay to upload this?”

“Upload it! No, fix it! The photo is weird!”

He was usually a nervous veteran reporter, but his attitude today was very strange.

“There don’t seem to be many people. There must have been at least a few hundred people participating in this protest. Is this the right way to take pictures? Is this the only picture you have?”

The new reporter, with an awkward expression, lined up the photos he had taken while at the scene.

“Yeah, you know! Use this, okay?”

“……Is this something that was discussed with the editorial department?”

“That’s right. That’s right! Anyway, let’s do this. No, fix the sentences a bit. Give them meaning. You’ve worked for several years, so you should understand this much, right?”

weird.

Since I had received something from Hansan, I tried to write the article as friendly as possible, at least to keep an eye on him.

But I thought this article crossed the line.

It was an article that could have sucked up a lot of views. However, this is an article that directly reveals the missions of the two companies.

I tried to use as neutral a narrative as possible and used non-provocative photographs.

I thought that if I could somehow get this article up on the portal, I would be able to repay my debt to Hansan.

But the perspectives of other reporters changed.

Even if it wasn’t outwardly revealed, it was possible to know to some extent who received Hansan’s money and who received General Techina’s money.

But for some reason, the reporters from General Techina suddenly changed their attitude.

“Okay, I understand. I will reflect the changes and upload it.”

But he had no reason to complain. The young reporter returned to his seat and began revising the article he had written.

But the peace didn’t last long. The Stella City police stormed into the office.

“Why, why! Me…….”

“You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney-.”

“Ha, Hansanwoo told you to do it? Right? Oh, I understand! I understand-.”

The veteran reporter gritted his teeth and resisted, but the police calmly informed him of the remaining Miranda rights.

“Did you notice?”

“You, you’re really going to regret this. This is suppression of the press!”

The police repeated the last statement without blinking an eye.

Eventually, the veteran reporter, with his head bowed, slowly followed the police.

The young policeman kept his mouth shut and quietly finished his work.

“Hey, there’s a protest site.”

“Are there still people out there now?”

The delegations that Hansan had reached began contacting the mass media.

Their words were broadcast to countless people. It was clear how corrupt the other delegations were and what evil methods General Techina used to try to manipulate them.

And their protests had a far greater impact than would normally be the case.

“Didn’t there seem to be about a hundred people who came out to protest against Hansan last time?”

“Even back then, the media was really hyping it up. Saying things like, ‘The conscience of citizens who take action.’”

“Then what is that over there? If those people over there are the conscience of the citizens who act, then doesn’t that mean Hansan is more conscientious?”

When General Techina used reporters, he demanded detailed instructions, with an obvious price to pay.

The corruption of Hansan executives, the immigrant problem in Blakron, and finally the delegation from the factory site.

They created fake protesters in various places and exposed their words and actions through the media.

It was quite effective. With the right camera angle and ambiguous expressions, you can make every place in Stella City look like it’s full of people opposing Hansan.

But the number of people who came out to protest could not be deceived. Even a little investigation would reveal the truth.

Even from General Techina’s perspective, we couldn’t bring in too many people. There was no guarantee that security could be maintained.

So they used a journalistic tactic: at each protest site, they made it sound like there were a hundred or so protesters, but it was a huge crowd.

As is often the case when competent journalists distort the truth, it was difficult to simply say that it was a ‘lie.’

As with the protests that occurred during Brooks, it is extremely unusual for large numbers of people to gather in one place for a political purpose.

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The people of Stella City were not very enthusiastic about politics. They did not expect that anything would change just because they gathered and raised their voices.

Even though the situation has changed somewhat since Han San-woo’s actions, they have been using connections with corporations instead of politics as a way to solve problems.

“Let’s see… They’re coming out. This is the first time since the Brooks incident that a protest of this scale has gathered, and it’s a much larger crowd than the previous protests-.”

People can’t help but look for consistency. If you say there are a lot of people, then of course you can’t help but give more meaning to the protests that are captured by the media.

Journalists were the ones who could break that rule whenever they needed to, but this time they couldn’t.

“Look, look! I said Hansan is innocent. They’re all General Techina and those who are trying to harm Hansan-.”

Those who were making loud noises had no choice but to keep quiet when they heard the breaking news that followed.

“Here’s the news. A large number of journalists who received illegal funds from certain companies have been arrested. It turns out that they were not simply making a profit, but transporting the illegal funds. -”

If that were all there was to it, people’s mouths would not have been shut.

But the images that appeared on TV showed a more horrifying sight.

“And some of those funds were found to have been used for terrorism.”

The anchor continued speaking, but a deep silence fell among those watching.

“Terrorism… you say?”

No matter how accustomed the people of Stella City were to the sound of gunshots and the smell of blood, the terror Evan committed that day was not a scar that could be easily erased.

People’s eyes were turned upside down.

“What kind of kids are they?”

“Then, all the negative articles about Hansan these days are…….”

There were those who tried to deny it, but the evidence coming from TV continued without stopping.

Enough to silence all their shock.

“That’s right… When you’re joking, you should look at your opponent and play along.”

I leisurely observed the public opinion change in an instant.

General Techina was immature. In fact, he couldn’t help but be immature.

It’s a cyberpunk world. It’s a world where capital is more important than politics, and force is more important than money.

An unused sword becomes dull. If it were General Techina, there wouldn’t have been much use for this technique in the first place.

Although it was big, the way it was handled was so rough, violent, and funny that it was impossible to continue speaking.

“Crosschecks are complete. Most of the hideouts Evan was using were touched by General Techina.”

“Okay. What about the reporters?”

“Most of them were terrified. They were writing articles friendly to Hansan, perhaps asking for mercy at the last minute.”

“What a pity…… What a pity.”

I thought the finishing work was going better than I expected, and it seems there was a reason for that.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t save them. Since it gave off the vibe that it was related to Evan, this matter was beyond my control.

They, too, knew that getting involved with Evan was dangerous.

There must have been a lot more support than what we’ve uncovered, but they’ve managed to erase most of the evidence.

It was clear that the ‘questionable money’ was being used for Evan’s benefit. But there were plenty of ways to get out.

It was possible to deny any connection between the ‘mysterious funds’ and General Techina, or to claim that Evan was simply trespassing on an abandoned shelter.

With this level of evidence, it would have been difficult to link General Techina and Evan.

But they were clumsy. They used the contact network and people who had been used for the ‘questionable funds’ that they had worked so hard to create to control reporters.

Moreover, General Techina failed to demonstrate the patience and caution he had shown in his dealings with Evan when interacting with reporters.

You might have thought that this was a problem that could be solved by cutting off the tail, denying the connection, or simply admitting failure and burying the case with more money.

They couldn’t do that.

“I should have spent my money honestly…….”

There are plenty of ways to throw money at journalists. If they had just used General Techina’s name, they could have done it legally.

All they had to do was gather the press, hold an event to promote General Techina’s new product, and hand out souvenirs that were worth reselling ‘for promotional purposes.’ There were plenty of easier, simpler ways to do it.

But they wanted to exert more control over the journalists, in less public places, and in more secretive relationships.

General Techina did not want his name to be revealed. He did not want to risk the damage they would suffer if they confronted Hansan head-on.

He had no talent, but he wanted so much.

Now they will pay the price for their greed.

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