I Will Raise This Family to Greatness - Chapter 236

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 236
Caller and his colleague reporter began filming with practiced efficiency.
“George will follow Sung-guk around and film, while Tom and I try to get as close to DoubleX as possible.”
“Be careful, Caller. You know those people aren’t ordinary, right?”
“Everyone be careful. Sung-guk, you be careful too.”
“Don’t worry.”
Caller and Tom slipped out of the office to approach DoubleX, who were protesting in front of the FaceNote headquarters.
* * *
Caller cautiously approached a woman holding a sign that read her daughter Britney had run away from home because of FaceNote.
“Hello. We’re currently conducting an interview about FaceNote.”
Caller began skillfully baiting her with a fabricated premise.
The woman responded immediately to the interview.
“My daughter ran away from home because of a man she met on FaceNote! This is all FaceNote’s fault. FaceNote is the devil that corrupted my innocent daughter.”
At the woman’s words, the DoubleX followers cried out in unison.
“Sung-guk, step down! Satan, step down!”
Caller questioned the woman again.
“How did you know Britney ran away because of a man she met on FaceNote?”
“I found Britney’s FaceNote account history on the computer at our house after she left. You know how teenagers these days don’t share those things with their parents.”
“Then, could we take a look at that computer?”
“Of course!”
Caller’s prediction had hit the mark.
DoubleX was a cult where followers formed villages and lived together.
Because of this, outsiders found it extremely difficult to infiltrate, which had made reporting on them challenging.
But there were always cracks to exploit.
“Then, shall we go to your house right now?”
“Of course! Absolutely! Please find our Britney!”
The woman cried out desperately toward the camera.
* * *
Meanwhile, Mark began searching for Britney’s account.
William watched the process intently from beside him.
“Fortunately, the account isn’t set to private.”
“Private? What do you mean by that?”
William seemed to know nothing about FaceNote whatsoever.
“William, let me explain. We can’t just open personal information carelessly either. Not without an official investigation request from the police department. Right now, I’ve simply found the account of a missing woman named Britney. Fortunately, it’s set to open so that people who aren’t friends can easily access it, so we should be able to find a clue to track her down.”
William nodded at my explanation.
“I see, Sung-guk. Then, could I take a look at Britney’s FaceNote?”
“Here you go, William.”
Mark showed William Britney’s account.
Britney had posted about her daily life for quite some time, but she didn’t have many friends.
“William, if you look here, she does have friends. From what I can see, since Britney doesn’t have many friends, it shouldn’t be difficult to find the man they’re talking about.”
“Sung-guk, you can see all of their FaceNote profiles too, right?”
“Of course.”
Of course, Caller’s colleague back at the Office was recording this entire process on camera.
“William, if a man and woman who don’t even know each other’s faces have developed a connection, it might be good to check for a man actively leaving comments on Britney’s posts.”
“Comments?”
William seemed to know nothing about SNS itself, let alone FaceNote.
Still, he was a police officer, so I explained as patiently as I could.
“These are comments left on Britney’s posts. See how it shows who left each comment?”
“Ah, I see.”
William gradually began to grasp how FaceNote worked.
[I can’t tell if he came here to investigate or to learn FaceNote.]
After some time had passed, we were able to identify one man who had been actively exchanging comments on Britney’s posts up until recently.
His name was Ed Crawford.
Through Ed Crawford’s information, Mark discovered that he was a student attending a nearby university.
William was somewhat impressed.
“From now on, I won’t need to run around everywhere. I can just use FaceNote to catch criminals.”
“William, shouldn’t we go find this student Ed first?”
“Ah, yes, we should.”
As William stood up, I quietly followed along.
William turned to look at me with a puzzled expression.
“Sung-guk, you’re coming too?”
“Everyone knows I’m the CEO of FaceNote. If someone ran away from home because of FaceNote, I have a responsibility to address it.”
[Besides, I need to be there for the optics.]
William nodded.
“Let’s do that.”
“William, using a police car would draw too much attention. I think it’s better if we leave the Office without the DoubleX followers knowing. What do you think?”
“Is there a way to do that?”
“We’ll go out the back exit and use Mark’s old, beat-up car.”
Mark looked at me in surprise.
“Sung-guk, you want me to come too?”
“Yeah, Mark. You’re the CEO of FaceNote too. I can’t be the only one putting my face out there all the time.”
I had Mark lead the way.
* * *
Ed Crawford was attending a university located in San Francisco.
William was utterly dumbfounded.
“We didn’t even know he was right under our noses.”
“We haven’t confirmed yet whether he’s actually with Britney, but in Korea, we have a saying that the darkest place is right under the lamp.”
We moved to the location marked in Ed Crawford’s most recent post.
Ed Crawford had tagged a restaurant inside the university as his last location and posted a photo with two sandwiches on it.
People are truly foolish. Especially those who have fallen in love.
[Why am I showing any tells at all!]
We pulled the car to a stop and walked into the University cafeteria.
But with it packed full of students, finding Ed Crawford here seemed nearly impossible.
“Hmm….”
I took a moment to collect myself and glanced at Mark.
“Mark, log in as an administrator and send Ed Crawford a message. Tell him that FaceNote is recruiting interns from our most dedicated users, and ask if he can meet right now.”
