APP: Extra 1

The movie emperor had changed twice. Now the top person was a former second-tier person who just came to the app less than six months ago. It was natural for the actors who had been at the peak of the first-tier for a year or two to not feel convinced. They might not have made any classic black movies but they had filmed many red movies and had countless red items. It absolutely wasn’t a problem to fill up the three item spots.

The death of Jiang Shuo had been analyzed in depth. One was that Xie Chi took advantage of the movie. The other was that Jiang Shuo’s cleverness was misplaced. Speaking on combat strength alone, Xie Chi might not be better than those at the peak who chose the all-rounder route.

In addition, Xie Chi used a lot of red items to deal with Jiang Shuo and definitely needed time to replenish them. Right now was his weakest and most vulnerable time. If they didn’t immediately act against him and Xie Chi took advantage of it to develop and distance himself from them, they would become further away from the movie emperor position they wanted.

They had been suppressed by Shen Yi for more than a year. Shen Yi’s strength was there and they had to hold back even if they refused to accept it. Later, Jiang Shuo had a strength that didn’t lose to Shen Yi so they had to restrain themselves again. However, the new movie emperor was definitely their chance.

People thought about this and were ready to move. They followed the new movie emperor when he applied to the next horror movie and their hearts were known to everyone. Undercurrents were surging in the app.

The audience waited for a good show. The fans were so worried that the app’s audience service hotline was blown up for a few days. The app’s online advice mailbox for viewers was stuffed with letters.

They had only one appeal. They hoped that after the change of the movie emperor, a movie emperor protection period system could be added. During the protection period, the movie emperor couldn’t be attacked by malicious actors.

Most of them were once fans of Shen Yi. They had already lost a much-adored movie emperor and didn’t want to lose an unlimited new actor in the future. The fans worked hard but the app rejected the request on the grounds that there had never been such a precedent.

Fans were very clear about the nature of the app. At the beginning of the app’s rise, it was just a small horror movie company with few users. There were no actors and screenwriters and the system was almost nonexistent. Every reasonable and unreasonable rule in the system was created by later generations. Thus, they didn’t give up. Instead, they continued to work hard.

Before they and the app could come up with a result, the new movie emperor and several peak actors entered the shooting of the new horror movie.

The fans saw several people unite under the banner of the ‘new movie emperor isn’t worthy’. They were ready to bully the young with more people and use their experience to suppress the new. One by one, the audience in the movie theater were anxious and angry. They shouted abuse only to be shocked by the next scene they saw.

The new movie emperor cleaned up these ill-intentioned actors without any effort. They were all old actors with many fans but they didn’t have the power to resist.

Fans blinked and confirmed again that this was Xie Chi, not Xie Xinglan. It was because Xie Xinglan was next to him, watching with a smile. Xie Chi could actually fight now. His strength had obviously increased by several levels.

In view of the fact that the new movie emperor always leapfrogged challenges, killing a third-tier actor when he was a rising star, killing a second-tier as a new star, killing a first-tier as a third-tier and killing the movie emperor as a second-tier actor… the fans’ hearts were already prepared. They accepted this surprise and even took it for granted.

Their idol was originally a weird person who fell in love with himself and they became a fan of his strength. In him, everything was possible. Their idol was awesome. The fans were deeply excited and united on the barrage to broaden their territory.

Not long after this horror movie, time passed and the fans of the new movie emperor increased at an exponential rate. The number of fans in this group quickly broke the record for the highest number of fans in the app’s recent history.

Xie Chi was undoubtedly the most popular movie emperor with the most follows and most fans in the app in recent years.

After the veteran first-tier actor Li Hao accidentally exposed that Xie Chi stayed just to resurrect Shen Yi, his popularity rose to another peak. The new movie emperor knew how to repay kindness. After being supported by Shen Yi, he didn’t forget this old favor. He didn’t have any quarrels with the old movie emperor due to his current status.

After all, Shen Yi used to be the most popular movie emperor with the best reputation in the app recently. Yet the new movie emperor wasn’t afraid that Shen Yi would take everything he had now after resurrection. It could be described as open and upright.

