Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

"What a mistake. I didn't expect to find the 'real boss' so quickly. I didn't bring all the equipment with me."

Looking at the black hair that was getting closer and closer, Jinguji picked up eight talismans with his fingertips and was ready for battle.

After patrolling for several days and nights without any results, she decided to "go light" today.

However, he did not expect that the strength of this "toilet paper girl" was beyond his imagination, and the "exorcism talisman" on him might not be enough to purify her.

When the battle was about to break out, the evil spirit suddenly turned around and looked towards the end of the sidewalk with a lost look...

Then, a white shadow of the "toilet paper girl" flashed, and she disappeared from the spot with her flowing black hair that was filled with foul air.

"She left... why... I know... she must have set her sights on the man who just passed by!"

After a slight pause, Jinguji suddenly came to his senses and dialed a phone number.

"Inspector Higurashi, my current location is... Please help me retrieve the surveillance footage from the surrounding intersections and find someone..."

"I don't know his appearance clearly, but he's a male, not very old, about 1.8 meters tall, with a standard body... He seems to live nearby..."

Evil spirits are beings with concentrated obsessions and behavioral logic like those of mental patients. It is impossible to predict when they will appear or when they will take action. However, most of them are very "paranoid" and once they set their sights on a target, it is difficult for them to change easily.

Just now, the "victim" she was targeting must have left the sensing range, so the toilet paper girl gave up fighting with herself and left in a hurry.

The victim must be found before the "Toilet Paper Lady" takes action.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

"Hey, did you listen to the new song that was released last night?"

"Of course, I stayed up most of the night to listen to it as soon as it went online."

"I accidentally fell asleep yesterday. Which songs do you think are good? Please recommend some to me."

"I took notes. PPAP, Please Marry Your Daughter to Me, Thousand Ways to Flirt with Men, Don't Want to Leave the Bed, and Sakura are at the top of my 'personal ranking'."

In the lecture hall of the Tokyo University of the Arts' Department of Music, today's pre-class preparation time was ten times more lively than usual.

For music students, the songs from the annual Tokyo Music Newcomer Awards are the best subjects for study and research, and naturally spark heated discussions.

Xia Fan sat in the corner of the first row, silently flipping through a book called "A Brief History of Music in District 11".

As a top student who aspires to monopolize free dormitories and scholarships, the few days of classes he missed are more worthy of attention than a certain song chart.

[Faith value +1...Faith value +1...Faith value +1...Current accumulated faith value is 614]

Moreover, judging from the fact that his faith value had nearly doubled after waking up from a good sleep, he probably knew that the response to "Sakura" should be good.

A girl with a single braided pigtail, black-framed glasses, and a neat uniform, holding a stack of information, stopped in front of him.

"Student Xia Fan, book knowledge is important, but as an excellent student in our music department, you must also always pay attention to market trends."

Her voice is very special, gentle yet concealing a girl's liveliness, and with a low, hoarse magnetism.

"Team Leader Horie Tsubasa?"

Xia Fan raised his head, and the first thing that caught his eye was the majestic chest wrapped in a white shirt.

"It's not polite to recognize someone by anything other than their face."

The girl named "Horiie Tsubasa" hugged the documents in her hand to her chest and took a step back.

She had fair skin, a tall figure, small features, and her blue eyes behind black-framed glasses stared at Xia Fan with a half-smile.

"No, I recognized it from the voice. Besides, you're probably the only one who still wears a uniform in college."

"It's also impolite to lie."

Xia Fan raised his eyes and explained seriously, but the girl in front of him obviously didn't believe him.

In this age where all information such as course selection, exams, homework, etc. is sent via email, if you don’t join organizations such as student unions, clubs, and interest groups, your relationships with classmates will be as dull as boiled water.

Horie Tsubasa, whose glasses cannot hide her pretty face and whose uniform cannot cover up her hot body, is Xia Fan's classmate in high school. They happened to be admitted to the same class in the same university, making her the most familiar person in the school.

Whether in high school or college, she was naturally elected as the class monitor by her classmates because of her exquisite appearance, broad mind, considerate personality and excellent grades. Xia Fan privately called her "the monitor among monitors".

