Chapter 234 - Extra - Support Song 1
Chapter 234 - Extra – Support Song 1
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
Between the end of the mid season to the start of the Star League, there was a rare holiday period for survival show players.
Wu Jin had spent the last half a month eating and drinking in Floating City when he suddenly received a message from the team.
“Do fanservice?”
In the communication, their team leader had sent a screenshot of Silver Thread Roll, Dolma, and Jingyi’s Star Blogs. “The off-season period is one month long. If we don’t do some fanservice, more than half our fans will run off! The survival show industry has one foot in the entertainment circle, Little Witch, and our White Moonlight can’t fall behind...”
On the soft sofa in Floating City, Wu Jin was holding a family sized tub of ice cream and observing the things the other teams had done to stay relevant.
All of Silver Thread Roll had dressed up in women’s clothing for their live broadcast... no, not completely everyone – Ning Fengbei was looking handsome in a shirt, tie, and trousers, sitting amongst a group of ‘chattering women’ and looking like a king.
The Dolma team had taken a group of portraits of ‘team members x the Dolma sword’. The background and the swords put together were handsome enough to fly up into the sky.
Jingyi––Jingyi simply made a documentary. In the film, the captain and team members got along harmoniously, helping each other with their sniping and attacking. The underlying theme was clear: Jingyi was a happy family.
White Moonlight’s leader lamented, “A low cost documentary. Why didn’t we think of this earlier!”
Compared with the White Moonlight when Lin Jue was still on the team, this year’s publicity funds had indeed been cut in half.
The younger White Moonlight team hadn’t been formed for long, and since they hadn’t yet achieved any results, the team had rejected the vast majority of endorsement ads. The most important thing for survival show players was their performance in the competitions; it wasn’t that it was impossible to accept advertising just after their debut, but it was not an attitude that a battle team should have.
Advertising was targeted at fan money.
They should never consume fan money too early, before the results came out. The players should focus on training and not do extra things. This was the White Moonlight Battle Team’s commitment to the audience from the beginning to end.
Therefore, Wu Jin, Zoe, and the other players had only really started taking advertising jobs after the mid-season competition. If those funds hadn’t yet come in, they would have even less funds for publicity.
In the White Moonlight group communication channel, the team manager slowly proposed that all the women should speak up for the public welfare project protecting little leapfrogs, which was then opposed by everyone except Wen Lin.
Wen Lin expressed that he quite wanted to see Zoe wearing a skirt.
So, the manager came up with a Plan B. “We can record a main support song for White Moonlight in the Star League.”
It was agreed that this plan was feasible. Wu Jin carefully asked the manager how much funding they would have for the production.
The manager generously gave him a number, ‘9’.
Wu Jin was reassured, “Since we have 90,000 credits...”
The manager smiled like a fox, “It’s 9,000. Support is a long term battle. This time, we’re just testing the waters and should save where we can. After all, we still have to spend money before the league begins.”
Wu Jin’s vision grew dark, “......” 9000! How could they make a record with 9000!
The manager was very optimistic, “Although it’s not enough to shoot an MV, we can still record the song. If there isn’t enough to record a song, we can just make a demo. If a demo can’t be done, we can buy a beat and have the whole team yell something! If we want to do fanservice, then intentions are enough!”
At the end of the communication, Wu Jin lay there on the sofa, motionless.
Wei Shi got up and walked by the sofa.
Wu Jin didn’t understand the singing industry in the 31st century. He opened up his terminal and browsed through several music supermarkets. The complicated lists, labels, and online processes for lyrics and music, and UIs for music editing software all dazzled his eyes. 9000 credits wasn’t a lot, but if they made the music themselves, they could save a lot on production costs.
Wu Jin called his teammates from the talent show he’d participated in before, Zhuang Fan and Hudi.
Zhuang Fan had been busy hyping up the rumors of his solo flight over the past two days. Based on his words before, he would come out to clarify the rumors in two weeks, denounce the media, and stir up a wave of group spirit for his group, “You want to sing? Big brother, do you want to cooperate&#k2013;&#k2013;”
Wu Jin immediately explained his intentions, “It’s our team that wants to sing.”
Zhuang Fan wondered, “You guys... can you hit the right notes.”
Wu Jin shook his head sincerely. He didn’t know if anyone else could sing in tune, but Caesar definitely couldn’t.
Zhuang Fan replied truthfully, “A good tuner starts at 200,000.”
Wu Jin once again spread out on the sofa, letting out a sigh like a burnt handheld wrap.
Wei Shi got up and walked by the sofa again.
Hudi was the second one to receive a call. The youth very much admired this Brother Wu who could fight, kill, sing, and dance, “There are also free tuners! Cross border cooperation is equivalent to attracting popularity across circles. I know several tuners who don’t seek fame and profit, but they’re probably at the Civet Music Festival these days and are refusing to see guests...”
Wu Jin hung up the call and flopped over.
