abcnovels
Chapter 161 - Holding Up A Card
Chapter 161 - Holding Up A Card
Chapter 161 - Holding Up A Card
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
When Brother Chen heard this, he immediately educated him, “Little Witch, you’re a Witch who wants to make a c-position debut. How will you get c? You need to take out your sense of presence and control the scene. Sense of presence! Do you understand sense of presence!? That’s just a mere passerby; if he stares at you while you’re eating your wrap, just stare back.”
Wu Jin suddenly understood.
And so, when the program group began to call for trainees by number, Wu Jin trotted out of the car. Unexpectedly, he noticed the man standing nearby. He was tall, his figure sharp, and his gaze was like a honed edge as he stared straight at Wu Jin.
... He was quite cool and handsome.
Even before Wu Jin could react, the man strode out from the crowd on long legs, like he was climbing mountains and crossing seas. His aggressiveness was almost palpable.
“!!!” Wu Jin hiccuped subconsciously, then remembered the manager’s instructions and used the sense of presence gained from eating four handheld wraps to stare back hard at him!
Their gazes connected across the distance, over the countless moving heads.
It seemed as though time had stopped in this moment.
Wei Shi’s clenched fists finally relaxed. A flash of light surged at the bottom of his eyes, and he tossed a few words into the communication channel, “Found him.”
In the Floating City research office, Researcher Song was overjoyed.
However, even before Wei Shi could step up to the cordon, a large group of girls suddenly ran over quickly and blocked the front of the path, “It’s this little brother. Bluebird Entertainment’s trainee, the one who bought the 5980 dollar set! One, two, three, prepare––shout!”
There was a series of screams loud enough to shatter the sky from outside the entrance to the talent show.
“Brother Wu Jin I love you ahhhh––”
“Wuwuwu we will always accompany you on this flower paved road towards your debut––”
Wu Jin was so surprised that he took two steps back. The camera swept slowly in his direction, and his agent, who was in the distance, mouthed the words: The fans are all arranged for! They’re all paid for! Go, pika-witch––
Wu Jin shot a final glance towards the man who was blocked behind the professional fans, took a deep breath, and walked towards the front door for the talent show group.
Outside.
After the group of professional fans finished howling, Wei Shi was finally able to squeeze out of the crowd. The population density per square meter in the 21st century was much higher than it was in the 31st century. At this time, the entrance to the program group was open, and Wei Shi forced his way in.
Two or three security guards rushed over, “What are you doing? Are you registered?”
Wei Shi ignored them. He’d just come out from the R-Code Base, and his body was coated in a layer of darkness that shocked the guards and made them shout for more people. Wu Jin, who’d just stepped through the door, turned back slightly when he heard the noise––
At the other end of the communication connection, Researcher Song, who’d only just let out a breath of relief, almost spat out his tea, “Brother Wei, don’t! There’s a wave of resistance from Little Witch’s side, what did you do?? What? Ah, Brother Wei, I’m not criticizing you, but you should obey the law. Little Witch is an extroversion E, and he’s extremely well behaved. Be a little more restrained in his consciousness. Don’t be like a big bad wolf catching a little rabbit. You’ll have no chance at all if the word ‘villain’ is written across your face. Obey the law, obey the law!”
Two minutes later, the resistance from Wu Jin’s consciousness finally disappeared.
Wei Shi was very displeased as the two security ‘asked him to leave’. He headed straight to the audience entrance.
“Have you picked up your ticket? Ah, you don’t have a ticket, yet you still want to get in??”
Staff access door. “Take out your work permit for a check? What? You don’t have one? Don’t joke around––”
Outside, the professional fans were still selling their plans, “Card holding, 120 dollars a day, 20 extra for shrill screams. 6000, as long as you pay 6000, we’ll have your support system set up for you by tonight. We’re professional support sisters, gaining fans is guaranteed!”
Wei Shi was expressionless as he came to a stop in front of them.
The fan team was surprised, “There’s business!”, “He’s quite handsome, is he a contestant too?”, “The standards are quite high this year––”
Wei Shi: “How much for a scalped ticket.”
