Princesa Mercenaria

Capítulo 19

The female anchor calmly faced the camera: "Because the reality show 'Tianji' started with an unexpected death, and then members continued to die unexpectedly, 'Long TV' felt very sorry about this. Therefore, the families strongly demanded that the show be stopped so that everyone could go home, and even suspected that the reality show agreement was forged. In particular, the families of the deceased are suing 'Long TV' in a US court."

“This—” Stephen King frowned again, “Although I’m not a legal expert, aren’t you afraid?”

"However, every participant in the 'Secret' reality show has been provided with substantial insurance by 'Dragon TV,' with each accidental death eligible for a compensation of five million US dollars. According to current information, the families of Mr. Yang Mou and Ms. Tang Xiaotian have reached a settlement agreement with 'Dragon TV,' withdrawing their lawsuit against us and receiving substantial compensation from the insurance company. Of course, most families still insist on resorting to legal action, but apart from Elena's family, the rest are all in China. They must fight a transnational lawsuit, which will take a lot of time and several months to reach a conclusion—by then, our 'Secret' program will have already ended."

"But I still find it strange that nowadays, everyone in the world with a TV in their home knows about the 'Secret' reality show. The show's influence has even surpassed the World Cup and the NBA. All the media outlets are reporting on 'Secret' world extensively. Don't the US and Thai governments intervene?"

The female anchor remained calm: "Even our President Bush is now following this 'divine secret,' or at least he's appreciative of it. Of course, we've also heard that the FBI is involved and preparing to send people to Thailand for an on-site investigation. But unfortunately, we know that Thailand recently experienced a coup, making it difficult to obtain cooperation from the local government. And the most crucial issue is—no one knows which country Nanming City actually belongs to. Some say it's in Thailand, others believe it's in Myanmar, and there are even rumors that it's in Laos. Since even the jurisdiction over Nanming City is unclear, we can't resolve this issue through legal means."

“It seems I can’t continue this conversation.” Master Stephen King shook his head slyly. “However, I have high hopes for the story of ‘Secrets of Heaven.’ Whether it’s a reality show or a performance, it would be very suitable for adaptation into a movie. I will recommend it to my friends in Hollywood.”

"Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Jin, for joining our live broadcast. We also appreciate your interest in 'Tianji'. We wish your new book, 'Cellphone,' great success!"

"Thank you very much. If possible, please give my regards to Ye Xiao. He's a great guy!"

Stephen King made a point of speaking to the camera, shook hands with the female anchor, and then hurriedly left the stage.

The master's last words sent a shiver down Ye Xiao's spine as he sat in front of the television, unsure whether to be overjoyed or saddened.

"Master has high hopes for you!" Sun Zichu exclaimed from the bed, as if his strength had been restored. "Ye Xiao! You're really lucky!"

The TV was interrupted with another commercial, this time featuring a car commercial by racing legend Michael Schumacher. Heaven knows how many billions this TV station has earned from advertising.

The girls were completely bewildered. Elena muttered to herself in despair, "God! What's going on? Has any of you signed any reality TV contracts?"

“No!” Lin Junru shook her head violently. “This is complete nonsense. We have never heard of any reality show.”

Dingding bit her lip nervously: "I never knew either. We came to Thailand for tourism, right? I only signed a travel agreement and travel insurance with the travel agency. What kind of reality show agreement is this? Listen to me, everyone, we must stay calm. This so-called agreement must be fake."

Elena was about to cry out in fear again: "They know everything about us, now the whole world knows—why aren't they coming to save us?"

"Are we just going to watch us die one by one?" Lin Junru said blankly, then touched the face of Sun Zichu, who had narrowly escaped death. "They are really cruel, including those viewers who were watching with great interest on TV!"

After Schumacher's commercial ended, the television screen switched back to the studio, where the Chinese female host spoke a long string of English words—

"Since the 'Secret' reality show aired, it has become the biggest focus of the world and has also sparked fierce debates in various aspects such as law, media, and ethics."

Before she finished speaking, the television screen showed the streets of Los Angeles, with many Americans marching in the streets holding signs. Most of them were middle-aged women, angrily throwing trash at the entrance of a building. Dozens of police officers lined up in front of the crowd, but the agitated people ignored their warnings and clashed violently with the police.

Meanwhile, a voiceover explains: The world is working to rescue those trapped in "Sky Secret." Many American television viewers have taken to the streets to protest the program's violation of their personal freedom and hope for the early release of the tour group's survivors. On September 29th, they gathered at the "Dragon TV" headquarters in Los Angeles, throwing eggs, stones, and other objects at the building and clashing with security guards. Los Angeles authorities were forced to deploy a large police force to maintain order and arrested several protesters who illegally entered the "Dragon TV" headquarters.

