As Aiden was carried to the hospital, the episode of 'The Million Dollar Game' was going to be broadcasted. The episode had been edited carefully by the program team and they had done their best to not have any leaks.
If people got to know that a celebrity won a million dollars in the game, it was going to be picked up by major news agencies and would spread.
Because of that, the program team had given special instructions to everyone who was present there during the shoot, especially the celebrities.
There were cases of them blabbering their mouths.
Before the broadcast, only the regular fans of the show were waiting for it. They have had it since earlier seasons and it has now become a part of their lives.
On a forum, they were talking about it while waiting for the episode to air.
[Black Mermaid: Today is that celebrity special right? I really wonder if any celebrities even need money. Most of the time they earn a lot more than the average guy out there.]
[Twerking CGI: I guess the money would go to various charities. They are promoting it saying it's for a good cause, a try to get the ratings to go up but the show is already running for years and the ratings are still above average. A lot of people just move on after a few seasons. Not like it's a TV series.]
[Shivaaa: Well, we are here talking about the show, so we have not moved on.]
[Daddy Kratos: Who wants to bet that most celebrities would barely reach the 50k dollars mark. I read the cast and most of the people coming are pretty young. If there were old, experienced celebrities, I would expect more.]
[Cancel cancel culture: I think a few would earn more than that. They have lifelines and their teams would probably make them study hard if they appear on it. Agencies care a lot about how their artists are perceived until the artist itself is someone who doesn't care and wants to make a fool of himself.]
[Assassin Aiden: Let's just see how it is. The episode is starting in five minutes.]
The fans talked like that, having no clue of what was going to hit them. As the broadcast started with the famous theme of 'The Million Dollar Game', a lot of people tuned in, wanting to see how the episode was going to be.
A lot of them were just fans of Nicolas Roberson and his hosting. It was one of the vital parts of the show for a reason.
***
As the show began, families got together to watch the show. The game show was something that was originally made for families to watch together after a day's work and it had still sustained itself in that regard.
Currently, a middle aged couple was watching the show on their sofa.
The husband was a policeman and his wife worked as an editor in a small magazine. Both of them had busy lives and it was after a long time that they were able to sit together to watch the game show.
"Not one of them looked like someone who could win a million dollars. They don't have that greed in their eyes."
The husband said, squinting his eyes to watch the contestants' faces closely.
"I think they need knowledge more than greed."
"If they are greedy, they would find one way or another to get the prize. Desperation helps."
"Just watch the show."
Both of them stared at the TV as Nicolas Roberson brought Liz, the first contestant on the show and she started off pretty well.
There was confidence in her eyes and it was clearly visible to the audience. Suddenly, the husband's eyes lingered on the short dress that Liz was wearing.
"That girl is hot."
"What?"
"I, I mean smart. You know beauty with brains."
His wife didn't say anything and just clicked her tongue. Rather than arguing with her husband on a small thing, she decided to enjoy the program.
A little entertainment was something she deserved after a long day at the office.
"Ah, she lost."
Soon, Liz, who was doing well, lost and the husband shook his head, thinking that his earlier thoughts were right.
The contestants didn't have any greed in their eyes.
"Let's wait and see. Others might do better. Every episode has one guy who wins more than 50k dollars."
His wife said.
***
As Liz lost out, Rake came on board. A few people watching the show wondered whether he was going to do something good. Only his fans were excited about him.
On Sparrow, people were posting their thoughts while watching the broadcast.
[I'm Ratman: That guy looks too snarky for my tastes. I didn't listen to his music ever? Is he smart in the interviews?]
[Rake's wife: He's super smart. Don't you know he's from Stanford University? That's like one of the best universities in the world. He's surely going to earn a lot.]
[Internet Roaster: @Rake's wife If you don't know, getting into these ivy league universities is supposed to be the part they are famous for because of how hard it is. Not the sheer quality of education. Moreover, most of these universities are just hollow because it's way easier for rich people to get into them. Bodied!]
[Aiden's wife: I'm pretty sure he's going to lose soon. There's no way he looks like someone who would earn a lot.]
[Constantly Horny: Well, he's not doing bad for now.]
On the broadcast, Rake was playing through the questions easily, even giving his insights after his answer would turn out correct. At one point, he even looked like someone who would go a long way.
But after the second milestone, he soon lost his momentum and in the end, he gave out a wrong answer, taking him back to 50k dollars only.
Seeing that, a lot of messages appeared.
[Radioactive sperm: He lost. Every contestant that looks good, loses out in the end. That's the law of this game. I have never seen a confident guy not losing because of ego.]
[Want Bully 2: That was anticlimactic. I was placing my bets on this guy.]
[Rake's wife: Nooo!! The game is dumb! How could he lose? They should have given him one more chance. It's unfair.]
[Aiden's wife: Don't you have eyes? He lost because he didn't know the answer. It's simple. Rake ain't as smart as people think. Education is not the criteria for smartness or half of the Sparrow users would not be dumb. Anyway, Aiden's time is here. He will show everyone how it is done!]
***
As Aiden came on the stage, his fangroup was very excited. A lot of members got out of their sleeping chambers and started talking. After [Disconnected], there was no news of Aiden and a lot of them were pretty bored.
They knew that Aiden was shooting for his Zetflix series but the shoot was taking too much time. So when they heard about him appearing in 'The Million Dollar Game', all of them decided to watch it.
Even those who weren't fans of the show.
They knew that if Aiden was involved in something, it was going to come out great. His past record was proof and reason for them to believe in him.
One of the members of the fangroup was watching it with a few of his friends over beer. In a room, four burly men who clearly went to gym daily were watching the show while drinking beer and laughing.
"Joseph, you really believe that this guy would do well. He seems to be treading carefully. I don't think he's confident enough to win the show."
One of his friends asked as they turned to look at Joseph who glared at his friend. He was a blonde guy who worked as a trainer at the local gym.
"The bloke's tough and smart from what I know. He will do well."
At that, another of his friends quipped in.
"It's weird that you are a fan of a celebrity. Your ex-girlfriend left you and the only thing you have to hold is her obsession with a celebrity. I thought you were interested in him because you didn't have a choice."
"Yeah at first, but now, I feel like this bloke has something special. I enjoyed whatever he has worked in. And don't talk about that bitch. She left me for another girl for fuck sake."
Joseph frowned and his fans patted him on the back. They focused on the show where Aiden had just crossed the first milestone.
One of the friends suddenly got an idea at that moment.
"How about we make bets? 100 dollars that the guy ain't going to earn more than 50k dollars."
The others also liked the idea and they nodded.
"100 dollars on 250k."
"50 on 50k dollars."
"200 on 50k dollars."
In the end, all of them looked at Joseph who thought for a bit before taking out a 500 dollar note from his pocket. The beer helped him to make a weird bet.
"500 on 1 million. I'm going all out."
Everyone looked at him like he was a moron but they didn't say anything. A million dollars was something only a few contestants would even get an attempt.
A celebrity obviously won't be able to reach it.
At this point, they didn't know what kind of storm Aiden was going to bring. A storm that would entrap the whole internet.
…
