Investment Cashback, Billionaire God [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 24: Top 30 to Top 20

Chapter 24: Top 30 to Top 20

The moment Fang Zhuo finished announcing the rules, the activity values in the real-time leaderboard at the upper right corner of the screen immediately began soaring.

Within just two minutes of openingbefore any hosts had even taken the stagethe top few hosts’ corresponding activity values had already skyrocketed to over two hundred thousand.

Zhou Zongyun was scheduled third for promotional appeals. Before going on stage, he silently counted his ranking on the large screen. Seeing himself inevitably placed at the bottom, he couldn’t help feeling nervous, unconsciously tugging at the hem of his clothes.

The growth rates of others on the overall leaderboard were astonishingly exaggerated. At this rate, even breaking into the top twenty today would be challenging for him.

Yu Yu’s ranking wasn’t much better eitherthey were ranked 26th and 19th respectively, one on the outer edge and the other barely qualifying, neither performing particularly impressively.

And this was still the ranking before the competitive performance mode even began. Once voting intensified in the evening, they might fall even further behind.

Judging by the situation, President Ruan would likely have to spend heavily today.

Giant Entertainment’s live stream stage was set up even more lavishly than usuala three-tiered elevatable platform stood at the center, surrounded by air-freighted blue hydrangeas.

Layered ring-shaped hemispherical plaster structures enveloped the entire platform, with semi-transparent silk curtains hanging from the edges reaching up to the ceiling.

A warm white crescent-shaped boat slowly descended onto the stage carrying the host, while the massive circular screen displayed various three-dimensional cloud and mist effects, making it seem as if the person was truly descending from the heavens.

The several hosts lined up in sequence on the second-floor mezzanine. Through gaps in the metal frame, Zhou Zongyun could clearly see the gentle smoke spreading on stage and the continuously falling flower petals in the air.

Before joining Giant Entertainment, he had never seen such meticulously crafted stages.

Even when attending music festivals, the venue setups would typically just involve putting up some basic structures. Such extravagant and dreamlike scenery was unique to Giant Entertainmentprobably only major tours by Star Entertainment’s top singers could barely compete with Giant Entertainment’s stage design.

When it was finally his turn to sit on the crescent boat, Zhou Zongyun closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling that performing on such a magnificent stage was as unreal as a daydream.

The small boat crossed through the clouds and mist, landing on the ethereal white-fog platform. The director’s passionate voice pushed the live stream atmosphere to its peak.

Zhou Zongyun firmly gripped the microphone and announced with loud youthful enthusiasm:

“Hello everyone, I’m Zhou Zongyun from Group Six of Giant Entertainment. I’ve prepared a short dance segment, hope you’ll enjoy it.”

Deafening music erupted. He had prepared this dance for two days in advance, meticulously practicing every small movement.

The dance style was very fresh and clean, without large frame movements like chest pops or hip thrusts. Since most movements were concentrated in the upper body, the director continuously gave him several close-up shots.

Though he only danced for half a minute, his heartbeat raced so fast it felt like his heart might jump out of his chest at any moment.

He tried his best to control his facial expressions, ending with a bright and refreshing smile.

With four minutes remaining in his individual showcase time, he quickly took the microphone after finishing the dance, only then noticing that his ranking was rapidly climbing.

This competition format attracted a massive number of casual viewers who normally never watch live streams. The online viewership surged to over 300,000 people, with the gift refresh rate nearly five to six times higher than previous days.

He wasn’t the only onethe two streamers who performed just before him also received several times their usual donations. Duan Jiancen, who performed first today, earned over a million activity points in just six minutes.

The bullet comments flew by rapidly. Some casual viewers took the opportunity to promote his fan group, others praised his natural and non-greasy expression management, and a few asked which row he was in on the overall seating chart.

Zhou Zongyun couldn’t hold back tears as he campaigned for votes. He never dreamed that one day he would be seen by so many people.

Just ten days ago, he was overjoyed at securing a spot in a runway show, but now he stood on a luxurious stage with over 300,000 online viewers, basking in the audience’s applause and virtual flowers.

Zhou Zongyun excitedly thanked viewers for their gifts alongside the director. In these six minutes alone, he received over 400,000 in donations, matching what he typically earned in an entire live stream just days before.

As the mechanical countdown ended, he raised his microphone high and quickly exited the stage following the assistant director’s guidance.

It was at this moment that he finally understood why some artists develop an attachment to the first company they sign with.

Feeling as if an idea was sprouting in his heart, Zhou Zongyun gripped the handrail and looked toward Director Fang.

Fang Zhuo was quietly observing the rankings in the upper right corner and asked the backstage director, “What’s the current average vote count per person?”

“Director Fang, it’s been 42 minutes since the start. The six streamers who have performed so far have an average of 620,000 activity points each, and there are still some anonymous individual votes that haven’t been counted yet.”

