This villain is too popular.

Chapter 19: A popular character who won't kill himself isn't a good character.

The Substitute Bracelet is a rather special item in the Heavenly Dao System Shop.

Its function, as its name suggests, is to withstand a fatal attack on behalf of Heaven.

Unlike its powerful effects, its purchase price is ridiculously low, requiring only a mere 100,000 popularity points.

Clearly, this should be one of the benefits that the system bestows upon the Heavenly Dao.

From the moment he learned about this item, Tiandao had been thinking about how to maximize its effectiveness.

The reason he chose to redeem this item only now is...

It's because it only happens in the second major storyline after the final assessment.

Only then can this precious substitute bracelet be used to its fullest potential.

You should know that after transmigrating to the Star World and learning about the existence of the Popularity System...

The Way of Heaven has always been pondering what truly constitutes high popularity.

If it's just about being strong or handsome.

Such a character can certainly gain extremely high popularity in a short period of time.

But such popularity is nothing but a castle in the air, which may collapse at any time.

Because as long as a character stronger and more handsome than him appears.

Viewers who liked him because of these two points will also like other characters because of these two points.

Therefore, a truly qualified and popular character, in addition to meeting the first two points, should ideally also meet another characteristic, namely, outstanding personal charm.

Only when a character possesses sufficient personal charisma will he truly become three-dimensional.

Therefore, the way of Heaven manifests small behaviors such as wearing sunglasses year-round and liking to eat sweets.

The purpose of these small gestures is to bring him closer to the audience to some extent.

These small actions can at most be considered as shining points of Tiandao's character.

It cannot be entirely attributed to his 'personal charisma'.

Because true personal charisma needs to be highlighted by the storyline.

Why do most fans of the current StarCraft faction now accept the identity of the strongest among the StarCraft faction?

Is it because Heaven keeps saying the word "strongest" all the time?

No, it's because the Heavenly Dao not only displayed the strongest power commensurate with it.

Meanwhile, the first three episodes of Stellaris: Ember also featured several scenes that could prove this strength.

For example, fragments of Tiandao's memories.

For example, during the final assessment, he actually injured the Earth Dragon Lizard.

It is precisely because of these plot developments that the "born strong" character of the Heavenly Dao is given a three-dimensional representation, becoming real and believable.

At the same time, based on this character setting, Tiandao further exhibited contrasting behaviors such as being a "sweet tooth," a "sunglasses pretentious person," and a "sharp-tongued stand-in."

This made the audience feel a greater sense of realism in Tiandao's character and made them like him.

If the story only had these minor plot points and designs, it could certainly maintain its high popularity for a period of time.

However, as the intensity of the plot increases later on.

With all these qualities alone, he might not be able to surpass other characters in terms of popularity.

Therefore, he must emphasize his own "misery" on the basis of "beauty" and "strength".

According to the understanding of the Heavenly Dao, the so-called 'misery' is actually a 'knife'.

As we all know, compared to so-called 'beauty' and 'strength,' 'misery' is the real secret to generating traffic.

"Simply being strong and handsome is like fireworks in the night sky; they may seem dazzling, but they are fleeting."

"But if we look at it from a different angle, and incorporate the brilliance of the fireworks into the image of couples embracing beneath them, then the originally fleeting splendor transforms into a deeply moving, timeless art form."

Tiandao's finger lightly tapped the item bar in the popular shop, and finally stopped on the purchase button for the 'Substitute Necklace'.

[You have spent 10 popularity points to purchase a special item: the Substitute Bracelet.]

Tiandao looked at the unremarkable substitute bracelet in his hand, which consisted of only two rough red ropes intertwined and strung with an inconspicuous transparent crystal in the middle, and murmured, "If I want to turn fleeting popularity into eternal support, how can I do it without paying a price?"

"After all, there's never been a free lunch in this world."

Cutting himself in the back was not a whim of Tiandao, but a plan he had from the very beginning.

In a sense, the 'flashback scenes' that the production team suddenly added to the main storyline were like a small, not-so-sharp knife. But even though it was just such a harmless little knife, it still enhanced Tiandao's personal charm in the first three episodes to some extent.

