Chapter 59: I'm Not Afraid of Anyone Right Now! "Monster Killer: Wu Xin" Officially Launches!! [Seeking Monthly Votes]

"Tencent, in collaboration with Shanghai Television, is launching an outdoor reality show-type variety program benchmarked against Running Man. The guest lineup is basically finalized, and it has currently entered the promotion and publicity phase. You should have scrolled past it—the show is called Limit Challenge. Now, the producers are interested in adding a permanent MC seat specifically for you."

Limit Challenge?

Lu Ming was taken aback, unable to help his curiosity about who else would be in the cast.

As for the rest of the polite nonsense, he simply chose not to listen. If they were drooling over the fragrant clout your brother Ming currently carried, they should have just said so instead of dressing it up as specially creating a permanent seat for him. That kind of ghost story might make someone with a brain like Qianbao feel flattered, though.

Seeing that Lu Ming showed zero reaction on the other end of the line, Chu Sheng immediately played his trump card: "The first season will have a total of 12 episodes, and filming is expected to finish in two months. We can offer you an appearance fee of ten million!"

Oh, boy.

Previously, he had been somewhat surprised that this so-called President Chu acted so decisively, without dragging things out over his music copyright or even trying to help friendly forces negotiate. Within the span of a few sentences, he had carelessly wrapped things up. As it turned out, the man had dug a pit in advance and was just waiting for him to jump right in.

Using QQ Music's business as a personal favor to handle his own affairs...

This person was not worth deep association!

"Signing me as a permanent cast member—is that Tencent's idea, or Shanghai Television's?" Lu Ming's expression turned cold.

Just a moment ago, he was full of praise, calling him the undisputed top traffic star of the domestic entertainment industry, yet the very next second he opens his mouth with ten million, and twelve damn episodes at that?

In your dreams!

Chu Sheng was stunned for a moment, then truthfully replied, "Both. Both of our platforms are investors. Inviting you to join is a decision we reached after unanimous discussion."

"Oh, I really didn't expect that the mighty Shanghai Television has gotten so poor it can't even afford to boil water, to the point where they actually need financing just to produce a tiny variety show..." Lu Ming said with sudden realization, then heavily added:

"For the sake of President Chu helping me facilitate the network transmission rights for my single just now, I'll give you some face. To reduce the production team's expenses, I won't take the appearance fee. Instead, I'll bring capital into the production, and roll the whole thing into a certain proportion of investment shares. Just draft a profit-sharing agreement. How about that?"

Chu Sheng: "???"

An artist who had been blacklisted by his former company actually dared to directly address the current CEO of Tencent Video by his full first name?

Such audacity!

Moreover, whether this minor internet-famous has-been was doing it on purpose or his accent was genuinely like that, because he spoke at a very fast speed, Chu Sheng actually had the illusion that he had just been secretly cursed at...

The displeased President Chu also caught Lu Ming's barbed tone. Although on the surface he was criticizing Shanghai Television, in reality, he was talking right at him.

Realizing that the has-been on the other end of the phone was not a docile little sheep, Chu Sheng reined in his tactics and explained:

"It hasn't reached that point. Both platforms are thriving, and joint investment is just a mutually beneficial business model. After all, whatever gets broadcasted becomes a hit; the show is bound to make a huge profit."

"As for the appearance fee, I can discuss with Shanghai Television to raise it for you to a certain extent. However, ten million a season is already the treatment reserved for artists who are consistently first-tier stars. The guests paired with you include Hong Lei, who has won the Best Actor award, Huang Bo, who has also won the Best Actor award, and the Taiwan top traffic star Little Pig. So even if there is an adjustment, it has to follow certain rules; we have to respect their status..."

The unspoken implication was that it could be raised, but not by much.

Lu Ming shook his head: "No need. My schedule is a bit full lately. Even if the price were higher, I couldn't spare the time. Let's wait for a future opportunity to collaborate."

With that, without waiting for Chu Sheng on the other end to react, Lu Ming directly hung up the phone.

Chu Sheng: "???"

Listening to the busy tone on the other end, the middle-aged man, who had just been smiling warmly, instantly turned ice-cold. "A blacklisted has-been—aside from iQiyi, which lost all shame and gave him a Running Man permanent spot, plus this music variety show of ours, what other resources could he possibly have?"

"I gave you face, and you actually started acting high and mighty?!"

