Chapter 11: Chapter 11 - It begins to catch on...
The system's screen shimmering, and suddenly a cute girl showed up in front of Wang Zi.
She had short pink hair, and a bubbly personality, or so it seemed. But what attracted Wang Zi the most was her face. Her eyes were also pink, matching her hair, but her face so so stunningly perfect Wang Zi had trouble keeping his jaw from dropping. She even had two cute dimples when she smiled!
"Holy shit, no wonder she's got a big following, she's so pretty! And her face reminds me of someone... Wasn't there an anime with a catchy song that had a short and pink-haired girl as one of the supporting cast? She was very well drawn too... Seems a lot like her. Don't remember her name though."
Wang Zi shrugged and started paying attention to her stream. She was currently discussing one of the latest episodes of some kind of romance anime Wang Zi had never heard of, and seemed to be waiting for the newest to air. Somehow though, Wang Zi found that about 60% of her viewers were male, and they probably didn't care a bit about a romance story.
"The power of a beautiful face is no joke huh. Not that I would know."
"Works out great for me, since there's about half and half, if she gets interested... Hehehe."
The next part of his plan was going to be more difficult. Wang Zi knew he needed to somehow get his manga in front of Feifei. She had thousands of fans who followed her every move, and many of them were deeply invested in her opinions. If he could catch her attention, he could tap into that audience and get some much needed exposure.
Wang Zi had no connections to Feifei, but he had something that could work in his favor. He knew that Feifei was hosting a watch party for the latest romantic anime that was trending. In fact, it was scheduled to start in just a couple of hours.
He smiled. "Perfect. I can do this."
"System, scan my memories and put together a quick teaser. Use the first one that came out in the past, just cut out all the unnecessary wording. Also add in a peek of... Let's say Tanjiro, using water-breathing. I'll leave fire breathing as a surprise."
Wang Zi ordered. "Almost make sure to include a few peeks of Nezuko acting cute, would work well with the female audience I think."
"Yes, Host." The system promptly answered.
"Scanning Host's memory... Compiling... Task completed."
In just a couple of minutes, a better and improved version of Demon Slayer's original trailer (at least accord to Wang Zi) was put together by the system.
"Great. This'll do nicely." Wang Zi was very satisfied. The teaser showed just enough to get you curious without going to deep into what made Demon Slayer special. Even though this was a teaser based on the anime, since he was gonna do it later anyways, it didn't matter if he used it instead of just a few pictures on the manga.
With a few taps on his system interface, Wang Zi set his next plan into motion. He broadcasted the teaser of his manga to Feifei's streaming platform, using a system feature that allowed him to send a message directly to her public feed.
It was a long shot, but it was his best bet. Streamers were a very big part of online content in the past, he just hoped it was still the same.
Wang Zi's heart raced as he watched the his trailer roll out on the streaming platform. Using the system's powerful creative tools, he was able to craft the trailer with the same cinematic quality found in professional anime productions, even going beyond them.
Feifei's live stream was in full swing. She was getting ready to discuss the latest episode of a popular romantic anime - one that her audience had been eagerly awaiting. The chat was buzzing with anticipation as she readied herself for the usual watch party.
"Alright, everyone! It's time for tonight's episode! But first, let's talk a bit about last week's cliffhanger. Who else was dying to know what happens next?" Feifei said, grinning into a camera-like ball shaped sphere, as she prepped the stream.
Her viewers were already chatting excitedly.
"Ugh, I can't wait for tonight's episode!"
"Feifei, you're the best! I need to know your thoughts on this show!"
"Lara, you always know how to make the wait more fun!"
But as Feifei prepared to start, something unexpected happened. The screen flickered, and without warning, a new video began playing on the stream. It wasn't part of her watch list, and there was no notification from her software.
"Hey, what's this?" Feifei exclaimed, momentarily thrown off by the unexpected interruption.
Before she could do anything, the trailer began, and her confusion quickly turned into awe.
A young boy standing over a body, guilt and sorrow etched on his face. The music, soft, carrying a haunting melody that matched the gravity of the scene. Kamado Tanjiro was then shown training, his determination to protect his sister Nezuko, despite the dangers of the world, and her turning into SOMETHING, shining through.
The screen then exploded with vibrant, high-energy animation. A battle scene: fast-paced, sleek sword fights with Tanjiro and another character moving at impossible speeds, Tanjiro showing some kind of supernatural power making water flow alongside him, then onto his blade in a display of swordsmanship that was nothing short of a dance with his blade.
Feifei could feel the emotional tension building as she watched the story unfold on screen. The trailer ended abruptly, leaving the words "Join the Fight Against the Demons"...
DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA
For a moment, there was silence in the room. Feifei's eyes widened, and her hand froze over her mouth.
