America: I'm causing trouble for environmental organizations

Chapter 79: Detroit Version of "Dying to Survive" (3rd/4th update)

"Why is he here?"

On the street along the Ruzhi River, two groups of people looked at each other from a distance of about 40 meters.

Clarissa felt physically uncomfortable whenever she saw Conrad.

If you were to rank the people she disliked in Detroit, Conrad would definitely be in the top three.

Conrad, seeing Bane and his group, was equally surprised and muttered to himself, "What are they doing here?"

However, he immediately realized what he was talking about and said to his colleague next to him, "They must also be here to take photos and videos of the girl rescuing the bullfrog."

"How did you know?" the colleague asked, puzzled.

Conrad's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this, thinking to himself: How would I know? Of course I know, because this idea came from that kid across the street.

Since he was the one who came up with the idea, and now he's with a little girl who clearly has lead poisoning, it must be for filming purposes.

Thinking about this, Conrad felt a headache coming on.

After drinking with Jimmy last night, he gathered people overnight to prepare for this matter.

The goal was to save time, fearing that Bane, the person in charge, would use the idea beforehand.

He thought he was fast enough.

Unexpectedly, we still ran into each other.

Just as he was worrying about this, his colleague suddenly spoke up: "Conrad, is there a spy in our association? Are these people over there copying our ideas?"

"Hmm?" Conrad's eyes lit up, and he slowly turned his head to look at the person next to him.

Talent!

You're right.

This idea wasn't patented, so you could easily say that Bane copied you.

There's only one association opposite, while three associations stand behind me—in terms of both numbers and funding—

The advantage lies with me!

With this thought in mind, Conrad preemptively shouted at Bane, "What are you doing here? Are you planning to plagiarize our association's ideas?"

"Are you out of your mind? What do you mean by copying your ideas?" Bane was stunned by Conrad's words.

"Girl with lead poisoning, Ruzhi River, you also had bullfrogs in your car, right?" Conrad continued.

Bane didn't reply, but instead exchanged a surprised glance with Clarissa. Neither of them knew that Jimmy had told Conrad about the idea, so they were genuinely taken aback.

The newly appointed assistant, Sophia, was also confused about the situation.

Curious, she asked Little Dar beside her, "So, what's the story behind this girl's idea to save the bullfrogs?"

Throughout the journey, she had been following instructions and hadn't yet had a proper understanding of the whole picture.

Upon hearing this, Dahl immediately and quickly recounted Bane's original idea to Sophia.

After listening, Sofia's mouth slowly formed a circle: "So, you mean, first use the outrageous act of performing CPR on a bullfrog to gain attention, and then bring up the girl's lead poisoning symptoms?"

"That's right, that's the idea." Little Dahl nodded.

"You can do that?" Sophia couldn't help but look at Bane, who was standing in front of her.

Watching his retreating figure, Sophia began to recall the method she had just come up with in the office, only to realize how incredibly weak her thinking was.

They were only thinking about how pitiful the girl was, but forgot that the premise of spreading pity is to let more people know about the girl.

No wonder his father made him study under him; there were indeed things worth learning from him.

What Sophia was thinking was naturally unknown to the others.

Seeing that Bane and Clarissa remained silent, Conrad continued, "Speechless. You two are just planning to plagiarize my idea of ​​girls saving bullfrogs, aren't you?"

"Wow?!" Thea couldn't hold back anymore.

He laughed angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting? This idea was clearly Bane's, how did you come up with it?"

"You stole my idea and now you're trying to frame me? That's shameless!" Conrad immediately retorted.

"Thank you so much for the gift!" Thea tilted her head, rolled up her sleeves, and was about to step forward.

But Bane reached out and placed his hand in front of her chest, then turned to Conrad and said, "So, you're here to film the news about the girl saving the bullfrog too?"

"This was originally our idea," Conrad repeatedly emphasized.

Bane was amused by his appearance; the guy was practically the epitome of a Western bandit, trying to distort the facts through repeated emphasis.

However, Bane wasn't angry.

As mentioned earlier, his purpose was to start a fire, not to impress Wall Street capital in order to beg for more money.

Therefore, anyone can use the "girl saves bullfrog" idea, as long as it can get the fire on Ford.

It's a good thing that Conrad is willing to step forward now.

In this way, he wouldn't have to be the one to stick his neck out and incur the wrath of Ford and other stakeholders in Detroit.

Thinking of this, Bane smiled and said, "Conrad, I'd like to ask, have you figured out the core communication logic of this idea?"

"What's it to you?" Conrad continued to be stubborn.

