I bet some people are thinking, "Brother Xian, weren't you going to make your big debut in the spotlight? You took down Bilibili's number-one trending video, so how are you supposed to make your debut now?"
Gentlemen, I'm definitely still making my debut, but there's a certain way to go about it.
As everyone knows, before any "internet celebrity" makes their debut, they at least have to create a persona. Then, after their team carefully packages and heavily promotes them, they finally meet the public.
That's the most basic process for creating a star, though of course it doesn't apply to ordinary people who make it big from the ground up.
These grassroots internet celebrities don't have a company or a team, much less financial backing. They just get lucky and take the internet by storm because of a video or a single line they said.
In that situation, getting famous is already like having smoke rise from your ancestors' graves. Who would even think about creating a persona?
Usually, from the moment they become internet celebrities, their personas are set in stone.
Even if they make money later on and get a team and financial backing, it's still hard for them to change their personas. The moment they do something that doesn't fit, their whole image falls apart.
There are countless internet celebrities and stars who've suffered for letting their personas collapse, so I won't bother naming any.
Honestly, if that ridiculous system hadn't made Li Xian prove who he was, he wouldn't have bothered with those Kusotori videos at all. But since he had to finish the task, he was going to do it right.
He definitely needed to establish a persona, but he couldn't let "Kusotori Bro" and "Kidney Bro" define him. Those two labels could only be one small part of who he was—a fun little topic people could joke about.
Without the Money Spending Game, that might have become his persona. Maybe he'd have quietly let the Kusotori videos gain traction, then seized the opportunity to make a quick buck.
But that was all hypothetical.
The truth was, he really was rich. He wasn't afraid to compete over money, and he wasn't intimidated by anyone's father, either.
So what if it was just a trending Kusotori video? It didn't matter whether it stayed up or not. Li Xian had his own way of getting in front of the public and establishing an unshakable persona.
That kidney-eating Kusotori video was merely an opportunity—one that had caught him a little off guard, but was still within his control.
Once the most popular video was gone, copycat videos would quickly take its place. There was no stopping them.
"Kidney Bro" and "Kusotori Bro" would eventually become popular topics associated with him, just like the topics associated with so many other people—something people could talk about with relish, but nothing harmful.
He definitely couldn't let a trending topic like that go to waste. He could make good use of it.
He could use it to drum up attention for his restaurant ventures, like a barbecue plaza. After all, it was his own creation. He might as well promote it.
Li Xian's idea was simple. He'd establish an awesome persona, one that let him do whatever he wanted and say whatever came into his head.
But he wouldn't go overboard or do anything suicidal. After all, he only had an invisible sugar daddy looking out for him, and sometimes he wasn't sure if it would actually work.
There were risks to using the system, so he had to be careful.
Appearances could be deceiving, and reality could be an illusion.
With a persona like Invisible Void God-Tier Tycoon, he could let someone else take the spotlight.
He'd just slip in quietly and stake out a good spot first.
The system had only paid him twice so far, and he still hadn't spent all the money he had.
He still had a long way to go when it came to spending money. He wasn't very good at it yet.
Thinking of that, Li Xian went to the liquor cabinet by the bar and took out a bottle of Lafite worth three thousand yuan. Then he poured it into the Sprite he hadn't finished.
"Smack, smack..."
He took a sip. The taste was a little strange, a little sweet and a little astringent. The flavor was decent, he supposed.
"Glug, glug..."
He downed the whole glass of fizzy red wine, then burped in satisfaction. No matter what he drank, a little carbonation made it so much better.
Since getting the Money Spending Game, the biggest expense he'd had was buying a house for over twenty-five million. After that came hotel stays, which had only cost him three or four hundred thousand so far.
Aside from that, he'd bought clothes, phones, figurines, laptops, and all sorts of odds and ends. In total, he hadn't even spent a hundred thousand. His spending speed was honestly a little embarrassing.
