America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 841

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles.

Martin stood alone on the observatory, gazing at a private residence near the park.

It was quite far away, and apart from the faint lights, nothing else could be seen.

But he knew that Ryan Reynolds' party was about to begin.

To push forward with the Deadpool movie project, this Canadian actor, who had previously suffered a disastrous failure with Green Lantern, truly went all out.

He sold his marital home with his ex-wife Scarlett Janssen to fund a party.

They paid a high price to Michelle Bryan for a key gift that would impress several top executives at Fox.

Martin came down from the observatory, accompanied by his bodyguards scattered around him as he walked towards the parking lot.

Just then, Bruce drove back.

Martin got into his Escalade, and several cars got out together.

Bruce said, "All three options are ready."

Martin asked, "Won't there be any problems with TMZ?"

"It was a small, ambitious team that Jody specifically recommended," Bruce said simply. "Instead of going through Jody, we contacted this team as a news informant. The team's leader, Holding, is an ambitious and resourceful young man who wouldn't miss such a news lead."

Martin said, "I wonder how effective it will be to use public opinion to force things out."

A few years ago, Michelle Bryan's case was dropped before it even became public knowledge, with her only paying a $3.5 fine.

Even if they secretly report it to the police this time, the outcome might not be much better.

Doing similar things solely out of a sense of justice might lead to worse results, or even get you into trouble.

Bruce replied, "If it's kept within Michelle's purview, I don't think there will be much resistance."

Martin nodded slightly: "I didn't think of anything else. If someone wants to turn me into a drug addict and actually does it, there will always be a price to pay."

Bruce added, "The latter two options are just backup plans; hopefully, we won't need them."

Martin said, "Ryan Reynolds and Michelle Blaine are entangled; let's try to settle this once and for all."

…………

Inside the brightly lit mansion, security personnel inspected the party supplies that had been delivered.

A middle-aged man shouted, "Don't make a fuss! Move everything outside into the lobby and hand it to the waiters."

Seven or eight people unloaded the goods from the vehicle, and after a brief inspection by security personnel, delivered them to the villa entrance.

The waiters, dressed in white shirts, were already waiting here.

Holding was one of them.

The person who delivered the goods saw him, quickly came over, and placed the two boxes in front of him.

The man lowered his voice: "The thing is in a can; I've marked it."

Holding blinked, picked up the box, and went into the villa.

While everyone was busy, he found several marked cans, opened them, took out miniature cameras, and installed them in the concealed locations he had chosen beforehand while the venue was being set up.

Holding received information from a news source that Ryan Reynolds was preparing some special gifts to entertain three heavyweights from Fox's production department.

The other party was very confident, guaranteeing that there would be explosive news.

Since joining TMZ, Holding has been waiting for a big news story to stand out from the crowd of competitors.

Who in this industry wouldn't want to be an editor-in-chief, or even the chief editor?

The path to advancement in TMZ is clear: you need to get big news to get ahead.

The current editor-in-chief, Jody, started out as a female paparazzi on the street. Because she obtained and reported a series of big news stories, she not only rose to the position of editor-in-chief, but also won the Pulitzer Prize.

The case studies before them inspired TMZ reporters to keep pushing themselves to the limit.

Using his position as a waiter, Holding installed miniature cameras in several rooms he deemed suitable, and continued with his other tasks.

As darkness fell, the party's organizer, Ryan Reynolds, along with his agent, Kewell, arrived at the villa.

Not long after, three senior executives from the 20th Century Fox production division arrived.

The party began, and everything seemed normal at first.

The five of them ate and drank, chatted about movies, and gossiped about industry news.

When Holding brought over the drinks, he overheard them talking about Martin Davis's scandals.

Everyone says Elizabeth Olsen is an oddball. Just because Martin saved her life in the Burbank incident, she lets Martin do whatever he wants, turning a blind eye as long as he doesn't do it in her house or in front of her.

Upon hearing this, Holding felt extremely envious. As a man, Martin Davis was truly his role model!

Kewell received a phone call and nodded to Ryan Reynolds.

Ryan Reynolds stood up and said to the head waiter, "We don't need any more staff here. You can go to the annex for now and don't come out without my permission."

The foreman immediately told everyone to leave.

As Holding left the villa, he carefully observed the surroundings and noticed an extra van parked on one side of the entrance.

