Chapter 321: Star-Making

A saw wheel sprang from the mechanical shell on Pang Jiawen's right hand. He pressed it against the thick trunk of the Thorn, pouring his weird energy into it like a cascading waterfall.

Amidst piercing screeches and a shower of sparks, the sturdy trunk finally showed signs of giving way.

His restless heart calmed slightly.

This Thorn had appeared far too suddenly. It didn't look like a creation of the Heavenly Kingdom at all, nor was it something a girl raised in the Anthill should possess.

It easily brought to mind the man who had been hanging around her lately, which in turn reminded him of that incredibly valuable stone...

All these signs left him deeply unsettled.

Coupled with his earlier helplessness against the Thorn before him, that unease was gradually morphing into fear.

"Fortunately, I should still have time."

He muttered, comforting himself.

As long as he hurried up and killed Tianwei, everything would be completely over.

Looking up at the girl he had watched grow up, his heart now held nothing but killing intent.

On the other side, the three people involved in this transaction were also attacking the Thorn.

They had no choice. This Thorn was simply too conspicuous. No matter what happened today, they couldn't let Tianwei live.

"You all seem quite fond of my flower."

A gentle voice rang out, sweeping past like a chilly breeze in early autumn.

Before the group even had time to be shocked, their vision blurred. A second later, they were staring down at their own legs in disbelief.

A perfectly clean slice had appeared across the thighs of everyone present. Blood pulsed outward in spurts, keeping time with their beating hearts.

Wretched screams bloomed throughout the thicket of Thorns. The men collapsed to the ground in agony, clutching their severed legs as they rolled in the dirt.

"Getting physical is such a hassle, especially in this country,"

Yan Jing smiled.

"But it seems none of you share that awareness."

As he spoke, he reached out and gestured upward. Driven by his will, the cage of Thorns engulfing Tianwei slowly descended in front of him, peeling open like a door.

Yan Jing reached in and pulled up the practically immobilized Tianwei, letting his hand hover just inches from her cheek.

By now, the once bright and beautiful girl was entirely unrecognizable.

Her chest had noticeably caved in, and dark red scabs glued her hair to her face. A severe bruise ringed one of her eyes, and the skin on her neck had been completely stripped away. Her hands and feet trembled incessantly. Perhaps because her power system was damaged, she smelled of burnt wiring and emitted a constant series of mechanical clicks and clatters.

Seemingly aware of her miserable state, Tianwei instinctively turned her face away and tried to cover it with her hand, but Yan Jing held her back.

"Look at this. You people beat my dear girl into this state."

"With this level of damage, it might be impossible for her to ever look the way she did before."

Hearing Yan Jing's words, Tianwei's heart trembled, and her eyes dimmed.

No girl could accept having her looks destroyed, even if it was just bionic skin, but...

She simply couldn't afford anything more.

She didn't know what Yan Jing saw in her that made him agree to this deal. Subconsciously, she assumed it had to be her face; other than her looks, she didn't really have any outstanding qualities.

At that thought, her heart pounded. She was terrified that Yan Jing would abandon her now that she was disfigured.

But fortunately, he didn't.

A pitch-black spike materialized in Yan Jing's hand, and he passed it to Tianwei.

"Miss Tianwei, do you know what this means?"

Yan Jing asked softly.

"It means I'll have to invest even more in you. So..."

"Go on. It's time to prove your worth."

Tianwei blankly took the spike, then looked at the terrified men collapsed on the ground.

"Tianwei! Tianwei! I had no choice... I really had no choice..."

Pang Jiawen struggled up from the dirt, clasping his hands and bowing toward Tianwei as he begged for mercy.

"I didn't have a choice! Your sister-in-law got sick, and I ran into money problems. I had to earn cash! If I didn't, Little Pangzi would lose his mother..."

Dripping with snot and tears, Pang Jiawen wailed.

Tianwei spoke softly.

"So I should die?"

"Then why couldn't you just let me go?"

As she spoke, her tears began to fall.

If he had merely robbed her, she might have let it go...

Yet the leader of the group had actually been ready to leave. The one who insisted on killing her was this very man standing in front of her—a man she had considered a decent friend.

"Why?"

She couldn't understand it, but in the end, she raised the spear.

Yan Jing walked to the side and looked up at the sky.

He didn't care who was right or wrong. If one really wanted to dig into it, they could trace the man's sick wife to the flaws of the healthcare system, and from there to the societal structure itself. They could trace his broken finances to the lack of social security, and the viciousness of the underclass to the overall social climate.

Doing so was meaningless.

All he cared about was whether Tianwei would follow his orders.

He had only one ultimate goal: to fulfill Mao Si's dying wish of changing the status quo for the underclass in the Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

It was an incredibly difficult task.

Therefore, he had to lay the groundwork in advance.

A short while later...

He saw Tianwei, draped in a raincoat of blood, walking toward him. Every step left a bloody footprint.

"Mr. Luo... it's been taken care of."

"Very good, Miss Tianwei."

Yan Jing smiled.

"I hope you still remember what you said earlier... You have already sold yourself to me."

"Yes, I haven't forgotten."

