Chapter 371: This Is What You Do at a Press Conference

The revived Flora gritted her teeth as she watched the replay. “We were set up. They’re so despicable.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s to be expected,” Duan Fei said nonchalantly. “They predicted we’d return to attack the Fluorescent Factory. That part of their plan was sound.”

“But even if we were going to attack it, they shouldn’t have blown up the factory!”

“What else were they going to do? Let us destroy it? It was a lost cause either way, so they might as well use it to create a PR disaster for us.”

“Can’t you get your Law Enforcer friends to help?”

“I’ve been suspended.” Duan Fei spread his hands. “They threw a lot of money at the television stations, and the public outcry they’ve drummed up is intense. The Law Enforcer brass has ordered me to take a leave of absence and reflect on my actions.”

“The Law Enforcement Headquarters’ Reaction was that fast!” Flora said in surprise. “I thought they’d at least drag their feet for six months before even starting an investigation.”

“That’s just how it is. This is a virtual simulation; a lot of things are simplified so we can see the consequences of our actions quickly.”

“Then what about that crowd outside?”

Outside the office building, a group of local residents had surrounded the premises and begun to protest.

They held up signs and pelted the building with rotten tomatoes and eggs, making a complete mess of the Merlin Company branch office.

“Get out!”

“We don’t want butchers!”

“Our city doesn’t need you.”

Even though they knew these were just simulated residents in a virtual reality, their protests looked identical to the real thing.

Thanks to the Magician’s on-air denouncement of Duan Fei and his team, the Merlin Company’s reputation had hit rock bottom.

Low reputation would make their goods harder to sell, lower employee morale, and decrease the success rate of related Action Cards.

Although Jinghong could still identify cards guaranteed to succeed, her pool of options had shrunk considerably, leaving them with far fewer choices.

Seeing it was already four in the afternoon and their free-roam period was about to end, Duan Fei leaned back on the sofa. “Alright, our free-roam time is almost up. The situation isn’t in our favor right now. Let’s just hope some decent Action Cards turn up.”

To give their luck a boost, Duan Fei used a Character Card to summon Hancock, treating him like a good-luck charm.

When the clock struck four, the group was automatically transported back to the office. Along with them appeared a new set of Action Cards.

Because of their low reputation, they hadn’t sold much. Their daily income only rose to 130,000, and they only received 20 action points.

After deducting various expenses, their current liquid capital had dropped to 9.13 million.

Letting out a breath, Duan Fei started on the day’s Action Cards.

With the luck boost from Hancock, the cards they drew were all reputation-related.

Now familiar with the virtual simulation, Duan Fei flipped through the cards, reading their effects and comparing them before turning to Jinghong. “Pick out a few we can use.”

After Jinghong made her selection, Duan Fei studied the remaining cards, lost in thought.

There were cards that could turn their reputation around, but most required a huge amount of capital.

‘We don’t have enough money, and our reputation is in the toilet,’ he thought. ‘If we want to turn this around, we’ll have to resort to some despicable tactics.’

“Okay, I’ve decided. We’ll use these. Everyone, here’s the plan…”

After hearing Duan Fei’s plan, the Lone Ranger stared at him and said with a sigh, “When it comes to being despicable, you’re in a league of your own.”

“Cut the crap. We’re starting.”

Duan Fei used the first Action Card, and his counterattack began.

The first Action Card was “Press Conference.” For eight action points, it would force a press conference to be held that very day, allowing the player to explain a previous incident.

Furthermore, the card’s effect applied to both sides. In other words, members of the Knight Order would also be summoned to the event.

Upon using it, Duan Fei found his surroundings changed instantly.

He and his team were now in a spacious hall, facing a wall of reporters armed with cameras and long lenses, all waiting for them to speak.

The members of the Knight Order had been teleported there as well. After a brief moment of shock, they realized it was the effect of an Action Card.

The Magician looked up at Duan Fei on the podium, a malicious smile spreading across his face.

‘My dear Mr. Duan, how are you going to get out of this one?’

Before Duan Fei could respond, Jinghong made a throat-slitting gesture.

‘You dare mess with my man? I’ll kill you later.’

The Magician snorted in disdain, his gaze seeming to say, ‘Does he have your name tattooed on his ass or something?’

“None of your damn business!” Jinghong mouthed back.

While the two were locked in their silent war of words, Duan Fei was the first to speak.

Facing the flashing cameras of the press, Duan Fei began, “First, I’d like to ask: who here interviewed the Knight Order’s Magician today?”

Looking at the reporters who raised their hands, Duan Fei said to the Lone Ranger beside him, “Do it.”

Flying Knives shot out, each one infused with Shadow Energy, and pierced the reporters who had raised their hands.

The watching members of the Knight Order stared, wide-eyed. They never imagined Duan Fei would be so ruthless.

These were the very people who had taken money from the Knight Order to slander Duan Fei and his team.

Bribing them had cost a significant amount of money, but the results had been excellent.

The Knight Order had thought they could continue to make life miserable for Duan Fei’s team, but they never expected him to act so decisively, eliminating these people without a second thought.

After taking out those reporters, the Lone Ranger didn’t sit back down. Instead, he stared into the distance, conflicted, before finally deciding to cast aside his pride for the moment.

Bowing deeply, he spoke softly into the microphone. “We are sorry. The explosion at the Fluorescent Factory was our fault. We apologize.”

“Killing the reporters just now was also our fault. We apologize.”

“We are truly sorry. We have apologized. Please forgive us.”

“We are sorry.”

His apology finished, the Lone Ranger silently drew an Action Card and used it.

Then he stood perfectly still, silently awaiting the judgment of those around him.

In the hall, the bodies of the slain reporters still lay on the floor. The sound of camera shutters died away, and everything seemed to freeze.

But in the next moment, the crowd came back to life. They nodded and said, “Well, since you’ve apologized, I suppose we can just forgive you.”

“That’s right. Such a textbook apology. You can tell they’re genuinely remorseful.”

“Don’t let it happen again.”

The Magician was stunned as he watched the reporters let them off the hook so easily.

Grabbing a reporter who was about to leave, the Magician asked in disbelief, “You’re just going to forgive them like that?”

“What else can we do?” the reporter asked, confused. “They apologized.”

“But—”

“What do you want, then? You have to be magnanimous.”

Watching them leave, Nemo suddenly realized it was the effect of an Action Card.

[Forgiveness Card].

When this card is used, as long as an apology is given, anything will be forgiven.

However, the card had a very low success rate. It would only work if the target was your brain-dead, mindless fan; otherwise, playing it was a complete joke.

‘So, how did Duan Fei’s group pull it off?’

‘What crucial piece of this puzzle am I missing?’