Super Zoo

Whether animals have returned the favor with gifts is hard to say, but in the past few days, humans have certainly showered the zoo with plenty.

If all those electronic gifts suddenly turned real, the zoo would definitely be bursting at the seams. I bet the whole Yangchuan City would be overrun by mantis shrimp, hip-hop monkeys, and fortune cats.

At that time, the story would become that of a peerlessly beautiful super monster, leading a horde of no-good prehistoric crocodiles and countless little lackeys like mantis shrimp and fortune cats, ruling over Yangchuan City, oppressing humans, and living happily ever after...

The gifts were simply too many. Not to mention anything else, just the 30% "necessary operational expenses and service fees" that Taoyuan Entertainment Company took was a considerable amount that made Wang Hao feel quite surreal.

"What exactly have we done? It seems like we've done nothing, yet money is flowing into our bank account like water... Could it be that one day I'll wake up and find out this was all just a dream?"

"It's because you don't understand the economic consumption model of the new era! Comrade fatty, to be so out of step with the times at such a young age, you seriously need to hit the books."
Your journey continues at empire

The digital economy and the tangible economy are vastly different; it's the idea that's consumed, not food. Once society's material needs are satisfied, whoever meets the spiritual needs will grasp the market.

Suming patted Wang Hao on the shoulder: "But since you think the money is coming too easily, I have a task for you. Go interview some webcasters!"

Suming had announced on TV that day they were hiring internet broadcasters. Since it was recorded and not live, the news was already several days old. He had already posted the job advertisements on talent recruitment websites, Weibo, and through the broadcasting platform.

As Weibo and other broadcasting platforms already had a sizeable audience, and coupled with the television station's advertisement, resumes for the broadcasting positions started pouring into the inbox like snowflakes. In just a few days, the inbox was almost full, receiving countless applications every day, to the point where Shen Yan had to request a larger capacity email account overnight.

In less than a week, they received nearly a thousand resumes. Most of them were from women, and there were even a small number from children.

The zoo's broadcasting platform definitely can't use so many broadcasters. Among those who came for the interviews, the good and bad were intermixed, and not everyone was suitable for the job. It was necessary to conduct a special screening.

After Shen Yan granted Wang Hao administrative access, Wang Hao opened the website backend and browsed through some of the resumes with Suming.

After scanning through dozens of resumes, Wang Hao frowned and said, "Is it just me, or are all these people face-blind? Why do they all look the same? Were they all born to the same mother?"

Many of the young women submitting their resumes looked similar: pointed chins, big eyes, high cheekbones, the typical 'internet celebrity snake spirit face'. And if there were half body photos, on closer inspection even their breast shapes and sizes are nearly identical.

Obviously, all of them had conformed to the current popular plastic surgery trends.

It was precisely because a large group of 'man-made beauties' were applying that Suming asked Wang Hao to conduct the interviews.

With someone else, Suming might not be as confident. These internet celebrity faces might not be what every man dreams of taking home as a wife, but with their vixen-like charm, most men might not be able to resist them.

As for Wang Hao, there's no such issue for him now. After half a year of training in the ranks of civil servants, having survived the baptism of "wine pools and meat forests," he had seen a slice of life and finally became a trustworthy revolutionary warrior, tried and tested. Any trace of lust he had during his school days was completely gone, and now his heart was fully devoted to Peng Xue.

This batch of beauties hoping to rise through the ranks via unspoken rules would find that their methods wouldn't work on Wang Hao.

"You need to give me some clear standards, or else I'll be doing interviews till the end of time," Wang Hao said with a look of profound suffering, as if assessing these beauties was the most painful task in the world, a sacrifice for the revolutionary cause.

Suming said, "Just remember one thing: our live streaming platform is not like the others; it's a green platform. We don't rely on lewdness or flaunting sexuality to make money. None of those internet celebrity faces are wanted!"

Many viewers of the platform are minors, and some are entire families watching together. If female broadcasters started stripping or pole dancing live, or swearing profusely, they might initially attract viewers, but it wouldn't be long before the platform's reputation would sour and we'd lose our real target audience.

"So, we only select ugly freaks that look like Zhu Bajie's second aunt, or old men and women? Well, that itself could be a selling point," Wang Hao muttered.

"Of course, that's not acceptable either," Suming shook his head. "Think about it. What's the zoo all about? What's the selling point of animals? The characteristics of the broadcasters should be in line with the overall style of the platform. Choose those with a youthful appearance, cute, that immediately make you think of the girl-next-door, giving off the aura of having chewed a stick of Green Arrow gum, an all-around refreshing feeling."

"Refreshing? Like milk tea sisters, a bunch of dedicated fans adoring their goddess until she marries a wealthy man. Sounds like a very sad story," Wang Hao shrugged.

"Even better, if our platform could produce broadcasters who marry as well as the milk tea sister, we might get a discount at WonderJoy East in the future," Suming laughed, then continued, "You can also recruit some broadcasters with unique personalities. For the queen-like ones, let them stream the Grey Wolf; for the prideful ones, let them handle the lynx; and for the unruly and violent girls, they can stream the crocodile! And so on."

"Got it, so you're saying stay away from the mainstream internet celebrities," Wang Hao nodded.

"There are also males," Suming added, doubtfully. "Remember, the deep and rugged tough guy, as well as the pure heartthrob, seem out of fashion these days. A few like Takakura Ken or Takeshi Kaneshiro are enough. We need fewer of that type."

"I get it, I get it. The new standard for male gods, tender and cute boys. Peng Xue talks to me about it. I'll just pick in the vein of Song Zhongji and Jiao Shou," Wang Hao affirmed.

"Tender and cute boys... I guess we're out of luck," Suming said with a laugh at Wang Hao's precision.

"I'm definitely out of the question, but you might still have a shot," said Wang Hao earnestly.

"Really?" Suming perked up.

"Peng Xue also said that in the current realm of male gods, tender and cute is mainstream, but there's also a place for sleazy and cheap uncles. A lot of girls are into that."

Suming: "..."