I ran for president with scumbag money

"Mr. Aldo, would you mind telling me about the child sexual bribery case that never came to fruition?"

After calling the person he wanted to invite to confirm that they could meet, Leon returned to his seat and asked again.

"Oh, that." Aldo no longer smiled and became serious.

One day 25 years ago, an informant called Aldo and revealed that a child had been raped and was being treated in the hospital.

After getting the news, he rushed to the hospital, trying to get close to the injured eight-year-old girl.

He originally thought that this was a serious sexual injury case, and the culprit was the parents or neighbors, but as the investigation deepened, he found out the rumors: someone used money as a bait in the slums to take children to hotels or abroad.

Investigate further, and find nothing.

He has been thinking about this matter, through various fragmentary clues, even lived in a slum area with many children for several years, contacted them, and slowly dug out some real fragments about this matter, and once Stopped a child from being taken into the car at close range.

But not long after, the prosecutor came to confiscate all his materials, and the boss of the newspaper forced him to transfer to the front line as a "war reporter".

"Facing the thugs on the battlefield, I thought I would never come back." Aldo said, "But after 20 years, I still came back. Five years ago, I started to re-investigate.

"I have a list in my mind. There are a few names on it. A few names that will lead to more deaths when published."

Holding the pipe in his hand, he said earnestly: "I also thought about asking some 'upper people' for help, but the reality is not that easy, and I can't find anyone I can trust."

"You can trust me." Leon became angrier the more he heard, his eyes were red, and the anger on his face was almost indistinguishable from killing intent, "They dare not move, I'll do it!"

"I knew I made the right choice," said Aldo, holding the extinguished pipe in his hand, "We are all grassroots. Sometimes, only the inferiors dare to speak for the inferiors."

As soon as the door of the cafe was pushed open, the enthusiastic waiter smiled at the guests: "Welcome."

"Give me two cups of coffee, one of the cheapest and one of the most expensive here." The visitor said, took out coins from his pocket, arranged them on the table, looked at the price list, and stacked them one by one.

The waiter was secretly surprised that although this young man was a regular customer of the cafe, his purpose was only to warm up the heat. He only ordered a cup of hot lemonade every day, and sat in the corner for a whole day, typing away on the keyboard.

This was the other party's first date, and also the first time he asked for coffee.

Even though he thought so, he didn't express it on his face. He still said with a smile: "Okay, I'm very glad to serve you. Mr. Ai Ruide."

He already remembered the other person's name.

Ai Ruide blushed, watched the waiter write his name on the cup, did not leave after taking the order, still stood aside and waited.

The most expensive coffee in the cafe is drip coffee, and the cheapest is to tear the instant bag and pour it into a cup with hot water.

Just as the coffee was ready, the door was pushed open again, and the waiter said habitually, "Welcome."

"This is my friend." Edson turned around after speaking, startled, "Why are you?"

"It's too conspicuous for the boss to appear directly in public." Binny said, "It will be picked up by the newspapers. He asked me to pick you up."

Ered was a little disappointed. After getting the coffee, he handed the cheapest cup to Binny and said lazily, "Please drink."

Binny didn't know why, and after thanking him, he took a sip, and his sense of taste was immediately paralyzed. When he was struck by lightning, three large, black and bold characters flashed across his mind: "Wash pot water".

This rubbish must not be used to entertain Aldo, even he doesn't want to drink it himself.

He looked back at his phone search, and asked seemingly normally: "I heard this is the best coffee shop in State A?"

The waiter choked. Although their coffee shop has high-end products, it takes the people-friendly route. The boss asks everyone to take care of it. He can’t say it’s because the customer’s friend ordered the cheapest coffee, so the taste is not good. good.

So he could only answer: "We have a high evaluation on the food network, and the signature is Flat White."

"It must be a drip, come on, how many glasses do you want?" Ered pointed to the menu and joked with Binny.

"That's right, this gentleman just ordered drip coffee, he must know whether it's good or not." The waiter immediately took the opportunity to clarify the reputation of the cafe.

"You ordered the hourglass for me to dissolve?" Binny immediately understood, and looked at Ered with a half-smile.

Ered shrank his neck, couldn't answer the words, and simply laughed.

He was sitting in the passenger seat, wondering what Leon's intention was for inviting him suddenly.

