Liam picked up the videotape.
He knew this tape would completely transform his show, and perhaps even his life.
Until now, although his show had been very popular with children, it had also drawn plenty of complaints from parents.
They all seemed to agree that the program was full of nonsense and was teaching their kids bad ideas.
But once this footage aired, public opinion would turn around immediately.
The kids would be fascinated by the real mysterious creatures, while their parents would marvel at how realistic the special effects looked.
It was the perfect setup.
But before that, Liam still had one more thing to do.
…
Liam drove back to Freetown Forest Park.
He had originally planned to return the very next day, but when he called the ranger station, he learned that the park director had taken two days off due to exhaustion, so he postponed the trip.
The moment Liam walked into the ranger station, Goldman instinctively shot to his feet.
When he saw who it was, he relaxed again.
“Oh, it’s you. I haven’t slept properly for days because of that monster. I keep feeling like there’s a cave hiding under my bed.”
“Are you here about the adoption paperwork? There’s no need to rush. It’ll probably take another six or seven months to get everything approved.”
Six or seven months?
By then, Watson would probably be hunting on his own.
Liam quickly waved the idea aside.
“That’s not why I’m here. I wanted to ask about those gang members in the forest. How did things turn out?”
“Oh, them? Nothing much happened. After I called the police, they came out and determined that the men had been mauled to death by wild animals. They also found a dead brown bear nearby, so they closed the case.”
That was more or less what Liam had expected.
As far as the police were concerned, a few dead gang members being written off as victims of an animal attack was both the easiest and most convenient conclusion.
They certainly weren’t going to investigate a bear’s motive for killing a few pieces of human garbage.
Goldman, however, gave him a cautious warning.
“Nothing else happened on my end, but didn’t you say you planned to come back to this forest? If so, you’d better be careful. The rest of that gang will probably come looking for the missing flour sooner or later.”
Liam nodded to show he understood, then asked another question.
“Do you know of any other strange animals around here?”
Goldman sighed.
That Skinwalker nearly took half my life.”
He leaned back in his chair and searched his memory.
“People have been sending letters for years claiming they saw strange giant birds and Bigfoot, but I never took any of it seriously. Oh, right. We also get some strange visitors around here.”
“Strange visitors?”
“Yeah. Most of them come in groups, say all kinds of odd things, and sometimes spend several days at a time inside the park.”
Goldman suddenly remembered something and smacked the table in frustration.
“That’s right! That new Latino ranger was recommended by those people. We were short-staffed at the time, and he was willing to work for next to nothing, so I hired him without thinking much about it. Guess you really do get what you pay for.”
Liam fell into thought.
So there really were more clues about the Skinwalker here.
Apparently, the bearded man had belonged to that organization, and had probably been a senior member.
Unfortunately for him, the ranger had clearly screwed him over.
The Skinwalker transformation was incredibly powerful, far stronger than an ordinary brown bear.
But it was still a carbon-based lifeform, and taking on three armed men alone had already pushed it beyond its limits.
The ranger, on the other hand, had obviously been a novice who had only recently gained his power.
Arrogant, foolish, and completely unaware of his own limits, he had gotten exactly the kind of ending that recklessness invited.
With that in mind, Liam made a decision.
For the time being, he would use Freetown Forest Park as his base of operations.
The place was clearly a treasure trove of unknown creatures.
More importantly, he still remembered that the [Unknown Creatures in the Forest] Event had not yet reached full Exploration Progress.
There was still plenty here worth investigating.
Goldman suddenly asked, “By the way, how’s that film of yours coming along?”
“No problems. Just wait until Freetown Forest Park becomes the hottest tourist attraction in Boston.”
“I’m too old to care about empty fame. As long as it makes money, I’m happy.”
…
Back at the TV station, Liam looked over the finished cut James had put together, and a bold idea began to take shape.
He rearranged the footage and split it into several episodes, planning to air them throughout the week.
The first episode would reveal the mysterious footprints.
The second would show one of his companions being abducted.
The third would cover the ranger’s betrayal.
Finally, the last episode would feature the showdown with Bigfoot.
Liam refused to believe kids wouldn’t love something this entertaining.
Better yet, dividing the footage this way let him build up the show’s popularity at almost no cost.
He certainly didn’t have the money for a large advertising campaign.
He also planned to run short promotional spots during his coworkers’ programs, although given how small the local station was, he had no idea whether that would accomplish much.
To make the show easier for younger viewers to follow, he would also add explanatory commentary between segments.
It had the added benefit of padding the runtime.
And just like that, a new weekly special titled Monster Files: The Attack of the Skinwalker was born.
…
A few days later, the TV station’s phones were ringing nonstop.
Countless parents who had watched the program called in demanding to know whether Bigfoot was actually real.
Liam always gave them the same answer.
“I guarantee that anything I tell you is true.”
Whether they chose to believe him was their problem.
…
The morning after the third episode aired, Liam crouched near the entrance of a nearby elementary school, quietly observing the students’ reactions.
“Hey, Peter, did you watch the latest Exploring the Truth yesterday?”
“No. Why? What did Liam investigate this time?”
“Oh my God, you missed it! They aired a new special yesterday. Liam actually went into the forest to catch Bigfoot!”
“Seriously? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have watched cartoons. Was it any good?”
“It was awesome! They actually got a Skinwalker on camera. My dad kept muttering, ‘This is so fake. None of this is real,’ but he ended up watching even more closely than I did. He even said special effects look unbelievably realistic these days.”
“Haha! Only we know it’s all real. I’m going to tell everyone else that Exploring the Truth has a new special.”
Sure enough, small groups of students were already excitedly discussing the story.
Liam was soon chased away by a security guard making his rounds, but by then he had already learned what he needed to know.
His show was beginning to catch on with its target audience.
As long as the episodes kept airing, the discussions would keep growing, and the show would become more and more popular.
Satisfied with the results, Liam was in an excellent mood.
The next week of programming was already taken care of.
It was time to get back to his real work and explore Freetown Forest once again.