Chapter 20: Returning to the Earthly Immortal Realm—The Number One Ranking Holder Reappears!

The contract offered by Flash-Image was generous—perhaps even too generous, to the point of seeming like a scam. An exclusive platform agreement and an S-tier contract: either one of these conditions alone would have been enough to make the outside world drop their jaws.

In the past, he would have certainly been qualified for such a deal. He hadn't earned the title of "top-tier star" for nothing; his drawing power alone guaranteed him contracts of this caliber anywhere. But what year was it now? He had already fallen from grace and become the public enemy of the entertainment industry. Yet, instead of suppressing his resources, Flash-Image had offered him such favorable terms.

"Why?" Xu Qingfeng asked, puzzled.

"We believe in you."

Xu Qingfeng scoffed at this response. Believe in him? What was there to believe in? He couldn't sing, dance, or act—did they believe in his ability to self-destruct?

Wait, that wasn't right. Xu Qingfeng reopened the documents sent by Pineapple, which contained a large amount of dirt on Weibo users, along with a small portion of dirt on other celebrities. These celebrities were odd; they were neither people with a grudge against him nor connected to Starshine or He Tianxia. Xu Qingfeng searched for their information one by one and finally discovered the clue. These people had all signed with short-video platforms—they came from Shimmer, Fun-Point, Motion, and so on. In short, they were all signed by Flash-Image's competitors.

Xu Qingfeng felt a headache coming on. So, Flash-Image was using him as a gun. The reality of corporate warfare was unexpectedly simple: give him the dirt, let him take down their competitors, and then sit back and reap the rewards.

Using him to suppress competitors was one thing. On the other hand, Flash-Image was likely treating him as the "horse bones" in the proverb "offering a thousand gold for horse bones." Currently, there were four or five major platforms on Blue Planet, each burning cash to grab market share, and Flash-Image was just one of them. On Blue Planet, the short-video industry hadn't yet hit its peak, and most stars felt that signing with a platform to livestream was beneath them—they believed stars should maintain an air of prestige rather than livestreaming every day and calling people "family." Flash-Image likely wanted to use him to break through that barrier.

Once he understood Flash-Image's goal, Xu Qingfeng felt much more at ease. He didn't fear that they had demands; he only feared they had none. Of course, the conditions offered were indeed generous. The exclusive platform agreement meant they would provide him with splash-screen ads, guaranteed trending topics, guaranteed traffic, and a series of other resources. In return, he would be prohibited from engaging in activities on other short-video platforms during the contract term. There is always a trade-off, and Xu Qingfeng had no objection to this. The S-tier contract included an annual base salary plus commissions, alongside benefits including, but not limited to, homepage recommendations, hot topics, exclusive tags, customized services, and even support for personal brand building.

It was fair to say this contract was made in good faith. Regarding the most critical issue of breach, the contract also provided detailed clauses: he could not post non-compliant content, could not engage in illegal activities, had a set monthly streaming quota, and could not participate in activities on competitor platforms. Overall, it was all within the acceptable range.

Xu Qingfeng read the contract word for word, then called Pineapple and asked, "What do you want from me?"

Pineapple’s voice was cute and chirpy: "We want to use you as a point of entry to swallow the users of Weibo's entertainment section."

Xu Qingfeng was surprised: "You trust me that much?"

Pineapple said excitedly, "Big Brother, you might be underestimating your own popularity. Do you know how exaggerated your heat is right now? One comment, over 500,000 replies! And according to our investigation, the percentage of real people among those replies exceeds 70%! A single comment getting over 300,000 replies—even top-tier stars can't compare to you."

Xu Qingfeng brushed it off: "That's nothing, right? I remember seeing Weibo comments with tens of millions."

"Those comments have more water in them than the Pacific Ocean."

"I'll sign."

Pineapple’s excited voice came through: "Great!"

"When can you start streaming, Big Brother?"

"You guys arrange it."

"Alright, don't worry, Big Brother. We'll go ahead and start the pre-hype."

After hanging up, Xu Qingfeng felt much more settled. He had been exposing scandals non-stop; it felt satisfying at the time, but looking back, he always felt insecure. His current popularity was built entirely on his frantic exposures—it was like a flash in the pan, coming and going quickly, and ultimately not a long-term solution. Now that he had a new path, he felt the tension drain out of his body.

He opened the system and carefully studied the panel:

[Xu Qingfeng]
[Height: 183cm]
[Weight: 72.5kg]
[Strength: 79]
[Speed: 77]
[Stamina: 68]
[Agility: 70]
[Flexibility: 72]

After his physical attributes were fully enhanced, Xu Qingfeng would have a massive advantage in real-world scenarios; three or four people wouldn't be able to get close to him easily. He had specifically tested this with his bodyguards and discovered that even a 100kg bodyguard was no longer his match. Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility that they were holding back, but even so, it was astonishing.

On the other hand, the [Black Material Perspective Eye] had successfully leveled up to LV2, allowing him to scan ten people a day. The speed at which he could destroy the entertainment industry had been greatly enhanced. Xu Qingfeng took stock of his resources; he was still holding 12 treasure chests, the capital for his rise. After opening ten at once, he gained five songs, along with improvements to his singing and instrumental skills, turning a "waste" who only relied on his face into a "waste" with a few minor talents.

"Stubborn," "Love Trade," "Cool," "Impulsive Punishment," "Obsessed."

Five songs, every one a classic, added to the three he had previously drawn. They were full of irony; singing them during a livestream would definitely maximize the impact.

Early the next morning, two news stories once again struck a nerve with the public.

[Renowned director, actor, and businessman Chen [Redacted] has been criminally detained by the police on suspicion of rape and molestation.]

The announcement, white text on a blue background, caused an uproar. After the Shanghai Tax Bureau's announcement, the internet had widely assumed Xu Qingfeng was filing false accusations, but no one expected such a massive reversal.

"No wonder the Tax Bureau didn't mention it—it turns out he was taken away by the police."

"Laughing my head off. Turns out tax evasion was just a trivial achievement for that animal Chen."

"Awesome, Brother Feng! It had to be you."

"Explosive. My worldview is shattered."

Less than an hour after the heated online discussion, the Shanghai Police also issued an announcement, refusing to be outdone.

[Li [Redacted] has been criminally detained by the police on suspicion of organizing prostitution and rape.]

One in the east, one in the north—two major industry titans detained by the police on the same day. The fact that two of the "escaped fish" from Xu Qingfeng's list were caught on the same day shocked everyone.

"Holy crap! A righteous judge!"

"Brother Feng doesn't kill the innocent!"

"Weibo: Stay away from me!"

"The more you think about it, the scarier it gets. I suggest a strict audit of Weibo!"

"Brother, I am truly convinced. I wish to worship you as the Bao Qingtian of the entertainment industry!"

"God Feng! Legendary!"

That day, Xu Qingfeng returned to the number one spot on Weibo!