“......” The little sister who was in charge was shocked. She’d never thought that things would develop this way. Someone in the team immediately pulled out a calculator and typed out a number, “Handsome brother, 900 per ticket.”
Wei Shi reached out for his terminal.
His wrist was empty. He suddenly realized that his terminal had disappeared after he integrated into Wu Jin’s consciousness. The unlimited credit chip that belonged to Floating City’s King naturally also hadn’t followed him through.
The little sister was amused, “Handsome brother, scanning the code is okay too. Azipay or Miexin?”
Wei Shi was silent for a moment, “Let me go withdraw money.”
“&#k2026;&#k2026;” The little sister’s expression froze. However, since this big brother was attractive, she explained nicely, “Okay. The event starts in two hours. If you haven’t come back by then, we’ll be going in by ourselves.”
Wei Shi nodded and turned to step back out into the scorching sun.
He tossed a centuries old problem to Researcher Song, “In the 21st century, without an ID card or a bank account, how do you make 900 dollars within 2 hours?”
Floating City laboratory.
After a long silence, a fierce quarrel broke out.
Arjun: “Make money by using your face! Look around and see if there’s a little sister nearby who is willing to help Brother Wei––”
Researcher Song: “You go and say that to Brother Wei, and see if he cuts you or not! Brother Wei is very powerful, so how about you go and do some manual labor and see if moving bricks for two hours is enough?”
Mao Dongqing was solemn and cautious, “S City is an international metropolis. Is there a reward system for mercenaries?”
Red suddenly thought of anything, “In any case, it’s Little Witch’s consciousness, so can’t you just casually mess around––”
Researcher Song corrected him, “The brain is more developed in the world of the consciousness than it is in reality. You’re unable to fool Little Witch in ordinary times, yet you want to fool him here??”
The entire laboratory got into a big argument, and then discovered that the King of Floating City didn’t even have the spare change to apply for a fake identity. Even if he went to buy a lottery ticket, it was impossible for him to obtain the prize within two hours. Researcher Song read out loud from XX Encyclopedia, “In the early 21st century, the information revolution changed productivity... The rise of e-commerce and entertainment, the vigorous development of the financial industry, and the initial stages of virtual currency...”
On the other end of the link, Wei Shi paused.
The man’s voice was deep as it came over the connection, “How much data can the consciousness link transmit?”
Researcher Song was bewildered, “The equipment is linked to your brain waves. Reading is related to the equipment, and writing is related to the brain’s receptivity. For us to talk through the link, it’s 5M/s uplink and 24K/s downlink...”
Wei Shi: “Floating City’s AI brain center, how much idle computing power does it have right now?”
Researcher Song checked as he spoke, “There are too many Autumn Festival activities. The remaining processing power is only 20,000 terabytes per second––”
Wei Shi: “It’s enough.”
The group in the lab were still confused.
In the consciousness world, S City. Wei Shi didn’t hesitate to step into an ubiquitous internet cafe. The little sister shop assistant was bewildered by his good looks and agreed to let the big brother who’d lost his mobile phone use the internet first and pay the internet fee after ‘his friends sent over cash’.
Wei Shi groped around and tried to figure out how to turn on a computer from 10 centuries ago.
Wei Shi: “What is the name of the virtual currency you mentioned?”
In the research room, Researcher Song abruptly realized what he was doing. His expression was strangely excited, “It’s bitcoin!”
Red’s expression was confused, “What?!”
Researcher Song turned around quickly, his expression excited, “Why didn’t I think of it! Virtual electronic currency as represented by bitcoin, was also the prototype for ‘Floating credits’. It’s decentralized, anonymous, and encrypted. Brother Wei doesn’t need to apply for a fake identity. He can trade by registering an email address––”
Red: “I don’t understand, how-how do you make money?”
