Echoes of Hollywood

Bright sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the statue of Christ at the front of the church, making the entire sanctuary appear exceptionally solemn and reverent. The church was silent, filled with worshippers deeply engrossed in their prayers. Among them, a blonde girl seemed to be praying as well, but her bright eyes constantly darted around, scanning the faces of the congregants as if searching for someone.

After a thorough look around, Daisy shook her head in disappointment. She hadn't found the person she was looking for.

Recently, Murphy and his film "Diego-Ross" had been under heavy attack in the media and online. Even Pope Benedict XVI had subtly expressed dissatisfaction and skepticism, prompting some Catholic followers online to denounce Murphy and his film. The man who had attacked Murphy at the Santa Monica commercial center and caused trouble on Oscar night had also begun spreading harmful rumors about Murphy online.

On the night of the Oscars, that man's comments in the discussion forums had enraged Daisy. She admired Murphy, particularly for being a man of his word, so she decided to follow through on her own promise. She was determined to find that man and settle the score.

However, finding him was no easy task. Although Catholicism wasn't particularly prominent in Los Angeles, there were still many followers.

Daisy had enlisted the help of internet experts from the discussion group. Although the man's posts and videos were traced through proxies, the experts managed to find some clues, indicating that he was likely in the area between Santa Monica and West Hollywood.

So, Daisy came to this area, but it was still quite large, and she had to visit various Catholic churches to try her luck.

This time, her luck was as poor as usual. By the time the service ended, Daisy hadn't seen the man she was looking for.

Shaking her head, she left the church and turned to look back at it, bathed in golden sunlight, giving it a particularly holy appearance.

"It would look even more holy surrounded by flames," Daisy muttered with a cold smile.

She pulled a lighter from her pocket, flicked it on, and held it up, imagining the church engulfed in flames through the dancing firelight.

Daisy sighed, put away the lighter, and walked to her car. Although her thoughts were fervent, she wasn't irrational. A small lighter wasn't enough to burn down a church.

She got into her car, took one last look at the church, started the engine, and drove toward the Santa Monica commercial plaza. Soon, she arrived at the beach where she had previously attacked the man, parked her car, and stood by the road near the beach. Unlike before, the beach now had a few tourists, even in March.

"I should have broken that guy's leg back then!"

Daisy believed that with Murphy's influence, she would have been bailed out even if she had broken his leg.

Of course, she knew she had acted too impulsively before, attacking without a plan, which made it easy for the police to arrest them.

"If I find that guy, I must plan carefully."

She reminded herself not to be so impulsive next time.

Suddenly, Daisy saw a man in a red baseball cap walking toward her with his head down. She instinctively reached into her pocket and grasped a can of strong pepper spray.

As the man drew closer, seemingly heading straight for her, Daisy released her grip on the pepper spray. Even if it was the guy, now wasn't the time to act.

The man in the red cap walked closer, about thirty feet away, and glanced at Daisy's bright red car, then at Daisy herself, before lowering his head again.

"Not him..."

Daisy sighed. This man's face was clearly not the one she was looking for. "I'll keep looking."

She got back into her car, started it, and soon left the beach area. She drove around Santa Monica, finally stopping in front of an ordinary-looking building with a prominent cross on it.

Daisy had done her research. This was the office of Archbishop Marquez Costello, the head of the Catholic Diocese of Southern California. The root of all the criticism Murphy and "Diego-Ross" faced stemmed from this Catholic archbishop.

Parking her red Chevrolet at a discreet yet observable distance, Daisy rolled down her window and watched. The building seemed busy, with people constantly coming and going, many dressed in typical Catholic clerical attire.

"They always label others or things as the source of evil, claiming to save souls from sin..."

Staring intently, Daisy muttered, "Hypocrites. You're the true source of evil."

After watching for a while without seeing anything unusual, Daisy started her car to leave. She could always come back since this was the archbishop's office.

Just as she was about to turn the wheel, a group of people emerged from the building, indicating that someone important was leaving. Daisy immediately stopped turning the wheel and focused on the building again.

An elderly man, looking to be in his sixties, emerged with a large entourage and got into a car.

"That must be Archbishop Marquez Costello."

Having seen pictures of him online, Daisy recognized him instantly. "He looks like a decent person."

"Hmph," she shook her head, started her car, and drove away. "I've got you now, Archbishop Marquez Costello!"

Her red Chevrolet glinted ominously under the bright California sun as it sped away like a phantom.

Over the next week, Daisy visited every church in West Hollywood and Santa Monica but still couldn't find her target. She had to put the matter aside for now but kept it in mind, ready to act as soon as she had any leads.

"Why are you contacting me again?"

In a Starbucks, the man who had attacked Murphy took a sip of his coffee and looked at the person across from him. "Is there another job?"

Easy tasks that paid well and didn't conflict with his beliefs were rare opportunities. He couldn't think of a more effortless way to make money.

"This is the remainder of your last payment." The person across from him pushed a paper bag over. The man opened it to find it filled with crisp $100 bills, and he grinned happily. "You have great credibility."

"In the future, we shouldn't meet here."

Surprised, the man asked, "Why not? This place is fine. Where will we meet next time?"

The other person, still wearing gloves, retrieved their hand and said expressionlessly, "I'll inform you before we meet."

The choice of this location was due to the lack of surveillance cameras, but recent news indicated that the Los Angeles City Hall was planning to install surveillance in this area.

The man nodded, "I understand! When the church does things like this, secrecy is paramount. You can trust me."

He patted the money-filled bag, "With this kind of payment, I won't say a word. Don't forget, I'm a devout believer."

The person across from him was smart, and he considered himself no fool. Every meeting, the other person wore large sunglasses and gloves, and always called from public IP phones...

"Whenever the church needs..." the man smiled, "you can always count on me."

The other person nodded but said nothing. If this man believed he was from the church, then so be it.

Standing up, he told the man, "There won't be any immediate tasks, but we're planning something bigger, and you're a crucial part of it. Don't change your phone number."

"I understand!"

The man smiled even more brightly. Although he had been beaten up by Murphy Stanton's fans, the large payment made it all worthwhile. Being a crucial part of a bigger plan? That meant he could charge even more next time!

The satisfaction of holding money couldn't be replaced by a few prayers.

Leaving the coffee shop, the man who had attacked Murphy suddenly realized he had never watched "Diego-Ross." He didn't know why the church was so upset. Now that the film had won the Best Picture Oscar, it seemed worth checking out. With nothing else to do, he decided to go to the cinema.

Acting on his impulse, he found a nearby cinema and bought a ticket to see "Diego-Ross."

Despite the wave of criticism and negative reviews, the Oscar halo was still having an effect. In its second weekend after the Oscars, the film grossed nearly $10 million from over 2,200 theaters across North America, finally crossing the $100 million mark domestically, with a total of $100.56 million.

However, the Oscar effect was fading quickly in theaters. With the film having been out for so long, its daily box office dropped to around $500,000 at the start of the new week. North American theater chains were prepared for this, cutting the number of screens showing it to about 1,000.

The film's potential had been exhausted following the Oscar surge.

Murphy shifted his focus to new projects, preparing to gather his team and start a new endeavor.

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