King of the Wilderness

He seemed to take a deep breath in order to calm himself down, and then, speaking at an incredibly fast pace with a professional tone suppressed by immense excitement, he began to report the results to Lin Yu’an.

"Listen to these numbers, Lin. Just now, the preliminary data from Nielsen’s ratings survey company came out."

"Our premiere episode, among the 18-49 core audience in the United States, reached an astonishing rating of 3.2!"

"This means that over four million Americans watched our show at the same time! This number is not only the highest record since our series debuted."

"It even surpassed the premiere ratings of all unscripted reality shows this year!"

Aliya and Emily couldn’t help but gasp when they heard this number.

Although they didn’t fully understand the meaning of ratings, they knew the tremendous influence behind a number like four million Americans.

"But this is just the beginning!" Mark’s voice was trembling, "The highest simultaneous online viewers in the official YouTube live room broke through 7.8 million!"

"The server’s backend engineer just called me, saying their traffic monitoring system almost sent out a red alert!"

"The last time they encountered such a situation was during the World Cup finals!"

"And on social media, the topic of Frozen Throne has already surpassed 50 million global discussions!"

"Our show is now, without a doubt, the top trend on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! No competition whatsoever!"

Mark paused, seemingly to calm his overly excited emotions.

"Lin, do you know? Before the show aired, our PR team was overwhelmed trying to deal with the boycott from animal protection organizations. But now the situation has completely reversed."

"The topic of saving polar bear cubs, like a perfect storm, instantly swept across all platforms."

"Now, the whole world is praising you and our program team’s humanitarian concern. Even PETA, which had been hounding us nonstop, has uncharacteristically remained silent on their official Twitter."

"I guess they’re probably in an emergency meeting right now, trying to figure out how to adjust their strategy to avoid being drowned by this overwhelming positive public opinion."

"You didn’t just save a bear, Lin. You also ignited the entire show!"

Lin Yu’an listened to all this, a faint smile appeared on his face. He could imagine Mark in his Los Angeles office, gesticulating wildly and spitting with excitement.

"This is just the first episode, Mark," Lin Yu’an calmly reminded.

"Of course I know!" Mark immediately responded, his voice full of unprecedented confidence.

"That’s what excites me the most! In the first episode, we threw out a nuclear bomb! And we have more aces up our sleeves!"

"The ten days you spent living with December, I’ve personally watched that footage, it’s practically a real-life version of ’Life of Pi’!"

"And the scene where you hunt that wolf and porcupine... my God, Lin, when this content is released one by one, I can hardly imagine how crazy the world will go!"

"Upper management has already held an emergency meeting overnight," Mark’s tone became solemn, "They’ve decided to invest the company’s highest level of resources into a global promotion focused on your story with December."

"They want to make you, Discovery Channel’s next true global superstar after Bell Grylls!"

"In the coming weeks, you’ll see overwhelming promotion. From giant ads in New York Times Square to in-depth reports by major mainstream media."

"Get ready, Lin, your era is about to begin."

Lin Yu’an quietly listened to the grand blueprint Mark painted for him, but felt little turmoil in his heart. Fame, praise, influence... these were no longer his goals.

How to maximize this value and turn it into resources he could control was what concerned him more.

He didn’t directly respond to Mark’s idol theory, but instead shifted the topic, speaking in a calm yet highly professional business tone.

"Mark, it sounds like Discovery Channel has planned quite a grand future for me. I appreciate it and am very interested in being involved."

"However, there is one thing I need to discuss with you in advance."

"Just after I participated in this challenge, I officially signed with CAA (Innovative Artists Agency)."

"All my future commercial endorsements, media collaborations, and public relations matters will be fully managed by them."

On the other end of the line, when Mark heard the name CAA, his excited tone noticeably paused, replaced by a professional attitude mixed with surprise and a bit of sudden understanding.

As a top Hollywood producer, he knew all too well the power behind those three letters, CAA.

It wasn’t just any agency, it was a top resource integration platform that controlled half of Hollywood.

He immediately realized that Lin Yu’an was no longer the "amateur champion" that TV stations could manipulate at will.

"CAA... well done, Lin," Mark’s tone had lost a trace of the planner’s condescension and gained a measure of respect for an equal collaborator.

"It seems while you were figuring out how to survive in the wilderness, you didn’t forget to strategize in Hollywood. You always manage to make the right choices."