Chapter 53 World Switching Transition: Entertainment Industry World + Mecha Competition Background...
With only half an hour left before the deadline for uploading their work, everyone else in the astrology group was rushing to prepare their pieces.
The female celebrity next to them sat on the sofa, frowning as she diligently edited photos, occasionally taking a moment to wave to the camera amidst her busy work.
Chi Yingying's kneeling immediately attracted the curious gazes of all the artists present.
She gripped the corner of her skirt tightly with her fingertips, having her own considerations in mind.
Two hours was too tight, and the theme given by the program team was too leading. Her mind was subconsciously filled with the songs that Qiao Ankuang wrote in his previous life. She couldn't even tell which song he had released in this life.
She's already separated from Xinghan, and who knows when that mad dog Ruan Zihan might expose her plagiarism of Qiao Ankuang's work.
Rather than being exposed, he might as well just confess now.
Since Fang Zhuo refused to listen to her repentance, she would then "confess" to Qiao Ankuang.
If she can just write a random catchy song in the last few minutes and upload it, this honesty will definitely earn her a huge amount of traffic, and the number of likes will be considerable. Even if she becomes famous for being controversial, it's still fame.
Thinking of this, she squeezed out a few tears and looked at Qiao Ankuang slowly, saying:
“Brother Qiao, I’m sorry. The songs I wrote five or six years ago did indeed deliberately borrow your style, but Ruan Zihan forced me to do them.”
"He insisted on buying you smear articles and distributed similar songs to different singers, saying he would accuse you of plagiarism."
"I didn't want to either, Brother Qiao, I'm just Ruan Zihan's puppet..."
A collective gasp immediately filled the air, and the live stream camera gradually moved in.
Qiao Ankuang gave a wry smile upon hearing this.
It's one thing to guess it yourself, but it's another to hear the other person admit it themselves.
He laughed and took a few steps back, raised his hands to cover his face, and then large tears uncontrollably seeped from between his fingers, falling heavily to the ground.
He knew, of course, that Chi Yingying's claim of deliberately borrowing was a lie. Having truly emerged from those difficult days, no one saw it more clearly than him.
Those are his songs, or rather, they must be songs that he once played out note by note.
His voice, muffled beneath his palm, sounded so heavy: "Chi Yingying, do you think you'll be forgiven just because you spoke up? Is my pain a publicity stunt for you?"
His hand collapsed and moved upwards, revealing a pair of desperate eyes:
"No, that was five years. Do you know how long five years is? For you, the glamorous time passed quickly, but for me, every minute and every second of being questioned and attacked felt like having my bones scraped by a knife."
“You guys have made it so I can’t find a job in the industry. I even have to eat flavored nutritional paste sparingly. Do you know what it feels like to eat nutritional paste without salt? You don’t know, because you were eating my flesh and drinking my blood back then.”
“If it weren’t for Brother Fang, I would have lived this hopeless life for the rest of my life, while you would have lived a carefree life with my work and my achievements.”
“Chi Yingying, your confession now isn’t because you genuinely think you’re wrong, but because you’re afraid of being retaliated against by Juyu.”
As if in response to his words, a huge countdown sounded within the thousands of square meters of the star chart, announcing that only five minutes remained for the creation process.
Under Qiao Ankuang's almost broken gaze, Chi Yingying kept saying sorry, but quickly wiped away the few tears from the corner of her eyes.
Qiao Ankuang's words seemed to have left no trace in her mind; she was still thinking about her work in this round.
Ignoring how ridiculous her actions were, she silently grabbed the physical computer next to her, quickly cobbled together a twenty-second cheesy melody, and clicked upload at the perfect moment.
Then a rumbling sound came from the ground, and the height of the star chart where they were located rose more than 30 meters, revealing a large open space behind the surrounding mountains.
Unlike traditional music festivals, the stages behind those open spaces are designed like cross-sections of spaceships. The spaceships are 200 meters long and contain all sorts of extremely realistic space sci-fi props. Hundreds of technological guns and large light cannons are stuck in the outer shell.
A giant circular screen, ten meters high and of uniform length, is suspended in mid-air behind the stage.
The stage alone is breathtaking enough, not to mention that eight replicas of this quality spaceship were made, each with a different theme based on details.
The surrounding open space envelops and surrounds the entire astrolabe, attracting the attention of even top actresses who have starred in countless variety shows.
The chatter inside grew louder. Some people gathered around the sofa next to Chi Yingying and Qiao Ankuang, gossiping. Several artists from Juyu Entertainment were patting Qiao Ankuang on the shoulder to comfort him, while others were secretly discussing the lavish stage that Juyu Entertainment had prepared.
With the announcement in an electronic voice that "the one-hour 'like' competition has begun," the number of viewers in the official live stream room easily surpassed 950,000.
