Chapter 87 The "surprise" Tao Tao prepared...
Since the release of their first video, the five members of the publicity team have updated their videos every week for nearly a year, rain or shine, even during exam weeks. When they occasionally lack inspiration, they also solicit ideas from forums. Their consistent update habits and high-quality content have earned them a large and loyal following.
In order to expand the reach and influence, the publicity team not only opened accounts on the pink app, but also on platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and Kuaishou, and updated them simultaneously.
Today, the combined number of fans across multiple platforms exceeds ten million.
Later, due to the heavy workload, they recruited more than a dozen people to help with the operation. Little Freckles also set up a separate editorial team for the official account, which she led, and distributed the writing work.
Even so, the workload was still enormous. Fortunately, the principal's reward points were equally generous, and their sense of responsibility allowed the five of them to grit their teeth and persevere.
The videos from @DormitoryBattleRivals have their own original worldview. They spent a year telling the story of how several friends from the same school prepare for the apocalypse.
And today is the day that, according to the world's setting, the end of the world is about to arrive.
The five members started teasing the event on various platforms a month in advance, with video content gradually setting the stage for the impending apocalypse. Almost all fans sensed that TaoTao was going to "make a big move" on this day, and the comment section was buzzing with discussion. Amid everyone's anticipation, the five members finally announced at the end of last week's video that the next update would be a live stream, and they hoped everyone would tune in on time.
At 8:00 AM this morning, the account @DormitoryBattle uploaded a short video on time.
The usual self-introduction segment at the beginning of the video was divided into five small windows.
Although the five people were wearing familiar hoods, they were dressed differently and stood in front of different backgrounds, clearly indicating that they had all gone home for summer vacation. Some were using cameras positioned in a fixed location, while others were using the front-facing cameras of their mobile phones, and they all shouted in unison, "Hello everyone, we are Dorm Survival!"
The camera then cuts to a green-headed fish, which is Sun Wei, who had driven there early in the morning and was now temporarily stopping at a rest area to film a video.
Her background is a highway service area. She's sitting in the driver's seat of a truck, her phone camera shaking as she says energetically, "This afternoon at 1 p.m., we'll be starting a two-hour live broadcast!"
Then there's Eddie Redmayne, still at home in his pajamas: "During the live stream, we will randomly connect with online fans to check on everyone's doomsday preparations."
Peppa Pig suddenly leaned closer to the camera, her tone turning low and sinister. She pulled a fire axe from under the table: "...Don't tell me you weren't prepared! Don't you want to live?"
"Don't scare the audience!" The sunglasses-wearing dog head suddenly cut in, forcibly pushing the Peppa Pig scene out of the frame, and the background music became cheerful.
He was standing in a large warehouse full of supplies, holding paper and mats for inventory counting.
The man with sunglasses and dog head tucked the pad under his arm, crossed his arms, and suddenly laughed, "But then again, guys who don't prepare for the apocalypse really don't want to live."
"Ahem." Evil Pikachu coughed twice, then switched to a standard announcer's voice, "After the live broadcast, we will select ten of the best-performing viewers to receive a three-piece fruit set—you heard right, that fruit. Guaranteed to make you a top student in university."
Two money symbols were heavily projected next to her head, accompanied by the sound effect of coins falling.
"In addition, we have also launched activities on social media platforms such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu. Besides live streaming, you can also use the hashtags #DormitoryBattleRivalry# and #DoomsdayPreparers# to post your preparations for the 'doomsday', whether it's weapons, stockpiling supplies, or even your own homemade shelter. We will also randomly select 50 people to receive a hot pot voucher worth 299 yuan, and another 300 people to receive a special gift pack from TaoTao."
These formal, long lines were always spoken by Yue Yuxuan.
The news anchor's voice was quite pleasant to listen to, but it was hard for viewers to ignore Pikachu's tattered straw hat and the sun-drenched fields in the background.
Finally, Su Huaijin, who had already returned to his dormitory, sat on his bed and said, "There are a lot of winning spots available, so everyone is welcome to sign up."
"Oh, right," she suddenly whispered mysteriously, "at the very end of the live stream, there will be a long-awaited mystery guest connecting with us! Be sure to tune in until the very end!"
At the end of the video, the scene changes back to the five people waving to the audience: "See you in the live stream at 1 PM!"
...
The majority of fans of @DormitoryBattle Royale are students, and it's summer vacation, which is when they are most active online. Within two hours of the video being posted, it had already generated a lot of discussion.
[F5's really something! They're actually giving out such expensive prizes?]
[TaoTao, you've changed. Your persona has crumbled. You're no longer the poor student I used to know, just like me. TAT...]
[Peppa Pig is hilarious! Where did that fire axe come from? Does she keep her bedroom full of video props? That would scare her aunt and uncle to death!]
[I'm usually a bit socially awkward and not interested in live streaming, but seeing how generous the prizes are, I shamefully got tempted...]
[+1, it's time to show our true strength!]
[Long-time fans who have followed them all the way, please speak up! Casual fans might not know, but TaoTao has been very generous with his previous giveaways; they really love their fans!]
[How come I only just discovered this amazing content creator?][A soon-to-be freshman is already preparing to register for university, and he's got the Apple trio! I begged my mom for ages after my exams to buy me one, and I even had to use my New Year's money to buy a phone. I can't imagine how happy I'll be registering with this trio...]
...
@Zhao Yun, a long-time fan of Dormitory Battle Royale, also saw a video.
Their school starts early, with classes beginning next Monday. Zhao Yun had just returned to school and was packing her luggage. While taking a break, she came across Tao Tao's new video and excitedly showed it to her roommate: "There's a live stream this afternoon, want to watch it together?"