"You... forget it... all the new songs from the Tokyo Newcomer Music Awards are in here. I'll lend them to you for reference."

Looking into Xia Fan's gem-like pupils, Horie Tsubasa blushed slightly and handed over an IPOD.

Chapter 15 Traffic is war

2024-07-13

"Thanks, but I already listened to all of them yesterday. I missed a few days of classes due to illness, so I have to make up for it..."

Xia Fan politely declined Horie Tsubasa's kindness.

He didn't lie, he did listen to the new song from beginning to end, but it was a live version.

"All of them? You're willing to pay for downloads this year... Well, what do you think?"

Horie Tsubasa didn't notice that Xia Fan said "yesterday", he just asked curiously.

"Well, 'I Don't Want to Leave the Bed' is pretty good."

Xia Fan pondered for a moment and replied.

"The song by Sakamoto Hide? "I Don't Want to Leave the Bed" sounds good at first, but the lyrics and composition techniques are a bit cumbersome, and the song doesn't have a deep meaning...

"If you ask me, there is another song called 'Sakura' which is simpler and more pleasant to listen to. It is more sincere and has more learning value for newcomers."

Horie Tsubasa obviously has a different opinion.

"What the monitor said is right. Although the singer's singing skills are not top-notch, the song "Sakura" itself is really good. It always brings up a lot of images in my mind when I listen to it. I think it is the best song."

"The song is nice, but what's more important to me is that Miss Hoshina is beautiful and sings sweetly. I want to marry Hoshina Hanami!!!"

"It's too noisy. Someone take this sick guy away."

As the class monitor and the student union's arts and literature committee member, Horie Tsubasa's speech immediately attracted the students next to her to join the discussion.

"By the way, Xia Fan, the Student Union is organizing a campus singer audition in the first half of the year. Do you want to sign up?"

Horie Tsubasa remembered something and handed a registration form to Xia Fan.

The campus singing competition is a traditional event jointly organized by colleges and universities in District 11. The singers selected on campus will go on tour to other colleges and universities in District 11 in the form of a competition.

Although it is difficult for this kind of performance to gain exposure beyond the college student circle, for students who aspire to become singers, it is also a good channel to gain stage experience and accumulate popularity, and there is even a chance to be discovered by scouts.

"You know I'm tone-deaf and I've never been able to be selected for a chorus since I was a kid, so forget it."

Xia Fan shook his head and lowered his head to continue reading.

For him, the campus singing competition not only does not pay, but also takes up his part-time job time, which is meaningless.

"What a shame! This is a rare opportunity to practice in college."

"Besides, with Xia Jun's looks, he would already have 20 points more than others just by standing on the stage without even opening his mouth."

With a playful smile, Horie Tsubasa walked to the back row and continued to send out registration forms to other people.

Students majoring in music have a wide range of career options, including singers, music producers, teachers, civil servants, musical instrument stores, music engineering and many other fields. Not everyone wants to develop into the entertainment industry, so there is no need to force it.

……

While Xia Fan was enjoying a peaceful campus life, the publicity and promotion department of Company B was in full swing.

“It has been twelve hours since the new song of Tokyo Newcomer Music Awards was released. Report the current data!”

Be company's director and external publicity representative, Kawanishi Shigeo, was standing in the middle of the conference room with his head held high, staring at the giant two-meter-high screen in front of him.

"Report, as of now, the No. 1 is J-company's "PPAP", followed by A-company's "Please Marry Your Daughter to Me" and Xing-company's "The Thousand Layers of Routine to Flirt with Men"!"

"Our company's Hideo Sakamoto's "Don't Want to Leave the Bed" is currently ranked fourth, with a paid download gap of 5% from the third place..."

In front of him, five or six staff members were typing away on the keyboard, refreshing and reporting data in real time, and were responsible for coordinating and communicating with various publicity and promotion channels.

"Humph, these three companies are clearly trying to join forces to block us from the top three, just like they did the year before last. Unfortunately, I am no longer the same person I used to be."