Unlike the group broadcast with an all-new lineup, apart from the artists of Giant Entertainment, the guests who made it to the second round of "The Throne of Traffic" are either veteran actresses who have been in the entertainment industry for more than ten or twenty years, or young actors or singers with both popularity and reputation.
Their number of solo fans is almost equivalent to half of the entire entertainment industry, bringing considerable popularity.
The comments were refreshing rapidly, and countless discussion threads were also created on the StarNet.
[How could this variety show be so dramatic? First, the "Waiting to Explode" contestant was eliminated and broke down in tears, then the Golden Melody Award-winning singer admitted to plagiarism. Thank you, Brother Fang, for spending so much money to entertain us TvT]
[No, does Chi Yingying really think she's a genius? She survived the first round by eating Ruan Zi's blood bun, and now she wants to shift the blame onto Ruan Zi.]
What, did Ruanzi force you to post those posts accusing others of plagiarism?
[If Ruan Zi has a spirit in the underworld, she would be so angry she would come back to life! O soul, come back! O soul, come back!]
[The account that resembled someone else has now been banned and can't clarify things for themselves. They were just caught in a bug by the goddess Yingying. They should pack up and get out of Xingyu Entertainment along with Liang Xinyuan.]
[Ruanzi: Yes, yes, yes, I forced you to post the song at gunpoint, and I'm the one who diligently burned coal every day to combat global warming... I'm almost wanted by the entire Federation, yet I still take the blame for Sister Ying. That's incredibly righteous. Someone, bring me some quotes!]
[Not for fame or fortune, but for two words in my heart: loyalty and righteousness!!]
[Why do some people always treat the audience like they're blind? Does she think the whole world is her path? Sorry, I'm just here for fun, but seeing this kind of idiot makes me want to kick her.]
Am I the only one paying attention to this lavish stage? I mean, after this variety show ends, could we reuse the stage and give it a good boost?
[I'm so hungry! These giant props that only appear in close-ups of other space-themed blockbusters are actually a stage here!]
It's hard to imagine how exhilarating it would be to ascend the throne on such a stage.
[Wow, the like channel has only been open for ten minutes, how come Cen Yanhuai's photo already has hundreds of thousands of likes? Is his popularity that terrifying right now?]
[I declare this variety show is going to be legendary! Can we have more episodes, or can other companies bring up some competing products? QAQ]
[It's common knowledge that Juyu Entertainment has no competitors. With this lineup, this venue, and this prize money, tell me, which other company can afford it? Are you trying to harm other companies?]
[A little-known fact: Star Entertainment is the only company that doesn't consider breaking even.]
At 7:55 p.m., the competition for the top ten spots in terms of likes had entered a fierce stage.
Unlike the inflated data of StarNet Dynamics, the separately developed like plugin is forcibly bound to the personal terminal, and the same personal account on the same terminal can only cast one vote.
The fact that this variety show focuses on the real traffic after dehydration alone is enough to make it a hit. Not to mention the high quality of each segment, the 43 stars almost emptied their warehouse, and all sorts of effects that can only be seen in science fiction blockbusters have been brought to the live broadcast.
Before the results of the second round of competition are even out, three video platforms have already joined the competition for the exclusive broadcasting rights to the show.
Having realized the value of this variety show, their current offer is far greater than their initial asking price.
At this moment, a torrential downpour was falling on Star 399, and the large screen under the corridor on the first floor of the villa was playing footage from the official live broadcast.
Fang Zhuo had finished half of his hot Americano and was quietly watching the live stream on the outdoor platform on the first floor.
His personal computer was in shielded mode, and the thermal imaging monitoring system showed a red dot rushing towards the villa from behind the hills.
Five minutes later, the winner of this round was finally revealed in the video.
Chi Yingying's "black-and-red" therapy failed to work. The top eight were two top actresses with huge fan bases, a top male idol from Xingyu Entertainment, a Grand Slam Best Actor, and four artists from Juyu Entertainment itself—Cen Yanhuai, Jian Yujing, Tong Qinglu, and Qiao Ankuang.
From now until 2:30 a.m., they will take to the spaceship stage on Star 43 to begin recruiting offline audiences and compete for the final traffic winner.
At the very moment Cen Yanhuai's cold, stern face appeared on the official live stream screen, the cold muzzle of a gun was pressed against the back of Fang Zhuo's head.
"This position is too low; you don't know how to use a gun."
The position of the long-barreled pistol was then moved from the back of his head to the tip of his nose. Fang Zhuo looked indifferently at the man in front of him wearing a black and green plastic raincoat.
Ruan Zihan took off the hood of his raincoat and sneered:
"Fang Zhuo, you didn't expect this, did you? You managed to take my money and ruin my company. Now I only have one life left. At least our lives are equal, right?"
Deng Jiaqiang, who was lying on the sofa on the first floor watching the live broadcast, rushed out upon seeing this and hurriedly called out:
"Handsome guy, beautiful man, no, no, put down the gun first, and we can talk about anything."
