Generation Z Artists

Chapter 359 Online Novels, IP, System

"puff!"

"boom!"

"Bang..."

After seeing the advertisement with his own eyes, Kai Zi was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted on the spot.

Upon waking, trembling and shaking, she screamed in anguish and despair, unleashing a torrent of curses.

"That bastard deserves to be shot! He's gone too far!"

This thing is too vicious; in some ways, its destructive power far surpasses Fang Xinghe's well-reasoned criticisms.

The average person has very limited comprehension ability and a low willingness to understand, so once you make things complicated, the proportion of people who will actually think about them carefully will drop sharply.

The same applies to gossip. When a story is relatively complex, most netizens only understand the surface and form a fixed impression.

This is collective restlessness, which is not a chronic problem of the Internet age, but a problem of "limited attention allocation" and "fixed cognitive assumptions" that has run through history.

Ms. Li's 5000-word essay and Wang Lihong's four victories over four years have still failed to clear her name.

Similarly, Fang Xinghe is still burdened with the rumor that he "slept with a lot of delinquent girls during his school years." When Mantianxing argues with the haters, the haters can find 80 angles to prove it.

"Have you even read 'Sex, Violence and Lies'? That's something someone without sexual experience could write."

“I was involved in that kind of thing back in my school days, so I know exactly what they're up to.”

"Stop arguing. Girls have already admitted it themselves. Your Fang Sheng slept with two girls at once when he was in the second year of junior high."

"Alright, alright, Fang Sheng is still a virgin, are you satisfied now?"

Look, even with Fang Xinghe's record in foreign wars, people with an excessive sense of self will still use conjecture instead of understanding. That's reality.

Therefore, directly criticizing "Extreme God" isn't the best approach; a seemingly ridiculous advertisement is.

"Are you alright? Are you alright? Are you alright?"

The catchy advertisements spread rapidly and became inextricably linked with "Extreme God", causing a sudden shift in public opinion.

On April 2th, the box office was 2208 million.

Because it successfully capitalized on Fang Xinghe's immense popularity, its first-day box office was even higher than in its previous life.

On April 3th, the box office was 1478 million.

Fang Xinghe's statement, "Not recommended for normal people to watch," began to take effect.

On April 4th, the box office was 951 million.

"It's good to boost your brainpower sometimes. You'd be better off buying a box of Brain Gold instead. It's really ridiculous..." Various trending memes have brought about an internet frenzy.

On April 5th, the box office was 685 million.

When Kai Zi led his team on a roadshow in Shanghai, an audience member shoved him in the face: "I really regret not listening to Fang Xinghe's advice. Do you really think that Jishen has lived up to our expectations?"

Kai Zi completely lost her temper and angrily retorted, "It's your problem if you don't understand!"

On April 6th, the box office was 511 million.

In the interview, Kai Zi emphasized: "No one will be able to understand 'Extreme God' within ten years!"

On April 7th, the box office was 398 million.

An angry Xiao Ge published "A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun".

Fang Xinghe never mentioned steamed buns from beginning to end. He didn't want to guide Hu Ge to edit the video again. He felt that it was enough for him to speak out.

But this guy still chose to vent his anger personally, stabbing Kaizi in the already wounded heart once again.

Kai Zi immediately cursed and announced that he would sue Hu Ge.

Fang Xinghe immediately declared, "Don't sue him, sue me."

It's only April, and the most classic buzzword of the year has already been definitively established.

Tencent News showed no respect for Director Chen, producing a "2006 Annual Popular Phrases Ranking Prediction".

The number one answer is "Are you alright?"

Commentary: The catchy tone paired with profound meaning is widely used in various situations, exuding sarcasm and delivering astonishingly powerful mockery.

Use with extreme caution due to the extremely high probability of causing conflict!

Second place: "You can't be like that!"

Commentary: This means that one should not have such double standards, or that one should not be hypocritical. It is also used in sarcastic situations, but is relatively more direct.

Third place: "True Chiba xx!"

