Chapter 1283: Isn’t This New Character Absurdly Overpowered?
“Ah, Mr. Lu, what did you say?” the president asked, feigning ignorance.
On the other hand, the members of the salvation squad genuinely had no idea what Lu Yang was talking about.
Lu Yang held his teacup and blew away the steam rising from its surface. “You don’t understand? Then let me ask a different question. Was the mad scientist’s experiment that created the aberrant beasts thirty years ago really an accident?”
“Mr. Lu, what do you mean by that?” Shi Lingyun found the question baffling, yet he couldn’t help but feel there was some connection between the two.
Lu Yang rose to his feet and paced before the salvation squad. “Lingyun, you came from an ordinary background, and due to your special constitution, you rose from the bottom and soared all the way to the top.
"You eventually won the heart of a beauty, and though people came looking for trouble, you always managed to deal with them. Have you ever felt that your life has been remarkably spectacular?
“Zhan Po, as the number one expert in the world, you have experienced numerous ups and downs before achieving your position today. You are taciturn yet respected. I believe an image like yours is well-received.
“Tianxing, despite being born into privilege, you held fast to your own convictions...
“Yuanxing, you hide your yearning for your wife behind jokes and laughter...
“The stories behind each of you are truly spectacular.
“Of course, the most spectacular part is still the director’s design.”
~~~
「 Shi Lingyun defeats the Weapons Specialist and finally earns his place as the salvation squad’s second-in-command. With that, all members of the salvation squad have assembled, prepared to face the King of Aberrant Beasts. What will the outcome be? Tune in tonight to The Legend of Heavensea Planet!」
Promotional trailers for The Legend of Heavensea Planet played continuously on the big screens.
The Legend of Heavensea Planet was a blockbuster hit across the Interstellar Alliance. Its visuals were so breathtakingly realistic that even the most professional special effects experts couldn’t find a single flaw. Add to that the actors’ sublime performances, the unpredictable plot twists that defied convention, and the story’s merciless delivery of tearjerkers.
This confluence of elements made it the undisputed king of television series. Its ratings consistently hovered around twenty percent, leaving all competitors far behind.
For the Interstellar Alliance, which boasted all manner of entertainment, this was nothing short of legendary. The production crew raked in a fortune—a single advertisement commanded an astronomical price, merchandise was constantly sold out, and every character had their own fan club.
The salvation squad’s confrontation with the King of Aberrant Beasts marked the story’s climax, with conservative estimates projecting ratings of thirty percent.
└Who do you think will get their moment to shine this time? Will the Cold-Faced Sword God Zhan Po finally break through?
└It’s hard to say. I think it’ll be Shi Lingyun. When he absorbed the enhancement agent earlier, it was hinted that he might fully absorb it during the battle.
└It’s probably not time for his big moment yet. Some gurus have analyzed that the real King of Aberrant Beasts is the one in the ocean. That will be Shi Lingyun’s opponent!
Posts about The Legend of Heavensea Planet flooded every forum online. The audience’s fervor was palpable even through the screen.
The director was scrambling to get the production crew organized.
“Are the nano-cameras calibrated?"
Is the quantum communications channel clear?"
“Pull up Shi Lingyun’s monitoring data. Can we guarantee his breakthrough during the battle?!”
The director was beside himself with excitement.
The Legend of Heavensea Planet had already made him the undisputed number-one director in the Interstellar Alliance. Everywhere he went, he was welcomed as an honored guest, and even the magnates and aristocratic clans had to treat him as an equal.
However, he was a man with artistic aspirations and refused to rest on his laurels. He was convinced that tonight would bring about the pinnacle of his life.
He had discovered Heavensea Planet, an untouched planet unknown to the Interstellar Alliance. By feeding all its data into a quantum computer, he could predict the planet’s development.
He only needed to introduce a few variables based on the computer’s projections, and Heavensea Planet would evolve as he wished. Even with a live broadcast, nothing would go wrong.
To him, money and profit were inconsequential. If he trafficked people, he would only get the reputation of a human trafficker. If he reported the new planet, the Interstellar Alliance would award him an “Alliance Medal” at best.
