Chapter 54: I Do Not Bet on the Kindness of Netizens

Looking at the undisguised, predatory gazes of those female influencers, Lu Yao smiled.

It was indeed his oversight.

The well-trodden paths of these minor influencers had long seen endless traffic, bearing the traces of countless individuals. Accustomed as they were to the hustle and bustle, how could they possibly display the innocent serenity of someone like Zhou Beila?

Lu Yao fell into contemplation.

Before long.

He came up with a solution.

Since neither the software nor the hardware of these minor influencers could support it, he had no choice but to equip them with external plugins!

Thus, Lu Yao called Zhu Junyan over. The moment Zhu Junyan understood that Lu Yao wanted to buy deep-wearable plug-in devices for these minor influencers, his eyes instantly lit up.

Then, he wore an expression that every man would understand.

With an expression of complete mutual understanding, Zhu Junyan thumped his own chest and pointed at Lu Yao: "I get you! I'll go buy them myself!"

With that, he turned around and left.

This left the few minor influencers staring at each other in bewilderment.

What on earth were those two planning to do!

Watching Zhu Junyan dash out of the suite without a moment's pause, Lu Yao shook his head and chuckled.

Who could have imagined that the young master of the Zhu family would willingly run errands like a lackey, and even be filled with such boundless enthusiasm?

Was it Lu Yao's personal charm that had subdued Young Master Zhu?

Of course not!

It was the driving force of eroticism that was motivating Young Master Zhu.

This just went to show that eroticism was the primary productive force!

This was also the fundamental reason why, a decade later, amid a sluggish global economy and turbulent global geopolitics, the overseas platform OnlyFans could achieve a threefold profit growth.

Soon.

Zhu Junyan returned to the suite, laden with an armful of deep-wearable plug-in devices.

The young master then enthusiastically distributed the plugins one by one. Upon seeing this, the female influencers burst into giggles and playful scolding, not a single one of them feeling the least bit embarrassed.

This was precisely what set them apart from Zhou Beila.

As the devices were activated, these minor influencers were instantly guided into the zone, one after another, with the help of the plugins.

This also made the bystander Zhu Junyan understand the meaning of "a woman's blush surpasses a long monologue."

Nerves were leaping.

Heartstrings were plucking.

Yet Lu Yao demanded that the female influencers maintain a straight face, struggling to keep their expressions either solemn or aloof.

However, despite those facades, their eyes, the corners of their eyes, and even the edges of their mouths were betraying an increasingly scandalous heat.

With an unshakeable mind, completely undisturbed by external distractions, Lu Yao continued his photography work.

Meanwhile, Zhu Junyan, the mere spectator, kept drinking water.

Damn it!

Could the air conditioning in such a high-end suite possibly be broken?

He felt so hot and thirsty!

Then, he looked at Lu Yao, once again filled with heartfelt admiration and awe.

He could actually endure all this?

As expected of a professional photographer!

Much like those photographers in the ACG circle, when others hugged a coser and praised her for being pretty, many ACG photographers would also hug their own cameras and praise the coser for being pretty.

Amidst the faint, humming vibrations of the plugins.

Lu Yao finally finished shooting the set for these minor influencers.

The moment they learned that Lu Yao was done, the minor influencers collapsed onto the floor in duck-sit positions, the composed expressions they had struggled to maintain instantly shattering.

Suppressing his inner restlessness, Zhu Junyan asked Lu Yao, "Master, are we done?"

Lu Yao deactivated all the plug-in devices, and while reviewing the photos on his camera, he replied, "The shooting session is complete."

"Tomorrow and the day after, I'll send you the edited videos."

"Then you make sure to push them to publish the videos on their Weibo accounts. Once the comment section picks up, have them pin a comment saying, 'So many sisters have been asking me where I got these outfits; they're from this online store called "Under Risk".'"

Zhu Junyan listened attentively.

Toward the end, he even opened his phone's memo app to jot it down.

These were all valuable lessons!

It was a pity that this era lacked the instant shopping cart feature, preventing them from shouting, "Links ready, 3, 2, 1!"

