Chapter 414 Isn't It Just About Money
Upon hearing this, Patricia was kinda thrown off.
She got how much William cared about Mary.
Mary was super lucky, always having William's back.
Patricia couldn't help but feel a bit jealous and envious.
But she knew Mary was William's whole world.
Even if she threw herself at him, he wouldn't even blink.
"Mr. Jones, what's our next move?" she asked.
Knowing William was pissed at Caius, Patricia realized the entertainment industry in Lindwood City would undergo a transformation.
William took a drag of his cigarette and said coldly, "Get a hundred gossip accounts and some finance talents. Move fast, start tonight."
"Mr. Jones, you mean?" Patricia asked, totally shocked. Looked like William was gearing up to go after Caius.
"They think they can control the internet? I'll show them real online power!" William snapped.
"Mr. Jones, I'll get on it right away," Patricia replied, nodding hard, feeling a rush of excitement.
She stood up, gave Alan a slight bow, and left.
Soon, she hit up a hundred big-name gossip bloggers with huge followings.
These bloggers weren't all in Lindwood City.
In Alan's company, a massive boardroom had a whole wall covered in screens, each showing a grid of camera feeds.
More people kept logging in, adjusting their cameras.
There were at least fifty or sixty people.
All of them were online media bloggers.
The office was packed with thirty or forty people, both guys and gals, each with a laptop. Assistants were running around, making the place buzz.
Bodyguards, placed by Alan to keep things tight, stood around the walls.
All these people were big-time bloggers with millions of followers.
They were all crammed into one room, ready for action.
And everyone was on edge.
William stood at the front, with Alan and Patricia standing respectfully beside him.
He faced away from the crowd, looking at the grid of camera feeds.
Everyone held their breath. Many of them recognized Alan.
Alan, a big shot in Lindwood City, was standing respectfully next to that young guy.
It was mind-blowing!
Everyone had questions but kept them to themselves.
They had all been dragged here, with a team of black-suited bodyguards showing up at their homes or offices to bring them here.
The pay was five million per person!
In other words, William had already dropped half a billion for this online showdown.
When it came to spending money, William feared no one.
No matter who was on the other side, they were toast!
"Let's get started," William said calmly, his eyes icy.
At his command, everyone in the room, including the bloggers behind the cameras, got busy.
In just three minutes, the top ten trending rumors about BK Pharmaceuticals and Mary began to lose momentum, eventually disappearing from the trending list entirely!
This caught the attention of netizens all over the trending topics.
Many netizens were just watching and waiting.
Meanwhile, in a mansion somewhere in Lindwood City, the lights were blazing, and a dozen people were hustling.
Caius was thrilled, looking at the two million dollars just dropped into his bank account.
The money came too easy; he was about to complete the task soon.
He casually hugged a curvy secretary, kissed her, and said, "Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping for a handbag."
The woman in a black business suit and black stockings said playfully, "Oh, you're so sweet."
But suddenly, the door burst open.
A voice shouted anxiously, "Mr. Beaumont, something's wrong! Our trending topics are tanking!"
It was a bespectacled male employee, Apollo, Caius's right-hand man, who had been in the entertainment game for ten years and knew his stuff.
But what he just saw on the trending topics blew his mind.
Five trending topics disappeared from the trending list entirely!
It was freaky!
Whoever was behind this had deep pockets and a massive crew running the show.
Caius immediately sensed something was off. "What trending topics?"
He gave the woman's curvy waist a pat, signaling her to move.
Apollo wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "The trending topics we just hyped about BK Pharmaceuticals and Mary have been knocked down."
"It must be BK Pharmaceuticals' PR team. What's the big deal? Just get them back on the trending list. It's just money—throw in another million dollars!" Caius said nonchalantly.
But BK Pharmaceuticals was quick on the draw.
Seemed like Mary wasn't a pushover either.
But Apollo's next words left Caius floored.
"No, all five trending topics have dropped out of the top twenty. To get them back on the trending list, it would take at least five million dollars!" Apollo said.
"What?"
Panicked, Caius quickly sat up, opened the webpage, and checked the trending topics. He was instantly shocked to see those topics were no longer trending.
Topics and comments smearing BK Pharmaceuticals and Mary online were being deleted at an astonishing rate.
The other side was strong.
Such moves were impossible without the help of thousands of netizens.
In other words, they had a ton of online manipulators.
"Mr. Beaumont, what should we do? BK Pharmaceuticals is throwing big bucks at this," Apollo said, looking frustrated. "If we fight them, it'll cost us at least ten million dollars!"
Caius's face went cold, his mouth twitching.
Suddenly, the phone rang; it was Sterling.
"Hello, Mr. Hargreaves, what's up?" Caius answered with a smile.
On the other end, Sterling was yelling, "Caius! What's going on? Why have the trending topics dropped?"
Caius replied, "Mr. Hargreaves, don't worry. There's a small hiccup. They're also doing PR, and we have a slight funding issue."
Caius was slick, not spilling everything but making it clear.
"No matter the cost, I'll pay! Get those trending topics back up!" Sterling shouted, sounding super pissed.
After the call ended, he smoked a cigarette, standing by the big window, looking at the night outside, clearly annoyed.
In the office, there was another man in a suit.
It was Cassius Hargreaves, Sterling's older brother, who ran a pharmaceutical company.
"What's going on?" Cassius asked, staring at his phone, his face cold, his brows furrowed.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it. Just get ready to replace BK Pharmaceuticals and secure the new drug's release qualification. This time, the pharmaceutical industry in Lindwood City is ours!" Sterling declared coldly, his face stern.
Meanwhile, in the boardroom of BK Pharmaceuticals, a group of eight people was hustling to manage online buzz.
Suddenly, a staff member excitedly pointed at the computer screen and shouted, "Ms. Smith, look, our trending topics have dropped!"
Mary, holding a coffee cup, immediately walked over when she heard this.
The top ten trending topics, five rumors about BK Pharmaceuticals and herself, were indeed dropping fast.
With a smile, Mary patted the male staff member on the shoulder and said, "Very good. Keep it up!"
Brenda, beside her, was also dancing with joy.
The other staff members were cheering happily.
However, one guy with gold-rimmed glasses, apparently the PR manager, looked puzzled and said, "Ms. Smith, we didn't drop these trending topics."
Mary frowned, looking seriously at the manager, and asked, "Are you sure?"
The PR manager nodded seriously and said, "This isn't something within our capabilities. These were some top trending topics that disappeared in less than ten minutes. The person behind this must've invested at least ten million dollars and mobilized a ton of online bloggers!"
He shook his head in admiration and shock, saying, "It's terrifying! Such tactics are unheard of. It was the swiftest crisis management in history!"
However, Mary's expression became even more serious.
Who was helping them in the shadows?
And just at that moment, William's call came through.
Mary was stunned. She answered and asked, "William, was it you?"
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