pertwk Chapter 9 First Show at Work
Chapter 9 First Show at Work
At eight o'clock in the morning, Lin Chen's phone vibrated as he loaded the last box of tools onto the rented van.
He glanced down at the screen—a balance reminder!
"Well, I can't even afford a steamed bun anymore."
He smiled, opened the car door, and started the engine. The beat-up truck shook violently, spewing black smoke from its exhaust pipe, which startled a stray cat parked by the roadside so much that it jumped up a tree.
The car headed towards Huaguo Mountain, the morning light just peeking over the eastern ridgeline. Lin Chen steered with one hand, while the other pulled out his phone to scroll through the comments section of last night's post... Overnight, the comments had increased by more than ten thousand.
"Where's the evidence? We're waiting!"
"Brother, if you can't produce something real today, I'm calling the police to arrest this scammer."
"Waiting for it to crash and burn."
He locked the screen and tossed his phone into the cup holder! Just wait until they all get slapped in the face! This time, we're going to push hard, stand firm, and explode!
By the time Lin Chen arrived at the foot of Huaguo Mountain, it was already completely light.
He jumped out of the car, opened the cargo box, which was stuffed full of things: several rolls of red rope, a newly bought machete, two hiking backpacks, a set of portable table and chairs, and a GG banner that he had bought online the night before, with five big characters printed on it: Huaguoshan Scenic Area.
Just as I hoisted the banner onto my shoulder, I heard a voice from above.
"What kind of junk are you carrying?"
Lin Chen looked up and saw Sun Wukong squatting on a rock, holding a blade of grass in his hand and a wild fruit he had picked from somewhere in his mouth. His old cassock was flapping loudly in the mountain wind.
The Great Sage looked at him with a mixture of scrutiny and disdain in his eyes.
"Get the equipment ready for work." Lin Chen patted the banner. "Today's the official start of work, we need to have a bit of a ceremony."
"Going to work?" Sun Wukong jumped down, landing silently, and went to the truck to rummage through the pile of things. "Is this all?"
"Just these expenses have left me with only two dollars!" Lin Chen wasn't embarrassed at all. "Great Sage, I'm poorer than you now."
Wukong scoffed, saying nothing but not leaving either. He picked up a roll of red rope, tossed it around, and asked, "What are you planning to do with it?"
"Let's go up the mountain first and hold a groundbreaking ceremony at the entrance of the Water Curtain Cave." Lin Chen slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Then we'll do something big."
"What's the big deal?"
Lin Chen took out his phone from his pocket, opened Douyin (TikTok), and shoved the screen in front of Da Sheng.
"Shoot a short video first."
Sun Wukong frowned as he looked at the colorful interface on the screen: "You want me, Old Sun, to do somersaults in front of so many people?"
"It's not about doing somersaults," Lin Chen laughed. "It's about showing netizens the real Monkey King."
The Monkey King's expression froze for a moment. He slowly spat out the blade of grass from his mouth, and a deep voice rolled out from his throat: "I, Old Sun, am not a monkey performer."
The air was silent for two seconds.
He put his phone away and said calmly, "I know."
"and you...."
"You are the Monkey King," Lin Chen said, his gaze earnest. "The hundreds of monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain are your subjects, not your playthings, but your servants."
Wukong's eyes flickered, but he didn't interrupt him.
"Short videos aren't about pleasing anyone." Lin Chen turned on his phone and pulled out a supernatural exploration account. "Look at this account, it makes urban legends, and it has over ten million followers. It's popular not because it's supernatural, but because it's real. More viewers mean more traffic. More traffic means more money. More money means your brothers won't have to worry about bananas (referring to the cost of entertainment)."
He paused, looked into the Great Sage's eyes, and said, word by word, "I'm not asking you to perform as a monkey. I'm helping your brother debut."
Sun Wukong remained silent for a long time.
A mountain breeze blew by, and the chattering of monkeys echoed in the distance. Several baby monkeys peeked out from the bushes, watching curiously. A little gray monkey hopped over, grabbed Wukong's leg, and bared its teeth at Lin Chen.
Wukong glanced down at it, patted its head, and then turned his gaze to Lin Chen.
"How do you plan to film it?"
Lin Chen grinned.
"Just cooperate, I'll take care of the rest."
The two carried their tools up the mountain. Along the way, Lin Chen took photos with his phone, framing shots, measuring light, and noting locations.
He walked very fast, with Sun Wukong following behind, occasionally pointing out a few things, such as which stone was where the monkeys used to worship the moon, and which old tree once had the golden headband hanging on it.
"This tree?" Lin Chen stopped and looked up at a crooked ancient locust tree with a trunk so thick that three people couldn't wrap their arms around it. "This could be the subject of a story."
"What story?"
"Let's say this tree is where you used to tie your golden cudgel, and call it the 'Sea-Stabilizing Needle Stake'." Lin Chen had already started planning, "We'll set up a wishing spot where tourists can hang up prayer plaques for thirty yuan each."
Sun Wukong choked for a moment: "You mortals really can sell anything."
"This is called cultural empowerment." Lin Chen took out his phone and took a picture. "Later, I'll have someone write some copy saying, 'Make a wish here, and everything will come true.' A brand that costs 9.9 yuan with free shipping is being sold for 30 yuan. This is called a premium for faith."
The Great Sage opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.
He suddenly realized that the contract he had signed with this mortal might be an even bigger deal than the Havoc in Heaven.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the Water Curtain Cave, a troop of monkeys had already gathered. Dozens of monkeys squatted by the waterfall, some cracking pine nuts, others picking lice from each other. When they saw Wukong arrive, they immediately squeaked and surrounded him, then stared curiously at Lin Chen.
