Chapter 50: The Second Dream

Chen Xu was free anyway and agreed to the competition. As long as it wasn’t a basketball match, he could easily defeat anyone in shooting hoops.

After a few rounds, everyone readily conceded defeat, including Zhao Gang.

As he uttered words of false humility to them, his mind thought otherwise. If he had revealed his true ability, wouldn’t they have been terrified?

He had gone easy on them in the game and deliberately missed a few shots.

Although his ego had risen by a lot recently, he still held on to his principles of not being too arrogant and made it a point to leave some leeway in whatever he did.

Streaming, on the other hand, was a moneymaking opportunity, and therefore, it didn’t warrant the same considerations. Naturally, he had to go all out.

“What a pity. Given your talent in shooting hoops, if only you were taller by 20 centimeters, you’d stand a chance to play in the NBA,” Zhao Gang commented with a hint of regret.

Chen Xu laughed but didn’t take him seriously. After chatting with Zhao Gang for a while, he learned that the group of them were fans of streetball and had gotten to know each other while playing the game.

Later on, they had come together and formed a team, mainly to train together and whatnot. On the side, they filmed short videos.

Chen Xu couldn’t help but sigh. Filming short videos was indeed the in thing now. So many people were doing it.

The number of fans Zhao Gang and his team had exceeded Dai Zixin’s by far. However, their method of monetizing their popularity was different. They did not engage in live streaming. Instead, they sold fitness products.

While chatting and playing basketball, time flew. Before they realized it, it was already afternoon.

“Let’s end it here. It’s almost lunchtime,” Chen Xu suggested.

“Let’s go.”

Zhao Gang and his team packed up their belongings, and they walked back to the hotel together.

As they were about to approach the hotel, Zhao Gang suddenly said, “Chen Xu, I would like to invite you to join our video team.”

“What?” Chen Xu was caught by surprise. He hadn’t expected Zhao Gang to extend such an invitation and was momentarily at a loss for how to reply.

Zhao Gang added, “We usually shoot our videos during the weekends and public holidays. It won’t interfere with your day job.”

Chen Xu thought for a moment and replied, “Give me two days to think about it before I give you a reply.”

“Sure. Just contact me via WeChat when you have your answer.”

When they reached they reached the hotel, Chen Xu parted ways with them.

He had said that he needed time to think about it. In reality, he already knew the answer was a “no.” The reason he had asked for time to consider was that he didn’t want to make the situation awkward.

He didn’t have anything against Zhao Gang. Contrarily, he had a pretty good impression of the group of them. They were pretty lighthearted and easy to converse with. He was more than happy to befriend them. However, becoming business partners was another matter altogether.

Zhao Gang had not mentioned anything regarding remuneration. How much money would he receive each time he filmed a video with them? Zhao Gang hadn’t volunteered that information, and Chen Xu could only wait and see when the time came.

If Zhao Gang gave too much, Chen Xu would feel bad about it. If he gave too little, Chen Xu would feel taken advantage of.

Even if Zhao Gang were similar to Dai Zixin, and didn’t care much about money, did the same go for the others in the team? Money always complicated matters.

If he joined them, was there a quantifiable standard to gauge his marketing effect, the number of fans he attracted, and his role in any sales increase?

There wasn’t. The pay distribution was a question that could never be answered clearly.

Chen Xu wasn’t willing to enter such a muddy pool of water.

His collaboration with Dai Zixin was different. There were only two of them, making communication and negotiation simple. Furthermore, the money after every live steam was divided there and then. The accounts were clear and neat.

If a day ever came when Dai Zixin was no longer satisfied with the terms of their collaboration, they could simply put a stop to it without any hard feelings. There wouldn’t be any messy entanglements.

Chen Xu was absorbed in his thoughts as he made his way to the restaurant on the second floor. All his colleagues were already present and waiting for him.

After lunch, everyone headed back to their rooms to pack their bags. They boarded the bus and started on their return journey.

…

After returning from the hot springs hotel, Chen Xu did not see Luo Xiyun for several days. According to Miss Guo, Liu Kun had forced her to stay home to recuperate.

When Luo Xiyun finally returned, Chen Xu’s errands hardly allowed him to be in the office.

Most of the department’s advertising had been outsourced to an advertising company that had been personally picked by Liu Kun. Chen Xu’s main job was to act as the liaison between the two companies.

Previously, before the advertising proposal had been put on the table, he stayed in the office and helped out with other miscellaneous chores whenever he was free.

Now that the advertising project had finally been finalized, he frequently had to leave the office. Miss Guo was generous and had provided him with a car to use.

He was finally able to put certain information that he had acquired in the dream to good use; it was his familiarity with the roads.

Unfortunately, that didn’t exactly help him to save much time. This city was constantly congested. Furthermore, he was rarely able to find a parking spot. He parked the car in the parking lot below the office and returned the car key to Miss Guo.

It was faster to take the subway. Of course, it was only faster if he avoided the rush hour crowds.

He was so busy and occupied that one week passed very quickly.

A month had passed since the last dream.

This morning, Chen Xu woke up before dawn.

He eagerly reawakened his virtual dream gear. The familiar interface appeared in his field of vision, and a prompt appeared on the top right-hand corner.

“It indeed has appeared,” he remarked to himself.

Excitement shot through him, and as he focused on the top corner, the prompt popped open.

“Would you like to enter the ‘Alien Invasion’ dream?”

The sound of this name…

He stroked his chin. The name of this dream sounded like it had a similar theme to the ‘Apocalyptic Survival’ dream. But it was definitely more dangerous. Judging from the name itself, it was likely that there would be monsters in this dream.

Was this really a virtual game?

He continued looking at the prompts that were provided. They were similar to the first dream. There were also three options. However, the items provided weren’t the same. The characters were the same.

Finally, when he got to the scanning option, he found himself faced with a dilemma.

Honestly, he was still inclined to replicate a person from reality to accompany him in the dream. After all, it was a very lonely prospect to have to stay alone in the dream for half a year. Only through experience could one realize how difficult that really was.

The time came for him to choose a companion, and he felt that he lacked the courage to share the complex feelings of companionship with a completely unreal NPC.

His requirements for the companion were naturally that she had to possess high values, a good figure, and an elegant temperament. Even if nothing could develop during that period, it didn’t hurt to have some eye candy.

In any case, it was only a dream. There was nothing that bothered his conscience.

“One rule. Never find someone you know or may know in the future.”

The easiest method to find someone who met those standards was to pick a famous star. However, the domestic exposure of these people was too high, and personal information regarding them and their companions was easily leaked. It was probably safer to find someone foreign.

He wasn’t interested in a Caucasian companion.

The ladies in Korea all looked like they were from the same mold. The most ideal candidate would be a female star from Japan. Even if she wasn’t as pretty as the local stars in China, she would possess an outstanding temperament.

Unfortunately, it was now too late to apply for an international visa. He couldn’t wait that long.

He could always simply pick a companion off the streets!

He made his decision cheerily.