Episode 32 — Industry Roast & Industry Ghosts
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Cold Open — HUD Goes Corporate
New York skyline, hotel suite glowing with TV lights. Legend sat on the balcony, blunt lit, Subaru parked below. HUD flickered:
[CASH FLOW | +$5,200 Deposited]
Balance: $619,440 → $624,640
But the alerts were different this time:
[Collector Expansion: 3 Major Labels Acquired, 2 Promoters Bought Out, 1 Studio Owned.]
[Objective: Control the Music Pipeline.]
Legend exhaled smoke, smirking. "So he think he can outbuy me. Cute."
Miles rushed out, phone in hand, panicked. "Bro! My next booking just got canceled. They said Collector owns the stage!"
Salina sipped wine, eyes sharp. "Then buy the damn stage out from under him."
Legend grinned. "Exactly."
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Scene 1 — Label Meeting Roast
They stormed into a Midtown label office. Execs in suits sneered. "Miles is talented, but we're going with Collector. He already put ten million on the table."
Legend leaned back, blunt glowing. "Ten million? That's pocket lint."
He snapped $15,000—Balance: $609,640—into a neat stack, tossed it across the table. "Here's a signing bonus for rejecting Collector."
One exec laughed. "That's pennies to us."
Salina smirked. "Funny, coming from a man dressed like 2003 Wall Street cosplay."
Miles added, "And your haircut look like Wi-Fi signal dropping."
The whole room erupted. Even some interns cracked up.
Legend leaned in, smooth. "Sign us. Or I buy your parking lot and turn it into a food truck lot called Broke & Bitter."
Execs froze.
HUD pulsed:
[Side Quest Complete: Label Roast.]
[Reward: +Respect +$10,000 Leverage] → Balance: $619,640
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Scene 2 — Studio Sabotage
Later that day, they booked a studio session. Collector's men tried to block it, walking in smug.
"Session canceled. Collector owns the boards now."
Legend exhaled smoke. "Boards don't own sound. Sound owns boards."
He snapped $3,000—Balance: $616,640—slid it to the engineer. "Run the session."
Collector's agents smirked. "Money won't save you."
Miles cut in. "Neither will your hairlines. Damn, y'all look like Wi-Fi routers with anxiety."
Salina cackled. "Not Wi-Fi routers!"
The agents stormed out, humiliated. Miles recorded three tracks straight, fire in his verses.
HUD blinked:
[Mission Complete: Studio Takeover.]
[Reward: +$25,000 + Miles Confidence Boosted] → Balance: $641,640
[Level Up: 35 → 36]
Hourly Income: $5,400/hr]
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Scene 3 — Random Side Quest: TikTok Roast
On the way back, they stumbled on a TikTok influencer filming in Times Square. She stopped Miles mid-walk.
"You're that rapper Collector clowns, right? Lemme roast you on live."
Before Miles could answer, Legend stepped in. "Funny. You out here dancing for likes like rent's due tomorrow."
The crowd laughed. Salina added, "Girl, your outfit look like Shein bankruptcy."
Miles finally jumped in. "And your clout weaker than your Wi-Fi."
The influencer's live chat went crazy. She stormed off embarrassed.
HUD pulsed:
[Side Quest Complete: TikTok Roast.]
[Reward: +$3,000 + Viral Respect] → Balance: $644,640
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Scene 4 — Collector's Counter
That night, HUD screamed red.
[Collector Broadcast: Citywide.]
Every screen in Times Square flickered to life. Collector's face appeared. "You think you can roast your way through business? You humiliated my men. But now I humiliate you. Starting with your boy's tracks."
Suddenly, Miles's half-finished demos blasted over the loudspeakers. Distorted. Unmixed. The crowd laughed, confused.
Miles's face dropped, humiliated. "Bro… he's killing me."
Legend put a hand on his shoulder, calm. "Nah. He's setting up my punchline."
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Scene 5 — Legend's Flip
Legend grabbed the mic from a street performer nearby. His voice boomed over the speakers.
"Collector dropped demos? Cute. That's like leaking somebody's homework rough draft. You don't roast me with pencils."
The crowd chuckled.
Miles stepped up, rapping live over the bad demos, flipping mistakes into bars, turning humiliation into hype.
Salina shouted into the mic, "And Collector, your whole empire looks like Wish.com Amazon!"
The crowd erupted. Phones out, going viral in real-time.
Scene 6 — Hotel Chaos
Back at the hotel, they celebrated. Miles laughing, Salina sipping wine, Legend smirking.
Miles shook his head. "Bro, you turned my humiliation into a concert."
Salina grinned. "And I turned it into an Amazon roast."
Legend exhaled smoke. "Roast permanent now. Even Collector can't outbuy jokes."
Scene 7 — Collector's Darker Play
Late night. Another envelope slid under the door. Inside: stock reports.
[Collector Proposal: Hostile Takeover Bid for Major Music Distributor — 75% Complete.]
HUD screamed.
[Threat Level: Maximum.]
[Collector Objective: Own All Music Distribution.]
Legend lit the envelope on fire, exhaled smoke. "So now he want the whole industry? Then we buy the world."
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Closing Beat — War on Two Fronts
Balcony view of Times Square glowing below. Miles in the studio, spitting fire like his life depended on it. Salina curled against him, laughing soft.
HUD glowed steady:
[CASH FLOW | +$5,400 Deposited]
Balance: $650,040
Legend smirked. "Collector think business bigger than comedy. But comedy my currency. And I spend forever."