Fang Zhao didn’t know about any of these developments regarding himself. While in Mazhou, in addition to collaborating with the other members of the project team, he made preparations for his advanced-studies completion concert.
The completion concert was similar to a graduation thesis. If the quality was insufficient or the total credits didn’t clear the passing grade, then he would have to continue studying. Thus, some could graduate early, but others would have to remain and continue to study over and over.
Fang Zhao had already recorded some works in his little notebook, but he didn’t have enough yet.
After submitting some of the stuff to the project team, Fang Zhao had just decided to go out for a walk when he heard Yan Biao laughing at Zuo Yu.
“Aren’t you useless? You can’t even beat Curly Hair!” Yan Biao ridiculed Zuo Yu’s half-dead appearance on the treadmill. “I last even longer than you with one leg.”
“Would it kill you not to brag? That leg of yours has a f*cking power-propulsion function!” Zuo Yu jumped off the treadmill he was running on, grabbed a towel, and wiped his sweat off frantically. He glanced at Curly Hair, who on a treadmill and running along to a game’s musical tune. While running, Curly Hair was even stepping to the beat. Zuo Yu immediately swallowed the words he wanted to rebut Yan Biao with.
He really couldn’t even be compared to a dog!
Of the two treadmills Fang Zhao had rented, one was specifically for Curly Hair. This dog wasn’t ordinary; Fang Zhao didn’t want to have Curly Hair run outside continuously for long periods of time, but he didn’t want Curly Hair to get lazy either, so he was making Curly Hair run when with their own people. He didn’t want Curly Hair to think about gaming all the time.
However, Curly Hair had learned to play truant. When Fang Zhao wasn’t around, Zuo Yu and Yan Biao couldn’t manage this little thing. Because of his extraordinary value, Yan Bian and Zuo Yu were very cautious and were even afraid to clutch his fur when they played with him. As for training and disciplining Curly Hair, they didn’t have the guts to do so.
After Fang Zhao knew about this, he downloaded a number of gaming songs onto the treadmill machine. These were all from games that Curly Hair had played before, and they were played on loop, ending automatically after three hours.
Thus, every day, Curly Hair would run for three hours. Today Zuo Yu had decided to try running at the same pace, but he’d had to get off the treadmill after two hours and ended up being ridiculed by Yan Biao.
Wiping his sweat off and tossing the towel aside, Zuo Yu raised his head backward and lamented, “To think that back then, before I was discharged from the military—”
“Forget about the past,” Yan Biao interrupted. “It was just as easy for me before I was discharged! For just this distance, we would even have had strength training simultaneously!”
The two took turns took turns looking down on the other and bragging while reminiscing about their pasts.
Although they had worked out regularly since being discharged, working out was like primary training and could be considered a form of entertainment. When they were still serving in the army, they had been forced to train, and for long periods at that. They hadn’t been able to rest just because they were tired; the entire thing was like a sort of work.
Zuo Yu sighed. “Indeed, the easy life really wastes people. I have degenerated much from before, and now I can’t even beat a no-name athlete from Mazhou.” He had already given up on comparing himself to the special Curly Hair, who was worth 200 million.
“After hearing your recounting, perhaps he was a hidden top-notch athlete? Don’t look down on the top professional athletes from Mazhou. Those long-distance runners run a minimum of 40 kilometers whenever they start, and they have all sorts of tricks and patterns. They can start running again before your muscles have even had enough rest. They are all talented people with natural aptitude. People doing what we do really cannot be compared with them,” Yan Biao reasoned.
“Right, back then, besides physical training, we still had technical and skills training, not just running.” Zuo Yu was a little comforted.
“Our garrison was much more arduous than what yours. Our training intensity was even greater,” said Yan Biao.
“Continue blowing your horn. Regardless, I have never seen it.” Although Zuo Yu said this, deep down, he largely acknowledged it. A garrison somewhere like Planet Wai might be slightly better, but he knew what sort of place Planet Baiji was, even if he had never been there. The danger level there was indeed high, and the planet’s native organisms were really terrible. However, after Planet Baiji discovered new ore, it had become a paradise. Now, the competition for Planet Baiji’s mineral resources was intense and it was a very difficult place to enter in the short term.