He had finally gotten lucky and met a kind and considerate leader. Deng Jiaqiang would rather hand over all his assets to Ruan Zihan than see anything happen to President Fang.
Fang Zhuo then silently gave a wink to someone in the distance inside the first-floor room.
Fu Zhaoyu was squatting on the upright refrigerator inside the house, nodding slightly to the boss to indicate that there was no danger.
The built-in speakers next to the giant screen emitted the shouts of fans from the stage. Clusters of fireworks lit up the night sky of Star 43. Cen Yanhuai's face no longer had that timid expression; his demeanor gradually regained a hint of the same arrogant confidence as in his previous life.
On a rainy night in Star 399, Ruan Zihan, alone in a raincoat, held a gun and made a desperate stand.
This time, the gap between Ruan Zihan and Cen Yanhuai was even greater than in the previous life.
With a long-barreled pistol pressed against his forehead, Fang Zhuo leisurely followed the force of the gun barrel as he walked into the rain with Ruan Zihan.
At the same time, Jiang Yu drove the Yunlie and brought Chi Yingying over as requested by the boss.
Fang Zhuo gave Jiang Yu a reassuring look, telling her not to worry, but little did she know that Chi Yingying misunderstood. She immediately ran into the rain and knelt down in front of the two of them, crying and slapping herself.
"Brother Fang, Brother Ruan, take it out on me if you have any problems, it's all my fault..."
Ruan Zihan rolled his eyes, the gun barrel remaining in the same position, and sneered:
"What are you pretending for? You're putting on an act too. Do you think Juyu will let you off the hook later? Don't dream."
"Do you remember how I noticed you six years ago? You were the one who released Qiao Ankuang's debut work first."
"Actress Lan Mei was also reborn, but she has been honestly making the most of the resources from her previous life, and we haven't been able to find any fault with her. Do you think you can get away with it as cleanly as she has?"
"People whose hands are already dirty are now thinking about getting ashore. It's too late, Yingying."
A look of immense fear flashed across Chi Yingying's eyes.
Raindrops covered her beautiful face, and she began to tremble slightly.
Ruan Zihan knew that dragging it out would not do him any good, so he didn't say anything and immediately pulled the trigger on Fang Zhuo.
All the operational asteroids around the main star are covered by surveillance cameras installed by the Federation. Fu Zhaoyu had already reached the corner of the surveillance area and struck the knife the instant the other party pressed the button.
The flash of the knife in the surveillance footage was blocked by Fang Zhuo, and the front half of the long-barreled pistol, carrying scattered bullets, fell to the ground in an instant.
No one saw how it all happened.
Startled by the flash of the knife, Ruan Zihan took a few steps back.
Looking at the neatly arranged metal shards on the ground, Ruan Zihan was first surprised, then the shock slowly turned into indignation, and he then laughed almost maniacally in the midst of the storm.
Deng Jiaqiang finally felt relieved. While dialing the police, he continued to negotiate with Ruan Zihan:
"Handsome guy, why are you doing this? It would be better if we just talked things out."
You ask me why I did it?
Ruan Zihan pointed at the big screen: "Because God is unfair, God has never been fair!"
"Why is it that their talent is acting, while my talent is hard work and diligence? Why do they have the opportunity to be discovered by famous directors, while I have to grit my teeth and swallow my pride, and rely on myself step by step?"
Rain and tears mingled together; he still held the gun with its barrel severed in half in his hand, his left hand constantly wiping away tears.
“I come from a poor family and have a poor education, but I finally climbed to the top with great difficulty. Then I turned around and found that some people could get what I had to fight to the death for without lifting a finger, and those viewers even mocked my background.”
"I was also born of parents, and my family would feel sorry for me if I suffered. Why is it that the success of the Celestial Dragons is worthy of praise, while the suffering of the lower classes is ridiculed?!"
"Fang Zhuo, even the protagonists in time-travel novels have to plagiarize the poems of Li Bai and Du Fu. Why should those protagonists be praised by everyone, while I have to be chased and beaten by you guys?"
"Can you honestly say that if you were me, you wouldn't be tempted when you woke up again? You wouldn't do the same thing I did?"
“You’re a businessman, and I’m just an ordinary person. Neither of us are saints. Everyone does things that harm others for their own benefit. If we haven’t done so, it’s simply because the profit isn’t big enough.”
"I failed, but I didn't do anything wrong. The only mistake was that the truck driver I hired back then was too incompetent and accidentally crashed into the wrong spot."
"You won this round, let's start a new round, and this time I'll definitely kill you first."
His company, which he had built up over many years, was destroyed, and he lost his celebrity image that allowed him to appear in front of the camera. He was also wanted by the Star Federation and faced imprisonment at any time. He had suffered a terrible defeat in his life.
Fortunately, he wasn't completely without leverage. If there was a first time, there would definitely be a next time...
