"Chu Ge! Just you wait!" Lightning flashed and thunder roared over the Cloudreach Sect, fierce winds howling as though some powerful enemy had invaded. A host of senior elders hurried out of seclusion in alarm, only to find their sect leader throwing a tantrum alone on the mountaintop.
"What are you all staring at me for? Don't you have anything to do?" Qiu Wuji flew indignantly toward the Scripture Pavilion. "I'm going to consult the ancient texts. Get back to your business."
She had wanted to go straight back and beat him up, but restrained herself for now. Crossing between worlds was tiring, after all, especially going back and forth...
Just wait until I find a few things for you to practice. Then we'll see how you survive!
Leaving aside Qiu Wuji's plans for revenge, Chu Ge felt thoroughly refreshed after finishing that sentence.
I wonder if it worked. It'd be best if it did, so she'd learn that Father God wasn't someone to mess with. I can fight back too! If I don't push back a few times, my authority as a husband will be in danger.
That's what you get for hitting me. Hmph.
With that weight off his mind, Chu Ge continued typing. As he wrote, QQ began beeping incessantly. Puzzled, he clicked over and discovered that someone had just added him to a new group.
No wonder it kept beeping... He had muted all his group chats precisely so he could write in peace. Only after finishing, when he felt like chatting, would he unmute a few of his usual groups. He hadn't chatted at all lately, and hadn't even checked the Friendly Fire group.
Who's got so much time on their hands? Don't you need someone's permission to add them to a group these days?
Then he looked at its name: "Flop Author Car Chat Group."
What's there to see in a car chat group? My own Friendly Fire group already leaves me struggling to replenish my nutrients. Like I need your dirty pictures and porn codes too.
With that thought, Chu Ge instinctively moved to mute it, but his gaze swept across the chat window, and he froze.
The chat was currently repeating: "I've flopped so hard these past few years that I've lost my mind. Sometimes I hide under the covers at midnight and cry in secret. I'm scared you'll find out what a flop I really am and kick me out of the group."
"I've flopped so hard these past few years that I've lost my mind. Sometimes I hide under the covers at midnight and cry in secret. I'm scared you'll find out what a flop I really am and kick me out of the group."
There was nothing unusual about repeating those lines. Flop author groups often spammed things like that.
But this time, every username was more familiar than the last. At a glance, Chu Ge spotted four popular authors averaging over ten thousand paid subscriptions, two with top-author contracts, and one who was a goddamn Platinum Author. All of them were red-hot stars near the top of the bestseller charts, dazzling enough to blind him.
You call this the "Flop Author Car Chat Group"?
Where are the cars? Oh, no, where are the flops? Do you mean me?
Then the group owner spoke up: "Just added the big shot Chu Ge."
The "My group standing just dropped by one.jpg" image arrived right on cue. Chu Ge stared speechlessly at this top author averaging thirty thousand subscriptions, unsure where to even begin.
Below it, the repetition started again: "My group standing just dropped by one.jpg"
"..." After some thought, Chu Ge simply sent a cash red packet. "A newcomer's tribute."
The spam promptly changed to: "Thanks, boss.jpg"
Don't you top authors need to write?
After he finally waited out the chorus of parrots, someone at last said something relevant: "I've read your new book, Chu Ge. The ensemble cast is fucking amazing! You're amazing!"
Looking at this top author, Chu Ge could only reply, "I grew up reading your books..."
"?" the author replied. "I'm only eighteen this year. You've got the wrong person."
Chu Ge: "..."
Fuck, it's just chatting and bullshitting. Who can't do that? And so Chu Ge became fifteen.
Watching a bunch of old men start pretending to be young, Chu Ge leaned back in his chair, a little lost in thought.
Was this... the so-called upgrade in social circles that came with better results?
They still seemed exactly the same, anyway. How were these top authors any different from Zhang Qiren when they chatted?
Oh, no, there was a slight difference.
For example, one of the top authors suddenly said, "Hey, this book of mine really has flopped."
Someone asked, "What happened?"
"My new book only has twenty thousand bookmarks..."
Chu Ge thought twenty thousand bookmarks did seem a little bleak if the new book was about to go premium. Was another great author about to fall?
Before he could figure out how to offer some comfort, the other author added, "It's been almost a whole day since I launched it."
Chu Ge: "?"
Another top author said, "I'm the real flop. It's been premium for three days, and I'm only averaging a little over nine thousand subscriptions."
Chu Ge looked at his proud record of reaching three hundred bookmarks on the fourth day after launching his book, then at his average of just 5,500 subscriptions after more than two months behind the paywall. Expressionlessly, he closed the group chat and went silent to nurse his wounds.
