Chapter 41: World Two [11] Part 1

【Good morning. The online narrative shifted somewhat last night. The Paid Trolls Xu Yin paid for out-of-pocket compiled a retrospective of male stars you’ve been previously linked with, trying to blame you for everything.】

【‘Flies don’t visit seamless eggs. Even if those men were using you for clout, why did they all choose Shao Qing? She must be the problem.’ ‘Being linked once is an accident, but repeatedly being linked means someone’s dirty.’】

【These are the talking points the paid trolls are clinging to as they spread their brainwashing rhetoric. They’re attacking the notion that your personal morals must be flawed, hence the frequent pairings.】

【However, your fans, along with the new fans attracted by your looks, have strong fighting power. They produced a very detailed timeline and dug up all the awards you’ve won based on your talent.】

【With arguments like, ‘Qingqing rose to fame young and had no backing, which is why those jerks targeted her,’ and ‘You people have no idea of Qingqing’s beauty; those men were just angry that their attempts to latch onto her failed,’ your fans battled the trolls nearly all night.】

【The netizens active at night are largely adults capable of independent judgment. They weren’t swayed by the trolls’ logic. Instead, they were captivated by the red carpet photos your fans posted.】

【According to my analysis, your account gained around 200,000 followers overnight. These are all active, real followers with extremely high engagement.】

As Shao Qing got up to wash, Jing Ke conscientiously compiled and presented the pertinent information.

“Alright, I understand. Thank you for your hard work.” Shao Qing dried her face with a towel and began applying her skincare products.

【Your company doesn’t seem to have arranged any corresponding PR. Your fans are defending you spontaneously. Should I archive the relevant data?】

【Zongheng Entertainment still has decent influence in the industry, but their focus has clearly shifted to newer artists. They’re unlikely to give you many resources going forward.】

“Are you suggesting I switch companies?” Shao Qing asked.

【I think it’s worth considering. You signed with Zongheng Entertainment at twenty-two on a five-year initial contract. When you renewed last year, they offered you reduced terms, and the contract is only for two years.】

【Their intentions are obvious. If you don’t have a resurgence within these two years, they’ll either offer an even worse contract or just freeze you out passively.】

“We’ll see. Business is profit-driven; that’s normal. I’m not naive enough to expect sympathy from capitalists,” Shao Qing wasn’t a starry-eyed girl with romantic notions about the entertainment industry. She understood many of its unspoken rules.

An artist who brings profit to the company will naturally be given a larger share of resources. An artist who brings little profit will naturally see their resource allocation prioritized lower than the money-makers.

For instance, when she was at the peak of her popularity, Zongheng Entertainment was incredibly responsive, handling any request she made flawlessly.

Shao Qing harbored no special affection for Zongheng. It was simply a case of crows being black wherever you go. If she couldn’t generate enough profit, the treatment would be the same at any company.

【Understood. If you ever consider starting your own company or Studio, I can assist with rational planning and provide corresponding support.】

Jing Ke didn’t press the issue of leaving Zongheng Entertainment, merely offering her opinion.

At half past eight, the Director predictably arrived to announce the day’s tasks. Yesterday’s three-person Fishing Spot remained available, but the Director had tweaked the rules. Instead of keeping one fish for every five caught, it was now one for every ten. Furthermore, when selecting the fish, the guest wouldn’t have to pick the smallest one. Instead, it would be a blind draw.

The program would let the stream viewers see the fish in water tanks numbered one through ten, and then let the guest draw blindly.

The difficulty of acquiring supplies had technically increased, but a lucky draw for the largest fish could still be quite profitable.

Aside from that, ten pieces of wood could still be exchanged for a Supply Point clue. However, this time, larger pieces of wood would not count as multiples. One piece was one piece, period, to discourage guests from targeting the larger trees for convenience.

The task of collecting marine trash was a permanent fixture, but only two Supply Point clues would be given out per day, operating on a first-come, first-served basis.

The rule of three fish for one Supply Point clue remained unchanged, but after being burned once, the guests probably wouldn’t choose that option.

Especially the spectacularly unlucky Xu Yin. Eating sparingly, three fish could have fed him for a day. Traded for a clue, it might yield something that looked good but was utterly useless to him.

“Little Shao, going to try your luck again today?” Yu Hongjun asked with a smile. “If you draw the biggest fish, lunch is sorted.”

Before Shao Qing could agree, the Director, who had just announced the rules, raised his Loudspeaker again. “A supplement: to allow guests to experience the colorful diversity of outdoor life, you may not use the same method to acquire food on two consecutive days.”

The faces of all six guests grew troubled at the Director’s sudden new rule.

“Director, are you afraid Little Shao will fish the entire ocean dry?” Yu Hongjun couldn’t help but speak up. Did this rule get added specifically to target Shao Qing?

“Just adding a little variety. Teacher Shao can also choose to collect trash or chop wood. Those are both fast ways to get supplies,” the Director deflected with a chuckle, offering no further explanation.

It wasn’t explicitly targeting Shao Qing. The production team was just adding some general difficulty for everyone.