Ruan Zihan raised the gun high, smiling as he pressed it against his chin in the rain.
Sparks erupted from his jaw, and the short-barreled gun barrel exploded rapidly.
He is ready to embrace the next rebirth.
Fang Zhuo was somewhat speechless, and asked Yi Dian Dian, "[Can you detect if any new branch planes have been added?]"
Yi Dian Dian, who witnessed the whole thing, jumped in and patiently explained: "[Honey, no, that's not true. The abnormal energy fluctuations that caused so many people to be reborn have stabilized since then.]"
[Anyway, once you're dead, you're dead. There's no resurrection option this time.]
Fang Zhuo: [OK, that's great.]
Seeing that Chi Yingying was still standing there screaming wildly, Fang Zhuo made a gesture to Jiang Yu: "She seems to have gone mad. Contact her family and prepare to send her to a mental hospital."
"I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy..." Her face was still covered in blood, her eyes were bloodshot, and her mind was filled with Ruan Zihan's tragic final moments.
The gun barrel, cut in half, had exploded so violently that the image was etched vividly onto her retina.
"Don't send me there. I'll really go crazy if I go to a mental hospital. I'm leaving now."
She was still wearing the high heels she wore on the show, and she limped up the low hill using both hands, her figure stumbling and falling.
Fang Zhuo watched her retreating figure quietly, then turned to Deng Jiaqiang and said:
"After the show ends, remember to tell Qiao Ankuang that Juyu will no longer give Chi Yingying a chance to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry."
While it can't be said that they have the power to control everything, given Giant Entertainment's current size and resources, targeting a celebrity whose career has been ruined is still quite simple within the industry.
Of course, the same applies to Tian Linzhong.
However, Tian Linzhong is still carrying a contract that will never be honored; the 100 million yuan compensation is enough to trap a director in the best years of his creative career.
Fang Zhuo had investigated Chi Yingying's background. She didn't own any real estate or a vehicle, and she had a moderate gambling addiction. Just a week before Xinghan went bankrupt, she was borrowing 20,000 yuan from Ruan Zihan to pay off her gambling debts.
Juyu had already frozen the fees for this variety show. She also had creative contracts for three TV series. If she lost these two million yuan in fees, she wouldn't even be able to pay the breach of contract penalties after her career collapsed. Her life would only be more difficult than it was six years ago for Qiao Ankuang.
Six years ago, she had a wicked thought because of a gambling debt of 100,000 yuan. She plagiarized Qiao Ankuang's work and has gone further and further down this path ever since.
After going through many twists and turns, she still hasn't been able to pay back the 100,000 yuan from back then.
A thunderclap struck from mid-air, and the loudspeakers continuously echoed with the cheers of the audience.
The spaceship stage on the screen has changed into another shape. As the number of spectators gathered in front of each area varies, the props on the different spaceships and their flight altitudes have also changed.
At 1:30 a.m., there was only one hour left before the final audience count was tallied.
Cen Yanhuai's personal charm and ability to retain fans were even stronger than Fang Zhuo had imagined. Whenever the camera focused on his affectionate eyes, audience members from other shows would be unconsciously drawn to them.
Qiao Ankuang attracted a lot of attention with her confrontation with Chi Yingying, and her popularity was now comparable to that of a top actress who had been in the industry for more than ten years.
As the clock finally struck 2:30, this unprecedentedly lavish variety show came to an end.
The spaceship beneath Cen Yanhuai's feet rose several meters, and an invisible band of light connected the stage with the star disk at the very center of Star 43. Blue-purple flashes emanated from that link until every small prop on his stage glowed with a faint fluorescence.
The continuous fireworks stopped for a moment, and then the entire skyline of Star 43 was lit up by a pink waterfall of fireworks.
Hundreds of cloud formations flew across the sky, showering the audience with colorful ribbons and tens of thousands of small red envelopes.
Wherever the camera panned, everyone maintained a shocked expression, uniformly raising their devices to take photos and check in.
Starting with Cen Yanhuai, each artist took turns raising the microphone to give their acceptance speech, and Fang Zhuo became the name that received the most thanks that night.
Cen Yanhuai broke down on the spot, not mentioning himself at all, and repeatedly saying thank you to the boss.
When it was Tong Qinglu's turn, she kept wiping away her tears while smiling:
“Five months ago, the labor agency at ITOUCCH asked me where I had signed with. I said it was Giant Entertainment. At that time, he said he had never heard of Giant Entertainment.”
“I told him then and there—it’s okay if you don’t know before, you’ll hear about it later.”
"Thank you, Mr. Fang. We did it in five months!"
Looking at the magnificent scene of the entire 43 stars on the screen, Fang Zhuo sat under the eaves on the first floor of the 399th star, brushed the wet hair in front of his forehead to one side, and leaned back in his chair.
Facing the pitch-black night sky filled with torrential rain, he briefly closed his eyes, listening to the system broadcast in his ear.
