Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 578 It's worth 1000 Bitcoins

Amy first went to Twitter, the main platform she checked every day.

She has an account here with over 3000 followers. It was registered a few years ago and is named after her real name, @AmyRogers. Her bio reads "popsuger entertainment reporter, scoops welcome," followed by a dollar sign.

She learned this trick from a blogger she admired during her university days, and the intention couldn't be more straightforward: if you have substance, you'll make money.

So far, it seems to be having some effect.

Although the meager informant fee the magazine paid her each month wouldn't even buy a small piece of gossip in real life, it could be useful online. For example, the photos of Nicole Richie and Vanessa Hudgens she submitted today came from there. She paid $40 for one and $50 for the other.

Trading money online isn't the problem; the method of trading is. Amy desperately wants the Federal Reserve to issue a type of dollar that can be traded anonymously online, so she won't have to go through all the trouble of using shady methods to make deals.

There were 19 new private messages in my inbox today.

She clicked on each one and looked at them one by one.

Today, forget about Britney Spears, not even Vanessa Hudgens bought milk.

The only reliable private message came from an unfamiliar account, who claimed to have several photos of Robert Pattinson leaving a bar with a hot girl.

“WHO?” Amy replied.

Ding.

The private message came back immediately.

SENTE: "Robert Pattinson, who played Emmett Cullen in Twilight."

Amy knew who this person was, of course.

Her fingers flew across Google, searching for news about Robert Pattinson. The last news about him was in December of last year, before the release of the final Twilight film, when he gave an interview to a tabloid, revealing some behind-the-scenes information about the film crew. He hadn't appeared in the media since then.

Amy Rogers: "Is it exclusive?"

SENTE: "No, but I guarantee that as long as you log out tomorrow, you'll be the fastest."

"How much do you want?"

"Ten Bitcoins."

"Bye."

"Wait, how much are you offering?"

"A maximum of two."

"That's too few. These are actors from Twilight. Think about how many Twilight fans there are. If you hand in these photos, your boss might even give you a promotion and a raise. Eight, that's the most you can get."

"First, he was just a nobody in the previous movies. Second, he got fired in the last one. Third, my boss is a cold-blooded monster; he won't give me a raise because of Robert Pattinson unless Jesus comes back to life. Four points, this is the final offer, or you can go find someone else."

The other party hesitated for a few seconds before finally replying, "Deal."

Then they sent me a few photos and something that looked like gibberish.

Amy took a look.

It is indeed Robert Pattinson.

This handsome actor, who rose to fame for a minor role in Harry Potter and then appeared in several seasons of Twilight, looks like a completely different person in the photo. He's blushing and embracing a hot girl with tattoos all over her neck as they leave a bar and get into a taxi.

Just to be on the safe side, Amy first used a reverse Google search to confirm that the photos had never appeared online before, and then searched for keywords on Twitter to ensure that they weren't old images that some scammer had scraped from elsewhere. After confirming that everything was correct, she didn't hesitate to open the local Bitcoin wallet client saved on her computer, copy and paste the long receiving address sent by SENTE, enter the transaction amount "3", and then click "send".

A few seconds later, the progress bar slowly finished, and 4 bitcoins disappeared from her wallet.

Amy glanced at her balance; she had 11 bitcoins left. She had bought these from an exchange last month. The price was $12 per bitcoin, and she spent about $400 to buy over thirty, just for these small payments when dealing with whistleblowers.

Four bitcoins, roughly $50, isn't expensive for a few exclusive photos of Robert Pattinson. Although Pattinson is just a minor character with lines in *Twilight*, he's still a named character. As SENTE said, the *Twilight* fanbase is simply enormous—Time magazine's statistics last month showed that the series has over 100 million fans worldwide, with a conservative estimate of 20 million in the US alone.

With such a massive audience, even attracting just one-thousandth of their attention would be enough to easily push an article's click count above the "standard line." This meant that she had finally completed her minimum work quota for the week.

Next came the extra task assigned to her by that cold-blooded editor-in-chief—to create a big news story.

That night, Amy fell asleep with her laptop in her arms. But even in her dreams, she couldn't find a single big news story in the vast sea of ​​information.

To make matters worse, on the second day, the third day... no matter how hard she racked her brains, searching almost every corner of the entire internet, and even spreading the word to all her informants that the reward for tips would be doubled, she still couldn't find a single decent lead.

Every day at work, Katie McGinn, with her victorious air of waiting for her to be fired, would sneer at Amy, making her increasingly anxious.