The enthusiasm of Shen Yi’s fans was rekindled and they became the movie emperor’s craziest fans for a while.

Xie Chi laughed a bit weirdly after listening to Yan Jing’s exuberant evaluation of the outside matters. This was his and Xie Xinglan’s son. How could he not save Shen Yi?

***

The attack of the peak actors reminded Xie Chi that the hidden danger behind Si Nian and Shen Yi’s deaths would never disappear. As long as the app was maintained, there would always be a steady stream of actors wanting to become gods. They would completely isolate him and after being dormant for several years, they would break out in one fell swoop.

It could be described as an embankment being destroyed by an ant nest.

Si Nian’s pessimistic thoughts before dying made Xie Chi understand that it didn’t matter what he told these actors. They wouldn’t give up chasing this goal. They would even think that he was using his power for personal gain to deceive the world in order to sit back and relax.

Sober people would make the right choice even if they didn’t know the secret. It didn’t matter if he said it or not. He wouldn’t harm the pure and kind-hearted people, nor would he prevent these evil-minded people from continuing to climb up. This was why the app treated him as usual even though Si Nian unearthed the truth.

The truth wasn’t important to people who loved to live in their own world. It wasn’t as convincing as a beautiful lie.

Xie Chi was very clear about this but he didn’t want to be wary all the time. There were countless celebrities, emperors and great people in history who were murdered by villains. He wasn’t that great but it was indeed a warning bell. He didn’t want to spend every night awake even if he was now in the lead.

He had his love and the life he wanted to live, so he was especially prepared for danger. It was because he didn’t want to lose these things or separate.

In the app, there was no reason for him to stay longer.

***

The moment the news of the movie emperor’s abdication came out, the entire app boiled over and fans were upset for a while.

“Wuwuwu, God Chi is going to leave soon. I want to watch his horror movies until he is old… how can this be?”

“Doesn’t he miss the position of movie emperor at all? I heard that a god’s dimension is one level higher than ours. Now that he has beaten the ghosts, doesn’t he want to become a god?”

“I don’t care. Chi Chi isn’t allowed to go!”

Agitated fans started bombarding the app again. This time their demand had changed. They requested not to let the actor abdicate. In fact, they knew that even if he didn’t abdicate, he could still leave. Their approach treated the symptoms but not the root cause. They just wanted to keep it in their own way.

Xie Chi’s original intention was that he didn’t want to occupy all the resources so he made a simple decision. He felt a bit sorry about the current situation but it was only a little bit. Other people’s words would never change his decision unless—

Xie Chi blinked at Xie Xinglan, tugged on his tie and walked forward with a smile to welcome the unexpected visitor.

“The app sent me to be a lobbyist,” the old man from the Ten Temples spoke in a helpless manner.

He was so old and he didn’t expect to one day leave the mountain to do this type of lip service. Although the work he did before seemed to be lip service, he only had to explain it around once every three years. He didn’t know where the app’s confidence came from to send him to convince Xie Chi to stay.

Xie Chi wasn’t a person who remembered old feelings. It wasn’t the case with Si Nian and it wasn’t the case now. In addition, he only had a slight relationship with the old man and they had barely exchanged a few words.

Xie Chi smiled without saying anything and led him in. This was the world where Xie Chi lived.

After Xie Chi fulfilled his wish for Xie Xinglan to have his own body, it didn’t take long to move to a new home. Xie Chi and Xie Xinglan were both happy being quiet so they bought a large single-family villa on the outskirts of the city. The surrounding scenery was excellent and it wasn’t troublesome to drive to the city center.

The old man looked at the blooming flowers in the yard, the half-painted easel that was drying and smelt the food in the house. He realized more and more that this trip was hopeless. If he could live this type of life, who would want the cold position of movie emperor? Not to mention, there was a family member around to indulge in pleasure and ignore everything else.

The old man’s eyes skimmed over some suspicious red marks on Xie Chi’s white neck that couldn’t be hidden and sighed even more. The Ten Temples was too cold. He should go back out to the world to take a look.