Still, over the past week, Li Xian had more or less gotten used to the life of a rich man. Next, he could check out places like Zhihu and learn how to spend money.
Turning other people's bragging into reality seemed like it might be pretty satisfying.
Maybe someone would say spending money on women was even faster... Look at my lips: get lost.
Carrying the fizzy red wine into his study, Li Xian turned on his computer and logged into VX on his phone.
He found Du Ziteng's account and casually sent him a red packet. You had to reward people who helped you get things done.
Du Ziteng replied with a {stunned} emoji and asked, "Brother Xian, what's this for?"
"Don't overthink it. Just take it."
"Bro, you're not going to leave me out, are you?"
"Of course not. I've got more things for you to do. Take the money first."
"Oh, okay..." Du Ziteng accepted the transfer, then immediately sent over a few {terrified} emojis.
"Brother Xian, this, this... It's ten thousand yuan?"
"Mm-hmm..."
"Come on, bro. You gave me two thousand yesterday, and I haven't even spent it all. Just tell me what you need. You don't have to send me this much."
"Just take it. Keep an eye on that hamster who's picking a fight with a squirrel. The guy's figured things out, so he'll definitely come looking for you."
"Bro, we're still going after him? Heh, I've got several absolutely insane malware links ready. I guarantee he'll be begging for mercy!"
Li Xian's mouth twitched. Were all computer guys this perverted?
Well, he was on their side.
That hamster was pretty pathetic, too. He hadn't even seen through such an obvious trap. Who negotiated an advertising deal by paying upfront instead of signing a contract first?
There was no such thing as getting paid in advance like that. The guy must have been desperate for money.
Even setting that aside, these days, anyone who could land an advertising contract was at least a major uploader with a team behind them. A small-time uploader like that hamster, who'd only just emerged, had no chance. He was still too green to know how things worked.
Li Xian had only wanted to teach him a little lesson, as the task required. He hadn't meant to crush him outright.
Brother Xian wasn't that vicious. But if the other guy came to his senses and still wanted to pick a fight, then he couldn't blame Li Xian for showing no mercy.
"No need to mess with him. Just keep a close eye on him. You're so good at talking nonsense, so keep stringing him along."
"Got it, Brother Xian."
He left the chat and scrolled through VX. There were quite a few messages, but he couldn't be bothered to deal with them just yet.
There were a few strangers in his contacts who had sent him friend requests. He skimmed through them and didn't recognize most of the names. One of them was Peng Mengke, whom he'd run into not long ago. After thinking it over, he accepted her request.
"Li Xian, it sure wasn't easy getting you to add me. It's been almost two days." The moment they became friends, she sent him a message.
Two days? Had she added him the day he took a shower?
Li Xian thought back for a moment, then messaged her: "Need something, old classmate?"
"Can't I add you just because I feel like it?"
Well, wasn't she feisty?
Li Xian was about to reply, "We're not even that close," when a few more messages arrived.
"Why don't you ever say anything in the class group chat?"
"Everyone's been talking about a reunion lately."
"It's been two years since graduation, and this is only our second reunion."
"You didn't come last time, so you have to come this time."
His college class was holding a reunion. They'd had one six months after graduation, but Li Xian had been busy and forgotten about it. Now they were having another one, and he had no interest in going.
"I muted the class group. I'm not going to the reunion," Li Xian replied.
When she saw his message, she sent him a voice message. "Don't be like that. It's not easy for everyone to get together. It'd be a shame if you didn't come."
"Heh, it's no big deal. It's not like they can't have it without me."
"..."
"Let's leave it at that. Hope you have fun."
After that, Li Xian left the chat, found Zhang Cheng on VX, and started a video call.
When he answered, Zhang Cheng's long face appeared on the screen.
"Brother Xian, are we getting started?"
"Of course. No more waiting. Is everything ready?"
"You can count on me... The paid commenters, big influencers, and promotional articles are all lined up. We can get you trending whenever you want."
Before you continue