Researcher Song quickly activated Floating City’s central AI, “Mining! Do you know about blockchain? Forget it, you definitely don’t know. Bitcoin is based on cryptography. In the 21st century, people used a lot of computing power to mine for bitcoin, and it’s known as ‘mining’.” Researcher Song gave an example, “For example, if Brother Wei has 200 computers and mined for 100 hours, if he’s lucky, he can dig out one bitcoin. Value? Well, how much is it worth?”
“One bitcoin is worth more than $3000!”
Red was shocked, “Brother Wei even had to cheat the little sister just for internet fees. Where will he find 200 computers?”
Researcher Song connected the consciousness link with Floating City’s central computer, “Computing power in the 31st century is much stronger than 200 computers in the 21st century.”
At the other end of the consciousness link, Wei Shi uploaded the mining script as a data stream.
In Floating City’s research institute, Researcher Song’s hand speed moved like lightning as he started up the script. In the 21st century, the ‘2000 tera-megabytes per second’ computing power ran quickly.
Soon, a line of numbers was spat out.
Researcher Song’s expression was a little surprised, “Brother Wei, the mine’s been dug out. I’ll read it out to you. The first key, 52 bit characters, K343...”
S City, midsummer.
The little assistant in the internet cafe smiled and stared at Wei Shi from time to time, whispering to her colleagues, “The internet fee is only 20 yuan. If he really can’t pay it, then we’ll drag him to the entertainment company across from us to have him pay off his debts. The introduction fee would definitely be more than 20...”
While they were talking, someone suddenly came into the internet bar with sweat all over their head. While everyone looked on, he went over to find Wei Shi, “You-you really want to trade so much...” This man, who had 16 apartments in S City’s Jing’an District, looked at Wei Shi cautiously, as though he was looking at the big boss of a certain industry.
Wei Shi was impatient, “Finish this quickly, I’m in a hurry.”
The man nodded quickly. He was awed by Wei Shi and didn’t dare to use the internet cafe computers, so he pulled open his laptop and confirmed the bitcoin keys one by one in front of Wei Shi. 20 minutes later, a nameless Swiss bank account card was handed over to Wei Shi.
“Four million, deal.”
There was only a quarter of an hour left before the start of the XX talent show.
Wei Shi paid the internet fee, applied for a false identity, and changed his coat that had been soaked by the heavy snow in the R-Code Base. By the time he reappeared at the entrance to the program group, he looked quite different from before.
The muscle definition revealed beneath the white shirt was powerful and sexy, and the silver grey trousers outlined his straight legs. The monk strap shoes he wore were low-key and formal.
It was like he was going to a well-prepared date.
The little sister from the professional fan group stared at him as she reluctantly handed over the ticket, “Received 900, in cash...”
Wei Shi didn’t turn back at all as he entered the building and went to join the audience.
From behind him, someone murmured to himself, “What is this person here for? Is he chasing stars? No way! He’s coming in to snatch camera time, right? Pressure all the trainees by being the most attractive kid in the audience??”
Inside the talent show building.
Hundreds of trainees were grouped up together while three instructors called out their numbers one after another.
Backstage, there were trainees stretching, working out their waists, and warming up their vocal cords everywhere. From behind the curtain came a loud roar.
Wu Jin had paid money to the program group, so his number was very close to the front, and he was sixth to go up onto stage. By the time the stage manager finally called out for number six, he grabbed Wu Jin from amidst the pressing crowd of people, “Yes, yes, the one who looks the most well behaved, and the most good looking––”
Wu Jin stood behind the curtain, ready to go.
The light came out from beneath the curtain.
He habitually checked the gun safety lock––
Wu Jin’s hands touched nothing but air, and his expression stiffened for a moment.
That wasn’t right wasn’t he dancing why did he need to check the gun where am I who am I what am I doing––
The curtains suddenly pulled open.
The strong stage lights abruptly pulled Wu Jin back from his thoughts.
The youth looked straight across the stage for two seconds, and his blood seemed to be ignited and boiling. His back straightened beneath the powerful lights, and as though he’d practiced it ten thousand times, Wu Jin stepped out onto the stage.
The camera slowly turned to Wu Jin, and the audience boiled with excitement.