***

The old man painstakingly tried to persuade Xie Chi to stay. He talked about the audience and where the app was good. Then he felt it wasn’t convincing and simply became blunt. “You know that the app won’t easily let you leave. It isn’t just because of the audience’s protest.”

“I know,” Xie Chi answered lightly.

The old man looked at the familiar ring on Xie Chi’s finger and said, “I know you don’t want the fact that you were previously the demigod to be exposed and influence your current life, but you have obviously regained your strength. As long as you keep shooting horror movies, you will be discovered by the audience sooner or later. At that time…”

The old man could imagine the sensation that would occur.

The demigod… he was the myth of many ghosts. Just as people yearned for the gods, ghosts also yearned for the gods. In addition, the demigod’s strength was enough to crush a crowd of ghosts. He was the only human being who had transcended the boundaries of the world and could even be the strongest among the ghosts.

Xie Chi listened in a disinterested manner.

The old man returned to his senses and continued. “The audience doesn’t know at the moment but the app must know that you are the demigod. It is the one to handle your wishes after all. It won’t be easy to let you go. Since your memory is restored, you should know that the app is a profit organization active in the ghost world and human world. By absorbing people with obsessions from the human world, it delivers movie and television products to the ghost world, so as to earn money from the ghosts in the ghost world.”

Xie Chi knew 70-80% of this and wasn’t surprised when hearing the old man point it out.

“Then do you know your commercial value?” The old man wondered. “Do you know how much money can flow into the app just using the name of the demigod? Not all ghosts watch horror movies. It is just a pastime for them. However, they will be willing to do it for you, the demigod.”

“You used to be a legend. Now you are back and you will be one again in the future.”

“As long as you are here, the number of app users will break another limit.”

Xie Chi heard this and his slender index finger tapped on the table, signaling for a pause. The old man looked up in confusion. “What’s the matter?”

“That—” Xie Chi paused, leaning back against the sofa with a shrewd smile on his face. “My emotions are quite weak. What does it have to do with me if the app goes bankrupt?”

“Huh?” The old man was dumbfounded as if he couldn’t understand the hint.

Xie Chi made it clear. “Give something practical.”

The old man’s wrinkled face twisted. He dared to say so much but the direction was all wrong. He quickly adjusted his mentality and started to list the benefits the app could bring him. The drop rate of items would increase tenfold, the cooldown period between movies was prolonged or he could stop filming for a long time, the app’s private store would be established…

The old man saw Xie Chi listening carefully but showing no reaction at all. He knew he must’ve missed what this person wanted and simply gave up on himself. “Ancestor, you can tell me what you want and I’ll discuss it with the app.”

Only then did Xie Chi show movement. He poured tea for the old man and opened his mouth. “Then I’ll say it bluntly.”

The old man was suddenly frightened and was afraid Xie Chi would request something big like asking the app to directly revive Shen Yi. If he really mentioned this then it would put the old man in an awkward position. The app might not agree. Even if it did agree, it probably wouldn’t treat Xie Chi well in the future.

The app’s previous courtesy to Si Nian was because Si Nian had no conflict of interest with it. Si Nian never sought privileges for himself. However, that was Si Nian who had no desires. Xie Chi might not necessarily…

Xie Chi seemed to know what the old man was thinking and comforted him. “I won’t try to destroy the foundation of the app for my own benefit, you can rest assured.”

“I only have two requirements.”

“One, I’ll be a movie emperor in name only and the app will create another movie emperor. The so-named movie actor isn’t in the app’s title system. It has no privileges and is just a virtual title. The other movie emperor is the one with the privileges. I won’t leave until Shen Yi is resurrected. After Shen Yi’s resurrection, I will go back to reality. The app can’t force me to stay but I promise to come back occasionally. Of course, this time might be very long but for the app with a long history, this is like nothing, right?”

The old man was taken aback as he realized that Xie Chi wanted to completely abandon the honor and privileges of the movie emperor. “You want to be a guest elder?”

Xie Chi smiled. “Yes, you can understand it like that.”

