Chapter 120: Generous Rewards, Opening Treasure Chests, and Opening More Treasure Chests!
Wang Mo was both startled and delighted.
He quickly brought up the system panel:
[Name: Wang Mo]
[Age: 22]
[Height: 180 m (at the host’s strong insistence; actual height: 179 cm)]
[Appearance: 90]
[Reputation: -18,621,095]
[Items: None]
[Loot Draws: None]
[Shop: Not yet unlocked]
[Quests: None]
His reputation had already risen from more than negative twenty million to just over negative eighteen million.
“My reputation has increased by that much.”
Wang Mo’s heart was racing.
After thinking it over, he figured it was probably because he had released several songs in succession during December, along with the tremendous response to “Immortal at the Summit.” Together, they had brought him several waves of massive reputation gains.
“As expected, if I want to obtain a large amount of reputation, I still need to make a splash.”
Wang Mo muttered inwardly.
If he could generate a few more waves of popularity like that, his reputation would soon turn positive.
As soon as his reputation became positive, he could notify Yuan Xiong and immediately begin planning his comeback.
He turned his attention to the rewards.
“I still had one Silver Chest and one Bronze Chest left unopened. And now I’ve obtained another Special Chest and another Silver Chest.”
He was rich!
Wang Mo clenched his fists, his eyes shining with excitement.
“With this many chests, I’m going to draw to my heart’s content today!”
Suppressing his excitement, Wang Mo thought inwardly, “System, open the Bronze Chest.”
Today, he planned to open one Bronze Chest, one Silver Chest, and one Special Chest, leaving one Silver Chest in reserve for emergencies.
[Received.]
Just as before, the system displayed a string of text:
[Based on the host’s current circumstances, the chest will automatically generate the item the host needs most… System generating… Generation complete…]
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained one Fortune Fruit. After eating it, the host’s luck will randomly increase threefold for twelve hours.]
A Fortune Fruit?
Wang Mo stared curiously at the bright red fruit that had appeared in the air, no larger than a kumquat.
He reached out and touched it. To his surprise, he was able to pick it up. The cool sensation against his fingers told him that the fruit was not an illusion, but a real object.
Yet with a single thought, the fruit vanished from his palm.
“How miraculous.”
Wang Mo put the Fortune Fruit away for the time being.
Then he silently commanded, “Open a Silver Chest.”
[Received.]
The system responded.
Soon, another line of text appeared:
[Congratulations, host. You have obtained the large-scale family reality show program, Where Are We Going, Dad?—Season One.]
Wang Mo was utterly stunned for more than a minute when he saw the reward.
A variety show!
He had actually drawn a variety show from a Silver Chest!
And this variety show was no ordinary one.
Wang Mo was exceedingly familiar with Where Are We Going, Dad? Even though he had never been particularly fond of watching variety shows in his previous life, he had still been utterly charmed by the adorable children in the first season.
Even now, whenever he recalled some of the children’s antics on the show, an indulgent smile would appear on his face.
Of course, that was not the key point.
The key point was that after Where Are We Going, Dad? aired on Mango TV, it officially ignited the family-oriented reality-show craze across Huaxia and raised the country’s variety-show industry to an entirely new level.
In short, this program possessed revolutionary influence!
Wang Mo carefully examined the reward several times. Only after confirming that his eyes had not deceived him did he cautiously put it away.
Next came the main event.
The Special Chest!
He still remembered that the last time, he had drawn several excellent items from a Special Chest.
“I wonder whether I’ll be as lucky this time as I was last time?”
“Should I eat the Fortune Fruit and gamble on a burst of good luck?”
Wang Mo wrestled with the decision for quite a while, but ultimately chose not to use the Fortune Fruit.
The system had never disappointed him. If he ate the Fortune Fruit now, he might simply waste a valuable item.
“Open the Special Chest!”
After taking a deep breath, Wang Mo issued the command inwardly.
Then he stared nervously at the system, waiting for a response.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then a minute.
At last, several lines of text appeared:
[Congratulations, host: Singing Skill +1.]
[Congratulations, host: You have obtained a Trust Fragment. When the host speaks, it can trigger another person’s trust mechanism with a certain probability, causing them to believe the host. It can be used three times, with each use lasting thirty minutes.]
Last time, he had received three rewards.
This time, there were only two.
But Wang Mo was not dissatisfied in the slightest.
First, he had once again drawn something excellent: Singing Skill +1.
This meant that his Singing Skill had successfully risen from five points to six.
One point might not sound like much.
But five points represented the level of an ordinary person, while six points represented the threshold of a professional singer.
In other words, Wang Mo’s singing had finally entered the professional ranks!
A major breakthrough!
As for the second reward…
“A Trust Fragment?”
Wang Mo blinked. This thing was rather interesting.
However, he still had no idea where he ought to use it.
After all, he was usually a sincere, kindhearted, loving young man. People naturally trusted whatever he said, so Wang Mo felt that the Trust Fragment would be difficult to put to use.
Only one Silver Chest remained.
Wang Mo did not open it.
He would keep it in reserve for unforeseen circumstances.
…
Early the next morning, after washing up, Wang Mo stood by the window and began exercising his voice.