Commentary: This is the latest trendy exclamation phrase on the internet, used to express strong emotions.

Derived from "真极巴烂", a series of variations such as "真极巴屌" and "真极巴美" have been formed, which are incredibly resilient and highly contagious.

Fourth place: "You ruined my chance to be a good person."

Commentary: This phrase is often used in humorous situations and appears very frequently in online chats, becoming a common phrase in QQ software.

Fifth place: "I'm touched by you!"

Review: It has a strong Stephen Chow-style nonsensical humor and is currently very popular.

Sixth place: "Have you eaten steamed buns?"

Commentary: This new greeting, derived from "A Bloodbath Caused by a Steamed Bun," carries a strong sense of irony.

It roughly means "whether you were fooled or not", "whether you suffered a loss or not", or "whether you felt aggrieved or not".

If the answer is "ate", it means bad luck.

Seventh place: "Almonds".

Commentary: Often used sarcastically, it means that the other person is full of lust, thinks only with their lower body, is brainless, etc., in contrast to "Homo sapiens".

Eighth place: "Brain Gold really can improve brain function!"

Commentary: The original sentence, "Brother Fang said that Brain Gold can really nourish the brain," came from a post on Tianya and quickly went viral.

Yang Mi's popularity soared due to the new version of the advertisement, and Brain Gold also returned to the mainstream spotlight. It is said that this version of the advertisement will not replace the "Only accept Brain Gold as a gift" during the New Year, but it has also increased Brain Gold's young "audience".

Ninth place: 囧 (lol).

……

A total of ten people were counted, and the top eight all came from this dispute. You can see how popular the God of Extremes is.

However, this fire completely shattered its backbone.

Oh, the box office has barely reached 6700 million in just ten days, and the daily box office is still plummeting.

In two more days at most, it may drop below one million.

Forget about the 180 million from the previous life. Multiple professional media outlets predict that even including Hong Kong and Taiwan, the final box office will hardly reach 100 million.

If the mainland market, which is so large, doesn't buy it, do you think Hong Kong and Taiwan will?

We live in a global village era; big events like this are known everywhere.

The production company wants to die.

A blockbuster with a budget of 400 million yuan that only grosses less than 100 million yuan at the box office is not a loss, it's a complete flop.

With a box office of 1 million, the production company recouped about 3300 million, less than 10% of its investment.

If we also factor in marketing and distribution costs...

Forget it, stop calculating, it'll break your heart if you keep doing it.

Lao Xiang returned to Hong Kong Island on the fourth day after the film's release, and spent a lot of time explaining things to the investors there, which left him in a state of utter chaos.

Ms. Chai Pingzhi is in a similar situation. Her money comes easily; the F4 is like a money-printing machine. They go out for a short while and then need trucks to bring them back. But this has taken a toll on her.

It wasn't that they didn't try to save themselves; in fact, they were all working incredibly hard. It's just a pity that the question, "Are you alright?" completely killed them.

There are genuinely pretentious people across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong who strongly recommend "God of War," only to be met with strange looks from classmates and friends who ask, "Are you okay?"

This basically leaves them with no choice but to retreat.

There are also people who don't care about public opinion or know the situation, but they want to go see it because of the star-studded cast. If their classmates or colleagues ask if they are okay and chat for a while, they will basically give up the idea.

Popular internet memes are more effective than platitudes. Ultimately, after 10 days of release, the film grossed HK$381 million in Hong Kong and NT$409 million in Taiwan.

Good grief, forget about the box office exceeding 100 million; it's uncertain whether it can even reach 80 million now.

With no hope left in China, they began to fantasize about relying on foreign countries.

As a result, that fat guy Harvina demanded they pay the distribution fee.

He said this: "Chen, I really want to buy it out. I believe this visually stunning masterpiece will be a sensation in North America! But I don't have the money right now. You pay me $500 million first, and I'll handle everything for you! If you don't have $500 million, how about $200 million?"

Kai Zi was so angry that his hands and feet trembled.

