Chapter 18

War heroes from the Period of Destruction couldn’t be casually appropriated as virtual idols . When virtual idols were first introduced, a few companies modeled their idols after war heroes, but they often distorted the real person, which infuriated the descendants of the heroes . They banded together to clamp down on the trend .

Virtual idol companies were banned from basing their designs on real-life war heroes from the Period of Destruction or even using their names . When exceptions were made, they required extensive vetting . Violators faced legal action .

There was no way he would use a fellow veteran’s likeness, and Fang Zhao never considered drawing himself . He was right there in the flesh . If he wanted to do anything, he could do it himself . There was no need for a virtual version of himself .

But Fang Zhao still preferred to draw from people and events that had left a deep impression on him . If real people from the end of days were off-limits, then he would find inspiration elsewhere .

Fang Zhao worked for two days straight, taking breaks only to eat and sleep . He labored in his corner, drafting and redrafting before completing a prototype . He wasn’t a visual artist—his sketching skills were limited . He would leave it to the professionals to polish his design . He just needed to come up with a rough draft .

Another noon arrived . It grew brighter and brighter outside .

A draft sketch appeared on the piece of paper sprawled on the desk in front of Fang Zhao . Even though it wasn’t very detailed and refined—no more than a rough outline—anyone could tell it was the image of a tree .

Fang Zhao took a deep breath . He didn’t know if it was the right decision, but this was what came to mind .

“Longxiang Tianluo . “

The Longxiang Tianluo was a common plant during the apocalypse . No one knew what it looked like before the end of days, but judging from its size, it was probably descended from a regular, widespread species found across the world . Many species died during the end of days, which saw a massive round of extinctions, but some plants survived after undergoing mutations . The Longxiang Tianluo, for example .

The name Longxiang Tianluo, which roughly meant powerful and sprawling, was coined by a botanist . Unfortunately, the botanist died in the early days of the apocalypse . No one remembered his name, but the name Longxiang Tianluo survived .

At a time when most plants withered, this species of tree survived the end of days . It was one of the rare plants during the apocalypse that wasn’t poisonous and actually had medicinal value . During the apocalypse, many types of medication were derived from the Longxiang Tianluo .

When designing his prototype, Fang Zhao recalled a conversation he’d had with a few old friends .

“Old Zhao, don’t you think the three of us kind of take after the Longxiang Tianluo? We were just ordinary folks before the end of days—I was a prison guard and Su Mu tended to his cattle…”

“Old Xi, you got it wrong . I was a shepherd,” Su Mu corrected .

“Same thing . See, Old Zhao—a shepherd, a teacher, a prison guard, and a composer . All regular people . The apocalypse changed everything . It’s not just us . No one who has survived looks like they used to . It wasn’t for the fame—it was all in the name of survival, no matter what we became . “

During the end of days, he used quite a few wooden tools made from Longxiang Tianluo . Vaccines were also extracted from the tree . You could say that the Longxiang Tianluo and mankind had survived the apocalypse hand-in-hand .

Someone once joked that the Longxiang Tianluo was another comrade .

Fang Zhao tucked away his drawing, washed his face, and headed downstairs .

After seeing Fang Zhao for the first time in three days, Yue Qing and Ai Wan both approached to chitchat .

“You’ve been holed up working the past few days?”

“Yeah . ” Fang Zhao bought some more food from Yue Qing’s shop . He ate while getting a tan .

“It’s not easy being a creative type . Takes up a lot of brain power,” Ai Wan said .

Fang Zhao chatted briefly with Yue Qing and Ai Wan . When the sun faded, he returned to his apartment to tidy up, then picked up his briefcase and headed to Silver Wing headquarters . He went straight to the 50th floor .

He wondered if Zu Wen had pulled another all-nighter gaming in his office . His sole staffer only responded after several shouts .

“Who are you? Oh, right, the new producer . ” Zu Wen was still in a daze . He’d almost forgotten that Fang Zhao had been assigned to the virtual idol department . Thankfully, he caught himself in time .

“You’ve decided on a prototype?” Zu Wen asked with a yawn .

“I’ve finished a draft . ” Fang Zhao opened the notebook and laid it before Zu Wen .

