The Whole Empire Raises Me - Chapter 18

 

Chapter 18

Is Chi Yan really going to be the temporary director for Encounter with the Dragon?

And the Blood Clan has acquired this hotel? Didn’t they also buy him a private island before?

For a moment, Wen Xingze didn’t know which one to be more surprised about.

He sat there dumbfounded, spearing a piece of lettuce with his fork.

Crunch, crunch.

Zhu Bo said, “Everyone might be surprised about why Chi Yan is coming to direct Encounter with the Dragon. But that’s the truth, and even I find it astonishing. Feel free to discuss it in the comments.”

Xu Qianqian chimed in, “Zhu Bo, you’re like one of those Jinjiang novel authors who love rehashing old tropes, you know?”

Zhu Bo: “…”

Wen Xingze: “…”

Understanding, Xu Qianqian patted Wen Xingze’s shoulder. “I get how you feel.”

Among those in the entertainment circle, everyone was practically a Chi Yan fan. At least seventy percent of the people in this restaurant could produce a ticket stub from one of Chi Yan’s movies.

In the original work, Chi Yan wasn’t the director for Encounter with the Dragon. In fact, he hadn’t been involved in TV production or filming at all. Although Encounter with the Dragon was a major production, it still fell short compared to the IPs Chi Yan had acted in or directed. (Note: 知识产权 [Zhīshì chǎnquán] = IP, acronym for intellectual property)

But if you had to look for clues, there were some. Chi Yan knew Zheng Xiao, and he was interested in transitioning to directing. Plus, Encounter with the Dragon was in a tight spot, with changes in the filming schedule requiring a temporary director. It made sense.

No wonder Chi Yan had been at the film studio these past few days. Was it all about this?

Wen Xingze asked, “When will Teacher Chi join the crew?”

Xu Qianqian replied, “About a week from now, just when your scenes are the busiest.”

Wen Xingze: “…” He seriously suspected that Teacher Chi was here to invigilate! (Note: invigilate = supervise students during an exam haha)

“Let’s find a place to read the script this afternoon,” Zhu Bo suggested. “Starting tomorrow, the three of us will have our main scenes together.”

The main storyline of Encounter with the Dragon revolved around Yan Xun, Ling Yao, and Heng Zhi embarking on an adventure. Heng Zhi was the hidden boss with a secret identity. Wen Xingze knew that Zhu Bo’s proposal was a way to include him, and he felt touched.

Lunch was winding down.

Xu Qianqian remarked, “Speaking of which, this restaurant is so quiet.”

It was the weekend, and the hotel’s rooftop restaurant was famous. Many people probably wanted to check it out.

When Wen Xingze first arrived, it was almost full, but now only their table remained. A pianist in a small tuxedo sat at the grand piano in the center, playing.

This rooftop restaurant was indeed better suited for fewer people. With its all-transparent walls, the azure sky above, and the cityscape below, it felt like floating in the sky.

Seeing that they were about to leave, the waiting maître d’ hurried over.

Three waiters held trays with hot towels and lemon-infused mouthwash. As Wen Xingze stood up, one of the waiters bowed, wiping his hands, brushing away nonexistent dust from his shoulders, and adjusting his clothes.

“…”

And right next to Wen Xingze, where others couldn’t see, the little boy glared menacingly at the waiter. Slowly, he pulled out his own thread-stitched doll.

Wen Xingze: “???”

He quickly signaled to Lan, telling him that this was some kind of hotel service, not what it seemed.

Lan reluctantly took back the doll.

In Manli, Wen Xingze was accustomed to this treatment. He had been forced to get used to it. Surprisingly, it was Zhu Bo and Xu Qianqian who stared at him in amazement.

Zhu Bo: “Has the service here always been so attentive? It’s like something out of a TV drama about wealthy young heirs.”

Wen Xingze: “Cough.”

Xu Qianqian took out her phone: “I’ll pay the bill. WeChat or Alipay?” Last night, Wen Xingze and Zhu Bo had treated her to Cantonese cuisine.

But the headwaiter shook his head: “No need to pay.”

Xu Qianqian: “Why not?”

The headwaiter glanced at Wen Xingze, hesitated, and then said, “Because of the young master—”

Wen Xingze stood behind Xu Qianqian and Zhu Bo, shaking his head vigorously at the headwaiter.

Lan floated next to Wen Xingze, observing him with interest. When there were no other ‘threats,’ being able to closely watch the Emperor was a pleasure for any member of the Blood Clan.

The headwaiter understood: “I apologize, the young master doesn’t want it mentioned.”

Wen Xingze: “…”

Xu Qianqian: “???”

