A real killer playing a villain; the guy surnamed Zhen in Detective, run!

Before midnight, three trending topics emerged in quick succession: "Ordinary extra's eyes outshine popular young actor," "Lu Yuan's pure bandit genes," and "The whole internet is searching for Lu Yuan," directly overshadowing established celebrities and landing on the top of the trending searches. Social media platforms erupted in celebration.

At the same time, in the urban village, electric fans creaked and groaned.

Lu Yuan was wearing tattered, short clothes and sitting cross-legged on a straw mat, taking stock of his assets.

The emergency leg bone fixation cost 100 yuan, the vegetables at the farmers' market cost a few yuan, and on the way back I bought anti-inflammatory powder and medical gauze at the pharmacy, leaving me with 105 yuan.

Inside a discarded cardboard box in the corner, the sixth dog poked half of its furry head out. Fluid was seeping from the splint securing its hind legs, and the little guy was stretching out its tongue to lick the outer bandage.

Lu Yuan reached out, his fingertips gently pressing down on the cat's intact neck and back, and tucked it back into its bed, which was padded with a tattered thermal undershirt.

Don't touch the wound.

The sixth brother needs his splint and medication changed every three days, and he needs ten yuan a day for instant noodles. With the little money he has, he can't even get through Wednesday.

I have to find some work tomorrow, whether it's playing a dead body or just being a passerby. I need to go to the casting director and find a couple more bit parts to cover my food expenses for the next two weeks.

After finalizing his living arrangements, Lu Yuan tightened the thermos, turned off the light, and went to sleep. His domestically made mobile phone was placed face down on the table, silent.

In the heart of the same town, at Haojue KTV's top-tier private rooms.

The deep bass beats pierced the laser beams. Empty bottles of expensive liquor were displayed on a marble table, and several simply dressed hostesses huddled close to the edge of the sofa.

Brother Wang, the group leader who controlled most of the new recruits at the north gate of the vertical store, had his collar wide open. His greasy face glowed with the redness of a hangover. He leaned back in his soft-backed chair, his thumb rapidly swiping across the screen of the latest high-end mobile phone.

The third trending topic has now become "Live footage of Lu Yuan, an extra in the vertical store."

The comments section was filled with inquiries about his background. Even a few usually arrogant second-tier entertainment agents secretly used their connections to probe the internal network of the vertical streaming platform.

Brother Wang, a cigarette dangling from his lips, exhaled a heavy puff of smoke. He recognized the kid. He'd been working odd jobs for him for three years, never stealing the spotlight or causing trouble. He was extremely eye-catching and had a knack for making people work.

A stroke of luck. Who could have predicted that a single stone would create such a huge splash across the internet today? This is real money flowing in. All it takes is quick commercial packaging, some brainwashing short dramas, or simply opening a livestreaming channel that can be both controversial and popular. It's a highly profitable business.

"Big Black." Brother Wang turned his head.

A burly man with tattooed arms sprang up from the sofa next to them and casually switched off the power to the stereo system. "Brother Wang, which way do you go?"

"Go back to the office. Take out that top-tier long-term contract for new recruits from the drawer and reprint it separately. Set the penalty for breach of contract at ten million, and split the profits 90/100."

Dahei stared at the screen displaying the trending topic: "It's gone viral like this, how could he even put his fingerprint on this lousy contract?"

Brother Wang chuckled and picked up an ice cube from his wide-mouthed glass, throwing it on the ground.

"Do you understand how things work at the bottom of this business? A penniless wretch who's been rotting in an urban village for two years has no idea how valuable he is outside. Tomorrow, I'll slap 20,000 yuan in cash on his chest right in front of him. When he sees the money, he'll get carried away and won't even ask for a contract of servitude; he'll even be willing to acknowledge me as his father."

No matter how much trouble the internet stirs up, once inside this small corner of the internet, the rules are still set by people like him. These lowly ants, with a little money and power, can only be obediently put on a bridle and pulled along like millstones.

