NOVEL WEB
Chapter 2
There is nothing more bizarre in this world than having a voice in your mind tell you that you are actually a time traveler who lost your memory due to a time collision, and that in another timeline you were a very enthusiastic fan who now only needs to earn 100 billion to get back.
"...""
Jiang Juyou really wanted to call the fraud prevention center, but this voice was in her mind, not coming from a phone or headphones.
Although it was very bizarre, it seemed she had no choice but to believe it for now.
She made a pained expression and asked in agony, "So I have to work for you?"
"Yes," the voice answered her.
More than those chaotic stories about her past lives, she cared more about the duck that had been right at her lips. "So that 8,500 a month, with food and lodging and social insurance, was fake?"
She knew it, there was no such good thing in this world.
Just as Jiang Juyou was crying inside, the voice answered her, "It's real. That's your salary during your internship."
Jiang Juyou, who was just about to start sobbing, immediately paused and switched to an expression of pleasant surprise. "Oh?"
The duck had returned!
"You've signed the contract. If you don't delete the file within 24 hours, it will be considered agreed upon to start work. You can also choose to start the onboarding process now, and I will prepare the necessary onboarding items for you."
The voice hadn't even finished speaking before Jiang Juyou hurriedly replied, "Agree, agree, agree!"
"Ding-"
"Preparing, please wait a moment."
Right after the voice finished speaking, Jiang Juyou felt her phone vibrate. She picked it up and glanced at the screen, which was asking her if she wanted to download the Entertainment Company Operations Manual app. She unlocked her phone and tapped Agree.
Almost instantly, the app finished installing.
Just like a tutorial for a new game, the edges of the screen darkened, leaving only the app lit up. Jiang Juyou followed the prompts and tapped on it.
After opening it, the first screen that popped up was a countdown of the amount, along with a reminder: "You still need to earn 100,000,000,000 to get back home!"
Those zeros looked longer than her lifespan.
"Is this 1 billion the company has to earn, or I have to earn?" Jiang Juyou couldn't resist her curiosity and asked.
"It is for your personal assets to reach 100 billion," the voice answered her.
"Alright, no going back then," Jiang Juyou decided then and there and put her heart at ease.
After closing the popup, the home screen showed a dimly lit gray building, with a small arrow indicator telling her to tap Next Page. Jiang Juyou followed the prompts, and on the next page a building lit up.
Tapping it made a window pop up that said: "Unlock?"
Without a second thought, Jiang Juyou tapped Unlock. The next second, she heard the sound of falling money in her mind. "What was that sound?"
"The first building is a system gift. You just need to pay an unlocking fee of 2 million," the system answered her.
Jiang Juyou: "..."
Her silence prompted the system to explain, "Don't worry, the building is owned by the company. Any fees incurred will be paid by the company. You just focus on earning 100 billion for now."
"This amount is a company loan from the system that the company will need to repay after becoming profitable. Interest rates vary by market but are not shown on the books. Don't worry about the system's exposure."
Jiang Juyou wasn't worried at all. What did she have to worry about? She was just a worthless nobody. If anything went wrong, they could all just die together.
"So that gray building in front hasn't been unlocked yet?" She quickly shifted her attention and mentioned the building she had seen earlier.
The system answered her: "That's right. You need to meet certain conditions to unlock it."
Jiang Juyou nodded. Following the prompts, she tapped the building on the second page.
It was like a 3D model inside. Some areas were lit up, while others were still grayed out. Jiang Juyou pointed to the lit up area and asked, "Is this where I'll be living?"
"Yes."
The lit up area was a suite, with a bedroom, bathroom, and even a study that could be used as an office. It was missing a kitchen, but Jiang Juyou knew why.
Because this unlocked building was a theater.
The theater was shell-shaped. The biggest area was the auditorium, while the smaller sections in the back were the backstage areas, with various waiting rooms and a pantry, and even two large rehearsal studios for doing a final run-through before going on stage. One of the rehearsal studios was quite big, and was even equipped with practice rooms for vocal warmups and singing practice. On the diagram, the four singing practice rooms looked about the size of rice grains.
Past the backstage area, around a corner, was the lit up suite that would be Jiang Juyou's living quarters.
Although it was living at the theater, everything seemed very complete, so Jiang Juyou was already quite satisfied. She couldn't cook anyway, so a kitchen would be useless to her.
She also tapped through all the unlit areas to check their names. When she saw the theater could seat up to 2,000 people, she was a little surprised. It could basically accommodate most performances.
Having seen all this, Jiang Juyou was raring to go. She immediately asked the system, "What do I need to do to unlock the stage?"
"The Quest Board will provide prompts."
As soon as it finished speaking, the Quest Board popped up into the center of the screen.
Newbie Quest: Please go to the FA Market and sign your first artist. [Tap to jump]
"FA Market?"
Jiang Juyou tapped the screen, and a new section appeared along with a thoughtful explanation.
The FA Market is for artists not currently signed to a company and amateurs interested in signing with a company. The market is divided into Idol and Actor sections. Please sign someone quickly and get your first artist!
Jiang Juyou tapped into the Actor section to take a look, but the rows of signing bonuses frightened her back. "Wah-"
The top few in the Actor section were all actors whose contracts had expired and not been renewed with their original companies. These all had a certain degree of public recognition, so their signing bonuses were frighteningly high. There were actually unsigned actors in the back without signing bonuses, but unfortunately she didn't scroll down that far.
After calming herself down a bit, she tapped the Idol section next door. This side was much friendlier. It was mostly amateurs, so there were no signing bonuses.
Each small square had the amateur's profile picture and resume. Some squares had borders, while others were dull.
Jiang Juyou observed them carefully and realized the bordered profile pictures represented having a skill. The more borders and the brighter the color, the more skills they had.
"This person's picture has three borders!" Jiang Juyou said and was about to tap it.
The next second, a popup prompted her: "View for 1000 yuan?"
"That's so expensive!" Jiang Juyou said this, but still tapped Agree.
After opening the profile of the top ranked person, there was much more information displayed.
Name: Gao Xiayu
Age: 15
Weight: 56kg
Height: 170cm
School: Yongqing High School Grade 10 Class 6
Notes: Art student [Vocals]
Skills: Vocals, piano, guitar, composing
"Not bad, at least that 1,000 wasn't wasted." After finishing looking, Jiang Juyou glanced at the profile picture again. The face in the photo still had some youthful immaturity, with regular handsome features. With some packaging, he would definitely become a little heartthrob.
Jiang Juyou looked at the "Sign" button below the profile picture. Having learned her lesson, she asked ahead of time this time, "This won't cost money, right?"
"If you choose to have the system conduct the casting, there will be certain fees. The specific fees can only be calculated after the signing is complete. If you choose to persuade the other party yourself, there will be no fee. Any transportation and meal costs during this time will be reimbursed by the company."
After the system finished speaking, it planned to stay quiet for a while to give Jiang Juyou time to think. But before it even finished speaking, Jiang Juyou had already given her answer.
She tapped the "Sign" button.
"Why bother saving when it's not even my money?" Jiang Juyou didn't consider the company her family.
After she tapped, the "Sign" button changed to "Signing in progress" and a small line of text appeared below: "Estimated completion before 10 PM tonight."