[Investment Target No. 9: Film Record Registration No. [5030] 135 | Film Title: [Throne of Traffic]]
[Initial valuation: 2000]
[Current Value Assessment: 19,200,000]
[The return on investment has exceeded 100 times. Based on the settlement results, investment slot number eleven has been opened for the host. Please keep up the good work!]
[Congratulations, host! You have achieved the milestone of 'Total number of fans of your employees has exceeded 10 million']
[Congratulations again, host! You have achieved the milestone of 'Peak live stream viewership exceeding one million'!]
[Company's current reputation value: 80, matching the title 'Household Name']
[Having met the prerequisites, you can leave this plane at any time when your reputation level is between 80 and 100. Once your reputation level exceeds 100, you will be forced to leave this plane. Leave now?]
This day came even faster than he had imagined. As a rising star, Giant Entertainment successfully revived and sprouted within five months.
He currently has over 160 billion yuan in cash in his system, and this number continues to rise with the release of "Shadow".
Although it wasn't rated as an S-class entertainment company because it wasn't publicly listed, it already possessed the financial strength to acquire any entertainment company in the Star Federation.
In just five months, the company went from a remote and dilapidated industrial planet to its own asteroid, which now boasts a large shopping mall filled with well-known merchants and a giant cruise ship that employees can enjoy at any time.
With the opening of visitor access, Star 399 has become one of the most popular tourist destinations for Star Federation residents, with countless tourists visiting its photo studios every day.
During this period, Giant Entertainment produced two groundbreaking short dramas and a landmark film, bringing the new format of group broadcasting to the Star Federation, and also established the first mature short drama online platform.
The artists he invested in have all shone brightly in the entertainment industry, and their peak popularity has far surpassed that of his previous life.
With the collapse of Star Media, those previously tarnished stars will no longer be suppressed and will gradually develop normally in their respective fields of expertise.
Not only did Tong Qinglu's words come true, but he himself also fulfilled his promise—
He led a dozen or so workers in the factory to break through to Star 139, and one day Giant Entertainment truly became famous throughout the entire Star Federation.
Fang Zhuo checked "No," opened his eyes, and asked Deng Jiaqiang:
"Can employee cards travel to other dimensions with the operator?"
Deng Jiaqiang immediately realized that the boss's reputation level had reached the target, so he patiently explained:
"Yes, but the operating methods in the next dimension may be different, and the employees' abilities may not be suitable for the next world."
"An SR employee card is valid for five years for free. After five years, the employer needs to use points to exchange for related items to renew the contract."
"The employment period for SSR employee cards is limited to two dimensions. The same applies to those cards that were originally SSR quality but had some of their abilities blocked by the system and were downgraded to SR quality."
Fang Zhuo then asked, "Why does the system disable some employees' abilities?"
Deng Jiaqiang chuckled: "There are too many poor employees whose abilities meet the SSR standard, but as you know, the attributes of the operators bound to our money-spraying system are generally not very strong, so the card-drawing frequency is not that high."
"So many employees were forced to be downgraded to SR quality, giving everyone more job opportunities."
Fang Zhuo tapped rhythmically on the cup with his fingertips. He and Deng Jiaqiang both came from Blue Star. If the Star Federation hadn't run into some problems, Yi Diandian would never have taken the initiative to bind him to save the day.
What about Deng Jiaqiang? How did Deng Jiaqiang become an employee?
Guessing what Fang Zhuo wanted to ask, Deng Jiaqiang scratched his head and said somewhat wistfully:
"The employee binding mechanism is only triggered when an individual's living conditions or environment are extremely poor... My daughter is sick; it's a rare disease that has no cure on Earth, and the weekly treatment costs are very high."
"Employees will receive points based on the company's profits. These points can be exchanged for special painkillers that are not available on Earth, or they can be exchanged for money."
"When I choose a world, I will deliberately choose some worlds with advanced technology, so that I can use the points to send my daughter there, and maybe there will be hope to cure her."
Fang Zhu patted Deng Jiaqiang on the shoulder to comfort him, then turned to Fu Zhaoyu and asked, "What about you?"
Fu Zhaoyu pulled his sleeves up to his shoulders, where a light white countdown timer was clearly displayed.
Fang Zhuo did the math in his head and realized that there were only a few months left.
"My lord, the system has determined that my living conditions are harsh."
Each one was worse than the last; it was truly appalling. They only had a few months left to live, which was about the same as his remaining days of survival.
Feeling a sense of shared misfortune, Fang Zhuo patted Fu Zhaoyu on the shoulder with a sigh.
After he left, the company still needed to continue operating normally, so Fang Zhuo called Deng Jiaqiang over and said:
"I've set aside 10 billion yuan in operating funds in the company's accounts. I'll draft a document later, and you'll manage the company together with Feng Tengwen from now on. Make sure he doesn't become so frugal."
