Chapter 603:

Corey had completely trusted her, without a shadow of doubt. Now, after this debacle, his clients were beyond appeasement. He could forget about ever using that chip again. His finances and reputation had suffered a severe blow. Corey stared at the still-playing adult film and smashed the screen in a rage. He slammed his hands on the table, shouting, “Get those two extras in here!” He couldn't take his anger out on Alicia, but the extras were fair game.

Meanwhile, at the media company, Gerry sat in stunned silence, watching his film climb the adult film rankings. “What? Mr. Hopkins’ new work is trending at the top?” “Breaking the mold with a single take, it’s straightforward and bold—a true masterpiece!” “It’s about time he switched things up; his previous animations were both boring and expensive.” “I love it! Please make more. Next time, could you find a female lead with a smaller bust? This one looks too big and fake.” “I never imagined he would collaborate with Corey. It’s a real surprise.” “How did he manage to persuade Corey to use robots as a new marketing gimmick?”

Gerry’s shock deepened with each update. It was utterly absurd. His previous films, costing hundreds of millions, had made no impact despite the vast sums spent. Yet, a low-budget adult film, created for mere tens of thousands, had caused such a commotion—though hardly a commendable one. He allowed himself a fleeting moment of amusement before anxiety overwhelmed him. The film was meant to disgust Corey; he never anticipated this spiraling out of control. Panicked, he quickly funneled money into suppressing the trending topic. The power of money worked swiftly. Within an hour or two, the situation was contained.

Meanwhile, Alicia, equally bewildered, explained, “I just wanted to teach Corey a lesson because he used your chip for profit. But I didn’t expect anyone to discover Mr. Hopkins’ involvement. He won’t be affected, right?”

Caden scoffed, “This is a big problem.”