It's not about the money. Harvey just wants to swindle whatever he can, even small amounts if he can't get big money.

The deeper meaning behind doing this is... I don't have a good outlook on your future, and I don't want to cooperate with you anymore, so I'm taking advantage of this opportunity to make some pocket money and then leave.

Kai felt this was an insult, so he got angry and kicked Harvey out.

Subsequently, the same humiliation was repeated twice more.

Toei Animation in Japan has decided to hold a limited screening of nude haircuts.

This means that without any advertising, without any investment, and without spending money on copies, we can simply use the existing copies to screen the film in a few cinemas.

If it airs and has a good result, then we'll see; if it doesn't, then let it fend for itself.

South Korea did put in a little effort—just a little—by getting Jang Dong-gun onto a variety show for promotion.

Because Fang Xinghe criticized the movie "Extreme God," it actually gained some popularity in South Korea. However, after carefully reviewing the feedback from netizens, SMCC found that most of the comments were mocking the film, and without hesitation, withdrew the application for release.

Forget it, if we want to release it, we'll have to go through the trouble of adding Korean subtitles. Let's just pretend it never happened and protect Jang Dong-gun's reputation.

The Koreans are even more despicable than the Japanese; they didn't even bother to bow, and simply ruined the whole thing.

Around April 20th, the outcome of the Extreme God event was completely decided.

Global box office... a whopping 8000 million!
Unit: NMB.

Oh no, I mean RMB.

This single act nearly brought the already crippled Hong Kong and Taiwan film industry to its knees.

Actually, if we just talk about Chen Kai and his wife, they didn't really lose money—they invested 2000 million yuan directly, the director's salary was worth 2000 million yuan, and they only got back 300 million yuan in the end, so on the surface they lost 3700 million yuan.

But Mrs. Chen's style as a producer is... well, those who know, know.

Let's not dwell on things without evidence. Anyway, Kai Zi's main damage is to his reputation; he lost face but not substance.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are the ones who have lost both face and substance.

The fig leaf for Taiwan's number one beauty has been completely torn off, and her box office appeal is practically zero.

The current situation of Hong Kong Island's top leading man is also exposed to the public.

The so-called history, experience, manpower, reputation, and appeal of the two places are all utter nonsense.

People's Daily posted an article expressing its excitement: "Mainland casts can make good movies. We don't need anyone's condescending guidance or so-called help. We have the ability to make a loud and clear Chinese voice!"

Back then, when Fang Xinghe personally wrote an article to explain this concept and criticize the attitude of Hong Kong and Taiwan, no one believed it, and mainland filmmakers were apprehensive and questioned it verbally.

Now, the official mouthpiece is announcing that we can.

What those spineless cowards think is irrelevant.

The important thing is that ordinary people are truly beginning to believe—

Korean and Japanese superstars are not a panacea; we cannot mythologize their role just because "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is so great.

Blockbusters are not a stimulant; the model of big investment, big directors, and big stars directly proves it wrong.

Hong Kong and Taiwan superstars are nothing special; their combined appeal is less than half that of Brother Fang.

Now that the dust has settled, let's look back at Fang Xinghe's words: "You bunch of worthless scoundrels, you always think that by sticking together you can continue to wield power. What, you had your moment of glory, and now you're just going to never wake up again?"

Ordinary movie fans felt a mix of emotions.

It's unrealistic to completely forget the wonderful era of Hong Kong and Taiwan pop culture, since it was the entertainment enlightenment of two or three generations.

However, Fang Xinghe's dominant performance ultimately gave many people a glimmer of cultural confidence.

Our products from the mainland are just as good!
……

The fun that steamed buns brought me became less and less interesting each day.

New forms of entertainment are rapidly gaining popularity among Chinese youth.

That controversial new book finally broke free of its constraints and became an instant sensation.

By April 15th, the number of legitimate copies sold had exceeded 6 million, while the number of pirated copies was at least four times that amount.

This quantity means that it has become a must-read for every Chinese teenager.

