Star Source's Choice: Vector Control

System prompt: Detected that audience emotional fluctuation has surpassed the threshold. 'Severe Sweet Tooth' has officially been added to the character setting of 'Character: Tiandao Siming.'

Popularity Points +2000 (emotional bonus)

Hmm? So he could use a method like this to add extra character settings to himself?

Tiandao looked at the system prompt that had suddenly appeared, quite surprised.

The reason he liked eating candy was not complicated at all. He was simply greedy for snacks and liked having something to munch on whenever he could.

Yet through this 'flashback,' the audience seemed to have interpreted Tiandao's craving for snacks as a hidden setting with a blade tucked inside.

Though it was a misunderstanding, it was not a bad one for Tiandao.

Meanwhile, in the real world.

As Tiandao's memory segment came to a complete end.

The bullet comments, which had fallen silent for quite some time, suddenly erupted all at once.

Mom Fans:

'This child is so sensible it breaks my heart.'

'Suggestion: rename this to "About How my favorite character Is Actually Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic."'

'His left hand was still bleeding, yet the first thing he worried about was the price of chocolate. Just stab me to death already.'

Appearance Fans:

'He was already this cool as a child? Hax Tian, you guy.'

'Those eyelashes! Those eyes! This is the great face a protagonist ought to have!'

'A romance manga art style in a hot-blooded manga. (My art style stands above yours!)'

Bystander Fans:

'Pain? There isn't even a word for pain in Tiandao Siming's dictionary! (Unlike some trash who does not even dare talk back when bullied).'

'Tiandao: Three against one and you still got wiped out? Do you even know how to play!'

'As long as you eat more candy, life will not be bitter. No wonder Tiandao is a severe sweet lover. I thought it was just an ordinary character setting, but now it looks like there's a blade hidden in it.'

'Tiandao: You are merely working hard to become stronger, while I was born strong! (Record 3/0, verifiable).'

'Tiandao Siming? Sweet enough to die for!'

With the appearance of this little memory interlude, Tiandao's character setting as a 'Natural Strongman' became even more deeply rooted in people's hearts.

At the same time, it made Tiandao's suppression of Chen Xing in the story seem more reasonable.

After all, Tiandao had been capable of killing three Mutated Wolf Beasts alone at the age of eight.

Since the current Stellaris Prequel: Embers had only aired two episodes, the audience did not yet know how strong those three alien beasts had been.

But just by comparing Tiandao's size at the time to the size of those three Mutated Wolf Beasts,

the audience could tell at a glance just how difficult that feat had been.

But this made Chen Kong, the protagonist, look extremely awkward in the first two episodes.

It would have been fine without Tiandao as a comparison.

But once the audience compared Chen Kong and Tiandao,

Chen Kong's cowardice became even harder for them to accept.

However, just as the seemingly weak protagonists in many anime always possessed some trait that set them apart from ordinary people,

the second episode of Stellaris Prequel: Embers contained a similar hint.

"Two years, and he still cannot even manage the most basic Star Energy Sensing. Trash like him thinks he deserves to..."

"Hey, hey. I can pretend I did not hear anything else, but it is not right for you to talk about your own younger brother like that, is it?"

"Did I say anything wrong?"

"Out of the thirty-six trainees in the Star Project, he is the only one whose Star Core still..."

"That is because his Star Core is rather special."

When they heard Tiandao say that protagonist Chen Kong's Star Core was very special,

the audience immediately caught a whiff of something strange.

'Something's off, very off. I was wondering how a guy with such a miserable face could be the protagonist. Turns out he has a cheat!'

'So what if he has a cheat? With that personality of his, he is still trash even with one.'

'False Protagonist: Chen Kong. True Protagonist: Tiandao Siming!'

Amid the audience's discussions, the second episode of Stellaris Prequel: Embers finally froze on Tiandao and Chen Xing's wager, along with Instructor Yun Meng's appearance.

At the same time, from the group's earlier conversation, the audience learned about the upcoming Final Assessment.

They also learned how important this assessment was to Starborn like them.

Although the first two episodes of Stellaris Prequel: Embers had not featured any explosive plot developments or jaw-dropping visual effects,

its outrageously high production quality, along with a cast of vividly distinctive characters apart from the protagonist,

still left Station 13's viewers eagerly anticipating this new anime.

