The Side Effects of Fame

Early the next morning, Lin Chuan checked his Bika Net follower count.

The explosive popularity of Hide-and-Seek had brought Lin Chuan quite a few new followers.

By now, Lin Chuan had amassed over 430,000 followers on Bika Net.

"It'd be great if I could break one million followers."

Lin Chuan sighed and asked the system in his mind, "System, can you give me a mission to break one million followers?"

In truth, Lin Chuan had not expected the system to respond.

Systems these days were all so aloof.

It was not like they were nannies. Why would they obediently cater to their hosts' every wish?

To his surprise, the system notification sounded.

[Considering the host's request]

[As a director, the host may appropriately remain active on social platforms to expand their influence]

[Issuing a mission for the host...]

[Mission: The host's total social media followers must exceed 500,000]

[Reward: Stamina Value +50]

[After completing the mission, for every additional 100,000 followers across the host's social platforms, the system will automatically award 10 Stamina Value]

[The following actions are all violations. Please take note]

[1. Purchasing followers]

[2. Seeking attention through sensationalism]

[3. Maliciously inciting emotions]

[...(Click to expand the remaining 97 violations)]

Looking at the transparent system screen before him, Lin Chuan let out a soft breath.

He had not expected such an unexpected bonus.

Though he did not know how much Stamina Value he currently had, those 50 points were very tempting.

There were just a few too many prohibited actions.

However, after carefully reading the system's listed violations, Lin Chuan really did find a shortcut to rapidly gain followers.

The system mission required his total social media followers to surpass 500,000.

His Bika Net account already had 430,000 followers.

Lin Chuan had a Weibo account, but he had not yet gotten it verified. Once he did, he could call on Bika Net users to follow him there.

Wouldn't breaking 500,000 be easy then?

After Spoon Killer Demon went viral, Lin Chuan had specifically asked Ren Hang to custom-make a batch of Spoon Killer Demon merchandise.

Calling it merchandise was perhaps an exaggeration. It was really just a cloak, a spoon, and a mask.

The cloaks, spoons, and masks all came with matching serial numbers.

Ren Hang was not only the son of a wealthy family, but also the son of a factory owner.

His family owned a clothing factory and several toy factories, so completing such a small task was effortless.

Then Lin Chuan could hold a giveaway to give back to his fans. That was perfectly reasonable, right?

No warning came from the system.

It seemed this method was feasible.

Lin Chuan immediately began the verification process for his Weibo account.

His Weibo username was simply Lin Chuan, and his profile picture was a screenshot from the animated version of Transformers.

It showed a quote from Megatron:

"Stupid Earthlings, I have come to enslave you!"

"From now on, you will work a full eight hours every day.

You will only be provided three meals and snacks a day.

And milk will only be available in the morning. Your lunch break will only be one hour.

Overtime will only earn triple pay, you will be forced to exercise for an hour after work, and you will only receive psychological counseling one day a week.

Bonuses will only be given three times a year, and you will only get two months of annual leave. Most cruel of all, you will only get a raise once every four months!"

Lin Chuan had drawn this profile picture himself.

On Blue Star, there was no massive IP called Transformers.

Back before he had awakened his memories of his past life, he had simply felt that this quote was especially fitting as his profile picture.

So he had hand-drawn the image and used it as his avatar.

Lin Chuan did not change his profile picture. He only changed his Weibo name to Director Lin Chuan.

He changed his bio to: Bika Net Uploader, director, screenwriter, horror movie enthusiast.

After completing personal verification, a small golden V appeared beside Lin Chuan's profile picture.

After lunch, Lin Chuan had a video call with Ren Hang and Xiao Hei.

The three brothers of Dorm 309 had not seen each other for several days, but they were reunited through their phones.

They shared the amusing things that had happened over the past few days.

Ren Hang had suffered the most.

Yesterday, he had gone out to dinner with a girl, but she suddenly felt that Ren Hang looked somewhat familiar.

