I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema!

"Just as you say! Guangzhi-kun! From today on, you are the sole commander-in-chief of our Kanto faction!"

"Give me the entire Neon, and turn it upside down!"

Chapter 123: Suzuki Seito's excitement! Kantotai's rebirth from the ashes!

In Ming Ri Hai's elegant eyes, there is a fire burning at this moment that is enough to consume everything.

He looked at the young man in front of him who was as calm as if he was talking about the weather. His heart, which had long been hardened as a rock by the field of power, began to beat violently uncontrollably.

"Fans...fighters...topics...traffic..."

He muttered to himself, chewing these unfamiliar words full of futuristic meaning on his tongue again and again. Every time he savored them, the shock in his eyes became more intense.

Suzuki Seito, a veteran who has worked at Kanto TV for most of his life, is now like an elementary school student who is learning calculus for the first time. His face is full of pure confusion and... a deep sense of powerlessness as if he was hit head-on by the tide of the times.

"I...I actually found that I couldn't understand something."

He smiled wryly and shook his head, his voice filled with a deep sense of desolation. "What do you mean by 'selling participation'? What do you mean by 'anti-fans are also traffic'? Guangzhi-kun, these things you're talking about... I feel like they're completely different from the TV shows I've been filming for thirty years."

"Because we are indeed no longer in the same world, Suzuki-senpai."

Nohara Hiroshi said calmly, "You live in an era of one-way communication: 'I speak, you listen.' What I'm about to usher in is an interactive era: 'I speak, you criticize, he praises, and we celebrate together.'"

"This, this, this..." This made Suzuki Seito feel like he was struck by lightning, and he froze there.

"Oh!?" Asumi suddenly raised his head, and a burning heat that was almost greedy burst out in his eyes!

Although he didn't understand it, he had been in a leadership position for a long time after all.

Asumi can be said to be very clear.

A new era...

There will definitely be people who will have their mouths full of fat, their bowls full of food, and even leave their names in history.

Fame and fortune are gained!

After carefully considering Nohara Hiroshi's words, Asumi's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "Hiroshi-kun, that 100 million yen championship prize you mentioned... I just did a rough calculation. Just by cooperating with Telecom Telephone Co., Ltd. and opening a payphone voting channel, the share we can get is probably even more than that! This... this is simply a very profitable business!"

"It's more than just a huge profit." Nohara Hiroshi chuckled.

That smile carried a certain sense of superiority, a kind of dimensionality-reduction attack on the business model of this era. "Deputy Director Ming Rihai, what you've seen is just the tip of the iceberg. Once the 'fan club' model matures, once all those 'warriors' fighting for the honor of their hometown have assembled, the commercial value generated by this IP will be astronomical, beyond your imagination."

"From selling merchandise to offline tickets for the regional finals; from advertising revenue from contestant endorsements to the potential future personal variety shows for the champions... this is a true, self-sustaining, self-reliant entertainment empire."

And this is the fan circle culture that has been so mature in China in the past that countless people have been corrupted by it!

silence.

Deathly silence.

Asumi and Seito Suzuki stared blankly at the young man in front of them.

I felt that my brain, those two professional brains filled with the "iron rules" and "experience" of traditional television, were completely crushed into powder at this moment by a more primitive and purer powerful force called "capital"!

They finally understood that this young man was not producing a show at all.

He is directing an unprecedented large-scale commercial experiment, with the entire Neon as the stage and 120 million people as the actors!

……

This raging fire, named "100 Million Yen Dream" and ignited by Nohara Hiroshi himself, burned across the entire Neon Islands with an unmatched prairie fire the next day.

From the snow-covered Sapporo in Hokkaido to the scorching heat of Fukuoka in Kyushu; from the bustling Osaka in Honshu to the tranquil and quaint Takamatsu in Shikoku...

The eight major geographical regions of Japan seemed to be ignited by this sudden frenzy overnight!

"Have you heard about that TV Tokyo show 'Super Transformation'? The winner gets a 100 million yen prize!"

"One hundred million?! Oh my god! This... this is even more outrageous than winning the lottery jackpot, right?!"

"It's more than just prize money! Didn't you read the newspaper? This is a regional competition! If Hokkaido wins, we can crush those arrogant guys in Tokyo!"

"That's right! Why do the people from Kanto always get all the good things? This time, we from Northeast China must show them what true creativity is!"

This regional fire that had been suppressed for hundreds of years, catalyzed by the simplest and crudest fuel of "100 million yen", instantly burned into a raging flame that was enough to devour everything!

The audition registration points in major cities were completely packed!

The line in front of the registration booth in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, was so long that it seemed as if the end of the line was there. The scene was even more popular than the annual Tenjin Festival.