Although his former editor-in-chief was a big scam, he was also a scam who knew how to catch hot spots.Since Ai Ruide was released from prison, the editor-in-chief ordered him to write some soft articles about his life experience in prison that were sympathetic, controversial, and eye-catching. What Ai Ruide really wanted to write was something else.

He quarreled with the editor-in-chief a few times, but he didn't want to be bothered, so he resigned naked on impulse, and lived a life of poverty and emptiness.

To say that Ai Ruide is also a straightforward werewolf without thinking, holding the cash in his pocket after paying the rent with a small thousand dollars, he began to eat a few slices of bread every day, and went to the cafe to drink lemonade to warm up the days.

The keyboard is crackling every day, but it is still very early before the finalization, and whether it can be sold after the finalization is still unknown.

When he was looking at the job advertisement and planning to find a part-time job to support him for a while, Leon called and asked him if he was interested in becoming a reporter.

Ai Ruide was very happy, and he didn't even want to agree, but now he was sitting in the car, but he was very nervous, not knowing how this "reporter" should act:

He asked himself that he couldn't do Yuji, that he couldn't be slick, and he couldn't be a little vulgar, maybe he hadn't interviewed anything yet, so he was coaxed out first.

Holding the coffee, Binny led Arrad all the way back to the office unimpeded.

As soon as the door was pushed open, Ai Ruide was shocked by this space, and stayed at the door for a long time.

Just as Binny was about to ask him what he was going to do, he heard him ask in a low voice, "Look at how clean the floor is...do you want to change your slippers?"

"Go in and change into your slippers? Shall I give you a set of pajamas and a toothbrush, wash your face and go to sleep?" Binny motioned him to go in quickly.

Ai Ruide walked into the entrance and saw Leon sitting on the sofa without smiling, and saw the bearded man sitting face to face with Leon, he opened his eyes wide and blurted out: "Aldo?"

Before the words were finished, Leon laughed, stood up and said, "Look, I knew he would recognize you a long time ago."

Ered looked at them in surprise and bewilderment.

Aldo came up and punched him suddenly. Ered subconsciously covered his head and avoided it. The old man said with satisfaction: "This kid has good reflexes, maybe he can save a few beatings in the future."

"What?" Ered yelled.

"It's nothing." Leon smiled and pulled him up, "I'll find you a job."

"What?" Ered still didn't respond.

"Attack me, and I'll give you money." Leon said solemnly.

Ered looked at him, dumbfounded.

There are three main reasons why there are few investigative journalists in Country X.

The first is bureaucratic suppression.

Often the employers who have been exposed as shady are still not doing well, and the officials first take the knife for them in order to protect themselves.

The second reason is lack of funds.

Investigations and interviews don’t end with just grabbing two people on the street and questioning them. Aldo’s method is the most typical.

Every time he wants to investigate an incident, he will definitely disguise his identity and find a way to break into it and become a relevant person.

For example, he disguised himself as a driver when investigating a taxi company, as a teacher when investigating orphanages using children for profit, and as a mentally handicapped person when investigating the inside story of the Welfare Association for the Disabled.

Peel away layers from bottom to top until the truth is exposed.

It is conceivable that every time such an investigation is launched, it will cost a lot of money and time. There are only two sources of these amounts:

Out of pocket or funded.

Aldo spent his first ten years as an investigative reporter complaining for helpless people. At that time, he basically put money into it every month, and there was a risk of being beaten. If it wasn’t because of his wealthy family, he would have chosen to switch.

In No.11, he began to turn around, investing a lot of time, money and energy to expose the shady scenes of the capitalists and bureaucrats, and successfully won a position in Time Magazine. The warm spring of income has come.

However, the cost of time is too high, and long-term investigations sometimes lose the "freshness" of the news, and the risk index also rises accordingly, which is still not worth the loss.

The third reason is the big environmental problem.

Serious news is not as eye-catching and profitable as pornographic news.As Aldo knew, in order to increase sales, many newspapers would serialize pornographic novels and comics on empty pages.

After all the hard work, the truth revealed through the investigation is not as high as the income and recognition brought by an explicit cartoon, and anyone will be disheartened.

After all, "Wei Guangzheng" who can live purely on ideals is a minority.