The scene then shifts indoors, where a group of American women, ranging from teenage girls to grandmothers in their seventies, are chanting slogans in front of the camera. They are even holding up a crookedly written Chinese banner that reads "Ye Xiao Global Support Group".

Voiceover: "With the 'Heavenly Secret' reality show achieving a record-breaking 50% global television rating, the members of the travel group have become idols in the hearts of millions of ordinary people. Ye Xiao, in particular, has won over a large number of female admirers and has become the hottest star of the year. Countless American women are shedding tears, hoping that Ye Xiao can survive the cruel reality show, and many women are sending marriage proposal letters to 'Dragon TV' hoping to pass them on to Ye Xiao."

Ye Xiao, watching this scene on TV, was both amused and exasperated. He had unknowingly become a global superstar and the dream lover of many young girls and housewives. Even if he was lucky enough to survive, his life would be completely changed.

Just as everyone was stunned, the scene switched back to the studio, where two more people were sitting next to the female anchor: a white man in his sixties and a black man of similar age.

The female anchor smiled and introduced, "Dear viewers, we now have two special guests with us: Dr. John Smith, a senior commentator for The New York Times, and Mr. Martin Washington, former Supreme Court Justice. Thank you to both of you for joining us in the studio. They will be discussing the legal and ethical issues behind the 'Secrets' program."

The television camera angles were very clear: the senior commentator for The New York Times was white, while the former Supreme Court judge was black.

The white commentator, experienced in front of the camera and clearly a frequent participant in such programs, said: "Hello viewers, I'm John Smith. I'm sure you've all been following 'The Secret' these past few days and have raised many questions for 'Dragon TV': Were the participants in the reality show aware of the situation? Is this purely a commercial performance? Should their privacy be respected? Especially when a member of the tour group died unexpectedly, why wasn't the program immediately stopped and all personnel evacuated from Nanming City?"

The Black Supreme Court judge said somewhat hesitantly, “This is not merely a moral issue, but a serious legal one. Most of the families of the reality show participants are preparing to sue ‘Dragon TV’ and hoping for government intervention to rescue them, even questioning the authenticity of the reality show agreements. However, they will encounter many complex legal issues. First, there is the transnational litigation—besides the family of American citizen Elena, who has already filed a lawsuit in California, other families in China and Taiwan will face a difficult and lengthy litigation process, as well as the challenges of different legal systems in different countries and regions. Second, there is the issue of verifying the authenticity of the reality show agreements. Although this is a purely technical problem, it cannot be resolved in a short time. Finally, and most difficult to resolve, because the ‘Heavenly Secret’ reality show takes place in Nanming City, and the accidental deaths from the show also occurred there, the handling of these deaths involves a jurisdictional issue—but as far as I know, the Thai government has stated that it cannot determine whether it has jurisdiction over Nanming City. Because in some parts of the Golden Triangle region, borders are very ambiguous; Nanming City may be in Thailand or Myanmar, and there is still no definitive conclusion. This is also why neither government has actual jurisdiction over the area.”

The female anchor nodded in agreement: "Mr. Washington is absolutely right, so we can't put all the blame on 'Dragon TV.' The law itself has some inherent flaws, but that doesn't mean we've exploited loopholes. Dr. Smith, you are a veteran media professional, could you please share your views on the media ethics issues that the public is concerned about?"

“Great! This is a topic that our media has been extremely concerned about since the ‘Secret’ reality show aired.” The New York Times commentator became increasingly excited when discussing his profession. “Should we expose so much privacy? Because the ‘Secret’ reality show production team installed tens of thousands of hidden cameras in Nanming City, almost every move of the tour group members was broadcast on television, including some private scenes. The families of the tour group members who are preparing to sue ‘Dragon TV’ are using this as grounds for their lawsuit, and many members of the public are demanding the cancellation of ‘Secret’. I think some scenes cannot be forced upon the audience—for example, the private scenes of the reality show members, especially the scenes in the bathroom, which will cause resentment among some people, especially parents who will worry about their children.”

At this point, the former Black Supreme Court Justice interjected: "To my knowledge, 'The Secret' program has been classified as restricted television in more than thirty countries, but of course that does not prevent viewers from watching it via satellite and the Internet."

"Yes, we also know that there were many death scenes in the 'Secret' program—whether these scenes were real or staged, they caused a great deal of controversy! Assuming all the deaths were real, is there any point in continuing the 'Secret' reality show? Such an accident should have been stopped immediately, all personnel removed, and the judicial authorities should have been called in to investigate. Even if we cannot determine who has jurisdiction over Nanming City, this is the bare minimum from a media ethics standpoint. If the TV station disregards the safety of the reality show participants and insists on continuing the program, will it indirectly lead to their deaths?"