This amount was already higher than Fang Zhuo had initially anticipated. He opened the online event script and adjusted the order originally planned by Deng Jiaqiang:

“Move Jian Yujing’s group to the third slot. Have them come on three rounds earlier.”

As the star group of Mega-Entertainment’s Group Broadcast, the boy band centered around Jian Yujing had the undisputed highest popularity among all groups.

Following typical entertainment industry logic, Deng Jiaqiang had naturally intended to place the highest-traffic group in the finale slot.

But Fang Zhuo was considering how to maximize earnings.

By positioning the most popular group in the middle segment, they could quickly boost the overall vote count during the mid-section of the broadcast, rapidly raising the threshold needed to break into the top twenty.

Sure enough, the activity values on the real-time rankings saw a significant overall increase after Jian Yujing’s group took the stage.

[Ahhhh Momo is about to fall out of the top twenty! Someone save her!]

[An activity value assassin has appearedI just watched Jiatao drop four spots right before my eyes]

[The top twenty threshold was just 860,000how did it suddenly jump so high??]

[Every member of this group is so strong! Can someone recommend the guy standing in the middle? What’s his name?]

[An hour ago I would’ve typed a long reply for you, but now I can only tell you his name is Jian Yujing and suggest you manually search for yourself. My pick just dropped to 18thI’m going all out to recruit new voters for Momo!

Check out this 12-year-old, 168cm, 46kg beautysweet and dedicated, definitely worth investing in! Join me in quickly voting this sweet Momo into the top twenty!]

[Been lying in bed enjoying the show all afternoonhow is every group so ridiculously good-looking? They feel even more handsome than those second-tier influencers waiting for their big break.]

[Our fellow fans are truly formidable, effortlessly carrying Jian Yujing straight to the final round. From the day our Mega-Entertainment’s crown prince was signed, he was destined to be the center.]

[Today’s stage setup is even more over-the-top than previous days, and the styling is visibly refined. It’s been six dayshow has no one uncovered which studio handled the looks yet?]

[Don’t rush it. Industry insiders are more anxious than the audience. Once the competition ends, that styling studio’s schedule will be fully booked.]

[Brother Fang has a scarily accurate grasp of the audience’s psychologyveteran survival show fans are completely hooked QAQ.]

[We’ve finally got a competition where vote manipulation is practically impossible. Who understands the peace of mind from total transparency in all gift contributions? I’m so done with rigged shows where vote counts form perfect arithmetic sequences.

Actually, it’s not about manipulating psychologyit’s about finally not treating the audience like fools.]

[Weren’t we all just going to watch for fun without voting? Who betrayed the free-loading squad?]

[Missing the early days when 500k would safely secure top twenty… Now the cutoff’s blown past 1.2 million… teary eyes Are you all earning money through legal means? Any income methods not listed in the criminal code you could share?]

Since Jian Yujing’s group took the stage, the 19th and 20th positions on the real-time rankings had been changing almost every second.

Every additional day on this stage meant massive exposure, with top twenty contestants even earning oversized mall postersno fanbase would let their streamer narrowly miss the cutoff.

By 7 PM, during the individual showcase of the final girl group, the 20th place activity value shattered the 1.5 million mark, skyrocketing toward 2 million.

Countless eyes were glued to screensthe preliminary top thirty selection alone dominated multiple platform hot searches throughout the afternoon.

Seven or eight completely emptied syringes were hurled consecutively at the screen. The corner of the electronic display shattered and leaked, casting malfunctioning colored stripes across the streamer’s face during their live performance.

“That screen costs eight thousand. Instead of throwing tantrums, you should save that money to vote for those two disappointments.”

Ruan Zihan threw a plastic case backward onto the sofa, eyes bloodshot and breathing heavily:

“What’s that supposed to mean? You think I can’t afford this?”

As hallucinogen residue splattered onto her earlobe, Chi Yingying wiped it away in disgust and stated flatly:

“If money wasn’t an issue, you’d have boosted their votes hours ago. Would you be here hesitating all afternoon with this impotent rage?”

Cursing violently, Ruan Zihan grabbed the internal phone and dialed his assistant:

“Immediately boost Yu Yu and Zhou Zongyun into top twenty. If anyone counter-votes, we match them continuously.”

After hanging up, he calmed slightly and shrugged while perched on the desk:

“I’m not brokejust tied up cash in investments. Temporary liquidity issue.

I could liquidate stocks anytime I want. I just won’t let some small fry like Giant Entertainment disrupt Starry Galaxy’s investment strategy.”

Chi Yingying let out a scornful laugh upon hearing this.

Half an hour later, the assistant called again: “Brother Ruan, the activity value for the top twenty positions has already exceeded three million. Should we continue?”

When Ruan Zihan first sent those two over, he never intended to pay the remaining balance. The 600,000 deposit given to them was his entire initial budget.