“Do you think he’ll believe that, Sung-guk?”
William asked.
“There’s no reason he wouldn’t believe a message from an administrator. It’s an official notification from our platform. And when I checked Ed Crawford’s FaceNote profile on the way here, I saw he’s very interested in our company.”
Mark looked at me with an uncertain expression.
“Sung-guk, what should I write?”
“Hmm… I’ll write it. Mark.”
– This is FaceNote management. We are currently recruiting interns from our most dedicated users. I am visiting a university in San Francisco today. Those interested, please gather in front of the Clock Tower in one hour.
I sent the message like one of FaceNote’s surprise events.
Of course, Ed Crawford would assume it was sent to many users.
“So you’re saying to meet in front of the Clock Tower in an hour, Sung-guk?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think Ed will come?”
“I’ve been seeing journalists publish articles about this lately. They say FaceNote addiction among teenagers and people in their twenties is so severe that people can’t function in their daily lives. Ed Crawford is a young man deeply interested in FaceNote itself, so the moment he reads this message, he’ll definitely show up in front of the Clock Tower.”
I was certain of it!
* * *
One hour later, in front of the Clock Tower.
But no one appeared in front of the Clock Tower.
[How is this possible? My predictions are never wrong!]
The fellow journalist who came with William looked at me as if we’d just wasted time.
“Well… Sung-guk, even a genius like you can’t predict everything. I got swept up in your persuasiveness and forgot what I should be doing. This isn’t how investigations work. Conducting an investigation based solely on posts from FaceNote…”
Just then, Mark shouted.
“William! Ed Crawford is outside right now and is rushing over! He’s asking us to wait just ten more minutes!”
“Really?”
“Look here!”
Ed Crawford had sent an urgent message.
I shrugged my shoulders slightly.
[William, the era of conducting investigations through FaceNote has arrived!]
Normally I would have demanded that William take back what he just said, but since he was a police officer carrying a gun, I kept my mouth shut.
* * *
Ten minutes later.
A young man was running toward us from the distance, smiling just like in the profile photo he’d posted on FaceNote.
That must be Ed Crawford.
And fortunately, a blonde girl with freckles covering her face was running behind him.
That must be Britney.
Ed Crawford recognized me at a glance and nearly fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
“No way! This is real! I actually got an internship offer from FaceNote!”
[Sigh, that excitement won’t last long.]
Ed Crawford got back to his feet and approached us.
Britney shuffled forward hesitantly as well.
I extended my hand to Ed Crawford.
“Hello. I’m Jeon Sung-guk, CEO of FaceNote.”
“Oh, hello. I’m Ed Crawford. I’m a computer science major at this university.”
“Yes, I’m aware. Is the woman behind you your girlfriend?”
“Ah, yes.”
Ed Crawford, oblivious to everything, shouted at the woman.
“Britney, come here and say hello. You know that genius I always talk about? He’s the CEO of FaceNote.”
Britney shuffled forward nervously, and I exchanged a meaningful glance with William before extending my hand to her as well.
“Britney… we will never send you back to DoubleX. So from now on, listen carefully to what I say.”
A startled Britney began backing away.
“No, this can’t be….”
Ed Crawford shouted at me with an angry expression.
“What is this? You deceived me!”
“Ed, you don’t want Britney sent back to that cult den, do you? Then cooperate with us.”
Britney, who had been trembling, gathered her courage and stepped forward.
“Really… I don’t have to go back?”
“I’m the FaceNote CEO who saved you. Trust me!”
Britney finally broke into a bright smile.
* * *
“I’m the FaceNote CEO who saved you. Trust me! Bwahahaha!”
Mark mimicked me while rolling around on the floor laughing.
“Sung-guk, I think you would’ve made an excellent cult leader. It’s not too late. How about starting one?”
“Mark, stop teasing… just turn on the news already.”
“Fine, fine.”
Mark chuckled and turned on the TV.
Soon the news anchor Caller appeared on screen.
– Hello. This is the village where DoubleX followers, whom I’ve been investigating for a long time, reside.
The entire village consisted of white houses, and the only people walking around wore white clothing.
– Remarkably, the truth about DoubleX was exposed due to a picket protest in front of FaceNote’s headquarters. A DoubleX follower who even impersonated a mother to capture a runaway female follower was reported as a missing person after Britney fled with a man she met through FaceNote.
The events that unfolded today followed in archival footage.
Mark clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
“Sung-guk, does this make sense? How could they kidnap a young girl they found on the street and brainwash her into thinking she was their daughter?”
“The world is full of things that don’t make sense.”
[Just like me living a second life.]
At that moment, an interview scene of the kidnapped Britney, her face pixelated, appeared on screen.
– I thought my town was the whole world. I believed all American teenagers and young adults lived trapped inside their homes like me. But using FaceNote, I realized this world was completely different from where I lived. FaceNote truly saved me.
Mark looked at me and made the sign of the cross.
“Sung-guk, you’re the messiah of young people now.”
“Mark, there’s something more important than that.”
“What is it?”
“We’ve just proven that using FaceNote isn’t merely a waste of time anymore. And… we’ve advertised FaceNote across the entire nation through the news!”
I smiled with satisfaction.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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