Faced with sharp questioning from a New York Times commentator, the Chinese-American female announcer remained remarkably calm: "Thank you very much for Dr. Smith's comments. Mr. Washington, could you please share your perspective?"

"Excuse me! I haven't finished speaking yet!" The New York Times commentator, showing no mercy, countered sharply, "Besides my opinion on 'Dragon TV,' I also want to address the public's opinion—in this globally sensational 'Secret' reality show incident, in addition to media ethics, the moral decay of the masses is also worth discussing. Faced with such a controversial program, so much suffering and death, why are audiences worldwide still so enthusiastic? During the week 'Secret' aired, television viewers seemed to be watching a grand spectacle, everyone gleefully watching their television sets, with a dark and sordid mentality, enjoying the fear, despair, struggle, and even death of certain people! 'Secret' fully satisfied modern people's voyeuristic desires; people are tired of fictional television and movies and want to see real events, which is the key reason why the 'Secret' reality show quickly became a global phenomenon!"

“I’m sorry, Dr. Smith.”

The female anchor must have received instructions from her superiors to end this embarrassing conversation for "Dragon TV" as soon as possible.

"Please don't interrupt me!" But the New York Times commentator was still not finished. He pointed sternly at the camera and said, "Everyone sitting in front of the television needs to reflect deeply! When viewers around the world see real death, or impending death, why don't they feel sorrow and sympathy, but instead feel doubled excitement? Do we have a primal instinct—a desire to witness the death of others? Does this instinct stem from the violent desires of our ancestors? Has it been hidden in our genes, only to be realized by watching the real deaths of others because modern civilized society cannot carry out violence? I regret to say that the success of the 'Secret' reality show is a tragedy of modern media ethics, and also a tragedy of the morality of the entire public!"

He had barely finished speaking when the director abruptly switched the camera to an advertisement, and Nicole Kidman walked gracefully onto the screen…

22:30

The night of the apocalypse.

In the white, secluded room, Yu Ling hid in a corner, watching the man before her.

Despite being in his fifties, he still looked young, with almost no wrinkles visible beneath his jet-black hairline. With bright eyes, he asked in fluent Thai, "How did I come to the conclusion that you are my daughter?"

"Yes."

Yu Ling instinctively hugged her upper body tightly.

“My dearest daughter, you are all puppets in my hands, I’ve seen it all from the very beginning. You look so much like Lanna, so much so that I felt an immediate and profound connection with you, as if we had a deep inner connection; you are the embodiment of my Lanna. Later, I learned your name, and as if again, I learned many things about you, all of which pointed to the fact that you are very likely my daughter. Therefore, I must bring you here to tell you some important questions in person—and about this heart-shaped pendant.” “Please give it back to me!”

“No.” He placed the pendant in his hand and kissed it. “That’s right. This is a wedding gift I gave to your mother, shortly after we came to Nanming City. After you were born, she said she wanted to give this pendant to you, that only my daughter could have this pendant. Yes, I am 100% sure, my dear Yuling, your father has always missed you and loved you deeply.”

But Yu Ling still had countless questions in her mind: "How did you see me? How did you know my name? How did you know about what has happened these past few days?"

"Because I am God, I am all-powerful."

"My God, who are you?"

She didn't say the second half of her sentence aloud—even if you really are my biological father.

"I have already said—I am a god!" He straightened up and looked down at Yu Ling, his gaze solemn yet intimidating. "I am also the emperor of an empire, a vast media empire. This empire controls the lives of tens of thousands of people and influences the eyes and ears of hundreds of millions. People all over the world can see my empire and believe everything I declare." "But I still don't understand." "Daughter, you will understand soon. My greatest regret in life is that I couldn't bring you and your mother out of Nanming City. Your mother, Lan Na, died alone in the mountain village, and you were separated from my daughter for so many years. Even though I have obtained the world as I wished, I still cannot forgive myself for losing you! I have had many women in my life, but I have only truly loved your mother. And you are the only flesh and blood of your mother and me, and the embodiment of Lan Na in this world. Your bloodline is also extremely noble; you are the last Rakshasa princess in history."

But she covered her ears in anguish: "No, I don't want to be a Rakshasa princess, I'm just a lonely Yu Ling."