"The company can send me information remotely before releasing new works, and I will operate the investment column to bind and unbind."
As the regent entrusted with the care of the young emperor, Deng Jiaqiang made a gesture of receiving the imperial decree:
"Your Majesty, may you rest in peace. Your subject will certainly take good care of the Crown Prince."
...Is the style of a young man embracing traditional Chinese aesthetics contagious?
After explaining all this, Fang Zhuo glanced at Jiang Yu, who was standing obediently at the villa entrance with her hands at her sides.
Although Jiang Yu certainly didn't understand what they were saying, she kept her mouth shut and pretended to be deaf the moment she opened her eyes, perfectly mastering the most basic qualities of an assistant.
Since you'll need an assistant wherever you go, you might as well choose one you know well and who has an excellent profile.
Fang Zhuo gestured slightly with his chin towards Jiang Yu: "I have another employee card. Get ready, and we'll leave together later."
As if he had just regained his hearing, Jiang Yu immediately replied solicitously, "Yes, Mr. Fang."
After saying that, Fang Zhuo immediately clicked the "Exit" button on the system interface.
[The BC35 Star Federation plane has been completed; the settlement time is as follows]
[In this dimension, you have earned a total of 15 achievements and 12 titles, including two rare titles: 'King of Live Streaming' and 'King of Gu', and one ultra-rare title: 'Spear That Breaks Shields']
[Added points for settlement titles and achievements: 66]
[Remaining points in backpack: 275]
This plane is rated as an A-level difficulty plane. Upon completion, you will be rewarded with 1 random skill, 1 mechanism reward, 1 space, and 1 selectable reward.
[Skill is randomized to - Confused Mind]
[Note: Consumes one Energy Pill to temporarily boost multi-threaded processing capabilities]
[The host has nearly maxed out their skill points in this area. Instead, grant Empathy.]
[Note: You are good at listening to others' difficulties and you can understand their suffering. Using this skill once will allow you to quickly understand the other person's biggest current problem.]
[Skill Cooldown Period: 24 hours]
[Incentive Mechanism - Shopping Discounts]
[Note: When the host makes a single purchase exceeding 100 million yuan, a large-amount shopping discount of 1% to 9% will be triggered.]
[Space Reward - System-bound villa buildings used as shared space]
[The host can travel to and from this space at any time in the new dimension and can carry items of a certain volume. Please check with the system to see if the items are on the whitelist before bringing them in or out.]
[Optional Reward: +3 Personal Attribute Points / Random Points Spin]
Fang Zhuo selected the personal attribute points, and the next second, a white ball of light fell into his backpack.
[The operator's current ability level is S; they will be automatically matched with high-difficulty worlds similar to BC35 in the future.]
[Note: High-difficulty worlds offer generous rewards. You will receive one compatible skill before unlocking a world, and a guaranteed SSR is obtained from every 10-pull blind box in that world.]
[Should I spend 222 points to reduce the difficulty of this plane?]
...Actually, BC35 isn't that difficult, and high-difficulty worlds offer all sorts of rewards and perks, so Fang Zhuo immediately checked the "No" box.
[Please select a plane: AU14 Alien Evolution/MK56 Zombie Siege/OL33 Mech Race]
Since he has already left Deng Jiaqiang in the Star Federation, Deng Jiaqiang will not be able to travel back and forth to the high-tech world to find opportunities to treat his daughter's illness for at least three years...
These three options made no difference to him personally, and he decided to choose a world where the technology sounded more advanced.
[The host has selected the OL33 Mech Competition and has been intelligently matched with the reward skill: Auto-Pathfinding]
[Note: You can activate auto-pathfinding based on the character's name from the original work; the system will then guide you to the character's location.]
[Skill Cooldown Period: 24 hours]
With a soft click, information about the world rushed into his brain.
This is a standard male-oriented novel called "Broken Army War Soul: The Strongest Mecha King". The world consists of hundreds of planets. At first, there were several mecha wars between the planets to compete for resources. Later, under the unified organization of the Star Alliance, the real mecha wars gradually evolved into a mecha competition of civilization.
The Star Alliance collects resources from each planet and distributes them to the planets below according to the rankings in the Mech League.
Teams at the bottom level need to start from the Star League and fight their way up to the secondary league of their respective regions. They compete for resources and honors for their own star in the major regions, and only the winners can represent their region in the Star Alliance Championship.
The book describes the long and arduous path to godhood for the protagonist, a male protagonist with an invincible destiny. Of course, it also includes countless unlucky teammates and opponents who are plagued by bad luck.
No matter how talented the supporting characters are, their existence has only one purpose: to be portrayed as incredibly powerful by the author, and then quickly killed off by the plot.
They either suffer from public opinion attacks or unexpected internal injuries; in short, they are destined to falter before crucial competitions and ultimately become cannon fodder willingly bowing down to the male protagonist's mech.