“Holy shit, he looks good and handsome––”
“He can fight with this face! Prepare a new headline, which company is he from, why haven’t we seen him before––”
Off-stage, the well-trained professional fans took the opportunity to scream and cheer.
The scalped ticket that Wei Shi had purchased was towards the back of the auditorium. Because he’d purchased it from the professional fan team, he was also grouped together with the team of chattering little sisters.
Bluebird Entertainment agent and manager Brother Chen, who was in the very back row, was reminding them constantly, “5980, 5980! There’s an extra 200 red envelope if you’re caught on camera! Shout! Shout!”
A little sister standing next to Wei Shi worked really hard for the sake of the potential red envelope, yelling at the top of her voice, “Little Witch! I love you ahhhhh! My center, my ace! Wuwu crying wuwu dizzy...”
Wei Shi’s brows pulled together.
He looked at the fluorescent card in the little sister’s hand.
Turned.
Then looked sideways again.
On the stage, the female instructor who was in charge of dance was kind and gentle, “Wu Jin, is it? Your fans are very cute.”
Wu Jin blushed instantly. Brother Chen must have purchased too many fans––
In the next second, the female instructor received a prompt from the director: This was someone who’d given them money, and they had given them money twice over! They had requested more shots of their fan support group.
The female instructor understood instantly. She looked out at the audience and smiled broadly, “Don’t be nervous, director, please shift the camera to the audience. Let’s listen to the sound of the audience before this little brother does his performance.”
Beneath the stage, the professional fans who’d been screaming like mad suddenly appeared stunned for a few seconds.
“Listen to the audience? A sudden interview? What, why are they interviewing us?!”
Agent Brother Chen was also confused, “What kind of situation is this? I only gave them money once so that the program group would give Little Witch a C rating or higher. How come there’s also a volunteer interview?”
The camera slowly turned around.
Fortunately, the professional fan team was well-trained, and soon, the first crying little sister calmly accepted the microphone, “I’m... Little Witch’s, mama fan... wuwu, work hard, my son...”
The second one: “I’m Wu Jin’s girlfriend fan! Wuwuwu, I’ll love him for my whole life...”
The third one.
The camera was just about to move to the fourth fan.
The girl with the support sign was still stumbling and arguing with Wei Shi, “Elder brother, it’s not possible, I do things for money. I can’t just give you this card...”
Wei Shi: “1000.”
The little sister: “But, professional ethics doesn’t allow me to do this...”
Wei Shi raised the price, “3000.”
The little sister sucked in a breath of cold air.
Wei Shi: “10,000.”
The little sister suddenly stuffed the ‘I Love Wu Jin’ card into Wei Shi’s hand and looked respectful, “Okay, take it! Scan the code to pay me in a bit!”
The support card instantly changed hands.
At this time, it was the little sister who’d just sold the card’s turn for an interview, “I’m also Wu Jin’s girlfriend fan~! Little brother, you can do it––”
The camera’s inertia caused it to turn to Wei Shi.
The camera suddenly froze, and the focus abruptly drew closer. The person holding the fluorescent ‘I love Wu Jin’ card was a very photogenic male fan––
Backstage, the stage manager was also stunned silly, “Isn’t he the one who gave us money just now?”
In the middle of the camera lens, Wei Shi looked calmly and directly at the camera. The air around him was cold, and his eyes were as sharp as quenched blades.
On the stage, Wu Jin stilled for a moment.
Wu Jin clearly recognized this man as the one who’d watched him eat his wrap. However, in his mind, it seemed that there were wisps of confused recognition emerging from the depths of his brain, yet he couldn’t hold onto the clues.
The microphone was handed over to Wei Shi.
The female instructor was amused and was extra interested in this male fan, “Are you also a fan of Contestant Wu Jin?”
Wei Shi: “Mm.”
The female instructor was surprised, “Boyfriend fan?”
Wei Shi corrected, “Husband fan.”
Juurensha: Your #1 fan, Little Witch!
xiin: gotta say that WS is adapting to being a fan ... really well. <3 but i kinda just imagine that he’s freaking out a little inside.