After confirming multiple times that payment wasn’t necessary, Xu Qianqian and Zhu Bo didn’t think much of it. After all, as a celebrity, occasionally having fans help with the bill wasn’t uncommon.

However, something even more surprising happened soon.

The headwaiter followed them at a distance of about two meters, close enough to not disturb their conversation but ready to assist if needed.

Zhu Bo: “Let’s find a place to read the script.”

“Sure, is there a quieter space with a bit more room?” Wen Xingze casually suggested, “My room is an option, but it’s a bit small.”

The nearby headwaiter picked up a walkie-talkie.

Suddenly, Wen Xingze had a bad feeling. He faintly heard the headwaiter say, “…the boardroom, is it available? Clear it out…within five minutes, understood…”

Wen Xingze: “Wait—”

But it was too late. The headwaiter hung up after a few seconds and approached them, saying, “The top-floor boardroom is now available. Allow me to lead the way.”

With no other choice, Wen Xingze followed Zhu Bo and Xu Qianqian into the exclusive elevator, quickly arriving on the top floor.

Zhu Bo and Xu Qianqian were completely bewildered.

Today happened to be the mid-year shareholders’ meeting, and the entire board was present.

As Wen Xingze and the others arrived, a dozen middle-aged men in suits, some with paunches and receding hairlines, were hurrying out of the meeting room. They were engaged in hushed conversations, accompanied by their secretaries.

The moment the elevator doors opened, they all fell silent. The shareholders, who had been holding cigars, hurriedly extinguished them and cleared their throats.

Led by the chairman, every shareholder bowed toward Wen Xingze, silently paying their respects.

Wen Xingze: “…”

He covered his eyes with his hand.

Zhu Bo: “???”

Xu Qianqian: “???”

Only Lan seemed satisfied with the shareholders’ sense of propriety, muttering, “This is just about right.”

They entered the meeting room, which showed no signs of its previous use just five minutes ago.

The curtains were drawn aside, revealing a panoramic view of the entire film city through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Across from them was the massive, gilded sign of the hotel.

A well-trained waiter replaced old teacups and folders, while another changed the aroma and the vinyl record in the player. A secretary in a pencil skirt operated the central computer, switching the projected mid-year financial report to the Encounter with the Dragon script.

After everything was done, the secretary greeted them and then stepped back with small, hesitant steps.

Finally, the headwaiter entered, pushing a serving cart.

“Still unsure of the young master’s… I mean, the preferences of all three. For black tea, do you prefer Darjeeling or Earl Grey?” The headwaiter carefully arranged porcelain tea cups, teaspoons, sugar bowls, and a plate of pastries, all adorned with gold trim.

Zhu Bo and Xu Qianqian’s brains froze.

Meanwhile, Wen Xingze said, “Actually, I like cola.”

The headwaiter hesitated.

Wen Xingze quickly added, “But I also like black tea—”

Unexpectedly, the headwaiter bowed to him and said, “I apologize for not considering that.”

Then the headwaiter left, and suddenly, chaotic footsteps and strange clattering noises echoed from outside.

But within half a minute, the headwaiter returned, pushing a four-tiered cart. From bottom to top, it held cola, Sprite, potato chips, Pringles, popcorn, and chocolates.

Wearing pristine white gloves, the headwaiter expertly poured cola into porcelain cups with a graceful motion.

Next, the headwaiter unpacked bags and neatly arranged potato chips on the snack plate, followed by popcorn and Oreos with cream filling.

“Please.”

Wen Xingze: “…”

These soulless potato chips were not satisfying!

Xu Qianqian and Zhu Bo’s brains finally started functioning again, and they stared at Wen Xingze in shock.

Xu Qianqian: “Xiao Wen—”

Zhu Bo: “Xiao Wen—”

Wen Xingze indicated that he could explain.

Xu Qianqian: “Are you really a domineering mafia young master?” She thought for a moment and continued, “Where’s your little runaway wife?”

Zhu Bo: “Are you truly a vampire duke disguised as a human?” He also thought for a moment and asked, “Where’s your contracted sacrificial sweetheart?”

Wen Xingze: “???” 

What kind of books were Xu Qianqian and Zhu Bo reading?

Lan sat cross-legged on the long table, humming smugly. “Narrow-minded humans, these servants’ care for His Majesty doesn’t even compare to one-thousandth of mine.”

Wen Xingze thought, well, as a vampire prince, he’d argue even about this with them… But it was indeed a fact.

“Xiao Wen, can I post this on Weibo? It’s my first time reading a script in such a place.” Xu Qianqian asked him, “Of course, I won’t leak any information.”

Wen Xingze had no objections.

