Next Time For Sure

"The three-day simulated Wasteland exploration is over. How are you feeling now? Can you share it with everyone?"

Facing the camera, He Caihua smiled and looked at Yue Wen.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. After the commotion caused by Yellow Big Tiger and a few other Demonic Beasts, the entire live broadcast project returned to normal. Watching everyone systematically searching for treasure chests and killing Demonic Beasts, the topic of "how weak Ji Yang really is" became something the viewers in the live stream room were enthusiastic about discussing.

Regardless of how you put it, Ji Yang gained the notoriety he wanted before he came... although perhaps not in the way he would have liked.

Although everyone didn't meet much during these few days of broadcasting, the director team had communicated some things to He Caihua, such as the fact that Yue Wen had become a little popular as "Brother Ruthless." Therefore, as soon as they walked out of the Wasteland, during the simple wrap-up ceremony, she brought the reporter interviewing her to pull Yue Wen over.

Facing numerous cameras, Yue Wen said sincerely, "Actually, I don't want to leave. I actually want to stay."

After three days of exploration, everyone was somewhat exhausted, but only Yue Wen was full of energy, even wearing a reluctant expression on his face.

"Hehe," He Caihua chuckled. "Are you unwilling to accept it? I heard you didn't find a single treasure chest for three whole days. But there's nothing that can be done; life always has regrets."

"Yes," Yue Wen said with an irrepressible smile, "I have too many regrets."

The program staff looked at him strangely, thinking, You deserve to have regrets. Wearing those old, broken sunglasses from morning till night, what could you possibly find?

The director looked at Yue Wen as if he were an enemy.

She had arranged for at least seven or eight treasure chests with promotions along Yue Wen's route, some of which were practically placed in the middle of the road. Yet, Yue Wen didn't even glance at them, heading straight for the ravines where Demonic Beasts were hidden.

It was as if he had come solely to kill Demonic Beasts.

The staff, who were sneakily avoiding the cameras and panting from exhaustion, were anxiously circling the treasure chests. Yue Wen, as a popular contestant whose later traffic was not inferior to Li Feixia's, had not given Wangyou Media a single promotional opportunity. Instead, the clothes he wore kept advertising his old, broken studio.

Never mind not giving promotional opportunities; his killing of Demonic Beasts had reached a frenzied level.

The second batch of Demonic Beasts deployed by the director team was depleted again on the second day. They even started reminding Yue Wen through his earpiece, Although the audience likes watching you fight monsters, you can't be this conscientious. Don't monsters cost money?

A third batch was urgently deployed on the third day. Before the broadcast ended, Yue Wen seemed to have X-ray vision, searching the entire Wasteland for Demonic Beasts to kill.

He wasn't even pretending anymore!

The director was practically begging him tearfully not to kill anymore.

Although his ability to draw in some traffic was indeed a pleasant surprise, making the broadcast more exciting, he had killed too many Demonic Beasts. The program's budget for purchasing Demonic Beasts had doubled because of him alone!

Calculated, Wangyou Media had definitely lost quite a bit of money on him.

Apart from Yue Wen and Ji Yang, who withdrew midway, the rest of the contestants were still diligently searching for treasure chests.

Liu Yuanjun found a genuine treasure chest containing a treasure, but he quietly put the treasure back. After going out and finding his Junior Sister, he brought Li Feixia over to open the chest.

The young girl was very surprised, and the viewers outside the screen gave the Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair a flood of likes, with the comments section filled with six words—Sibling affection, shipping them hard.

He Caihua, who was also diligently searching, found a treasure chest, making her fans rejoice.

In fact, her performance in this exploration had been consistently average, but with her established fan base, the number of people in her personal live stream room had always been the highest, and the number of bullet comments in the main live stream room was far ahead of the others.

The last treasure chest was found by Su Renxue on the afternoon of the third day. In fact, the program team had just placed the treasure chest there at that time. The third treasure chest also had the most valuable reward, so she was considered quite lucky.

However, she was not happy standing on the award stage. Her face was cold, and she even looked a bit dejected.

Because during the entire exploration process, everyone saw Demonic Beasts and killed them, facing almost no pressure. Only Ji Yang from their Hidden Dragon Pool was severely injured by these small Demonic Beasts and had to withdraw. This happened right before everyone's eyes.

She didn't know how much their sect would be ridiculed after they left.

Although Yue Wen hadn't found any treasure chests either, his smile was bright and never faded. He kept humming songs about how lonely it is to want to stay but not be able to.

The only one in the entire venue who was stomping her feet in anger was Zhao Xing'er. "Argh! I'm so mad! Why are all the treasure chests I found fake? I'm not convinced! Is there foul play?"

The staff members nearby dared not speak but thought, What's wrong with the people from your studio?

One can't even see a treasure chest by the roadside, and another can't be seen if it's slightly more hidden.

Their brains are like a straight highway.

The way you search, I can't even be bothered to talk about it. When you get desperate, you chop down all the trees on a mountainside with a giant axe. If it weren't for the program team stopping you, you almost set the mountain on fire. Even if there were real treasure chests, you would have just destroyed them.

And every time you fight Demonic Beasts, you blow up mountains. Every fight causes destruction. The budget for set decorations has to be increased significantly because of you.

It's just that compared to the kid next to you who's killing Demonic Beasts, your problem doesn't seem so serious.