Entertainment companies may appear glamorous, but controlling public opinion and maintaining media relations all require financial resources. A company’s cash flow is far less abundant than outsiders might imagine.

Even for top-tier Star Entertainment agencies, an expenditure of nearly ten million with almost no immediate returns is by no means a small amount.

This sum wasn’t enough to cripple the company, but it still stung.

Before sending them, he hadn’t anticipated that Mega-Entertainment would implement a live broadcast competition format. Nor had he expected before today’s broadcast that the preliminary rounds alone would reach such astronomical figures.

Ruan Zihan originally thought a few hundred thousand would be enough to secure a spot in the top twenty, but now the price had increased nearly tenfold.

The Star Federation’s economy is just too developedhe was realizing for the first time that he couldn’t match the financial power of the big spenders in the live stream.

But having already invested this much, giving up now would mean all previous efforts were wasted.

Pressing his tongue against his cheek, Ruan Zihan replied to his assistant: “Continue. Of course we continue.”

Just as the assistant used a burner account to send several virtual “Carnivals,” the livestream entered the segment where the five streamers stood in a row taking turns soliciting votes. Fang Zhuo happened to appear at the edge of the stage with a microphone, supporting them.

Watching Fang Zhuo smiling lightly while thanking donors for gifts through the cracked screen, Ruan Zihan could no longer contain his rage. He kicked over the screen’s stand, earning another eye-roll from Chi Yingying.

“Thank you ‘HanHan Will Have a Better Tomorrow’ for the hundred Carnivals. The boss is generous,” Fang Zhuo said, slightly raising his microphone while making an applauding gesture.

The real-time rankings continued fluctuating wildly. After Ruan Zihan joined the battle, competition for the top twenty intensified dramatically. Every streamer’s fan groups mobilized frantically, with all viewers brainstorming ways to attract new supporters and secure votes.

Those near the cutoff fought to break into the top twenty, while those in precarious positions struggled to climb higher. Higher-ranked streamers feared being pushed out of the safe zone.

A deep red “explosive” tag appeared next to related trending topics on StarNet, drawing even casual observers unfamiliar with entertainment circles to curiously click in and cast scattered votes.

All six group broadcasts concluded at exactly 8:50 PM, with each group returning to the stage for a final group dance.

Viewers spammed the chat promoting their favorites, trying to secure one or two undecided voters before the rankings locked.

By 9:00 PM, the real-time rankings finally stabilized.

The cutoff line had been pushed increasingly higher. Tonight’s broadcast earned Fang Zhuo 1.1 billion in revenue, far exceeding his initial expectations.

Moreover, this model would be difficult for less established agencies to replicate.

Even if competing agencies could quickly launch similar group broadcast products, this competition format required substantial organizational capability and numerous high-quality streamers to sustainmeaning Mega-Entertainment’s earnings from next month’s event wouldn’t decrease significantly.

The live stream assistant compiled a list of key users who had made large voting contributions and tagged the operations department in the group chat, requesting them to contact these users and arrange for customized gifts to be sent.

Fang Zhuo glanced at the list. He couldn’t tell whether Ruan Zihan’s assistant had been careless or if this was just the usual practice at Starry Galaxy Media

The alternate account that had voted for Zhou Zongyun and Yu Yu not only made no attempt to disguise its IP address but also boldly displayed the username “Hanhan Will Have a Better Tomorrow,” as if afraid he wouldn’t figure it out.

He instructed the live stream assistant to pull up the transaction records for that account and discovered that the user had spent a total of 6.2 million that night. All of that money, with a tenfold return, had ended up in his own pocket.

Sometimes, making a rival lose money felt even more satisfying than earning it himself.

Right on cue, the system displayed a notification. Along with the rewards from this new title, he was now just one mystery box away from unlocking the next Ten-Draw.

[Company’s Current Reputation: 15. Matching Title: ‘Emerging Talent’]

[Conditions met. Maximum capacity of employee dormitories has increased from 152 to 176.]

[Detected current employee dormitory occupancy rate is 50%. It is recommended to recruit more employees to expand operations~]

The staff were still celebrating in the live stream room. Jiang Yu gathered the stage bouquets, which would wilt after tonight, into bundles and gave them to the assistant directors and the remaining streamers.

Just past 10 p.m., Fang Zhuo called Deng Jiaqiang into his office, and the two stayed behind to discuss the planning details for the next round of the competition.

The office glass was set to translucent mode, allowing faint silhouettes to be seen moving outside.

One or two figures passing by could be explained, but these two shadows lingered for nearly twenty minutes.

Deng Jiaqiang remained oblivious and kept talking. Fang Zhuo raised a hand to signal silence and quietly switched the glass to one-way visibility mode

Standing at the door were none other than Zhou Zongyun and Yu Yu, both wearing expressions of guilt.