Chapter 66. The Death Race Begins
Chapter 66. The Death Race Begins
[Isn't it the teacher who should be sued, not the person who spread the false info?]
[lololololol feels like they twisted it every which way trying to make it sound good]
[fucking light-footedly lolol is this AOA?]
The atmosphere, which had been ready to explode, had considerably cooled down.
They too had more or less figured it out by now.
That this was all a setup.
"I even recorded my conversation with my high school teacher just in case... but I don't think I need to play this much, right?"
[yea]
[just fucking hilarious lolololol]
"No. Since they'll probably pull more shit, I'll just upload it to Nutube."
The teacher, seeing the emotional distress the controversy caused, readily gave permission to upload it.
On top of that, the recording even revealed the teacher's own name and identity.
"Alright, next."
Just as he was leisurely about to take the next question, a private message came from his manager.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper : (link) even a fake education controversy popped up? ]
"After all this, what a load of bullshit..."
He roughly yanked open the desk drawer and showed them his university student ID.
And perhaps because the person who wrote the post was watching, they deleted it in under five minutes.
"Anyone can talk shit without clear evidence, right?"
[true dat]
[for verification, all they put up was a plain high school diploma]
"The problem is that bastards who can't say a word in person just hide behind anonymity and write posts."
[but even I couldn't talk to your face...]
[who would dare spout that bullshit in front of an S-rank lolololol]
[feels like my head would get smashed lololol]
"There, there, this clears up the controversy, right?"
[yea seems enough?]
[in the first place, a guy who walks light-footedly wouldn't hit someone ;;]
[lolololololol fucking light-footedly lolololol]
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 30,000 Watts! ]
- So to sum it up, a tall, dark-skinned pig with a dick-head haircut walks light-footedly, right?
"..."
A viewer and manager who was always watching him closely.
Whether it's a fan meeting or whatever, I really need to meet them one day and smack them.
[so, like, you gonna take legal action?]
[what about the ones spreading false info?]
"That, of course..."
Just as he was about to speak, the phone rang incessantly.
"Hold on. I got a call, see?"
He checked the number; it was the media outlet he'd requested a correction from before.
"Hello?"
---
In the president's office of one of the major media companies, a voice full of rage rang out.
"Are you out of your minds? Or do you just not have one?"
Before the enraged, shouting president stood other executives bowing their heads like criminals.
— Whack! Whack!!
"Editor-in-Chief, aren't you the final person in charge of all reporting!!?"
— Whack! Whack!!
"And the bastard who's the head of the social affairs department...!"
— Whack! Whack!!
"The bastard department head in charge of the desk didn't even verify...!!"
The furious president soundly kicked the executives in the shins, roughly loosened his tie, and threw himself onto the sofa.
"Fuck...! What are you standing around looking dumb for!? Sit down!!!"
Everyone shuffled cautiously into their seats, reading the room.
In truth, they weren't entirely without grievances either.
Because the report never even reached the desk; the reporter uploaded the article without desk approval.
"Haa... how are we going to fix this?"
"..."
The Editor-in-Chief, the department head, the deputy head—none of them could open their mouths.
This was on a completely different level from simply reporting some celebrity gossip rag.
They had reported an article that scratched the honor of a Hunter—an S-rank Hunter at that.
"If only they'd brought facts based on evidence..."
A single reporter, blinded by the prospect of a promotion, had caused the entire media company to verge on total collapse.
"If you have mouths, say something!!!"
A president famed for his fiery personality.
A true journalist, one of the few remaining in Korea, who had a record of being imprisoned for speaking out even during the past military dictatorship.
"Hoo... what is that bastard doing right now?"
"W-Who are you referring to...?"
"The bastard who posted this garbage article!"
"W-We can't get in touch with him..."
The reporter who had been watching Song Hoon's stream quickly cut off contact and vanished when things started going weird.
In that situation, the president's temple throbbed as if someone had hit it with a hammer.
"Do you know that Hanul Guild is lodging complaints too?"
"S-Sorry..."
"Forget the guild—Nova Group is strongly protesting as well!!!"
Corporations and media outlets were inseparable; you couldn't beat one and let go of the other.
They'd put out an article without any fact-checking about a Hunter who uses a product Nova Group had painstakingly developed.
If Song Hoon's image were damaged, naturally the group's product would take a hit too.
"If Nova Group says they'll pull all their ads, just your heads alone won't be enough!!!"
Even imagining it was horrifying.
And if Song Hoon were to call out our media company during his internet broadcast...?
