Investment Cashback, Billionaire God [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 25: Offline Live Stream

Chapter 25: Offline Live Stream

Fang Zhuo pushed the door open directly and lightly hooked his finger at the two stunned individuals outside.

Though there were two rows of sofas in the office, neither Zhou Zongyun nor Yu Yu would sit down after entering. They kept nudging each other’s elbows, wearing expressions as if they were too embarrassed to ask for a loan.

Fang Zhuo returned to his desk and introduced them to Deng Jiaqiang: “I mentioned them to you beforethey’re the ones sent over from Starry Galaxy.”

At these words, both of them widened their eyes in shock, with Zhou Zongyun even letting out an astonished “Ah!”

Director Fang knew they were undercover agents? Since when did he know?

A hundred questions flooded Zhou Zongyun’s mind. Had he been that obviously guilty before…

Yu Yu hurriedly explained, “Director Fang, we’ve never provided any information to Ruan Zihan since joining Mega-Entertainment. He even asked us to take photos of the stylist for him, but we didn’t take any pictures.”

Fang Zhuo nodded: “I know.”

Zhou Zongyun was completely stunned. All the anxiety and internal conflict he felt before entering had now transformed into admiration for Director Fang.

If only he had come forward to confess earlier, he could have saved himself from all that unnecessary mental turmoil.

“How much did Ruan Zihan offer you?”

Zhou Zongyun answered honestly: “He transferred 600,000 as a deposit to each of us, promising another million as final payment if we captured useful information.”

He had already earned back the deposit amount just from his first few days of streaming at Mega-Entertainment. He couldn’t understand why he would ever need to betray the company’s information.

Upon hearing the amount, even Deng Jiaqiang couldn’t help but chuckle and ask, “Didn’t he offer any other benefits, like television drama resources?”

Both of them shook their heads in confusion.

Seeing this, Deng Jiaqiang sighed with a smile: “Silly kids…”

According to Star Federation law, if these streamers leaked crucial company information after being employed, the company could legally sue them. At the very least, Mega-Entertainment could enforce non-compete agreements that would prevent them from working for three full years.

Asking someone to risk their entire career for just a 600,000 deposit was simply too stingy.

Fang Zhuo took two brand new bank cards from his desk folder, handing one to each of them, then sent the supplementary contract to their Light Brains:

“Each card contains five million as a deposit. After you fulfill the terms specified in the supplementary agreement, Mega-Entertainment will additionally offer you minor roles in upcoming short dramas, with resources to be delivered by the end of next quarter.”

“Don’t worry, the agreement terms are simple and completely safe. All you need to do is use your words.”

Zhou Zongyun’s fingertips trembled as he accepted the card.

He never expected that not only would Director Fang disregard their undercover status, but he would also secretly provide them with such a substantial amount to become informants.

Five million… Even if the terms required him to physically assault Ruan Zihan, he would have accepted.

He thought Yu Yu, being the cautious one, would hesitate at least a little. Instead, Yu Yu signed even faster than he did, and after signing, even obsequiously organized the scattered folders on Director Fang’s desk.

Fang Zhuo pointed at Zhou Zongyun: “I’ll send you the photos and talking points later. You need to leak two pieces of information to Ruan Zihan.”

“First, notify him at any time tomorrow afternoon about the qualifying line for the blind competition performance. Additionally, inform him tonight that the second round of the competition will be held offline at the Ice Sail Gymnasium in the secondary city of the Primary Star.”

“You should also subtly hint to Ruan Zihan that Yu Yu has been bribed by me, which is why Yu Yu has been obstructing you from providing information lately.”

Zhou Zongyun stretched his neck in surprisethis maneuver was a bit too dazzlingly complex.

He could only wish Ruan Zihan good luck.

The fact that the later rounds of the competition would be held offline was somewhat within his expectations. After all, the streamers signed by Mega-Entertainment had exceptionally high offline appeal and weren’t afraid of being exposed in person. Holding the competition offline could also help boost their influence.

However, aside from its relatively large capacity, the Ice Sail Gymnasium proposed by Director Fang had almost no standout features.

The entire venue was notably old and outdated, with lighting and equipment that weren’t even as refined as Mega-Entertainment’s own live-streaming studios.

Two years ago, the Ice Sail Gymnasium had even experienced a restroom explosion during a concert, sparking a wave of negative reviews on the StarNet.

