At this moment, in a narrow, low-rent house in Stresall, a young man wearing glasses sat in front of his computer. His fingers were furiously tapping on the keyboard, and text was rapidly appearing on the screen.
Feeling a bit hot, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued drafting a news article.
His name was Mekhi Haley, a self-media creator and a former classmate of Bella.
After graduating from college, he didn’t seek a traditional job but instead plunged headfirst into the self-media industry, struggling to make a living.
It wasn’t until he entered the field that he realized how difficult it was to stand out. Making a name for himself seemed nearly impossible.
After a month of hard work, he barely made two or three thousand dollars, just enough to cover rent and utilities. For meals, he could only afford ten-dollar boxed lunches or fast food.
To put it bluntly, even a pet dog might have a better quality of life than him.
Until yesterday, when his former classmate Bella suddenly contacted him.
Bella was not only his former classmate but also the class belle whom many boys secretly admired. Mekhi was no exception.
When Bella reached out to him, he felt a flutter of excitement.
However, he knew that someone like him, struggling to make ends meet, had no chance with her. She must have needed his help with something.
Sure enough, after a few exchanges, Bella asked him to fabricate a fake news story and publish it online according to her specifications.
At first, he hesitated.
Then Bella transferred ten thousand dollars to him and persuaded him persistently. Only then did he agree. Unexpectedly…
The fabricated gossip news quickly caused an uproar online, sparking heated discussions and ranking high on local trending topics. It instantly garnered significant traffic.
Seeing his previously meager follower count skyrocketing, Mekhi’s lips curled into a smile. The devil within him seemed to be unleashed at that moment.
Initially, he had hesitated, wavered, and feared!
But now, seeing so much attention and discussion, watching the view count soar and money pouring in, his excitement and thrill grew immensely!
The earlier sense of unease had long been forgotten.
Mekhi took a deep breath. “Indeed, only fabricated, fake, highly contradictory stories that exploit social conflicts and the so-called sense of justice of onlookers can achieve higher traffic…”
He vaguely understood that Bella’s request was not just about fabricating a story but framing someone.
But what could he do? His livelihood was at stake; he had no time to sympathize with others.
Charlotte was just unlucky.
“This article alone will probably earn me over a thousand dollars, plus the increase in followers… It’s a big win!” His eyes sparkled with excitement and thrill.
Just then, a loud bang sounded. He turned around in shock as the door of his rented room was kicked open.
The entire door fell to the ground.
A man and a woman stepped over the fallen door and walked in.
The imposing presence made Mekhi’s face turn pale. “Who are you?! How did you break in here? Do you know this is illegal?”
Before he could finish speaking, a hand grabbed his head tightly and lifted him up!
“You know this is illegal? Then why did you engage in such dirty deeds?”