“Teacher Li, there are only two clues available from marine trash. How about you take one trade, and Sister Hong and I take the other?” Shao Qing adapted to the new rule quickly enough. Yesterday, she had only fished; today, she still had many options.

By comparison, this new rule was much harsher on Xu Yin, who had chopped wood and collected trash yesterday. If he wanted a clue now, his only option was fishing. And trading thirty fish for one clue? After yesterday, Xu Yin probably wouldn’t do that again. So, his food for the day would have to be fish or wild edibles.

“Alright. We’ll go fishing together tomorrow then, and try to catch a lot,” Yu Hongjun nodded, her gaze at Shao Qing even warmer.

What a steady, sensible junior. She hadn’t gotten upset at all. But that was good; only by facing everything with calmness and patience could one survive in the cannibalistic world of entertainment.

Only three were willing to pick up trash: Shao Qing, Yu Hongjun, and Li Liming. Naturally, no one competed with them.

For the moment, the best tool for chopping wood was the Multifunctional Entrenching Tool. Liu Chang wasted no time in trading two Coconuts for the right to use it.

Zheng Xingxing had nothing of value to offer, so he just brazenly tried to cozy up to Xu Yin, repeatedly invoking the bond of “we slept in the same camp,” attempting to freeload the use of Xu Yin’s Multifunctional Entrenching Tool.

Xu Yin was sorely tempted to refuse and send Zheng Xingxing off to Liu Chang, but unable to resist Zheng Xingxing’s grinning, persistent pestering, he could only grit his teeth and play nice.

The production team was reasonably generous. When guests chose to clean marine trash, they provided free Gloves and rubber boots to prevent cuts from unknown debris.

Collecting trash wasn’t a skill-intensive task. You just needed to stuff whatever refuse the tide had washed ashore into a burlap sack.

The types and nature of the marine trash were highly varied, but mostly consisted of plastics of different colors and types. You could find everything on the shore, from large blue water tanks down to a single button.

Beyond that, various ruined fishing nets and ropes made up a significant portion, often tangled with rusty metal scraps and glass shards. Carelessness could easily lead to cuts.

【Careful. Nail ahead. One step and it’ll go right through the sole.】

“Okay, I see it. Thanks.” Shao Qing’s moving steps halted. Only after her eyes located the rusted, point-up nail did she inch forward.

She grabbed a piece of nearby styrofoam, spiked it onto the nail, and then tossed the nail, foam and all, into the large woven sack.

“Sister Hong, Teacher Li, watch your step. I just saw a nail. There might be others around,” Shao Qing warned.

“Ah, thanks for the heads up,” Li Liming replied. In just half an hour, his sack was already nearly full.

Yu Hongjun walked beside Shao Qing, her brow slightly furrowed. “I didn’t expect an island not yet open to the public to have this much trash. If it were a fully developed tourist island, would it be even worse?”

“If it became a tourist island, the generation of daily waste would definitely be higher. But there’d probably be a dedicated cleaning crew by then. Maybe the situation would be better.” Shao Qing dragged her sack a bit further and crouched down, speeding up her movements.

“I hope so. The development of this island is probably imminent,” Yu Hongjun noted, a simple observation for the cameras’ sake.

Hearing this, Shao Qing’s eyebrows twitched slightly. She asked Jing Ke internally, “After the show finishes filming, will this island be developed?”

【Given its current popularity, developing it into a scenic spot is highly probable. However, the chance of overdevelopment is low. They’ll likely capitalize on the ‘Wilderness Survival’ gimmick, developing it shallowly while preserving the natural ecosystem.】

【The production team’s ability to secure exclusive filming rights here, and keep others away during shooting, is directly linked to the strategic plans of the Investors behind the show.】

Shao Qing pondered for a moment. “Is the wood we’ve been collecting also part of the gimmick? Something to be used later in some photo-op worthy structure?”

【Based on available evidence, very likely. The wood gathered earlier has all been labeled and stored separately by origin.】

“No wonder they make us do different tasks every day. The producers want everyone to leave a little something useful behind,” Shao Qing quickly pieced it together.

A fan’s money was always the easiest to earn, especially for a star with a legion of devoted followers. All they needed was an item tangentially linked to the celebrity, a clever hook, and fans would flock to this island in droves. Once the initial fame was established, the subsequent operations would be smooth sailing. Over time, the island itself would become famous.

【Your massive haul of fish yesterday, combined with the trending topic, has indeed given this unnamed island a considerable publicity boost. The Production Team genuinely hopes you’ll have another spectacular day, but they also worry that you’ll underperform.】

“So, you think they’ll give me the rod and bait I don’t want tomorrow?” Shao Qing couldn’t help slipping into a bit of conspiracy theory.

【The production team might arrange something in advance. Perhaps pre-baiting a spot, or releasing extra fish in a designated location.】 Jing Ke said. 【That would require some preparation time. It can’t be done overnight.】

Jing Ke continued, 【But you don’t need to worry. Your Fortune is currently recovering. By the end of filming, your fishing success rate will be four to five times higher than the average person.】