I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 97: The TV Station Crisis (Fifth Update, Please Subscribe!) (Patreon)

David had no objection. As long as his daughter was happy, that was good enough for him.

Emma, meanwhile, was already bouncing with excitement.

"That's awesome! What kind of show is it going to be?"

Liam only smiled.

"Keep a little suspense. You'll find out when the time comes."

Once David was sure Wolf posed no danger, he relaxed as well.

He said to Wolf, "I was originally planning to come find you with the community committee, but now that everything's been cleared up, there's nothing to worry about. I'll talk to them tomorrow. They won't bother you about the noise from your house anymore."

Only then did Wolf fully realize just how careless he'd been since moving here.

After spending so many years back home, he hadn't realized how flimsy his disguise was. He had actually thought he was hiding himself well.

If Liam hadn't vouched for him, there was no way he would have gotten through this so easily. He might have slipped up and ended up captured by some unknown faction.

At the thought, Wolf grabbed both of Liam's hands and shook them firmly.

"Thank you so much for vouching for me. You've given me a place to stay here."

Liam looked at him with satisfaction. The man knew how to be grateful, so helping him hadn't been a waste.

There were still a few things Liam wanted to discuss, but it was already late. Emma and Janice were so sleepy they could barely keep their eyes open, so Liam sent everyone home.

...

The next day, Liam went to see James with the program proposal he'd spent the entire night working on.

James, however, greeted him with a troubled expression.

"Liam, I've got several pieces of bad news. Which one do you want to hear?"

Liam immediately grew serious.

"James, quit joking around and just tell me."

"I'll start with the worst one. My wife thinks I've been spending too much time working at the TV station lately and neglecting her at home. Now she doesn't want me doing this anymore."

So that was all?

Liam relaxed and tried to reassure him.

"She's probably just saying that because she's angry. Why don't you take a few days off and spend more time with her? Maybe that'll..."

James gave him a strange look.

"You sound like you're my boss."

Then again, their little TV station wasn't particularly strict about things like hierarchy, so James continued.

"You don't understand. She's genuinely terrifying. And I really have been neglecting her."

Liam couldn't quite understand what he was so afraid of.

"What's the other bad news?"

James answered casually, "The rest isn't that important. Our station's broadcast license is just about to be revoked."

"Huh?"

Now Liam had heard the real bad news.

"What happened? Isn't the station doing pretty well? My show's ratings should be high."

James nodded.

"Your ratings are excellent. The problem is, we barely have any employees left."

"What?"

Liam stared at him in shock. He had seen plenty of people working at the station just yesterday. How could they suddenly be gone today?

James looked equally baffled.

"It's mainly the full-time employees. Every one of them handed in a resignation. The others simply didn't show up. I called them, but they just stumbled over their answers and hung up after a few words."

Liam still felt that something was wrong.

"But a staff shortage alone shouldn't be enough to get our license revoked, right?"

James nodded.

"Normally, no. But for some reason, a lot of new TV stations have opened in the city recently, so licenses have suddenly become scarce. You know there's only a limited number available.

"This morning alone, I received several complaints accusing my station of being nothing but an empty shell, a tool for running advertisements and making money."

Liam immediately understood how serious the situation was, and he also knew exactly who was behind it.

Of all the factions he knew, the only ones both capable of this and fond of such underhanded tactics were the Reptilians.

They understood perfectly well that if they used force directly, Liam would fight them to the bitter end. But if they kept using indirect methods to gradually tighten the noose around him, Liam would have no choice but to keep dealing with whatever immediate problem they created.

Liam knew he couldn't afford to wait any longer. He had to get the TV station through this crisis as quickly as possible.

"One week after a complaint is filed, they'll monitor the station's programming for an entire week. If the accusations prove true, the license will be revoked."

Liam now understood all the difficulties facing the station. They were short on staff and being squeezed by competitors. Both problems had to be dealt with quickly.

Otherwise, every plan he'd made would fall apart, and he'd have to start over from scratch.

The staffing problem came first.

He immediately thought of Taylor's classmates.

They were all students in related fields. They didn't have much experience, but with guidance from James and Liam, they should be able to temporarily fill the vacant positions.

Then there were the competing stations.

Liam was certain the Reptilians were behind them, but the people actually running those stations were almost certainly ordinary humans.

The Reptilians knew that while most ordinary people in society meant nothing to them, the death of an ordinary person could still cause a public uproar.

From now on, the methods they used against Liam would only become more complicated.

Fortunately, this particular problem wasn't too difficult to handle. As long as the station arranged its programming properly, no amount of complaints would accomplish anything.

Liam explained his plan to James.

James readily agreed.

"That's a good plan. If we can pull it off, I'd be more than happy to get through this mess with you.

"But there's still one major problem."

Liam sighed.

"I know. Your wife doesn't want you running the TV station anymore."

James nodded, still looking miserable. Apparently, as far as he was concerned, his wife was the single greatest problem in the world.

That left Liam in a difficult position.

After thinking for a moment, he cautiously suggested, "How about I talk to her?"

James immediately broke into a satisfied grin.

"That's what I've been waiting for, buddy. Make sure you bring Watson. She loves little animals."

Little animals? Watson?

Liam had no idea yet just how much weight that statement carried. He simply made a mental note of it.

Once Liam agreed, James eagerly called his wife and told her Liam would be coming over that evening.

Afterward, he and Liam began discussing the upcoming program proposals.

That evening, Liam dropped Janice off at David's house to play with Emma for a while, then drove to James's house with Watson.

James opened the door.

Before Liam could even step inside, a thunderous voice boomed from the living room.

"Honey, is Liam here?"

James shouted back just as loudly.

"Yes, he's here!"

"Then hurry up and let me see adorable little Watson!"

"Okay!"

Once their long-distance shouting match ended, James shrugged at Liam, as if to say, See what I have to deal with?

He led Liam and the bear into the living room.

There, Liam came face-to-face with an absolute giant of a woman.

James's wife stood around five feet eleven inches tall and weighed well over five hundred pounds.