After receiving Chu Lian's permission, Luoying was still somewhat worried. She hesitated for a long time, opening her mouth several times without ever managing to say the whole thing.
Chu Lian did not urge her. She knew very well that although these girls looked mature on the outside, they were actually more innocent than most people. After all, they had appeared in this world from nothing. They each possessed their own unique personalities and talents, but the only people they had ever come into contact with were those in this household.
Strictly speaking, the only person who had truly interacted with them was Chu Lian herself. Whenever any of the other girls tried to approach them, they would instinctively feel afraid.
Perhaps to Chu Lian, they were merely a group of unusually gifted subordinates, the kind of people who helped her accomplish her ambitions and dreams.
But to them, Chu Lian was the world itself, the heavens above them, their sole pillar of support and the center of everything.
No matter how excessive Chu Lian's ideas were, how bizarre her thoughts might seem, or how impossible her designs appeared, they would always do their utmost to make them real and deliver results.
They did not understand Chu Lian's life very well, nor did they know what the real world was actually like. All of their knowledge either came from inherited memories or from cultural products such as novels, films, television dramas, anime, music, and the like.
But none of that prevented them from treating Chu Lian as their everything, whether in dreams, in daily life, or while they were busy working.
That was also why, whenever they faced Chu Lian, they behaved almost like shameless fangirls. It was simply because they did not really know how to express their feelings, while at the same time missing Chu Lian deeply, causing them to act in such an extreme way.
Chu Lian did not dislike that way of expressing themselves, however. She might not be the person who understood them best, but she would certainly be the most tolerant toward them and the one who treated them best.
After all, these girls had, in the end, come here because of her. In her heart, Chu Lian had already decided that she would take full responsibility for all of them.
So when she saw Luoying form an independent thought of her own and even dare to bring it up, Chu Lian did not feel angry at all. Instead, she felt happy.
She was glad to see them grow, glad to see them become independent individuals, and glad to see them develop ideas of their own.
Luoying pondered silently. She did not know whether her idea would be accepted if she voiced it. Deep down, she did not want Chu Lian to become busier or unhappy because of her.
She remained silent, and the girls beside her eventually began to feel impatient. Regardless of what her idea was, Master was standing right here waiting for her.
Even so, they did not speak. They simply watched her, giving her the space to realize it herself.
Luoying knew perfectly well that everyone was waiting on her, but she still could not summon the courage. The idea had been perfectly clear in her mind just moments ago, yet whenever she looked at Master's gentle smile, she simply could not bring herself to say it.
"Go ahead. Don't hesitate. You should know that no matter what happens, I won't get angry with any of you." Seeing her like this, Chu Lian understood that she could not remain silent any longer. Otherwise, the girl really would not say anything at all.
"My idea is... to design characters in the game based on Master and the others..." Biting her lower lip with her pearly teeth, Luoying finally voiced her idea.
"Oh? Why did you think of that? Can you tell me the reason?" Chu Lian began considering the feasibility of the proposal while asking Luoying what exactly had led her to it.
Luoying hesitantly glanced to either side. Liusu and Mo Li, who were usually always at odds with her, still wore disdainful expressions, but she could faintly see encouragement in their eyes. Realizing they supported her idea, Luoying finally stopped holding back.
"Master, you know you're a celebrity, right?"
"Mm. Although I'm very famous, I've actually only just debuted and don't have many works yet. A lot of people only know my name without knowing what my work is actually like. Aside from being extremely popular among otaku circles, it's mostly middle-aged men and women who like me."
"I don't completely understand what Master means, but what I can tell is... Master doesn't seem satisfied?"
"That's right. I have both the determination and motivation to become a major star. It might not be my ultimate goal, but it's still something I absolutely have to accomplish. And what I've achieved now is still far from enough."
"So Master's decision to become the spokesperson for our game this time is actually meant to raise your fame even further, right?"
"That's part of the reason. After all, if I become the spokesperson for a revolutionary game, I'll definitely gain a huge number of fans and a lot of attention."
"But Master, have you ever thought about the fact that you'll always be a celebrity? No matter how close you become with your fans, there will still be a halo separating you from them."
"I understand that. That's also something I've always been trying to eliminate. Only when the influence of that halo disappears will they truly devote themselves to me and become hardcore fans."
"Yes. Master has worked very hard at that, and there has been some effect, but it doesn't seem to have been very significant, right?"
