Chapter 8

"The Angel and Gun God ship is just a mouthful of glass shards. I really wish the Gun God hadn't died."

"The Gun God's death was such a waste. If only his Lifespan could have sniped from beyond visual range."

"The barren land, the subspecies replacing humanity, the endless war, and the sole surviving human... Grand Sorcerer Merlin really painted a vivid yet despairing real world."

"Compared to the grand setting and high-end combat power, I still prefer watching the daily life parts."

"The Golden-Haired Angel clumsily plays the guitar, and the Black-Clad Youth beside her sighs helplessly..."

"If only time could stop at this moment."

"The diligent Magician Jeweled Swordmaster couldn't find a way to avoid the Steel Land either. It seems like a converging worldline ending..."

"Damn it, knives, all knives!"

"Merlin, you have no heart! Wearing the name of King Arthur's close friend and mentor, yet acting like a chapter-cutting dog, you're utterly wicked!"

"If Grand Sorcerer Merlin's spirit in heaven could see this, he'd definitely draw a circle and curse you."

"Update faster! Or I'll send you a knife blade!"

"It's over, it's over. I can't sleep tonight again."

Though the readers couldn't sleep.

Luo Shu slept soundly, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his sleeping face.

The moon set and the sun rose, another day full of hope arriving.

"Haaah~"

At Happiness Villa, the youth in a moon-white feathered robe woke up, yawning lazily.

He picked up his phone from the pillow and turned it on. It was already eight in the morning, today being "Monday" in Japan, commonly known as the day of the moon.

There were a few messages in the social app, from contacts he'd added after fortune-telling yesterday.

[Chiba's Holy Fallen Black Cat]: "Thank you, Mr. Luo. Today, the SNS community really did suggest holding an offline gathering. Thanks to your reminder, I decided not to go. I almost ran into a miserable romance!"

"If there's anything I can help with in the future, please don't hesitate to ask!"

[Miss Sachi]: "I'll listen to Brother Luo Shu's advice and won't go near the virtual dive game 'Sword Art Online'!"

[Higurashi Kagome]: "There really are monsters coming out of the Bone-Eating Well in my backyard..."

Luo Shu calmly read through these messages, then chose to read them without replying.

He was a man destined to become a god. Getting his career going was the priority. These dazzling girls could step aside for now. At least until he had the power to protect himself in this world, then he'd consider romance.

But when he scrolled to the last message, Luo Shu scratched his head.

[Yamagami Tetsuya]: "'One shot, and the world knows me; two shots, and the traitor meets divine punishment'... Thank you for the prophecy, Master. I have a clear idea now. If I can accomplish this, my miserable life will have meaning."

After a moment of silence, Luo Shu rubbed his chin with his thumb and replied to him.

"May your martial fortunes flourish."

Then he turned off his phone, a thoughtful expression on his face.

After a night of brewing, he wondered if the short story he'd written had come to life.

"Void."

He murmured softly, and a silver ripple appeared on the left side of his vision, revealing a detailed information panel.

[Creator: Luo Shu]

[Life Level: Mortal Realm (First Order)]

[Theoretical Lifespan: 70 years]

[Divine Authority Jade: 225.7]

"Sss—, that much!"

Luo Shu gasped in shock.

When he'd played the fortune-teller at Makuhari Seaside Park, standing from morning till sunset and fooling hundreds of people, he'd barely earned 25.95 Divine Authority Jade.

And now, posting an apocalyptic novel on Twitter had earned him over nine times that, with ease and no effort. No wonder the fairies of his past life loved writing little essays—it was a one-for-all profit, right?!

Awesome!

The corners of Luo Shu's mouth lifted, his face beaming with a smile.

When a man had money, he got an itch to try something new.

He'd always wanted to test the effects of body enhancement, but the scarcity of Divine Authority Jade had kept him from acting rashly. Now, he could finally give it a try.

Luo Shu smiled gently. "Void, use 5% of my current Divine Authority Jade to repair illnesses, heal hidden injuries, and strengthen my body."

In his past life, as a wealthy young master, he'd always focused on health, but he'd still been in a sub-healthy state. Occasionally, he'd had deep exchanges with attractive girls, leaving his body with a few minor issues.

Now that he had the chance to make up for those deficits, it couldn't be better.

"Whoosh~."

Silver ripples spread, and the Divine Authority Jade began to deplete. A glow invisible to outsiders enveloped, permeated, and cleansed his body.

"Hiss~~."

Luo Shu's eyes widened, an indescribable feeling welling up inside him—a comfort so intense it felt like he was about to shed his mortal shell and ascend as an immortal.

The radiance gradually dimmed...

Until it vanished.

Only then did he slowly rise to his feet, licking his lips, a hint of lingering regret in his gaze.

His body felt incredibly light, as if the shackles of flesh had been shattered, allowing him to roam through the cosmic Void. From the inside out, he was reborn—even if a brown bear or a tiger stood before him now, he could kill it with a single punch.

Luo Shu subconsciously touched his face, feeling it had become smoother and more refined.

As expected, after his Life Level leaped forward, his looks had taken another jump.

Glancing at the panel again, Luo Shu was brimming with excitement.

Theoretical Lifespan: "70 → 93 years."

