Chapter 32: This Is My Art
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Chapter 32: This Is My Art
On the Desert Bicycle Tieba forum, the award-winning photograph of Great God Ge Yumiao remained pinned at the top, worshiped by countless people...
In the photograph, Great God Ge was holding thirty thousand yuan in prize money and grinning brightly.
Everyone who frequented Star Internet Cafe knew that he had once been its most notorious online bum, and the social deadbeat whom all his relatives and friends considered the least promising person they knew.
But now...
Someone posted a revelation about Great God Ge's home. His parents had deliberately hung his Universe Technology S1 trophy in the most conspicuous place possible.
Right by the entrance.
His relatives and friends still did not approve of such an internet bum, but every one of them envied that thirty thousand yuan prize!
He had earned that much money just by playing a game!
Could playing games really make money?
A doubtful yet hopeful thought began to take shape in their minds.
On the Pummel the Alpaca Tieba forum, the second-place winner from Star Internet Cafe, Qian Cai, and a bespectacled man had likewise been pinned at the top.
Ten thousand yuan, three thousand yuan, one thousand yuan...
The plaques displaying the prize amounts stood out vividly in the photographs.
“Every one of their scripts was under seven hundred words...”
“They were all ordinary people...”
“Like Great God Ge, they were once unknown people with no idea what the future held...”
“But gold will always shine, and even a thousand-mile horse will eventually meet its伯乐!”
“Now, they are the dream builders of Universe Technology!”
“...”
Beneath these photographs was a brief official interview with them.
It read more like an inspirational essay.
According to the article, Qian Cai had been unemployed immediately after graduating from university. He had once started a business with great ambition, but ultimately failed. His parents looked down on him, and his girlfriend left him...
One blow after another had driven him to lose himself in the internet cafe, shambling through life like a walking corpse beneath an endless, lightless sky. Then, by chance, he witnessed Great God Ge's success. With the thought of simply giving it a try, he entered the script competition...
Later, he succeeded and became involved in building the new game.
A ray of light had appeared in his dark world, and the distant future was suddenly filled with hope.
The inspirational tale rose and fell dramatically, brimming with despair and sorrow during its darkest moments, the struggle against disbelief, and finally the sight of dawn...
To Zhang Yang, such motivational writing was nothing special. By 2021, he had seen far too much of it.
But in this era, this kind of inspirational story was particularly stimulating to ordinary people, filling them with surging passion!
After the article was posted, the entire forum became wildly excited!
Then...
“This is my certificate!”
“I may not have been as lucky as they were, but I won prize money too, and I even received a certificate!”
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“...”
To be fair, Zhao Feng was exactly that kind of person!
He had entered the competition as well and had also made the shortlist.
However, he had not won one of the top three prizes...
He was not disappointed. After all, he knew that the lucky ones were always few and far between.
Besides, after reading Qian Cai's story, his nose had begun to sting. Qian Cai had really suffered...
Like everyone else, Zhao Feng sympathized with the weak. Whenever he saw an inspiring story about someone who had fallen on hard times, he could not help cheering and applauding them.
Of course, when Zhao Feng saw the screenshot on Q-Dog in which customer-service representative Xiao Wei was asking for his address, telling him that his prize money had been transferred, and preparing to mail him a certificate of honor as well...
He stared fixedly at the screenshot on Q-Dog. His heart seemed to seize up, and he was overwhelmed by an indescribable excitement.
“Congratulations, Mr. Zhao Feng, on placing among the top ten finalists in the Universe Technology S1 Script Composition Contest!”
Those words gleamed like gold, dazzlingly bright. Beneath them was Zhang Yang's highly artistic signature, which seemed to add tremendous weight to the certificate.
The most important thing in life, in fact, was being acknowledged!
Even a mere sheet of paper could still fill someone with boundless excitement.
Zhao Feng felt that recognition and respect. It was the first time in his life that he had ever won anything!
He opened Tieba.
On the forum...
Some of the people who had submitted drawings and written scripts had posted photographs of their certificates...
Some had even received the physical certificates already and uploaded photographs of them online.
The physical certificates did not look cheap. On the contrary, their quality appeared quite good. Placed beneath the sunlight, they possessed a truly impressive air.
After seeing this, many netizens were envious. Naturally, many others were filled with regret.
“I got prize money too, but only fifty yuan. If I'd known, I would have drawn more seriously...”
“Ah, who could have guessed? I just drew something casually. I never expected to make the shortlist. What a pity—I got prize money, but no certificate...”
“Apparently only the top fifteen receive certificates? Everyone below twentieth place gets prize money only...”
“Why didn't I take it seriously? I finished my drawing in less than half an hour!”
“You should be celebrating. You made fifty yuan in under half an hour!”
“...”
“...”
On the forum, the discussion grew hotter and hotter.
It had become something more like a grand exhibition of bragging!
Those who had received certificates showed them off one after another. Those who had not expected anything showed off their prize money instead. Those whose prizes were small lamented that, had they known, they would have drawn more carefully, and that the money was hardly worth mentioning anyway...
Most of them were ordinary people.
At school, they had been unknown. In society, they lived on its fringes, unnoticed by anyone, and some were even facing the threat of being fired.
But online, this was an achievement—something they could boast about. They felt as though the whole world was watching them...
Were they using these insignificant achievements to deceive themselves?
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Perhaps.
But at least for the moment, they were excited!
“Why didn't I know about such a great opportunity before?”
“You can make money from home. Why didn't I believe it before?”
“Draw a little, write a little, and earn enough to cover your internet fees. How did I not know about this?”
“...”
After seeing the countless comments like these on the forum, their excitement and inflated confidence grew even stronger.
After enjoying the excitement for a while, Zhao Feng closed Tieba and logged on to Universe Technology's official website...
On the website, he saw that preorders for Pummel the Alpaca had already surpassed ten thousand...
In truth, what excited him even more than the certificate was his drawing and his script. What form would they eventually take when they were made into a game?
Countless people were sharpening their knives, eagerly awaiting the release of the much-discussed Pummel the Alpaca...
“Do you often find yourself facing people you hate but cannot beat in real life?”
“Come to me!”
“I'll make you feel good! Feel unbelievably good! Feel like you're flying!”
“...”
On Universe Technology's official website, the advertisement stretched across the page...
Countdown...
Twenty-four hours!
............................
Zhang Yang paid no attention to the ebb and flow of public opinion online.
At that very moment...
He was dressed as a respectable gentleman in a sharp suit. Before the exhibition had even begun, he was the first person to rush into Mendeleev's art exhibition, staring intently at a painting of a young girl!
He looked extremely excited, and the depths of his eyes were filled with fervor.
“This is the greatest masterpiece of an entire era!”
“In this painting, I see the transformation of the times, the rise and fall of art, and the creator's desolation!”
“...”
While everyone else was still bewildered, he suddenly began sighing repeatedly, his voice filled with fanaticism!
Then he walked over to another section, where the theme was titled Spring.
“This is paradise for dreams, the most beautiful expression of human nature, and yet it is tinged with melancholy...”
“This painting possesses a wild and unrestrained soul!”
“...”
“But why do I also feel that there is a glaring flaw?”
“...”
Zhang Yang continued passing judgment as he examined the paintings. When he sensed someone approaching, he suddenly knitted his brows slightly and shook his head with an expression as though he had just swallowed a fly.
The End of the Chapter