Editor: Elanor
The largest auxiliary screen in front of Jakowski was still showcasing Xia Tian’s face.
He stared thoughtfully. Compared with the cold, decisive and emotional attitude when killing people, Xia Tian’s facial features were quite soft, and almost seemed harmless at times.
Now, he was about to make a decision regarding the general direction in which the new star would be shaped.
He recalled the way Xia Tian talked about his sister—he knew Xia Tian didn’t want to be heard, but technology was developing, and on the Killing Show, it would develop towards a direction where one had less and less privacy. The discussion and purchase rate of that video had reached an astonishing peak, which definitely meant something.
Jakowski drank another sip until he forgot the feeling about sobriety. Only then the head of the chief director finally began to turn. He was considering what would make or break someone. How to make, and how to break.
He looked at the handsome face of Xia Tian on the screen and thought to himself how desperate he looked, how he would do anything to get rid of this. This desire burned in him like fire. It was going to ruin him.
But before it broke him, he had to make him.
He had good momentum, a good appearance, and a top-notch figure… For a man like Jakowski, the key point was that Xia Tian had some kind of strength, like an overly sharp and unstoppable blade.
Such people might be killed early, but they were never ignored.
If that thick layer of despair, sadness and anger was removed, he would probably be a gentle person, able to protect anything, knowing how to cook in pajamas comfortably, turning a house into a home…
Although this was mostly his wishful thinking—Jakowski’s mind was full of a song called “Homecoming” for the past two days, and couldn’t be driven away. But it was a good idea. Healers were popular now since everyone in the Upper City had a lot of psychological trauma that needed to be soothed.
He called up the communication interface and was about to give instructions to Xia Tian’s planning team when, in the synchronized video, Xia Tian suddenly turned his head and threw a flying kiss at the owl.
The expression instantly gave Jakowski goosebumps.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He wouldn’t describe it as “extremely beautiful”—although it was indeed extremely beautiful. That moment was too bright, murderous, unscrupulous, and powerful to the point where one felt that their personal space had been violated.
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At that moment, that hatred and anger were like a dazzling sword light; it was deadly.
It was wonderful, exactly like a star.
However, he still wanted Xia Tian to be a healer, and a decision with commercial value couldn’t be changed.
Jakowski noticed that his hands were shaking a little, but he got used to it. It was the double result of excitement and alcohol. He shouted, “Xiaoluo!”
He quickly flipped through the screen to search for Xia Tian’s information and without lifting his head, he continued to bark instructions, “Use ‘She Kissed Him,’ add a majestic interlude, and cut a video before the prime time. I want it to be tender, sad and majestic – I don’t need to tell you the main character, do I?”
He didn’t ask if there was a copyright of that song, but there must be.
His chief editor didn’t say a word, made an “OK” gesture, and walked away with the orders.
Her name was Tian Xiaoluo—not her original name, her original name was very mediocre, and her ratings would drop if she was called that. Her black hair was tied into braids playfully styled around her chest. She had a baby face, which had something to do with micro-plastic surgery, and her overall dress matched the style of her name.
The only thing that was inconsistent with the cute style was that Tian Xiaoluo was extremely quiet and had a serious substance abuse problem. She always put those brightly colored drugs in her dress pocket like candy and ate one when she was upset.
This allowed her to always work as she pleased, without emotional problems, without mental breakdowns, or thinking about her ex-boyfriend who died tragically on screen—he was hung on the wall by an opponent for ten days. It was one of the signature shots of the 197th session, which was broadcasted on TV.
Jakowski knew that she often vomited in the bathroom and would curl up in the corner and call the dead man. She had a high IQ, but behaved as if she really thought if she would keep calling, one day she would get through.
But she never told anyone, and she always did a good job.
He was very happy that she didn’t talk about it because he definitely didn’t want to talk. The department sent out a lot of hallucinogenic drugs at parties, expecting them to say nothing and do their jobs honestly.
It wouldn’t have worked out anyway.
If the doctor was worried that the Killing Show would dislike Xia Tian, it meant that he didn’t understand the show at all.
The Killing Show wasn’t a show with a sense of shame. With their entire soul they only cared about one thing: ratings.
The ratings determined everything, and you could cuss in front of the camera as much as you wanted. Given that there were many people swearing, indicating that these words reflected the voice of the masses, they would be welcomed and people would click to watch, comment and pay for it.
The battle of the Wreath Cemetery was planned and decided by the chief director Jakowski and he took lead in broadcasting it himself.
When Luo Qingtian died, he was so drunk in the bathroom that he couldn’t get up. Fortunately, the assistant director in charge was a veteran and didn’t mess things up. His bosses didn’t like the fact that he had missed the previous chance, so in the new battle, he was pumped up and gave it his best shot.