Although Zhou Zongyun didn’t fully understand why Director Fang wanted to leak such information, he obediently followed instructions without question.

The Star Federation had countless venues of all sizes capable of hosting offline concerts. Based on the completeness and quality of their facilities, the Federation’s Entertainment and Sports Industry Association strictly classified these venues into five tiers, with the Ice Sail Gymnasium being an unremarkable two-star venue.

The Primary Star had only a handful of five-star venues: the Federation Central Stadium in the main urban area, the Giant Nest Stadium, and the Red Light Civic Stadium in the secondary urban area.

Among these, the Federation Central Stadium, though the smallest in terms of area and capacityaccommodating just over 4,000 peoplewas the most technologically advanced and fully enclosed venue.

It was only open for reservations by agencies and sports event organizers at extremely high prices from April to July each year, with the rest of the year claimed to be dedicated to internal maintenance.

Many entertainment companies suspected that the operators were using the short opening period as a scarcity tactic to drive up daily rental costs. However, given its top-tier supporting services and stage equipment in the entire Star Federation, companies had no choice but to grudgingly accept this capricious scheduling.

Over time, this scarcity grew increasingly exaggerated, and many top singers considered holding a concert at the Federation Central Stadium the ultimate dream of their careers.

It was now early August, and the Federation Central Stadium had announced its closure for maintenance just two weeks earlier.

When the stadium director received the business meeting request from Giant Entertainment, he sent three emails firmly rejecting it.

But at 9 a.m. the next morning, when the director arrived at work as usual, he saw a distinctive pure white private spaceship parked at the stadium entrance.

The spaceship hatch slowly opened, and a man in a light gray casual suit shook his hand with familiar ease:

“Director Wang, I’ve long heard of your reputation.”

As seasoned business professionals, the director immediately understood the other party’s intention and let out a long sigh:

“Director Fang, it’s not that I’m unwilling to rent it out, but the venue is genuinely under maintenance right now. Our equipment requires regular inspections every six months.”

From April to early August was less than five months. Fang Zhuo noticed the exaggeration in his words and smiled:

“Our venue is indeed packed every single day. I heard this year’s highest daily rental during the open period was auctioned off for 1.1 million.”

The gymnasium director observed Fang Zhuo’s expression for a moment while guiding him toward the office: “That’s absolutely right…”

Only when they reached the private office did the director voice his real concern:

“The main issue is that we just closed, and renting it out again would affect its commercial value. Other talent agencies participating in this year’s auction would definitely have objections.”

Although he knew Giant Entertainment wasn’t short on money, the Federation Central Gymnasium only had just over 4,000 seats.

Even if ticket prices were raised to astronomical levels, the capacity was limited to that size. The 1.1 million daily rental price was already at the breakeven edge for organizers.

If venue costs increased further, it would be purely losing money for publicityhe didn’t believe Giant Entertainment’s boss had entered the entertainment industry to run a charity.

They were all seasoned veterans; one look exchanged between them confirmed they were both profit-driven businessmen.

He couldn’t possibly break the rules the Federation Central Gymnasium had maintained for so many years for a mere million or so, and he believed Mega-Entertainment’s boss understood this perfectly.

After speaking, the director made a gesture to see his guest out.

Fang Zhuo nodded understandingly.

If it were just about ticket sales, a daily rent of over a million had indeed reached its limit.

But he was renting the offline venue to expand the live broadcast’s influence, hoping to leverage fans and media buzz to add heat to the competition

Compared to the daily rebate of over one billion, this amount was as insignificant as marketing expenses to him.

Fang Zhuo politely quoted a price the other party absolutely couldn’t refuse:

“Would 20 million for two days be acceptable to you?”

The director first showed a stunned expression, then quickly modified the amount on his Light Brain, sending the contract to Fang Zhuo within five seconds.

“Of course. Actually, our auction this year originally included two special dates that weren’t publicly announced. Only VIP clients could participate in the unpublicized date auction process. Congratulations to Giant Entertainment on your successful bid.”

Upon receiving the contract confirmation, the director proactively shook hands with Fang Zhuo.

Shortly after 1 PM, with about three hours left until Mega-Entertainment’s scheduled Group Broadcast time.

