Harem Streamer System: Every Crime I Broadcast Wins Me a Superheroine - Chapter 234

Chapter 234: Sluggish Performances

━ BC Medical Center, Meteor Hills ━

Scott was still lying on the hospital bed, a tired look stamped on his face. Several fresh white bandages covered his cheek, the sides of his eyes, and the bridge of his nose. A sleek black medical cast hugged his right arm from wrist to elbow.

The room itself looked far too expensive for his liking.

Spotless marble tiles, silent air conditioning, and that faint smell of sterile luxury.

The kind of place only the very rich got to bleed in.

It was quiet too. Deathly quiet.

Well… except for the television in the corner.

“The footage you’re seeing now is from last night.”

The anchor said.

“Lady Adira Crowe, CEO of Crowe Enterprises, arriving at Blue Cross Medical Center via ambulance.”

Scott’s eyes tiredly flicked up to the screen.

And there she was—Adira—being lowered from an ambulance on a stretcher, looking half-dead but still far too composed for someone who’d been blown up hours ago.

If his wrists weren’t cuffed to the bed, he would have slapped his own face.

『Fuck… I work so damn hard to make it look like she’s dead and the next thing these idiots do is broadcast her miraculous survival on national news… at least—』

He paused mid-thought, exhaled, and just gave up talking to himself entirely. No point.

The broadcast switched over to the morning news roundtable, where Konrad Kain was sitting with a group of journalists. He had that smug grin plastered across his face—the kind that made Scott want to grab the remote and hurl it straight at the TV.

“Hrrm…”

Kain folded his hands dramatically.

“I know this will earn me hate from all the unpatriotic Americans out there… but I believe this barbarous, uncivilized terrorist attack was orchestrated by none other than Nightwatch.”

The other journalists widened their eyes in shock.

But were they really? No.

This was just them playing the part for the cameras.

“Why would you assume—?”

One of them asked.

BLAM!

Kain slammed his palm on the table so hard the coffee mugs rattled.

“Ever since Nightwatch streamed his return like he was some glorious messiah we all needed, Madame Crowe has been targeted! First an armored figure tries to kill her last night, and let’s not forget—just months ago—he was responsible for stealing countless terabytes of sensitive Crowe Enterprises data! That’s illegal, by the way…”

He gave the camera a slow, smug smile.

The other journalists started to nod and murmur in agreement.

If you put two and two together, it almost made sense.

Almost.

“So what does this mean?” one man asked.

Konrad Kain chuckled like the question had been designed just for him.

“Well, since you asked… the fact that Madame Crowe is being targeted by this masked menace tells us exactly what’s going on—he’s scared. Scared of the change she and her husband will bring when they’re in power.”

A few of the panelists even smiled, as if he were revealing the secrets of the universe.

“To keep it short…”

Kain went on as he rose from his chair.

“Most of Nightwatch’s so-called relevance started in Meteor City, where he supposedly reduced the crime rate by forty percent—”

He performed exaggerated air quotes that caused laughter from the studio audience—

“But to me? He knows his career will be over if Dr. Hudson and Adira Crowe give Meteor City’s people a future. So you know what I say?”

Kain pointed straight at the camera.

“Vote Hudson for Mayor, 2045.”

Thunderous applause erupted.

･･･

In a VIP hospital suite on another floor, Adira Crowe sat propped against her pillows. Her face was blank as the same news played on a wall-mounted screen.

A thick bandage was wrapped around her head, and her long raven-black hair hung loose, messy, and tangled. Without her usual black lipstick, her lips looked pale—so pale they seemed almost unfamiliar, like a faded shadow of the woman she used to be before losing her son.

The news was in her favor. She knew that.

But she didn’t smile.

Across the room, Dr. Hudson lounged in a leather chair like it was his throne, a glass of wine in one hand and the sprawling cityscape visible through the window beside him.

His laughter covered the room like bad jazz.

“Haha! To think I was worried your assassination might derail everything—but no! It’s made things better!”

He swirled his wine.

“A few minor promises here and there, and I’ve got Konrad Kain—one of the best agitators money can buy—selling our image like gold!”

Adira didn’t even glance at him.

Her gaze slid to Nina, who stood silently beside the bed.

“Did you know about this?”

Her voice was low, but it carried that gentle authority that made people confess.

Nina bowed her head.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She took a step closer.

“But I thought I should wait until later to inform you.”

Adira’s lips curved slightly.

“Contact Kain after he’s done. Thank him. Tell him I’ll see him in person when I’m discharged.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Adira’s eyes moved to the mirrored glass wall across from her. For a moment, she caught her own reflection—pale, with no makeup, and messy hair.

