Chapter 44: A New Goal and System Revelation

“Zhang, I hear you’re in Huaguo for a show?”

The man, known as Zhang Ming, possessed the typical features of a person of Chinese descent, with yellow skin and black hair. He was a second-generation Chinese American, raised in the Free Nation, who had released numerous rap songs and even topped the Free Nation’s pop music charts.

“Leon, my family happens to have connections with the show’s sponsor. He dragged me over as a guest, so I’m just treating it as a vacation abroad.”

Zhang Ming lay on the spacious bed, chatting idly with his friend. Just the day before, he had demonstrated exquisite vocal technique and style, only slightly outshone by a veteran Huaguo singer. However, considering the show was footing the bill for this vacation, he harbored little competitive spirit.

“Zhang, do you know about this song in Huaguo? It’s super popular on Douyin recently.”

After speaking, Leon began playing the intro melody of “The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style,” swaying and gesturing enthusiastically to the music. However, before he could finish listening, Zhang Ming cut him off. “Enough! This old-fashioned Huaguo music can’t compare to the thrill of our Free Nation’s rock.”

“Alright, fine. But if you ever find out who wrote that song, get me an autograph!”

Seeing Zhang Ming’s disdain for the song, Leon dropped the topic, and the two began discussing the show Zhang Ming was participating in.

“How much longer until you’re back? According to reliable sources, a certain pop diva is preparing songs for her new album and is looking for a suitable duet partner.” Leon revealed a significant piece of news to Zhang Ming, who was still in Huaguo.

“If you can win this show, riding on the wave of attention you’ll gain in Huaguo, it’ll be easy to attract that diva to collaborate with you.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ming immediately sat upright. His original intention of a relaxed vacation evaporated, replaced by a new goal: to defeat all the Huaguo singers in the program and win the competition with an overwhelming advantage.

Afterward, he would return to the Free Nation and further elevate his popularity through a collaboration with the diva.

Meanwhile, online, the new songs released by Lin Ziyao and Qin Yu continued to generate buzz.

First, the interviews accompanying the song releases, meticulously polished by Qian Fang, carefully omitted any mention of Lin Ziyao’s family background.

Instead, the interviews focused heavily on Lin Ziyao’s interpretation of the two songs, dissecting their hidden meanings and the people she hoped to inspire.

The section featuring Qin Yu’s interview, however, centered more on the emotional state the singer embodied while performing the songs, as well as Lin Ziyao’s assessment of her as a performer.

Many people, in particular, paid close attention to Qin Yu’s final answer.

Was the emergence of “Initial Dream” also related to the show?

It was then that detail experts began to unearth the show’s filming schedule. After careful deliberation, they discovered that if Qin Yu’s words were true, the song’s opportune moment must have occurred in either the first or second episode of the show.

Consequently, the viewership for “Star Week” on Penguin Video experienced another surge. Many detail experts were determined to uncover the exact “opportune moment” Qin Yu had mentioned.

The second episode had not yet aired, but they had scrutinized even the preview, frame by frame, hoping to find a clue. However, the preview emphasized the final stage performance, so they had yet to uncover any significant leads.

Unaware of the online storm, Lin Ziyao and her companions were currently focused on completing the final segment of the program—the concluding activities.

Director Chen, having returned to his bedroom to quickly recuperate, reappeared before everyone, his triumphant expression utterly unchanged. The show had become even more explosively popular than he had imagined.

“Everyone, for the final day, according to our original schedule, we were supposed to bury some capsules around the resort for future resort guests to go on a treasure hunt.”

Director Chen outlined the production team’s initial plan.

“However, now we have an additional task: to record a special version of ‘The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style.’ This song will become a program tradition, passed down. When the next season begins filming, their first mission will be to learn this song.”

This decision came after he witnessed Lin Ziyao bring “The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style” to the stage. By binding this massively popular song to the program, he aimed to provide a lasting memory point for audiences.

It would also offer a sense of familiarity to returning viewers when the second season aired—a crucial element for retaining an audience in a sequel variety show.

As a seasoned director, Director Chen was adept at leveraging his strengths.

[Detection: Fan count exceeds 10,000. System enables Action Point acquisition function.]

The sudden system notification drew Lin Ziyao’s attention. She saw on the panel that, in addition to tasks and hidden rewards, there was now a new method for acquiring action points.

Simply put, whenever new fans were gained, the system would automatically grant Lin Ziyao a certain number of action points. The current exchange rate was one point for every hundred fans—a one-hundred-to-one ratio.

Based on the fan count currently tallied by the system, Lin Ziyao could acquire over a hundred points. Coupled with the points she already possessed, she now had a grand total of one thousand points. With these, she could procure three accompaniments or two full songs.

Crucially, points acquired through fan conversions could be repeatedly obtained each month, though at a significantly reduced rate—a one-thousand-to-one ratio.

Taking Lin Ziyao’s current fan count as an example, if her fan base remained at ten thousand, she would only gain ten action points next month, roughly equivalent to the daily tasks.

“Only ten thousand fans?” Lin Ziyao sighed with a hint of dejection. This outcome was quite unexpected for her.

She had initially believed that with the variety show’s broadcast, many people would pay attention to her. Yet, the system’s feedback indicated she currently had only ten thousand fans.

Unbeknownst to her, having been cut off from the outside world, her name had been trending on Weibo’s hot search for an entire night.

Her fan count on Penguin Music had already surpassed a million; essentially, a vast number of people were already her fans, though this differed from the system’s definition of a “fan.”

Still, having an additional avenue to acquire action points was a positive development, especially since her time with Qin Yu might become less frequent after the variety show concluded.

She had previously asked the system privately why the last task specifically designated Qin Yu. The system had merely stammered an explanation, stating that due to the activation of a hidden system reward, subsequent tasks would primarily focus on Qin Yu.

This implied that to complete any future tasks proposed by the system, she would need Qin Yu’s cooperation. Now, with an extra way to acquire action points, she wouldn’t find herself in a tight spot when she needed them.

Fortunately, she had agreed to collaborate with Qin Yu earlier and signed with the same management company. This would ensure opportunities for them to meet again in the future.

She glanced at Qin Yu, who was seated beside her, and let out a sigh of relief, grateful for her foresight.