"No, does he not understand his own situation? He won't even take money delivered to his doorstep? What is he even holding out for?"

After weighing the pros and cons, Chu Sheng dialed Lu Ming's number once more, his voice carrying an unangered authority: "I can make the executive decision to raise your appearance fee to 13 million. You know Tencent always means what it says in the domestic entertainment industry!"

He spoke slowly, faintly applying pressure with an underlying meaning.

"You should also know that my temper has never been good. So, President Chu, don't force me to curse at you at a time when I'm happiest!"

"What did you say?!" Chu Sheng's voice involuntarily spiked.

Ever since ascending to this position, he had only ever been met with flattering sycophancy. Even top-tier actors with heavy clout in the domestic entertainment industry had to be extremely respectful in front of him, terrified of displeasing him. Where did this has-been get the unmitigated gall to speak to him like this?

"I said, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" Lu Ming sneered.

"You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit?" Chu Sheng stood up abruptly, his voice sharp. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

"You beast! Who do you think you are, an emperor? Earlier you put on a human face, and I thought I had bumped into a good guy. Who would have thought you were just a fake gentleman borrowing the tiger's majesty to wave a banner? Tencent this, Tencent that—a mere subsidiary's CEO daring to throw such grand official weight around. If you ever got to sit in Pony Ma's chair, wouldn't you eat three celebrities a day?"

"You has-been!" The pampered Chu Sheng on the other end flew into a rage and cursed, "How dare you be so insolent? Do you believe I can blacklist you?! Making you disappear is just a matter of a single word from me! Let me tell you, you're finished. You're done for the rest of your life. From now on, no one in the entire domestic entertainment circle can save you!"

"Idiot, I'm afraid of no one right now. Why would I fear you?!" Lu Ming's cold response instantly caused Chu Sheng's face to flush red on the other end, shattering his composure on the spot.

Chu Sheng's mouth was running like it had been greased with castor oil, pouring out a torrent of boiling rage into his phone, only to find that the busy tone had already been humming away for a long time.

With a bellyful of anger and nowhere to vent, Chu Sheng slammed the phone heavily against the wall in front of him. With a loud bang, the phone shattered into pieces. As it pulverized, one of the components ricocheted off the wall and struck him squarely on the forehead, the sharp outer casing instantly slicing through his skin and leaking blood!

The man instinctively clutched his forehead, drawing in sharp breaths of cold air as he cursed with a vicious look in his eyes: "Damn your mother, you has-been!!"

"I have to make him disappear!!"

His secretary pushed open the door and, upon seeing the scene, was paralyzed with fright: "Quick, call an ambulance!"

...

On the other end of the line.

Reflecting on the whole ordeal, Lu Ming also felt that the so-called CEO lived up to his name; the things he did were truly beastly.

Running Man had offered him 1.5 million per episode. Excluding the first episode where the program's effect was most explosive, the subsequent 11 episodes alone amounted to a pre-tax total of 16.5 million. As iQiyi's competitor, and considering his current level of public attention had risen exponentially compared to back then, offering him a first-tier appearance fee?

Wasn't this fucking bullying an honest man?!

If this matter were handled by an old-school veteran of the domestic entertainment circle, they might consider it reasonable. But combined with the various competitive factors between the platforms and his own commercial value, it was utterly, outrageously unreasonable!

In the era of traffic being king, based solely on his current level of attention, doubling the appearance fee compared to iQiyi's standard might be a stretch, but at the very least, it had to start with a 2 to match his current market value.

Tencent was clearly relying on its status as the industry leader to arbitrarily suppress artist compensation—an old bad habit of theirs.

After all, looking across the entire domestic entertainment circle, even deeply experienced first-tier stars became exceptionally docile in front of the almighty Tencent boss. As for the reason? With internet companies currently at the height of their power, four-tenths of the resources in the entire domestic entertainment circle were clutched in Tencent's hands. Facing such a behemoth, no celebrity dared to rebel.

Even a single instance of disrespect, provoking the other party into giving them the cold shoulder, would truly mean a dimming star path from then on. In the long run, dropping down a tier was bound to happen sooner or later.

When Huayue claimed it would blacklist a certain artist, it didn't necessarily mean absolute blacklisting. But if Tencent wanted to blacklist someone, they could genuinely pull it off!

However, Lu Ming didn't care. By now, he was entirely immune to hearing similar remarks.

