Free Web NovelChapter 190: Chapter 178: Why Is It Fox Ears This Time?
"All done."
Barto handed the finished fox ears to Gu Ning.
Gu Ning took the pair of silvery-white beast ears and examined them in her hands.
They were far more exquisite than the ones she had made. The detailing was excellent. Barto had even used small metal plates as backing for hair clips, allowing her to attach them directly to her hair.
She hadn’t had the right materials before, so she had to use wire to hold them in place. They would fall off if she moved too much, forcing her to spend ages adjusting them before every shoot.
’Gu Ning had no idea Barto was so skilled. In my world, he could make small trinkets and sell them at a stall.’
"You did a great job,"
Gu Ning praised with a smile. She opened her terminal’s selfie camera to use as a mirror and placed the beast ears on her head.
They looked completely natural, as if they had grown there themselves.
Gu Ning snapped a couple of selfies to admire the ears. She was very pleased with them.
"The right one is crooked," Barto said, leaning against a small table nearby. He lifted a finger from the tabletop and pointed at her ear.
Gu Ning opened the selfie camera again.
Before she could adjust it, Barto got up, walked over, and straightened it for her.
"Why fox ears this time?" Barto asked, feigning nonchalance.
It was too complicated for Gu Ning to explain out loud, so she wrote in her notebook: *I’m planning to collaborate with someone. I’m filming a Fox Clan female to show my sincerity.*
After she finished writing, she pulled a pair of fox ears she had previously made from her box to show Barto. "Yours are better."
Compared to the pair Barto had made, the ones in her hand looked crude.
Just as Barto had said, the materials she’d found weren’t good, and the resulting ears couldn’t stand up to close scrutiny.
If it weren’t for the post-production work she did to conceal the flaws, she might have been exposed. It also helped that the Beastmen believed she was a virtual female, and very few virtual females had models as detailed as hers, so they tended to overlook such minor imperfections.
"A collaboration?" Barto’s brow furrowed slightly after he finished reading. "With whom? One of those film companies?"
He didn’t usually watch those kinds of videos and knew little about the scene, but he was very sharp when it came to business.
Over the past two days, he had secretly watched all of Gu Ning’s videos and had specifically researched her account and PawPress’s rules for posting.
Gu Ning’s account was still a Level 4 account. While she was very popular, her revenue from tips was already capped. If she wanted to earn more, she had to upgrade to Level 5.
Level 5 accounts were almost exclusively held by film companies; even the individual ones were affiliated with some corporation.
’Gu Ning must be stuck at this point,’ Barto thought. ’She can’t upgrade the account by herself, so her only option is to collaborate with someone.’
’With her popularity, countless companies must be trying to collaborate with her. I have to help her vet them, make sure she doesn’t get scammed.’
Barto took the ears from her and examined them. "These are red."
Gu Ning nodded. "Yeah."
Barto asked suspiciously, "So why make a new white pair? Don’t tell me you’re collaborating with a white fox?"
Gu Ning hesitated for a moment before writing: *Nothing’s set in stone. I’m going to take a set of photos first, then use them to negotiate with potential partners and see who offers the best terms.*
She put down her pen and rummaged through the box again, pulling out several other pairs of ears she’d made. It wasn’t just about the white fox female; she planned to reshoot photos for all the characters from her previous videos to have more leverage when negotiating with companies.
They were about to leave Zone 19. Trying to compile two hours of video footage and handle all the post-production work under these deprived conditions was impossible for now.
Unless she just threw some random footage together and uploaded it.
Gu Ning didn’t dare risk it. First, she had no idea if PawPress’s review team would even approve it. And even if they did, it wouldn’t be good for her account’s reputation.
Rather than gambling on a long shot, it was better to be pragmatic, take it seriously, and do the best job possible. If the video was rejected by the PawPress review, she’d just have to reshoot it, which would be a waste of energy.
She had already researched the process for getting a Level 5 account. Without exception, every Beastman who had made the jump complained about how difficult it was. All of an account’s videos would be re-evaluated, and only high-quality, substantive content would pass muster. After meeting the upgrade requirements, the user had to sign another real-name verification agreement and undergo a personal review by officials.
Because Level 5 accounts were highly influential, reaching that level was a testament to the creator’s capabilities. The platform officials would actively promote the content, not just on PawPress, but across various other websites on the terminal based on the video’s subject matter—including sites Gu Ning couldn’t access.
The internet in the Beastman World was similar to the one she knew, but it was severely restricted by clan divisions. Some apps would even display open insults toward rival clans on their login pages. Public websites were basically battlegrounds for inter-clan online brawls. Sometimes users weren’t there to shop, watch videos, or listen to music—they came specifically to sling mud, which often led to real-world fights.
To combat this, the Beast Alliance had no choice but to increase internet censorship and segregate the clans online.
However, the Beast Alliance soon discovered this only deepened the rifts between the clans, so they turned to scouting online talent to foster diplomacy instead.
PawPress was granted so much authority because it was backed by the Beast Alliance’s Ministry of Culture and Propaganda. With clan xenophobia being so severe, the Alliance hoped to use the platform as a way to maintain inter-clan relations.
The Beast Alliance also used PawPress to impose strict rules on Level 5 accounts. One such rule was the mandatory production of at least one video per year with a theme promoting friendship between two clans. The format was open—film, animation, interviews, documentaries—and there was no reward for a job well done. A poor job, however, would earn the creator the wrath of the offended clans.
Many a Level 5 account had been ruined this way.
Every year, PawPress also convened the creators behind these Level 5 accounts for a "friendly inter-clan exchange." But more often than not, the event would devolve into a brawl before it was halfway through, with PawPress’s own senior staff usually taking the worst of the beatings.
For the past two years, hardly any of PawPress’s top brass had bothered to show up.
By the time Gu Ning finished her research on Level 5 accounts, half her enthusiasm had evaporated.
Compared to all that, the two-hour video length requirement suddenly seemed like the easiest part of the upgrade.
’I’ll just have to take it one step at a time.’
Regardless, she was determined to reach Level 5.
Never mind Barto, just for Cook alone, she needed to save up a lot of money for his Inhibitors.
But getting a large sum of money and producing a two-hour, high-quality video in a short time frame wasn’t realistic. Her only option was to partner with a major company and secure an upfront collaboration fee for her reserve funds.
She was, in fact, leaning toward Deviant’s group. Aside from Idelos’s personal credibility, the terms he’d offered were also very tempting.
’Now it’s just a matter of seeing if anyone can offer better terms than them.’
After reading Gu Ning’s explanation, Barto didn’t overthink it. He asked, "Which companies want to work with you? I’ll help you look them over."
Gu Ning wrote: *Help me film first.*
She pulled all the props out of her box and began setting up a scene in the corner.
Gu Ning was only halfway through setting things up when Barto’s brow began to furrow.