That evening, she dragged her tired body home, made herself a cup of coffee as she had done the previous days, then collapsed onto the bed, opened her laptop, logged into Twitter, and began to scroll through her private messages one by one.

Just then, she suddenly noticed a familiar name—SENTE.

The last transaction left a good impression on her and helped her complete this week's task smoothly, so she immediately clicked on it.

This time, however, Sente didn't get straight to the point like before. Instead, he wrote mysteriously, "If I had an exclusive news tip that would make headlines across America, how much would you pay?"

In that instant, Amy's weariness vanished, and she sat up straight from the head of the bed.

Actually, I see similar messages in my inbox every day, and 100% of them are scams trying to swindle money. But for some reason, Sente's message felt different to her.

However, the bargaining process was still essential, after all, she was just a junior intern reporter. She simply couldn't bring herself to spend thousands of dollars to buy a lead.

So Amy calmed down and replied, "These days, it's not so easy to make headlines across America. Sometimes what you think is headline news might just be ordinary news to us. I suggest you tell me roughly what happened so I can assess it first."

The other party replied quickly: "No need for evaluation, I'm 100% sure. Just tell me how much you can offer?"

Amy's palms were sweating slightly. She forced herself to calm down and replied, "SENTE, I don't know how much you know about entertainment news. But I guess you're not a professional, otherwise you should know that there's no such thing as a 100% guaranteed headline story. Because often, things happen in parallel. Like when you got the news of Madonna's divorce, thinking it would shake the world, but then Michael Jackson died that very day. You know what I mean? So, while I believe you won't lie to me, this matter is really not that simple."

After the message was sent, there was silence on the other end.

Amy stared nervously at the screen, muttering to herself.

About two minutes later, there was a "ding" sound.

Amy breathed a sigh of relief and clenched her fist and waved it.

Sente: "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Amy Rogers: "Tell me first whose lead you have, and then we can talk, okay? Don't worry, it's just a name, it won't reveal anything. In our line of work, sometimes a name can tell you most of the story."

A little while later, just as Amy was filled with anticipation, Sente's message arrived: "It's about CHEN."

Amy stared at those few words for a moment, then her tense body relaxed instantly. She shook her head, sighed, and showed a somewhat hopeful expression.

He replied, "I'm sorry, Sente, he's a bit outdated, and not many people are interested in news about him. If you have any leads, you can tell me now, and I'll give you a reasonable price. If you're not willing, you can go find someone else."

After sending it, Amy didn't just wait around this time, but continued to look at the other private messages.

After she finished replying, she put the matter out of her mind. It wasn't until she had watched YouTube and Instagram, and finally rubbed her tired eyes, ready to rest, that she suddenly remembered it.

When she reopened Twitter, she found that Sente had sent her a new message.

"I know you're trying to haggle, but while I may not be the professional you claim to be, I'm not an idiot either. Do you think I'd believe you? The youngest Golden Globe winner for Best Actor in history, the male lead in Twilight—do you think few people care about news about Joker? Do you think I'd believe that? Since you're not sincere, then that's it, deal's off, bye."

Amy stared at the long message, completely stunned.

I felt all the blood rushing to my face.

List?
Is it this Chen?

"shit!"

Amy cursed angrily, then immediately put her hands on the keyboard and started typing rapidly.

"Hello, Sente, are you still there? I have to say, it seems there's been a misunderstanding between us. Really, it's definitely a misunderstanding..."

The message was sent, and a reply came back shortly afterward. Amy immediately breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back abruptly.

SENTE: Are you sure it's a misunderstanding?

“Yes! Jacky Chen is currently in the United States. I thought you were talking about him! I'm sorry, Sente. If it's not about Chen's news, I think we can discuss everything.”

"How much money can you offer?"

“That depends on the level of news. Nuo Chen should be in China right now. I guess you have friends there, so you know something, right? Of course, whatever it is, as long as it's valuable, I can give you at least 100 bitcoins.”

"1000."

Sente immediately increased her offer tenfold. Amy, however, wasn't surprised and typed, "It's negotiable. But I need to know exactly what it is. Do you have photos, or something else? I really need to consider whether we have a chance to get an exclusive. Perhaps you could give me some verbal clues first?"

“I’ve found a clue about where he is and what he’s doing right now. And I can assure you—it will absolutely surprise everyone. I can give you a hint: he’s not in China, but still in the United States.”

