Although the livestream had arge audience, the feed was cut quickly, limiting


    the initial spread. With Seth''s resources, suppressing the story wasn''t difficult. And given how much he cared for Bianca, he would spare no expense to clear the path for her.


    That was exactly what infuriated ire. "That''s Jerk Seth for you! Always cleaning up other people''s messes! All those years you spent on him were aplete waste!"


    Noreen couldn''t have agreed more. "You''re right. I used to think that if you were good to people, they would be good to you in return. Now I realize it''s better to just be good to yourself. No middleman to take a cut."


    ire could tell that Noreen had truly moved on, and she was genuinely happy for her. Still, she had to ask, "Do you have any regrets?" After all, it had been seven years of her life.


    Noreen thought for a moment. "There''s no such thing as regret, only misced hope."


    "That''s my girl," ire said, her voice full of admiration. "Anyway, this is still worth celebrating! If you''re free,e pick me up at the airport! If not, I''ll just show up at your ce and y house elf!"


    "If you''reing back, I''m always free."


    "Best friends for life!"


    Noreen assumed Seth would be able to contain the incident, but she


    underestimated how quickly things could spiral. The next morning, the fireworks story exploded onto social media.


    *Aetheria* was met with a massive boycott and a flood of negative reviews. Users swarmed the game''s official website, condemning thepany''s irresponsible behavior until the servers crashed. The game,


    which had beer onling for less than


    twenty-four hours, was reported so many times that it was taken down from app stores. Its fall was as swift and spectacr as a shooting star. <fna75d> Latest content published on F?nd-Novel</fna75d>


    It all felt strangely familiar.


    Thepany had attempted damage control, issuing an apology and promising to take full responsibility, but the public wasn''t buying it. Netizens dug deeper, not only exposing thepany behind the game but also dissecting the gantes content. What they found was shocking. Aetheriaster-stage plot was rife with


    violence, gore, sexually suggestive themes, and even deeply offensive and unpatriotic content.


    These were highly sensitive issues that crossed a line no one was willing to


    forgive. That was why the game was removed so quickly, with almost zero chance


    of ever making aeback. Thepany would now face massive fines and potentialwsuits.


    But in the immediate aftermath, an even bigger crisis was brewing. The inte sleuths had not only gged the game''s content but had also uncovered its primary investors. Ascendancy Group held thergest stake, followed by Seymour Group. Bothpanies saw ther stock prices plummet. Ascendancy Group suffered the most, with its stock dropping four percent, wiping out nearly a billion dors in market value. Seymour Group, already on the brink of being delisted due to poor performance, was now facing total copse.


    At the airport, Noreen waited for ire at the arrivals gate, but she was nowhere to be seen. Just as Noreen was about to call her, amotion erupted near the VIP exit.


    Someone in the crowd was shouting, "It''s you! You greedy businessmen! You''ll do anything for a profit! Do you have any idea what those fireworks did to the local ecosystem? That''s protectednd! What were you thinking, setting off explosives there?"