Pretending not to notice Ayase's strange look, Chu Lian selected "confirm," choosing to exchange for this Japanese song.
As soon as she confirmed the exchange, data started flowing out from the system interface, circling around her body. Instantly, the lyrics, singing techniques, and various performance requirements for the song "Glad You're A Lolicon" were imprinted in her mind, making her understanding of the song top-notch.
Although she had chosen this song as her debut, the lyrics were too embarrassing!
However, she was aware of her Integrity Points and knew what the audience liked. If she started as a newcomer by singing popular songs, she might get lost in the crowd.
Moreover, this was a holy land for the domestic second dimension fandom. By compromising a bit of her integrity and singing a well-loved song, she could quickly gain popularity.
"As expected of a loli, choosing such a meaningful song. I'd love to see the reaction of people when they hear a real loli sing 'It's Great to Be a Lolicon,'" Ayase said, putting away her strange smile. She only wanted to tease Chu Lian and had no other intentions.
"Well, covering songs is different from editing videos. Without a certain level of skill and popularity, it's hard for a video to reach 300,000 views. So, I plan to use the first few songs to build up popularity, aiming for a few thousand or tens of thousands of views. The key lies in the later songs."
Chu Lian had no other choice. Three million total views didn't sound like much, but achieving it was challenging. After all, no one could cater to everyone's taste. So, she could only make some people like her first, then influence others. At the right time, she would use an astonishing cover to reach a peak in views.
This was her plan. Of course, it only suited someone with genuine talent. But with the system's help, it wasn't too difficult for her to achieve. As for cosplay, she would set it aside for now. When her popularity rose due to the covers, she could naturally launch it.
It wasn't that she didn't want to do both at the same time, but she didn't know which things in this world didn't exist in her previous world, which things were lost, which characters were very popular now, and which characters were liked. All of this required time to gather information.
She had been in this world for less than a year, and most of her time had been spent adapting to her new life or completing system tasks, leaving her little time to get familiar with other parts of this world.
Seeing the Culture Points drop by 3500, Chu Lian felt a bit of heartache, but there was no other way. Compared to other high-difficulty, high-popularity classic songs, this Hatsune Miku song was relatively cheap. She saw that some songs required an outrageous number of points.
Mandarin songs: "Blue and White Porcelain": 38500; "Borrowing 500 Years from Heaven": 41500.
Japanese songs: "Snow Flower": 42000; "Your Name": 31000.
Cantonese songs: "Karaoke": 40000; "Thousands of Songs": 52000.
English songs: "My Heart Will Go On": 56000; "Because of You": 47500.
Seeing these, she fell silent: "Sorry, I really can't afford that many Culture Points right now. So you'll have to stay here for now. Once I have more Culture Points, I'll definitely bring you out." She briefly looked at a few top-ranked songs in several major languages and was frightened by the numbers.
"Culture Points are the easiest to earn. If you are diligent and spend some time, you can earn seventy to eighty thousand in a year. With side tasks, sudden events, or some insight, you can earn tens of thousands at once, so there's no need to feel bad about spending these points." Ayase, lying on the sofa with her legs crossed and holding a glass of red wine, said this lightly.
"Cough, cough, I just think these things are a bit expensive, nothing else." Laughing it off, she moved on and switched the exchange column to "Items," to see if she could exchange her current points for anything useful.
She quickly glanced over a few items and then closed the screen. Her current points were not enough to buy anything useful.
Akiyama Mio's bass: 150; Katsura Hinagiku's microphone: 120; Fat Tiger's microphone: 45; Lux's microphone: 230.
Well, if she could donate a few hundred thousand, she could quickly exchange for these items. But the problem is, with that amount of money, she could buy several of the world's most advanced microphones. Although she wanted them, it wasn't worth it.
"You forgot you still have Integrity Points? Although they are unreliable, in some cases, certain items can be exchanged with either type of points. Check if you can exchange for these items using Integrity Points," Ayase said calmly, sipping her red wine.
Her words instantly revived Chu Lian's spirits: "Yes, I can use Integrity Points to exchange! Ayase, you're the best!" Ayase glanced at her, thinking that soon she wouldn't be saying that.