Do you have any photos?

"No, but I can give you something better than a photo."

"Do you have Chen's video?"

"You can say that."

"YES! YES!" Amy exclaimed, staring at the screen. She typed rapidly, "Could you tell me roughly what it's about?"

"No. You need to send me 1000 bitcoins first, and then I'll tell you."

“SENTE, this is a lot of money. I really need to assess it. Although I believe you won’t lie to me, but…” Amy typed out a long message and sent it over.

Sente immediately replied, "No, you need to raise the money first. Contact me when you have the money. Until then, I won't say anything."

"Please, listen to me, I..."

Amy typed a lot more.

But this time, the other party never replied.

"DAMN!" Amy waited for more than ten minutes and, after confirming that the other party was serious, couldn't help but curse.

How to do?
Her mind raced.

give up?

That is impossible.

Any entertainment reporter who hears news about this name at this time will do everything in their power, even if it means going bankrupt or selling everything they own, to get it.

1000 bitcoins is no small sum—at current prices, it's worth over ten thousand US dollars. She genuinely simply doesn't have that much money… What to do?
Finally, she took a deep breath and made her decision.

The next morning, Amy arrived at the company early and stood at the door of the editor-in-chief's office, her heart pounding. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, then raised her hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in." A cold voice came from inside.

She pushed open the door and forced herself to maintain a calm smile: "Mr. Grant, do you have a moment? I have something very important to report to you."

One minute later.

"...That's how it is. Mr. Grant, do you think I should continue to follow up?"

The cold-blooded monster's gray eyes lingered on her face, and Amy's throat went dry with nervousness.

A calm voice asked, "Are you sure that guy isn't lying to you?"

“I’m sure. I’ve done business with him before, and he’s not that kind of person.”

The cold-blooded monster nodded slightly: "How much is 1000 of those coins in US dollars?"

"12000 US dollars."

"Give me his contact information, and I'll contact him."

Amy knew the crucial moment had arrived. Although she was incredibly nervous, she still said, "No, Mr. Grant, I'm sorry. He's my informant. This is against the rules."

After she finished speaking, she stared at the cold-blooded monster.

I don’t know how long it took.

Just as Amy's heart was pounding and she felt like she was about to be devoured, the other person finally moved their lips slightly and said, "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"I am sure."

"Okay, I'll trust you this once."

Amy suddenly relaxed.

Grant continued, "I'll call finance, and you can go collect your money now."

Suppressing her excitement, Amy nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Grant."

"you can go now."

"OK, thanks."

Amy clenched her fists, turned around, and walked away.

"and many more."

Just as she was about to leave, a voice called out to him again.

Amy turned around.

The cold-blooded monster stared at her coldly and said, "I admire your courage, but I want to remind you that if you mess this up, you're out of here right now. Understand?"

"……clear."

……

"Hello everyone, I'm Dora..."

On the laptop screen, a very pretty young girl is smiling sweetly at the camera.

Even from the perspective of an entertainment reporter, this girl's looks are absolutely stunning.

however--

Amy, however, was in no mood to pay attention to any of this. Her heart was pounding, and she was incredibly nervous. She couldn't even imagine what she would do if Sente was lying to her.

After SENTE transferred the 1000 bitcoins, she was surprised to receive a YouTube video link and asked to watch it.

She opened the video and almost immediately recognized the girl's location. It was none other than the "Death Road" of Tangla Pass, which she had also walked a few years ago.

In the video, the girl appears to have just escaped death from the Tangla Pass, hence her extreme excitement.

Without a doubt, having walked that route, she knew very well the difficulty of crossing the Tangla Pass in winter, and to be able to do it was truly a remarkable feat.

But what does this have to do with Chen Nuo?
It's impossible that Dora and Chen are friends and they went to cross the Tangla Pass together.
Sitting in a Starbucks near the company, Amy patiently took a sip of her coffee and continued to stare intently at the video.

"...If you like the scenes I recorded along the way, please remember to like and follow."

After he finished speaking, the screen flashed and then transitioned to the main content of the video.

The first shot is a gray-white blizzard scene. The camera is extremely shaky, as if it was shot with a handheld device. The howling wind drowns out the microphone, and snowflakes hit the lens one after another. At one point, the entire picture is almost impossible to see any details.

Then, the camera jolted, focusing on the ground below. The snow was almost knee-deep, and the girl's voice trembled in the howling wind: "Today is our third day in the Tangna Pass. The snowstorm is worse than the weather forecast said. The temperature has dropped to minus twelve degrees Celsius every day, and we can only walk less than five miles a day..."