A middle-aged man, wearing a Hanshin Tigers baseball jersey and face painted, spitting profusely into the camera, delivered his "battle declaration" in a bold, Kansai-style accent: "We Osaka people are all about humor! Who else could be the champions this time besides us?!"

Behind him, countless Osaka citizens, also dressed in bizarre and imaginative ways, were shouting in unison the cheering slogan that had already resounded throughout Kansai:

"The soul of Naniwa is the best in the world!"

This craze spread rapidly like an inextinguishable plague.

Countless ordinary people were completely ignited by the tempting reward and the great sense of honor of "I can also bring glory to my hometown"!

For a moment, the entire Neon seemed to be caught up in a carnival of national performance art filled with black humor.

……

At the same time, in the production department of Kanto TV, which had long been forgotten by everyone, the atmosphere was as tense as a pre-war command room.

"Here it comes! Here it comes! The ratings are out!"

A young data analyst looked at the curve on the computer screen that was soaring like a rocket, his voice filled with disbelief and trembling.

Suzuki Seito's heart instantly rose to his throat.

He stared at the screen intently, his eyes, which had long been clouded by the torture of reports and meeting minutes, were filled with anxiety and anticipation.

"How much?" His voice was dry.

“Break…break through 15%!”

"Nani?!"

The entire control room erupted in an uncontrollable cry of surprise!

15%!

An afternoon show made up of "loser highlights" had a viewership rating of... 15%?!

This is no longer a simple success, it is a miracle that is enough to drive the entire Kanto Station crazy!

However, this is not the end.

"It's...it's gone up again! 17%! 18%! Oh my God! Minister! It's...it's still going up!"

The data analyst's voice had completely changed in tone. It was a kind of pure awe that came from the depths of his soul after witnessing a true miracle!

Finally, when the last frame of the program froze and the freshly-released final ratings report was delivered to Seito Suzuki, he looked at the glaring number on it, which was enough to make his heart stop beating. He was like being struck by lightning and completely froze in place.

20.1%.

"..."

The entire control room fell into deathly silence.

Everyone seemed to be strangled by an invisible hand, unable to utter a word.

They stared blankly at the number, and on their faces was only undisguised, bottomless shock.

This is horrible!

In a god-like way that none of them could understand, but they had to kneel down to worship him.

……

This viewing storm caused by "Super Change Audition Edition", which is full of counterintuitive views, spread much faster than anyone imagined.

While Tokyo TV was still reeling from the shocking data, the shockwave had already crossed geographical boundaries and slammed hard into the faces of its competitors who were watching from the sidelines.

Osaka, Kansai Television.

"20.1%?! A show made up of unsuccessful contestants?! On that rubbish time slot on Kanto TV?!"

Ichiro Gaya, deputy director of the production department, looked at the ratings report faxed from Tokyo and felt as if his heart was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand. Even breathing became difficult.

He recalled his original "Anti-Nohara Hiroshi Alliance" which was full of black humor.

I remembered my confident "encirclement and suppression" declaration.

I remembered my contempt for "amateur variety shows" which were full of professional superiority.

At this moment...

It was completely crushed to pieces by that terrifying number of 20.1%!

To know.

They themselves haven't even figured out what "urban legend" is!

Now, Hiroshi Nohara has started to create this kind of thing.

Isn’t this a bit too much?!

"Monster...that guy...he's not playing the same game as us..." He muttered to himself, his voice filled with the powerlessness and awe that came from being crushed by absolute strength.

He finally understood that his so-called "alliance" was nothing but a ridiculous joke full of black humor in front of that young man's absolute talent that was enough to subvert the times.

"Puff-"

He could no longer hold on. This man who had been a big shot in the Osaka television industry for half his life, slumped down like a puddle of mud on the leather chair that symbolized power.

All the expressions on that face that was always filled with anger and unwillingness had faded away, leaving only a deathly pale look after being completely defeated.

……

TV Tokyo, production headquarters building, staff restaurant.

Lunch break should be a moment for the TV station, a sophisticated machine, to take a short breath, but now it is like a fish pond with a depth charge thrown into it, with undercurrents surging everywhere.

No one was talking or laughing loudly. Everyone subconsciously lowered their voices, gathered in groups of three or four, and exchanged glances in a voice almost like whispering, sharing the shock that was enough to make the heart stop.

The focus of all their topics, without exception, was on the 17th floor, which had become the "holy land" of the entire production department - [Nohara Hiroshi Independent Production Department].

"Have you seen it? The 'Audition Version' on Kanto TV the day before yesterday?"

"I watched it! How could I not watch it? My wife and kids were all glued to the TV, laughing so hard they nearly blew the roof off the house!"

"Who says it isn't true? That guy with the cardboard box is my absolute source of joy! When I was at work today, all I could think about was him falling flat on his face!"