Her roommate, ever since being kicked to the bottom of the pit by Fu Qing's appearance last time, has also become a die-hard fan of Tao Tao along with Zhao Yun. The two of them watch every episode together, which is even more enjoyable than watching variety shows.
TaoTao didn't disappoint his two fans. Despite the long serialization, his creativity hasn't dried up; in fact, each episode is more exciting than the last, and the production quality is far beyond what one would expect from a student's work. Since the incredibly realistic "zombie" appeared, several of his videos' special effects have even gone viral, with professional special effects artists posting discussions about the techniques used to create those zombies.
Zhao Yun, as a fan, was extremely proud that her favorite blogger was so outstanding.
These days, @DormitoryBattleRivals' videos consistently garner over a million views on a single website, and they frequently make it onto the homepage, making it a truly viral content creator.
They even achieved the title of "UP Master of the Year" and received an invitation to the awards ceremony.
However, the five of them declined, citing their busy academic schedules.
In such public places, they fear being targeted by devout believers, which could harm ordinary people who attend.
But in the eyes of the audience, it was the five people's low-key behavior.
In addition, the @DormitoryBattles account almost never accepts advertisements, and the few ads it does post are mostly for promoting agricultural products, clearly indicating that it hasn't received much in advertising fees. Furthermore, with Fu Qing's support behind the scenes, the five members have been very generous with their giveaways to expand the video's reach, which has made them even more beloved by fans.
In order to make more money for TaoTao and prevent him from losing money on making videos, the purchase volume of those few ads was astonishing.
Many fans have also fallen in love with apocalyptic films and novels under their influence, and have developed the habit of hoarding them.
They didn't really believe the end of the world would come, but whenever they thought about what places around them could be used for refuge, how long their supplies at home could last, or what they could do with a stick they picked up on the roadside... it was as if they were living in an RPG game called Earth Online, adding a lot of fun to their boring lives.
After the "Dormitory Battle Royale" became popular, many similar doomsday preparation bloggers sprang up on various platforms.
Some are imitations, while others are complete plagiarisms. Following persistent protests from fans, @DormitoryEscape also issued a statement, saying that recent social news has caused widespread anxiety and the world is constantly changing, and their original intention in creating the videos was to bring everyone a sense of ease and joy in this turbulent environment.
At the same time, we hope that everyone will be prepared for the worst. Many of the contents of their videos can be used not only in the apocalypse, but also to protect themselves in daily life.
For example, a fire axe can be used to kill zombies or save yourself in a fire.
For example, techniques for killing zombies can also be used for self-defense in real life.
For example, stockpiling is always beneficial in case of an outbreak of infectious diseases. They have also provided information on the shelf life and storage methods of various supplies for viewers' reference.
For plagiarists, they will send lawyer's letters as warnings and reserve the right to pursue legal action, but for imitators—they are happy to see more people willing to produce works on the post-apocalyptic theme.
The statement was praised by many for its strategic thinking, and it also made many viewers who were just watching for fun realize that while Tao Tao was being silly, he was also seriously doing scientific education.
All the doomsday preparation behaviors mentioned in their videos are feasible and supported by real data—they can actually be learned from!
What's most impressive is the dedication of the five members. Long-term followers can see that they have undergone a complete transformation in their physiques over the past year, clearly indicating that they have been exercising in private.
Some fans even joked that the current five-man group looks like they could actually kill a zombie with a single axe blow.
All these events combined have made @DormitoryEscape from the Dormitory, who debuted less than a year ago, a true treasure of a content creator.
This also made their first live broadcast particularly eye-catching.
Zhao Yun and her roommate eagerly awaited the broadcast, having scheduled a reminder on the website. Zhao Yun glanced at the noodles and other items stored in the storage box under the bed and suddenly said, "How about we try doing a live stream together?"
"Us?" My roommate reflexively refused. "We can't do it. There are so many people, we definitely won't be selected, and even if we were, it would be awkward."
"What's so awkward about that? Those five are so good at making things interesting, there's definitely no chance of an awkward silence. Besides, we've actually stocked up on a lot of stuff in our dorm," Zhao Yun joked. "If there really is a zombie outbreak, we can hold out in the dorm for a long time."
Seeing that her roommate was still hesitant, she continued, "That's a three-piece fruit set; you could sell it for tens of thousands of yuan."
Few college students are not short of money, so my roommate finally made up his mind: "Okay, let's give it a try."
Once she decided to participate, she immediately became decisive, opening both of their lockers and checking their stockpiles: "Most of what we have here are snacks, isn't that a bit much? Should we go to the small supermarket and buy some more?"
Even if you don't get selected, you can still use it to eat if you run out of money at the end of the month, so it won't go to waste.
“Okay.” Zhao Yun stood up excitedly. “Let’s go!”
On the way, they watched the video again, and this time the roommate noticed something important. She paused when the screaming chicken said its last sentence: "Who is this mystery guest they're talking about?"
“Long-awaited…” She savored those two words, her eyes suddenly lighting up. “Could it be the person who wore the gas mask before?”
@DormitoryBattle has never collaborated with other content creators. The only guest featured in the videos is Fu Qing, who only appeared once, yet she amazed many people.
If we're talking about something that's been "long awaited," this seems to be the only answer.
Zhao Yun also got excited: "It's very possible! It would be great if it were her!"
Since then, countless people have called for the mysterious sixth member to become a regular cast member, but TaoTao has cruelly ignored them all. If she really appears in this live stream, it will be a huge surprise!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
