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[Frog] Chapter 212: Emperor's Impact on a Bright Future
🕑 Added 2024-12-13 18:21:00 +0000 UTCEarly the next morning.
New York Police Department.
Inside the precinct, all the officers were busy rushing around.
They had their hands full—not only dealing with reporters but also managing the debris left behind by the aliens around the city.
Until someone else took over, it was their responsibility to handle it.
In his office, George sat at his desk, exhausted, pressing his temples with force.
He had spent yet another night at the precinct.
After the alien war in New York had ended the previous day, there was a mountain of aftermath left for him to handle.
"Damn it, it’s those reporters again," he muttered.
Compared to dealing with aliens, it was clear the reporters were giving George a bigger headache.
A while later, a female officer walked in, holding a document she handed to George.
"Chief, here’s a summary of the questions some of the reporters might ask later."
"This is my first time encountering a situation like this, so if they ask anything that isn’t covered here, you’ll have to improvise."
George nodded in understanding.
In all his years on the force, this was the first time he had dealt with an alien invasion.
If not for his strong nerves, he probably wouldn’t have been able to organize the necessary responses from the start.
"Don’t worry. They usually just ask the same questions over and over."
"I caught some of their interviews on TV earlier. I’ll handle it."
George gave the officer a reassuring glance. She responded with a knowing smile.
George was a veteran in handling the press; even without this document, he could deal with the reporters effortlessly.
The speech notes he carried to press conferences were, more often than not, just for show.
After all, in this country, most reporters weren’t there to gather information—they were there to push narratives.
George skimmed through the document before standing up. "Let’s go meet these reporters."
The officer followed behind him as they headed to the press conference hall.
As soon as George appeared, the sound of camera shutters filled the room.
If it weren’t for the detectives maintaining order, the reporters might have swarmed him for exclusive content.
Standing at the podium, George’s assistant took the microphone first.
"Thank you to all the reporters for attending this press conference," she began.
"The police will do our best to address your questions satisfactorily."
With that, she stepped aside, and George took center stage.
The moment George stepped up, a reporter immediately stood and asked, "Officer George, what’s your opinion on this alien invasion?
Do you think there’s a need to establish a new security system to address extraterrestrial threats?"
George responded in a formal tone, "That question pertains to internal policy decisions, so I can’t comment on it for now.
However, as soon as we have updates on this matter, the NYPD will inform the public promptly."
As soon as that reporter finished, another male reporter stood up, not waiting for George to call on him.
"Officer George, among the superheroes who fought in this alien war, there’s one called Emperor. Do you know anything about him?"
Hearing the name "Emperor," George’s expression shifted slightly, but he quickly concealed it.
He wasn’t certain if Emperor had participated in the battle.
However, in George’s view, it seemed highly likely.
"As you’re all aware, during this alien war, due to the firepower limitations of the police force, we were only responsible for the outer perimeters.
As for the number and identities of the superheroes in the central battle zone, we’re not privy to that information."
The questions continued, focusing on post-battle recovery and pre-battle preparations. George handled each of them flawlessly.
Near the end of the press conference, a reporter suddenly stood up, staring at their phone.
The attention of the entire room shifted to them.
The reporter looked at George and asked directly, "Officer George, what’s your take on the claim that Emperor has betrayed the United States?"
The room immediately erupted in uproar.
"Emperor betrayed the United States?!"
What was going on?
Most people in the room hadn’t even heard of Emperor until that previous reporter mentioned him.
"???"
George was visibly stunned. Just as he was about to ask the reporter to clarify, all the reporters’ phones in the room began ringing one after another, as if on cue.
Seeing this, George furrowed his brows even tighter, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
At that moment, one of George’s trusted officers, someone who had gone through the Green Goblin incident with him, anxiously waved at him from below the stage.
“Chief, come here quickly!”
“Chief!”
George noticed him and, ensuring no reporters were paying attention, turned and asked, “What’s going on?”
The officer handed George his phone immediately.
