Chapter 24#

To be honest, this was the first time 008 had encountered a host who needed help suppressing positive hot searches.

Although it was a newly manufactured system, it had heard from other systems at headquarters that in the early stages before a host becomes famous, they are usually required to manually boost hot search rankings and guide public opinion.

But now?

Not only did it not need to lift a finger, but the moment Song of the Earth hit the hot search list, the state sent in professionals to handle it!

008’s eyes welled with tears: Is this what it feels like to “lie down and win” by following a big shot?

It was too wonderful!

However, even if the national team took action, they could only manage the domestic network; the international trends were still climbing at an alarming rate.

Many famous scholars stepped forward to speak about the importance of the book Song of the Earth to the development of national and human technology. Some fanatics even went so far as to call it the modern version of the Bible.

However…

As everyone knows, countries like “The Rabbit” that vigorously promote compulsory education are a minority in the world. Under the influence of decades of “happy education,” a wave of anti-intellectualism had long since formed among the foreign public.

Therefore, not only did netizens disbelieve the words of these scholars, but some even organized marches, blocking the gates of government buildings in a grand procession, demanding a ban on the distribution of Song of the Earth on the internet—

Because they believed it was a Satanic book that would send readers to hell!

“I said long ago, even if you throw a 100% beneficial thing at them, they’ll definitely find a way to stir up trouble.” Father Qiao gave a short laugh, but his expression remained serious. “However, we cannot let our guard down. Has anyone contacted Yan Heqing’s side?”

“We’ve already been in touch. He said he would cooperate with the state’s actions and very generously agreed to our requests.”

“Really?” Father Qiao was surprised. “It seems this author’s personality is exactly as my analysis suggested—raised with traditional patriotic education. He agreed so easily.”

008, eavesdropping: Of course, he was personally raised by you.

“We can’t mistreat him either,” Father Qiao said. “Since the most crucial part is in our hands, we must do it well! Contact the presidents of the Central and Beijing Film Academies, as well as those veteran actors in the entertainment industry, and ask them if they have time recently.”

“Understood.”

008 heard the answer it wanted most and satisfiedly withdrew its mental tentacles from the network terminal.

It seemed it didn’t need to worry about the things to come.

The little black cat let out a lazy yawn.

It opened its eyes and found Qiao Jing wearing headphones, eyes closed, listening to Ding Xiao’s new song.

008 pressed a paw onto the back of his hand.

Qiao Jing glanced at it and obligingly switched to the speakers.

The melody of the song was not intense; it was like a summer morning breeze blowing over ocean waves, or like a person walking on the road, looking at the neon lights of the street. it made one inexplicably think of the stumbling youth of young people.

They met in the summer of that metropolis—the hot city streets, an iced Americano slowly melting in the sun, and the intense air conditioning inside skyscrapers. In the memories of those short dozen or so days, most were bright and happy, but Ding Xiao’s raspy, gentle voice gave the song a touch of faint sadness.

Just like the name of the song, “Yang Liu” (Willows) has symbolized parting since ancient times. Perhaps from the very beginning, these two young people understood their mission, so even when the day of parting truly came, they felt little sorrow.

Like a meteor streaking across the sky, with the tinkling sound of a piano as accompaniment, a soft female voice hummed the final melody of life. At this moment, they seemed to return to that afternoon when they first met—

“Hello, I am Yang Liu.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Wu.”

The song ended.

Qiao Jing took off his headphones and saw the little black cat beside him crying its heart out, its tail twitching.

“It’s so beautiful… damn it… wuwuwu…”

008’s blue cat eyes held two large pools of tears. Qiao Jing silently handed it a tissue.

If it’s a system, it shouldn’t need me to help wipe its tears, right?

Still, it was indeed a good song.

Qiao Jing thought about it and had 008 help him register a Weibo account, then gave Ding Xiao a “like.”

“!!! Is this the author himself?!”