He first had a meeting overnight with a few people in the branch, and everyone agreed that Xia Tian was a buildable talent and had to start arranging a big game for him right away.
Then a group of people selected their opponents within an hour and arranged an encounter.
—The Killing Show had developed from a small workshop for the rich to have fun to a highly commercialized show with its own set of rules. Here, the criminal stars grew and fell very quickly so one had to be quick on their feet in order to maximize the value in the shortest possible time.
As a director with a professional background and a cabinet full of awards, Jakowski manipulated the entire battle broadcast. Under his operation, the battle was fierce and cruel, but full of tenderness and sadness. It was just aired and it was regarded as an undoubted classic of this year.
Jakowski closed his eyes. The effort was worth it, and he received bright and bloody results.
The images of the battle were still clear, as if someone had suddenly lit a lamp in the darkness, and even if it was turned off immediately, the image lingered on the retina.
What remained was the anger and grief of those people who gave the battle its soul and depth. And people loved real things that had power.
So it would be attractive and appealing, so it would be popular, so it would have a purchase rate, so it would bring money.
This was the true essence of the Killing Show.
Everything was goods on the stall, the dolls in the toy house; he couldn’t think of any other way out. It was like his own life, or the life of his chief editor. All you could do was to borrow all kinds of help, put the broken souls together as much as possible, continue to work, and hope that the ghosts could disappear by themselves.
At that time, Jakowski didn’t know that his decision about Xia Tian in his drunken state would lead to a series of crazy follow-ups, nor did he know that this would be the most successful decision he had ever made in his life.
It quickly took root in the Upper City and grew wildly, building a huge and terrifying idol.
As a star maker and a God of destiny, Jakowski was so drunk most of the time that he didn’t know where he was. He had to rely on alcohol to think about problems. He couldn’t bear the feeling of being sober.
Now that the battle had temporarily subsided, he poured himself another drink and prepared to get unconscious. In this business, you couldn’t go on without alcohol.
Unknown to Xia Tian’s team, the number of purchases of the Wreath Cemetery Battle had exceeded the 70 million mark, and it was still soaring higher and upward.
In the outside world, countless people clicked on their videos, watched the battle, commented in the comment section and various related forums, and some people made derivative products. Especially Xia Tian’s registered followers and related email subscriptions were growing at a geometric rate.
In reality, the stars are bruised and battered. They were walking in the bloody forest, depressed and sad; they might lose their lives at any time.
It took the three of them a little while to find a huge, caved-in boulder. Some climbing plants blocked the view, making it an excellent hiding place for a short rest.
Sitting in the shadows covered with moss, the scene here reminded Xia Tian of the Lower City. Although it was completely different from there except for the humidity, he always thought of the Lower City. It was in his head and he couldn’t get rid of it.
He picked up a small aqua flower next to him, and began to make a wreath again. With experience, he made it a little more decent than the previous one. Bai Jingan silently picked a blue one and gave it to him.
“The man I killed,” the doctor whispered,” was called Lan Qi. There were talks on the outside that he was getting married. I don’t understand why anyone would want to marry someone in this line of work. Maybe she just loved him in particular. He also has a good friend you may have heard of. He is quite famous… Last year they worked together creating a lot of classic scenes, but this time he didn’t get drawn in the same group with him, not even after three times of lottery… Don’t know how the guy is now. Maybe dead. If not dead, he will definitely seek us for revenge.”
His voice was very low, but continued chattering endlessly.
“The players of the Killing Show shouldn’t make friends, but there are always people who can’t remember, and think that life is meaningful if you are a bit reckless. Lan Qi was the kind of person who wanted to let loose; he even fell in love… She must have seen, seen how I killed her love, and his last look, so… I also had no other way… But I always feel that there is no such simple way to say this kind of thing, right? ‘I had no other way’ sounds stupid, there must be some bigger reason…”
He went on and on, and the other two were exhausted and didn’t have the strength to tell him to shut up.
Then he broke down completely, and still no one had the strength to stop him. It reminded them that this work was done by La Tie in the past.
Xia Tian stood up and went outside. After a while, Bai Jingan also followed.
Xia Tian fumbled in his pocket, found a small apple, and handed it to Bai Jingan. The other party glanced at him and took it.
In this way, the two of them stood outside in silence, which was a little more dangerous, but Xia Tian knew that they didn’t come out to talk. They just didn’t want to stay under the boulder and listen to the guy cry.
Wow this society is so messed up. Thanks for the chapter!
I think it’s good that this novel also focuses on the side of the ones developing the show. It gives the setting more realism, to see how they think and act. It’s not just a random killing show – it’s explained how they plan for ratings. It’s all for the money and entertainment.
Thank you for the chapter 💕
Jakowski cals himself God of destiny. Well that’s true I guess but it’s infuriating as hell as well.
Thank you for the chapter 💞
Thanks for the chapter ❤️