When all was said and done, the reason why someone could enforce a blacklist with a single word in the industry in the past was, on one hand, due to human connections and favors, and on the other hand, because exposure channels were pitifully scarce. The entire domestic entertainment circle was fiercely competitive, leaving artists in a very passive position. Therefore, no matter how influential a big shot was, they had to be tamed into trembling obedience in front of capital.

But the internet era was completely different!

Let alone the fact that Tencent Video was merely a subsidiary of Tencent, and its influence was restricted solely to the domestic entertainment circle's tiny plot of land, even their parent company, Tencent Group, wouldn't dare claim they could completely blacklist a popular idol purely through networking connections without the celebrity crossing any red lines.

After all, ByteDance next door wasn't sitting around doing nothing. The omnipotent business-war CEO wielding single-handed dominion existed only in imagination; in reality, business wars were all thunder and no rain. Talented people could make their voices heard anywhere. Lu Ming didn't even care about Huayue, so why would he care about a video platform desperately scrambling to unearth quality works?

Resource blacklisting did exist, but those two words that made the entire domestic entertainment circle shudder had zero effect on him.

Limit his variety show resources? Right now in the variety show track, every platform needed his traffic to counter iQiyi; it wasn't him who needed to rely on other platforms to eat...

As for limiting his film and television resources?

Tencent could indeed pull that off. As the industry leader, Tencent invested in hundreds of web dramas and dozens of blockbuster films every year. These resources were enough to make countless stars in the domestic entertainment circle break their heads trying to squeeze in. Offending the Tencent boss meant cutting oneself off from all these resources naturally.

This was also the biggest soft spot for domestic entertainment celebrities. After all, the investment in a web drama easily ran into tens of millions. Once it bombed, the light consequence was losing the majority of their investment, and the heavy one was losing everything down to their underwear!

No matter how deep a celebrity's family fortune was, they wouldn't dare gamble their entire net worth on shooting a drama. Capital had countless opportunities; what was lost on the eastern side could be gained on the western side, offsetting profits against losses to achieve true, guaranteed profitability. But a celebrity wagering their entire net worth had only one chance; no one was willing to gamble the rest of their life on such microscopic odds.

As for Lu Ming, he had never intended to film other people's dramas in the first place. What his peers worried about the most was precisely what he cared about the least. On the contrary, self-funding their own dramas—something others dared not risk and spoke of with terror—was something he craved with a thirst for knowledge!

Not only was he going to self-fund his dramas, but if possible, he wouldn't even mind taking out a loan...

Not for anything else, but simply because he had ample confidence in creating a massive hit, rapidly accumulating primitive capital, and then leaping from the identity of an actor to that of capital. By then, he would be just like Sister Mi, sitting at the gaming table in the grand arena of the domestic entertainment circle.

He had no use for the model of scrambling everywhere for roles and then honestly collecting a paycheck. If he really went that route, even if he pocketed twenty million after tax every year, against the backdrop of an era where shooting a movie easily cost a hundred million, he would have to grit his teeth and hustle for five whole years without eating or drinking just to get a single chance of turning a bicycle into a motorcycle.

By that time, wouldn't the cold greens have already wilted?

Barely three minutes had passed.

His phone rang once more.

"Hello, I'm the manager of Tencent Music's marketing division. President Chu has already communicated with you just now, and I'm just confirming it once more: our price to buy out the network transmission rights is one million." A gentle voice came from the other end of the line.

Lu Ming was somewhat surprised: "Yes, the price is fine. However, there's one thing I must make clear—your so-called President Chu said he wants to blacklist me, so I assume he won't be pushing forward with this matter. Are you sure you still want to sign?"

"You guys had a falling out?" A surprised voice came from the other end.

Lu Ming remained silent, letting his silence serve as confirmation. But to his surprise, the man remained unfazed: "He is him, I am I. Originally, he was just helping pass along a message; it doesn't affect the strategic friendship between us. Also, if you produce any more masterpieces in the future, please prioritize Tencent Music. We always welcome cooperation regarding copyright sales!"

Lu Ming was somewhat taken aback.

So the guy in the phone call earlier had been acting all high and mighty, yet any random marketing department manager at Tencent Music didn't even take him seriously?

Are you kidding me?!

Shortly after, the two added each other as friends, and the other party sent an electronic contract via Fadada. After confirming there were no errors, Lu Ming scanned his face and confirmed the signing.

Scarcely half a minute later, a deposit notification text message popped up on his phone.