This is the inevitable harm brought about by the private ownership of newspapers and periodicals. In the final analysis, private newspapers and periodicals and private TV stations have the same goal: to make profits for the boss.

As for other factors, when they conflict with this purpose, they can be ignored.

After hearing this, Ai Ruide blinked his eyes, not understanding what these two people meant.

He wasn't afraid that investigative reporters would be too hard and tiring, but he was afraid that, as Aldo said, the huge investment would not be rewarded as it should be.

Adults are not as naive as children, and no amount of whitewashing can cover up the needs that people will have as they grow up.

The thing that can best bring adults a sense of accomplishment and pride, I have said that one is public recognition, that is, praise, and the other is the number entered on the bank card, that is, income.

Although he now eats bread and drinks water, he knows very well in his heart that no one can live a lifetime based on ideals, and if he wants to live a lifetime with peace of mind, he should make some plans for himself.

Now, his actions are just based on an impulsiveness that is not willing to give in. What if one day, this impetus disappears?

"If I cultivate investigative reporters secretly, the three problems will be solved at the same time." Leon knocked on the table and said, "I will protect you, I will provide funds, and I don't pursue commercial gains. I never worry about the general environment and my sense of justice It is an innate nature, after all, there are only a small number of people with bad mentality, as long as you keep doing it, more and more people will watch it.”

Ai Ruide suddenly realized: Great, so there will be no worries.

He excitedly held Leon's hand: "Yes, no problem, this is the career I want!"

Aldo looked at the two of them, just smiled without saying a word.

Leon noticed his expression and didn't say anything. It was the first time he and Aldo had met, and they needed more running-in and experience together.

At Aldo's request, Leon recounted what happened in State B again.

After listening, Ai Ruide couldn't help clenching his fists: "This is too scary. If it were me, I really don't know what to do."

"That's why I'm here to ask you for help," Leon said. "It's time to exercise the public's right to know."

"Why don't you plan to use this as a bargaining chip?" Ered asked foolishly, "If you expose all your experience in state B and use it as a weapon to attack the official altar, just like you attacked Hawk in state A Like family, then your reputation will be further enhanced, and the public will trust you more."

"Of course," Leon laughed, "but after you write the article."

Leon originally planned to deal with the helicopter, but he couldn't find time in the end.

He chatted with Ered and Aldo until late at night. He didn't like to beat around the bush and probe, and neither did Erede.

But Aldo, although grateful to Leon for taking him in, still can't change the kind of talk that "goes around, just refuses to point directly to the center" that will be unconsciously formed after dealing with big people for a long time Habit.

In order to deal with his inquisition and temptation, Leon couldn't relax.

Finally, they all figured out what to do next.

Leon wants to cultivate an investigative reporter who can stand on the "God's perspective" and release every truth to the public impartially. When necessary, he can criticize Leon or other honest people without emotion.

The purpose is to gain the public's trust and right to speak. When the public sees the truth, they will trust the publisher more and more, and let Leon release a lot of information that cannot be directly released because he is in the official arena.

Ered must not be Leon's "comrade" and "friend", at least not on the surface.In order to avoid exposure, they can even contact one-sidedly - Leon only needs to send him money and provide information.

"Am I like your spy among the people?" Ered asked.

"Almost." Leon said.

"How can I ensure that I won't be biased against you after taking your money?" Ai Ruide's ability to ask this question shows that he has really thought about it.

"Just record the facts and publish them." Leon said with a smile between his cigarettes, "Now we can see where my endurance is."

"Actually, if you announce it yourself, the effect will be better." Ai Ruide suggested again.

"I don't intend to make a temporary victory," Leon said. "I want to make a long-term plan. There is a trustworthy 'mouthpiece' among the people. If they know that an investigative reporter is serving the real people, they will say a lot about it." won't listen."

"I'm not sure if I can do it." Eredys thought about it, but he didn't think he was the most suitable candidate, "I have respect for you, Leon, you should know this. If there is something It's what I don't want to destroy, and that's our relationship."

"I am willing to give trust to your respect." Leon said sincerely, "This is the reason why I came to you, help me."

"You don't know what's going to happen if you expose it, do you?" Arred said. "You might get slammed, and Edson might come and kill you. Then, what are you going to do?"