And you're talking about foul play?

At the end of the interview, Yue Wen smiled at the camera and said, "To speak from the heart, although I didn't find any treasure chests during this exploration, I had a great time. I'm looking forward to the next one."

After a brief interview, He Caihua took the reporter away to chat with the next explorer.

At this moment, Liu Yuanjun and Li Feixia walked towards Yue Wen.

"Brother Yue," Liu Yuanjun stepped forward and performed a very old-fashioned fist-and-palm salute. Nowadays, it seems only disciples from ancient Immortal Sects like them still perform this etiquette. "I heard from my Feixia that you lent a hand when she was ambushed by a Demonic Beast. We've come specifically to thank you."

Back then, Li Feixia was ambushed by a Big Rhinoceros Deer. If Yue Wen hadn't intervened with his Flying Sword, who knows what would have happened. She must have kept it in mind.

Li Feixia also respectfully bowed behind her Senior Brother, "Thank you, Brother Yue Wen."

"Heh, it's nothing," Yue Wen said. "Anyone would have done the same in that situation."

"Regardless, Brother Yue saved a disciple of our Xuanfeng Temple once. If you ever need help in Jiangcheng in the future, please don't hesitate to tell us," Liu Yuanjun said generously.

His promise of a favor was much more significant than Qi Dian's. After all, Linjiang Gate was merely prominent in Jiangcheng, while Xuanfeng Temple was undeniably the number one Immortal Sect in Jiangcheng and ranked among the top in the entire Tianbei Prefecture. Liu Yuanjun was also the chief disciple of the sect.

Yue Wen pondered for a moment before immediately saying, "No need to wait until another day. I have something I need help with right now."

"Oh?" Liu Yuanjun asked, "What is it?"

"I currently need a type of Grand Unity Profound Blazing Cinnabar, but this item is extremely difficult to obtain, and I don't have any well-connected channels," Yue Wen said with a smile. "If you have time, Brother Liu, could you use Xuanfeng Temple's connections to help me inquire if there's anywhere selling this cinnabar? Just finding a seller is enough; I'll cover the cost of any immortal materials myself."

Favors become vaguer the longer they're put off. If you genuinely ask for help later, it's uncertain whether they'll be willing. He happened to be in a hurry to gather materials, and Xuanfeng Temple was an old and established sect, so he decided to ask for their help in inquiring.

These sects usually have their own channels for purchasing immortal materials, which rogue cultivators like himself can't access. It's much more reliable than searching on Cultivation Chat.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanjun immediately nodded in agreement. "I've heard a little about this item; it is indeed a rare immortal material. I will ask the elders of my sect to help inquire with all their might once I return. However, if there's no result, please don't blame me, Brother Yue."

"Of course not," Yue Wen replied. "As long as Xuanfeng Temple is willing to help, I'll be very grateful to both of you."

Li Feixia nodded emphatically. "I'll definitely mobilize all the teachers and elders in the temple to help you. Don't worry, they all listen to me."

"Feixia," Liu Yuanjun reprimanded softly, "You must show respect to your elders in front of outsiders."

"Oh," Li Feixia quietly lowered her head and took a step back.

Yue Wen thought to himself, Judging by your words, you don't seem to show much respect to your elders within the sect.

However, it was their family matter, so he naturally didn't pry. He just smiled, and after a few more pleasantries, the director walked over with several assistants, holding a stack of receipts.

"The revenue share from the live stream gifts over the past few days is out. Here are the receipts as proof. You can cross-reference them with the data from your live streams later," she said, handing one to each person. "Your shares will be deposited into your accounts within three days."

Yue Wen took the receipt and glanced at it, his hands trembling involuntarily.

It recorded his share of the income from tips in the main live stream and his personal live stream, totaling nine hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred thirty-two yuan and fifty cents.

Even after a significant portion was deducted for taxes, it was still an astonishing income. For the manager of a small studio who hadn't earned much before, it was undoubtedly a fortune.

For an ordinary person, this money would be enough to buy a house and a car in a satellite city, and they could live a good life. However, for a cultivator trying to break through, this amount might not even be enough to buy a single immortal material.

Such is the disparity in the world.

"Live streaming really makes money fast," Yue Wen couldn't help but sigh.

"It burns money fast too," the director said, grinding her teeth slightly. "The company lost quite a bit doing this live stream."

What she said was true. While the tip income looked substantial, it wasn't even enough for Wangyou Media to break even. Even with the advertising fees and sales revenue in between, such a large live streaming project still resulted in a deficit.

This was initially a pilot project, an exploration of this model, and it was normal to spend some money upfront.

However, the investment in Demonic Beasts had increased several times in the middle, causing the budget to skyrocket.

It was a bit overwhelming.

She would definitely be criticized for her budget control when she reported back.

"A good company has to bear more social responsibility," Yue Wen said with a smile. "Remember to contact our studio again next time there's such a good opportunity."

"Heh heh," the director gave a sharp, fake smile. If I ever ask you to come for another monster-slaying project, I'll be a dog, she thought, then replied, "Next time, for sure!"

On the way back in the car, Zhao Xing'er was dozing off beside him. Yue Wen took out the Mustard Seed Jade again.

He hadn't been idle these past two days. During his breaks, he would take out this jade token, refine it with his true qi, gradually erase the original owner's imprint, and attempt to control it.

Now, he had finally refined it almost completely.