Chapter 527: Going Public

Chapter 527: Going Public

"Of course." Ji Xinghuo readily agreed.

He had already promised this before, and would follow through with whatever the Leader instructed, offering his full cooperation.

Ji Daosheng said, "For this video clip, you need to authorize the use of your likeness so that people all over the world can see what you look like. From now on, you will also need to grant open authorization, permitting all media and the public to use your likeness without compensation."

"Complete and open access?" Ji Xinghuo hesitated, realizing that he would truly become a public figure.

"Yes," replied Ji Daosheng with a nod. "I know you dislike having your personal life disturbed, but this will be of great help to our plans."

"Leader, I don't understand," Ji Xinghuo said, scratching his head.

"The Sun King's global ranking has dropped to second place, which has greatly damaged the influence of both the Sun King and the Pan-American Federation. You should understand this," Ji Daosheng explained. "Now, we need to take it a step further and suppress, weaken, and replace their position, firmly seizing the initiative, especially for you..."

He looked at Ji Xinghuo and continued, "The Earth must have a strongest individual!"

"But the public's impression of you is too vague," Ji Daosheng said seriously. "People know your name, your background, and your strength, but these elements are not intuitive enough to leave a deep impression."

"Judging a person by their appearance is human nature."

"A person's outward appearance is also the most intuitive and clearest impression we form of others, especially when your image is already very distinctive."

At this point, Ji Daosheng laughed, "At the very least, you're much more handsome than I am, and you're on par with Marshal Wu Huai'an."

"Thank you for the compliment, Leader."

Ji Xinghuo also laughed, suddenly remembering an old internet meme. Some people liked to use nicknames like "The Leader Says I'm Handsome" or "Handsome Enough to Startle XXX". He never expected it to come true for him.

Marshal Wu Huai'an had been hailed as the nation's most handsome man for many years, and the Leader's comment that he was on par with him was perhaps a bit of flattery.

Ji Daosheng continued, "You need to establish an invincible image globally and become a symbol, an icon."

"Like the Sun King?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

"Exactly!"

Ji Daosheng nodded, "When people think of the Sun King, they think of the Pan-American Federation. They subconsciously equate his personal power with the country's strength, thus forming a hegemony and weakening the will to resist."

"It's a simple psychological effect and also the most practical propaganda strategy."

"The Pan-American Federation has relied on the Sun King's reputation for many years, reaping benefits and advantages, and has never suffered a setback. If we don't occupy the propaganda front, the enemy will," Ji Daosheng quoted a famous saying.

"Now, it's our turn to occupy that front."

Ji Daosheng's tone was persuasive and reasonable.

Ji Xinghuo no longer resisted and nodded, "I'll follow your arrangement, Leader."

"Good." A smile appeared on Ji Daosheng's face.

Suddenly, he sighed, "I understand your reluctance to become a public figure. But at our level, it's impossible to permanently protect our personal privacy. As the saying goes, an emperor has no private affairs. You and I are certainly not emperors, but we also cannot completely separate public and private matters. I hope you can understand."

"I'll accept it," Ji Xinghuo said helplessly.

In the information age, everything people did left traces, and even the most comprehensive laws had loopholes.

One might be able to hide for a while, but not forever.

Ever since he became famous, Ji Xinghuo had consciously shielded himself from external interference, and while he felt fine, his family and friends were suffering.

Even classmates he hadn't been in contact with for a long time were subjected to doxxing and public scrutiny.

"Although countries around the world have signed the 'Citizen Network Privacy Protection Act', and the law is well-enforced in the APC and most countries, your photos have actually been leaked on a large scale in some relatively backward, remote, and hostile countries."

Ji Daosheng sighed, "You can walk down the street unnoticed in our country, but abroad, you might be recognized after just a few steps."

Ji Xinghuo was aware of this situation.

"After global unification, this kind of thing won't happen again," he said.

The next day, Ji Xinghuo arrived at the National News Agency building in Chang'an.

"Mr. Ji!" A middle-aged man with a mature appearance had already been waiting for a long time. With a smile on his face, he introduced himself, "I'm Lu Qingzhou, the president of the National News Agency. You can just call me Old Lu."

"President Lu," Ji Xinghuo greeted him.

He shook hands with Lu Qingzhou and looked at the group of people behind him.