Unlike Wen Xingze and Zhu Bo, Xu Qianqian was skilled at taking selfies. She took a selfie with the two of them, then snapped photos of the chip-filled cart and the view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. After a quick edit, she posted it on Weibo.

Unlike Wen Xingze, Zhu Bo and Xu Qianqian had more control over their own Weibo accounts. They could directly post some daily updates without consulting their managers.

With Xu Qianqian’s tens of millions of followers, her post quickly garnered numerous comments:

[Encounter’s trio!!! All three are so cute hahaha.]

[Tell me, is Wen Xingze really the vampire guy from last night? It has to be him, right? Encounter with the Dragon is also being filmed in that studio, right? And those beautiful eyes and eyebrows — awsl.] (Note: awsl = this is an acronym for the pinyin phrase [à wǒ sǐ le] 啊我 死了, which means "oh, I'm dead". It's internet slang to express excitement when seeing something cute)

[Three chefs rejoice!]

[This meeting room has an unusually luxurious feel. When did the Encounter with the Dragon crew become so rich???]

Xu Qianqian and Zhu Bo were already quite famous, and with the sensational events from last night, this Weibo post received more likes, shares, and comments than any of Xu Qianqian’s previous posts.

However, Wen Xingze was still unaware that this very Weibo post would later become the key for designer Dong Heya to find him. Their secretary matched the photos and videos, eventually connecting with Jiang Ye.

This marked Wen Xingze’s first legitimate endorsement deal.

Before this, he had only endorsed five-cent popsicles from a convenience store…

________________________

The news of the upcoming public beta version of Cub Raising Program shook the entire universe.

Countless Muse Empire citizens wept tears of joy.

Finally, finally, they would get to experience the public beta!

You see, originally, there were only one thousand slots for closed beta testing, and even fewer spots for the live channel. Since the game’s launch, many citizens hadn’t even seen the moving Cub in person and could only rely on forum screenshots…

Moreover, these resources were heavily skewed toward the capital star. Some of the more remote affiliated stars, and even entire planets, didn’t have a single person who got a closed beta slot.

There were cases like the hibernating Blood Clan, and others like the Merfolk. The mermaids mostly resided in deep-sea areas with poor signal reception, so only the clan leader, Xia, managed to secure a slot through internal connections when the closed beta reservation channel opened.

Of course, this time, they wouldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

At nine o’clock that morning, in the city center of the capital star.

Countless hovercrafts with colorful taillights cruised above the busiest section of the city. As the traffic dispersed, massive screens on the buildings projected advertisements:

Want to have your own Emperor in your terminal? Want to experience the real-time joy of raising a Cub? The public beta version of Cub Raising Program is finally online! New features like the Delivery System, seasonal limited events, and Cub Diary Exchange are waiting for you to unlock! Limited to 10,000 reservation slots—

The advertisement footage was unedited, simply capturing certain scenes from the game. And all of them featured Wen Xingze.

For instance, there was the Cub with azure eyes under the Mermaid’s Blessing buff, the Cub in a snowy white robe carrying a lantern, the battle-worn handsome youth with the Dragon Clan filter activated, and the Cub from last night with tiny fangs under the Blood Clan filter…

Although these clips were stitched together without any post-production, for Muse Empire citizens, the promotional effect far surpassed any meticulously crafted commercial.

Many passersby stopped to watch the virtual images projected on the large screens. Excited discussions occasionally erupted:

“Ah, so cute!!!”

“When will the king activate our clan’s filter? The Dragon Clan and Blood Clan are making me jealous. And the Blood Clan even sent the Soul Casket over. Our clan leader was furious last night.”

“Did you hear about the new features in the public beta?”

“Rumor has it that after completing all the main quests for the Cub, there’s an unexpected grand prize.”

In reality, the anticipation for the public beta of Cub Raising Program extended far beyond the Muse Empire citizens.

____________________________

On the other side of the universe, in the Utopian Empire.

This vast nation spanned three star systems and sixty-eight affiliated stars. It was the only empire in the entire universe with military strength capable of rivaling the Muse Empire.

However, compared to the bustling and prosperous entertainment industry of the Muse Empire, the Utopian Empire was excessively cold and monotonous. The differences between the two capital stars were even more pronounced.

The capital of Utopia is a forest constructed from reinforced concrete, where all hovercrafts are centrally controlled by the AI hub, moving mechanically and precisely through the city’s airspace like cursor movements.

The capital star, Star Harbor.

Despite the bustling crowds at this time, only gentle system announcements could be heard in Star Harbor. Only close friends would exchange hushed words.

“Did His Majesty return to the capital star today? I’m actually quite excited about the public beta version of the game that Muse announced…”

“Shh! Don’t forget, we don’t know when we’ll go to war in the future.”

