Chương 398: Chapter 381 - Interlude 38.1

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■ ♦ Topic: LiveStream Interview with Solar In: Boards ► ► Celebrities Packrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know) Posted On XX XX XXXX: Amzeballs! Mariann just announced a new interview. You are never going to believe who it is: SOLAR The mf-er who decided to erase Roserun and the all-around most famous player in the game. You can find the [LINK] here for the interview. (Mirrors here if you need it: [LINK] [LINK]) This is going to be awesome! EDIT 1: First hour done. Wow. That was. Something.

EDIT 2: Footage of the whole Roserun incident. Link can be found here: [LINK] EDIT 3: Third hour: Lot of words saying not much. (Showing page 1 of 1477) ►Bemehelem (Certified Wizard) Replied On XX XX XXXX: First! Edit: Mariann was hot! ►Varlak (News Fan) (Simp) Replied On XX XX XXXX: First! Edit: Damn! Almost! Edit 2: Mariann looked awesome. Does anyone have any HD pics of her in those outfits? ►GiantMuscle (Not a Minor) (Not a Loli) Replied On XX XX XXXX: I'm currently watching. Looks fun. Solar looks...

confident? Lucky is adorable as always. Mariann is hawt. No question. But, guys... this feels off. ►Papa Munchy (Professional Paranoid) Replied On XX XX XXXX: I knew it! Mariann is part of the ruling elite! She is here to spread fake news to support the agenda of her overlords! This is clearly a purposefully planned psyops to incite players in the game. You can clearly see that the entire thing has been set up as some kind of provocation to Solar's enemies!

I already wrote a piece debating whether it was done by Solar, on the behest of the ruling elite, or the Blood Army to discredit Solar! You can find it here: [LINK REMOVED] ►Ekul Replied On XX XX XXXX: Thank you, Papa Munchy for the clear and concise comment. aaanyway. Solar seems to be a master of saying a lot of words while actually saying very little. ►Chaosfaith Replied On XX XX XXXX: @Ekul No doubt he had PR training. Look up celebrity interviews. the same thing happens.

►Divide (Annoying) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Booo! At least tell us how you got so strong Solar! Booo again. At least it's nice to look at Mariann and the wolf is cute. ►Aloha Replied On XX XX XXXX: I just wish Mariann would stop giggling. He is not that funny. Or good looking. The itnterview is happenning in the game so he most definetly modified his looks. ►Good Ship Morpheus Replied On XX XX XXXX: Jealous much? Tho the giggling IS annoying. Hopefull she will tone it down.

They said it was going to be a tó 2 hour interview. Anyone have any guess what is happening in the second hour? ►Antigone (Leaker) (Super Spy) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Heard from a friend of a friend. You know ho it is. They are going to talk about Roserun. Friend saw the plans in the office. End of Page. 1, 2, 3... 1475, 1476, 1477 ■ (Showing page 789 of 3458) ►Aloha Replied On XX XX XXXX: Guys! Guys! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?

►Char (Giant Robots Are Life) Replied On XX XX XXXX: If you're seeing a professionally edited video of the whole Roserun incident from Solar's POV, then yes. EDIT: Gotta say, guys have cohones the size of the moon. ►Packrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Uh, I don't think he used any stealth moves. He just... walked in. I can't even. Added the vid to the original post. I'm going to lie down. ►Chrome (bard is life) Replied On XX XX XXXX: People are freaking out!

I just saw a mob move through the city I'm in and systematically attack every ladder they see. I don't even know what to think. I thought it was going to be some kind of super rare artifact or maybe über powerful spell that only the best of the best can cast. But no. Guy put a ladder on his shoulder and walked in. As a bard: respect. As a player: I thought I was a good player, not any more. ►Deadman Replied On XX XX XXXX: Solar operates on a whole nother level. Did you see that speed?

I checked with a friend who is building a speed focused build. Apparently, even without the weird potion he drank he was multiple times faster than him without using some of his rare skills. And that's fast my dudes. ►Answer Key Replied On XX XX XXXX: I hate the fact they cut away every time he started drawing runes! I demand the full rune circle!

I have been trying to achieve my Rune mastery for months now but my teacher keeps rejecting my attempts T_T ►Feychick (Rouge Rogue) Replied On XX XX XXXX: I'm more interested in that device... Remind of you anything? @SummerRose_Streamer Any comment? Hmm? ►Mane Magenta Replied On XX XX XXXX: Why would a random streamer chick know something about it? EDIT: nvm ►SummerRose_Streamer (Streamer) (Drone_Mama) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Ooops? Did you like it?

The calculations took a while but it created a really pretty boom, don't you think? Here is a small video of me testing it out: [LINK] ►Feychick (Rouge Rogue) Replied On XX XX XXXX: @SummerRose_Streamer I'm officially terrified of you. Please don't become a supervillian. End of Page. 1, 2, 3... 787, 788, 789, 790, 791... 3456, 3457, 3458 ■ (Showing page 966 of 4887) ►Packrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Anyone from the Blood Army to comment?