Over forty media outlets were already gathered at Ice Sail Gymnasium’s entrance, all waiting for Giant Entertainment’s official website to release venue information.

Star Federation’s transportation was extremely developedlong-distance Spaceships between different planets took just over an hour, and the transportation network within Primary Star was comprehensive.

Public transport operated overnight, so audiences wouldn’t need to worry about accommodation after concerts since round trips could be completed within the same day.

Small concerts typically only announced dates and times, with specific venues notified just one or two days in advance as standard practice. Some less formal fan meetings or mall performances even revealed locations just seven or eight hours before starting.

But it was rare for an organization like Mega-Entertainment to withhold venue information until three hours before start time. While media began doubting the accuracy of the information, their attention subtly turned toward those paparazzi from the Starry Galaxy system.

The initial rumor about the second round competition being held at Ice Sail Gymnasium had originated from Starry Galaxy paparazzi last night.

Learning from the previous incident where Starry Galaxy paparazzi filmed the wrong set and the mystery surrounding Star 45’s fake set, all media professionals are now highly sensitive to any news related to Mega-Entertainment. Every outlet wants to get firsthand information.

Several photographers carrying cameras had already set their equipment on the ground, whispering to each other:

“Yu You, is your source reliable?”

“LOL, weren’t you the one who filmed the ‘Great-Grandmother’ last time? That post you made was absolutely hilarious.”

“Stop laughing, this time the information came from inside sources. If it’s fake, I’ll eat my words. My boss has already bought a trending spot, just wait and see.”

“I’ve been waiting since 9 AM until 1 PM now, and not a single person has shown up. Isn’t Mega-Entertainment coming for rehearsal? Your tip must be wrong.”

“I actually think Mega-Entertainment might really choose Ice Sail Gymnasium. It’s cheap and spacious, they could make a decent profit just from ticket sales. Didn’t Chi Yingying hold her concert here two years ago?”

“Check your Light Brain quickly. The trending section has such detailed descriptions – I feel these netizens’ analyses are quite reasonable. We might as well wait here a bit longer.”

[A quick analysis: Has Mega-Entertainment’s funding dried up since the short drama aired? A scary speculation, not necessarily correct –

First, the revenue and expenses from Great-Grandmother are completely disproportionate, likely creating an unfillable financial hole;

Second, the Group Broadcast still uses the same live streaming setup. Besides costume and stage design costs, there haven’t been any major expenses recently.

The Group Broadcast should have made some small profits these days, but rumors say they’re still choosing outdated venues like Ice Sail for offline broadcasts.

This suggests online revenue can no longer alleviate Mega-Entertainment’s financial crisis. They’re eager to mass-sell offline tickets.]

[Don’t scare me like that! My favorite streamers’ lives were just getting better]

[What does “favorite streamers” mean? Can someone explain?]

[“Favorite streamers” = streamers you like. Sis, do you not watch livestreams often? It feels like Mega-Entertainment has really successfully attracted many casual viewers recently~~]

[The venue choice alone speaks volumes. Who in their right mind would choose that place if they weren’t trying to milk money?]

[Um… Didn’t goddess Yingying have one stop at Ice Sail during her tour two years ago? Why didn’t anyone analyze Starry Galaxy’s financial situation back then?]

[Can I say it’s because Mega-Entertainment’s marketing tactics have made everyone once bitten, twice shy? The fake set incident still hasn’t been properly explained.]

[Mega-Entertainment’s foundation was always shaky. From start to finish, they never had major investments, just small projects like short dramas and group broadcasts.]

[+1, established agencies like Starry Galaxy simply don’t want to lower themselves to compete with them.]

[I’ll accept the Ice Sail venue choice, but can Mega-Entertainment official hurry up and open the ticket purchasing channel? I’m camping on their official account page and don’t dare switch apps.]

[There really are suckers out there. Ice Sail is a 120,000-seat stadium with only thirty toilets total for both genders. People actually defend choosing this cash-grabbing dump for offline broadcasts? I’m laughing so hard I leaked a few drops.]

[Can Fang Gege please treat Mega-Entertainment stans better? Watching this makes me feel sorry for them.]

By after 2 PM, the main entrance of Ice Sail Gymnasium had gathered over fifty media outlets – both photographers and reporters – totaling nearly three hundred people.

Just as their patience was wearing thin, a Private Cloud Array suddenly descended from the sky