William Bolton did not hesitate to choose 1. Greedy woman who bites off more than she can chew, you dare to mess with my photos? I'll blow up your hard drive.

Focusing his attention on Emily Scott's laptop, the countdown began on his phone screen: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Chapter Five: The Black-hearted Reporter William Bolton

Emily Scott's laptop also displayed the countdown numbers in sync. She was momentarily stunned, thinking the screensaver had suddenly started, and looked down to check.

Bang! Her laptop exploded with a loud noise, startling her colleagues in the editorial office. Emily Scott was even more shocked, frozen in place. The laptop burst into flames, thick black smoke billowing out.

William Bolton immediately rushed over, grabbed the fire extinguisher, pulled the pin, and aimed it at Emily Scott.

Psssh!

White foam sprayed all over Emily Scott's head and face. Emily Scott reacted a beat too late, covering her face and letting out a scream loud enough to blow the roof off.

William Bolton didn't stop spraying just because she screamed. He aimed at the burning laptop and kept spraying, then rushed in front of Emily Scott and kicked her—chair and all—out of the way, shouting, "Teacher Scott, don't be afraid, I'm here!" He thoroughly sprayed Emily Scott's workstation with the extinguisher, then turned and gave another blast at the still-screaming, face-covering Emily Scott.

This time, I'm going to make her regret ever crossing me. Steal my reputation points? I'll spray you until you question your life choices.

The entire newspaper office was in an uproar. A perfectly fine laptop exploding—this was a first.

Emily Scott, terrified and covered in white foam, was crying and screaming. The force of the extinguisher even blew up her dress, revealing her pink underwear underneath, now smeared with a big patch of white foam. She was a complete mess, and most of the men in the office saw it.

President Clark also came over to check on things, feeling a bit of sympathy for her.

How could a perfectly good laptop just explode? William Bolton glanced at the logo on the laptop and suddenly realized, "No wonder, it's Samsung!"

Everyone looked at him. William Bolton said, "Even their phones explode, let alone laptops. That's why I prefer domestic brands—safer!"

Everyone nodded along, even though they'd never heard of Samsung products exploding. But when it came to patriotism, no one wanted to be left behind.

President Clark specifically asked, "And this young comrade who put out the fire is...?"

Brian Turner, who was right by the leader's side, quickly replied, "President Clark, this is our newly recruited trainee reporter this year, William Bolton!"

President Clark nodded, "William Bolton! Not bad!"

William Bolton's phone kept dinging nonstop. After the crowd dispersed, he secretly checked it. His reputation points, which had just been reset to zero, were now at 5,000. It seemed his heroic act had greatly boosted his reputation in the office. All in all, that remote detonation only cost him a little over 7,000 points—totally worth it!

After cleaning herself up, Emily Scott went to the chief's office. Not long after, she came out with red eyes. A colleague from the tech department had taken her laptop to see if anything could be salvaged, but the inside was blown to bits, the hard drive reduced to fragments—nothing could be recovered.

This was a heavy loss for Emily Scott. Her latest articles were gone, including the photo of the big-eyed girl taken by William Bolton.

After composing herself, Emily Scott came over to thank William Bolton in person. Even though he had sprayed her in the face and her underwear had been exposed, she knew that if he hadn't acted so quickly, her face might have been burned. After so many years as a reporter, she knew what was important.

"Xiao Zhang, thank you so much for what you did just now."

"Teacher Scott, don't mention it. In that situation, I didn't have time to think, just focused on putting out the fire. Sorry for spraying you all over and dirtying your clothes!"

Emily Scott said, "Anyone would have done the same..." As soon as she said it, she realized it sounded off. She instinctively glanced at the chief's office, forced a smile, and said, "You don't have to call me Teacher Scott, I'm really not much older than you. Just call me Ms. Scott."

"Teacher Scott, your computer exploded, and all your files..." William Bolton just had to bring it up.

Emily Scott sighed. The articles could be rewritten, but the photos were gone. She knew William Bolton must have the originals, but felt too embarrassed to ask.

William Bolton was secretly delighted. Weren't you acting all high and mighty? Stealing my photos—serves you right.

He still had to put on a sincere face: "Teacher Scott, if there's anything I can help with, just let me know."

Hearing him still call her Teacher Scott, Emily Scott realized he was holding a grudge. The scare had suddenly made her see things clearly: "Little Bolton, I've thought it over. I'll help you get credit for that photo. I'll talk to the editor-in-chief."

"Thank you, Ms. Scott!"

Sure enough, most people only truly understand after they've learned a hard lesson.

Matthew Miller stood at a distance, watching William Bolton with a gloomy expression. His report on the pig farm was completely scrapped. Editor-in-chief Eric Bennett had just written a "Deep Report on the Hog Farming Market," set to be the front-page headline on Monday. He could already foresee the impact that article would have, especially on Robert Bolton's pig farm.