Chapter 485: Chapter 485: Boss Chen's Fanfiction "Spicy Car"
"???"
"Evil spirits, begone!!"
"Damn it, I broke out in a cold sweat in the middle of the night."
"I didn't see anything, but it felt like I saw something."
"Am I the only one who noticed? Is the soundproofing in this hotel room just too good?"
"They screamed like that, and no one from the neighboring rooms complained."
The comments kept rolling in like a snowball, growing rapidly.
After a while, the sound of the room door opening again was heard.
Several hotel staff entered and efficiently cleaned up Xiaoxiao and Huadu's belongings.
Just as they were about to leave, one employee noticed the camera placed on the speaker.
"What's this thing?"
With this puzzled remark, the screen in front of the camera went black.
The video ended completely.
Wang Wanwan stared at her phone in confusion.
Didn't I click on a virtual tour vlog of Lion Lake Castle Hotel and Magic Century Theme Park???
How did it turn into a horror show???
What did I just watch for over 30 minutes?!
...
At 1 a.m., Xu Yong dragged his exhausted body through the door.
Currently, he was mainly responsible for the business development of Zaomen Brilliant Aquatic Products Company.
Although Zaomen was far from Nanjiang and lacked abundant aquatic resources, as a provincial capital, the development potential of the aquatic market was sufficient.
This time,
Xu Yong learned from his past mistakes in Nanjiang, determined to start from scratch and work his way up, feeling a sense of grandeur and accomplishment as if he were rebuilding his empire.
However, focusing on his career meant neglecting his family.
Usually, by the time he returned home at night, Wanwan and the baby were already asleep.
When he left in the morning, Wanwan and the baby were still asleep.
To avoid disturbing their rest, Xu Yong had been sleeping alone in the study recently.
Counting the days, it had been a long time since he last saw the baby.
Sigh.
You have to give up something to gain something. Nothing is easy.
As Xu Yong quietly changed his shoes and prepared to wash up and rest,
a soft, kitten-like voice came from the bedroom.
"Honey!"
"Wanwan??"
Hearing Wanwan call him, Xu Yong thought something had happened and rushed into the bedroom.
Inside,
Wang Wanwan was sitting on the bed, hugging a pillow. The moment she saw Xu Yong, it was as if she had seen a savior. She opened her arms, asking for a hug.
"Honey, you're finally back... I'm scared, boo hoo!"
...
"Ding ling ling."
Early in the morning, Chen Jianhai was awakened by a phone call that sounded like a death knell.
"Hello? Who is it?"
Chen Jianhai groggily fished his phone out from under the pillow, muttering without even opening his eyes.
"Boss Chen, are you sleeping?"
Hearing Chen Jianhai's sleepy voice, Xu Yong's suppressed anger came through the phone.
"My wife can't sleep!"
"...Huh?"
Hearing this, Chen Jianhai reluctantly opened his eyes and glanced at the caller ID.
Xu Yong??
Is he crazy or what?
"Your wife can't sleep, so why are you calling me?" Chen Jianhai was a bit annoyed.
"If it weren't for your damn hotel, my wife wouldn't be so scared that she can't sleep!" Xu Yong snapped angrily.
"Get lost! What does my hotel have to do with your wife?"
Chen Jianhai, already irritated from being woken up early, had no patience for Xu Yong's complaints about his hotel.
"It's all because of that cursed Room 1703! Ghosts and spirits and whatnot!"
After a barrage of curses from Xu Yong, Chen Jianhai finally understood what had happened with the Room 1703 video.
He quickly hung up and opened QiliQili.
The video by Huadu and Xiaoxiao was prominently featured in the 7-day trending videos, and the comments were sharply divided.
Aside from those who were intrigued and wanted to visit Lion Lake Castle Hotel,
many others were terrified by Room 1703, leaving furious comments.
It was a mix of extreme praise and harsh criticism.
Chen Jianhai was startled by the passionate comments and quickly watched both videos.
After finishing P1 and P2, Chen Jianhai let out a long sigh.
Thank goodness, that little streamer didn't go to Dreamland Fairy City, leaving some mystery for the outside world.
