023 Benefits

"Erlang God! If you've got guts, don't just unleash your dog—"

"If you can't even handle my dog, the Heavenly River Navy... you're all just a bunch of useless trash."

High upon the cloud-capped dais, "Erlang, the Manifest Sage True Lord," looked coldly down at the twenty-eight generals from the Marshal's Mansion of the Heavenly River Navy who had come to challenge him. Beside him stood the "White Dog God Awoo," clad in white armor and cloak, a massive silver warhammer resting in his grasp, striking poses to show off his muscles.

Truly—showing off his muscles.

He bared his teeth and flexed, putting on such a display that the maids carrying flower baskets behind him blushed and lowered their heads in embarrassment.

"Good, good, this shot is excellent…" The camera lingered on the shy maids, then cut to the twenty-eight generals, leaving in dejection and complaining among themselves, "How are we supposed to report back to the Marshal now?"

"This is just bad luck—couldn't handle the monkey before, and now we can't even beat a dog!"

"Enough! From now on, show some respect when you see Erlang God."

"So we're just going to let him act all high and mighty?!"

"What else can we do? If we beat Howling Celestial Dog, we're just better than a dog; if we lose, we're worse than a dog; if we draw, we're no better than a dog!"

"…"

The twenty-eight generals all looked as if they'd swallowed a fly. Lu Xiaoguan found this sequence quite satisfying.

He really was a genius.

After wrapping this scene, the next one still featured Ding Wei, though Li Xie had a few shots as well.

"That was terrifying, just terrifying. If all those men had come at me at once, what would I have done if I got beaten? Good thing you were here, Little White."

"Don't worry, Master. If one comes, I'll bite him; if two come, I'll scratch them both!"

"Little White, you're so brave~~"

"…"

The towering, robust "White Dog God Awoo" stood with hands on hips, looking as cocky as could be. If only "Erlang God" weren't so effeminate, always leaning on his dog.

"Alright, cut."

With the scene finished, Director Lu stood up, smiling, "Very nice, that was right on target. Ding Wei, you nailed that sense of contrast—keep it up. We'll include a segment with you and Li Xie in the promotional short. It'll be edited and released in a few days."

Director Lu rarely fussed over perfection on set.

No point in chasing that. Make the money first, then get a top-notch team to polish a proper arthouse film, hire an army of shills to hype it up, tie in a hot social topic, stir up some controversy, and cap it with a memorable ending—it's a surefire formula.

Profit comes first.

"Li Xie, when the promo goes live, be sure to interact with it online."

…

Wait… Director Lu, you're only paying eighty thousand?

And you want me to publicly admit to playing a dog?!

Time to negotiate for more!

"I'll send your agent a promo contract later. After all, your account's got decent traffic now—we can't just use you for nothing."

If it were a small-time star, Director Lu might have gotten away with it, but Li Xie was different. His not-so-talented adoptive father, Ai Shoujin, still had some connections.

Though only a godfather, Ai Shoujin treated Li Xie as his one and only beloved son.

And a rather impressive one at that.

Hearing there was more money to be made, Li Xie immediately thumped his chest, "Don't worry, Director Ai, I'll cooperate one hundred percent!"

With the right paycheck, he was game for anything.

The only trouble was that he had to boast in the "Ten Years Black Fans" group chat in advance; otherwise, he'd be roasted mercilessly when the promo dropped.

That night, Li Xie glanced over his recent interview segments and was satisfied—nothing seemed off.

Comments on the video platform were all positive, mostly things like "Masked Bro is a real man," "What a guy," "Masked Bro 666."

Buoyed by confidence, he opened DouYin, planning to catch up with the "Big Lei" streamers he followed and reward himself a little.

But—of the hundred-plus "Big Lei" streamers he followed, only eight remained after just a few days.

Luckily, the DouYin algorithm had already adapted to his preferences. A few swipes, and the familiar, renamed "Big Lei" streamers were back, aiming their cameras right where it counted.

Most of their titles now read, "I've reformed, please don't ban me."

Li Xie, connoisseur of companionship, clicked his tongue in admiration. These female streamers had a work ethic second to none.

Ding.

A message popped up from his alternate account's chat app.

"Brother D, available for duo queue?"

"Sweet sister, I'm coming!"

He didn't actually launch King of Glory, but chatting with "sweet sister" was nice enough.

"Brother, you're on so late tonight."

"Been busy, working to make some money lately."

"Don't forget to balance work and rest, brother. Let's duo queue to unwind."

"I watch videos for fun."

"What kind of videos do you like?"

"Female streamers, of course."

Li Xie sent a screenshot of his followed streamers.

"…"

Su Mengyao glanced at the female streamers Li Xie followed, smiled slightly, then picked up her phone to take a selfie.

Wearing a T-shirt—loose and shapeless at first glance—but she pulled the hem tight against her waist, instantly outlining a flawless figure.

Click, send.

"Wow, which streamer is this?"

"My selfie, brother."

"Sister, what a figure."

Li Xie sent the compliment and attached a lewd emoji, face impassive.

Yeah, right. If you mean it, include a timestamp with the photo.

"You've got quite the collection of 'foot-scratching burly men.'"

Now, Li Xie was even more convinced that "Shake Shake Shake" was no girl.

He'd seen plenty of weirdos playing with voice changers and fake internet personas—in fact, he'd encountered them back when he was thirteen, chatting online at the orphanage.

The only reason he kept chatting with "Shake Shake Shake" was because she had tipped his "Will of D" account a hundred yuan on the MaoLei streaming platform—a solid three days' worth of food money.

No harm in accepting, as long as he wasn't getting scammed; let the "burly man" waste their investment.

Truly, he was a "champion of justice," an internet hero.

"If Brother D likes, I can send you more."

"Aren't you worried I'll share these with others?"

"I only send them to you, brother. Would you show them to anyone else?"

…

Damn?

That's high-level—there's a bit of a soul-searching question in there.

Impressive.

Still… this benefit pic is really something.

"Eh?"

Just as Li Xie zoomed in again and again on the photo, he noticed something familiar about the T-shirt…

"Hmm…"

He pondered carefully, certain he'd seen it somewhere before.

He closed his eyes, retracing his recent activities. It definitely wasn't from the film set.

So, was it during military training?

No, it must have been before that.

Before that…

Li Xie crossed his arms, thinking hard, even recalling his trip to buy a used car.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, clapped his fists together, and quickly opened his phone's map, zooming in on the main streets of Canglong District in Jianye, tapped on the school, and up popped several icons and a list.

He scrolled through, found the Art School in Canglong District, Jianye, and checked the profiles of outstanding students. Instantly, he clenched his fist—"Oh yeah! That's the school's summer uniform T-shirt!"

He had no scenes to shoot tomorrow—why not go check it out?