“Ahhhhhh… ahhhhhh.”
“Ahhhhhh… ahhhhhh.”
Vocal warm-ups were essentially exercises for developing one’s voice and training the vocal cords. They were indispensable basic training for any singer.
Wang Mo had not even practiced for a minute when Yuan Xiong walked up to him and stared at him with an extremely strange expression.
“What are you doing?”
“Warming up my voice.”
Yuan Xiong placed a hand on Wang Mo’s forehead.
“You don’t have a fever. What kind of nonsense are you pulling?”
Yuan Xiong had long since experienced Wang Mo’s singing firsthand. It was absolutely catastrophic.
In Yuan Xiong’s opinion, no matter how much Wang Mo practiced, his singing would never improve by very much. That was why he found Wang Mo’s behavior completely incomprehensible.
Wang Mo, however, responded as though it were perfectly obvious.
“Don’t look down on me. I know my singing is terrible, which is why I need to train. Haven’t you heard the saying? The early bird catches the worm! As long as I work hard enough, one day I’ll stand out from the crowd.”
Yuan Xiong said, “Your ambitions are admirable.”
Wang Mo replied, “If a person has no ambition, how are they any different from a salted fish?”
In truth, Wang Mo was not really trying to improve his singing.
He knew that if he suddenly displayed professional-level singing in front of Yuan Xiong, the man might very well be scared to death.
So he had come up with a plan: from now on, he would warm up his voice and practice singing every morning.
That would plant a psychological suggestion in Yuan Xiong’s mind—that he had been working hard all along.
Then, if he displayed professional-level singing after some time had passed, Yuan Xiong might be shocked, but he would simply think Wang Mo was a genius rather than suspecting anything else.
After finishing his warm-ups, Wang Mo had originally intended to sing a few lines and test what a professional singer’s voice felt like.
But when he saw Yuan Xiong glaring at him from the side, he ultimately gave up.
Yuan Xiong said, “Go on, sing!”
Wang Mo replied, “I’m afraid I’ll frighten you.”
“You know that much?”
“Of course.”
What Wang Mo meant by “frighten” was fundamentally different from what Yuan Xiong understood by the word.
…
After breakfast, Wang Mo was on his way to work when he waited until Yuan Xiong was not paying attention and ate the Fortune Fruit from his storage space.
An item like this was of little use if he kept it unused.
He might as well use it as soon as possible.
The instant the Fortune Fruit entered his mouth, it transformed into a sweet juice that seeped into his throat.
“Delicious…”
Wang Mo smacked his lips, suddenly wishing he had a few more.
Yuan Xiong, who was driving, glanced at him.
“What are you eating?”
“Saliva.”
Yuan Xiong fell silent.
Damn it. What kind of entertainer had he ended up raising?
This was truly a punishment from heaven.
After eating the Fortune Fruit, Wang Mo focused his attention on every change around him, waiting for good luck to descend.
What kind of good luck would it be?
A windfall?
Romantic luck?
His mind wandered wildly, but even after the two of them arrived at the company, nothing happened.
Wang Mo knew he could not afford to be impatient. He could only set aside his nonsensical thoughts and sit quietly at his desk, waiting.
He waited until the afternoon.
Still, everything remained calm.
“This Fortune Fruit… Is its effect really that weak?”
Wang Mo felt depressed.
Then, at three o’clock in the afternoon, Liu Zhengwen hurried over and said to him, “Xiao Wang, come on. I’m taking you to a meeting.”
“What kind of meeting?”
Wang Mo followed behind Liu Zhengwen, puzzled.
“Do you remember what I told you last time? The higher-ups said they admired your talent in operations and planning, so this time they want you to attend a meeting on that subject. The company has recently been preparing a reality-show program, but they’ve run into quite a few difficulties during the planning stage. Everyone’s reached an impasse, so someone suggested bringing you into the meeting to see whether you could offer any useful opinions.”
“Ah?”
Wang Mo froze when he heard that.
A reality show?
They had encountered problems with the planning?
They wanted him to attend such a meeting and offer suggestions?
After thinking for a moment, Wang Mo asked, “Director Liu, what kind of reality show is it?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Variety shows are handled by the film and television department, so they have nothing to do with my side. But I vaguely heard that it’s an outdoor reality show. You can think about what sort of content might work in advance and play it by ear later. As I said, there’s no need to be nervous. If you have an idea, say a few words. If you don’t, staying silent is fine too. Just remember one thing: keeping a low profile is never wrong.”
“Understood.”
Wang Mo agreed.
But Liu Zhengwen did not notice that Wang Mo’s eyes had already changed, nor that ripples had begun to stir in his heart.
An outdoor reality show!
A variety show!
The moment he heard those words, the program he had obtained the night before—Where Are We Going, Dad?—instantly surfaced in Wang Mo’s mind.
“Is this a coincidence, or did the Fortune Fruit take effect?”
Wang Mo wondered inwardly.
If it was a coincidence, then it was far too much of one.
Since it was most likely not a coincidence, the Fortune Fruit must have taken effect.
All right.
He would first see what this meeting was about, then act accordingly.
(End of Chapter)