Fang Zhuo's arrival at this time was quite coincidental, as it happened to be right at the beginning of Long Aotian's path to godhood, giving these talented supporting characters a chance to be saved.
However, as a high-difficulty world, the plot of "Broken Army Soul" took some unexpected detours right from the start.
Some of the named supporting characters not only escaped misfortune, but also joined the male lead's team, successfully avoiding the plot-driven deaths that were originally destined to happen.
The remaining group of people seemed to have their misfortunes accelerated by a chemical catalyst; some even died unexpectedly before their own storyline even began.
This has led to the operators once again finding themselves in the same predicament as BC35 Entertainment World, with no one left to invest in.
This situation seems very similar to the entertainment industry, where supporting characters are collectively reborn, but there's one strange thing about it—
Unlike the original novel "Brilliant", which is highly realistic, the original author of "Broken Army Soul" wrote most of the supporting characters as having quite good character in order to add a halo to the male protagonist.
Among them are sunny and cheerful little suns, as well as shy and reserved good-natured people, and the only one in the whole story is Long Aotian, a black-hearted lotus.
Even if you were to live your life again, your basic character and personality would not change.
This means that these supporting characters are likely not the main players.
Fang Zhuo flipped through the management manual in the system documents and found that apart from the plot error, there was basically no other useful information left in it.
There were previously five operators here, all of whom were experienced veteran CEOs who had lived through dozens of worlds.
Three of them used up 1,000 points to clear the level directly, and briefly reported the plot error to the main system. Another person chose to leave by binding an employee card given to them by someone else.
The last operator died here, leaving behind a team logo with only three months left on the countdown, and five mech combat athletes selected using the X-ray vision mode.
Great, another mess.
The team's trademark is worth a million, so it's not entirely useless.
However, Star Alliance rules stipulate that each person can only register one trademark in their lifetime, and if they cannot advance from the Single Star Competition to the Secondary League within a year, it will automatically become invalid.
The rule itself is understandable, after all, the mech league should not become a gladiatorial arena for the rich to casually dabble in. However, the previous operator spent nine months trying to get a secondary league up and running, which is somewhat inappropriate.
Fang Zhuo frowned and searched for the prices of goods in this world.
If we don't involve mechs, the prices of basic necessities in the Covenant are not much different from those in the Federation, but mechs are a game that only the wealthy can afford.
Even the most dilapidated D-class mech costs over a billion dollars, and renting one for a competition is also quite expensive.
Bosses with limited funds can only let their players use virtual pods to play in the Solo League, which doesn't require equipment. For poor families, even renting a virtual pod once is a high expense.
...He instantly understood the previous manager.
Everything related to mecha is a luxury; it's already quite an achievement to be able to set up even a small operation.
Arriving at the Star Alliance with Fu Zhaoyu and Jiang Yu, Fang Zhuo first looked around at the surrounding environment—
Although the team started in a dilapidated factory, there was a virtual training pod in the corner, which the five team members could take turns using for training.
Looking at the Nth-hand virtual pod with its glass covered in various scratches, Fang Zhuo even felt that the previous president had done his best.
"Go to the East Second Gate of Plant No. 23 of Platinum Technology".
The basic mode of transportation here is a small car equipped with autonomous driving capabilities, which can be easily controlled by voice.
This car can not only drive normally on main roads, but also activate its magnetic levitation function, speeding along a track five meters above the ground.
After getting off the car, Fang Zhuo went straight to a beverage shop across from the park, sat down, and looked at his watch with a bored expression.
Yi Dian Dian's voice was cautious: [Host, is your mental state a bit off because the difficulty of this dimension is too high? Perhaps we should find a place to get treatment before continuing?]
[I can recommend the sanity-restoring pills from the system shop; they're quite useful in the infinite world, and I think they could also be used to treat mental illnesses.]
[Hey, if there's no response within a minute, I'll just buy it with one click~~~]
Fang Zhuo: [I can't be bothered with you]
Yi Dian Dian's tone relaxed slightly:
[You scared me to death, family! Host, why aren't you contacting the mech league players? What are you doing in this godforsaken place?]
Fang Zhuo: [There are more important things to do]
He didn't explain to Yi Diandian what it was about; he simply rested his wrist on the table and slowly sipped the overly sweet drink.
The plot of this book has indeed strayed far off course. Although we don't know exactly what happened in this world, one thing has remained constant—
Technological development.
The force he was fighting against seemed to control the plot of the entire book, but it never interfered with that.
This is also the most difficult part of the book to change. After all, it is easy to influence the fate of one or two people, but it takes considerable courage and skill to transform into an invisible hand to control the market and related technological changes.
To verify his conjecture, Fang Zhuo planned to find someone first before setting off to contact potential mech league players.
The author of "Broken Army Soul" seems to be not very good at describing the technological advancements related to mecha, mentioning this part only briefly in the first hundred chapters, about five hundred words.