……

They ate dinner together, and continued their research after dinner.

It was early morning when Ered finally let go and said that he "could try it with Aldo's help".

It was faster than Leon expected. He originally thought that he would spend several days on this matter. After parting with the other two, he could no longer keep his eyes open.

"Go home," said Binny, who had been waiting all his life. "Sorry, you must have been bored waiting."

"I'm not idle," Binny said nonchalantly. "I was dealing with the cigarette smell in the office."

"Oh," Leon made a grimace, "Didn't we install an air purifier?"

"Yes, but the power is not enough. I will contact them for a replacement tomorrow."

"You know, I was thinking this afternoon, I'm going to try smoking a pipe. Aldo has a lot of style with that little thing."

"I'm curious how John found him, investigative journalists don't like friendships with real people," Binney said.

Leon's expression darkened immediately, and he told him about Aldo's trouble.

"Aldo is cornered too," he concluded. "He knows I can help him."

"Really?" Binny was noncommittal, thought for a while, and then judged, "Maybe, the purpose of his coming here in the first place was not to help you, but just to help you write that article."

"article?"

"He thought you were looking for someone to write white papers, didn't you? It just so happened that he also had inside stories that he wanted to publish through formal channels, but he couldn't do anything about it." Binny said, "Why don't you use the opportunity of helping you write articles to stuff private information into the inside story?" goods……"

"Oh." Leon understood.

Once he gets the chance to publish an article, Aldo will use the name of Leon Morton to expose this sexual bribery case.

"If my purpose is really this, I will be tricked by him when the article is published." Leon murmured, suddenly laughed, shaking his head, "Old fox, I was almost moved by him."

"Aren't you angry?"

"That's why you're so angry." Leon said disapprovingly, "A good person must know how to protect himself in order to live longer. Besides, he didn't cheat me."

"We still need to talk to him again, lest he be impulsive in the process of cultivating Ered." Binny said.

The two walked to the parking lot while chatting about trifles, when Leon's cell phone rang.

"What are you doing, a call at one o'clock in the morning?"

Leon looked at the phone screen, the word "Kevin" was displayed on it, and he had to pick it up.

"Hi——, Leon On Ang—"

"Are you drunk?" Leon asked in surprise when he heard the voice that was obviously not made by a sober person.

"Wo loves you, Ni knows I love you, right?"

"...I said..." Leon was caught off guard by the confession in the middle of the night.

"So, please, I want to know how you define 'cheating'."

"Uh, we're not together, so you're not cheating." Leon asked expectantly, "So are you with someone else?"

This is great news.

"No, I just opened my eyes and found that I was locked up with a bunch of men. I was worried that maybe Ni would think that I..."

Before he could finish his drunken words, he cut off his voice.

"Kevin?"

Leon fell asleep immediately, thinking frantically in his mind that "the richest man has an accident in state A, how much responsibility should the state representative bear", especially since Kevin's call records will show who he last contacted.

"You're locked up with a bunch of men because you're in prison, you goddamn thing!" someone yelled over the microphone.

Then, a strange voice came over, as if a person picked up the phone and said viciously through the microphone: "This is the Detention Center of State A, I don't care who you are, release this drunk on bail!"

"What did he do?"

"It's too much to write down." Da Fang hummed.

"I really want to leave Kevin there all night and go to him after I get enough sleep." Leon complained when he hung up the call.

"I'll get him." Binny said, noticing Leon's intention to refute, he continued, "If they find out your identity, it won't do you any good."

"And billionaires can get drunk? Alright." Leon spread his hands, "At least I can sit in the car and wait for you."

When Binny dragged the drunken Kevin into the car from the detention center, it was already four o'clock in the morning, and Leon was sitting in the passenger seat, resting his chin and almost falling asleep several times.

"He won't come out with me," Binny threw Kevin into the back seat, "I had to hold him down..."

"His eye socket?"

Kevin slumped on his back in the back seat, singing an ugly song, and his left eye socket was blackened.

"..." Binny acquiesced, "I didn't mean to."

"We can tell him that the inmates did something good." Of course Leon knew who to favor, "Although I don't know what he did, but he can annoy you the first time we meet? It's amazing."

"I don't want to talk about it." Binny put his hands on the steering wheel with a sullen face, "Let's go back."