"Don't you want a father? A father who truly gave you life! Yuling, you are the only life I cherish in this world. I've lost you for twenty years. Countless nights during these twenty years, I've dreamt of you and your mother. I long to see you again. I've sent many people to search for you, but they all returned empty-handed. I was so heartbroken that I couldn't sleep at night! Now I have you back. You have no idea how complicated my feelings are. This incredible surprise makes me so excited that I want to cry!"

"Really?"

Yu Ling seemed somewhat moved, because she truly noticed that his eyes were already brimming with glistening tears.

“I’m sorry, I can’t cry in front of you.” He took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. “I don’t want to lose you again. I can also tell you clearly that you are my only family in this world, and my only heir! I’m going to take you to faraway America to live the best life in the world. You are the princess of my vast empire, and after I die, you will become the true master of this media empire.”

"Do you want a daughter, or an heir?"

She was already somewhat moved. Rather than be an orphan without parents, why not receive a father's love? In fact, since she was little, she had hoped to be like other children, to have parents who would love and care for her, and at least to know who her father was!

"Of course, I want my daughter. Because you are my daughter, you are worthy of my empire." He reached out and stroked Yu Ling's hair, gently pulling her into his arms. "Daddy loves you deeply, forever and ever..."

"But—how did you get here? And how did you find me?"

Faced with his daughter's question, he smiled and replied, "It's a miracle, a miracle that's happening, and I'll tell you about it soon."

Please tell me now!

Suddenly, a deep voice sounded from behind him. Although the voice was somewhat unfamiliar, it plunged him into a deep vortex of memories.

He held Yu Ling tightly and turned his head, only to see a face that looked older than his own.

Tong Jianguo!

Yes, he met Tong Jianguo, a fifty-seven-year-old man who, after going through countless hardships, finally sneaked into this secret room and came before him and Yu Ling.

He squinted for half a minute, confirming that his eyes weren't deceiving him—it was indeed that once familiar yet now unfamiliar face! A time tunnel rushed past them, as if their faces were gradually returning to their youth, back to the misty mountain village, back to the war-torn Golden Triangle, back to the tranquil despair of Xishuangbanna, back to the naive Shanghai alleyways of their youth—they had been separated by thirty long years, yet on this night of doomsday judgment, they reunited beneath the sleeping city!

Tong Jianguo's left hand was still in a sling, but his right hand held a gun horizontally, the dark muzzle pointed at his eyes. After a chilling silence, he calmly announced his name—

"Li Xiaojun!"

The same time.

Please allow me to switch the camera back to headquarters.

Despite the increasingly torrential rain outside the window, the two men and four women in the bedrooms on the second floor completely forgot about the downpour and were all intently watching the television, just like the global audience, immersed in the world of "heavenly secrets".

After Nicole Kidman left the screen, the camera cut back to the Los Angeles studio, where only the Chinese-American anchor remained. She calmly faced the camera: "Thank you to Dr. John Smith and Mr. Martin Washington for joining us in the studio. These two professionals provided us with many valuable suggestions. Now, let's review the history of 'Secrets of the Sky' since its inception—"

The scene then cuts to news footage, where the people in the sleeping city see themselves on camera again. This time, the transitions are even more frequent and rapid, with images of each member of the tour group, including those who have already died, flashing by like a revolving lantern. There are individual archival photos, close-ups of themselves facing the camera, and group scenes—in this city considered isolated from the world, countless eyes are watching them, and every move, every smile, every anger, every sorrow touches the hearts of millions.

Meanwhile, a voice-over announces: "Starting September 24th, the 'Secret' reality show, broadcast 24/7 to a global audience, has already broken dozens of records in the history of television and media worldwide. This live broadcast utilized simultaneous interpretation in thirteen languages globally, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Thai, Turkish, and Arabic, ensuring that all the tour group's Chinese dialogue was understandable to audiences in the vast majority of countries and regions. 'Secret' has achieved record-breaking viewership in many places, including the United States, Japan, and Europe. The 'Secret' official website has rapidly risen to the top twenty-five globally in terms of website traffic, and the video download rate of the 'Secret' program has set a global internet record. The massive traffic has caused the US servers to crash several times. In just a few days, 'Secret' has generated the highest advertising value globally; a mere twenty-second advertisement has reached a staggering price of one million US dollars!"

Hearing this, Sun Zichu, lying on the bed, cursed, "May our whole family die! We've become the TV station's cash cow! For every one of us who dies, they can make billions!"

Lin Junru quickly comforted him, saying, "Don't talk, just lie down."

At this moment, the television screen returned to the studio, where a male and a female guest appeared next to the Chinese female anchor. They were both typical British and American white people and looked somewhat familiar.

The female anchor introduced with a hint of excitement: "Now I would like to introduce two guests to our studio: J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter and the author with hundreds of millions of readers worldwide!"