"These are our elite members," Lu Qingzhou said. "After receiving the Leader's order, I gathered them from all over the country overnight to form a professional team dedicated to serving you to the best of our abilities.

Among the group were men and women, most of them over thirty years old, and one of them was a nationally renowned female host.

They all observed Ji Xinghuo, their eyes filled with curiosity and reverence.

"Mr. Ji, is there anything you need?" Lu Qingzhou asked respectfully. "Please feel free to make any requests."

"I'm a layman in this field, so I'll just follow your guidance," Ji Xinghuo replied with a smile.

"You're too kind," Lu Qingzhou said humbly.

He clapped his hands and ordered, "Let's get to work."

The team sprang into action, with people taking on different roles such as image design, conceptualizing the video, makeup, storyboarding, filming, and copywriting. Each task was assigned to the most senior members of the team.

Lu Qingzhou had stepped away from frontline work for many years, and his role was primarily supervisory, while the actual filming was directed by a national media chief director.

A producer was communicating with Ji Xinghuo.

"Mr. Ji, to introduce your personal image to a global audience, we've chosen the most intuitive filming approach. The first half-minute will be a self-introduction..."

"During this process, you need to exude confidence, but not to the point of being overly sharp and arrogant, so as not to intimidate the viewers."

"...We also want to emphasize your background as a public figure."

"Briefly recap your origins, and how you became an Extraordinary only after graduating from university. This story of your late blooming will be more inspiring to the audience..."

"Your tone should be gentle yet firm, and your gaze determined but not overly sharp."

"In the latter half, shift the topic to South Asia. Expose the crimes of the Brahma King and the Mahout, and share our country's response to the situation."

"...Start from a global perspective, discussing Earth's position and threats within the Star Realm, and emphasize the need for humanity to unite in order to face future crises."

"Then conclude with your personal aspirations for future peace..."

The video script had been written the night before, and after reading it, Ji Xinghuo was impressed by the power of media and journalism.

He had no objections to most of the content.

There was only one aspect that he felt needed adjustment—regarding Earth's position in the Star Realm. As an Extraordinary who had ventured in the Star Realm for many years, Ji Xinghuo knew more than the average person. He pointed out two inaccuracies in the script and added some of his own experiences from the True Dragon Empire.

"Mr. Ji, your insight and experience are truly admirable," the producer flattered.

Ji Xinghuo let out a soft laugh.

As he communicated with the producer, the image designer observed him from different angles, circling him a few times.

Finally, the designer, a sister in her forties who still exuded charm, exclaimed in awe.

Lu Qingzhou asked, "Well?"

"Mr. Ji's image is impeccable!"

The image designer admired Ji Xinghuo as if he were a work of art, shaking her head in admiration. "Each of your facial features is not the most outstanding on its own, but together, they form an extremely handsome face. Your stature is tall and well-proportioned, and your overall appearance is flawless, even outshining top male models and celebrities. There's also a unique, dominating aura about you that instantly sets you apart as extraordinary, yet you give off a very approachable and secure feeling. No woman could resist such a man, and no wonder..."

She trailed off, suddenly aware that she might have said too much.

The room fell silent as everyone held their breath, afraid of angering Ji Xinghuo. Lu Qingzhou glared at her, his displeasure evident.

"No wonder what?" Ji Xinghuo asked with a smile, clearly not offended.

He wouldn't be upset over a compliment, even if there might be some exaggeration involved.

"Well..." The image designer plucked up the courage to respond, "No wonder Lady Jianxian had such good taste and decided to start a relationship with you after your first meeting."

This was something Ji Xinghuo had mentioned himself.

"Thank you," he nodded in acknowledgment.

Lu Qingzhou, seeing that Ji Xinghuo wasn't angry, breathed a sigh of relief and flattered him further. "Mr. Ji and Lady Jianxian are truly a heavenly match, a couple that inspires envy in all of us."

"Mhm," Ji Xinghuo murmured, not continuing the conversation.

He suddenly felt a sense of ennui. Every action, every word, even the slightest change in his expression, seemed to evoke strong reactions from those around him. Some were walking on eggshells, while others overanalyzed and tried to interpret his every move.

However, this was the nature of power!

What set him apart was that his power didn't come from politics or organizational hierarchy, but from his own strength.

Most people might have lost themselves in such a situation, but Ji Xinghuo remained clear-headed, understanding that power was the root of it all.

