Chapter 166 Real or Not
The internet was a firestorm of activity, a digital coliseum echoing the fallout of the 'Boring' incident.
Skyview didn't need to lift a finger to manipulate trending topics; the fake "super-rich" debacle had organically skyrocketed to the top of every chart.
The world was in an uproar.
Articles were hastily published, videos uploaded, and countless threads spawned across Twitter, Wisdom Haven, Reddit, and every social media platform imaginable.
The super-rich benefactor, once lauded as a god among men, exposed as a fraud, a hacker.
Lucas, with his five million dollar reward, and Stephanie, showered with ten million, became unwitting symbols of this grand spectacle.
The entire digital landscape was captivated by the sheer audacity of the 'Boring' incident.
A fake "super-rich" individual was infinitely more fascinating than a real one.
Had 'Boring' been legitimate, the streamers' and viewers' fawning, while shameless, would've been understandable.
But a fake? It transformed every streamer and viewer who'd kissed his virtual feet into a punchline, a cautionary tale.
The irony was almost too delicious. They'd groveled and fawned, convinced they'd struck gold, only to discover their golden goose was a digital phantom.
After a grueling five hours, the Shark platform flickered back to life.
Users flooded back in, eager to witness the aftermath.
An official announcement, given pride of place on the homepage, greeted them: [Following a thorough investigation, it has been determined that the user ''Boring'' exploited a recharge loophole to fraudulently generate 200 million BitBonds. All subsequent occurrences of sudden, large-scale donations are the result of hackers exploiting the same vulnerability. We urge all streamers to be vigilant and exercise caution when interacting with unknown users.]
The announcement, however, was too late.
The damage was done.
Streamers lamented their losses, their dreams of easy riches dashed against the rocks of their own greed. Poetic justice, some might say.
The entire Shark platform reeled from the fallout, the aftershocks of the 'Boring' incident leaving no streamer unscathed.
Meanwhile, on SharkReddit, a particular post was gaining traction.
It featured a series of screenshots, capturing Lucas' most effusive praise for 'Boring' during his last stream. The mockery was relentless; each comments a fresh wave of humiliation washing over Lucas.
"Shark Live should compensate us for this!" Lucas raged, his pride wounded.
"You really think they'll do that?" Charles sighed, his tone laced with skepticism. "Hilda's notoriously tight-fisted."
Lucas fell silent, the reality of the situation sinking in. "You're right," he conceded. "He'd sooner sell his grandmother than part with a single BitBond."
"Exactly," Charles said. "Besides, we got off easy compared to Stephanie. Sure, she got gifts from real whales, but she also blew ten million on that lottery giveaway. She must be kicking herself right now."
Charles was right.
Stephanie was drowning in regret.
"You lying snake!" she screamed into her pillow. "Liar! Liar!"
Tears streamed down her face as the weight of her losses crashed down on her.
All those gifts from Boring were now utterly worthless.
Over 100 million BitBonds was gone.
The gifts from Nova were real but after her company and Shark Live took their cut, her share wasn't nearly enough to cover the ten million she'd given away. Not only had she not made a single BitBond from the stream, she was now millions in the red. Those millions represented almost all of her savings.
Stephanie was broke.
The thought of it all was almost too much to bear. Suicide suddenly felt like a viable option.
A knock on the door startled her from her despair.
She rose and opened the door.
Leander Kensington stood in the hallway
Leander, a 19-year-old student from NeoSeou studying in Golden Valley, was quite the looker. Stephanie swept him off his feet after they met. Given Leander's modest background, Stephanie often chipped in with money, almost treating him like her boyfriend.
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