Chapter 14: Purple Cloud Rising

Yan City – the capital of the Long Kingdom.

Also one of Lanstarr’s renowned international metropolises, and home to the headquarters of KuaiDou.

Since KuaiDou is the leading unicorn in short videos, over a hundred live streaming studios, also known as live guilds, have sprung up around the high-tech cultural industrial park where the company is based.

These live guilds relentlessly nurture online celebrities, hosting live sales events to rake in massive profits.

At this moment…

Inside Office 38 of the industrial park, in a room called the Purple Cloud Live Union,

a slightly plump middle-aged woman with black-framed glasses, fixed on her computer screen, gradually straightened her posture.

Although ordinary people might not know Purple Cloud Live, within this park it represents the pinnacle; anyone managing a guild who mentions Purple Cloud Live and its boss, Yang Ziyun, immediately receives a thumbs-up.

At the same time, Purple Cloud is the dream destination for any aspiring streamer determined to hit it big.

Not for any other reason – it boasts over a dozen top influencers, including one superstar with more than 30 million followers who ranks in KuaiDou’s top ten. Enter Purple Cloud Live and you’re essentially guaranteed to go viral.

“Interesting! Really interesting!”

After a while, the middle-aged woman picked up her phone and dialed a number. “Xiao Wang, ask Manager Li from Operations to come to the office.”

She was none other than the boss of Purple Cloud Live, Yang Ziyun.

A few minutes later, the office door swung open and a sharp-dressed young man appeared in the doorway.

“Mr. Yang? You needed me?”

“Yes! Have a seat!”

Yang Ziyun gestured toward the sofa opposite him.

Perhaps because of the many top influencers under her wing, Yang Ziyun exuded an air of superiority.

“Are you aware of Tianchen Culture’s ‘100 Days in the Desert’ survival show?”

After a pause, Yang Ziyun turned her gaze to the young man.

“Mr. Yang, I’m still learning—the field survival experts on that show have an incredible knack for attracting followers!”

The young man nodded hurriedly.

Although they were the top live guild, they were no match for a company like Tianchen Culture; the two were simply in different leagues.

“Right. Among them is a challenger named Xu Hao. Figure out a way to sign him!”

Yang Ziyun nodded curtly.

“Xu Hao? The director ranked 68th for his lack of professionalism?”

The young man was momentarily taken aback.

“Yes. His survival skills in the wild are mediocre, but he’s strikingly handsome and totally in tune with live streaming tricks. He spouts off with no shame or hesitation, even demonstrating jumping rabbits with viewers. His live performance is simply electrifying.

With proper nurturing, he could easily become a mega influencer!”

Even as she spoke, Yang Ziyun kept glancing at her computer screen.

“Understood, Mr. Yang. I’ll get on it right away! Judging by his look, even with food, he wouldn’t last a few days.”

The young man nodded immediately.

“Be quick! Other live guilds might already be eyeing him. I just checked—he’s completely inexperienced, a total rookie, making him easy prey for others’ persuasion.”

“Okay.”

“Also, start him on a basic intern contract with a 20/80 revenue split – we take 80, he gets 20! We can’t let him get a big head and end up demanding sky-high fees later.”

Just as the young man was about to leave, Yang Ziyun suddenly added a reminder.

“Mr. Yang, rest assured! Our Purple Cloud Live Union never makes a bad deal.”

“Good. Report back as soon as you have news.”

“Yes.”

Half an hour later,

with a surge of onlookers flooding in, Xu Hao’s live stream grew increasingly lively. This time, however, most viewers were just passersby, making the atmosphere considerably better than before.

“Hey young man, are you really building a log cabin?”

“What about nails and wood glue?”

“Does the Tengli Desert even have rubber trees?”

“Forget three days – if you manage to finish before the nonstop rain hits, consider it a win.”

“When did you even start?”

“I hope you won’t fool the audience with a shabby A-frame shack.”

Comments and messages flowed in one after another without pause.

“The official start is tomorrow. Tonight, aside from cleaning the well, I have preparations to finish. So once the camera is set up, I won’t be chatting with you guys.

Also, for the next 72 hours the stream won’t go offline.”

Glancing at the sky, Xu Hao addressed the camera.

At six o’clock in Haishi it was already dusk, but in the Great Northwest the sun still hung low – the perfect time to work, not too hot and not too cold. Even if you bet with viewers, you can’t let live streaming disrupt real work.

“No interaction? Then what’s the point of the stream?”

A viewer known as “Lady Niu” couldn’t help but comment.

She had just entered Xu Hao’s live room to check out the surroundings and that mysterious ‘mud pit’.

“I turned on the camera just to prove that the production team isn’t favoring me. Otherwise, someone might say they handed me nails and wood glue off-camera.

Guys, I’ll chat with you later when I have some downtime.”

After speaking, Xu Hao waved at his viewers and then turned toward the well.

There were still four jumping rabbits at the bottom that needed tending – he couldn’t just wallow in the mud forever.

“Forget it – let him be! He does have a point; otherwise some viewers would have started questioning him.”

As time passed,

Xu Hao’s figure darted back and forth in the live stream, constantly adjusting the camera whenever he had to step out of frame.

Typically, a static stream would see viewer numbers drop, and even the top KuaiDou streamers wouldn’t risk it. But Xu Hao was an exception – his viewer count kept climbing steadily.

Especially as new viewers joined, each asking a few questions.

Half an hour later, a message popped up: “What is Xu Hao doing?”

“He just finished handling four jumping rabbits, and now he’s digging out the silt from the bottom of the well.”

“Don’t even mention handling jumping rabbits – it makes me furious just thinking about it.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s being so arrogant. A fat man never knows hungry. I just switched over from the big screen live; Lord Bei couldn’t even bring himself to eat that hedgehog to save resources. Lord De was even more stingy – right beside the oasis, he caught a desert lizard as thick as a thumb and wrapped it in cling film. And then look at Xu Hao! He literally tossed the innards of the jumping rabbits into the mud pit.

If Lord Bei, Lord De, and Matt got hold of that, they’d have enough jumping rabbit innards to eat for two or three days.

“That’s infuriating!”

“Exactly! Luckily none of the other challengers caught a glimpse of Xu Hao’s antics, or they would have rushed over to set him straight.”

An hour later…

“What is Xu Hao doing now?”

“He just cleared the silt from the bottom of the well, and now he’s using the excavated dirt to set up a clay stove.”

“A clay stove? Does he even have time for that? How will he sleep tonight? Is he planning on sleeping out in the desert? He should at least put up some windbreaks, or who knows – he might wake up to find the jumping rabbits gone!”

“Who knows!”