Chapter 1: This raggedy entertainment industry, you all need me so much

"Very well, a raggedy era, a raggedy home, and a brand-new, fresh-faced me..."

Fang Xinghe lay lazily in a sofa with a hole in it, surveying the cramped main room.

The room was extremely dilapidated, with mold spots covering the corners. On a 1950s-style heirloom wooden cabinet sat an 18-inch spherical screen color TV, the brand being a "Peony" one he had never heard of.

The extremely poor resolution and the static hiss, mixed with the nauseating lines from the show, were launching an all-out assault on the body and mind of this Gen Z youth.

"The acting is wooden, the lines are melodramatic, the plot is ridiculous, and besides, which junkyard was this male lead dug out of?"

Fang Xinghe endured and endured, but only lasted three minutes before consigning this 1998 version of *The Return of the Condor Heroes* to his "never look at again" category—if I take one more voluntary look, I'll gouge my own eyes out!

Even setting aside the era-specific factors and the plot, this male lead was ugly enough to offend him.

If he were still living in 2030, Fang Xinghe would have gone to a group to start a poll, asking: Wouldn't it be better to have Huang Bo play the male lead in this show?

"Tsk, whose childhood 'white moonlight' is this kind of thing?"

Just as he walked over to change the channel, Fang Xinghe's sigh suddenly hitched—on the screen, the wildly expressive Yang Guo lunged out and shouted "Auntie" at an unknown woman in black. The youth felt as if he’d been struck by lightning in the stomach; he felt a bit like retching.

To make even a semi-professional like me feel this absurd, you guys really have some skills.

The gap in eras made Fang Xinghe, who lacked the filter of childhood nostalgia, find everything an eyesore.

In his previous life, he was a pure Gen Z born in 2005. Diagnosed with leukemia in high school, he became a chief engineer for online public opinion monitoring and repair to earn money and lighten his family's burden.

Well, in principle, it could also be briefly called a "water army" leader.

By the time his body couldn't hold on anymore, Fang was already a reputable merchant in the entertainment industry, even opening a real robotics factory in South Vietnam. He had quite a talent for being a troublemaker.

Actually, getting sick is very common; there are plenty of unlucky people, not worth mentioning.

What made Fang Xinghe truly special was that until the very last moment before death, he never gave up the fight.

How wonderful is it to be alive?

Then, his intense obsession triggered a miracle. An angelic system "daddy" carried his consciousness to November 1998, merging him with a 13-year-old boy of the same name.

Little Fang was also a miserable child; his father ran off, his mother died, and only a disastrous uncle remained.

The family had two dilapidated rooms and a small courtyard. When his mother was terminally ill, she refused to sell the house even while rolling in pain, leaving him his final place to stay.

But Little Fang didn't think his life was that miserable.

The school waived all tuition, and his teachers always invited him over for meals.

He had a few good buddies who listened to him.

There were even two little beauties who cared about him from time to time, making others envious.

Of course, there were some small troubles—half a year ago, news spread that the neighborhood was to be demolished, and his uncle immediately came over to cause trouble several times, each time more disgusting than the last.

Little Fang only endured it twice; the third time, he grabbed a kitchen knife and hacked the man away.

Then that scum wanted to apply for some bullshit guardianship. The kid silently got half a bucket of gasoline, wanting to treat his uncle's family of three to a "barbecue." But just as he splashed half of it, he was pinned down by a neighbor getting off the night shift, and his great cause collapsed halfway.

Fortunately, Little Fang was only 13 and hadn't actually started the fire. After being severely criticized and educated by the uncles, that was the end of it.

"Heh, he's a ruthless one, just like me!"

Fang Xinghe praised him from the bottom of his heart. A shy chuckle seemed to echo in his spirit, and the last traces of their consciousness merged, never to be separated again.

Little Fang died of a high fever. When Fang Xinghe crossed over at the moment of death, both unlucky souls gained a second life.

Fang Xinghe cherished this rebirth too much, even though the era before him was so strange and so dilapidated.

Smartphones wouldn't appear for another ten years, right?

A comprehensive update of infrastructure might take even longer.

Good food, fun things, good shows—there was nothing in this era, but that also meant opportunity, the opportunity to become the richest man with his eyes closed.