Otherwise, with Lion Lake Castle Hotel's amusement park just opening, having the entire plot of the park online would hurt business!
But now, it seems~~~ the effect is pretty good!
Since the crucial plot of Dreamland Fairy City was missing, the entire Vikam's Magical World couldn't be fully connected.
To get the complete story of Vikam's Magical World, one had to visit Dreamland Fairy City in person.
As for the effect of Room 1703, it was even more amazing!
Originally, the "Lion Lake Castle Nightmare Room" had stirred up a dark, eerie trend online. Although the post "Lion Lake Castle Employee's Firsthand Account of That Day" was still pinned on major paranormal forums,
skepticism persisted, with most people dismissing it as a marketing stunt and treating it as a joke.
But the video by Huadu and Xiaoxiao provided the most powerful rebuttal.
A full 30-minute video, with a 6-hour live-stream version, was more than enough to dispel any doubts.
When someone questioned whether P2 was staged by Huadu and Xiaoxiao for clout,
fans and supporters would step forward,
using just one sentence to shut them down:
"Can you guarantee to lower your head between your shoulders like Huadu and stay still for 3 hours?"
...
"I can't!"
Chen Jianhai sat on the bed, trying to mimic Huadu's posture.
...Forget 3 hours, he couldn't even hold it for 30 seconds before feeling like his neck was about to break.
Is the system being too petty?
Just because they went to the neighbor's place during the day instead of playing at his hotel, did it have to mess with them like this?
That guy's neck probably needs some serious recovery time.
And honestly,
it's no wonder Wang Wanwan was scared sleepless by the Room 1703 video.
Even Chen Jianhai felt a chill down his spine after watching it.
"But such a high level of popularity couldn't have been achieved just from this video... Did Lin Suyang do this???"
Thinking this, Chen Jianhai immediately called Lin Suyang.
"No, Boss, I didn't have anything to do with this video."
Lin Suyang didn't take credit and told the truth.
After Chen Jianhai sent him the link to Huadu and Xiaoxiao's live stream, Lin Suyang had indeed followed their channel and watched all their videos from start to finish.
He had kept up with every step, from the live stream to the video release.
After the video "Heaven and Hell... Our Two-Day, Two-Night Experience at Magic Century Theme Park and Lion Lake Castle Hotel" was posted,
he had considered stirring up some hype,
but given that Huadu and Xiaoxiao were already established streamers with a stable fan base and high engagement,
and with Lion Lake Castle Hotel's amusement park backed by the Magic Century Theme Park, the live stream had already attracted a lot of attention.
After a thorough analysis, Lin Suyang concluded that Huadu and Xiaoxiao's own influence was enough to drive the video's traffic.
Rather than wasting time and effort to add icing on the cake and boost someone else's exposure, it was better to focus on promoting Lion Lake Castle Hotel's amusement park.
So, Lin Suyang and his team had been working day and night, creating a series of Vikam's Magical World introductions and fanfiction on various fanfiction websites.
He even planned to contact the romance manga artist Tang Tangtang to commission a series of Vikam character concept art to expand the influence of Lion Lake Castle Hotel's magical world.
"Fanfiction websites? Which one?" Chen Jianhai asked curiously.
"Little Peter Fanfiction Website," Lin Suyang replied. "It's the hottest and largest fanfiction site in the country."
"Little Peter??" Chen Jianhai was confused by the name.
A fanfiction site with a foreign name?
"So, you didn't have anything to do with the haunted room's popularity?" Chen Jianhai was puzzled. "Then where did all this hype come from?"
"Boss, let me ask the copywriter. I'll call you back shortly."
With that, Lin Suyang hung up.
...
Although Chen Jianhai didn't understand why Lin Suyang needed to ask the copywriter,
he took advantage of the free time to type "Little Peter" into his phone's browser.
He had always thought fanfiction sites and forums were web-based, but to his surprise, there was an official app.
After quickly downloading the app and registering an account,
Chen Jianhai, filled with curiosity, searched for "Vikam."
Instantly, the magical gates of Vikam's world opened wide before him!