She looked like a completely different woman.

A weaker version of herself.

Her fingers ghosted over her lips.

One glance was all it took for Nina to figure out what Adira was thinking. She watched her madame with deep concern, not wanting her to dwell on it any longer, so she quickly cut in to interrupt her.

“Regarding Scott… Dr. Hudson’s team treated him personally. He fractured an arm, has some minor breaks elsewhere, but his CT scans are clean. The nurses say his body’s sturdy. He’ll be fine.”

Nina bit her lower lips.

“Al… also…”

She looked like she was fighting back some words.

“The nurses seem very eager to check up on him.”

The more she spoke about Scott, the more her face would scrunch up.

Like she’d been made to drink spoiled milk.

Adira’s faint smile returned.

“Hmm… not surprising the nurses are so attentive. He’s a charming young man.”

Hudson yawned loudly, clearly unimpressed.

“What I don’t understand is… why is your captor still in my hospital? I get he’s special… most people who went through what he did wouldn’t have made it to the ER alive. But that doesn’t change anything. He shouldn’t be here.”

Adira ignored him entirely.

“If you’re so eager to talk…”

Her voice came out coolly.

“Why not go downstairs and give the reporters an update? I’m sure they’re dying to hear from the righteous mayoral candidate himself.”

Hudson chuckled and raised his hands in defeat.

“Okay, fair enough…”

He set down his wine and straightened his jacket.

Just as he was about to leave the VIP suite.

Snap!

The sharp sound interrupted everything.

“Come here…”

Adira commanded softly.

Hudson froze, his lips pressed tightly as his fist curled shut at his side. He took a slow breath through his nose to keep from sighing like a sulking child, then turned back toward her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“What’s the matter, honey?”

He asked with all the gentleness he could muster.

Adira’s lips curled faintly.

“Oh, come on. I don’t bite… a little closer.”

She was clearly trying to sound flirty, but her voice was still rough from all the yelling she’d done yesterday. Even so, the change in her tone made Hudson pause. She’d never talked to him like this before. Maybe it was because she almost died yesterday? Like a close call with death had suddenly made her see things differently?

“O… kay…”

His smile softened as he stepped closer.

His mouth started to water, and his lips parted a little as his thoughts wandered somewhere dirty.

After all, their marriage had always been more about political gain than romance.

Adira was the CEO of a massive conglomerate, and he ran one of the biggest healthcare companies in the United States.

Together, they could crush anyone in the political arena.

But this was the first time he’d ever seriously thought about doing anything sexual with her. She was usually so stiff and formal that he’d almost forgotten she even knew how to flirt.

Still, he’d be lying if he said her beauty and figure hadn’t caught his attention more than once. He’d always been attracted to her—he just never had the chance to act on it.

Until now? Maybe.

『I mean, if she lets me… I wouldn’t mind…』

He already grabbed her by the shoulder.

Then—

Her hand shot up to grip his tie and yank the knot loose with one brutal tug.

Before he could process it, she was unbuttoning the top of his shirt with a blank, almost bored face, then reaching up to ruffle his hair like she was grooming a pet.

Hudson’s eye twitched.

Rage boiled under his skin, but somehow, somehow, he kept smiling.

“I know you don’t give a shit whether I live or die.”

Adira spoke sweetly.

“But at least look the part of the worried husband who stayed by his ailing wife’s side all through the night… even if you actually spent it drinking wine, eating like a gluttonous pig, and touching my thighs when you had the chance…”

She smirked at him mockingly.

“You see a helpless, wounded woman in bed and yet all you can think of is how to fuck it… I really do believe this crappy city is suited for a degenerate like you.”

Two light pats on his cheek.

The kind you’d give a child who’d almost done something right.

Then she leaned back against her pillows as if the conversation was over.

Hudson stood there for a long second to process the insult with a smile so stiff it could’ve been carved from stone.

“Right…”

He muttered and finally turned toward the door.

This time, he left without another word.

Nina watched him storm off, but didn’t comment.

Her eyes went back to Adira, full of quiet worry.

･･･

In the elevator, Hudson’s smile was dead.

He scrolled quickly through his phone to set up a meeting with a service girl to help “relieve” some of the frustration building inside him. Once the message was sent, he shoved the phone in his pocket and adjusted his tie, with his two security guards standing behind him like a quiet audience.

When the doors slid open to the ground floor, a wall of flashes and shouting voices slammed into him.

Reporters. Photographers.

