I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 130: Preparations for the Show (Patreon)

In the office, James said,

"I think it's time for us to expand. People from other parts of the city have already started coming here to borrow videotapes."

"Don't we need to wait for the review to finish?"

James gave a dismissive laugh.

"Anyone who calls me a fraud running fake ads now would get laughed out of the room."

Liam nodded, unsurprised by the outcome.

Their recent programs had been so successful that he didn't even need to check the numbers to know their ratings were steadily climbing.

James continued,

"The biggest problem we're facing right now is that upgrading the transmission tower is going to cost a lot of money."

He pulled out a quote.

"I had an engineer estimate it before. If we keep the existing tower and install a new transmitter and antenna, then factor in installation and labor, it'll cost around eighty to ninety thousand dollars."

"Eighty to ninety thousand? That much?"

The number genuinely shocked Liam.

With how successful their shows had been, he'd assumed upgrading the equipment would be a relatively minor expense. He hadn't expected it to cost so much.

James shook the quote in his hand.

"And that's the cheapest option. If you want people in neighboring states to be able to watch our programs too, adding another zero might not even be enough."

Liam thought for a moment.

"Isn't cable TV pretty popular now? Could we get onto that?"

"That's even more unrealistic. A tiny station like ours doesn't have enough influence to get a seat at that table. We can't just decide to join a cable network."

Liam nodded, then thought of something.

"In that case, are there any specific requirements for the upgraded equipment?"

James gave him a strange look.

"Probably not. As long as it increases our broadcast range, that's all that matters. Do you know someone who can get the equipment?"

"I happen to know some people who are very good at building knockoff equipment."

The Eastern European gang.

Balankov looked over the quote Liam handed him and scoffed.

"This is child's play. I could grab almost anyone here and have them build it."

Then he pointed at one of the listed charges.

"And look at this estimated construction time. It wouldn't even take two months to build an entirely new transmission tower. Leave this to me. I'll make sure it's done properly."

Liam nodded.

He'd known these people would have the skills for this.

"So how much is it going to cost?"

Balankov waved his hand.

"Nothing!

"I heard about you exposing those pretentious Vampires. More people should know what those bastards are really like. Even if you hadn't asked, I'd still want to help upgrade your equipment."

Liam hadn't expected to get such a good deal and was glad he'd decided to ask.

Balankov continued,

"But I do have one condition. I'm planning to start a game studio to sell the blockbuster games we've developed ourselves. When the time comes, I want you to advertise them for free."

"No problem. Easy enough."

After Liam left, Balankov handed the quote to one of his men.

"Put together a working version of everything on this list. Take whatever parts you need from my warehouse."

There was no way he was actually going to spend money doing charity.

He already ran a recycling yard, and it was full of discarded machinery.

His subordinate glanced over the list and sighed.

"Boss, this equipment isn't cheap."

"Don't we already have the parts?"

"Yeah, but those machines are worth quite a bit even if we just strip them down and sell the components."

Balankov kept an indifferent expression.

"This is about supporting our allies. The louder their voice becomes, the better our lives here will be."

Damn it. More money down the drain.

Feeling the sting, he asked,

"By the way, how much would it cost to advertise our game?"

"During prime time? At least fifty or sixty thousand."

That wasn't so bad.

Balankov immediately felt a little better.

"Boss, one more thing. Has our game been licensed yet? If we're already talking about advertising it..."

"What license?"

"To officially sell the game, we need authorization from the console manufacturer. Boss, you seriously didn't know that?"

Balankov slapped a hand against his forehead.

How had he forgotten about that?

...

In Freetown Forest.

Liam was directing Bob and Bobby as they built a log cabin.

This upcoming program would be a massive outdoor live-action production, which meant they needed a huge number of props.

The Eastern European gang had already started assembling the broadcasting equipment by hand. According to them, once the station upgrade was finished, the signal would cover almost the entire state.

By then, his new program should also be ready.

If everything went according to plan, he could use it to make the TV station known throughout the state.

Thinking about that, Liam turned and called out,

"Kids, how's the training going?"

Off to the side, the children were going through various exercises.

To prevent accidents during the program, any child taking part needed to have enough stamina to handle it.

"No problem, Liam."

Wilbur answered with a smile.

He had just run a long lap around the area and done several dozen pull-ups, yet he could still answer without sounding winded.

Compared to the frail boy Liam had first seen in the barn, he seemed like a completely different person.

Liam watched him with satisfaction.

No matter what else happened, being healthy was what mattered most.

"I... I have a problem."

Emma, on the other hand, wasn't doing nearly as well.

She was panting hard from the running, and her legs were trembling.

If her father hadn't promised to give her anything she wanted as long as she participated in the program, there was no way she would've come here to train.

"It's fine. If you're tired, take a break."

Liam reassured her.

This wasn't a concentration camp. They only needed enough training to be prepared.

The children immediately relaxed, dropping onto the ground and resting in the breeze.

Wilbur came over and asked curiously,

"What kind of show are we going to be in?"

Liam gave him a mysterious smile.

"You'll find out when the time comes. It wouldn't be any fun if I told you now."

For some reason, Wilbur started smiling too.

Emma spoke from nearby, still sounding annoyed.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up. Only little kids like that kind of stuff."

She was still holding a grudge over the ice cream from before. She normally didn't even eat things like that.

Wilbur simply shook his head.

"No. I'm just happy I get to run around out here with my friends. Just being together in the sun is enough for me."

Emma stared at him for a moment.

Liam explained,

"Emma, you have a good family. A lot of people would envy what you have. You need to remember that most people aren't fortunate enough to grow up under the same circumstances."

Emma nodded vaguely, then looked at Wilbur.

"Can you tell me about what happened to you?"

"Sure."

Wilbur wasn't ashamed or saddened by his past.

He calmly told her what he'd been through.

Liam watched the two of them talk, satisfied with how they were getting along.

Then he heard Bob call out.

"Come over here for a second. Something's wrong."

Liam walked over curiously.

What could Bob and Bobby possibly have run into that even they couldn't handle?