Wei Shi got up again, opening the terminal projection and home theater system. The screen began to play the latest music TV series that Floating City Entertainment had invested in.
Wu Jin was about to call Eagle Blade––
The sound from the TV was suddenly turned up.
Wu Jin: “!!!”
Wei Shi’s face was expressionless, but the terminal cursor circled around the Floating City Entertainment logo.
Wu Jin abruptly realized, “Mooch... resources from Floating Entertainment?”
Wei Shi raised his chin, his aura releasing itself fully. Why not?
Wu Jin flipped down from the sofa and ran over happily to Brother Wei, “President Wei, relying on nepotism to sing songs, won’t it violate the rules of your company...”
Wei Shi slowly took off the lightweight glasses that he wore as the Floating City King in order to deal with government affairs and looked down from above at this bold little singer. The man’s white shirt was pressed crisp, and only the button at the top was undone. The muscles on the sides of his neck were clearly defined, his jaw chiseled and framed by the open sides of the shirt.
The little singer’s throat moved, and then he immediately looked up to meet President Wei’s eyes!
Wu Jin licked his lips, and President Wei bowed his head, plundering wantonly between the lips and teeth of this poor singer who had no money to make songs. The little singer was very active akin to sparks igniting dry firewood!
Wu Jin gasped for breath, “President Wei, how about it!”
Wei Shi’s voice was hoarse, “You want to sing? Come to my room in the evening––”
His voice hadn’t yet finished when Wu Jin quickly ran straight to the room!
Wei Shi: “......”
The night lights of Floating City were gorgeous, and there was a flowing warmth between the mountains and the fog.
After taking a bath, this small, unknown singer was wrapped up in a quilt on the bed. President Wei wore a bathrobe as he picked him up, and it was clear he hadn’t had enough of this rich master roleplay, “Very good. I’ll arrange for you to sing tomorrow.”
Wu Jin kicked at him, very much immersed in the play, “Thank you, President. There are several brothers in our group who also want to record songs. Don’t do anything to them, if there’s anything, you can take it out on me––”
Wei Shi kissed the side of the youth’s neck, “You’re quite righteous.”
Wu Jin praised himself, “I’m feeding the tiger with my own body!”
Tiger Wei Shi bit the little white rabbit lightly, “This president is very satisfied. I’ll give you the room key later. Be smart and come here to wait after work, understood?”
Wu Jin agreed enthusiastically.
By the time Wei Shi finished making calls and returned to the bedroom, his partner was holding onto his half of the pillow and had already fallen asleep, his limbs in all directions and looking very satisfied. Wei Shi turned off the lights and lay down, skillfully folding Wu Jin’s shoulders into his embrace.
Wu Jin had done a lot of exercise. He went to bed early, then got up the next day full of energy.
Floating City Entertainment’s audio and video division was located on the blue planet, and held contracts with numerous composers, tuners, and singers.
Wu Jin carried an electric guitar with him as he took a star ship to the blue planet. Over the communication channel, the several team members of the White Moonlight Battle Team were very satisfied about how there was no need to ‘shout into the mic’! In fact, 9000 credits wasn’t even enough to afford a better beat. If Wu Jin couldn’t compose or tune, then the worst case scenario would’ve been White Moonlight shouting into the mic using free copyright classical music...
The suspension bus arrived at the Floating City Entertainment building.
Even though this was the video and audio division, the virtual screens at the entrance were still showing promotional and support materials for the Floating City Battle Team.
Further in the distance was Floating City Entertainment’s official merchandise store. As soon as Wu Jin got out of the car, with the sharp eyesight of a survival show player, he noticed a corner of the store, where there was Brother Wei shooting, Brother Wei sitting, Brother Wei standing––
The shop assistant sold a poster of Wei Shi by himself to Wu Jin, “Are you a fan of Floating City’s captain? Take a look at this one, it’s 100 credits, the best seller!”
Wu Jin looked around to check that nobody was nearby, then quickly hugged the poster and went to the counter to check out.
After settling the bill, he went upstairs from the staff passage, taking the elevator to the singing studio on the 62nd floor.
Floating City Entertainment’s singing and writing department that compiled and mixed tunes had a price list that was marked out clearly for the outside world. Wu Jin started looking from the lowest price, then received a text message from the big boss.
Pick the most expensive one.
Wu Jin: “......”
Then, Arjun, the executive director of the branch, expressed that White Moonlight was a top team in the survival show field. If they wanted to do a cross-border cooperation, they should do their best in order to expand Floating City Entertainment’s popularity. It just so happened that Little Orange was sunning himself on the roof of the building these past two days, so they’d have Little Orange take Wu Jin to go and introduce him to everything there.
Very soon, Little Orange came down from the roof of the building, holding onto a ball of yarn.
“In the past two days, all the creators have gone to the Civet Music Festival.” Little Orange led Wu Jin to turn through corridors left and right, “There are only a few left here whose works haven’t been finished and are at the company trying to make the deadline.”