Lin Chen put down his backpack and chose a flat rock as a shooting location. He unfolded the banner and hung it next to the Water Curtain Cave, and then strung up a red rope to mark out an area as the "scenic area entrance".
"Great Sage, come and take a look." He beckoned.
Sun Wukong walked over, glanced at the hanging banner, and had a subtle expression.
Did you write these words?
"Printed."
"Like elementary school students creating a blackboard newspaper."
Lin Chen remained unfazed: "With limited budget, I'll ask you to be the art director next time."
Wukong scoffed again, but didn't say anything. He stood in front of the waterfall, letting the mist hit his face.
Lin Chen set up his phone, opened Douyin (TikTok), and entered live streaming mode!
But instead of starting the broadcast immediately, he first went into his photo album and pieced together a simple 15-second trailer from the footage he had taken along the way, adding a large caption: "The Monkey King Sun Wukong's debut! Telling you up close the people and events you didn't know on the journey to the West!"
Click send.
Then he set up his phone, adjusted the angle, and included both Sun Wukong and the waterfall in the frame.
"Great Sage, stand in that spot, turn slightly to the side, and look at the waterfall."
Wukong stood as instructed, his posture stiff as if he were a primary school student who had just been photographed.
Lin Chen put down his phone: "How do you usually stand when you fight?"
"fight?"
"Yes, it's that coolest moment—when he's about to make a move, but hasn't yet."
Sun Wukong thought for a moment, stepped on the rock, turned his body slightly to the side, let his tail hang down naturally, and glanced at the lens with his golden eyes.
Lin Chen glanced at his phone screen. In the picture, the Great Sage stood in front of the Water Curtain Cave, the waterfall like a ribbon, and the sunlight shone down from the side! A legend of a generation.
"Beautiful." Lin Chen pressed the shutter button. "That's enough."
Wukong leaned closer for a look: "That's it?"
"This is just an appetizer." Lin Chen put away his phone. "The real show will start during the live stream."
"What's the main show?"
"Do you remember what those people said about us online yesterday?"
Wukong nodded: "I'm telling you, you're a liar."
"Right." Lin Chen patted his phone. "Today I'll show them what real action is."
He bent down and took out another thing from his bag: a selfie stick with a fill light and a microphone fixed to the top. Judging from the workmanship, it was a self-modified device.
"Can you change your form? Not necessarily shrink or grow, just transform into something else, like an eagle, a tiger, or... a dragon?"
Wukong glanced at him: "All you can do is turn into a pig."
"...Then how about we become eagles instead?"
The Great Sage twitched his lips: "I was just teasing you."
Lin Chen paused for a moment, then smiled.
Good heavens, we've been tricked by the Monkey King.
He smiled and said, "Okay, please go ahead."
The two of them made arrangements until nearly 9:30. Several figures carrying cameras could be seen moving around on the mountainside. There were self-media, live streamers trying to ride the wave of popularity, and a few who looked like legitimate media.
Okay, great, go ahead and shoot! The more traffic, the better my investment will be!
Lin Chen sat on a rock at the entrance of the Water Curtain Cave and glanced at the data of the trailer on his phone. Less than forty minutes after it was posted, it had already garnered 200,000 views, and the comment section was in an uproar.
"The set is quite well-produced. Did you hire actors?"
"Is the Water Curtain Cave scene CG? It looks so fake."
"Waiting for the live stream to go wrong."
He turned off his phone, took a deep breath of the moist mountain air, and turned to look at Sun Wukong squatting beside him, munching on wild fruit.
"Great Sage".
"Um?"
"There might be a lot of people criticizing me during the live stream later, and they might also criticize you. Please don't be angry."
Wukong took a bite of the fruit: "I, Old Sun, have lived for over a thousand years, why would I be afraid of being scolded?"
"It's not that I'm afraid you'll get scolded," Lin Chen stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants. "It's that if someone scolds you, you should scold them back! Don't hold back; the harsher you scold, the more traffic you'll get."
Wukong glanced at him and tossed the fruit pit away: "You... your mortal way of thinking is a bit different!"
Lin Chen smiled, propped his phone up on the selfie stick, and opened Douyin Live.
Countdown: three, two, one.
The screen lights up.
The first viewers to flood in were already sending comments flying across the screen.
"Here it comes, the scammer has started their live stream!"
Lin Chen flashed a bright smile at the camera: "Good morning, viewers of Huaguo Mountain. I am Lin Chen, the founder of Sanjie Cultural Tourism. Today is the first day of the official pre-sale for Huaguo Mountain Scenic Area."
He stepped aside, and the camera panned across the figure standing at the entrance of the Water Curtain Cave.
Sun Wukong stood before the waterfall, holding his golden cudgel, his cassock fluttering in the wind, his golden hair gleaming in the sunlight.
The comments paused for half a second. Then they went crazy.
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, these special effects are so realistic!!"
"This can't be a person in disguise, can it? That look in their eyes is off!"
"Fake, fake, obviously fake!"
"But...his tail is moving!!"
Lin Chen didn't speak, but slowly zoomed in with the camera.
Wukong didn't move, but simply turned his head and glanced at the camera.
Those golden eyes held a kingly aura that had been dormant for a thousand years, and a hint of curiosity!
The entire internet was silent for a full two seconds.
Then the comments exploded again; the real highlight was just beginning!