Feeling pleased with himself, Ren Hang told her that he had played the Spoon Killer Demon.

The girl stared at him several times. After confirming that it was really him, she made an excuse to go to the restroom, then secretly slipped away.

As for Xiao Hei, he had gained quite a few followers because of Spoon Killer Demon.

He had also begun paying attention to managing his image.

At the very least, he was no longer as unkempt as before.

He had even filmed a vlog yesterday, which had received over a hundred thousand views.

On the surface, Lin Chuan listened to the two of them talk.

But in reality, all he could think about was gaining followers, completing the system mission, and receiving the reward.

Lin Chuan was happy that his brothers were doing well, but those were 50 points of Stamina Value.

After the two finished speaking, Lin Chuan asked Ren Hang, "Has the Spoon Killer Demon merchandise been finished?"

Ren Hang nodded. "It's done. Don't worry about the quality—I supervised the production myself. I used the best domestic materials for you. There are six hundred sets in total. Once the fans win the giveaway, just have them send me their addresses."

Lin Chuan nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I have something to do, so I'm getting off first. You two keep talking."

With that, he ended the call.

After Lin Chuan hung up, Ren Hang and Xiao Hei looked at each other.

For no reason at all, Ren Hang felt strangely abandoned.

After a long while, Ren Hang finally held back no longer and asked Xiao Hei, "Hei, do you think Brother Chuan is like some scumbag? Once his needs are satisfied, he just throws the two of us away?"

Xiao Hei was silent for a long time before asking in return, "Did getting dumped by a woman make you afraid of being dumped by men now?"

Ren Hang said, "I%&￥~"

Before he could finish, Xiao Hei ended the call as well.

After learning that the Spoon Killer Demon merchandise was ready, Lin Chuan logged into his Bika Net and Weibo accounts and posted an announcement.

[We recently ordered six hundred sets of merchandise, including Spoon Killer Demon cloaks, custom spoons, and masks. Anyone who wants one can follow my Bika Net account or Weibo account and leave a comment for a chance to win. First come, first served.

My Weibo and Bika Net accounts are both @DirectorLinChuan. Feel free to follow!]

There were still over 900 people watching Spoon Killer Demon, so as soon as Lin Chuan posted the announcement, plenty of users left comments.

"Is this prize just for me, or do the other girls get one too?"

"I really like your Spoon Killer Demon and Hide-and-Seek series. I hope you can make even more and better works."

"When will Spoon Killer Demon get a second part?"

Many Uploaders of Lin Chuan's scale had begun accepting all kinds of sponsored promotions and inserting them into their videos.

Massage devices, eye-care devices, fans, cooling blankets, used cars, old phone recycling.

But after becoming famous, Lin Chuan had not accepted a single sponsorship. He had even paid out of pocket to hold a giveaway for his fans.

He was practically an immortal Uploader.

As a result, the viewers in the comments were extremely friendly, and many asked Lin Chuan about his new film.

"Director Lin, when will your next movie be released?"

"Will your next movie still be a horror film?"

"Will it be in the style of Spoon Killer Demon, or the style of Hide-and-Seek?"

In Huaguo on Blue Star, ordinary viewers had it rough.

Entertainment products in this world were scarce. The so-called chart-topping works were merely passable.

Finding a movie that suited one's tastes was incredibly difficult.

Lin Chuan's appearance had undoubtedly given them hope.

The arrival of Spoon Killer Demon had completely overturned some horror fans' understanding of horror films.

Instinctively, they felt that this director would bring them something different.

Lin Chuan naturally replied patiently to every one of these comments.

"The next movie hasn't been filmed yet. Barring any surprises, everyone should be able to see it during summer break."

"It should be a horror film."

"Neither. I want to challenge a new style."

After interacting with his fans for a while, Lin Chuan clicked out of Weibo and discovered that his follower count had already risen to over 140,000.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the mission]

[System reward: 50 Stamina Value, issued]