"Angel and Gun God really felt like a mouthful of shattered glass. I really hoped Gun God wasn't dead."
"Gun God's death was such a pity. If only Lifespan had an over-the-horizon sniper rifle."
"The barren earth, subspecies replacing humanity, endless warfare, and the sole surviving human... Merlin really painted a vivid yet despairing real world."
"Compared to grand settings and high-end power levels, I still preferred the everyday parts."
"Golden-Haired Angel clumsily played the guitar while the Black-Clad Youth beside her let out a helpless sigh..."
"How wonderful would it be if time could stop at this moment?"
"Even the diligent Magician Jeweled Swordmaster couldn't find a way to avert Steel Land. It seemed to be the inevitable convergence of the timeline..."
"Damn it, knives. Nothing but knives!"
"Merlin, you have no heart! Hiding behind the title of King Arthur's close friend and mentor, yet you actually became a cliffhanger bastard. You're utterly wicked!"
"If Grand Sorcerer Merlin's spirit in heaven could see this, he would definitely draw circles and curse you."
"Update faster! Or I'll mail you razor blades!"
"It's over, it's over. I won't be able to sleep again tonight."
Although the readers could not sleep.
Luo Shu slept soundly, with the faintest hint of a smile on his sleeping face.
The moon set and the sun rose. Another hopeful day had arrived.
"Haah~."
At Happiness Villa, the young man in a moon-white feathered robe woke up and lazily yawned.
He picked up the phone beside his pillow and turned it on. It was already eight in the morning. Today was the start of the workweek in Japan, commonly known as the first weekday.
There were still several messages on the social app, sent by contacts he had added while fortune-telling yesterday.
Chiba's Holy Fallen Black Cat: "Thank you, Mr. Luo. Just as you said, the SNS community suggested holding an offline gathering today. After your reminder, I decided not to go. I almost ran into a miserable romance!"
"If there's ever anything you need my help with, please don't hesitate to ask!"
Miss Sachi: "I'll listen to Brother Luo Shu's advice and stay away from the virtual dive game 'Sword Art Online'!"
Higurashi Kagome: "There really are monsters appearing around the Bone-Eating Well in my backyard..."
Luo Shu calmly finished reading the messages, then chose to leave them on read without replying.
He was a man destined to become a god. Building his career came first. Those dazzling girls could step aside for now; he would consider romance only after he possessed the ability to protect himself in this world.
However, when he saw the final message, Luo Shu scratched his head.
Yamagami Tetsuya: "'With one shot, all under heaven know my name; with two shots, the traitor to the nation shall be punished by heaven'... Thank you for the mage's reading. I know what I need to do now. If I can accomplish this, then my sorrowful life will finally have meaning."
After remaining silent for a while, Luo Shu rubbed his chin with his thumb and replied.
"May victory follow your arms."
Then he put away his phone, his expression thoughtful.
After a night of brewing, he wondered whether the short story he had written had come alive yet.
"Void."
He murmured softly. A patch of Silver Ripple immediately appeared to the left of his vision, followed by a detailed information panel.
Creator: Luo Shu Life Level: Mortal Realm (Tier 1) Theoretical Lifespan: 70 years Divine Authority Jade: 225.7
"Gasp, that much?"
Luo Shu sucked in a cold breath.
When he had played the charlatan at Makuhari Seaside Park, standing from morning until sunset and fooling hundreds or thousands of people, he had barely earned 25.95 Divine Authority Jade.
Yet simply posting an apocalypse novel on Twitter had earned him more than nine times as much as street hustling, and it had been effortless. No wonder those pretentious girls from his previous life loved posting long essays online. It was practically a no-cost business!
This was awesome!
The corners of Luo Shu's lips lifted slightly, his face breaking into a broad smile.
Men were like that. Once they had money, their hands started itching, and they wanted to try something new.
He had always wanted to test the effects of strengthening his body, but the scarcity of Divine Authority Jade had stopped 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 cure diseases, heal hidden injuries, and strengthen my body."
As the young master of a wealthy family in his previous life, he had always valued health preservation, but he had still remained in a subhealthy state. From time to time, he had also engaged in deep exchanges with pretty girls, so his body naturally had a few minor problems.
Now that he had the chance to make up for those deficits, it could not have been better.
"Whoosh~."
The Silver Ripple began to stir as Divine Authority Jade was consumed. An invisible glow enveloped him, seeped into him, and cleansed his body.
"Gasp~~."
Luo Shu's eyes widened. An indescribable sensation filled him, so pleasurable that he felt as if he were about to ascend into immortality.
The radiance gradually dimmed...
Until it vanished.
Only then did he slowly stand up, lick his lips, and gaze ahead with lingering regret.
His body had become incomparably light, as though the shackles of flesh had been shattered and he was soaring through the boundless cosmos. He had been completely renewed from within and without. Even if a brown bear, tiger, or leopard stood before him, he felt that he could kill it with one punch.
Luo Shu subconsciously touched his face and found it smoother and more delicate.
As expected, after his Life Level advanced, his looks had risen another notch.
When he glanced at the panel again, Luo Shu became even more excited.
Theoretical Lifespan: "70 → 93 years."
Besides his looks, even his lifespan had skyrocketed. It was an all-around boost!
