r18novel Chapter 1 Reaching the Pinnacle of Popularity
Chapter 1 Reaching the Pinnacle of Popularity
Echoes of the 91st year, City of Fire.
The college rooftop.
The sunlight slanted down, and Qi Ji lay on his back with one arm behind his head.
Before him was a line of tiny, glowing text that only he could see—
[Personal channel is now online, and live streaming is activated.]
ten years.
He had been waiting for this day for ten years.
Ten years ago, Saki was transported to this world.
However, unlike most time travelers, he was wearing...
When he transmigrated, his body miraculously reverted to the appearance he had when he was five years old.
In the following year, he awakened the popularity system and learned the truth about this world.
He transmigrated into the world of an anime series.
Moreover, it's a massive IP world deeply intertwined with live streaming and gaming.
The main characters in the anime all have their own "personal channel".
Viewers can watch live streams, official edits, highlight replays, and even snippets of their daily lives within the channel.
More importantly, a second season of the anime has already been ordered, and it will have a deep crossover with the game, but precisely because of this, therefore—
Only characters selected as "five-star cards" in the first season can participate in the main storyline of the next season.
The five-star cards were started before the series aired, and now only two cards remain in the "to be completed" state.
The term "pending completion" refers to—
The main character is yet to be determined, but the framework is already set.
In layman's terms, character labels, ability roles, and storyline weights have all been pre-defined and designed by the game system.
All that's missing is printing the name on it.
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
[The host is an outsider from this world; once their identity is revealed, the world will correct them.]
Therefore, strive to become a five-star character and anchor yourself!
This was the notification he received when he awakened the system.
Saki had no choice but to accept this.
Of the two five-star cards that are "pending completion," one is a female character, which he cannot obtain.
He could only choose the other one—
【Ding! 】
You have chosen "Thousand Faces"!
[A wise choice!]
Card information expanded:
"A Thousand Faces"
Tags: Mysterious, Masked, Omnipotent, Unfathomable, Super Genius.
The card description reads: "No one knows its true face, no one can measure its limits. It is the epitome of genius and the embodiment of miracles. When the mask is removed, the truth is revealed, and the lies will begin."
Choosing "Thousand Faces" means that Saki will play an impeccable genius in the upcoming anime series.
Unfortunately, not belonging to this world, he was unable to awaken the extraordinary power of this world.
Fortunately, he has a popularity system; by consuming popularity points, he can become stronger!
Thus began a high-stakes gamble.
To portray a genius convincingly and to capture the audience's attention from the very first episode, Saki spent nine years laying the groundwork.
The first thing he did was to mortgage it.
Pledge everything you have to the system and fully realize your potential!
It's worth mentioning that when Qi Ji mortgaged all of his assets at once, he could only cash out a mere one million popularity points.
But when he disassembled himself—
The left hand is mortgaged for 22.
The right hand is mortgaged for 19.
Then come the feet, torso, head, organs, vision, hearing, memory, emotions, the future, life...
He broke himself down into twenty-seven parts and priced them one by one.
The potential value instantly increased fivefold!
It sold for a whopping 500 million!
While realizing its potential, it also meant that before the anime series even aired, Saki had already incurred a huge debt of five million yen.
If we are unable to repay in the future, we will lose everything.
This is undoubtedly a gamble.
But Saki believes that the essence of human beings is that of gamblers.
Not gambling is gambling that you will lose.
As for Saki, he never thought he would lose.
He believed in only one principle from beginning to end—
Timidity is a gambler's greatest taboo!
……
500 million popularity points have been credited to the account.
Of the 100 million, Qi Ji purchased the [Potential Overdraft Potion] and the [Life-Saving Card].
Here, Saki used a little ingenuity.
They exploited an obvious vulnerability in the system.
His potential and lifespan have been completely mortgaged to the system. If he were to "overdraw" or "spend" his life force with external things now, he would only be consuming "things that no longer belong to him".
What else is there to say?
Max it out!
Things that aren't yours, you use without a second thought.
Thus, thanks to day after day of hard work and sweat, plus the insignificant help of the "Potential Overdraft Potion" and the "Life-Saving Card"...
Saki's personal attribute panel had already become extremely luxurious before the anime officially started.
The three basic attributes of force, speed, and body are all at the "Max" of human limits!
Although he hasn't awakened his "superhuman" abilities yet, his explosive physique alone is enough to allow him to navigate the first season's storyline with ease and confidence.
He carefully calculated the remaining four million.
They spent over a million to purchase the plot summary for the first season, as well as some discounted and practical stage props.
Examples include lens cards, spotlight cards, speaker cards, lucky bag cards, and quiz cards.
As for the remaining popularity points, he was lucky enough to snag a Mythic item on sale for 90% of its original price:
【The Face of Miracles】
Appearance: Pure white base with flowing silver-blue patterns that change as "miracles" accumulate.
Basic effects:
"Attention +30" (can be toggled):
After use, your presence is subtly enhanced, making you more likely to become the center of attention, and your camera capture rate increases by 30%.
"Miracle Accumulation" (Passive):
For every year you wear it, you will automatically accumulate 1 unit of "Basic Miracle".
Current accumulated points: 9.0 (Maximum: 9.1)
"Miracle Unleashed":
Removing the mask consumes all miracles at once, granting a wish (applies only to the user).
After the miracle was unleashed, the mask's physical form shattered and transformed into "void".
"Lies carry" (passive):
Bearing the lie, "I will become the perfect version of myself."
During the period of wearing it, one's appearance and temperament will subtly change towards the "ideal perfect self".
Maximum duration: 9.1 years.
Interruption mechanism:
Revealing one's true self = admitting "this is the real me".
When the lies end, the change stops.
The changed parts will be permanently retained.
"Blurring between reality and illusion" (active):
Within 3 seconds, it puts itself in a superposition state of "both existing and not existing", which can evade most attacks.
Limited to 3 times per day.
……
The mask was now covering his face, its cool touch pressed against his skin.
Qi Ji reached out and gently touched it; silver light flowed across it, and at the edge of his vision, a line of small characters slowly appeared:
[“Attention +30” is now activated.]
[Personal Channels are now available.]
[Live stream countdown begins: 00:00:59]
Compared to other characters in the anime, Saki's biggest advantage, besides knowing the plot of the first season, is that she can freely control the start and end times of the broadcast.
The production process of this anime series, titled "Echoes," involved combining "main shots" with "live broadcast shots" and then editing them together in post-production.
In other words, he is completely free to choose which side of himself to show to the audience.
In addition, there's his exceptional skill and outstanding looks, which he cultivated over a period of five million and nine years.
If this isn't enough to reach the peak of popularity of the first season of "Echoes," then he might as well buy a block of tofu and smash his head against it.
Nine years of preparation, nine years of acting, nine years of giving it my all day long.
Just for this moment—
show,
Start!
……
……