The camera was raised and focused on a figure breaking through the snow ahead.

The girl said, "This is Sean, if it weren't for him..."

Next shot.

It was a grayish-white mountain ridge.

The wind continued to howl, and snowflakes flew towards the camera like countless tiny blades. The girl exclaimed excitedly, "We're almost seven thousand feet above sea level now! Look how beautiful it is..."

The camera shakily pans into the distance, revealing the entire Tangna Pass partially obscured by the storm, resembling a white barrier stretching across the sky—both magnificent and awe-inspiring.

……

There are five similar scenes, which together take about seven or eight minutes to complete.

The scenery and danger shown in the video are both breathtaking.

After watching it, Amy understood why, on the channel of the girl named Dora, while other videos only had a few hundred views, this video alone had over 2 views.

But... no matter how beautiful or stunning it is, at best it will only become a small topic of conversation for the hosts and guests during their leisure time on a local radio station's late-night program.

The distance between it and the top headlines in the country is probably equivalent to the entire Pacific Ocean.

If she really spent over ten thousand dollars and ended up with this as her report card, Amy was almost certain that the cold-blooded animal would tear her apart on the spot.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, almost unable to resist going back to Twitter to question SENTE.

But in the end, she forcefully suppressed the impulse.

She recalled a quote from the blogger who had inspired her to become a journalist: "A useless journalist who only waits for news to be delivered to him will never get a real exclusive."

Although the blogger never released any substantial revelations until he disappeared, except for one rumor that many people criticized as having no real evidence, Amy still kept his words in mind.

She recalled the connection between that so-called rumor and the news story she was currently tracking.

Amy couldn't help but let her mind wander for a while.

Then, she opened the video again and watched it once more.

This time, she went straight to 0.5x speed.

"Snapped!"

After watching for about five minutes, Amy suddenly slapped the space bar, freezing the video on a single frame.

This scene was filmed during the day. The snowstorm had temporarily subsided, and sunlight shone through gaps in the thick clouds, illuminating the snow-covered ground with dazzling light. Directly in front of the camera, a man was bending over to adjust his trekking poles, and he slightly raised his goggles.

At normal speed, this was just a fleeting shot, but it caught Amy's attention at that moment.

Her eyes were fixed on the screen, on the man who had been walking in front of Dora the entire time in the video, taking turns leading the way with another person.

"WTF..."

The woman murmured.

Prior to this, although the man Dora called Sean had actually appeared on camera a few times, she never thought that this would have anything to do with that person.

Who would have thought?

Amy watched as the man raised his goggles, revealing a pair of deep black eyes and two thick, sharp black eyebrows.

The image wasn't very clear, but there was no doubt it was him.

Without any prompts, she might not be able to recognize who it is just by looking at those eyes.

After all, who would have thought that this man, dressed in heavy snowwear and walking silently through the snow like an ordinary backpacker, could actually be the superstar who, just a few days ago, wore a custom-made suit and a million-dollar brooch on the Golden Globe Awards red carpet, causing the entire Golden Globe red carpet to be cleared for him?
But now, with SENTE's reminder,
It's like a sports reporter seeing a guy whose face is obscured, wearing a Heat jersey with the number 6, sitting in a huge Hummer, with a massive championship ring on his hand, muttering things like, "I finally won, the Big Three are amazing."

Although I can't see their faces,

But with such obvious clues, if you still can't guess who it is, then what right do you have to keep making a living in this industry?

Her gaze was fixed on that face, which was mostly covered by a mask.

This is probably the person that entertainment reporters across the United States most want to know.

Each of his works has caused quite a stir, and every stage appearance he makes stirs up a storm on social media. However, his private life remains as mysterious and unpredictable as if shrouded in a thick fog.

The media knows nothing about what he likes, dislikes, hobbies, or whether he is currently single or in a relationship.

It's safe to say that entertainment reporters know no more about him than they do about a second-hand spaceship.

These are exactly what his tens of millions of fans crave.

now--

Amy glanced at the video's recording time again.

If this really is him, it means that after winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, this guy didn't celebrate for a single second, but immediately left Los Angeles and went into this icy, uninhabited area to start hiking.

What kind of spirit is this?
Thinking of the video creator named Dora, and her young, beautiful face with South American charm, Amy took a deep breath, her heart pounding.

(End of this chapter)