The foreman was urging him on, but he didn't look around much and followed them into the auxiliary building.

The area quieted down, the van door opened, and someone led three girls into the building.

Ryan Reynolds spent a lot of money to find party gifts that greatly pleased the three top executives at Fox.

The three immediately promised Ryan Reynolds that they would do their utmost to push forward the Deadpool movie project.

Ryan Reynolds laughed happily, feeling that it was all worth it.

As for the three girls, nobody cares what they think.

Ryan Reynolds achieved his goal, and the three Fox players got to enjoy themselves.

All of this seemed perfectly natural.

Just like the upper class in America, they never care about the lives of the common people below.

It's a consumable item; once it dies, there are countless replacements.

The entire Latin America, and indeed the whole world, is continuously providing supplies.

After the party ended, Ryan Reynolds saw off the VIPs, then returned to briefly discuss things with his agent before leaving as well.

Led by the head waiter, the waiters came out of the annex and entered the villa to clean up the mess.

Holding was quick and efficient. He collected several remaining special items and, under the cover of cleaning, retrieved the miniature cameras.

The work lasted until the early hours of the morning, and the waiters finally finished and went home.

Holding drove a rented car and sped to the agreed-upon location, where two subordinates were waiting.

He drove his car into the parking lot, planning to deal with it when he had time the next day or two, and got into an SUV.

Barrett, who was driving, asked, "Did you succeed?"

Holding glanced at the camera footage and said, "They filmed some, but we'll have to look at it carefully when we get back."

Tucker, in the passenger seat, asked, "Is there really some explosive news? Even if they're throwing a group party, it's nothing. It's not a big deal in Hollywood; it'll just make us offend people."

Holding wasn't confused: "If it's just a regular group party, this matter ends here, and I'll cover the costs."

But he had a strong premonition, and shook the camera in his hand: "Clues and journalistic intuition tell me that something extraordinary happened in that villa tonight!"

Barrett sped up, heading straight for the headquarters building: "Hopefully, the higher-ups won't suppress this, or sell this news back to the original owner."

Holding laughed heartily: "No, once the news is confirmed, I'll call the chief editor directly. TMZ always seeks out explosive news like this."

Tucker said, "TMZ is more likely to choose to expose this than any other media outlet."

With the roar of the engine, the SUV arrived at the headquarters. The three of them got out and ran into the editorial department. Although it was already past midnight, many offices at TMZ headquarters still had their lights on.

Holding ran to his workstation, turned on his computer, and connected to a miniature camera, the one he had installed in a corner of the lobby.

There wasn't much useful information at the beginning. After fast-forwarding for a while, he clicked the mouse to switch to normal playback speed.

Barrett's eyes widened as he saw the three women brought into the living room. "Are these bastards crazy?" he exclaimed.

Tucker shook his head repeatedly: "Those scumbags in Hollywood!"

The cameras captured everything that happened next: Ryan Reynolds used these three men as bribes to sway three top executives at Fox.

The three also invited Ryan Reynolds to join their perverse games.

Holding, though not old and still hot-blooded, slammed his fist on the table in anger and declared, "Even if the editorial department tries to suppress it, I'm going to expose these stories!"

Tucker chimed in, "That's right, these scum don't deserve to live!"

Barrett didn't say anything; there are just too many similar dirty things in this society.

After reviewing the footage from this camera, Holding checked several other cameras one by one, two of which hadn't captured anything useful.

There was another camera that captured similar footage.

It's truly shocking!

These devices are advanced enough, the angles are good, the images they capture are clear enough, and even the sound is recorded perfectly.

Holding patted Tucker on the shoulder: "Get it organized and upload it."

Without saying a word, Tucker got to work.

Barrett asked, "Where did those girls go?"

Holding took out his phone, glanced at it, and said, "The informant left an address."

Upon hearing this, Barrett couldn't help but remind him, "Don't you think this is too much of a coincidence? Could someone be using us as pawns?"

"I know someone is using us as pawns, though I don't know who it is, and I can't find out who it is." Holding closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. "But this is one of our few chances. If we miss it, we might have to wait another three years? Or five? Or even a lifetime?"

He laughed, a bitter laugh: "You've been in the industry longer than me, you know how narrow the upward mobility is, how difficult it is for us to climb the social ladder. Tucker, Barrett, are you content to spend your lives in obscurity, just ordinary frontline reporters earning tens of thousands of dollars a year?"

