From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

For Harry, it was a fate worse than death.

Unable to eat or sleep, restless and anxious, every day felt like an eternity. Being in hell couldn't be worse. Like a startled bird, he couldn't find a moment of peace—

TMZ had succeeded.

Since the unveiling of the new "Spider-Man 2" costume, website traffic had soared, reaching a new high since the site's inception, even exceeding the server's capacity, leading to downtime. After a year of operation and buildup, the website had finally broken through, refreshing its presence in the public eye. The name TMZ appeared for the first time on major newspaper pages.

The thing they had always longed for had finally broken through.

A single photo of the new costume brought TMZ much more than just traffic. The economic benefits of advertising, sponsorships, and brand image were beyond imagination.

Everything came rushing in.

Indeed, uploading the photo was the right choice.

However, Harry wasn't as happy as he had imagined. He couldn't be happy.

Because he was constantly worried that his fabricated identity, "Marvin Daniel," would be exposed.

Now, a barrage of abuse and curses surrounded Marvin Daniel. This alias was the epitome of a heinous villain. Even a thousand fingers pointing in condemnation wouldn't fully express the hatred coming from all directions.

Harry remained as quiet as a chicken throughout, fearing that he might accidentally reveal himself.

A huge secret was hidden in his heart, a secret that was about to devour him.

At times, Harry even resented TMZ's exaggerated popularity, which increased the threat of his alias being exposed. Now everyone was asking who Marvin Daniel was, including those within the paparazzi circle.

"Marvin Daniel" remained silent.

For others, it could be understood as the criminal suspect realizing things were going wrong and hiding, temporarily diving underwater. No movement was normal.

But for fellow paparazzi, they had faintly sensed something unusual. The impact of this news event was significant and could be called a badge of honor. Any paparazzi would be eager to enjoy this unique glory, even if it meant facing some pressure.

Those encirclements and condemnations were precisely the recognition of paparazzi work.

If this Marvin Daniel was afraid of Lucas Wood's revenge and temporarily kept a low profile, it would be understandable; but within the paparazzi circle, there would inevitably be rumors. Marvin Daniel's friends or colleagues, or even himself, couldn't remain indifferent in the face of a $100,000 reward.

The problem was that there were no rumors within the paparazzi circle.

Abnormal, absolutely abnormal.

Various opinions swarmed TMZ, strongly demanding that TMZ disclose Marvin Daniel's detailed information; but TMZ stated that they would not inquire about the personal identity of the source, focusing on verifying the authenticity of the information.

TMZ refused the public's request and declared its position openly.

But Harry knew that those rustling discussions were throwing out all kinds of suspicions. TMZ's statement could only fool the public and could not deceive true professionals. His alias might not be hidden for long, and that fear gripped his throat—

A fate worse than death.

Harry even thought that it would be better to be straightforward, to give him a quick end, to get it over with, perhaps to be relieved.

But fear held him back, so that he embraced the hope that the secret would not be exposed, and continued to suffer in the darkness.

Every minute and every second was a kind of torture.

Then, a turning point appeared—

"I am Marvin Daniel. That's just an alias. My real name is Jason Owner. I took that photo."

Someone stepped forward, claiming to be the mastermind behind the new Spider-Man costume; and the story was detailed and very convincing.

This "Jason Owner" said that he was a temporary worker in the crew's prop department, responsible for building sets and transporting various props. He just heard that the media was offering a high price for photos of the new Spider-Man costume, couldn't resist the temptation, and tried to secretly take photos, never expecting to cause an accident.

After the accident, he had been tossing and turning, tortured by his conscience, and after hesitating, he finally decided to step forward, tell the truth, and accept public criticism.

The ins and outs were particularly clear and very convincing.

Moreover, things had changed slightly.

Originally, it was "Paparazzi resorting to any means for news, becoming another tragedy of entertainment to the death," but now it was "A temporary worker on the crew was blinded by greed and created an accident. Although it was a tragedy, it was also infuriating and regrettable, but the severity of the incident didn't seem to be so exaggerated."

The accident, once again, became "an accident."

Harry: ? ? ?

Who was that Jason Owner?

Others aside, Harry knew that Jason Owner was talking nonsense, not a word of truth; but the point was that now there was a scapegoat to shift the focus. Should he obediently shut up and make a fortune in silence?

The whole world was spinning, and Harry had no idea what storm he was caught in, but he only felt that he was controlling less and less.

Just as Harry was hesitating, "Jason Owner" couldn't hold on for long, and his alias was exposed—

The seemingly seamless story was actually full of loopholes.

Sets? Props?

Let's put aside the fact that everything was ready when the crew started filming that day, and there was no need to transport props or have temporary workers coming in and out; simply saying, where would a temporary worker in the crew get the funds to buy professional photography equipment? The logic behind this didn't make sense.

Because professionals could see that the published photos of the Spider-Man costume were very professional in terms of angle, composition, light, and image quality. Amateurs without equipment or experience would find it difficult to complete the shooting.

According to Jason, he just took a picture casually and prepared to sell it to pay off debts, but the final work was obviously not like that.

Of course, at this time, someone might say, maybe Jason was an experienced amateur photography enthusiast with dreams? Maybe Jason was a photography genius?

So, the excavation around Jason began, and things had gone off track.

Originally, it was thought that someone would step forward and admit that he was the mastermind behind the scenes, and the public would find an object of condemnation to vent their anger, and things would end there; but now Jason's words and stories were being questioned. Not only did conspiracy theorists believe that there was a truth behind it, but the public also gradually realized that things were not so simple, and they could vaguely smell the restlessness of an impending storm.

The mixed voices continued.

A scene of chaos—

All of this, no one had expected, Michael hadn't expected it, Harry hadn't expected it, Anson and Eve hadn't expected it either. One accident after another was disrupting the overall layout.

Then, without waiting long, the all-powerful paparazzi dug out the truth.

Harry - Percy, this name appeared in the public eye for the first time.