Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

"Free of charge? Really free!"

"I just subscribed to a yearly VIP membership, and you're telling me this song is free? Jiang Fan, give me my money back!"

"Free for the entire internet, what a vision..."

"I cried while listening to this. This song should be free because a hero's life is priceless."

The comment sections of the three major platforms were completely flooded with comments within ten minutes after midnight.

Li Cheng stood by the hotel window, the light from his phone screen reflecting on his face.

He switched back and forth between the real-time playback figures on the three platforms several times, and each time he refreshed, the number jumped up.

Penguin Music: 127 million plays.

NetEase Cloud Music: 89 views.

Kugou: 64 views.

All three numbers are still rising simultaneously.

Li Cheng calculated that, based on the industry average price, this wave of organic traffic, if converted to a paid model, would be worth at least two million by dawn.

He banished the thought from his mind and put his phone back in his pocket.

Ten million yuan for this level of public acclaim—it's a worthwhile investment.

Shen Nian sat on the sofa, holding her phone in front of her knees, her thumb constantly swiping down.

In the comments section, someone dug up the news report about the fire at the Nanshan Chemical Plant in Shenzhen yesterday, and the photo of the 23-year-old firefighter, along with the lyrics of the song "The Lone Warrior," spread across various social media platforms.

She turned to look at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan sat on the windowsill, one leg dangling, holding a half-empty bottle of mineral water, staring blankly at the night view of Shenzhen.

"Jiang Fan, thank you." Shen Nian's voice was very soft.

Jiang Fan turned his head and glanced at her.

"What are you saying?"

Shen Nian blushed and lowered her head. "N-nothing."

12:15 AM.

Weibo's servers experienced a surge in traffic late at night.

The first to take action was the official Weibo account of the National Fire and Rescue Bureau.

"Who says only those standing in the light are heroes? A salute to those who go against the tide."

Image caption: A black silhouette moving against the flames.

Three minutes later, the official Weibo account of the Chinese military followed up.

"Who says those covered in mud aren't heroes? A salute to those who steadfastly hold their ordinary posts."

Photo caption: A profile of a border guard patrolling in the wind and snow.

Then there's China Daily.

"A hymn to the nameless."

Photo caption: On the front lines of flood control, soldiers covered in mud carry sandbags.

The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. Ministry of Public Security. China News.

……

Within half an hour, thirteen state media outlets and official media outlets issued statements.

The copywriting format is highly consistent, and the background music is all excerpts from "The Lone Warrior".

When Li Cheng swiped open the first push notification and saw the blue V-mark of the words "Chinese Army," the cigarette in his mouth fell out and burned the back of his hand without him even noticing.

He read through all thirteen official Weibo posts.

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he has seen the crowds flock to see top celebrities and witnessed the power of capital.

But he had never even heard of the kind of spectacle a national team would make when they entered the stadium.

"Jiang Fan," Li Cheng's throat was dry, "do you know what this means?"

Jiang Fan twisted open the cap of the mineral water bottle and took a sip.

"This means that Sheng Hai's ban is now just a piece of waste paper."

-

Shanghai, the top floor of the Sheng Hai Entertainment Building.

Cao Qiming looked at the official media matrix on his tablet and threw the tablet on the table.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes wearily.

The general counsel pushed open the door and handed over some documents.

"Mr. Cao, Liu Qingyang has been arrested. He took full responsibility for the dual contracts and forced transactions, just as you instructed. The tax bureau has also issued a fine."

"How many?"

"Including late fees, it's 350 million."

Cao Qiming's temples throbbed twice.

Sheng Hai's net profit for the first half of the year was drastically reduced.

"Hand it over, and absolve Sheng Hai of any responsibility in this matter."

The general counsel nodded: "I'll arrange for the finance department to process the accounts. Also, issue the blacklist order against Jiang Fan to all channels now—"

"withdraw."

"Let him run wild for a few days." Cao Qiming rubbed his temples. "A severed arm can stop the bleeding; Sheng Hai's core base is still intact. Wait until the storm passes—"

Before he could finish speaking, the door was kicked open a second time.

The PR director rushed in, his face pale.

"President Cao! Something terrible has happened!"

"Has Liu Qingyang betrayed us?"

"It's not General Manager Liu! It's Hua Xingyu!"

The PR director handed over the phone.

A secretly filmed video was playing on the screen.

The scene is dimly lit, and the location is a KTV room in a luxury villa.

Hua Xing, his raincoat disheveled, was pulling several girls toward the sofa.

Cao Qiming only looked for three seconds before the color drained from his face.

Plagiarism can be whitewashed through capital means.

But these things in the video—

"It broke out on an overseas website half an hour ago, and it's already been moved to Weibo and Tieba." The PR director's voice trembled. "It's spreading all over the internet."

"Suppressing trending topics!"

"It can't be suppressed! The 'Rising Star' program team issued an announcement five minutes ago, permanently canceling Hua Xingyu's star mentor qualification and removing all related footage overnight."

The internal phone rang.

Cao Qiming pressed the speakerphone button.

The voice of the Director of Commerce came through—

"Mr. Cao, the seven brands that Huaxingyu endorses have simultaneously sent letters demanding unilateral termination of their contracts and compensation for breach of contract. The total amount is... 150 million yuan."

A fine of 350 million.

A penalty of 150 million yuan for breach of contract.

Overnight, Sheng Hai Entertainment lost 500 million yuan in cash flow.

"Issuing a statement. Terminating all contracts with Huaxingyu. The company was unaware of the situation and will fully cooperate with the police investigation."

If a chess piece is no longer usable, just throw it away.

-

The next day. Penguin Hotel, Room 1208.

Jiang Fan came out of the shower, dried his hair, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He scrolled through the pile of messages on his phone one by one.

The post exposing the allegations in the Huaxingyu video has garnered over 200 million views.

The last item was a document forwarded by Xu Qingya.

Updated format for the "Rising Star" finals.

Hua Xingyu was removed from the list, and the star judge scoring system was canceled.

The finals were changed to real-time online voting, with each viewer receiving three votes, and the winner being the one with the most votes.

Finally, there was a voice message from Xu Qingya.

"I'll arrive tonight. Wait for me."

-

It's 9:30 p.m.

Xu Qingya pushed open the door to apartment 1301, and Jiang Fan was already inside.

She quickly locked the door with her backhand.

Before she could even speak, a hand grabbed her lower back and pulled her away.

The moment their lips touched, the other hand turned off the room light.

The room was plunged into darkness.

Xu Qingya's shoulder strap was pushed down.

With her back pressed against the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window, the coolness made her gasp.

"It's the window again," she said through gritted teeth.

You can say no.

"...Shut up."

The two then moved from the window to the bed.

Xu Qingya's low ponytail had long since come undone, and her black hair was spread out on the white pillow.

The sound of her breathing, and the occasional syllable or two that escaped from between her lips, filled the entire room.

............

The system panel pops up silently.

[Total Lifespan Gained: 4000 points] (Deep Compatibility x4)

[Remaining lifespan: 8800 points]

[Remaining lifespan: 8 days]

Jiang Fan turned off the panel.

Xu Qingya lay on her side, her head resting on his arm.

The moonlight shone on Xu Qingya's face, making her skin appear fair and translucent.

The fine lines at the corners of my eyes have completely disappeared.

A woman in her thirties looks no different from someone in their early twenties.