Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

No longer an "absolute genius," but a "god of involution"!

That's right, it's time to begin today's training.

In front of the camera, Saki is unmatched among her peers, standing at the pinnacle of all her contemporaries.

But behind the scenes, in order to maintain this invincible persona, he has to put in far more effort and sweat than ordinary people.

During the day, Qi Ji always sleeps on the rooftop, looking like he's not getting enough sleep.

Aside from a small portion being a performance for the sake of his persona, most of it was because he was genuinely tired.

Because he would cultivate until dawn almost every night!

Have you ever seen the City of Salmon at 4 a.m.?

I see you every day, Qiji!

Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, weighted running...

After a complete warm-up, what follows is Qi Ji's daily training focus—

Delve into the cracks and hone your combat skills!

In the City of Firewood, there is a legend:

After midnight, the howls of the Void Beasts can be heard near the rift.

Of course, a legend is a legend precisely because the vast majority of people will not believe it.

Because how could a virtual beast howl?

A renowned scholar specializing in the study of virtual beasts once said—

“Virtual beasts have no sense of pain.”

……

"Aww...woo..."

The agonizing howls of the Void Beasts echoed deep within the D-level rift.

A second-tier superior virtual beast, the "Terrorclaw Ape," whose size rivals that of a small truck and whose carapace is ferocious, is kneeling undignifiedly before Qi Ji.

Its claws, sharp enough to tear through steel plates, clutched its head, and its large, bell-shaped eyes were brimming with tears.

Seeing the "little guy" practically calling him "Dad," Qi Ji shook his hand and stopped swinging his elbow, looking rather disinterested.

"The strength of a Class D fissure... as expected, it's no longer enough for me."

……

……

Chapter 21: Anime Series Premieres!

First- and second-tier void beasts are now no different from moving sandbags in front of Qi Ji.

It can no longer serve any purpose as exercise.

"Should we... try applying to enter a Class C rift?"

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he quickly suppressed it.

Rifts of grade C or higher are usually guarded by city-state garrison troops 24 hours a day.

Entry requires strict qualification review and permit filing, and the procedures are quite cumbersome.

Saki is someone who hates trouble.

Moreover, and more importantly, the C-level rift is mainly inhabited by Tier 3 Void Beasts.

Theoretically speaking, Echoers of the same rank can usually easily defeat Void Beasts of the same rank by virtue of their intelligence, skills and Echo abilities.

But Saki was well aware of his situation—

He possessed an invincible physical body below the third rank, but lacked the matching "echoing power".

For Echoers, the third rank is a huge watershed.

A third-tier Echoer can already be considered an elite among Echoers.

The sign of entering the third tier is the successful activation of the [Echo Lineage] characteristic, which manifests the power of the lineage externally, forming an "outer garment" that envelops oneself.

This is also what the Echoers often refer to as the most basic form of "armor."

From this stage onwards, the combat power of the Echoers undergoes a qualitative change.

The power of the lineage can enhance the physical body, making it extremely difficult for non-Echoes to harm them.

Saki's assessment of his current strength is—

Below the third rank, they are absolutely invincible.

But to go further, one still needs to awaken the echo.

……

Emerging from the crevice, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

With the spoils he obtained from the rift, Qi Ji headed to the Void Beast Material Purchasing Point.

Many things on a virtual beast are quite valuable, such as its shell, venom glands, and claws.

He pulled up his hood, lowered the brim, and hid his entire masked face in the shadows.

Then, I walked into a small shop with a "recycling" sign without any trouble.

The shop assistant behind the counter was used to his attire and skillfully stepped forward to silently count the items.

After fiddling with the abacus for a few moments, he handed over the money bag.

Saki took it, and with a quick weighing of his fingertips, he knew the number was correct.

After putting away the money bag, Qi Ji quickly left.

Before going to school, he made a special detour to the clinic to pay off part of his sister's outstanding medical bills.

……

Time flew by as we practiced and performed.

