Chapter 94: Chapter 92: Is Online Livestreaming Illegal?

The statements from both companies immediately galvanized the fans, who had been on the back foot.

Wen Ying, however, was on her lunch break.

After politely declining Uncle Zhang’s offer to bring her food and following a video’s steps to turn her lunch into a culinary disaster, Wen Ying plucked a leaf of Zhu Yu Grass and popped it into her mouth.

[If you can’t even enjoy good food, what’s the point of being human?]

Wen Ying: "..."

[Did we climb all the way to the top of the food chain just so the Host could eat grass?]

Wen Ying was speechless, finding no words to refute it.

The system was a pain, but it actually had a point this time.

She’d often seen signs in malls that said things like: You only come to the Mortal World once, so of course you have to eat meat.

Wen Ying’s mood at that moment was a little complicated.

She suddenly had a craving for barbecue, but her stomach was full.

’Might as well kill some time while I digest.’ Wen Ying opened Weibo.

The trending topics were already exploding!

A major tech influencer had posted on Weibo, stating that the video was smooth and natural with no signs of being photoshopped—it was a real video, not faked.

Meanwhile, fans of Zhong Haocun and Zhu Hua Han were flooding Wen Ying’s Weibo account. As the person at the center of the incident, Wen Ying was naturally reaping huge benefits!

Zhong Haocun had thirty-eight million followers, though how many were real was anyone’s guess.

Zhu Hua Han had fifty-six million, and again, how many were real was unknown.

There was naturally some overlap between the two fanbases, but the non-overlapping portion added up to no less than sixty million people.

And so, Wen Ying’s reputation value shot past seventy million.

It was a textbook example of shooting to the moon overnight.

The moment she saw the reputation value, Wen Ying froze, stunned like a statue.

’Am I seeing things?’

She counted it a hundred times, back and forth, but it was still seventy million! No mistake!

That was more than enough to upgrade the system ten times over!

[Time to upgrade, Host? This upgrade only requires three million reputation value~ After upgrading, the Host can obtain two Skills!]

Wen Ying thought about the Flying and Earth Escape Skill the system had given her after the last upgrade and temporarily lost the desire to do it again.

[Host! This time, the Skills will definitely be for the Host herself! Not reliant on any external aid!]

"Seventy million, seventy million, oh seventy million~" Wen Ying gloated.

[Not only that, but the Host can also get a Spirit Grass! A Spirit Grass dozens of times better than Zhu Yu Grass!]

You have to spend money to make money. Having experienced many worlds, the system understood this principle.

The system’s upgrades were also tied to its performance metrics, so this upgrade had to happen!

"A Spirit Grass? Alright, then."

[Three million reputation value successfully deducted. System upgrade initiated. This upgrade will take one week. During the upgrade period, the Host will be unable to contact the system.]

Before Wen Ying could say anything else, the system’s voice chimed in and immediately began the process.

She had really wanted to ask how long the upgrade would take, to see if she should do a lottery draw first before deciding whether to upgrade or not.

She never thought the term "high-pressure sales" would be so perfectly embodied by the system.

’Speak cautiously.’ Wen Ying etched this reminder into her heart once again.

’Now I can’t use the system for a whole week.’ Wen Ying looked at Weibo and sighed.

"The boundless horizon is my love, at the foot of the vast green mountain, the flowers are blooming..."

Hearing her ringtone, Wen Ying answered the call. The voice on the other end was cold and imperious. "You’re Wen Ying, right? I’ll give you one million. Delete the video on Weibo and issue a public apology."

Wen Ying didn’t say a word.

"Hello? Are you Wen Ying?" The person on the other end seemed a little unsure.

He knew he had the right number.

"You’re Wen Ying, right? What do you want? Just name your price! You’re just after money, aren’t you? I don’t know how you faked that video, but we’re willing to pay you this much. I’ve seen plenty of young people like you. You want to be famous, but you need to watch your methods. People shouldn’t be too greedy, or this industry won’t have a place for you. Understand?"

Wen Ying silently started a livestream with a thought and put the call on speaker.

"This is Wen Ying. Who is this?"

"You little internet celebrity, don’t try to be clever! The world is full of people smarter than you. Do you really think you alone can go up against a celebrity? Against capital? If you don’t want to be erased, you’d better do as I say!"

[OMG! I didn’t even have time to celebrate Doctor Wen going live before I see someone threatening her?]

[So which big shot, which capitalist, is being so arrogant?]

[It’s still trending and they pull a stunt like this? Do they think us netizens are all idiots? That we can be easily manipulated and fooled? Tsk tsk tsk. Is this Zhong Haocun or Zhu Hua Han, or a joint decision?]

[Threatening her on a livestream, this is hilarious! Bros, start screen recording! Don’t miss out!]

"If you don’t answer, I’m hanging up," Wen Ying said, her expression serene.

"Don’t hang up! We’re with Zhong Haocun and Zhu Hua Han. You’re scared now, aren’t you?"

"Oh, I am a little scared. What do you want from me?"

"What do we want? How dare you even ask that? Delete the video right now! Delete it! And apologize to everyone, say you faked the video yourself! Both our sides will then publicly state that we won’t press charges! Isn’t that a win-win for everyone!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Wen Ying: "..."

’She’d met morons before, but never one this idiotic.’

"And may I ask what my ’win’ is in this scenario?"

"Isn’t one million enough for you?"

"Not enough."

"One and a half million! That’s the most you’ll get! Think it over carefully, or else—"

"So the futures of those two big celebrities are only worth one and a half million? Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I was just curious how much money stars make these days. I didn’t expect them to be so poor. Not even worth a million each, sigh."

[Hahahaha! I’m dying! Doctor Wen knows her math!]

"You’re not a scammer, are you?" Wen Ying asked suddenly.

"You’re just a little internet celebrity! How dare you question me? Let me tell you, I’m Huang Tianzhu! You know Huang Tianzhu, right?! This is my number, you can go ask around! A small-fry celebrity like you wouldn’t even be qualified to meet me after slogging away for ten years! But since we’ve crossed paths today, I’ll do you the favor—free of charge—of teaching you how to act in this industry so you don’t ruin your own future!"

"128-XXXX-XXXX," Wen Ying read the phone number out loud.

[Isn’t Zhong Haocun’s manager Huang Tianzhu? Is that his real number?]

[I have a friend who’s a Zhong Haocun fan, one of the fan club admins. Wait, let me ask her!]

[If this is a real threat, that’s illegal, right? Over a hundred thousand people in the livestream are witnessing him break the law live. This guy’s got a bright future!]

[If Zhong Haocun and Zhu Hua Han knew this guy was such a moron, would they regret hiring him?]

"Oh? Then please, teach me what to do."

"See what I’m capable of now? Let me tell you, on account of you being easy on the eyes, just delete the video and apologize. You’ve already gotten a huge amount of traffic! With a powerful manager and agency, your future will be bright! I can hold onto that one million for you, and in return, I’ll personally manage you!"