Chapter 14: Money is King

[Chapter 14: Money is King]

In the office of the Los Angeles Herald.

In the morning, Ian stood in front of the mirror.

Influence Points: 178/1000.

The recent reports had been pushing Ian's right eye to its limits. However, due to his constant use of his special ability, a portion of his Influence had been consumed just to recover from the strain. He tried to tell himself not to overuse it, but like a kid with a new toy, it was hard to resist -- everywhere he looked, there were images he couldn't unsee.

Some scenes disgusted him, while others thrilled him. The world he witnessed was like a fusion of heaven and hell, a mix of ice and fire, full of contradictions and strangeness, thrusting Ian into a new, undraped reality.

This feeling was so novel that he felt it might be a long time before he grew numb to it, at which point he wouldn't care anymore.

In addition to his experience points increasing, another significant gain was financial. Continuous hot news stories created a long-tail effect, leading to increasingly better sales -- even Director Harnett kept raising the price for future articles.

This meant Ian had accumulated a total of $800,000 from selling news. And that was after some haggling.

The debt problem was finally resolved.

Feeling the pain in his eyes, Ian rubbed his eyes, stopping his ability before stepping out of the office.

...

"Ron! How are the newspaper sales this week?"

Roy Lloyd, who had been working in the hall, answered without looking up, "The stats aren't out yet, but it should be over 50,000. Let me check again!"

50,000? Even if recovering his vision spent 50 points, so many reports only netted him 200 points? Wait, what about CBS?

Ian ran the numbers in his head, quickly realizing it was probably tied to media channels too. Looking at it now, it had to be his own news and his own channels to get the fastest growth -- handing news off to others would also give him some experience, but the effectiveness would be limited.

So, he needed to expand his own channels!

At that moment, Ian used his ability again, allowing his gaze to penetrate through the backs of the editors. He saw some working hard, some slacking off watching adult websites, and others whispering together.

"Ah! At least there's one good thing: I can see who's actually putting in effort, which will help during layoffs," Ian chuckled as he lifted his ability.

Just then, Lloyd hung up the phone excitedly. "We broke 12,000 in sales yesterday! Our daily sales have been over 10,000! Our actual sales are 60,000, not 50,000!"

Ian sighed. He hated that number; it meant experience points would be even harder to come by.

Twelve thousand copies marked a historic peak for the Los Angeles Herald this year, although it was still far from the paper's best sales, especially compared to those million-copy selling giants.

But they had a small foundation to build upon! Like an author starting with thousands of collections trying to hit it big while others struggled to break hundreds, making a great score would require constant new things to stimulate readers and audiences.

For those not using cheats, this was incredibly challenging!

Ian replied, "This is just the beginning. By the way, did my car sell yet?"

Lloyd paused, "Not yet. The recent news has brought us decent revenue..."

"Really? That's chump change. Sell the car immediately. Then we need to keep collaborating with more freelance reporters, spending every dime we make. I want to secure more channels and sales by the end of the year, so we can earn more advertising revenue -- that's where the big bucks are! The company has to grow!"

Lloyd stared at Ian, bewildered.

Ian realized, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The older man chuckled, shaking his head gently. "You've changed, Ian. You know that? Just the other day, I was worried about you, but your performance these days has made me happy. You brought back valuable news and learned how to manage the paper, willing to invest in it. You stopped living recklessly; you've improved... Just two weeks ago, the first thing you did with your money was to find those girls!"

The older man's eyes glowed with pride -- a feeling of watching a once hopeless kid finally grow up.

Ian smirked, "It might be for the worse; you can never truly see a person's heart from their surface."

Lloyd was serious: "If you're focused on making money, you're a good kid... no matter what methods you use!"

The older man was right.

Money truly is king!

The world wasn't innocent, but it was straightforward!

Ian hugged Lloyd. "But still, thank you for sticking by me when the Herald needed it most!"

He then turned to all the staff in the hall and shouted, "Let's work together to create a bright future. This time, I won't let you down!"

At Ian's shout, all the editors rose to applaud him.

No matter what Ian had been before, at least in these past days, he had shown the spirit of a leader.

That editor named Locke stood up and shouted, "Boss, I'm not resigning anymore!"

Ian shook his head, "That doesn't sound like good news."

And they all burst into laughter.

---

At dusk, Ian returned home.

Before he even got to the door, he saw his neighbor, Mrs. Antle, smiling at him. "Hey, Ian!"

He waved back, "Mrs. Antle!"

Mrs. Antle walked over with a grin. "You did well, Ian! I'm now a loyal reader of the Los Angeles Herald, buying your paper every day to see it. Your news is outstanding!"

Ian politely nodded, "Thank you so much for your support, ma'am. The Los Angeles Herald is dedicated to serving every esteemed client, bringing you the best, fastest, and most comprehensive news updates."

Mrs. Antle frowned a bit, wiggling her plump body. "Don't give me that spiel, Ian. So, are you still single?"

Ian was taken aback, "Yes. Why?"

Mrs. Antle brightly replied, "I have a niece..."

Ian chuckled as he approached her with a smile. "I'm flattered, ma'am. You know why? Not because of your niece, but because you're the first one willing to invest in me. You have great potential and an eye for investments; go into stocks, and you'll make a fortune!"

Mrs. Antle laughed heartily at his words, watching him head back inside, she thought, Am I really that discerning?

Wait, what?

What do you mean by invest?

Crap, Ian Carr, how could you call this investing? This is clearly a beautiful romance!

But unfortunately, Ian had already gone inside, and Mrs. Antle could only think no more of it.

...

Back at home, Ian called out, "Mom, don't make dinner for me! I'm heading out soon. I just came home to shower!"

"What's going on, Ian?" Mrs. Carr asked from the kitchen.

Ian replied, "CBS wants to do a special interview with me."

"But you're a reporter; what do they need an interview for?"

"They're paying me $100,000."

"Wow, then you should come back early; it's not safe out at night."

"Okay, Mom!" Ian promised as he went upstairs to shower.

...

Once finished, Ian looked in the mirror at himself.

His tailored suit fit perfectly, his golden curls sat just right in all the spots they should.

The youthful handsome face glowed after his shower, confidence beaming from his eyes.

Now, this was what a real handsome guy looked like!

As he stepped out of the house, Ian stood on the street, and the nearby neighbors turned to look.

An old man across the street shouted, "Ian, good job, kid! You finally started doing something a man should do! You're a hero!"

It was remarkable; it seemed the neighbors had started to change their impressions of him.

So it turns out, character isn't that important; what matters is your performance!

When you have achievements and status, you gain good relationships!

Ian moved his gaze around, seeing the nearby people smiling and waving at him.

Ian smiled back, bowed, and said, "Thank you all for your kindness. If I cannot meet you again, I wish you all good morning, good afternoon, and good night!"

The neighbors all shouted back, "Goodbye, Truman!"

*****

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