A headline on the screen instantly grabbed George’s attention:
"Emperor Affects Humanity's Relationship with Gods and the Bright Future of the World."
When George saw the headline, he quickly scrolled down.
The article was almost a visual presentation, filled with pictures.
One of the images showed the rooftop of Stark Tower, featuring Tony, Spider-Woman, and several other superheroes.
Among them was an elderly man with a white beard glowing faintly gold.
From the article’s description, George realized this was Odin, and the battlefield was the result of his son Loki’s actions.
The article detailed Odin’s conditions for reconciliation, which Emperor rejected, instead demanding Odin restore Manhattan.
At first, the article simply recounted the sequence of events.
But as George read further, he began to sense something was off.
"Resurrecting the dead violates the natural laws, yet Emperor has broken them."
"The Earth will inevitably face greater catastrophes in the future."
"Odin’s proposal could have revitalized all of humanity, but Emperor disregarded humanity’s interests entirely, creating animosity with Asgard instead."
"Emperor has dragged down the entire human race. He is the real alien, the one leading humanity to destruction."
The latter half of the article devolved into personal attacks, filled with subjective speculations and deliberate misrepresentations aimed at discrediting Emperor.
After reading, George’s expression grew increasingly grim.
"Utter nonsense!"
He looked up from the phone to find all the reporters staring at him.
In an instant, they seemed to go wild, shoving microphones toward him.
"Chief George, is this article true?"
"As a representative of the authorities, how do you view the authenticity of this report?"
"Was the photo taken on Stark Tower’s rooftop? Has Emperor really impacted humanity’s future?"
...
The officers tasked with maintaining order quickly blocked the swarm of reporters from advancing further.
George, pretending to check his watch, declared, "Today's press conference is over."
"The authenticity of the article remains to be verified!"
At George’s signal, his assistant stepped forward to take over as he left the stage.
---
Inside George’s Office
George adjusted his tie and took a deep breath.
Two officers walked in, addressing him.
“Chief, did you see that article?”
George nodded. “I just read it. Do you think Emperor is that kind of person?”
The two exchanged glances, then hesitantly shook their heads.
These officers were among George’s trusted subordinates, having been involved in both the Connors and Green Goblin cases.
“But Chief, is what’s written in there true?” one of them asked.
After all, the article included not only pictures but also a detailed account of events.
Sitting back in his chair, George replied, “The sequence of events seems accurate.”
“And I suspect this article was orchestrated by someone higher up,” George frowned deeply.
Drawing on his years of experience navigating the bureaucracy, he quickly pieced together the situation.
Odin’s proposal was undoubtedly highly appealing to the upper echelons of the U.S. government.
However, Emperor’s actions obstructed their path to collaboration with Odin.
Naturally, they would go to great lengths to vilify him.
It didn’t take much imagination to see that the other superheroes mentioned—figures with prominent reputations—could easily step forward to clear up any falsehoods if the claims were fabricated.
The deadliest aspect of the article was its structure: the first half was factual, while the latter half was laced with subjective conjectures that reflected the emotions of the U.S. leadership.
As a result, anyone unfamiliar with Emperor who read the article would be swayed by its framing and likely join the chorus of criticism against him.
“Damn it... Those bastards upstairs have no shame!” George cursed, but he was powerless to change the situation.
After all, in their country, "freedom of speech" was a core tenet.
Of course, this freedom often meant those in power could freely manipulate narratives, while the public only had the "freedom" to follow suit.
---
At Alan’s Home
Anna, dressed in a sheer nightgown, lounged lazily on the sofa, enjoying her first cup of coffee for the day.
The sunlight streaming through the window cast a soft, ethereal glow over her.
As she scrolled through her phone, her expression suddenly darkened.
"These Lunatics..."
"They’ve finally started, haven’t they..."
—(To be continued)—
Comments
Parmar Yagnik
All hail the great dragon country 🙌
itsblue718
Hmph look at this western clowns this would never happen in the great country of China with its benevolent God overlord xi jing ping ruling the great country. CHINA NO.1.