Every question thrown at once—

“Who do you suspect is behind the attack?”

“How is your wife’s condition?”

“Will you be pulling out of the race?”

Hudson didn’t miss a moment.

He confidently stepped forward like he’d been rehearsing this scene for weeks.

The wine on his breath, the slightly rumpled clothes from Adira’s little stunt upstairs—it all worked in his favor.

He looked authentic.

A worried husband, weary but still holding it together.

“I feel… guilty…”

His voice trembled so vulnerably.

“Knowing my wife was targeted because of me. I stayed with her all night… giving her painkillers, sleeping aids, assuring her she wasn’t going to die…”

His eyes glistened—thanks to a subtle squeeze and rub just before the cameras turned on him—and his voice broke at just the right moments.

The transformation was masterful.

By the time he was done, several reporters were actually wiping tears.

Even the photographers stopped shoving lenses in his face and let him breathe.

The only one who didn’t look moved was Judy Cho as she stood at the edge of the crowd with her arms folded and a glare that could’ve drilled holes in him.

Not that it mattered.

The rest of the press was eating out of his hand now.

They offered him motivational advice, words of sympathy, promising to “spread the truth.”

Judy stared at them with half-lidded eyes.

“What the fuck…”

She shook her head.

･･･

Back in the VIP suite, Nina was brimming with joy.

“Wow… I can’t believe it. Dr. Hudson really made that look easy. The reporters are already on his side!”

She turned to Adira with a bright smile—

Only to find the same expressionless look on her madame’s face.

･･･

Meanwhile—

Down one of the hospital hallways, a bored-looking nurse slowly pushed a small cart of cold food as a deep frown dragged at her tired face.

“SIGGHH~ I know it’s my job, but why the hell am I on food duty today of all days? Dr. Hudson, CEO of Standard Healthcare, is here and—”

She glanced down at the trays.

Meals meant for rooms on the 40th floor. Hours late.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a horrible nurse, whatever…”

She grumbled like a spoiled child.

“But I took this job for connections. Big-name doctors, rich pharmacists… ugh.”

Stomping toward the next room, she gave one perfunctory knock and stepped inside—

Only to find a young man standing in front of the glass doors to gaze out over the city.

Scott turned at the sound.

“Don’t worry, I just need some water—”

The nurse froze.

Her eyes widened, then her mouth fell open.

“Uh… uhm… I…”

Heat bloomed in her cheeks.

Even her brain was short-circuiting.

Scott frowned slightly.

“Uh… is everything okay?”

He waved his casted arm.

The nurse smiled in a dazed, almost puppy-like way as she nodded slowly and obediently.

“Uhm… ehehe… yeah…”

Scott sighed, scratching the back of his head.

“Jeez… can she not hear me?”

He tried again, smiling.

“I just need water, thanks?”

Her eyes lit like a switch had been flipped.

“YES! YES!”

She all but shoved the tray back onto the cart.

“I’ll get you the best water you’ve ever tasted in your whole damn life—don’t worry! And I’ll get you better food too, I’m so sorry!”

She slammed the door shut behind her.

Scott put a hand on his hip.

“Wait… better food? This is a hospital… shouldn’t all the food be good?”

He’d already decided he wasn’t touching anything they served him.

The door opened again—

This time, it was Emma.

“Emma?” Scott tilted his head.

She came in with a sour expression, still glancing back toward the hall.

“Hrmm… (;一_一)”

“You alright?” Scott asked.

Emma jerked her thumb at the door.

“Dunno, but that nurse seemed way too excited to leave your room… if I wasn’t in such a good mood, I’d have switched her sleeping aids with viagra.”

She clicked her tongue.

“Tch… bitch. (￢_￢)”

Then she turned to Scott with a sudden grin as she rubbed her palms together.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Scott grinned back.

They both said it at the same time—

“Hospital blowjob.”

Emma clapped her hands like a child getting dessert and skipped over, then dropped to her knees so fast it almost gave him whiplash.

“You’re not gonna let me wash it first?”

Scott asked, one brow raised.

Emma shook her head as she excitedly drummed her fingers lightly on his lap.

“Of course not, it’s better like this…”

She licked her lower lip.

“I like it dry and dirty~”

Her smile was oddly adorable—if you ignored the depraved intent behind it.

She was just about to pull his pants down when the door swung open.

“Oh my…”

Both their heads turned toward the voice.

And there, standing in the doorway like a cardboard cutout, was an infamous old man—

Lymtos Kazamir Panemorfi.

Chairman of the Hero Agency.

Scott’s brows immediately shot up.

『No way…』