"Mm. It's genuinely difficult. On top of that, because I haven't appeared very often recently, my popularity has already started declining. Then another identity, Valkyrie, appeared and stole practically all the attention that originally belonged to me. I'm already thankful enough that my fan count hasn't gone down. At a time like this, I basically don't dare try to eliminate the celebrity halo. If even that disappears, they'll pay even less attention to me."
"Yes. Master is troubled by these things, and we don't really have any way to solve them. All we can do is help as much as possible. What I'm about to say now is something that could help Master."
"I've been waiting a long time for you to say it, Luoying. Don't worry, and don't concern yourself with what I might think. Just tell me whatever came to mind."
"Um... I said just now that Master could appear in the game, right? Master could appear as the goddess protecting a city, or as a songstress, or perhaps as the Saintess of some church."
"You didn't mention royalty or nobility because those positions are too high above everyone else and wouldn't have much contact with ordinary players, right?"
"Mm. Although goddesses and Saintesses are also symbols of holiness and nobility, they're still the kind of figures who can interact frequently with players."
"Especially if I hold a large number of quests. Not only would the quests refresh and change every time, there could also be high-level, high-reward quests. That would inevitably make many players come looking for me frequently and become familiar with me. And because the quests I give would offer generous rewards, even if they're difficult, players would still consider them very worthwhile."
"Mm-hmm, exactly! Master is so smart. That way, they'll subconsciously develop goodwill toward Master and gradually start approaching you. After all, Master will have gone from being someone on a screen to someone right beside them. That sense of closeness will gradually draw them in."
"And once that experience feeds back into reality, they'll inevitably become curious about the real me and gradually start paying attention to me. Even if only one-tenth of the game's players do that, it'll still be a substantial number. And this kind of growth would be continuous. It might not be much at first, but by the end, it would definitely become significant, right?"
"Mm. If Master doesn't mind, we could add a favorability system. For male players, favorability would rise abnormally slowly and cap at eighty percent. For female players, it could rise a little faster, with a maximum of ninety-five percent. In other words, you'd be the kind of character they can look at, but can never truly conquer."
"At first, no one would realize you're impossible to conquer. Once they see a favorability indicator, they'd keep interacting with you, raising the value, and gaining rewards from the quests unlocked at the corresponding favorability levels. After that, they'd become even more determined to increase it, and gifts purchased from Mystery Merchants would work better. But once favorability reached its preset cap, it would stop increasing. At that point, the players still wouldn't realize that you're impossible to conquer. Instead, they'd wonder whether they simply hadn't shown enough sincerity, so they'd interact with you even more and give you even more gifts... only to eventually discover that while this goddess is extremely approachable and seems to have a close relationship with them, everything they can obtain through 'conquering' her amounts to the quests in their hands. They wouldn't even be able to touch a single part of the goddess' body. Meanwhile, female players who reached the preset maximum favorability would be able to hug the goddess and act intimately with her... The male players, unwilling to give up, would naturally keep trying."
"Then after a long period of time, we can raise the male favorability cap slightly and give them new motivation..."
"Luoying, I think you've become wicked. What you're imagining is that once favorability reaches eighty-nine percent, right before they're allowed to touch the body, it becomes permanently impossible to increase any further. They'll stare at that last one percent, then look at female players who can behave intimately with the goddess, become even more unwilling to accept it, and keep desperately trying to raise their favorability. In the end, all of it will be futile and completely useless."
"Mm-hmm, exactly like Master said. I know Master hates men, so I absolutely won't let them touch even the tiniest bit of you."
"That's a good setting. Although some people will inevitably curse us for being shameless once they figure it out, by then they'll probably have already spent plenty of money, right? Hmph. Acting so devoted toward a thirteen-year-old girl... Those perverted men can go die."
Chu Lian grumbled for a moment, then looked at Luoying and the others and confirmed that the idea was workable. "Luoying's idea, plus my additions. You should know what to do now. Oh, right. For anyone who can raise favorability above ninety percent, add a beauty-rating requirement. Only women rated above eighty points in attractiveness can get that high. Mm. I'm just that shallow. Hahaha."
Although the things she had discussed with Luoying were merely a simple setting, the benefits to Chu Lian herself would be enormous. She was already thinking about when she should start accepting commissions from celebrities and letting them appear in the game world as well.
Mm. How much should I charge them for a character? Simple. Base it on how popular the character is. Minimum one million, maximum ten million. I'm a genius...
"Oh, right. Remember to add Cai Ya, Xiu'er, Chu Chu, and the others too. They'll all be non-romanceable characters. Unless there's some special requirement in the future, they'll only accept affection from my character." Seeing them begin working again, Chu Lian casually added that final instruction...