Not just his appearance—his lifespan had skyrocketed too. A full-on all-around buff!

He could clearly sense a surge of vitality injected into his brain nerves, muscles, and spirit, instantly catapulting him back to the peak of his youth.

If he went back to playing League of Legends now, he definitely wouldn't be stuck in Bronze—he'd shoot straight up to Master.

And all this was achieved using just 5% of the 225.7 Divine Authority Jades.

What if he used more?

No, calm down, calm down. Going all-in would ruin him.

For the sake of a deeper plan, this seed capital absolutely couldn't be touched.

Luo Shu took a deep breath.

His plan was simple, inspired by the exposure-stream novels of his past life: first, create a massive Heavenly Curtain spanning both hemispheres, visible to all of humanity, then broadcast his self-made, modified videos.

There were plenty of small details to iron out.

But once it succeeded, he could harvest the entire planet as his audience.

Earlier, he had asked the Void—it would take at least five thousand Divine Authority Jades to create such a Heavenly Curtain.

These 225.7 Divine Authority Jades were the key to quickly earning those five thousand.

Luo Shu stared calmly at the computer screen and spoke slowly.

"Void, help me build a video website that no country can trace the IP of."

"Buzz buzz~ (As you command.)"

The silver ripples rippled lightly.

Soon, countless codes flickered across the screen, and a website named the Observer Net appeared.

11. Producing a Fate/stay night Short Film: The Holy Grail War!

"Observer Net... That name sounds pretty intimidating, huh."

Luo Shu rubbed his thumb against his chin, one eyebrow raised, his gaze full of satisfaction.

The video site was empty, with an ivory-white background as its main tone. Though there was no video content yet, all the necessary features were there—bullet comments, sharing, tipping, likes...

Many of these features, placed in 2012, would be refreshingly innovative ideas.

If he were an ordinary person, he could easily start a publicly traded company with it.

But for Luo Shu now, nothing was more important than earning Divine Authority Jades.

"Void, manifest an NTZ-48 with double the potency!"

The young man stared at the computer and said calmly.

To his left, silver ripples began to stir, then parted in the middle, presenting a thumb-sized blue NTZ-48 pill.

Divine Authority Jade consumption: approximately 21.36.

Without hesitation, he calmly swallowed the double-potency NTZ-48. The pill dissolved on his tongue, and a cool sensation spread through his mouth.

"Boom, boom, boom—."

The air suddenly erupted with thunderous roars, and the nanmu desk and chair trembled slightly.

The young man's heart pounded wildly, like an "Emperor Engine" exuding a deadly pressure. The mere sound waves it emitted could affect reality. His entire blood circulation accelerated, rushing like a babbling brook.

At the same time, his energy surged, and his thoughts raced a thousand times faster.

In an instant, Luo Shu completed the transformation from man to god—though it was just a trial card.

His thoughts were clear now. He knew exactly what to do next.

This young man, clad in a Moon-White Feather Robe, spoke calmly to the air:

"Void, use the Fantasy Materialization function to turn the story I've woven in my mind into a video that can be uploaded to the internet."

"Buzz buzz~ (As you command.)"

With the ripples of silver light spreading, Luo Shu slowly closed his eyes and sank into thought.

The Divine Authority Jade in his hand now could easily produce an exquisite fantasy film, but creating a movie that made people feel as if they were truly there, facing a shockingly real world... that was very difficult.

It seemed that "Steel Land" could also achieve the above effect, but in reality, it could not.

No matter how good the illustrations were, or how immersive and realistic the text felt.

A novel was ultimately just a novel; its sense of reality was far inferior to that of anime and movies.

In his past life, Dragon Ball, Spider-Man, Harry Potter, and many other works sold globally, and the value created by their merchandise alone built commercial empires, while novels from various countries fell like dust to the ground, ignored by all.

At the root of it, humans were visual creatures.

Since ancient times, there had been a saying: "Hearing is false, seeing is true."

Many times, people only believed what their own eyes saw, no matter how eloquently others described things, they remained skeptical.

And Luo Shu's goal was to create a "movie" full of realism in every aspect, giving people the feeling of a documentary, posted on the Observer Net, and then using other means to draw viewers from all over the world.

By then, if he could get billions of people to watch, even if only one in ten thousand believed.

Luo Shu's goal would be achieved, and creating a Heavenly Curtain covering both hemispheres would be no problem.

He had considered many stories, such as the famous anime series from his past life, "Parasyte." Not only did its modern setting make it highly relatable, but its ideas also had depth, leaving viewers unable to let go long after watching.

However, there were two difficulties that made Luo Shu resolutely veto this plan.

First, Divine Authority Jade was scarce; his budget could only produce a "real movie" of nearly two minutes, and that amount of time could not tell a complete film.

It seemed he could only release a PV video.

Second, and more importantly.

After "Steel Land" gained some fame, Luo Shu was shocked to discover that manifesting things related to Steel Land had become much easier...

For example, if he wanted to manifest one of the Ali-hundred Species, the "Angel Species," it originally required a thousand Divine Authority Jades, but after more and more people learned about it, the Divine Authority Jade needed to manifest the Angel Species had decreased by at least ten.