Zu Wen stared at the page and went blank for two seconds . He rubbed his eyes and took another careful look . After a long silence, he blurted out, “Either I’m not entirely awake or you’ve gone nuts . “

Zu Wen’s first reaction was disbelief . Are you f*cking kidding me?

“Uhm, if I’m not mistaken, you drew a… tree . “

Zu Wen had been wondering for the past two days what Fang Zhao would come up with . He’d even wondered whether Fang Zhao would cherry pick features from various virtual idols like previous virtual idol designers had done—this nose, those eyes, this face, and that body . It’d never occurred to him that Fang Zhao would hand over a tree .

There had been all types of virtual idols—humans, animals, fairies, and demons . But as a veteran virtual idol designer, Zu Wen had never seen a plant .

If it was going to be a plant, so be it . But it had to be a unique plant, no? Cuter than usual, more attractive than the average plant, or more colorful . Otherwise, how were you going to attract a following? But Fang Zhao was a renegade .

Brother, are you shooting to become the basket case of the modern virtual idol industry?

Zu Wen stared at Fang Zhao, who nodded firmly . His world collapsed .

“What kind of tree it?” Zu Wen asked, pointing at the drawing . He wanted to rip it to shreds .

“Longxiang Tianluo . “

“What?”

“Basically what you know as the Tianluo tree . “

“Since when were Tianluo trees called ‘Longxiang Tianluo’?” A skeptical Zu Wen started typing on his computer .

“Also known as the Longxiang, the Tianluo is a product of the Period of Destruction . It was a giant among plants from the end of days . ” Zu Wen read verbatim from the research he’d looked up without an iota of embarrassment . “Sorry, I flunked botany . It’s the first time I’ve heard the name . “

“You really want to do this? I mean, have you run it by Boss Du?” Zu Wen asked .

“Boss Du is busy,” Fang Zhao responded .

“Understood . ” Regardless of whether Du Ang was actually busy, he didn’t want to have anything to do with the virtual idol project for sure, so Fang Zhao was calling the shots .

“How long do you need to create a detailed virtual image?” Fang Zhao asked .

“Based on your prototype, probably a week . Don’t think I’m a slow worker—it’s just me, after all . A week is pretty quick . “

The prototype was like a draft sketch, the first step in deciding the look of a virtual idol . Revisions and fleshing out the design were still to come .

Virtual idols had the upper hand over real idols in that imagination was the only limit when it came to their aesthetic potential .

But how pretty could a tree look? Even an anthropomorphic tree wasn’t that attractive .

A cartoonish design could make it cuter .

Zu Wen was brainstorming how to improve the prototype when he heard Fang Zhao say, “We’ll have to prepare a music video to go with the launch . “

“That’s the standard procedure . Oh, speaking of which, you need to get ready for soul casting,” Zu Wen said .

Finalizing the look of the virtual idol was only the first step . Next came the more important process of soul casting .

Soul casting referred to the process of injecting life into the virtual idol, coming up with a back story, adding a voice and personality and so on .

Deciding the virtual idol’s personal history, where it came from, and how it behaved .

The point was to allow fans to better understand it .

That’s what soul casting was all about .

The launch of a virtual idol was usually associated with a music video . For example, Neon Culture and Tongshan True Entertainment released music videos when they entered Xun Huai and Fei Lisi in the new talent contest .

Typically speaking, the first music video of a virtual idol in the New Era gave a personal history and introduced its personality .

Launching a virtual idol also involved storytelling . Maybe nobody paid attention at the beginning, but if the idol became a star, you’d have to extend the story line .

Virtual idol teams planned well in advance before taking their first step .

If you only wanted to pass muster, you could fool around and keep things simple, but if you wanted to do a good job, that involved a lot of preparation .

That’s why virtual idol projects were so costly . There were too many details to consider .

“I can take care of the look of the virtual idol . You need to start looking for a voice and start recruiting other technicians . It will take an expert to engineer a professional voice . That’s not my expertise . Hiring more technicians is a must . I’m not going to be able to manage on my own much longer . Whether you make new hires or loan staffers from other departments, the sooner you decide the better . As for a starter voice, we have so many singers signed to our label . Just pick one,” Zu Wen added .