“You will understand if you experience life at Planet Wai’s garrison. You don’t need to experience the sort of difficulty at Planet Baiji. Those bases on planets near the end of the developmental sequence are more or less the same. You will suffer if you go there.”
“Aren’t you underestimating me? It’s not like I haven’t suffered before.”
When this was said, the mood became a little gloomy. They felt that this couldn’t go on. After being discharged, they would only feel melancholic in the future if they ran into their old comrades. They had started new lives after being discharged from the military, but their past experiences in the forces still left a deep impression. They didn’t wish to admit that they had become weaker.
The two saw Fang Zhao come out as they were reminiscing, and they hurriedly tossed aside their thoughts. Whatever it was, they couldn’t lose this job! They absolutely could not lose his job!
Zuo Yu and Yan Biao were worried that their conversation had been overheard by Fang Zhao. They knew that Fang Zhao’s ears were very impressive!
But Fang Zhao didn’t show any expression. He took a look at Curly Hair’s condition and run time as he stepped out. This little thing treated this like he was playing a game. He had drive the moment he heard the game music, and he looked very happy running to the beat.
“Where is Nanfeng?” asked Fang Zhao.
“He just went out to take a call. I think someone was looking for him. He looked surprised when he took the call,” replied Zuo Yu.
As he said that, Nanfeng rushed in hurriedly from outside. He appeared delighted when he saw Fang Zhao. “Boss, the director of ‘Up-Close Contact’ just contacted me. He wants to invite you onto the next edition of the program as a special guest.”
“What sort of thing is ‘Up-Close Contact’?” Yan Biao and Zuo Yu had puzzled looks on their faces. Although they had already learned a lot about the entertainment circles, they really had no impression of this program.
“It’s a government-supported variety program with a social theme.” Nanfeng’s understanding of all sorts of variety programs was much deeper than Zuo Yu and Yan Biao’s. “To put it simply, it’s an entertainment variety program with poverty alleviation as its objective.”
“Poverty alleviation? Where? Is there still a need for such a thing now? Aren’t there rather large foundations?” Zuo Yu was curious.
Nanfeng pointed his finger to the sky. “Planets.”
Zuo Yu’s and Yan Biao’s eyebrows rose up, but they didn’t say anything. No matter what their opinion was, they still had to follow after their boss. Whatever decision their boss made, they would follow after him.
Fang Zhao took the materials from Nanfeng, browsed through them quickly, and said, “Explain it simply.”
“It’s like this…” Nanfeng told Fang Zhao everything he knew about it.
Fang Zhao had been on a variety program before. Back then, he had taken part in “Project Starlight” during his military service.
It was unlike “Project Starlight,” which had been a joint project by the Ministry of Education and various military district leaders. The main target of “Project Starlight” had been youngsters who wanted to evade military service, whereas this program was aimed at alleviating poverty. There were many governmental media groups behind this poverty-alleviation program, but it was still an entertainment variety program. However, the program had never been able to invite any popular or big-name celebrities. The ones they could get were either not very popular or were semi-retired. Some internet broadcasting platforms were unwilling to buy the broadcasting rights, so the majority of people didn’t know about this.
The program was slightly nonmainstream, but because it touched upon public welfare and poverty alleviation, and also because of the number of influential governmental media groups backing it, the program had been able to survive till now. Nanfeng saw that the production aspect of it was rather ordinary. The special guests of these programs would go to places that were really arduous, so it was no wonder that many popular celebrities didn’t want to go. If they got hurt by accident, then the losses would be great!
“I will take a look at some of their previous editions. Nanfeng, did they say where the next edition would be going?” asked Fang Zhao.
Nanfeng shook his head. “The planet they are headed to hasn’t been decided yet. In any case, it will surely be those toward the tail end of the developmental sequence. That won’t change.” In short, it would be a poor place with harsh conditions, somewhere there wouldn’t be much internet and even daily living would be rather inconvenient.
“Also, because this program has a public-welfare nature…” Nanfeng checked Fang Zhao’s expression. “The director requested that you give them a friends discount.”
Nanfeng’s lips had twitched when he’d heard this from the project team. There wasn’t any friendship between them, let alone a friendship price. Could the boss really go there just to suffer?