"Let's see, microphone, microphone, microphone… Found it, Katsura Hinagiku's microphone: 1200, not too expensive. Fat Tiger's microphone: 1 (If you want it, take it. I really don't know who would like this thing). The system even comes with its own sarcasm. But the system is too shady; the item requires 45 points, but only 1 Integrity Point? That's too much!"
While she complained about the system, she didn't realize the system was right beside her, nor did she see Ayase's increasingly dark smile.
"Lux's microphone: 2300, roughly ten times the price in points? Fine, extortionists..."
When she selected "Lux's microphone," a prompt appeared: "System Reminder: Since Integrity Points cannot be dropped, once you use Integrity Points, you must earn the same or more Integrity Points within three days, otherwise ten times the exchanged item's points will be deducted."
Seeing this prompt, Chu Lian was speechless. Isn't this just forcing her to do things that compromise her integrity? But for the sake of completing the task, so be it!
She ignored the system's warning and proceeded with the exchange. She was then kicked out of the system space. Sitting up, she saw a burst of colorful light in front of her, and then a microphone slowly appeared. She reached out and grabbed the microphone.
"With this microphone and my understanding of that song, I should be able to do it. I can do this!" Sitting in front of her computer, she felt a bit nervous and encouraged herself inwardly.
Although there was a recording studio on the third floor, she didn't know how to use it, and it was difficult to use it alone. So, she chose to record in front of her computer.
She wasn't too worried about the sound quality. Her computer was equipped with nearly a hundred thousand Huaxia yuan worth of hardware to ensure that her voice would be perfectly captured without any distortion.
She checked that the windows were tightly closed, and the door was shut. It was still evening, and their house was in a secluded villa area on the outskirts of the city. There weren't many people around, her parents were working overtime, her sister and brother were staying at their schools, and her younger sister was traveling.
This meant that not many people would hear her singing. So, relax, relax.
She adjusted the recording equipment, tested the sound, and found no problems. She said a few words and listened again—no noise, and it was clear. She checked the computer's recording settings, everything was ready. Now, to start singing!
A flat chest like an airport, a waist so small it seemed nonexistent.
Black eyes, pouting little mouth, something not seen on adults.
Walking down the street, really just like a mature woman of the same age…
After trying more than ten times and putting in all her effort, she finally managed to record the entire song. Listening to it, her face began to feel hot. There was no helping it; listening to someone else sing it was one thing, but singing it herself was just too embarrassing!
However, she was also surprised that she managed to persist through multiple attempts without feeling overly self-conscious, ultimately producing a good recording. It seemed she had some talent in this area.
Ignoring her embarrassment, she used software to adjust the audio, added a few images, and created subtitles in both Japanese and Chinese. She saved the file.
Next, she applied to become a member of the site. With the help of Baidu, she barely passed the 100-question test with a score of 63. Given her unfamiliarity with some aspects of this world, she couldn't blame herself for the score.
Without Baidu's help, she wouldn't have been confident in answering questions beyond what she already knew.
Nickname: Black Cat; Age: 13; Date of Birth: 2002-02-28; Gender: Unspecified! (This option was too fitting for her.)
After completing these steps, she nervously accessed her account and chose to upload the video.
Fortunately, her home internet was fast, so the upload of the video took only a minute. Watching the video enter the pending review status, she thought of another way to quickly boost her popularity.
She opened the "My Song" original music website, registered as a member, and uploaded the audio of "Glad You're A Lolicon." In her personal profile, she wrote: "The song will debut on this site. If you like my song, you can listen to it there first. (Wink)."
When it came to choosing between completing her task and preserving her dignity, she decisively chose the former. So, was there no hope for her deliberate cuteness?
Soon, the video passed the review and appeared quietly in the cover section of the music area.
Chu Lian didn't pay attention to the number of views. Seeing that the video had been reviewed and approved, she shut down her computer and lay on her bed, not wanting to get up.
That night, the music section of the site was destined to be anything but calm. A song sung by a little loli, after some time, quickly started gaining traction in the cover section, thanks to the enthusiasm of those who appreciated it…
Meanwhile, the creator of the song is currently being subjected to various forms of teasing by Ayase.