He could clearly feel vitality flooding into his brain, muscles, and spirit, returning him in one go to the peak condition of his youth.
If he played League of Legends again, he definitely would not be stuck in Silver. Reaching Master in one streak would not be a problem.
And this had been achieved by using only 5% of 225.7 Divine Authority Jade.
What if he used more?
No, calm down. If he went all in and spent everything in one shot, he would be finished too.
For the sake of his longer-term plans, he absolutely could not touch this startup capital recklessly.
Mr. Luo took a deep breath.
His plan was simple. Inspired by the exposure-stream novels from his previous life, he would first create a massive Heavenly Curtain spanning the northern and southern hemispheres, one that all humanity could clearly see, then play the altered videos he made himself.
Although there were many small details that still needed refinement.
Once he succeeded, he would be able to harvest viewers from across the entire planet.
He had previously asked Void about it. Creating such a Heavenly Curtain would require at least five thousand Divine Authority Jade.
These 225.7 Divine Authority Jade were the key to quickly earning those five thousand.
Luo Shu stared calmly at the computer screen and slowly spoke.
"Void, help me establish a video website whose IP address cannot be traced by any country."
"Buzz buzz buzz~ (As you command)."
The Silver Ripple swayed cheerfully.
Soon, countless lines of code flashed across the screen, and a website named Observer Net appeared.
11. Producing a Fate/stay night Short Film: Holy Grail War!
"Observer Net... That name sounded pretty intimidating."
Luo Shu rubbed his chin with his thumb, one brow slightly raised as he looked rather satisfied.
The video website was empty, with ivory white as its primary background color. Although it had no video content yet, it lacked none of the necessary functions: scrolling comments, sharing, coin donations, likes...
Many of those features were fresh and ingenious ideas for 2012.
If he were an ordinary person, he could easily use it to build a publicly listed company.
However, for the current Luo Shu, nothing mattered more than earning Divine Authority Jade.
"Void, materialize NTZ-48 with double the efficacy!"
The young man stared at the computer and spoke calmly.
To the left of his vision, the Silver Ripple began to sway. It suddenly parted down the middle and presented a thumb-sized blue NTZ-48 pill.
Divine Authority Jade consumed: approximately 21.36.
Without hesitation, he calmly swallowed the double-effect NTZ-48. The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, spreading a cool sensation through his oral cavity.
"Boom boom boom—."
Thunderous explosions suddenly echoed through the air, and the nanmu table and chairs trembled slightly.
The young man's heart pounded wildly, carrying the deadly oppressive force of an Emperor Engine. The sound waves it emitted alone could affect reality. Blood rushed through his entire body, flowing as swiftly as a babbling stream.
At the same time, his energy became even more abundant, and his thoughts accelerated by hundreds or thousands of times.
In an instant, Luo Shu completed a transformation from human to god, though it was only a trial version.
His mind was already clear. He knew exactly what he needed to do.
The young man in the Moon-White Feather Robe calmly spoke into the air:
"Void, use Fantasy Materialization to materialize the story woven in my mind and turn it into a video that can be uploaded online."
"Buzz buzz buzz~ (As you command)."
As the Silver Ripple stirred, Luo Shu slowly closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
With the Divine Authority Jade currently in his possession, producing an exquisite fantasy film would be effortless. But creating a movie that made people feel as though they had personally entered a shocking and authentic world... that was difficult.
Steel Land seemed capable of achieving the same result, but that was not actually the case.
No matter how beautiful the illustrations were or how immersive and realistic the writing was.
A novel was still just a novel. In terms of realism, it was far inferior to animation and film.
In his previous life, works such as Dragon Ball, Spider-Man, and Harry Potter had become global hits. The value generated by merchandise alone had created commercial empires, while novels from various countries were like dust falling to the ground, ignored by all.
At the end of the day, humans were visual creatures.
Since ancient times, there had been a saying: "What one hears may be false, but what one sees is true."
Most of the time, people only believed what they saw with their own eyes. No matter how eloquently others spoke, they remained skeptical.
And Luo Shu's goal was to create a "movie" filled with realism in every aspect, giving people the feeling of watching a documentary. He would upload it to Observer Net, then use other methods to draw viewers from around the world.
By then, if he got several billion people to watch it, even if only one in ten thousand believed it.
Luo Shu's goal would be achieved, and creating a Heavenly Curtain covering both hemispheres would no longer be a problem.
He had considered many stories. For example, the widely acclaimed anime Parasyte from his previous life not only had a modern setting that made it highly immersive, but also possessed thematic depth that left viewers unable to move on for a long time afterward.
However, two difficulties made Luo Shu ruthlessly abandon that proposal.
First, Divine Authority Jade was scarce. His budget could only produce a "realistic movie" of nearly two minutes, and that amount of time was not enough to explain a complete film.
At most, he could seemingly make a promotional video.
The second reason was even more important.
After Steel Land gained a small measure of fame, Luo Shu was shocked to discover that materializing things related to Steel Land seemed to have become easier for him...
For instance, he wanted to materialize Angel Species, one of the Ali-hundred Species. It had originally required over a thousand Divine Authority Jade, but after more and more people came to know of it, the Divine Authority Jade required to materialize Angel Species had decreased by at least ten.
Before you continue