"Good grief, counting Jiang Xiaobai's endorsement fee, I made a full three million in a single day. This speed of making money is genuinely absurd." Lu Ming himself was shocked by his current money-attracting capability.

And before long.

Gangzi's call came through. Picking it up, Lu Ming heard the man's enthusiastic voice on the other end. This old fellow had a very strong presence today—he had been showering him with warmth and solicitude before he took the stage, and then sent congratulatory messages after his song became legendary. Lu Ming hadn't replied to any of it, yet in the dead of night, he was actually making a special call to have a heart-to-heart?

There was something fishy going on!

"If you have something to say, just spit it out. Acting like this gives me a lot of pressure!" Lu Ming said, feeling somewhat sleepy.

Sensing that the timing was ripe and tired of acting, Gangzi went straight to the point: "Did Tencent contact you? You know, I wouldn't dare say I haven't treated you well, but I've never looked down on you either. If they've offered any tempting conditions, you can just tell me. I'll give you my word: whatever resources Tencent can give, we will always beat their price by one bid!"

"If it's about that, you can completely rest easy. That fellow Chu is an idiot..." Lu Ming helplessly recounted the entire course of events to Gangzi from start to finish.

He wasn't malicious enough to add oil and vinegar to the story.

Upon hearing this, Gangzi was overjoyed:

"That beast really doesn't know quality when he sees it! Playing like that, he'll be stepping down and yielding his post sooner rather than later. Don't you worry; I won't make you any other promises, but as long as I remain in this position, whichever iQiyi variety show resource you, my brother, want to touch, you touch it! You can record these words—if I, Wang Gang, go back on my word, do whatever you want with me!"

"Recording won't be necessary. But since you put it that way, there just happens to be a matter I'd like to discuss with you."

"Spit it out."

"The web drama I self-funded, Soul Ferry, is already assembling its cast. I want to borrow a relatively professional director from you. The compensation will be settled according to market rates, and once post-production wraps up, it will launch on the iQiyi platform. What do you think?"

Gangzi: "???"

"My brother, you can mention anything else and I'd agree to it, but talking about filming a drama, and wanting to launch it on iQiyi—how is this any different from taking my life?" Gangzi's tone even carried a trace of panic.

"You don't believe in me?" Lu Ming refused to accept this.

Gangzi: "Who would believe it? Even if you asked Reba, she wouldn't believe it either!"

"Reba has already signed; she's the female lead!"

"???" Gangzi was stunned: "Did you record her committing murder and disposing of the corpse?"

"I'm not joking. She believes in me, but you don't?" Lu Ming gave a light hum.

Gangzi couldn't understand why Reba was jumping into a fire pit, but since things had reached this point, he bared his inner thoughts:

"I definitely believe in you as a born variety show deity. On this track, even if all the variety show figures in the entire domestic entertainment circle were eliminated, you'd still be an evergreen tree. Besides, since you now have both strength and talent in music—to the point where even Tencent Music ignored inter-factional camaraderie to show you favor—wouldn't it be much better for us to just churn out a few more original songs?"

Seeing Lu Ming remain silent, he seemed to have made some major resolution as he solemnly promised:

"At worst, once the first season of Running Man ends, I'll help you spearhead a project and host an even larger-scale Who is the Song God with higher prestige. The entry threshold can be set for first-tier singers only, and we'll find some Heavenly Kings and Queens to hold down the fort. By then, pulling some strings behind the scenes to let you take first place won't be a problem at all."

"Let's just honestly develop along the variety show and music tracks; it's guaranteed to thrive!"

"Those who can sing don't have your talent; those with your talent aren't as handsome as you; those who are handsome... the only reason you've survived until now is because this face has no rivals on the idol track in the domestic entertainment circle. With this divine face of yours, plus talent and strength, the loop is closed, my future Heavenly King Lu!"

Lu Ming had to admit that Gangzi's reasoning was well-founded and logical, leaving him unable to refute it.

For any artist, becoming a top-tier traffic star was the pinnacle of life, supplemented by a bit of talent—Top-tier Heavenly King. Hearing that title alone maximized its prestige; it was indeed the ultimate peak dreamed of by countless first-tier stars.

The problem, however, was that this path didn't lead to capital.