Otherwise, given that "Stellaris: Ember" only enjoys a small following on 13 websites.

Heaven cannot accumulate 100,000 popularity points in such a short time.

After witnessing firsthand the enormous boost to his popularity that 'Knife' brought him.

The Heavenly Dao not only became more determined with its original plan, but also resolved to make it even bolder and more radical.

For example, he used the substitute bracelet, which was originally just a life-saving charm, as part of the entire "Knife Project" and let himself experience a real "death".

Although this would inevitably expose Heaven to the enormous risk of 'second death'.

However, this approach could generate dramatic tension and generate significant popularity.

Heaven thinks he's worth a try.

"A popular character who won't cut himself is not a good popular character."

"If I want to continue on the path of dominating the pinnacle of popularity among the stars, then taking risks is a must."

Thinking of this, Tiandao immediately put the substitute death bracelet on his right wrist and got up to walk towards the cafeteria.

It's lunchtime, so he's going to the cafeteria for a proper meal, and incidentally, to foreshadow his future 'heartbreaking' storyline for the audience.

"Hey, Caroline, how thoughtful of you! You even got my food ready in advance."

I looked at Caroline, who had just gotten her food and was about to sit down.

Not only did Heaven, in a completely unreasonable way, push her aside, but it also...

She then sat down in the seat that was originally hers and started eating by herself.

And now, he sees his dinner, which he just prepared, being snatched away by that shameless guy, Tiandao.

Caroline's green cat ears stood up high, and even her fists under her sleeves were clenched.

Heaven seemed oblivious to this, continuing to eat while making exaggerated shouts and noises.

"Wow, the cafeteria lady made a great dinner today. It seems the organization knew we were exhausted from the final assessment, so they specially prepared a nice extra meal for us."

"Hey? Caroline, what are you still standing here for? Why aren't you going to get your food? Aren't you hungry?"

Upon hearing Tiandao's words, Caroline rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Tiandao, when will you stop being so childish? How old are you? Still stealing other people's dinner. Are you really so lazy that you don't even want to walk a few steps?"

Faced with Caroline's 'scolding', Tiandao stuffed food into his mouth and mumbled, "Caroline, how can you say I'm stealing? Didn't you thoughtfully prepare this for me in advance?"

"Besides, Caroline, if you get me food today, I'll carry bullets for you tomorrow."

"Want to bully you? They'll have to step over my dead body first."

Looking at Tiandao's puffed-out mouth, which resembled that of a hamster, Caroline clearly didn't take his words seriously.

They simply took it as the will of Heaven spouting nonsense in a serious manner.

After a moment, Caroline sighed and said helplessly, "Forget it, I won't argue with a child like you. You even came to help me carry bullets. You're just getting more and more ridiculous."

"Would you like me to get you some more desserts? It seems the cafeteria has introduced quite a few new items today."

"must!"

"Okay, then please wait a moment."

Caroline nodded, then turned and headed towards the cafeteria.

What she didn't notice was that right behind her, Tiandao had slowly put away his nonchalant expression.

A complex sense of guilt flashed in his pale blue eyes behind the sunglasses, as if Heaven was about to do something to wrong Caroline.

I'm sorry, Caroline, there are some things that even I can only say in jokes.

Because only when someone uses their life to put into practice what others see as a casual joke will such a practice become exceptionally unforgettable.

Besides, why can't heroes cry?
And since I've decided to be that hero...

Then you're the only one who can cry.

So, Caroline, I'm sorry, but you'll have to witness this spectacular fireworks display that I'm in charge of.

Although this is a bit cruel to you, you should still forgive me if I apologize properly in the future.

After all, you always tolerate my childishness and willfulness, don't you?
PS: I originally planned to update three chapters today to make up for the one I missed yesterday, but when I checked the time, I realized that if I forced myself to write the third chapter in an hour and a half, I felt that it might fall apart. So I decided to play it safe and update three chapters tomorrow!
(End of this chapter)