Fang Xinghe wanted to make money from the bottom of his heart, big money, and he believed he could definitely do it.

However, after getting familiar with that system daddy who brought him back... change the plan, must change, change immediately!

【Star God Auxiliary System (Damaged Version)】

【This system is dedicated to making the host the brightest star】

【When fans marvel at your brilliance, the system will extract special energy from positive emotions to enhance your attributes and abilities】

【Fan Count: 15】

【Starlight Value: 126】

【You have a Rebirth Gift Package, please check it】

【Attribute Panel】

Appearance: Looks 75, Physique 66

Physical: Strength 52, Speed 79, Stamina 55, Agility 73, Flexibility 68

Hidden: Coordination 71, Perception 58, Recovery 73, Immunity 54, Health 60

Artistic: Omitted...

Personal Ability: Omitted...

Upon seeing the word 【Health】, Fang Xinghe's dream of becoming the richest man rolled out of his mind, and a new vow rang deafeningly: No one can stop me from becoming a great artist!

Those who haven't died can never understand the terror between life and death; those who are often ill might understand a tenth of it.

Living is the fundamental desire at the level of biological genes.

Although Fang Xinghe wasn't in a hurry to max out his health, he would definitely max it out, and then supplement it year after year.

It is 1998, and Fang Xinghe is 13 and a half. He wants to live to 150, walking with a spring in his step, to see the scenery of the century after next.

Besides, what's wrong with being an all-around god?

As long as there is enough Starlight Value, even the dullest person can live a life of unparalleled brilliance. This is much more interesting than the boring path of copying the richest man.

Decided, I'll walk the Star Path!

Thus, Fang Xinghe began to make plans with great interest.

The first step, of course, is to understand the accumulation and activation mechanism of Starlight Value to determine his pace.

First is the accumulation mechanism.

According to the system's explanation: Everyone has 5 different levels of favor for an idol—

Shallow fan, firm supporter, fanatical toxic fan, die-hard chicken-blood fan, and heart-and-soul devotee.

Passerby favor doesn't count as a fan; this applies everywhere.

Under the same circumstances, each level of favor can bring Fang Xinghe roughly 1, 3, 10, 30, and 100 Starlight points.

Next is the activation mechanism.

That is: Under what circumstances will fans contribute a large amount of Starlight Value to their idol?

When you put out good work, or when you are highly discussed because of certain events.

The "water army" leader understood the logic perfectly. The information he possessed was a dimensionality-reduction strike to this era.

Having roughly sorted out the sources of Starlight Value, Fang Xinghe began to think about the second step: Which path to take?

He really didn't understand the current era; he had the height but no details. Sitting at home and guessing blindly was clearly not a good way, so he grabbed his keys and pocket money, shuffled into his cotton shoes, and walked out the door.

November in the Northeast was already very cold. Snowflakes drifted in the sky, the alley without streetlights was pure white, and the hot air exhaled condensed into frost unique to the 20th century.

This was also a kind of romance.

Fang Xinghe found everything fresh; the paint-peeling iron gate and the crumbling courtyard wall—the dilapidation actually brought a sense of intimacy.

Adapting to life in '98 on a material level wasn't difficult; no matter how inconvenient, it was a hundred times better than lying in bed waiting to die.

If someone gave me 500 years of life, I'd be willing to go back to the Ming Dynasty to live the boring life of having three palaces and seventy-two concubines.

What was truly hard to get used to was the emptiness of the spirit.

Making a Gen Z watch all kinds of ancient, crazy dramas on an 18-inch color TV was simply a form of torture, so he really wanted to find something to do quickly.

Closing the big iron gate, he identified the direction and walked toward the Third Middle School.

The small courtyard wasn't far from the school. The house seemed to be getting demolished; he just didn't know how much compensation he would get.

Am I short on money?

Fang Xinghe thought carefully. He didn't have big money, but he really wasn't short on small change.

He originally had over 1,700 yuan in savings, and a few days ago, his uncle had pinched his nose and compensated him with another 2,000—that piece of human trash was truly terrified; at the time, he didn't even dare to look directly at the furious, resentful, and wolf-like, vicious-looking Fang.