Wu Jin was stunned. Wasn’t writing songs based on inspiration, how could they also be written on a deadline!? If it still had to be written, would they still make it in time for it to be sung?
Little Orange kicked open the door, “Hey, I brought you a singer.”
The slightly chubby man with long hair on the other side of the door swept his gaze over Wu Jin, “His looks are too mainstream. Not interested.”
Little Orange pushed up his sleeves, wanting to beat him up, “Shut up, this is my master.”
The long-haired man was shocked, then immediately became interested, “Do you want to sing a theme song about soul-wrenching anguish? What? You brought your own composition? Then sing two lines for me. Generally speaking, those who have looks like yours don’t sing with any soul...”
Wu Jin took out the electric guitar and connected it with the terminal speaker. The musician was shocked, “Is that an electric guitar from the 20th century or the 10th century? Was it just unearthed? Is that enough? Do I need to find you a set of chimes?”
However, when Wu Jin held the guitar and opened his mouth, the musician finally showed a serious expression.
Wu Jin had written a song for White Moonlight, and Wen Lin had come up with the lyrics. The two of them weren’t polished, but when it was put together, it was filled with the bright flavor of youth.
Wu Jin’s breathing was very stable. His range wasn’t too broad, and his words weren’t all enunciated clearly, but he was full of enthusiasm from start to finish. The melody was very energetic from the start, and the youth was very confident that when he sang, he appeared like he was shining.
The musician sat in his chair and watched. He predicted that based on Wu Jin’s range, it would be difficult for him to reach the next climax. He wanted to see how he would deal with the song––in front of him, the youth strummed the strings and came to the words ‘Swords and guns, walking side by side, breaking free from the shackles and pushing the sword forward’, singing them directly regardless of his range and using his real voice.
The song ended.
The musician finally stood up, “Very good.”
This wasn’t someone from the industry, and they’d likely only received the most basic vocal training. The skills and singing were outdated methods from popular boy groups, but there were bright spots that couldn’t be covered up by these flaws.
Wu Jin could easily mobilize the audience’s emotions.
For a song to be called ‘hot’, it would require great efforts in composition, mixing, and moving lyrics. The little singer in front of him had achieved half of it, and the other half had room for improvement.
The long haired musician quickly signed an agreement with Wu Jin. In the afternoon, he asked him to bring that White Moonlight group that he’d never heard of over so that they could record the demo. In that evening, he would fix it up, and they could release the demo at a suitable time tomorrow.
When the process was complete, the musician asked curiously, “Are you signed with Floating City? Why isn’t your name there”
Little Orange hugged his ball of yarn and said, “Are you silly? My master is someone who sleeps with Floating City’s boss and has shares in Floating City.”
The musician made an ‘oh’ sound. It turned out that this was a nepotism singer. But their strength was there, and whether it was through connections or not didn’t really matter. What’s more, weren’t they signed with that small company called White Moonlight––
An hour later, the three others from White Moonlight roared upstairs.
The musician was shocked as he looked at this legendary White Moonlight mess of a boyband.
There was a group of human shaped mountains of muscle in the workshop room, while vice-captain Chen Xiran stood beside the recording studio, beating up anyone who sang badly.
The musician: “...You guys are here to turn music recording into a survival show, aren’t you?!”
The recording that afternoon went unexpectedly well.
The musician found his wild spirit with Caesar’s roar and was inspired to do a rare, inspired mix. When the demo came out, the musician was satisfied and happy to have his name linked with the White Moonlight Battle Team.
The next morning, White Moonlight started its promotional business, releasing the song to the public.
Wu Jin started updating the web page 2 hours ahead of schedule.
Wei Shi handed him a coffee. Wu Jin was obviously nervous.
This kind of tension wasn’t the same as when he played a survival show game.
The stage, performance, and music were totally different dimensions in Wu Jin’s world. His past experience couldn’t be used here at all.
There was nothing wrong with survival show players singing badly, but––
At 10AM, the song was released.
White Moonlight’s fans came in large swarms, occupying a forum in the comments area and excitedly eating snacks as they waited.
At 10:05AM, the comment area exploded instantaneously. When they saw the line ‘Composer: Wu Jin’ in the track information, the level of praise rose up like a tsunami, giving warm encouragement to the new singer.
By 10:40, the song had been recommended by well-known record Star Bloggers, and White Moonlight’s support theme song was released to a small circle.
At 12:00, Wu Jin received a call from the White Moonlight Battle Team.
Wu Jin put down his terminal in a daze.
Wei Shi raised his eyebrows.
Wu Jin: “The Civet Music Festival sent an invitation to the White Moonlight Battle Team...”
The White Moonlight assault commander who was always calm suddenly jumped up, “I can go up on the stage of a music festival!”
Juurensha: Awwwww Little Witch gets a stage to sing! (And I guess thank goodness Wen Lin was in charge of lyrics this time. Also–Zoe/Wen Lin is rio?????!!)
xiin: i feel like Zoe/Wen Lin are a real pair...