The literary world is criticizing it fiercely, while the boys are incredibly enthusiastic—there's no conflict between them.

In 2006, online literature had already emerged, but it had not yet generated a huge impact.

Traditional intellectuals, media, and parents dislike and don't understand it, but its boundless imagination is impacting the consciousness of the new generation.

"Ghost Blows Out the Light," "Tomb of the Gods," "Back to the Ming Dynasty to Be a Prince," the completed and physically published "Zhu Xian," and "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty," which can hardly be considered online novels...

Online literature is booming and is irresistibly replacing traditional martial arts fiction, becoming a game-changer in the realm of popular literature.

"The Chronicles of the Primordial Era" is a bug among bugs.

In his past life, Dafang was just a paid online commentator, good at writing short essays but never writing online novels.

But his profession dictates that he has to deal with the source of IPs. He is familiar with 8000 female-oriented novels. In addition, he is bedridden and cannot move. When he has nothing to do, he listens to male-oriented online novels with AI. He really knows this stuff quite well.

He had a radical understanding of popular literature—that the ultimate goal, or the limit, of all popular literature is emotion.

Layering emotions layer by layer is the writing style of literary youth.

New media articles often employ a simple and direct approach to driving emotions.

The way the story is written is to evoke emotions through ups and downs.

Depicting emotions word by word is a technique in character writing.

If you find it hard to understand, you can explain it more bluntly: traditional fantasy and martial arts games win with their plot, but the ultimate goal of any plot is to evoke emotions in the reader.

While ensemble writing focuses on character portrayal, the characters ultimately serve the reader's emotions.

That's why the novel "The Way of the Demon" eventually emerged, a new media genre that directly targets and manipulates readers' emotions.

The biggest difference between Tomato and Starting Point is not in their outward appearance, such as whether they are white or not, profound or not, or slow to heat up or not, but only in the degree to which their emotions are exposed.

It features high emotional exposure, is simple, direct, and satisfying, and is suitable for free readers with little patience.

The emotions are subtly revealed and gradually evoked, making it suitable for audiences who have certain standards for the reading experience.

It's that simple.

Once you deeply understand this core concept, you don't need a writing skill of 90 points. You only need a writing skill of 60 points plus a rich imagination to write online novels that will captivate young people.

His imagination is so-so, but he stands on the shoulders of giants, and his reading volume is terrifying.

Therefore, "The Chronicles of the Primordial Era" has been captivating from the very beginning.

The protagonist, Chen Ye, did not completely transmigrate; rather, his consciousness was projected into a higher-dimensional world in reverse, or it could be described as being summoned—this is both a mystery and a cheat code, as well as a clever foreshadowing of certain conflicts.

The first volume, titled "The Last Celestial Being," features a mysterious setup and a high-class feel.

The world he appeared in was the Dharma-ending Age, a time when the primordial chaos had long since crumbled.

The immortals and gods have departed, the Taoist arts have weakened, demons and ghosts roam freely, and folk customs are dubious.

The story begins with a weasel demanding a title, to which Chen Ye responds blankly. However, his naturally high status frightens the weasel so much that it farts with every step, creating a mix of horror and lightheartedness.

Chen Ye gradually unveils the mystery of the higher-dimensional world, seamlessly weaving together various elements such as pets, companions, goals, suspense, exciting moments, and passion, opening a door to a new world for readers at this point.

Until he was finally killed in battle and resurrected, he not only revealed some of the suspense but also completely anchored this part of time and space, creating even greater suspense.

The entire plot of "The Primordial Era" is actually a cliché story about Chen Ye traveling back in time and space, ultimately saving a collapsing higher-dimensional space-time, and in turn saving the entire Earth and universe.

Fang Xinghe's core objective is to organize the cultivation system, establish the Primordial Universe, gradually build the IP foundation through overseas online novels, and finally achieve full-chain development of film, television, animation, and games.

To be honest, it wasn't easy, but from the perspective of online novels alone, "The Last Celestial Being" has made a good start.

(End of this chapter)