►Blood_Senechal (Blood_Army) (Officer) Replied On XX XX XXXX: [MESSAGE REMOVED] ►Ryus (Moderator) Replied On XX XX XXXX: No. Have a nice time out. Reminder for anyone: Threats against a person are grounds for a ban. ►Chilldrizzle Replied On XX XX XXXX: Ignoring all that, the blood army guys near me are freaking out. They are moving to leave the area. I think most of them were recalled. Or maybe they are starting a hunt against ladders? Who knows...

►Lasersmile (Shipper) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Hey, is it only me but don't you think they are flirting? Mariann seemse to be more animated than she usually is in her interviews. ►Mac's Dual Rocket Propelled Grenades Replied On XX XX XXXX: @Lasersmile Don't care. Guys check it out: I'm in Telion, near the south mountains and the Blood Army is swarming: [LINK] They are stopping everyone and checking them out. Lol one guy was walking around with a ladder. Like three dozen people jumped him.

Poor him but it was hilarious. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ►MinerMoe (Not a Minor) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Well that's good, because Stonegrave is under attack. I wish the Blood Army guys were here instead of doing something stupid. As usual. ►Blood_Miner (Blood_Army) (Not Officer) (Somewhat Confused) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Probably gonna get some punishment for this but i dont care. Im stationed in Stonegrave we just got attacked by Chrysalis.

They somehow snuck in. NGL things are bad. ►Packrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know) Replied On XX XX XXXX: Wait... wait... wait... Did Solar give an interview and distract everyone with a video of him infiltrating a secure town so that his guildmates could infiltrate a Blood Army town that everyone pretended didn't know was some kind of major base? I'm sure there are words to describe this, but I can't find them. ►Chrome (bard is life) Replied On XX XX XXXX: HAHAHAHAHHA I can't even...

My guild has been watching, and everybody is on the floor laughing. BRB erecting a statue in honor of Solar. End of Page. 1, 2, 3... 964, 965, 966, 967, 968... 4885, 4886, 4887"Holy shit, do you guys see it?"

"We just broke the record."

"What was the last one?"

"Eleven million five hundred thousand and change. During the last e-sports World Cup with that... whatever his name was... who was dating Claire Swenyple."

"Now I remember. She showed up, so she brought her own fans."

"And now we broke that record…" People in the meeting room looked at each other. Everyone was dressed in a mishmash of clothes, their hair in disarray, with dark circles under their eyes. They clearly hadn't slept in a while. After Mariann's stream ended came the actual hard work. Making sure the servers didn't crap themselves. Editing the stream down for different audiences. Cutting out the viral moments and quotes and sending them to the marketing team.

Making sure the VOD was available to everyone and double-checking the subtitle translations. Then there was the eponymous video Solar showcased. They made sure it was available to everyone on their website, per the contract – gotta milk that one-day advantage for all it was worth – and then did the whole thing with it too. Cut it up, sent it to the marketing team, and so on... Following that, they fielded calls from the higher-ups, who of course instantly saw the huge numbers and demanded reports on the situation.

Then they demanded that Mariann go back and ask for more interviews. Thankfully, Solar was smart enough, and the contract with the channel stipulated no follow-up interviews for at least two months unless he initiated them. Boy, was that not a fun conversation. Still, the C-suite was semi-happy with the numbers, and they finally had five minutes to sit down.

One of the women, with bloodshot eyes, glasses, and hair that looked like it would scare the living daylights out of a comb, let out a deep, guttural groan and collapsed onto the table with her hands under her head.

"I want to sleep, but I still need to coordinate with Mariann's team..." Her colleague, with her hair in a ponytail, reached over and patted her on the shoulder.

"There, there... At least you don't have to call several news sites. Those sleazebags always hit on me..." A man on the other side looked like he was seconds away from nodding off.

"Man... I didn't think one video could spark so much..." He didn't finish his sentence, just vaguely motioned at everything around them. The woman at the head of the table just chuckled.

"First time, huh? This is nothing compared to when one of the really big celebrities does something. I'm fucking glad I left that part of the industry behind." The man shuddered.

"Please, don't even talk about it." They lapsed into a comfortable silence, the only sound coming from beyond the meeting room as the other parts of the news machine chugged continuously behind them. However, before the man could nod off, the first woman raised her head from the table and looked around, her eyes glinting with emotion.

"Do you guys think Mariann is... with Solar?" she asked. Instantly, everyone was staring at her.

"What?"

"Why would you think that?" She raised her hands in a placating gesture.

"Come on, guys... Solar reaches out to her specifically? She is, at most, mid-tier. I mean, she is hot, so that could be a reason, but Solar sounds like a pretty smart dude to me," she explained.

"Plus, you didn't see them talking during the breaks..."

"Wait a second, are you suggesting that he gave her the interview because..." She shrugged.

"Can you find any other reason he would choose her specifically?" Several people around the table exchanged looks, their expressions clearly saying they wanted to refute her but couldn't really find the words. She shrugged again.