Tucker said, "I'm fucking not happy about this! Who doesn't want to make big money! These bastards in the video have no conscience, no morals, no bottom line, they despise the law, they're all scum! And what about us? We uphold professional ethics, abide by the law, and have a conscience..."

He felt that society was full of irony: "Those scumbags get high salaries, are big stars, and earn at least a million dollars a year! Meanwhile, we good people are suffering from poverty and hardship! Car loans, mortgages, medical expenses, insurance premiums—they're crushing us!"

Barrett understands this better than they do, because he is married and has children, more than one.

"By exposing these things, we're doing a good deed!" Holding also reinforced his resolve: "We pursue journalistic justice while simultaneously realizing our own value—isn't that what we've always been striving for?"

Barrett said, "Let's continue."

Tucker edited the video, added the title, and started uploading.

Holding took out his phone and called the business editor, Jody.

They seemed to still be awake; the call was answered quickly.

Holding seemed to hear the sounds of a man and woman breathing heavily, and said, "Boss, I have important work to report to you..."

"Old Brooks, stop for a second." Jody's breathing stopped. "Go ahead and say it."

Holding quickly described the situation and resolved that if Jody didn't publish it, he would immediately contact his media outlets and publish it on multiple websites.

But Jody didn't disappoint him. After confirming the news was okay, he said, "Publish it immediately. I'll go check it on the computer right now. Let's get this done quickly."

Holding clenched his fist forcefully: "Uploading..."

On the other end of the phone, Jody hung up, glanced at Bruce in front of her, and said with a smile, "Old Bruce, you should put in some effort. You don't want Martin's plan to fail, do you?"

"Threatening me?" Bruce was furious. How dare they use Martin as a threat? He launched into a 100-meter sprint.

Soon after, I bumped my pelvis and felt a sharp pain.

Jody was very satisfied with Bruce's attitude. After being satisfied, she stretched and went to her desk to open her laptop and log into TMZ's backend management.

Bruce came up behind her and asked, "Haven't they appeared yet?"

Jody said, "Be patient, it won't be that fast."

Bruce asked with concern, "Are you sure you won't get into trouble?"

"If there's any trouble, those three passionate reporters will take the blame." Jody smiled. "I didn't send them out; they got the news on their own. I just reviewed and approved the news uploaded by my subordinates."

She remembered something else: "Yes, there's one more thing. Because it might involve a serious crime, as a Pulitzer Prize winner, of course I had to call the police."

Bruce nodded.

Jody noticed a notification flashing in her admin panel. She quickly clicked on it and saw a newly uploaded video news article, which she immediately began watching.

Both of them had serious expressions.

After reading it, Jody immediately featured the news on the TMZ homepage and placed it on the front page headline.

She picked up her phone and dialed the number of an FBI official she knew, saying, "You'd better check out the latest headlines on TMZ. Someone is suspected of a crime. I notified you as soon as I found out. Once TMZ reports it, the media storm could erupt very quickly."

The reply came back: "Is the content explosive?"

Jody said, "You'd better see for yourself."

Footsteps sounded from the other end, and shortly after, the person said, "I want the full version of the video! And what exactly happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure either," Jody feigned ignorance. "My subordinates got the news, uploaded and published it, and then called me. That's how I found out."

The voice on the other end said, "I need to know the details. Where are you? Can you go to TMZ headquarters? Let's meet at TMZ headquarters in an hour."

Jody replied, "Okay."

Less than an hour later, an FBI team entered TMZ headquarters.

Through Jody's introduction, they had a detailed interview with Holding and his two companions, during which Holding also provided new leads.

However, there is one condition: TMZ must participate in the entire filming process.

These are not problems.

Early that morning, the FBI raided a warehouse at the Santa Monica marina, rescuing three teenage girls and several women, and arresting several armed guards.

Subsequently, Ryan Reynolds and three Fox executives were summoned as quickly as possible.

They left behind so much evidence that it all pointed to Michelle Bryan.

When TMZ's news broke and the news had just spread, TMZ accompanied the FBI into Michelle's mansion and took the woman into custody.

It's clear to anyone with eyes to see that public opinion on this matter is out of control, and Michelle is no longer involved in a simple organized transaction like last time.

As for her knowing many people's private information, just prevent her from having the opportunity to reveal it.

The storm quickly erupted.

(End of this chapter)