Lu Yao continued with his instructions: "On Monday, I'm going to Yuzhou Province with Rong Nianqing and the others to inspect the market. I'll need you to put in some extra effort here."

"Find some friends or hired commenters to boost their comment sections."

"You can use today's samples, or you can purchase some items from my store yourselves and post pictures of them in use."

Lu Yao taught him hands-on: "It can be a silhouette shot, or a photo taken from the back while lounging with the product in use. You should notice that our products bear a logo; make sure that gets captured in the frame."

"The accompanying comment for the pictures should be something like: 'Got mine, works great, tears easily, increases attack speed,' phrases like that."

Zhu Junyan listened with glowing eyes and dancing eyebrows.

He had totally mastered it!

While learning, Zhu Junyan even drew inferences from other instances: "Isn't our logo a bit too small? Should we just include our store's name directly?"

Lu Yao smiled and said, "No need. When hardcore perverts look at suggestive pictures, their IQ rivals Einstein's."

Zhu Junyan had a sudden epiphany. That made sense!

He asked again, "If I have my buddies post these pictures, won't it raise the status a bit too high? What if some people find it obnoxious?"

Those who hung out in the same circles as Zhu Junyan were, at the very least, second-generation wealthy heirs.

Lu Yao spread his hands and smiled: "Obnoxious if they want to be. The driving force of trends has always flowed from the top down."

Which luxury brand didn't conquer the luxury market by catering to the upper echelon?

Especially for products like erotic lingerie.

If you don't let the rich playboys consume it, are you seriously expecting those single dogs who can't even pick up girls to buy it?

Only when the rich playboys consume it can they drive other rich playboys to consume.

Then, it trickles down to drive consumption among the group of people who have a bit of disposable cash and a girlfriend.

This was one of the rare opportunities to use the exact same skin as the rich playboys in operation.

The rich playboy's preemptive desire to show off was satisfied.

The later ordinary players' desire to keep up with the Joneses by using the same skin as the rich playboys would also be satisfied.

Everyone was happy.

As for the jealousy and criticism from a certain segment of people... that was just a bit of wind and frost.

Even the almighty fiat currency couldn't please everyone, let alone human actions and endeavors.

For those demographics who couldn't bring orders to Lu Yao, let their envy and jealousy provide a sense of superiority and smug satisfaction for both the wealthy players and the ordinary players.

At the same time, it would boost the popularity and traffic for planners and operators like Lu Yao.

In games, free-to-play users served as artificial NPCs provided by game developers for paying players.

In reality, ordinary people were likewise artificial NPCs provided by society for the wealthy playboys.

When Lu Yao explained these theories to Zhu Junyan, Zhu Junyan couldn't help taking a sharp intake of breath.

He had more or less learned these theories before.

Knowing them in theory, however,

was entirely different from putting them into practice.

And applying these theories almost seamlessly through female influencers the way Lu Yao did... was something else entirely.

This master he had forced himself upon was simply a marketing genius who played with human hearts!

And this wasn't even the end of it. Looking at the female influencers whose legs were so weak they had to lean against the wall on their way to the restroom, Lu Yao said, "Once this wave of operations produces just one breakout star, the rest will be lining up to beg me to help them shoot videos and run operations."

"And as their traffic skyrockets, other influencers will follow suit."

By then, these traffic-wielding influencers would become his sales force!

When the time was ripe, establishing an MCN agency would allow him to turn them all into his money-making tools!

This kind of operation had a name in the underworld.

In the parlance of the streets, it was known as the "Monkey-Playing Scheme."

And this operation could even harbor much darker, more malicious tactics.

Zhu Junyan picked up a cigarette, handed it to Lu Yao, and helped light it: "Master, your methods are simply too... too..."

He didn't even know how to describe it.

Lu Yao exhaled a puff of smoke, his features blurred behind the hazy veil: "In the internet age, traffic is money."

"I don't bet on netizens being kind-hearted; I bet on them being lecherous."

Therefore—

He was bound to win.