Speaking of money, 3,700 yuan—in 1998, that could be considered a huge sum, right?

A bowl of noodles at the school gate only cost 1.2 yuan. It's truly miraculous.

So, Fang Xinghe, who wasn't short on small change, peaceably slipped into an internet cafe at the back of the school.

"Turn it on."

"3 yuan for single-player, 10 yuan for internet." The internet cafe manager lay lazily on the bar, not even raising his head.

Fang Xinghe slapped down 10 yuan: "Internet."

The manager raised his head, and the moment he saw who it was, a brilliant and sycophantic smile immediately appeared on his face, and he hurriedly pushed the money back.

"Oh my, it's Young Master Fang! Why pay? Just find a seat anywhere, I'll dial up for you immediately!"

The internet cafe was packed with little brats playing single-player games or watching others play. Many people looked over upon hearing the sound, and seeing it was Fang Xinghe, half of them immediately lowered their heads.

It was somewhat like a "street-clearing tiger"...

When Fang Xinghe walked to the area where he could connect to the internet, whispers that sounded like they were describing a legend came from nearby.

"That's Young Master Fang, the ruthless one from the second year of middle school. A few days ago, he almost wiped out his uncle's family!"

"Damn! That fierce?"

"He was fierce before, too. Last semester, he led the Thirteen Eagles to sweep the third year. You didn't know that?"

"Damn! That's exciting! Is Boss Fang still taking underlings?"

"No, but he collects protection money. Pay up and he'll cover you. Remember to find him when you get provoked by upper-year thugs; it's super effective!"

"Damn! An idol!"

Fang Xinghe hurriedly sat in the corner. Damn, if I keep listening, my "cringe cancer" is going to flare up...

However, why is there a little thrill in my heart?

In my previous life, I was a weakling who would fall over with a breeze. Could it be that I have some "chuunibyou" in my bones?

Thinking about it, Fang Xinghe attributed the sin to Little Fang—I couldn't possibly be this kind of person; it's all that wild kid's fault.

But then again, a black-hearted fox merging with a wild wolf cub—such a combination is unexpectedly exciting.

Fang Xinghe turned on the computer happily. After a long minute, the Win95 interface that appeared on the screen numbed him.

This, this, this... well, although I'm not familiar with it, it'll do.

As a result, he opened the IE browser, and he was numbed again.

The only places to go online now were BBS and chat rooms. Sohu had just launched its news function, QQ was nowhere to be found, and NetEase had just transitioned from a personal homepage hosting site.

Fang Xinghe truly felt the gap in eras.

An inexplicable heaviness smashed onto his head and pressed on his shoulders. It didn't hurt, it just prompted a sigh.

"This is 1998, before all the legends known to later generations truly began..."

Under the guidance of the desktop documents, Fang Xinghe clumsily wandered around the Xici Hutong BBS and flipped through Sohu news. He finally collected some information related to the entertainment industry, then frowned and went home.

This year, 60% of the information in the entertainment industry was related to *Titanic*. The big ship was still crashing into the entire Chinese society.

It was released in April, and it was already November; it was still showing in cinemas, and people were still discussing it.

Of the remaining small half of the traffic, more than 60% was hot chatter about the heavenly kings and queens of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

And the domestic entertainment industry?

It seemed to exist, but in reality, it didn't.

A kind of indignation welled up.

How could a true Gen Z Chinese patriot living 30 years later stand this?

In his era, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia had long been plowed over by the "China Wave." Web novels, mobile games, Xianxia, ancient idol dramas, CEO dramas, and short dramas swept across the eight wildernesses. Hollywood was even hit so hard that they held meetings to reflect: "How is this country? I can't help but ask."

At that time, Fang Xinghe didn't realize anything was wrong; he was used to everything. But returning to this era, he suddenly couldn't accept it emotionally.

Uh, not just emotionally; actually, he couldn't accept it aesthetically either.

He was a bit angry, and a fire ignited in his heart.

This society didn't care at all who became the richest man, and the country's magnificent future didn't need a half-baked prophet. However, this raggedy domestic entertainment industry...

You guys really need me so damn much! ===== CHAPTER 2 =====