They looked forward to the so-called Final Assessment, and to whether Chen Kong could, as they expected, rise from obscurity during the coming assessment and change everyone's opinion of him.

Of course, what the viewers looked forward to most was whether Tiandao, this 'Natural Strongman,' could continue his brilliant performance from the first two episodes in the story to come.

After all, if he acted 'cool' for two episodes only to suddenly exit like a clown, it would undoubtedly be a collapse of his character setting.

But no matter what, judging from the audience response after the first two episodes of Stellaris Prequel: Embers,

Tiandao's plan to Dominate Popularity Rankings had undoubtedly gotten off to a perfect start.

And that result was clearly reflected in his current Popularity Points and popularity ranking.

Name: Tiandao Siming

Current Popularity Points: 12,000

Current Popularity Ranking: First

12,000 Popularity Points—this was how many Popularity Points Tiandao had gained after Stellaris Prequel: Embers aired two episodes.

Tiandao had no way of judging whether that number was high or low.

After all, he neither knew the actual number of viewers Stellaris Prequel: Embers had in the real world,

nor did he know how many people would choose to continue watching this Alternate Dimension Anime.

But setting aside the specific number of Popularity Points,

the mere fact that he currently ranked first on the popularity rankings was enough to put Tiandao somewhat at ease. He no longer needed to worry about being forcibly assigned a Plot Kill.

Besides, Tiandao remembered very clearly.

As long as he could rank first on the popularity rankings by the end of the season,

he would not only greatly increase his screen time next season and receive Character Promotion worth one million Popularity Points,

but also gain one exclusive Exclusive Character Story Background Modification Permission.

Tiandao cared about the first two rewards for ranking first in popularity, but compared to the final reward, they were like a wizard before a great sorcerer.

Exclusive Character Story Background Modification Permission: Freely modify a character's background once, including adding certain exclusive stories and up to one additional Talent Setting.

In Tiandao's own words, this so-called 'background modification permission' was an extra cheat bestowed upon him.

After obtaining this permission, he could immediately give himself a Bug-Level Setting such as max-level Innate Combat Talent.

It would not only greatly enhance his potential, but also further solidify his Natural Strongman character setting.

However, Tiandao had long had an idea of how to use this 'background modification permission.'

After all, what was the most important thing in the Stellaris World?

This question was like asking what the most important thing in One Piece was.

With that, the answer was obvious.

The most important thing in the Stellaris World was naturally the 'Star Source,' something akin to a Devil Fruit.

Why did the Ember Organization hold the Final Assessment, and why did they invite so many influential figures?

Ultimately, was it not because they wanted all thirty-six Starborn to obtain a Star Source suited to them?

After all, relying solely on the Ember Organization's power, they could neither produce as many as thirty-six incomparably precious 'Star Sources'

nor ensure that all thirty-six Starborn obtained 'Star Sources' highly compatible with their Star Cores.

That was why the current Final Assessment was held, and why those influential figures had come.

The former was meant to select the most outstanding Starborn in the Star Project,

then give them the Star Sources already within the organization that suited them, maximizing the use of resources.

The latter was to use the Star Project as bait, allowing those influential figures to see the value of the project

and willingly join it, providing suitable 'Star Sources' for the remaining Starborn.

After understanding the importance of Star Sources in the Stellaris World,

Tiandao naturally decided to use his precious future 'background modification permission' on constructing his Star Source system—that was, to give himself an additional talent.

After all, the Star Source he was about to choose was a little-known Special Trait type Star Source within the Ember Organization: Vector Control.

And if he wanted to bring the potential of this Special Trait type fruit, 'Vector Control,' to its absolute limit,

he had to possess a top-tier Mechanical type talent: Hyper-computation.

Only when Tiandao possessed both Mechanical type: Hyper-computation and the Star Energy Observation of the Stellar Eclipse Heavenly Eye

could he form an almost unsolvable 'Vector System' that currently existed only in his imagination.

Tiandao had already obtained the 'Stellar Eclipse Heavenly Eye,' and after passing the Final Assessment, he would soon acquire the Star Source he wanted: Vector Control.

That left only the final puzzle piece: 'Hyper-computation.'

Once that piece was in place, Tiandao would no longer be merely some Natural Strongman.

He would become a true strongman living in the Stellaris World!

PS: As usual, please keep reading and vote with monthly tickets!