'I'll have to get down on my knees, cling to his pants leg, and beg...'
"Right now, issue a correction, put up an apology, and say we'll provide some compensation. Also, give the false informant a legal notice and state we'll claim damages."
"Yes!"
"And hold that reporter bastard responsible for all this and cut him loose."
At the president's menacing words, the executives swallowed dryly.
They prayed the blade wouldn't be aimed at them.
"We have Hunter Song Hoon's contact info, right?"
"Yes..."
The president tried to call him personally from his own cell phone.
At that moment, the Editor-in-Chief, who was somewhat lacking in tact, spoke to the president.
"P-President... I'll do it. There's no need for you to handle this personally..."
— Clang!!
"This bastard... just because he's climbed up high and gotten grease on his belly, he can't tell heaven from earth!?"
'Tsk, where did all the passionate kids from the old days go, leaving only bastards like these...'
— Dru-rururu...
The trivial dial tone felt extra long today.
The president chewed his lips nervously as he waited.
- Hello?
"Hello. Is this Hunter Song Hoon?"
- Hmm... you're the ones who wrote the article?
"We're sorry. It is entirely my fault as the president for not verifying."
Song Hoon didn't say anything for a while.
A silence that was short but felt long.
The president's mouth went parched.
- Yes, continue.
"A correction will be issued immediately, and we are truly sorry for posting the article without fact-checking. Naturally, we will provide some compensation to the Hunter who suffered harm."
- Hmm... how did you end up writing such an article?
The president lowered his posture as much as possible and calmly explained everything that had happened so far.
While emphasizing that it was the reporter's solo action, he toned down the feeling that the company was pinning all the blame on him.
- Make sure it's handled properly.
"Absolutely...! We will take definitive measures!"
- Thank you for your trouble.
"E-Excuse me... Hunter..."
- ?
"Your mother and father who run Hanul Guild must have been deeply hurt by this matter as well... not to mention Nova Group, which entrusted you with their ads..."
He phrased it as roundaboutly as possible.
Essentially, please, put in a good word for us.
- Well, don't worry about that. I'll talk to them properly myself.
Fortunately, Song Hoon understood the president's underlying meaning.
Thus, he could breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hoo..."
After the call ended, the president let out a sigh with a tired face.
And soon he looked at the executives with a menacing gaze.
"Spare no expense and prepare the legal response immediately."
---
"That's what they said?"
[correction is fucking fast lololol]
[and the reporter bastard going into hiding in the middle of it is fucking hilarious lololol]
[if you were that blinded by views, how the fuck do you just post it without checking lolololol]
He'd had the call on speaker during the broadcast, blatantly audible.
I didn’t know if the president called with that in mind too, but if he did, he's a pretty smart person.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 30,000 Watts! ]
- So what are you gonna do now?
"I've already got something in mind for that."
Again, he opened the all-purpose notepad.
There, in large letters, it read 'Recruiting Lawyer Team.'
"Naturally, we need to take legal action against this kind of spreading false information, right?"
[yea that's right]
[those bastards posting bullshit need to be taught a lesson]
[can't you just leave it to the best law firm?]
"Originally, I was going to leave it to a law firm, but..."
[but...?]
[you really know how to make people anxious, you fucking bitch ;;]
"It's just more fun this way."
[crazy bitch lolololol]
[what, is it an open audition?]
[holy fuck lolololol]
"I looked into it, and it's possible for different law firms to collaborate."
Collaboration was common when a case was large or had many issues.
I didn’t know if this case was large, but it certainly had plenty of issues.
[what about fees and stuff?]
[you must have thought of something yourself, right?]
"Oh, that's a very good question."
Below the large letters, he wrote a number in a smaller, moderate font.
It said 9 : 1.
[what's that?]
[9:1?]
[is that in won?]
[fuck off with won lololol]
"For any lawyers considering joining, take note. 90% of the settlement money will be given as a contingency fee."
[?????]
[no what the fuck lolololol]
[does that even make sense??]
"Naturally, the more cases you win, the more money you'll take home, right?"
He'd thoroughly researched it.
Under the Republic of Korea's Attorney-at-Law Act, contingency fees were legal.
Also, recruiting lawyers was legal as long as you don't mention a specific lawyer or law firm.
He made the announcement, then ended the broadcast with one last word.
"Good Luck."
The spreaders of false information, frantically deleting the posts they'd written in a panic to avoid consequences.
And the lawyers, their eyes blazing, drafting complaints for that contingency fee.
The race between those two groups had just begun.