"Is he on drugs?" Leon asked worriedly.

"No, he passed the drug test."

While speaking, Kevin wrapped his arms around Leon's neck from behind, shaking and said, "Let's go to Silicon Sea, sweetheart, you will become a multi-millionaire there."

"Yes, I will marry you and then divorce you, and I will share billions of dollars of property." Leon pushed his hand away, mockingly, "As you wish."

"I won't marry you." Kevin smiled strangely, and Koko said, "You're not Leon."

"What—?" Leon blurted out in shock.

It's a bad idea, he shouldn't react so strongly, it will only make people more suspicious.

"You've probably drunk too much to recognize people," he went on.

Kevin muttered something, lowered his head, and pressed his face against the back of the seat.

He fell asleep.

When Kevin struggled to open his eyes, he found himself lying on a soft bed, with blurred vision and a snow-white ceiling.

"Uh—" he snorted, blocking the sun with his hands in disgust.

"Mr. Kevin, are you awake?"

Kevin turned his head at the sound and saw a young man in glasses, a bad geek shirt and jeans.

He remembered that Leon had mentioned this person, James.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Oh, nothing," James said casually, "I slept with you last night, we had a pretty wild night, I have your scratch marks on my back, and on my neck..."

"What?!" Kevin screamed, sitting up.Various expressions on his face mixed together, finally forming a huge shock.

"Ha ha ha ha--"

James admired his horror, leaning forward and backward with pleasure.

"James, shut up and stop!"

Oscar appeared at the door, dragged James away without any explanation, and mercifully ended his psychological torture of Big Kevin.

"Fuck..."

Kevin sat up with a headache and sat with his head covered for a while before making up his mind to walk out of the room.He woke up right at breakfast time, and everyone was sitting in the dining room going about their business.

"Good morning," he asked desperately, climbing onto the sofa chair closest to the door, slumped on it, "what am I doing?"

"Drunk, set fire, fight, run a red light, drink and drive, go to jail."

After a moment of silence, Binny scrambled the eggs, and without looking up, uttered a list of crimes.

"He bailed you out." Leon chimed in.

"Oh, so you're not a stripper." Kevin sighed, recalling what happened last night, "I'm really, ma'am, I'm sorry, I was trying to put money in your belt last night."

Everyone laughed, except Binny, except Kevin.

"Snapped!"

Binny slammed the bowl of eggs down on the kitchen counter, this action instantly stopped other people from teasing the matter.

James originally planned to make a few jokes, but he was as quiet as a chicken at the moment.

"I thought you had returned to Silicon Sea."

Rather than saying that Leon was changing the subject, it was more like he was trying to save Binny.

"Oh," Kevin patted his head annoyed when he heard this, "I even booked the tickets, but it was still early, so I just wanted to go to the bar for a while..."

Then completely miss the plane.

Leon convinced him.

"Freestyle," Binny said.

"Sorry, that's just who I am," Kevin said in a "what's my business if you have an opinion?" tone.

"You have a good brain, why don't you be on the right path."

"So, are you on the right track? Or are you out of your mind?" Kevin sat up slowly, staring at him.

"I thought you had a private jet." James interrupted the tense atmosphere between the two.

"I have—but I don't want people to know I'm in State A."

Kevin looked at Leon: "Have you finished your business? If you go together, I can call the plane to come over."

"It's really proud to hear a disheveled drunk showing off like this on the sofa." Leon picked up his glass and muttered.

"I think, since we are canvassing votes wherever we go, we might as well make Silicon Sea the first stop." James pushed his glasses and said excitedly.

"You just want to play," Oscar said.

"Isn't that the meaning of public funds?"

"Okay, stop," Leon intervened before the two men quarreled again, "Oscar, you go and take care of Aldo and Ered, I'm afraid they will be killed somehow. Me, Binny and James To Silicon Sea. Meera—”

"I want to stay here," Meera shrugged, "the office can't be empty, and," she looked at Leon, "before you leave, make sure you don't invite all the people who should be invited from the state government to meet ?"

"Meet?"

"I invited everyone for you," Meera said, brushing away a strand of long hair that fell by her ear, "it's noon today."

"Uh, boring." Leon and Kevin moaned and complained at the same time.