Unlike the free-spirited atmosphere of Muse, in Utopia, the monarch’s orders represented absolute authority and correctness. And indeed, without the monarch, Utopia wouldn’t hold its current position in the universe.

While the Muse Empire unconditionally adored their king, Utopia citizens regarded their monarch with a mixture of respect and fear.

And the monarch’s attitude toward the Muse Empire was difficult to understand.

There were no signs of impending war, yet there was no intention to befriend them either. Even the Universal Alliance couldn’t decipher his thoughts. There were absurd rumors that the monarch once gifted a wedding ring to a noble from a neighboring country, but the source was unverifiable — likely mere gossip.

The revolving doors at Star Harbor’s exit opened abruptly, and personnel inside the passage bowed as passengers stepped aside.

In just two seconds, the entire space fell utterly silent.

The monarch, clad in a standard military uniform with pure black eye patches, strolled forward. He passed through countless people bowing in reverence, the silver buttons on his uniform meticulously fastened to his throat, reflecting the cold light. His secretary followed closely behind.

His imposing aura was innate.

In reality, the speculation about the strained relationship between the two nations diverged from the truth. At this moment, the monarch’s communication earpiece was connected to the Muse Empire’s Blood Clan channel.

“I’m genuinely curious,” Lilith had little patience when speaking to anyone other than Wen Xingze, “how do you manage to traverse parallel universes, Lord of Utopia?”

The monarch remained expressionless and showed no intention of responding.

“Let me rephrase. You’re the one who removed the Blood Clan mark, right, Emperor Chi Yan?” Lilith sneered; it was one of the things the Blood Clan resented the most.

Their Emperor wasn’t in this universe, and that mark was their most direct means of maintaining contact with him. If they couldn’t be in constant touch with the king — even for a single second — they’d become extremely anxious!

Of course, the king himself was unaware of all this.

Across the entire universe, there were very few who could accomplish such feats and had the motivation to do so.

The monarch halted.

Lilith ground her teeth. “The Blood Clan mark poses no harm to the king’s body or soul. Besides, it is unrelated to you. What position are you taking, and why are you interfering?”

The man’s voice turned icy. Finally, he spoke: “It’s annoying.”

Lilith and the other attending princes: “…………”

To them, his existence was the most bothersome!

What kind of spoiled consort was this, acting high and mighty!

Fortunately, even though Chi Yan would soon become the director of Encounter with the Dragon, the Blood Clan’s Soul Casket had already been sent over.

“We never intended to give His Majesty to anyone else,” Os, with fiery red hair, snatched the microphone from Lilith’s hand, fiercely saying, “We’ll see.”

The man fell silent.

Just when the princes thought the communication had been terminated, a voice came through again from the other end, containing only four words:

“It's up to you?” (Note: 就凭你们？[Jiù píng nǐmen] = literally, "just you?" Basically, telling you directly that you can't do it, so don't waste your energy. Kind of a mocking reminder to recognize your own gaps/weaknesses)

The tone was mocking.

“…”

“…”

On that day, the Universal Alliance detected unusually intense energy fluctuations above the Blood Clan’s home planet, surpassing the peak levels of the past decade.

One of the Utopian monarch’s most remarkable abilities was that he could fill everyone with hatred with just a single sentence.

…The Blood Clan elders were fuming.

________________________

A week later, the Cub Raising Program released its latest mission:

[Main Quest]

Mission Description: The filming of Encounter with the Dragon has reached a critical stage. Help the Cub overcome all obstacles and successfully complete the filming of the first lead role in the drama!

Mission Progress: Complete the filming of Encounter with the Dragon (0/1)

Mission Rewards: Skill points *1, lottery ticket *1

What drew the most attention was that this public beta version of the system introduced a new rule:

Given the intense competition among parents, to prevent any adverse effects, future planning rights for the Cub's development route and priority in communicating with the Cub will be determined through timed PK tasks~

PK tasks are limited to specific participants; those not selected should wait for the next opportunity~ The first PK task is here!

[PK Task]

Task Description: Love must be spoken aloud! No restrictions on methods—be the first parent to make the Cub sincerely say, “I really like you (all)!” The time limit is one week. If exceeded, it will be recorded as a failure for all participants.

Notes: Participants cannot let the Cub know about the PK task. Otherwise, they will lose their eligibility on the spot.

Task Participants: Chi Yan vs. Blood Clan vs. Dragon Clan

Task Rewards: 1. The Cub will receive any two non-time-limited item cards. 2. Look forward to the parents’ rewards.

The entire universe was abuzz! 

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