Huayu: From the Era of Ringtones to Becoming a Legend

After dinner, Lu Jiuge did not return to the hotel immediately.

Now that he had exchanged his top-tier Seoul-accented Korean, he naturally wanted to take advantage of the night to familiarize himself with the city that was about to become his new battlefield.

Hongdae.

This is a gathering place for young people in Seoul, and the core area for South Korea's underground music, street performances, and trainees pursuing their dreams.

The lights were dazzling, and the crowds were dense.

Everywhere you look, you can see singers playing guitar and singing, groups of trainees dancing energetically, and passersby taking pictures.

The sounds of music, laughter, and noise mingled together, creating an intense, almost suffocating atmosphere of entertainment that made Lu Jiuge's blood boil.

This is where he should be.

The domestic entertainment industry forced him out, seemingly cutting off his future, but in reality, it threw him into a vaster, wilder, and more suitable golden battlefield for unbridled growth.

Lu Jiuge walked slowly down the street with her hands in her pockets, her gaze casually sweeping over her surroundings.

Many girls who pass by will subconsciously glance at him a few more times.

Lu Jiuge is tall with long legs and well-defined features. Her temperament is completely different from that of Korean oppas, making her stand out in a crowd.

However, once they realize that Lu Jiuge is a foreigner, the curiosity in their eyes turns into distance.

The South Korean entertainment industry is xenophobic, and so are ordinary people.

[Ding! Subtle disdain from a passerby, negative faith value +12!]

[Ding! Distancing judgment from a passerby, negative faith value +13!]

……

Looking at the constantly popping system notifications, Lu Jiuge's lips curled up slightly.

Disdain, alienation, xenophobia...

What others see as obstacles, he sees as nothing more than walking negative faith points.

South Korea is practically a paradise tailor-made for him to rack up points.

What he lacks most right now is a constant stream of negative faith points.

Without faith points, you can't exchange for divine songs, stage skills, or creative abilities...

In South Korea, where capital and competitors abound, even with a vision of the future, without systemic support, he will struggle to make progress.

"While there are many ways to increase negative faith points, the amount is too small. We need to create a big surge as soon as possible!"

Lu Jiuge made up her mind and her gaze fell on an empty street performance spot.

There were still traces of tape marking the positions on the ground, and next to it was a set of unused simple speakers and microphone, probably left behind temporarily by the performers who had just left.

Many passersby had already stopped and were waiting for the next performer.

Several stylishly dressed young people had even started whispering among themselves.

"That singer was just so-so."

"Hopefully the next one will have some ability."

"Hongdae's quality has been getting worse and worse lately; there are hardly any listenable songs left."

Disdain, contempt, and lack of expectation.

Lu Jiuge stopped in her tracks, her eyes lighting up:

"The opportunity has arrived!"

But he did not go forward immediately.

Lu Jiuge is currently fluent in Korean, but she has not yet shown it to anyone.

Once he opens his mouth, that will be the moment he truly bares his fangs in South Korea.

It must be a decisive and stunning strike, turning everyone's disdain into shock, and then into frenzied abuse and doubt, showering him with a massive amount of negative faith points.

Lu Jiuge took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to rush forward immediately.

Not urgent.

Sharpening knives does not miss woodcutters.

He needs to observe the environment, the crowd, and the sound equipment, and more importantly, he needs to mentally decide on the first song he wants to sing.

The system store is filled with countless popular Korean songs.

It has everything from early ballads, dance music, hip-hop, OSTs...

But the first song can't be too complicated; it has to be memorable from the very first note and become an addictive hit.

Having found her direction, Lu Jiuge didn't delay any longer and turned back to the hotel.

He closed the door, shut his eyes, and his consciousness re-entered the system store.

The melodies, lyrics, and arrangements of countless songs flashed through his mind.

He quickly found a song.

The melody is catchy, the emotions are strong, the difficulty is moderate, and at this point in time, it is definitely an unreleased, brainwashing hit.

It's it!

Lu Jiuge opened her eyes, a hint of excitement flashing in them.

Use the remaining 4000 Negative Faith Points to redeem the song Gangnam Style.

Lu Jiuge packaged and encrypted the song's score, melody framework, and arrangement ideas.