"I hope you don't waste this idea. After all, it took me a full five minutes to come up with it."

"————" Even someone as shameless as Conrad was speechless.

Because Conrad knew very well that the guy on the other end wasn't lying. Jimmy had said the same thing last night, that the plan was something he came up with on the spot, probably in just three minutes.

Shit!

Three minutes?

I've actually gone to all this trouble to snatch this plan that I came up with in just three minutes.

The thought of this made Conrad feel neither pleasure nor satisfaction; in fact, he felt somewhat aggrieved.

But as frustrating as it may be.

They'll keep plagiarizing anyway.

This time, Wall Street is prepared to invest huge resources, and they are determined to grab the biggest piece of the pie.

Thinking of this, Conrad forced himself to say, "I told you, this idea was mine."

"Alright, alright, you came up with this, so you win, okay?" Bane chuckled, then turned to Clarissa and her group and said, "Let's go back."

1

"Aren't we going to film anymore?" Tessa asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Let's shoot, but we'll have to change the time and the theme. It's okay, you can keep the money, no need to return it to me, I'll contact you later," Bane said with a smile.

He gave Tessa $3000 this time, which also included the $1500 she had paid for helping him put a bullet under Reg's pillow last time.

If you're going to give money, you should do it reasonably.

In this way, Reg won't become suspicious of Tessa, thus preventing her from being in any danger.

Soon, the group got into their respective cars.

Sophia, who was in charge of driving the Bane, couldn't help but say, "Boss, are we really just going to hand over such a great idea to them?"

"What kind of great idea is that?" Bane shook his head; he had many better ones.

"Isn't this a good idea?"

"Believe in your potential; human creativity is limitless."

"But in doing so, we've lost the initiative. If they make a splash first, the foundation might ask us to cooperate with them to amplify their influence."

"By then, our 40 yuan in start-up capital will only be enough to organize people to hold protests," Sofia said with some worry.

This is, after all, related to her father's work performance.

"Sophia, do you think Ford and the stakeholders in Detroit are sand sculptures? That a single attack can completely destroy them?"

"————" Sophia did not reply.

"Since your father has asked you to learn from me, I will teach you your first lesson: this is a protracted war. Having the initiative is not important. You must first let others probe and find out the opponent's strength, understand?"

"Understood." Sophia bit her lip lightly, her face flushing slightly from the reprimand.

Half an hour later, the group returned to the association.

Then, Bane led Thea and Clarissa into the office and locked the door from the inside.

This serious demeanor, as if they were about to discuss something important, made Clarissa and Thea's expressions turn solemn.

The three people were huddled together on one side of the desk, their heads forming a triangular shape.

Bane said, "This time, we have the opportunity to reap a huge wave of traffic, and all of Conrad and others' investments in bullfrogs and girls will turn into our profits."

"What do you mean?" Thea and Clarissa didn't understand.

"I ask you, who is responsible for the current tragic situation of so many children in America suffering from lead poisoning?"

"Heavily polluting companies?" Clarissa asked uncertainly.

"No, it's the lead-containing paint coating of old houses built before 1978 and the lead water pipes that are the core causes of lead poisoning in American children."

"So? You think Ford will retaliate in this way?" Thea asked.

"It will definitely happen, but the effect of such a counterattack will be very poor because it lacks a narrative."

"I still don't understand, how do we profit from this?"

"It's very simple, because there's another culprit behind the tragic cases of lead poisoning in children."

"Who?"

"It's an American pharmaceutical company that's making it unaffordable for these children with lead poisoning to receive treatment. The same lead chelation therapy drug costs $520 a box in the US; do you know how much it costs in Canada?"

"How many?"

"70 dollars."

"A generous gift of crabs!" "Oh my god!" Thea and Clarissa exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

"Don't be surprised yet. It's the same lead-removal medication. Do you know how much a box costs in China?"

"Is it also $70?" Clarissa asked tentatively.

"No, $3."

"???" Clarissa's eyes widened.

"???" Thea was also somewhat incredulous. Three stabs?

"What I'm telling you is that if I were Ford's PR person, I would definitely choose to start here, because too many people in the United States have suffered at the hands of healthcare groups, which would instantly evoke widespread empathy and shift the pressure of public opinion away from them."

"You want us to use this idea to remind Ford?" Clarissa seemed to understand what Bane meant.

"No, no, no, we need to first develop a compelling plan and create a heroic story. The protagonist of this story is—"

"—Thea." Bane looked at Thea.

"Me?" Thea pointed to her nose.

"Yes, let me tell you a story called 'Dying to Survive'."

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