Huh, wait... 5,500 already?
That growth really was... nothing short of terrifying.
One sudden surge might have involved some luck, but sustained surges probably meant the book really was good, resulting in high reader retention and loyalty. There might even be word-of-mouth recommendations spreading.
The only meaningful comment from that chat flashed through Chu Ge's mind: "The ensemble cast is fucking amazing." Was that really the reason? Or had it just been something nice to say to help a newcomer fit in?
It was probably genuine. After all, the shift to an ensemble approach had happened much later in the book. That author wouldn't have noticed it by casually flipping through a couple of chapters; he must have read up to the latest update. And a top author had no reason to read the entire book just to offer him a couple of compliments. He really was following it.
If even a top author was following it, did that mean it really was good?
So... the quality of the book really was up to scratch?
Chu Ge leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the ceiling. For a long while, he couldn't identify what he was feeling. All sorts of emotions seemed tangled together.
He let out a long breath and opened Friendly Fire, which he hadn't checked in ages.
The group was still lively, no less so than before, though it hadn't gotten any busier either, because the people were still the same. This was a group for longtime readers. He had never posted its number in this book, so the recent surge in popularity hadn't increased its membership.
At the moment, everyone was enthusiastically discussing a theft at some school. Chu Ge realized that his recent "obsession with women" had kept him from following current events, and couldn't resist asking, "Anyone got the full story? Send me a link."
The group fell quiet for a moment. Soon, someone said, "Holy shit, Chu, you finally showed up. Did you start another group now that the book's popular and leave us out in the cold?"
Chu Ge hurriedly replied, "I've been holed up writing lately. Haven't been online anywhere. How else could I pump out all those extra chapters, right?"
"We all thought aliens had abducted you."
"This writing retreat of yours is a bit ridiculous. Going silent is one thing, but you didn't even thank all those alliance leaders for their tips."
Chu Ge broke into a sweat. "People sent tips? I haven't even looked..."
Women really are the downfall of nations!
"We explained in the review section that you were on a writing retreat, and thanked people for the tips on your behalf. Nothing's gone wrong so far," an admin said. "But, Chu, lots of people are asking for the group number. Shouldn't we expand it?"
Warmth welled up in Chu Ge's heart.
Leaving the writing itself aside, he had thought that disappearing for so many days without an explanation, leaving other people to clean up after him, would earn him at least a few complaints. Yet it turned out everyone still cared about him.
"Let's expand it. I'll get a VIP membership and make it a two-thousand-person group, then add a line to the synopsis." Chu Ge sent a generous cash red packet, then appointed a whole batch of admins at once. "I'm in an extra-chapter push right now, so I won't be chatting much. Thanks for helping keep an eye on things... Oh, right, does anyone want to handle operations?"
"What's operations? Since when do novels need operations..."
"It's basically the old review-section moderator role. The capitalists just had to come up with a term like that to make it sound professional."
"So it's just a moderator? Then I'll do it! Me!"
A chorus of eager volunteers followed.
"This book keeps getting better, Chu. Just focus on pumping out chapters. We'll handle everything else."
Watching everything gradually fall into place, Chu Ge felt a little dazed.
Back when he was a flop, he really had never imagined a scene this lively.
He wondered how Zhang Qiren was doing now...
He tried sending him a private message, but got no reply.
At the Divine Miracle Nightclub, Zhang Qiren leaned back on the sofa in his office, lightly sipping red wine that cost tens of thousands a glass.
The underground boxing operation had shut down recently. His energy seemed to have gone into running the legitimate nightclub instead, leaving him time to do a few other things too...
Before him stood rows of young women dressed in black, nervously lining up for his inspection.
Zhang Qiren scanned them again and again, disappointment in his eyes. "Is this everyone?"
The red-haired young man beside him said, "Boss, there's no such thing as a hostess or street punk who only likes wearing black. People change their clothes..."
Zhang Qiren fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Forget it. If she's not here, she's not here."
A woman who looked like a madam was smiling ingratiatingly. "Mr. Zhang, which one caught your eye? Tonight..."
"Send them all back," Zhang Qiren said calmly. "Club models are for when you've hit it big. I haven't."
The madam: "?"
Zhang Qiren looked at the wine in his glass and said quietly, "Go back... They're all pretty, but they aren't what I want. There's no point."
He paused, then turned to the red-haired young man. "Any progress with the 'Black Room'?"
"They're very interested, but the cops are looking for them too. None of them dare show their faces lately."
"It's fine..." Zhang Qiren said slowly. "Gu Ruoyan seems to have gone back to the capital already... Lin Wuyang is only a section chief. There's nothing he can do."
(End of chapter)
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