"God! I'm not seeing things, am I?"

Elena leaned closer to the television screen. The woman sitting in the studio was indeed the famous J.K. Rowling, the world's richest author.

"Hello, viewers!" J.K. Rowling is now speaking to the camera. "I hope you'll follow 'Secrets' as closely as you follow 'Harry Potter,' whether you support or oppose the show."

"Thank you, Ms. Rowling. I also have a guest with me, Mr. Dan Brown, the author of 'The Da Vinci Code,' who is very popular with television viewers and readers!"

This introduction is even more astonishing. Within a few tens of minutes, "Dragon TV" invited three well-known bestselling authors, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, and Dan Brown. Either they paid an astonishing appearance fee, or the "Heavenly Secrets" reality show was indeed unprecedentedly influential, bringing these people who rarely appear on screen into the studio.

"I'm Dan Brown, and I'm delighted to be in the studio of 'Secrets of the Sky' to share and discuss with you all."

The suspense master seemed a little reserved in front of the camera, and immediately turned to look at the host. The female anchor smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Dan Brown. I am also a fan of your books, and it is a great honor to speak with you and Ms. Rowling face to face. Could you talk about your thoughts on the characters in the 'Secrets' reality show?"

"First, I want to apologize to my fans, because for the past week, I've paused writing my latest novel and spent every night glued to the TV watching your 'Secrets' reality show," Dan Brown confessed honestly, scratching his head with a wry smile. "I feel like this show is too much like a movie. Each character has their own distinct personality and background, and they're all intertwined with grudges and entanglements. Obviously, all the members were carefully selected, and it must have been after thoroughly understanding each person's background and secrets before choosing them to participate in this 'Secrets' journey."

"You truly are a master of suspense and an expert in semiotics, possessing rigorous logical reasoning abilities." The Chinese female anchor first praised him. "That's right, 'Dragon TV' did indeed spend several months preparing, first narrowing down hundreds of candidates in China, and then conducting secret screenings. Especially the establishment of the family of three and Qian Mozheng, they hadn't been in contact for over a decade beforehand, and we went to great lengths to learn their secrets. In the end, we finalized this tour group of fourteen people, including the tour guide Xiao Fang, the driver, Yu Ling, the Frenchman Henri, and the mysterious woman Xiao Zhi, making a total of 19 people."

"19 is a mysterious number in semiotics, and it has a particularly important meaning."

Dan Brown added a comment that made the female anchor nod repeatedly: "Yes, now let's have Ms. Rowling share her views."

"Oh, I am also honored to speak with Mr. Dan Brown. I have a question for the host: Was the character Ye Xiao carefully selected by you?"

"Of course, he was the first person chosen because he had appeared in many books before. His existence could lead to another important character—Xiao Zhi. We were certain that these two characters would have a strong interaction. But novels are different from reality. We also went to Shanghai to secretly investigate Ye Xiao. We felt that his temperament was very much in line with the theme of the 'Heavenly Secrets' program. He would definitely become a core character and win the love of hundreds of millions of viewers around the world."

"You've made the best choice!" J.K. Rowling exclaimed boldly. "Ye Xiao has become a heartthrob, and even I've become a fan of this Chinese police officer!"

When the real Ye Xiao saw her words while sitting in front of the TV, his face turned red, and he secretly glanced back at Xiao Zhi.

"Oh! Really?" The female anchor exclaimed in surprise, "The mother of Harry Potter is also an admirer of Ye Xiao?"

“That’s right. I know that many girls all over the world like him very much. They have even formed a global fan club for Ye Xiao. I hope he can return safely. It would be even better if I could meet him. This afternoon, I saw Ye Xiao fall from the stadium stands on TV. I was so scared that I covered my eyes and couldn’t bear to watch. Fortunately, he survived. If something had really happened to him, my heart would have been broken.”

"Ms. Rowling, could you analyze Ye Xiao's personality and charm from the perspective of a bestselling novelist?"

"Of course, he is a very emotional and charming man, capable of handling various events calmly and collectedly. Ye Xiao is a typical Capricorn man—cold on the outside but warm on the inside, with a fiery heart hidden beneath his indifferent exterior, enough to scorch everyone around him. He is very intelligent, possessing all the excellent qualities of a police officer, and he integrates rationality and sensibility perfectly. No difficulty can make him back down, no danger can make him afraid, and once he has set a goal in his heart, he will accomplish it with the perseverance of a saint. Of course, while he shows his strong side, I also discovered a point in him that is not easily noticed—vulnerability."

The female anchor turned slightly toward J.K. Rowling: "Are you saying that Ye Xiao also has a vulnerable side?"