“Heavens, the Great God opened a Weibo!”

“Great God, look at me! I want to write a fanfic for Song of the Earth, can I post it on Liuliu Web?”

“Me too! But I only know how to draw. I’ve been doing it for love, but I still really want the author’s recognition.”

“I just want to know when the physical book is coming out. I’ll be the first to buy it out, okay!”

" +10086, other publishers include posters with physical books. Do you think we should get one too?"

“Merchandise! Arrange the merch too! I’ve been eyeing those little gadgets on Yang Liu’s desk for a long time!”

Regarding these requests and questions, Qiao Jing posted a Weibo to reply to everyone collectively: “Song of the Earth is open for non-profit fan authorization. Thank you to every reader who loves my work. I know everyone is looking forward to the future plot development, but please ask the website for specific details on publishing and other copyright issues. I won’t be replying further here.”

Liuliu Web’s official “Yellow V” account immediately forwarded Qiao Jing’s post.

“Green Liuliu: Thank you, Great God, for bringing us such a great work! We are happy to tell everyone that Song of the Earth will soon be made into a TV series!”

Readers: !!???

Equally shocked was Jing Xinglan.

Wait, in just a few days, his massive film rights deal was gone?

Who! Who on earth did it?!

Jing Xinglan couldn’t figure it out. Besides Xinglan Entertainment and OM Company, which other domestic film company could be so wealthy as to offer a price higher than his thirty million? Do those small companies dare to swallow such a huge project? Aren’t they afraid of choking to death!

He was so angry he rolled out of bed and walked out the door in his pajamas.

The man went to the stairwell and started pounding on Qiao Jing’s front door.

The door opened quickly.

Qiao Jing looked at Jing Xinglan calmly, as if he had expected it: “Are you here to ask about the copyrights?”

“What do you think?” Jing Xinglan asked with a dark face. “So, which company is it?”

Qiao Jing: “It’s not a company.”

“What?”

“I said, it’s not a company,” Qiao Jing said patiently. “You can go look at which other official account forwarded that Weibo.”

Jing Xinglan immediately pulled out his phone. He had rushed out as soon as he saw the Weibo from the official Liuliu account and hadn’t had time to look closely at the comments.

When he saw the “Rabbit” avatar at the top of the hot comments, he fell silent.

Actually, Jing Xinglan had heard some internal rumors, but he still didn’t expect Yan Heqing to be playing such a high-stakes game.

“…Alright, since that’s the case, then never mind.” He sighed, feeling strangely better because he hadn’t lost on price. “What about the other rights? Don’t you plan to sell even one?”

“No, the others don’t matter as much.”

Jing Xinglan finally let out a sigh of relief: “That’s good.”

If he couldn’t get the film rights, he at least had to fight for the publishing and anime rights. After all, Xinglan Entertainment had its own publishing house.

“One more thing,” Jing Xinglan coughed, his eyes suddenly beginning to flicker. “I don’t know if it’s convenient for you…”

Qiao Jing’s mouth twitched: “Speak.”

“When Song of the Earth is published, I want Teacher Yan Heqing’s autograph.” Jing Xinglan looked at him with sparkling eyes. Even though he was a mature man nearly 1.9 meters tall, he seemed surrounded by floating flowers. “Is that okay?”

Qiao Jing: “…Okay.”

He closed the door somewhat awkwardly.

The black-haired young man leaned against the door with his head lowered, his earlobes hidden under his hair turning red, like freshly picked small tomatoes.

Since Ding Xiao created the fan song, various derivatives of Song of the Earth on the internet had begun growing like bamboo shoots after rain.

The images of several main characters were also completely finalized after a “God-tier” artist from the art circle—who had set a record price of over 100,000 for a single painting—stepped in.

Don’t Pigeon looked in awe at these character illustrations, which were so detailed down to the hair strands and so beautiful that people shouted, “I can do 2D characters!” He silently saved a high-definition image of Aliyah and a gender-swapped Yang Liu to his phone and set it as his screensaver.

