Chapter 447
The story of the boy and Mico attracted a huge following, and it wasn’t long before someone dug up that Timothy was actually from Stapleton Tech’s R&D department and that Mico was from the same batch as the robot that had recently injured a hotel guest.
This quickly led to a flood of questions and even abusive comments. Judging by the organized nature of the attacks, it was obvious they’d hired trolls.
“Negative attention is still attention. We ignore it and continue releasing the videos according to plan,” Penelope told her colleagues in the crisis management team.
The series was only thirteen episodes long. As the twelfth episode was airing, Penelope arranged an in-person meet-and-greet.
The event was held in a park, and by the time Penelope and her team arrived, it was already swarming with fans.
When Timothy and Mico got out of the car, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Amidst the excitement, Timothy had Mico perform a variety of tricks, pushing the atmosphere to a new high again and again.
Inside the car, Penelope and her team monitored public opinion in real-time.
The meet-and-greet was going smoothly. Just as it was about to conclude, several young men suddenly rushed the stage. Security couldn’t stop them in time, and they began smashing Mico with iron bars.
Timothy tried to intervene but was held back by two of them, forced to watch as Mico’s body was dented and crushed.
Caught off guard, Penelope rushed down with her colleagues to help.
Once the fans realized what was happening, they also stepped in.
The young men, having accomplished their goal of destroying Mico, quickly fled.
Penelope pushed through the crowd to find Mico completely mangled, its parts scattered and its motherboard sparking and sizzling. She felt the same sense of loss and pain as the fans, but no one was more heartbroken than Timothy.
Just then, Mico suddenly stood up again and began swinging its iron-bar-like arms wildly.
Fans scrambled to get out of its way, terrified of being hit.
The robot had malfunctioned and was no longer safe.
“Timothy, shut it down!” Penelope shouted.
Timothy tried to approach, but Mico was swinging its arms too fast for him to get close.
At that moment, Mico’s screen flickered back on, a clear sign of a malfunction.
“Valued guest, I have malfunctioned due to damage! Please stay away! Please stay away!”
It was trying to control itself but couldn’t.
As more sparks flew from its motherboard, it staggered and collapsed. Loose parts fell to the ground, and Mico shut down completely.
Seeing this, many fans began to cry.
Mico never wanted to hurt anyone. Even after being deliberately attacked, it had done its best to control itself and protect the guests.
Back in the lab, Penelope watched Timothy, who was silently working on repairing Mico, feeling immense sympathy and guilt.
“Timothy, our security was inadequate. I apologize.”
Timothy shook his head. “I’ll fix Mico.”
His words made Penelope’s eyes light up.
“You really can?”
“I definitely can.”
Not wanting to disturb him, Penelope headed back to the Stapleton Tech office building.
The moment she stepped into her office, the head of the crisis management team rushed in excitedly.
“Ms. Laurier, the video of Mico being attacked and then warning everyone to stay away has surpassed a hundred million views! It’s at the top of the trending charts on every video platform. Fans and the general public alike are voicing their support for Mico.”
Penelope was stunned for a
moment. This was the effect she
โวเ
had wanted, but she never expected it to be achieved through s such
unfortunate accident.
“We proceed with the plan!”
Riding the wave of public support, Penelope went to the LUNA Group.
“Mr. Temple, long time no see.”
Mr. Temple quickly stood up and welcomed Penelope in. “Ms. Laurier, to what do I owe the honor of this visit? I’m truly flattered.”