But this was so common that unless someone specifically searched for the list online, nobody would know the recipients.
The Legend of Heavensea Planet is different. This is a drama that will etch my name into the history of television. It’s a monumental achievement in the arts that no one can surpass.
It’s true that this is illegal, but how can art be constrained by the law?
“Is everything ready? Go live!”
At the director’s command, the show’s climax went live across the entire internet.
The nano-cameras zoomed in on the King of Aberrant Beasts. According to the director’s plan, this scene was meant to convey the King of Aberrant Beasts’ oppressive presence, building a tense atmosphere of a storm brewing on the horizon.
Then the entire Interstella Alliance watched as a sword cultivator in ancient attire pierced the King of Aberrant Beasts’ skull with a single finger, without so much as breaking a sweat.
A question mark popped out of the director’s head. Who the hell are you?
The comment section and bullet comments[1] instantly exploded.
└Who’s that guy? He appeared out of nowhere!
└Why is the costume department[2] so half-assed? Who wears spotless ancient robes in the apocalypse?
└A new character? Why wasn't there any setup?
└That’s the charm of this show! You can never guess what comes next!
└Makes sense.
└Doesn’t anyone else think this new character is really handsome? Like a carefree wandering swordsman.
└Waiting for the spinoff! He must have an exciting backstory.
Judging by the audience’s comments, this new character was a hit. However, the director didn’t share the same opinion. He was like an ant on a hot pot, frantically analyzing this person’s behavior with the quantum computer.
"Please let nothing go wrong.”
Subsequently, the salvation squad and the new character clashed, and the latter defeated them with ease. Even Shi Lingyun’s last-minute breakthrough was useless.
The audience could feel the hopelessness and helplessness through the screen.
Afterward, the misunderstanding was resolved. The nano-cameras spread across the entire planet captured everything clearly, even Lu Yang flying into the sky.
The Interstellar Alliance viewers watched the new character turn one sword into ten thousand swords, wiping out every aberrant beast in a single strike.
└Those special effects are way too realistic! My quantum computer would overheat trying to render something this lifelike!
└This guy must be on par with an interstellar fleet.
└Comparing fictional characters to real-life military power again.
└Do you think he could actually be an extraterrestrial visitor?
└No way. We’re almost at the finale, yet they’re opening up a new map?
└Isn’t this new character absurdly overpowered?
└I get how this works. An invincible character like that is bound to get a scripted death and get killed off for plot reasons; otherwise the story can’t continue.
The new character’s appearance offered viewers a completely different experience, causing ratings to skyrocket to forty percent.
The director was stupefied. The quantum computer had produced only one result—“Extraterrestrial Visitor”—before it began smoking and shut down.
“Director, what do we do?” The cameramen and the rest of the crew exchanged troubled looks. They had all signed confidentiality agreements and wouldn’t reveal the truth, but how were they supposed to continue filming now?
Now is not the time to freeze and resign myself to my fate. The director snapped back to his senses. “Send a message to the president. Tell him to stall that guy and extract as much intelligence from him as possible!”
“The nano-cameras are less than a nanometer. He couldn’t have detected us!”
The president was also part of the production crew. He had been responsible for implementing the variables on Heavensea Planet.
At the moment, Lu Yang led the salvation squad back in triumph, and the president welcomed them warmly, escorting them into the office.
Just as the director breathed a sigh of relief and splashed cold water on his face to steady himself for the next course of action, the monitor displayed Lu Yang commenting on the salvation squad members’ past.
“The stories behind each of you are truly spectacular.
“Of course, the most spectacular part is still the director’s design.”
Suddenly, Lu Yang turned his head, his face filling the entire screen as he addressed the director through the cameras. “Don’t you agree, Director?”
An uproar broke out among the audience. The director felt as though he had been plunged into an icy abyss.
1. Danmu refers to the comments appearing on the screen in videos, usually at the top. If you watch Bilibili or videos on Chinese streaming platforms, you would see them all the time. ☜
2. To be precise, “fuhuadao” is a common term used to describe the costumes, makeup, and props used in shows. ☜