"What is this?" she muttered, her fingers hovering tapping her holo-keyboard as she tried to figure out where the trailer had come from. The animation was so polished, it looked professional. It had to be a mega studio production.
Feifei blinked, completely stunned. Her chat had erupted with confusion and excitement.
"What just happened?"
"Where did this trailer come from?"
"That was insane! What anime is this?!"
She glanced at the comments, trying to gather her thoughts. The whole thing felt so out of place, yet so intriguing. The trailer wasn't just random; it was perfectly produced, everything about it screamed high-quality.
"I... I don't know what this is, but that was amazing." Feifei finally said, her voice filled with genuine surprise. She quickly looked at the system notifications again, still confused by the sudden appearance of the trailer. "Where did this even come from?"
Her audience was equally taken aback, but their reactions were quick to follow.
"Lara, what's going on? Is this a new show?"
"This looks so good! I want more!"
As the stream continued to buzz with excitement, Feifei's brother, who had been sitting off-camera, wandered into the room, curious about the sudden disruption. He took a glance at the screen, noticing the end of the trailer and the title.
"What are you watching?" he asked, strolling over to her side. "This doesn't look like your usual romance stuff."
Feifei clicked the video's information and saw there were no details, no title, and no link to the source. "I'm not sure. This just popped up on the stream while I was talking."
Her brother raised an eyebrow, watching the final frame of the trailer. "Whoa, hold on. That's pretty intense." He grinned, glancing at Feifei. "Who made this? This is pretty damn good."
Feifei was so caught up in the mysterious trailer's impact that she couldn't even answer. All she could do was mutter, "I don't know! But I'm gonna figure it out."
The comments flooded in as her viewers were just as captivated by the trailer as she was.
"Where can we watch more of this?"
"How is this not on air yet? I need to know who made this!"
"This looks so good, I'm ready to watch this as a full series. Get this on a streaming platform, please!"
Wang Zi was watching all of this happen in real time. But just as the enthusiasm for the teaser reached its peak, he realized something: he had no way to actually sell his manga.
The trailer had been a huge success, but now Wang Zi was left with a crucial problem - he hadn't set up any means for the audience to actually buy his work or even access it.
Wang Zi's heart raced as he scrambled for a solution. The momentum from the trailer was about to slip away unless he acted fast. He quickly tapped into his system interface, sending out a command to the Multiversal Manifestation System.
"System, I need to set up a storefront fast!" he thought, a sense of urgency in his voice.
The system's assistant, Hua'er responded almost immediately, her soothing voice echoing in his mind.
"Yes master. Give me one second."
Within moments, a virtual storefront materialized in the digital world. It was a simple, clean space with a counter in the center of a wide open area. Behind the counter, a holographic display began to flicker into existence, showcasing Wang Zi's manga. It was minimalistic, but functional. Each page of his work, now displayed as an interactive hologram, was accessible with a simple tap.
Wang Zi's eyes widened as he took in the simplicity of the design. He had hoped for something more elaborate, but this would do.
The counter would function as a means to access his works, and as soon as someone made a purchase, they could read his manga or buy future updates.
"People can see my work now." He could hardly contain his excitement as he realized the gravity of what had just transpired. His manga, based on the Demon Slayer trailer, had captivated a massive audience, and now they could access it directly.
But then another thought struck him - copyright.
He quickly sent a message to the system.
"System, will there be any issues with the characters I'm using in the manga?" Wang Zi asked, his concern growing. "What about the names and settings?"
This time, the system responded with reassuring clarity.
"No copyright issues detected. All characters, titles, and settings will be automatically reserved in the Virtual Brain Database upon completion. If names are already taken by other creators, the system will forcibly claim them and provide compensation. Rest assured, the Host's intellectual property is secure."
Wang Zi breathed a sigh of relief. The system had everything covered, from the copyright to the intellectual property. Once his manga was finished, the system would ensure that the names and characters were protected across the entire virtual world, preventing anyone from stealing his work.
If any names had already been used, the system would simply take them by force and offer the user compensation. It was a reassurance he didn't know he needed, but now, with that worry off his shoulders, he could focus on what mattered most: getting his manga out to the world.
His eyes turned to the storefront once more, where the holographic display now flashed with his first completed work.
"I guess it's time to sell. SP, come to papa!" Wang Zi whispered.
The counter was still just a small section of the storefront, but it was enough for now. The system had set everything up seamlessly. Now, all he had to do was wait for the audience to come.
"Just Feifei alone isn't enough. Her audience is still more used to romancey stuff. I need to get Alexander Nedeir to watch it next. The ones who like watching fights will be curious about the water-breathing style that Tanjiro used in the new trailer, I'm sure i'll be able to get a few to bite. And once one bites, the others will also bite... hehe." Wang Zi grinned.