Even if it’s gender-swapped… he could do it!

A “waifu” has no gender!

“Slacking off at work? Do you want your salary deducted?”

Liu Huayi’s sinister voice came from behind him. Don’t Pigeon was startled and immediately sat up straight: “Sorry, Boss! I’ll get back to work right now!”

Liu Huayi snorted and slapped a piece of paper in front of him: “Put the work at hand aside for a moment. This is the list of attendees for the ceremony sent over by Xingchen Web. Take a look.”

Don’t Pigeon scanned it and said in surprise: “Just these people? Xingchen Web’s authors for the past two years are really lacking new talent.”

Before, they at least had “Jing Hua Shui Yue” to hold up the fort. Now that he had terminated his contract, most of the old-school “Great Gods” had stopped writing, let alone attending some ceremony.

Looking across the list, the only ones Xingchen Web could bring out to save face were Sa’en and a few other new writers who were barely well-known in the industry.

Although it wouldn’t be impossible to brag a bit and package them in front of investors… but to put it bluntly, the writing industry still depends on skill. Whether a book is good or not is ultimately up to the readers. Yao Jing’s attempt to bring his entertainment industry marketing strategies into the web novel world was truly a bit whimsical.

“Before, they were rotten, and other websites were even worse,” Liu Huayi said gleefully. “It’s different now. We have Yan Heqing. Our reader volume has increased significantly, and the number of new authors registering every month is growing. As one falls, the other rises. I’m afraid CEO Yao might accidentally get an ulcer from worry while looking at the reports from the data department lately.”

Don’t Pigeon looked at the way the boss’s mouth was practically twisting with laughter and silently lit a candle for the boss of Xingchen Web.

Although he didn’t know the principle, Liu Huayi indeed had a special skill—

Anyone who tried to snatch money from his hands would end up unlucky.

Yao Jing, relying on Xingchen Web’s dominant position in the industry, had caused Liu Huayi to suffer many hidden losses in the past. Totaling it up, he’d probably have to endure a “Mercury retrograde” for five or six years.

Amen.

As mentioned before, attendees of this ceremony were not just professionals from the web novel industry, but also producers, directors, and stars from major film companies.

Therefore, as a top film company in the industry, Xinglan Entertainment naturally received an invitation.

“I’m not going. Send someone from below to attend.”

At this moment, Jing Xinglan’s thoughts were synchronized with Qiao Jing’s.

Though the content was slightly different. He was thinking: What’s the point of attending this crappy ceremony?

Anyway, Jing Hua Shui Yue wouldn’t be there.

The secretary said over the phone: “Okay, CEO Jing, I’ll have them arrange it. But there’s one more thing…”

“Speak.”

“Liuliu Web hasn’t given a definite answer yet on whether Yan Heqing will attend. Recently, OM Company has also shown interest in contacting them, likely wanting to secure the other rights,” the secretary said quickly. “Do you want to give the person-in-charge certain authority to close this deal?”

Jing Xinglan’s knuckles tightened on the phone.

The film rights were gone, and now people were trying to snatch the rest?

“Give me the invitation,” he said in a deep voice. “I’ll go personally.”

Secretary: “…Understood.”

And so, amidst great anticipation, the day of the ceremony drew closer.

Two days before the opening ceremony, hundreds of workers in N City’s Central Park were in full swing setting up the stage. Their setup was grand, with over a thousand seats prepared. Multiple entertainment media outlets had sent reporters to stake out early, and hotel prices in the surrounding area rose accordingly.

These people were mainly there to photograph the stars attending the ceremony, but this time, besides the stars, a person outside the entertainment circle was also receiving widespread public attention.

—That person was the author of Song of the Earth, Yan Heqing.

