"Phew. The first promotional video is finally up. I just hope it gets good results." Lying on her bed, Chu Lian sighed. She had already done everything she could for this project. As for how things ultimately turned out, that really wasn't something she could force.
She had almost exhausted her available funds, and what little remained had to be reserved for essential expenses. Television advertising was therefore out of the question. Besides, broadcasting an advertisement for a game on television would be rather strange, even if it might produce decent results.
With so little money left and no desire to trouble anyone else, Chu Lian had no choice but to conduct her promotional campaign online, relying on her own popularity and that of the other girls to generate attention.
This approach might take quite a while to produce results, but there were only about ten days left before the first batch of gaming devices went on sale. Surely it would have some effect by then?
In truth, she had underestimated her own influence. No, more accurately, she had underestimated the tremendous impact that she, the other girls, and the game could create together.
Perhaps because she hadn't paid much attention to online matters for so long, Chu Lian could no longer accurately estimate her own popularity. Meanwhile, Chu Chu and the others had deliberately avoided bringing these matters up, fearing they would disturb her. Instead, they had quietly helped her deal with all sorts of problems behind the scenes.
A prolonged absence from the public eye usually meant losing popularity, so Chu Chu had cleverly recorded little moments of Chu Lian acting adorable in everyday life, avoiding anything overtly suggestive or even mildly provocative, and uploaded them to her Weibo account as ordinary daily updates.
The girls also frequently took selfies and mixed them in with photos of Chu Lian, creating the impression that Chu Lian was deliberately sharing beautiful snapshots of her everyday life with everyone. As a result, even though she rarely released new works, her popularity among her fans hadn't declined. In fact, it had increased slightly.
That was why she had no idea that, shortly after her video passed the review process, it had already caused a sensation. Her fan groups and enthusiastic supporters began reposting it everywhere and recommending it to everyone they knew. Everything was developing in a direction far beyond anything she had anticipated.
"Whatever happens, I've done my best." The things she was worried about might never happen at all. She simply didn't know that yet.
"I uploaded the Western-themed one today. I'll release the Eastern-themed one in three days, then put out the final version three days before the gaming devices launch. That should help at least a little."
Chu Lian was making plans for activities she might not even be personally involved in. After all, tomorrow she would be heading onto the battlefield, traveling to another world without knowing what awaited her there.
She wasn't sure how many days it would take before she could return, but she would certainly do her best, trying to come back as quickly as possible so that everyone wouldn't have to worry about her.
"There really are so many troublesome things to deal with. The cosplay work is already finished, and Fantasy Entertainment is very satisfied. They're planning to use it for promotion at the next cosplay convention, which should be happening sometime in the next few days.
"After all, I gave them a batch of character information from Dreambound. I imagine they're already making the cosplay props and preparing to promote everything alongside the game. I wonder whether that approach will work for them. Hmm, I just hope I don't end up letting them down."
Chu Lian was extremely confident in the game itself. Even setting aside its gameplay, the experience it offered was more than ten or twenty years ahead of existing technology, which alone would be enough to attract countless people.
The price she had set wasn't particularly high either. A VR device normally cost between 3,000 and 4,500 yuan, while her gaming device would sell for only 3,000 yuan, placing it at the very bottom of that price range. Her only concern was that inadequate promotion might prevent the game from building enough popularity quickly enough.
Of course, there was also the fact that each of their gaming devices cost only thirty yuan to manufacture, whereas competing devices might cost several hundred. But either way, everyone was making money, weren't they?
"I just hope Mama Yukari is reliable and doesn't dump me into some ridiculously dangerous world. After all, I'm practically an invalid right now. Until I've recovered, I don't have any fighting strength whatsoever." Chu Lian pursed her lips, recalling what Yukari Yakumo had told her a few days earlier. Of course, she was also looking forward to that particular arrangement.
Sure enough, treating her as my free trump card all the time isn't exactly a reliable strategy. If I keep troubling someone else, eventually they'll turn around and start troubling me.
"Speaking of which, where exactly did they go sightseeing?" While Chu Lian was wondering about this, several exceptionally eye-catching girls were standing on a street in the Fog City of Huaxia, holding spicy snacks in their hands. They kept fanning their mouths to cool the burning sensation while continuing to eat, seemingly incapable of getting enough.
In front of one girl wearing a blue kimono, small plates and wooden skewers had already accumulated into something resembling a mountain. Her astonishing appetite left countless onlookers dumbfounded. They couldn't help wondering whether the stomach concealed beneath her kimono was actually a black hole.
Several people nearby had already taken out their phones to record the girls eating. Even setting aside their extraordinary beauty, which was rarely seen among ordinary people, their appetites—particularly that of a certain ghost—were more than enough to make the scene worth documenting.
But as a ghost, shouldn't you be afraid of sunlight? Why are you eating so happily out here? Sure, there's a canopy overhead protecting you from direct sunlight, but isn't this taking things a little too far?
"Dear customers... Dear customers, we really don't have anything left to serve you..." After another frantic stretch of work, the young shop owner approached them with a miserable expression and delivered news that made Yuyuko turn pale. They've run out of food? We'll have to find somewhere else again...