He sent an international email to Liu Sixi in China, instructing him to produce a complete accompaniment audio as quickly as possible.

The next morning, Liu Sixi sent over the completed song.

Listening to the catchy rhythm, Lu Jiuge found a CD burning shop to burn a CD, deciding to fire the first shot in her foray into the Korean music scene tonight.

Lu Jiuge, clutching the burned CD, walked out of the CD shop and headed towards Hongdae.

Upon arriving in the nearby streets and alleys, one could see many young men and women who looked like trainees practicing their dances repeatedly in front of a mirror.

Lu Jiuge suddenly slapped her forehead.

The song alone is not enough; the soul of "Gangnam Style" is the incredibly addictive horse-riding dance.

You need to find a few backup dancers and maximize the stage effects to achieve the maximum brainwashing effect.

Having figured this out, Lu Jiuge had a goal. She wandered around the small practice rooms and street dance spots around Hongdae, her eyes quickly scanning the crowd.

He's looking for young people with a foundation, who learn quickly, and have a clean image, preferably trainees who haven't debuted yet and desperately need an opportunity.

Just as Lu Jiuge was looking around, a slender yet incredibly powerful figure came into view.

Directly in front of him, a girl was practicing basic dance in front of the wall. Her movements were neat and rhythmic, and her eyes and brows were youthful yet full of spirit.

The moment Lu Jiuge saw the girl's face clearly, her heart skipped a beat.

Park Ji-yeon.

The core member of this future top girl group is currently just a naive young girl practicing dance quietly on the street.

"Great, it's like a pillow coming right when I'm sleepy!"

Lu Jiuge suppressed her excitement, strode over, and said crisply:

"Hello, I would like to ask you for a favor. I need to find three dancers of similar skill level to work with me on a newly choreographed dance tonight on the streets of Hongdae."

Park Jiyeon stopped what she was doing, looked at him warily without saying a word.

Lu Jiuge didn't beat around the bush and directly offered the reward:

"The highest price for a street dancer in Hongdae is 50,000 won, I'll double that, 100,000 won per person!"

"Only half a day of practice, one performance, and the full amount will be settled on the spot afterward. Pay half of the deposit now."

This price, in Seoul in 2006, was enough to make ordinary trainees' hearts flutter.

Park Jiyeon's eyes lit up. She was just worried about earning some pocket money to help with her dance practice expenses, so she immediately nodded:

"I know three friends who are all great dancers; I'll contact them right now!"

"Great! Quickly call your friends over, I'll pay you wages, and then we'll find a place to practice dancing!"

Lu Jiuge took out a wad of cash from her wallet and held it in her hand.

The stacks of brand-new South Korean won are visually striking.

Seeing the money in his hand, Park Ji-yeon became even more certain that she hadn't encountered a scammer, and took out her phone to make a call.

Less than half an hour later, three equally youthful but energetic girls arrived.

Lu Jiuge paid each of the four people half of their wages, then took them to a rehearsal room, played music, and explained and demonstrated the Gangnam Style dance moves to the rhythm.

At 6 p.m., the crowds at Hongdae gradually increased.

Lu Jiuge walked up to the organizer of the street performance venue, and after a brief negotiation, he handed over 20,000 yuan for the venue fee, directly securing the prime ten minutes of the evening.

All of this was observed by the horse-faced man hiding in the shadows of the street corner.

Having found out what Lu Jiuge was up to from the sidelines, the horse-faced man didn't dare to delay and dialed the phone number of Lee Jae-soo, the president of SG Records.

"President! Something terrible has happened!"

"Lu Jiuge is currently on Hongdae's main street with four female trainees, about to perform in public! The song is 'Gangnam Style'!"

On the other end of the phone, there was a loud thud as something heavy slammed onto the table.

Li Zaixiu's roar made the horse-faced man's phone receiver crackle.

"Useless! Can't even keep an eye on one person!"

"He's courting death by daring to show his face in Hongdae!"

"Keep a close eye on him. I want to see just how much talent Lu Jiuge has to dare to cause trouble in the Korean entertainment industry!"

"I'm coming right away. You can't let Lu Jiuge start performing before I arrive!"