Readers might skim over this boring description that has nothing to do with the plot, but Fang Zhuo saw a huge business opportunity in these five hundred words.
Time passed slowly, and the sky outside changed from bright to a gloomy sunset, and then gradually turned into a deep, dark blue sky.
Looking at the gloomy sky outside the window, Yang Yurong finally stopped working overtime.
He hadn't rested for more than twenty days, and his head was as foggy as the sky.
In a small branch of the largest mech company in the entire Covenant, he was just an inconspicuous power engineer.
He had been drifting aimlessly at this company for over a decade, while engineers in the same position and with the same years of service were already earning over 500,000 yuan a year, yet he remained there.
It wasn't because of his experience working at a top-tier factory, but because he simply couldn't bear to give up his small research project.
All the research data and related experiments are based on the company's existing mechs, which means that if he decides to leave, he will definitely not be able to take this data with him, and the progress will be set back by more than half.
He had a feeling that this research was about to make a breakthrough.
However, the pressure from the company's new S-class combat mech project was increasing, and the project leader was keeping him in the laboratory every day to solve the problem of energy leakage from the energy capsule, so he really couldn't spare the energy to do his own work.
During these months of intense work on the new combat mech project, Yang Yurong felt as if she had aged ten years, with a lot more gray hair appearing on her head.
He was almost overwhelmed by the heavy workload of the project, and the pressure from his superiors was like a mountain pressing down on him.
Faced with a time-sensitive project on one hand and trivial research on the other, he could only temporarily focus on dealing with the issues that his superiors cared about.
It was already past ten o'clock, and he stood at the factory gate with a helpless sigh.
After clocking in at the factory, Yang Yurong dragged her tired body out of the industrial park.
But as soon as he stepped out, he was stopped by a muscular man.
The other person was holding a flyer: "Looking to buy a house? Want to check out the latest developments?"
Using the gesture of handing out flyers, the hairy head kept getting closer to Yang Yurong's name tag on his chest, as if trying to see the name on it—
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Author's Note: The entertainment world is over! Your support is my biggest motivation~~~ Hope you continue to support the mecha competition dimension, my darlings! [droopy-eared bunny head][droopy-eared bunny head][droopy-eared bunny head]
Also, please add the pre-order item "Playing a Popular Supporting Role with a Saintly Filter" to your reading list.
[The Holy Father of Dihua Style, taking hits to build up his ultimate move~]
Copywriting:
Before his sudden death, Fu Zhao transmigrated into a cannon fodder extra in a post-apocalyptic novel. His initial popularity and stamina were both zero, and he could only survive if his popularity increased.
The system is very understanding: [I have applied for a life-saving buff for the host. As long as you take the hits for the main characters, you can accumulate rage points to unlock skills.]
Not only can you take the opportunity to make your presence known, but you can also exchange for items that improve your initial physique by using your skills multiple times!
Fu Zhao: [Understood. Take the damage to unleash your ultimate move. It's tough first, but sweet later. I will take the worst beating for Long Aotian.]
But what the system didn't tell him was that he appeared with a saintly filter, and everything he did was bathed in a gentle holy light.
Fu Zhao starts by looting equipment from dead bodies.
A passerby said: "He was so gentle. He not only helped the deceased traveler tidy up his appearance, but also recited a eulogy with a sorrowful expression."
During the fight, Fu Zhao pushed away his teammate who was hindering his rage accumulation.
Passerby: He's so kind. He'd rather let the mutated plant inflict all the damage on him alone, even if he's covered in blood, he still wants to protect his comrades behind him.
Thus, in the apocalyptic world of resource scarcity and factional infighting, legends of saints soon emerged.
He would shield young explorers from fatal wounds who had strayed into perilous situations, and after slaying the mutated plants, he would give them the crystal cores without taking a single penny in return.
He was powerful and mysterious, comforting every passerby with the gentlest words, while always gazing into the distance with a furrowed brow, quietly bearing all the harm, as if loving the world was merely an instinct for him.
In the novel's comment section, countless readers felt sorry for him and shed tears for him, pleading with the author not to take down the handsome, strong, and tragic father.
In the real world, Fu Zhao's roommate opened a new page of the novel and couldn't help but sob on the spot: "He is so compassionate. He even cares for the enemy who betrayed him. The villain was almost moved to kneel down on the spot."
Fu Zhao: ? ? ? Wait, didn't he just threaten the villain yesterday that 'you're so bad you might as well go home'?
On his phone screen, he saw himself affectionately patting the villain's hair, his smile devoid of any anger at being betrayed, only filled with endless pity and sorrow: "Go home, child, go home."
After he left, a heavy rain fell from the sky. The villain's tears mingled with the rain as he thought of his mother waiting for him at home. He wept bitterly in the rain, filled with remorse.
Fu Zhao: ...? ? ? Who is this saint? Is this still me?
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