"Gentlemen, traffic is a war without the smoke of gunpowder... Next, all departments, listen to my orders..."

Kawanishi Chengfu adjusted the frame of his glasses with confidence, and the thick lenses reflected the flowing data on the screen.

"On the self-media side, increase the streaming efforts, release clips of Hideo Sakamoto's previous stage plays and TV dramas, and use this new song as BGM to awaken the audience's dormant memories."

"The self-media team received it!"

"Online public opinion activated high-level accounts lurking in major music forums, using the core idea that 'Sakamoto Hide's own lyrics, music, and singing are more valuable' to guide the topic trend."

"The Internet Public Opinion Group received it!"

"Also, contact the music critics as soon as possible and strive to get positive reviews for Sakamoto Shu!"

“The music review team received it!”

"In terms of data, when there is an increase in organic paid downloads, we should add an extra 10% of downloads, but we must be careful not to make it too obvious."

"Data group received!"

As he issued orders one by one, the entire conference room became lively and the sound of keyboard typing was deafening.

The serious and intense atmosphere, the thrilling battle situation, it seems as if this is not the largest entertainment company in District 11, but the command room of an interstellar battleship.

"Report, the accounts for boosting downloads are all ready, and data is starting to be imported in small amounts."

"Report, the self-media has already released the edited video simultaneously, but J-company's "PPAP" also released the ghost-like Sakamoto of that song before us, which took away a lot of the discussion heat."

"Report, over at the music forum, Company A's "Please Marry Your Daughter to Me" has officially announced a secondary creation solicitation activity with a large sum of money, and the response has been quite good."

However, rival entertainment companies also have their own promotional strategies, so it is not so easy for Bethesda to get what they want.

"What, bastard... No, as the commander, I must stay calm..."

Listening to the continuous feedback from his subordinates, veins on Hexi Chengfu's forehead bulged.

"At this point, I have no choice but to take a risky move. You forced me to do this... I asked you to collect dirt on the other singer before. How's the progress?"

He called his assistant and whispered.

"I have collected some, but they are all groundless and insignificant gossip."

"Never mind, something is better than nothing, be prepared to release it at any time..."

Yakuza comes from Company B, and he knows more than just being "upright".

"It is reported that some self-media have been privately spreading the rumor that 'Sakamoto Shu is suspected of having an underground relationship', which has already caused a certain impact in the girlfriend's fan circle!"

"What? These despicable guys! Quickly release the 'backstage CP footage' of him and some male actors to dispel the rumors! Also, no need to increase the data in small amounts, go all out to increase the downloads and sneakily take the top spot on the rankings first!"

Although Kawanishi Shigeo keeps changing his strategy, it is clear that competitors are well prepared for Bethesda's plan...

"Report, the download data of the top three is growing abnormally, it seems that the other party is also brushing the volume at the same time!"

"Report, music critic Tagore Hideki rejected our 'business order' and instead predicted that 'Thousands of Ways to Flirt' would win!"

"Damn it, these unscrupulous music critics, do the companies on the other side pay them more?!"

Amidst the continuous bad news, the situation of this "traffic war" began to develop in a direction that was not what Bethesda wanted.

Chapter 16 Miracle

2024-07-13

"Report..."

"No need to report it, the fifth place is about to overtake us, I can see it!"

Seeing his own song struggling on the charts, He Xichengfu's face turned terribly dark.

"Company J, Company A, and Company S are working together to deal with us..."

In his mind emerged the scene of himself wearing a white judo uniform and fighting against three strong young men at the same time, being countered by the opponents, being hugged from behind, and being pressed to the ground.

"Will we repeat the same mistake as last year?" This horrible premonition uncontrollably emerged in Hexi Chengfu's heart.

"No, Director, what I want to report is... music critic Keizo Horie has released his review of the songs in the Tokyo Newcomer Music Awards, and strongly recommended our company's work!"

"What, Keizo Horie, he would actually deign to comment on a new song?!"

"If he gave a favorable review of 'Don't Want to Leave the Bed', that would be a golden certification that money can't buy!"

Upon hearing the news, He Xichengfu roared in ecstasy.