A week has passed in the blink of an eye.

During the week, Qi Ji spent his days livestreaming at the academy.

When the show started airing, he would occasionally make an appearance in class, but most of the time he would sleep on the rooftop to maintain his persona and catch up on sleep.

After getting enough sleep, I'll try to get some screen time with the main characters this afternoon and make my presence known.

When night falls, he goes offline and works hard silently in places where the camera can't see him.

Exercise to improve your physical condition.

Read books to solidify your theoretical foundation.

Venture deep into the rifts, hunt down the void beasts, hone your combat skills, and maybe even make a little money along the way.

Finally, the day of the premiere of the "Echoes" anime series has arrived!

The first episode of "Echoes" from the Blue Star world is officially online!

Thanks to the overwhelming production quality shown during its pre-live broadcast, it has accumulated a lot of spontaneous promotion from enthusiastic fans.

Before the broadcast even started, many viewers were already eagerly waiting on the streaming page.

7 p.m. sharp.

The screen lit up with the opening sound effect of "I didn't steal any girls".

The first thing that came into view was the swaying, ever-approaching puddle of water.

—This is the first-person perspective of young Huomu, who is being violently pushed to the ground.

"Pfft!"

The screen went dark for a moment, then quickly zoomed out, switching to a third-person perspective.

The skinny, red-haired boy fell awkwardly into the puddle, his clothes soaked in mud.

He struggled to his feet, trying to catch up with the group of well-dressed children who were walking away ahead.

"Wait for me……"

But the more he chased after them, the further away the children's figures got, and the more jarring their laughter became.

The scene begins to switch rapidly—

Young Huomu was deliberately tripped by a classmate, and his textbooks scattered all over the floor.

My homework book went missing, so I was punished by the teacher and made to stand in the corner. The whole class laughed at me.

When the shop owners on the street saw him, they waved him away like they were shooing away a fly, telling him to "get lost."

When something went missing from the neighbor's house, everyone pointed at him and cursed, "Who else could it be but you, you thief?!"

Countless clamorous sounds transformed into sound waves, engulfing the lone boy.

"Son of a sinner!"

"As his son, you should atone with your life!"

"Go to hell!"

"Don't come any closer! It's bad luck!"

"What are you looking at? Trying to steal something again?"

Wanting to escape such sounds, young Huomu ran for his life.

As he ran, his body gradually grew longer and more slender, his youthful face became more defined, and he gradually grew into the appearance of a 15-year-old.

"Jingle Bell--!"

The alarm clock suddenly went off.

The scene shifts, and Huomu wakes up from his dream with a start.

He sat up and stared blankly for a few seconds.

Then, remembering something, he suddenly glanced at the time and exclaimed, "Oh no!"

"Oh no! I'm going to be late!"

He hurriedly put on his clothes, grabbed a piece of bread, rushed out of the house, and sprinted towards the academy.

Within the first few minutes, the comments section was already scrolling non-stop:

"Ah! This light! Ah! This water!"

"Holy crap, this visuals, this performance! That's something else!"

"No wonder so many people online are raving about how well it was made! Awesome! (voice cracks)"

"The transition between running shots, combined with the background music, just feels like it's really happening!"

The scene continues.

What followed was the same storyline that had already unfolded on the day of the pre-show live stream.

Qualification tests, equipment damage, false accusations, group bullying...

When the plot reached the point where Huomu was cornered by the crowd, questioned and insulted, the number of comments on the screen reached its first peak.

Aside from the usual praise for the production, the rest were all complaints about the plot:

"Damn! My blood pressure is rising!"

"What the heck? This protagonist is such a loser!"

"Such amazing production, and this is the mess you got?"

"A classic loser start, can't this protagonist at least be a little more decent?!"

"Being too well-made has its downsides; the immersive experience is so intense, I feel like I'm about to explode with anger..."

Indeed, it's a common trope for the protagonist to suffer setbacks at the beginning.