"How to Save a Vikam. (Canon-compliant, HE, extras.)"
"Plucking Stars, Burning the Remaining Fire."
"Imprisonment x Mermaid, His Pain, His Chains..."
The further Chen Jianhai scrolled, the more his head hurt.
What the hell is all this??
Chen Jianhai, as if possessed, clicked on "Imprisonment x Mermaid, His Pain, His Chains" and secretly started reading.
Two minutes later,
Chen Jianhai decisively exited the page, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm his shaken worldview.
Too wild...
Am I just getting old?
How could his mighty, dark supreme sorcerer Vikam be written like this!!!
What the hell is "powerful fragility"?
Can someone explain??
Since when could a mermaid's tears mixed with blood, dripping on Vikam's chest, awaken him from the darkness...
If a mermaid shedding a few tears and a bit of blood could restore Vikam to normal, those knights would have been out of a job long ago.
The first to chop the mermaid would be those knights.
Perhaps because the pairing of Romantic Mermaid City and Crazy Sorcerer City was too strong,
many of the popular entries under the Vikam tag on Little Peter were "Vikam x Mermaid," while others leaned more toward "Knight x Elf."
And the number of articles and followers under these tags was surprisingly high.
As for how these strange pairings came about,
he didn't dare to ask, he didn't dare to say.
In summary: The joy belongs to others, while the original creator is utterly confused.
"Wait... Could there be fanfiction about me on Little Peter?"
Recalling the popularity of that manga,
a terrible thought suddenly crossed Chen Jianhai's mind.
He quickly typed "Tang Tangtang Rich Second Generation" into the search bar.
"Whoosh..."
In an instant, an overwhelming number of results flooded his screen.
Countless fanfictions, fan art, character sketches, and spin-off stories piled on top of each other. The most popular ones even had over 700,000 likes and favorites, leaving Chen Jianhai utterly stunned.
"Content Warning: Spicy Car series, dark themes, explicit content, proceed with caution."
"What's this?? Why is there a link to click below?"
Chen Jianhai clicked on a highly popular fanfiction, only to find that the main text was just a short excerpt, with comments like:
"So delicious, I bow to the author."
"What's the point of pants anymore?!"
"Ahhh, I'm blown away by this masterpiece!"
Seeing these clearly inappropriate comments, a sense of impending crisis flashed through Chen Jianhai's mind.
He quickly clicked on the link, skimmed through the content, and saw the羞羞 (explicit) fan art of him and the male lead from "Adolescent Awkward Boy Also Wants to Fall in Love: The Beloved of the Heavenly Gift" at the bottom.
Instantly, Chen Jianhai's face turned bright red, his head buzzed, and he was completely dumbfounded.
"Ding ling ling..."
The phone rang again.
Chen Jianhai answered with trembling hands, only to hear Lin Suyang's voice on the other end:
"Boss, I found out."
"The haunted room's popularity was driven by the copywriter."
"Remember that post 'Lion Lake Castle Employee's Firsthand Account of That Day' he wrote?"
"Many people are his fans, so as soon as he shared the video, its popularity skyrocketed."
"I should have realized it earlier. The copywriter's writing is so good; he must have a lot of fans."
"Who would have thought? The copywriter is a big shot in online fiction, with quite a following."
...
Lin Suyang rambled on over the phone,
while Chen Jianhai was still reeling from the shock of that "Spicy Car," his mind completely blank.
"Boss, for the next step, should we continue promoting the hotel on fanfiction sites and paranormal forums with the copywriter, using stories to attract more fans?"
"Sure."
"Boss, should I commission Tang Tangtang to draw some character concept art and post it on the website?"
"Sure."
Chen Jianhai answered mechanically, his voice stiff.
At this moment, his ears were burning red, and he felt an overwhelming sense of shame, as if he couldn't face anyone.
The thought that his employees might have seen those dark stories and explicit fan art,
might have read so many descriptions of his "powerful fragility,"
made him want to die!!!!!
"I can't face anyone anymore, ahhhhhhhh!"
After hanging up,
Chen Jianhai buried his face in the pillow, genuinely considering suffocating himself to death.