"Oh, they've run out? Hmm, then let's go." Yukari Yakumo rose to her feet and opened her folding fan, waving it gently. Her curly golden hair swayed playfully with her movements. Sakuya Izayoi, who had barely eaten anything, Reimu, who had already eaten her fill, and Yuyuko, who was still reluctant to leave, all stood up as well.
"H-hey! Wait, wait, wait! Ladies, you haven't paid!" Although the young shop owner had been captivated by their beauty, he was running a business and needed to make money. These women had consumed three days' worth of his stock in a single sitting. If he couldn't collect payment, he would suffer an enormous loss!
"But we don't have any money~" Yukari smiled, seemingly without the slightest sense of shame. After all, as visitors from another world, they genuinely hadn't brought any money with them.
"But we do have someone who'll pay for us. You're all recording this, aren't you?" Yukari glanced at the increasingly restless crowd and offered a brief explanation.
Hearing her question, several people who had been filming stepped forward so she could see them.
"Excellent. Then let me say something." Seeing them come forward, Yukari knew the matter would be easy to settle. After all, this was how they had been getting by for the past few days, so she wasn't particularly worried.
"Chu Lian-chan, your Big Sister Yukari went out sightseeing without bringing any money. Unfortunately, we've eaten quite a lot, so I'll have to trouble you to pay the bill. I know you'll see this video. If you don't take care of it, then I'm going to get angry, you know." She spoke softly, but everyone nearby was left dumbfounded.
Chu Lian? Did she just say Chu Lian? I couldn't have misheard that, right? Are these women scammers? No way. With looks like theirs, they could do practically anything they wanted. Why would they become scammers? Then what...?
While the onlookers were still trying to make sense of the situation, Yukari reached out and opened a gap. In an instant, she and the other girls vanished from the spot, leaving everyone staring in complete bewilderment.
"T-this... She's a superpowered individual, isn't she? And an incredibly powerful one at that, capable of manipulating space... No, I have to report this to the Cult Leader immediately, just in case something happens..."
One of the people recording happened to be a member of the Church of Push-Down Chu Lian. He had captured the entire incident on video, and after witnessing the final scene, he became terrified that these women might pose a threat to Chu Lian. He immediately used the organization's internal communication line, hurried into a secluded corner, and called Chu Chu.
"Mm-hmm. Yes, I understand. Upload the video to our organization's site first. I'll contact some people I know and make sure Chu Lian hears about it."
Whenever Chu Chu spoke with members of the organization, she disguised her voice to sound more mature, preventing anyone from discovering her true identity. After all, if Chu Lian ever found out who she really was within the organization, she'd be in serious trouble.
Quite some time passed before the video, compressed to reduce its file size and image quality, finally arrived. Chu Chu downloaded it from the Church's website and watched it on her computer. The moment she recognized the people in the footage, she was stunned.
No, I absolutely have to tell Big Sis about this! With that thought, she immediately downloaded the video onto her phone, grabbed the device, and rushed toward Chu Lian's bedroom.
"Yawn... Summer is such a pain. It makes me sleepy so easily." Whether she was exhausted or simply feeling lazy, Chu Lian had no desire to do anything at all. All she wanted was to sleep. It certainly felt pleasant, but somehow it also made her feel rather irresponsible.
"Big Sis! Something terrible has happened!" The bedroom door flew open, and Chu Chu rushed inside. She darted to Chu Lian's side and began shaking her already half-asleep sister, forcing her to wake up properly.
"What's wrong?" Chu Lian was thoroughly confused. What could possibly have happened to make Chu Chu so alarmed?
"Look! Look at this, Big Sis!" Chu Chu took out her phone, found the video she'd just received, and played it. The entire recording, beginning with Yukari and the others' appearance at the snack shop, unfolded before Chu Lian's eyes. The longer she watched, the more helpless she felt. By the time she heard Yukari's message at the end, she practically wanted to smash the phone. This is going way too far!
"I understand." But what could she do about it? Yukari still had plenty of embarrassing material she could use against her. Although Yukari needed her help and probably wouldn't push things too far, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't cause some other kind of trouble.
In the end, Chu Lian would have to settle everything herself. It's just paying a few bills, right? I can afford that...
With that thought, she took out her own phone and called an older girl from the Heart of First Love Alliance.
"Hello, Vanilla? There's something I need to discuss with you... Yes, that's what happened... Mm, exactly. All right... Oh, and one more thing. Could you check whether there are any other people who've encountered the same group? Ask them to send over their bills, and I'll pay everything... Mm. Also, please issue an announcement to the Alliance.
"If any of our members happen to come across those women eating somewhere and can afford to cover the bill, ask them to pay for it first, then submit the expense to the Alliance for reimbursement... What? You'll cover the expenses yourself? No, no, absolutely not! I'll take care of it... Mm, all right. Thank you so much. I'm really sorry to trouble you like this..."
After hanging up, Chu Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, that relief didn't last long. The moment the first batch of bills arrived, every trace of her good mood vanished...