Chapter 93

Those who have been with Xiaolong for a long time should all be aware that Long is a football fan. Yesterday, Long watched a football match on a platform. When the match was nearing its end and the outcome was no longer in doubt, Long opened Word and started typing. Then, for some reason, a female streamer appeared on the live broadcast page. Long was startled when he suddenly heard a female voice coming from the computer. He clicked to check and realized that this was the so-called female streamer...

Long had never really watched this kind of live stream before, but of course, he knew what it was about. The girl in the video would act cute and coquettish, and the men watching would give her gifts. If a wealthy person appeared and sent a string of expensive gifts, the girl would show more skin, giving some extra perks to satisfy the audience.

Long had always found this kind of content boring. He thought it was better to just watch a movie if he wanted to see something like that. He also felt somewhat disdainful towards these female streamers, thinking they were no different from courtesans in ancient times, selling their smiles.

Yesterday, while eating a late-night snack, Long watched the live stream for a while and had a different feeling. The girl was quite attractive, but her makeup was a bit heavy. Whenever someone gave her a gift, she would say "Mwah" and "Thank you, darling" in a cute voice. When the scene got a bit cold, she would slightly pull at her collar, push up her chest, and tease, "Do you want to see more? Send me some gifts." The chat messages were filled with people begging for more exposure, more perks, and various other requests, some of which were quite vulgar.

The girl couldn't take it and directly replied, "Those who didn't send gifts, what are you rambling about? You're such a waste of space. You didn't spend any money, yet you're complaining here. The ones who spent money haven't even made any requests yet. What right do you have to speak?"

Then, someone in the chat accused the girl of being shameless, only caring about those who spent money and ignoring those who didn't send gifts.

The girl replied, "Of course, this is my job. I earn money from this. When people give me gifts, it's like they're paying my salary. How is it wrong for me to please them? You, who didn't spend any money, are acting like big shots. You're just freeloading and still think you're God?"

Unconsciously, Long felt a sense of heaviness in his heart, a feeling that flowed through him. He suddenly realized that he was very similar to this female streamer, both of them relying on their fans for a living.

Long writes books, gathering a group of readers around him. The readers support him with subscriptions and tips, and he earns his income from the royalties. The female streamer also performs to attract a group of fans online. The fans give her gifts, and she earns her salary from the commissions.

The female streamer values and treats those who send gifts very well, and Long is the same. He treats his paying readers and those who tip him very well because they are the ones who support him financially. They are his bread and butter.

The female streamer is very harsh towards those who don't spend money, who just watch for free and complain. Long is the same. He has been writing for a long time, and every time he encounters a troll or a reader who clearly reads pirated versions and picks faults in the comments, he always responds with a scolding, not being polite to them. "You didn't give me a single cent, you didn't provide me with any income. Why should I bow down to you like a servant?"

For the new book, Long uses a lot of minor characters. Most of the characters in the story are requested by readers from the real-life reader group. Since the book started, many people have privately messaged Long, asking for minor characters and sending detailed character descriptions.

Long's response is always, "Leave it in the minor character thread on Qidian. If you send it to me privately on QQ, I won't remember."

Then, often, someone would ask, "Where is Qidian?" (Oh!)

"Oh, my Qidian account level is not high enough to leave comments. Can you remember it for me, Long?"

"Oh, Long, you're so materialistic. The minor character thread says that only accounts with fan value can be accepted. My account doesn't have fan value. Are you really not going to accept it? How can you do this? I love your books so much!!!" (If you love my books, you should at least have some fan value...)

Long won't accept these requests and will completely ignore them because he has requests from paying readers to use. Those who have supported "Terror Web Novel" with tips and subscriptions are the ones who provide him with income and royalties. He can't just push them aside and say everyone is equal. His head hasn't been kicked by a donkey.

Comparing himself to a female streamer might seem like he's belittling himself. After all, writing books involves dealing with words, and while he may not be a great writer, he should at least have some literary integrity...

However, in ancient times, scholars advanced through the imperial examinations, gaining positions and promotions. Now, online writers advance through their readers, earning better income and better contracts. Ancient scholars served the imperial court, while we writers serve our readers. So, things like integrity and literary integrity aren't that important. The female streamer uses her looks and singing to please the audience, who then send gifts. Long uses his stories to please the readers, who then subscribe and tip. It's the same goal, just different methods. Of course, Long isn't trying to sell his looks... a fat otaku has nothing to sell.

A reader once suggested to Long, "Can you make the protagonist gay?" Long's usual response is, "No problem, if you give me a gold alliance tip, I'll immediately turn the protagonist gay!"

Haha, Long is just that unprincipled.

"Terror Web Novel" is not a dark-themed book. The characters, while not all good and righteous, are not all perverts either. Most of them, including the protagonist, are just a bit selfish and not as selfless as heroes. It's more of a realistic style. Writing this way, Long doesn't feel conflicted, and he believes that readers who like this style won't feel too conflicted either.

After seeing too many overly righteous characters, Long wanted to write a book that suits his own taste. He believes that there are many others who share his thoughts and preferences.

"Terror Web Novel" is Long's third book on Qidian. The first one flopped... actually, it had decent popularity on various pirated websites, but the subscriptions were few. The second one was a sequel to the first, but it flopped even worse, completely failing.

Long is a senior this year and will be graduating and job hunting next year. So, he places great importance on "Terror Web Novel" and hopes it will perform well, with more readers subscribing and reading the official version. If he can write for a year, by the time he graduates, the royalties might allow him to not be in such a rush to find a job, or even to write full-time.

Some authors like to play the emotional card in their pre-publication statements, while others play the passionate card, saying things like, "Where are the demons? Where are the loyal followers? Let's create glory, let's fight, let's defend our honor." Some play the pity card, portraying themselves as pitiful and asking for sympathy...

Long's pre-publication statement is a bit more materialistic, similar to the style of the novel. The usual reasons like singing for one's dreams or proving oneself are so cliché that they make him want to vomit. For example, when watching "The Voice," whenever a mentor asks, "What is your dream?" Long skips ahead, finding it nauseating. Why not just say you want to become famous and gain popularity to make money? It's tiring for those who have been participating in talent shows since 2011 and still haven't become famous to keep making up dreams.

Ah, more royalties, please. Ah, more subscriptions, please. Ah, let Long earn more. Ah, read the official version, please. Ah, Long wants money, money, money.

The pre-publication statement was originally supposed to be released the day before the book went public, but because of last night's experience, Long felt the need to express his thoughts. So, he released the statement a week early. "Terror Web Novel" will go public next Friday, and there are still five days before it goes public. So, the chapters in these five days are still free. After Friday, it will be pay-to-read. You can prepare your knives and show them off on the day of the release. Before the release, the editor doesn't allow a burst of updates, as it would affect the recommendation plan. After the release, Long will enter a high-intensity update mode, with at least 10 updates on the release day.

That's it, meow!

Pure Xiaolong

August 2, 2015

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