True freedom always meant taking one's destiny into one's own hands. Investing in films and starting up ventures was living for oneself. Even if this path was several times more exhausting than honestly being a variety show personality and a singer, he didn't mind the fatigue. Doing things that brought him a sense of accomplishment only filled him with passion.

He had an entire Earth's worth of music libraries in his mind, along with countless treasure troves of scripts waiting for him to unearth them...

Since he had managed to time-travel, if he couldn't present those familiar blockbusters from his past life in this parallel world, what difference would it make from wasting time?

He certainly couldn't accomplish all of this relying solely on his own strength.

Recruiting soldiers and horses along the way to grow and expand, he would eventually become a domestic entertainment giant comparable to Huayue. Just thinking about that picture made his blood boil.

"In short, making films is my dream!" Lu Ming said solemnly.

Gangzi didn't understand, but Gangzi respected him: "Lu, look here, I won't consult anyone else. I'll make the executive decision: iQiyi will add another ten million to your appearance fee. If you film some eyesore of a bad movie, make not a single penny, and lose your shirt so badly you go bankrupt, and the hard-earned public favor you just scraped together plummets once again—well, I might as well act selflessly and directly buy out this rebellious dream of yours!"

"For our sake, and for the audience's sake, brother, I'm begging you, stop assaulting anyone's eyes!"

"Come to think of it, it's strange. Ever since last year, who knows what happened, but the quality of works in the drama circle and the film industry has been plummeting. The audience barely gets a few decent meals a year as it is; if you stimulate them any further, I'm afraid the domestic entertainment circle is going to go under!"

"..." Lu Ming.

To be fair, this was the first time since his time-travel that he had been left this speechless.

"Anyway, once I film it and you see it, you'll know! If the quality is bad, feel free to trash-talk me however you want! Besides, since you, Gangzi, are treating your brother with such heartfelt sincerity, I'll pull you up too. The total investment for the finished film is around forty million, and there's currently a funding gap of just ten million. According to the rules of the pugilistic world, I provide the sweat, you provide the cash—one million gets you a 20% share!"

Gangzi: "???"

He blanked out for a moment before incredulously asking, "Openly scamming people?"

One million for a 25% share?

He had no doubt that once the film was released, his one million would go in, and ten thousand would come out. By then, his money would be gone, and he would have ruined his reputation to boot...

Adding to Lu Ming's appearance fee was funded by the platform, but if it came to equity investment, that money would have to come straight out of his own pocket. As the CEO of iQiyi, though his net worth was not inconsiderable, he had never done anything like throwing money into the water to watch it splash.

However, Lu Ming followed up with another round of earnest and heartfelt persuasion.

The sheer, resolute confidence with which this minor has-been cast aside a brilliant future to stubbornly insist on filming still managed to arouse a trace of doubt in Gangzi.

Although he found it unthinkable, he was genuinely intimidated by Lu Ming's sworn-to-God rhetoric.

Deciding to hold off on the financing until he read the script and then personally visited the set to witness things for himself before making a choice, Gangzi directly lent Running Man's director, Lu Hao, to Lu Ming.

For safety's sake, Gangzi withheld the fact that the has-been was the financial backer before signing the contract. Otherwise, once the young man's infamous reputation leaked, Lu Hao probably would have signed his own name in the Book of Life and Death rather than put it on the hiring papers.

Over the next few days, as the recording of Running Man's second episode kicked off, the massive wave of attention Lu Ming had attracted over at Tencent also jumped ship to watch the show. iQiyi once again set a record for acquiring new users. According to the grapevine, during those two days of Running Man's livestreaming, the platform's revenue even surpassed the total revenue of a normal quarter, making a killing!

As a variety show director, Lu Hao's greatest dream was to squeeze into the television circle, direct a critically acclaimed masterpiece, and achieve lifelong fame. Upon learning that his ultimate superior was promoting him so heavily, Lu Hao was profoundly grateful.

Throughout the Running Man recording, the middle-aged man beamed from ear to ear. Even when the has-been played pranks on him, he just laughed it off without a care in the world, and when he was alone, he would stupidly grin at the air.

Once the two-day recording schedule wrapped up, Lu Hao hurried anxiously to Gangzi's office for a handover. Before signing the contract, he also laid eyes on the script for Soul Ferry.

...

(PS: It's the beginning of the month, please spare some monthly tickets! Monthly tickets! Monthly tickets!)

Monthly tickets, it's the start of the month, respected elders, please hand over your monthly tickets for this book if you have them, I'm begging you.