Chapter 524 167: Super Earth. Our Home
The advertisement shooting went exceptionally smoothly. Although all the actors were temporary, this didn't require much acting skill, as most of the roles just appeared wearing helmets striking poses. Only the specialized actors and the protagonist needed to show their faces.
Some people are naturally gifted in acting, or rather, maxed-out acting skills, and the hacker players involved in the post-production were working with full enthusiasm, so the published footage came out quickly.
Logically speaking, hackers are hackers; their skills don't really match with effects modeling or rendering. However, in the three-dimensional cyberspace, hackers can also manipulate data to complete modeling. This is inherently a world of information, not to mention the company now has some superb editing masters operating procedures to apply, making cooperation extraordinarily efficient.
On Night City's subway, the Truth Department was grinning with delight watching the ad playing on the terminal.
The ad begins with English in white letters on a gray background, which translates to
[Super Earth Truth Department]
[Please adhere to the following patriotic service announcements. Lack of concentration will be deemed treason.]
[Thank you for your cooperation]
As the initial warning screen ends, the Super Earth government emblem flashes on the screen, lingering for 2 seconds, followed by an overhead view of Night City from space, with the edge gradually revealing a blazing sun as the Earth rotates. Accompanied by Brother Dao's standard yet deep English broadcast voice:
[Super Earth]
[Our home]
[Water source pollution (real footage of the toxic lake south of Night City)]
[Animal extinction (real footage of numerous animal carcasses)]
Following this, a slideshow appears, rapidly flashing images of couples meeting, falling in love, marrying, having children, and children growing up. The women's faces in these photos are covered with white light to prevent it from being apparent they were Photoshopped in, and most conspicuous is the barrel-like item resembling a sales product from [True Water] Corporation, prominently positioned at the center. The sequence ends at the image of the child growing up nearly reaching adulthood.
The scene shifts to the Truth Department walking down a street in Santo Domingo, casually holding a freshly ordered small cake, strolling towards home, even leisurely greeting hoodlums engaged in gunfights and drug use on the streets.
"Hey, how are you?"
The hoodlums responded kindly, "Get lost, idiot."
[Voiceover: And all of this ultimately descended upon us]
The Truth Department pushes open the door, only to be greeted by the giant's face, notorious for drawing stares from passersby on the street, slumped lazily on the sofa picking his nose.
It's exactly... no, it should be said just like an imbecile!
Still holding that bottle of water.
The Truth Department suddenly drops to its knees, exaggeratedly clutching its head and yelling: NO! My family! My child!!! NO!!!
The cake also falls to the floor, becoming scattered to bits.
The frame then freezes on those two abstract and exaggerated faces of the Truth Department and the giant.
The Truth Department steps out from the side of the frame, but this time his expression becomes very natural, seemingly speaking to the audience outside the frame.
"Heh, recognize this?"
"The polluted water source and unclean drinking water are making our children deformed, prone from an early age to various diseases."
The implication is clear that the giant in the footage became mentally impaired because of drinking the company's water.
"Scenes like these are currently happening all over the Earth."
He smiles, pointing at the screen.
"The next victim might be your child."
"Unless you make the most important decision of your life."
Bang
He snaps his fingers, and the scene changes accordingly. The Truth Department is already donned in a cloak cockroach Power Armor, the background becoming the shaking Horizon Corporation logo.
He holds an unassuming-looking water bottle, even shaved a buzz cut, his expression serious.
"Choose truly clean drinking water."
"Prove to everyone you have the strength and courage to pursue health."
He twists open the cap, gulps down the entire bottle of mineral water. The camera zooms in for a close-up, entering through the throat beneath the skin. The transparent colorless water suddenly morphs into six soldiers in cloak cockroach Power Armor, skydiving to the ground without any protection, surrounded by flames generated from high-speed friction with the air.
"Join our ranks."
Upon descending to the ground, the Truth Department and his comrade burst out of the smoke, wielding rifles and machine guns to engage in close combat with bizarre-shaped biochemical monsters, blasting them into pieces, fluid splattering everywhere.
If one looks closely, they'll find these monsters are marked with the hues or chemical formulas of numerous water pollutants, even some company's deformed logos.
Brother Dao's voice suddenly becomes enthusiastic.
"Choose Super Earth's strict selection; choose to become part of healthy humanity."
Boom——
The giant loads a rocket launcher mounted on his back, firing a mineral water bottle, obliterating a huge monster, splattering green liquid all over him.
"Horizon Corporation's new purification technology, selected from last century's tourist hotspot Big Sur water sources, ninety-nine purification processes, ensuring pure water to guarantee your family's health."
A2 and 2B, clad in Power Armor, wield long knives, battling their way up the mountain amid monster encirclement, and eventually, under the sunlight, plant Horizon Corporation's flag on the mountain peak. As the camera pans out, you'll notice the entire mountain and monster corpses collectively form a mineral water bottle.
The specific company name need not be mentioned, and every frame has text detailing what illnesses these pollutants cause, darkly hinting at something sinister.