Many “Big Shots” in the country had already uncovered the brilliance of this book. Just listening to their video analyses left viewers in a daze. They thought it was a highly professional technical book, but when they went to look out of curiosity, aside from the theoretical analysis parts, it was clearly a novel with a gripping plot, vivid characters, and extremely high readability and fun!

Anyone who has written knows that it’s easy to write something profound and mysterious by stacking parallel structures and rhetorical imagery; but to write something simple, humorous, and interesting while allowing readers to perceive deeper meanings upon closer reading—that requires absolute literary foundation.

Many stars were even repeatedly reminded by their managers before the meeting that if they managed to see Yan Heqing in person, they must go up and have a chat, and preferably get the author’s contact information!

If Song of the Earth was to be made into a TV series handled by the state, the lineup would be an absolute “Dream Team.” At a time like this, don’t even mention salary or billing order. Even if they weren’t paid a cent, just getting a role in the show for free would be a major achievement that fans and studios could brag about for over a decade!

The stars and influencers Don’t Pigeon had contacted before were even more full of regret, calling him “Brother Li” every day on QQ.

Don’t Pigeon thought: Before, you all acted like you were so high and mighty, sparing with words and making this or that demand until my head hurt. Now you’re all writing short essays to me with “reason and emotion”—each paragraph looks sincere and tear-jerking. Do you take me for a fool?

Blocked! Deleted!

See you never!

After completing this series of operations, the breath Don’t Pigeon had been holding in his chest finally eased.

Sitting in his seat, he clenched his fist tightly, feeling a sense of vindication—

So satisfying!

But Don’t Pigeon also knew that his current confidence was given by the Great God. So after calming his emotions, he contacted Qiao Jing immediately: “Great God, you also know how broad the influence of Song of the Earth is. The state’s side hopes you’d best not attend public events recently. If you do, please hide your identity or contact them in advance. They will send people to the ceremony to ensure your safety.”

At a large-scale event like this, it was a mixed bag of people. Yan Heqing was now on the blacklists of many countries. People who disliked him or wanted his life could hold hands and wrap around Central Park more than three times.

Qiao Jing: “Not necessary. I’m not going.”

He wasn’t crazy. Why would he run to a place full of crowds and cameras?

008 felt a bit of regret. It liked the excitement, but it also knew Qiao Jing was truly not suited for such an occasion. So it could only sigh: “I hope we can see it on the news then.”

“Don’t worry, the ceremony is being livestreamed in full,” Qiao Jing said. “We can buy popcorn and sit on the sofa to watch it slowly.”

Air conditioning, snacks, and no socializing.

Quite comfortable.

But Qiao Jing’s dream was soon shattered by a knock on the door.

He was even starting to wonder: Is Jing Xinglan his roommate?

Even for a roommate, no one comes wandering by every other day like this!

“Let’s go together tomorrow,” the man in a suit said with a smile as the door opened. “I’ll drive.”

After a pause, he asked as if casually: “By the way, you’re an editor at Liuliu Web and Yan Heqing’s managing editor. Your boss must have already given you an invitation to the ceremony, right?”

Qiao Jing: “…”

He gripped the doorknob tightly, thinking expressionlessly: I should have 008 destroy the evidence of this man’s existence as soon as possible.

Tired.

Beijing Time, 2:00 AM.

While most people in the Eastern Hemisphere were deep in sleep, in a certain superpower across the ocean, a press conference capable of shocking the world was being held.

Facing reporters from countless countries and hundreds of cameras, the spokesperson for M Country stood behind the podium, lifted his eyelids to look at the audience, and announced in a cold, superior tone:

“…Due to various reasons such as preventing national technology from being stolen, we regret to state that if China does not actively make changes and close relevant research institutions, M Country enterprises will gradually stop the supply of mid-to-high-end chips to China in the future.”

After speaking, he closed the folder in his hand, ignored the frantic questions from the reporters below, made no further explanations, and turned to walk directly off the stage.

—Thus, the press conference ended.

That night, the world was in an uproar.