Tianwei said softly.

"I will bring over a death contract this afternoon. Once you sign it, you will work for me."

Yan Jing's expression remained placid.

"What... what do I need to do?"

Tianwei asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Change your name, change your face, give up your hobbies, and become a soft thorn."

Yan Jing laughed. "Become a superstar."

...

...

Early the next morning.

Inside a certain Tower.

Zeng Qing looked across at Yan Jing, harboring more than a few complaints.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"That woman is severely disfigured. If you want to make a star, we have plenty of celebrities here for you to use. There's no need to spend such an exorbitant amount on her."

"Besides, pseudo-native species aren't exactly mainstream with the public right now."

Yan Jing remained noncommittal.

"I know what your process is. You investigate audience preferences, and whatever the audience wants to see, you give it to them. That's how you maximize profits."

"But that isn't what I want."

"I need to do the exact opposite."

"Promote her. I don't care if we lose some money."

Zeng Qing's face darkened.

"I get it. You want to cultivate a mouthpiece."

"Don't worry about what I'm trying to do."

Yan Jing leaned closer to Zeng Qing.

"You seem very dissatisfied."

"Not at all."

Zeng Qing took a deep breath.

This was her second time meeting this man in person, but she was already intimately aware of his methods.

Their first meeting had been on the day Tianque closed its first order. He had played every dirty trick in the book to absolute perfection.

Now that he held leverage over her, she naturally didn't dare resist.

However...

Her eyes flickered, quickly concealing the flash of killing intent within them.

"Did you manage to set up a meeting with that councilor from the Reconciliation Faction like I asked last time?"

Yan Jing asked.

Zeng Qing pursed her lips.

"Not yet. The two Reconciliation Faction councilors for Muke District have already been finalized for this year. They are both under Zhou Mo's charge, so there's no opportunity to connect with them right now."

"Speed it up."

Yan Jing's expression was indifferent.

As the two conversed, a figure stepped out of the fitting room across from them.

She looked so radiant and breathtaking that it was easy to ignore the stylist standing beside her.

Her smooth skin resembled a polished pearl, white with a hint of pink. Her swan-like neck was slender and pale, and her face was absolutely flawless. She had a high-bridged nose and bright, almond-shaped eyes; her amber irises looked like pools of honey. The fluffy hem of her white dress billowed like sweet milk ice cream.

But Yan Jing frowned.

"This positioning is wrong. It needs to be changed."

"This is already the best available, both in terms of the bionic skin and the facial mimicry device..."

Zeng Qing stared at him in disbelief.

"Those two things alone cost nearly fifty thousand eerie points."

"I want her to look ordinary, yet distinctive. Realistic. Oh, and she needs to be beautiful, but grounded. Down-to-earth. Do you know what I mean?"

Yan Jing possessed the excellent professional habits of a demanding client, but Zeng Qing clearly had no experience being a contractor. After hearing this barrage of demands, she felt on the verge of a breakdown.

"No, I don't!"

"What kind of mess is this?"

"That is your problem," Yan Jing said sternly.

Zeng Qing choked on her next breath. The so-called "Queen" who ruled half the political landscape of Muke District was practically fuming to death at Yan Jing, yet she had no choice but to comply.

And so it went, from morning straight through to the afternoon.

Finally, a look that satisfied Yan Jing emerged.

Compared to the near-perfect styling of the first iteration, Tianwei's eyes had been intentionally redesigned into a softer shape, curving into crescents whenever she smiled. A small tear mole rested at the corner of her eye, adding a touch of inadvertent allure. At the same time, her face shape had softened from a sharp oval to smoother, rounder contours, and her waist-length hair had been trimmed to drape gently over her shoulders.

What satisfied Yan Jing the most was her mouth.

It remained almost identical to Tianwei's original appearance, radiating warmth when she smiled.

And the long white dress had been swapped for a casual hoodie, making her look unpretentious and pure.

"I need to remind you that even with this, in the eyes of most people, the looks of animal species are still considered superior,"

Zeng Qing said.

"Beauty isn't the point at all."

Yan Jing's expression was serene.

"What matters is relatability, approachability, and kindness. It's the fact that she doesn't have a political party backing her, that she struggled her way up from the bottom, and that she won't forget the Anthill even after becoming a star. I want to give them something the Anthill lacks, but everyone wishes they had."

"So Tianwei, you need to play to your strengths. If there is anything you can't do yet, then you better learn."

"Understood."

Tianwei nodded. "I will work hard."

Yan Jing looked at Tianwei, suddenly understanding a bit of what Shen Youran felt.

This was his masterpiece.

It had nothing to do with romance. He simply looked forward to the day his creation took the stage and stunned the world.

"This actually might just work."

Listening to Yan Jing's words, Zeng Qing mulled them over carefully, actually finding a thread of viability in his logic.

Everyone knew that celebrities couldn't exist without the backing of plutocrats. That alone gave many people an inherent aversion to stars.

But what if they removed the plutocrats from the equation?

It was normally a ridiculous notion, because without plutocrats, there was no money, and without money, you couldn't make a star.

But Yan Jing was different.