"Look, all I'm saying is that there is clearly something between the two of them. I'm not judging. From what I've seen, and from when I talked to him, he is pretty down-to-earth, and as we all know, the dude puts actual supervillains to shame with his schemes." She grinned.

"I wouldn't mind going for a ride, if you know what I mean."

"Mary…" She ignored the reproach and continued.

"Anyway, no judgment. Mariann deserves a good guy; her last boyfriend was a creep. But I still want to know." A few people opened their mouths, either to refute her statements or say something else, but they were interrupted by the door slamming open, sending a few things crashing to the floor as it hit the wall. A man stood there, panting, with a look of manic excitement on his face. His entire body radiated exhaustion while also looking like he had just downed several coffees made of pure caffeine.

"Chrysalis just attacked Stonegrave!" he declared between breaths. The people in the room exchanged a look before one of them spoke up.

"So?" The man standing in the doorway stared back at them with wild eyes.

"They attacked while we were doing the interview. We were the cover. They used us to distract their enemy." For a long moment, silence permeated the room, heavier than before. They heard nothing except the room itself and the people breathing in it as they processed his words and worked through the implications. Finally, the woman at the head of the table jumped to her feet fast enough to send her chair flying.

"Fuck! Mary," she said, pointing at the disheveled gossip.

"Get Mariann on the line. We need to prep her."

"Got it," came the reply as the woman was already typing on a device.

"You, you," the first woman continued, pointing at two people.

"Start gauging public opinion. I want to know if we need to put out a statement." She took a few calming breaths before looking around the room at the rest of the people while the two she had singled out were already scrambling out the door.

"The rest of you, get back to your stations. We are doing overtime. Again."

"Fucking Solar..." somebody muttered as the entire room emptied in record time.

"Daaaaaddy…."

"No, Katherine."

"But daaaaadddy…"

"Katherine. No." Katie huffed and crossed her arms as her father just stared at the stupid paperwork in front of him. She didn't even know why he insisted on doing it on paper. The computer already had everything there. Printing it out and doing it, just so somebody could re-enter it into the system, was bloody stupid. Still, she wasn't here to comment on that. No matter how much she wanted.

"Fine," she said, dropping the whole cutesy thing. Her father let out a relieved sigh and looked up from whatever he was reading.

"I'm glad," he said while looking over her.

"What seems to be the problem? Did you insult someone important again? Or did someone proposition you while you were on a date with your girlfriend?" She shook her head. The last time that happened, she was so angry she kicked the guy in the nuts on reflex. Izzy had to restrain her from clawing the guy's eyes out.

"Nothing like that, father dearest," she said with a sweet smile. For some reason, her father recoiled.

"I'm positively shivering with anticipation…"

"Sooo, here is the thing… I know you don't like Sam, but I was wondering, well, he was wondering, if you could do a little bit of a favour for us? Pretty please?" He blinked, then blinked again. For a long minute, daughter and father stared at each other. One with a hopeful look, the other deadpan.

"Details?" her father asked. She immediately listed the things Sam asked for. Her father listened, then leaned back in his chair – rather dramatically if anyone asked Katie – and began rubbing his chin thoughtfully. She just stood there, fidgeting, like when she was small and had to tell her father again that one of her tutors broke down crying again. He finally let out an explosive breath.

"As much as it galls me that he thought I would do this, I can't help but think that he was right. This is something that I would enjoy…" He sent her a look.

"Your friend is frighteningly insightful." She grinned.

"Yes! Thank you, father!" She even remembered to curtsy.

"You both owe me."

"Fiddlesticks…"

"This is not good, right?"

"Most definitely." The two brothers sat next to each other on a plush sofa, staring at a gigantic screen that had just finished playing the video of Solar infiltrating one of their third-tier cities.

"How do you even counter that?" one of them asked, scratching the side of his head.

"Duno, bro…"

"Do you think he really cheated?" He shook his head.

"Nah. If somebody like him cheated, it would look totally embarrassing for the company. I don't doubt Future Unknown is keeping an eye on him. Plus, you saw the dossier on him. He doesn't have the background for something at this level..." The other man listened to his brother's words and let out a sigh.

"I know, I know... but you saw the recording too." His sibling just smiled. It was a bloodthirsty smile.

"Let him do his fancy tricks. We only have to get lucky once while he has to stay lucky all the time." The two brothers stared at each other before bursting out laughing. They settled back into the sofa, and one of them reached for the remote to replay the video while the other picked up the bag of snacks on the table.

"Do you really think he did it without any skills and spells?"

"It's Solar."

"Fair." The good mood lasted exactly five minutes until they received a call about one of their cities being attacked. One of the brothers put the phone down, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

"The fucker…"

"I will gather the leadership. We need to deal with this ASAP..."

"Don't forget to call our new allies..."

"Ugh, must you remind me of them…"

"Well, you insisted on accepting their offers."

"Can you blame me?" he asked, motioning toward the screen where the frozen frame of Solar could be seen with Roserun in the background, standing on a cliffside and grinning at the camera.

"With this fucker on the other side, we need all the help we can get..."