The professional team worked efficiently, and within half a day, Ji Xinghuo had completed the filming.

During the process, he followed the team's instructions to the letter. Although this was his first time addressing a global audience and he lacked experience, it was a minor challenge for him, and he aced it effortlessly.

That evening, Ji Xinghuo received the edited video. The entire clip was only 3 minutes long, not very lengthy, but it was exquisitely produced and rich in content, capable of captivating viewers and leaving a deep impression.

The Leader also watched it personally and asked, "Xinghuo, what do you think?"

"No problem," Ji Xinghuo replied.

"Then let's set the release for 8:20 pm," Ji Daosheng said, glancing at the time. "This is the peak time for daily internet traffic."

Ji Xinghuo uploaded the video to his social media account and set it to be released at the scheduled time.

Then he gave authorization for the use of his likeness in the video.

As previously discussed, immediately after the video was released, he would lift his online privacy protection and grant complete public authorization, removing mosaics and "random generic faces" from all previously taken photos and videos of himself.

Anyone on Earth could now send, spread, or forward his photos and videos.

After completing all this, Ji Xinghuo looked out the window.

At that moment, he was sitting on the sofa in Zhao Manying's home in the Miyang Tower, with the enchanting night view of Chang'an spread out before him, a sight to behold.

Zhao Manying snuggled in his embrace, playing with Qinghong by his side.

She had watched the entire process of Ji Xinghuo's operations and said, "From now on, you will be the most famous human on Earth. There may not be a few people in the world who don't recognize you, so you can also experience the troubles of fame."

"Hehe..."

Ji Xinghuo laughed, "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

As he spoke, his facial features began to shift, and his figure adjusted, transforming into a completely strange man in just a few seconds.

Zhao Manying's face went stiff, and she subconsciously sat up from Ji Xinghuo's embrace.

Although she knew it was still Ji Xinghuo, she had never been so intimate with another man in her life, and it felt very uncomfortable.

"Change back quickly!" Zhao Manying coquettishly ordered.

However, Ji Xinghuo didn't immediately undo the changes brought about by the Fraud Mask ability, instead, he revealed a strange smile and leaned in, asking, "Do you want to experience what it's like?"

"No!"

Zhao Manying was so scared that she quickly pushed him away.

"Hahaha..." Ji Xinghuo burst into laughter, as he was only joking and didn't actually intend to do such a thing.

The two of them played and entangled with each other, soon leading to deeper intimacy.

Just then, Zhao Manying suddenly said, "It's time."

"What?"

Ji Xinghuo turned his head to check the time and realized it was the scheduled time for the video release, "Never mind that, let's focus on the task at hand."

"No, I want to see how everyone is reacting." Zhao Manying said coquettishly, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she bit her teeth and projected the screen into the air above the living room, enlarging it. She then opened the social media platform and entered Ji Xinghuo's account page.

Ji Xinghuo had watched it countless times and continued to focus on his task.

The video began to play on the screen.

In the video, Ji Xinghuo sat behind a desk, with a transparent and bright floor-to-ceiling window behind him, showcasing the magnificent view of Chang'an. On either side stood the flags of the Asia-Pacific Community and the symbol of united humanity.

"Hello everyone!"

"I am Ji Xinghuo."

"You may have heard my name, or perhaps some of you don't know much about me. During this special period, please allow me to introduce myself. I was born in the year 2201 and am a public child..."

In the video, Ji Xinghuo's expression was natural and sincere, and his posture was relaxed as he spoke candidly to the camera, introducing his background and experiences.

Even before the 3-minute video ended, the view count had already surpassed 100 million, and the numbers below were increasing rapidly.

The number of forwards and comments was rising at a rate of several hundred thousand per second.

Instantly, the video topped global headlines.

At that moment, almost everyone on Earth who was still awake and had access to the internet had seen this video.

"So this is what Ji Xinghuo looks like!"

"So handsome!"

This was everyone's first impression of the video. As the video played, everyone listened intently to every word Ji Xinghuo said. And when the video ended, it triggered an even bigger wave of enthusiasm, causing a stir in global public opinion.

However, aside from Zhao Manying, no one knew that Ji Xinghuo didn't care about the outside world's reaction at that moment.

All he wanted was to be with Zhao Manying and reach the pinnacle of pleasure.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end