130. Chapter 130: Public Opinion Reverses! Dead Men Tell No Tales!
Meanwhile, Billy had indeed messed things up. Before the CIA rescue arrived, The Female in the ship's cabin used a can to cut through the ropes and bandages.
Under The Female's telekinesis, the anchor flew out of the sea. Although it didn't hit Billy, it smashed the helicopter in the air, causing it to crash into the sea. Watching the helicopter crash into the sea, all Hughie could do was throw the few lifebuoys they had on the ship.
Compared to Hughie, Billy couldn't care less about the lives of the Police. Seeing The Female jump into the sea and disappear, he immediately started the engine and fled.
There was nothing he could do, so he contacted Mallory again, only to be mocked by Mallory, who said Billy's superpower was messing everything up.
Given the current situation, she couldn't send anyone to support Billy. She could only tell Billy to figure it out himself, catch The Female again, and bring her to the CIA's base in New York City.
The scene shifts to Stan Edgar.
He lowered his gaze to look at the wristwatch on his wrist, then raised his eyes to look at the crowd: "You all know the current situation at Vought. Let's hear your thoughts. How exactly can we reverse the public opinion?"
As Stan Edgar finished speaking, the people around the meeting table looked at each other and fell silent.
Finally, it was Keith Kock, the head of the Legal Department, who couldn't stand Stan Edgar's intense stare any longer and spoke up to break the eerie atmosphere.
"Currently, the public opinion unfavorable to Vought is escalating, and the CIA has already filed criminal charges against us. The public opinion probably cannot be changed. We can only minimize Vought's losses, but this will require Vought to pay a large amount of money and some political contributions."
Keith Kock's meaning was very subtle: he wanted to pay hush money to silence the Media and then seek assistance from high-ranking Government officials to help suppress the public opinion.
In fact, normally, his plan would be perfectly fine. This is the preferred solution for most companies when faced with negative news.
Unfortunately, this was not the answer Stan Edgar wanted to hear.
"Franco, I'd like to hear your thoughts." So Stan Edgar turned his gaze to Rush Franco, the head of the publicity department.
Rush Franco said with a troubled expression: "Keith's plan definitely won't work. The reason public opinion has escalated so quickly is likely due to Government assistance. I've contacted the heads and deputy heads of those News Media outlets. Although they didn't state the specific reason, we can infer that the US Government is pushing this from behind."
"If we try to resolve the public opinion issue from a publicity angle, it will only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. The current public opinion has been hyped up too much. Even if Leonardo DiCaprio died in an airplane crash, no one would care. We are currently the center of attention across the United States. It's very difficult to shift the public's attention elsewhere."
"How about I dig up some negative news about a few celebrities and hype it up? Like tax evasion or something, see if that has any effect?" Keith Kock coughed nervously twice.
"Don't waste time. The longer this drags on, the greater Vought's losses will be."
Stan Edgar tiredly took off his glasses and picked up the espresso next to him for a sip. As the President of Vought, he couldn't show fatigue at this critical moment, because he knew very well that if even he felt this matter was unsolvable, the morale of his subordinates would definitely collapse.
Besides, he had already thought of a countermeasure.
"Mr. Jervis, it's your turn to speak."
In his opinion, this was the only downside to Mr. Jervis; he didn't like to speak proactively. However, this might be related to him being Asian. Asians seemed to be a bit "shy" and didn't like to stand out, almost unnervingly steady. Seeing Stan Edgar's calm eyes, Xia Shang knew he already had an idea in mind; he just wanted to test him.
Seeing everyone's gaze turn to him, Xia Shang spread his hands and said with an innocent expression: "What does this have to do with Vought? Didn't Madelyn Stillwell do it all? Vought wasn't aware, Vought is also a victim."
A collective gasp of cold air echoed throughout the Meeting Room. Their eyes were particularly shocked, and also filled with immense admiration. They had truly witnessed what it meant to be thick-skinned and what it meant to twist the facts today.
They were really taking advantage of the fact that dead people can't speak.
But it had to be said, this solution was perfect. Anyway, the person was dead, so they could pin whatever blame they wanted on her.
Madelyn Stillwell couldn't possibly lift the coffin lid and come out to refute them.
"Mr. Jervis, based on my understanding of you, there should be more than just this, right?" A genuine smile appeared on Stan Edgar's face. He encouraged Xia Shang with his gaze to continue speaking.
Xia Shang nodded, following his gaze, and continued: "Shifting all the responsibility to Madelyn Stillwell is just the first step. If I remember correctly, Vought should have signed non-disclosure agreements with the parents of those Supes. Now they are all eager to cut ties with Vought. We can use the threat of lawsuits to pressure them."
"Have them tell the Media that Madelyn Stillwell approached them with the non-disclosure agreement, and that Madelyn Stillwell told them they would have to pay a large penalty fee if they leak information. Therefore, they could only claim ignorance about Compound V."
"Second, package ourselves as victims. Have The Seven come out and accuse Madelyn Stillwell. At the same time, assure the public that Vought will use Compound V legally and reasonably. Vought is willing to give children from poor families an opportunity that can change their life. If the United States defines Compound V as an illegal drug."
"We can provide evidence that the Army is also using Compound V."
"In addition, Vought will establish charitable childcare centers, as well as elementary, middle, high schools, and even universities. We will only admit Supes and will provide a substantial student aid fund to those from impoverished families..."
"Wait, I have a question."
Rush Franco raised his hand, interrupting Xia Shang's remarks.
Xia Shang smiled, gesturing for him to speak.
"But Vought cannot afford so many Supes. Besides, is such a large investment of funds really necessary? This will reduce Vought's profits, and I'm afraid the Shareholders won't agree. Also, how can we ensure Compound V doesn't leak information? As far as I know, Compound V is extremely harmful to adults."
Rush Franco's words were met with approval from the others. They wanted to know how Xia Shang would solve these problems.
Even Stan Edgar on the side felt that Xia Shang was taking too big a step at once. The immediate priority was to reverse public opinion, not to popularize Compound V.
The risk of doing so was too high and completely unnecessary.
(end of chapter )