There was a conflict of interest so there was a dispute. If he gave up on blocking other people’s dreams and didn’t care about their interest, it would be fine.

The old man looked at Xie Chi in a complicated manner. His request truly didn’t conflict with the interest of the app. It was just a named movie emperor position and the app could keep Xie Chi…

If Xie Chi really wanted to go, the two-world trading rules meant the app didn’t have any special means to force him to stay. However, Xie Chi’s current suggestion allowed the two parties to achieve a win-win situation.

The old man thought so and replied, “This is no problem at all!”

“Second.” Xie Chi raised another finger.

The old man waited impatiently for him to say it but Xie Chi cocked his head and glanced at Xie Xinglan who was cleaning up the paint for him.

“What is it?” The old man also looked at Xie Xinglan with confusion.

Xie Chi lowered his eyes and gently rubbed the ring on his hand. “Since it is just a title in name, I want to create another title.”

“What title?”

Xie Chi pulled out a piece of paper from under the coffee table, put it on the table and pushed it over. The old man saw it was a title that said ‘Xie Xinglan (heart) Xie Chi’ with a border of bright stars like the endless universe.

“You young people are really…” The old man coughed. Then he saw Xie Xinglan coming over and quickly folded the paper, placing it in his pocket. He lowered his voice and confirmed it again, “You are only asking for these two things? Do you want to think about it again?”

He felt that Xie Chi was making a loss.

“Don’t you want to look for some benefits for yourself?” The old man thought for a moment and quietly suggested, “The app is very rich. Don’t save money for the app.”

Xie Chi glanced at the old man’s pocket meaningfully and smiled. “I’m already asking for my own benefits.”

The old man was startled and understood that he wasn’t a fish and wouldn’t know the joy of a fish. For Xie Chi, he liked things that couldn’t be bought with money.

He inwardly pondered on it. For Xie Chi, who was a famous movie emperor, perhaps he just wanted to show his love to the entire ghost world. It was unconventional enough.

***

After the old man left, Xie Xinglan wondered, “What did you discuss?”

“It is a secret.”

Xie Xinglan was happy and didn’t believe he couldn’t get an answer. He leaned forward to kiss Xie Chi. His hands weren’t stable and he tickled Xie Chi’s waist.

Xie Chi laughed uncomfortably. He turned from side to side on the sofa and escaped smoothly. He had inherited Si Nian’s strength and the best thing was that Xie Xinglan could no longer treat him like an eagle catching a chick.

“Brother, I’m going for a walk down the street!”

Xie Xinglan watched the swiftly moving Xie Chi with a helpless expression.

***

A few days later, Xie Xinglan saw the title at the top of the top 10 rankings of the app.

In order to meet Xie Chi’s request, the app went a bit too far. The red heart between the two names was glittering and pounded at an excessively fast heartbeat. The stars around the frame flickered and flowed, shining brightly. On the upper right corner of the frame, there were two simple male rings that were closely attached to each other.

Xie Xinglan’s eyesight was too good and he could even see the abbreviations of ‘xc’ and ‘xx’ on the small rings.

Yan Jing sent a message to Xie Chi’s mobile phone that was on the table and Xie Xinglan saw it instantly.

[Wow, two Brother Xies, aren’t you too flirty? The entire app has seen it and is talking about it!! Isn’t the app too good? It is indeed an app that gives wedding rings, it is too great!]

The phone was ringing wildly and being bombarded with messages.

“Are you blushing?” Xie Chi came out of nowhere and smirked.

Xie Xinglan returned to his senses. The suspicious redness on his face faded away. He hugged Xie Chi who was about to run away and hugged him tightly.

“Too moved?”

Xie Xinglan felt that everything he wanted was in his arms and spoke in a deep voice, “You don’t need to specifically declare my existence. I am you and I don’t mind—”

Xie Chi interrupted, turning his head to declare seriously, “I mind. You are me but you also aren’t me. I want them to see it.”

The moment their eyes met, Xie Xinglan saw the pounding heart. His heart was beating along with the one on his phone.

---

Proofreader: Purichan