Brother Wang picked up his bottle of liquor again and took a sip. The net for making money had been cast; he was just waiting to see that down-on-his-luck kid kowtowing in gratitude before the banknotes tomorrow morning.

......

7:40 AM.

The gathering place for extras in the vertical shop is located at the end of an oil-stained commercial street outside the north gate of the film and television city. The second floor is the office area for the extras bosses, and the lobby on the first floor is full of extras waiting for work.

When Lu Yuan arrived, there were already thirty or forty people squatting in the hall. Some were smoking, some were scrolling through their phones, and some were eating steamed buns. The air was filled with a murky smell that was a mixture of cheap tobacco and overnight sweat.

He had Lao Liu tucked into his arms, his windbreaker zipped up to his chest, revealing an orange head.

Today's work assignments were posted on the bulletin board in the corner. Lu Yuan leaned over and glanced at them.

A period drama with 80 people, featuring close-ups of corpses, requiring the actors to lie still for four hours, costs 150 yuan. An extra, who must bring their own costume, costs 80 yuan.

The corpse is good. It can lie still, saving energy, and it even comes with lunch.

"Lu Yuan!"

The sound came from the stairwell.

The group leader, Brother Wang, was wearing a crocodile-print polo shirt with the collar open, his gold chain peeking out from his chest hair. He jogged down, his leather shoes clattering on the concrete, a broad smile on his face.

Dozens of extras in the hall all looked up at once.

What kind of person is Brother Wang normally? If he even glances at you, it's a blessing from heaven. But today he actually came downstairs on his own initiative?

"Yuan-di! Have you eaten yet?" Brother Wang put his arm around Lu Yuan's shoulder. "Come on, come on up and sit down. Let's chat for a bit."

Lu Yuan looked at the registration slip in his hand, then at Brother Wang.

"Brother Wang, I'm in line."

"What are you queuing for! You and I are queuing?" Brother Wang grabbed his shoulder and pushed him towards the stairwell. "There's good tea up there, freshly arrived Tieguanyin."

Lu Yuan was half-pushed and half-dragged up to the second floor.

Brother Wang's office was at the end of the corridor. As soon as the door was pushed open, the smell of smoke and lingering alcohol hit you. The desk was messy, the ashtray was overflowing, several empty beer bottles were lying askew among the pile of documents, and a paper shredder was under the desk with its indicator light still on.

"Sit down, sit down." Brother Wang pressed Lu Yuan into the folding chair opposite him, then went around to the back of the boss's chair and plopped down. He took out a neatly bound document from the drawer and slammed it on the table.

The document consists of a dozen or so A4 pages, with the cover printed with "Artist Management Full Contract".

"Yuan-di, I'm not going to beat around the bush." ​​Brother Wang crossed his legs, lit a cigarette, and said, "You're famous now. As soon as that variety show aired yesterday, several talent agencies sent people to ask about you. What does that mean? It means you're a gem."

Amidst the swirling smoke, Brother Wang leaned forward, pointing to the contract: "I'm planning to promote you. Sign this, and I'll handle all the resources, packaging, and publicity. You just need to stand in front of the camera, and you don't need to worry about the rest."

The sixth baby in his arms started nuzzling against his chest and meowing.

Lu Yuan unscrewed the thermos, took a sip of water, rubbed the cat's head with a finger, and opened the contract.

Page 1, Contract Term: Ten Years.

Page 3, Revenue Sharing: 90% for Party A, 10% for Party B.

Page 7, Penalty for breach of contract: RMB 5 million.

Page 11, Additional Clause: Party B shall not unilaterally terminate this contract for any reason, and Party A shall have the priority right to decide on all of Party B's business activities.

He closed the contract and pushed it back in front of Brother Wang.

"Sorry, Brother Wang, I only want a minor role, I won't sign."