“Because Boss was previously composing in isolation, they went to speak with Prof. Carter first. In a bit, they will contact you.”
When Nanfeng was explaining all this to Fang Zhao, the program team had already spoken with Prof. Carter’s side. The program team also had it tough. Speaking to people from the entertainment circles was still fine, but when facing this bunch of academic professors, they really couldn’t be forceful, nor could they speak gently and appear weak. Ultimately, their objective wouldn’t change! They had even requested a few big shots of the Poverty Alleviation Office speak out on their behalf.
Actually, it wasn’t that that had to seek out Fang Zhao, but this was requested by the garrison on the planet they had planned for. Fang Zhao was their only appointed guest. Changing, adding to, or removing the other special guests was fine as long as Fang Zhao was brought along.
That bunch garrisoned on the planet were all elites. Circumstances on a planet without many resources were already difficult enough as it was, so who was willing to be a nanny? It wasn’t that they looked down on the descendants of the Great Generals; the majority of Great Generals’ descendants were all very impressive, but Leizhou’s Zaro, Laizhou’s Barbara, and Tongzhou’s Woo Tianhao? What sort of bunch were they!
Even if one didn’t pay any attention to the entertainment circles or watch other programs, just a quick check on the internet would provide a simple understanding.
Because many foreign planets’ bases had internal regulations on communications, there was a limit to the entertainment programs that the garrisoned troops could see. Thus, the internal personnel in charge of culture and art would select suitable entertainment programs from time to time and transmit them to every base and military district, including songs, movies, TV series, sporting events, variety programs, news from various continents, and so on.
A short while back, “Founding Era” had been packaged and transmitted in its entirety to all the bases and military districts, including the soundtrack. Having a series to watch, and a massive, top-notch production at that, had delighted those garrisoned on bases on foreign planets.
Many people had become fans of Fang Zhao. A number of Fang Zhao’s songs had been well received. Fang Zhao was also a reserve duty major, and many unlucky people who were sent out for military service viewed Fang Zhao as their idol.
Of course, the top brass didn’t just look at Fang Zhao’s popularity and his status as a reserve duty major. There was also Planet Baiji and Planet Wai’s rise. Fortunately, the program team had come seeking them out, looking for a collaboration for one season. Therefore, they had put in this request.
The actual effectiveness of “Up-Close Contact” wasn’t huge; otherwise, those garrisoned bases at the tail end of the development sequence would have soared up long ago. A reality show was just a show! An entertainment program made for people to watch!
Even with its focus on poverty alleviation, the officers of many garrisons rejected it. It wasn’t because they didn’t despise the program—they thanked those people for their help, but at the same time, special guests would bring their own set of troubles. There was once a celebrity with a weak immune system who fell really ill at a certain garrisoned base. Luckily, medical attention had been prompt. It would have been a lot of trouble if something bad had happened.
Thus, sometimes the officers of garrisoned bases would hope for big-name celebrities, but they were worried something might happen on their domain, resulting in an unsavory public opinion, which gave them conflicted thoughts. But if Fang Zhao was used, they would be much more relieved! Fang Zhao had fought off terrorists while undergoing military service on Planet Baiji! His character was strong enough! He could withstand hardship! And he still had the nickname of a mythical beast!
A mythical beast! Didn’t the legends from the Old Era say that they warded off evil?
The three invited special guests on the program team were too “evil.” They needed to add one more to balance it out.
Because of that garrisoned base’s request, the program team tried their hardest to persuade the relevant parties. After speaking with Carter for close to an hour, the program team sought out Fang Zhao.
While the other party sought out Fang Zhao, Carter hurriedly made a call to Mo Lang.
Carter lowered his head and didn’t look at Mo Lang’s expression upon informing him of the situation.
It made one tremble in silence.
Carter steeled himself as he met Mo Lang’s deathly stare. “…Teacher, regarding this matter… I… I can explain…”
Mo Lang was breathing heavily.
He was pissed!
He had just told Carter to have Fang Zhao stay away from the entertainment circles during his advanced studies period, but in the blink of an eye, he learned that a certain entertainment variety program had come digging!
Carter was indeed unreliable! He couldn’t even look after one person!
The might of the entertainment circles was all that was evil!