Yu Lei had to force Xiang Beifei to apply for a specialized college—only then could he stir up a sensation again.
He needed to control Xiang Qingde and his grandson to act in a way that conformed to his article, thereby strengthening its persuasive power and also to avoid being arrested by law enforcement for spreading rumors.
As for whether elite universities would actually make an exception to admit Xiang Beifei because of his article, he wouldn't be at a loss.
If they made an exception, that would be best. If the nine elite universities changed their system because of his article toward Xiang Beifei, everyone would remember "Yu Lei," the media person "with responsibility, attitude, and justice." His reputation would be made, his influence would grow, and he could aggressively harvest marketing traffic!
If the elite universities did not respond, then as the matter fermented further, netizens would direct their anger toward the nine elite universities, flooding their official accounts with posts, and then they would demand Yu Lei to represent them.
As long as he continued to defend Xiang Beifei daily on media platforms, vehemently criticizing the elite universities, he would surely garner immense support from countless netizens!
Yu Lei was preparing for the second scenario.
He knew that netizens loved to defend the underdog. If elite universities yielded, the heat would fade in a couple of days. But the longer the elite universities held out, the longer the hype would last, the more attention he would receive, and the more system tasks he could complete.
Being on the headlines would not only boost his fame but also attract massive traffic to his media account; with his popularity at its peak, advertisers would be eager to place ads on his account.
To achieve this, Yu Lei had to firmly control Xiang Beifei and his grandfather, puppeteering them at his will!
Only he could decide where Xiang Beifei could go to school!
In order to extract more benefits from Xiang Beifei, the top "N-grade novice" scholar, even if elite universities were pressured by public opinion to accept him, he would force Xiang Beifei to refuse the invitation!
Thus, he must subdue Xiang Qingde and his grandson today, turning them into his puppets with a control talisman.
Yu Lei was adept at this kind of manipulation, relying on the system's help. He had fabricated countless pieces of news, and to headline and complete system tasks, he was prepared to be utterly unscrupulous.
----
Xiang Qingde was still working at the restaurant, so Yu Lei couldn't act immediately. To avoid attracting attention, he had to wait for a moment when no one was around, so he began browsing online posts right away.
The number of online posts had been increasing, evolving just as he had anticipated over the past few days. Yesterday, he posted a Weibo, tagging the nine elite universities, reaching six million views, garnering thirty thousand reposts, twenty thousand comments, and sixty thousand likes.
Such popularity was incredibly high!
He wasn't really speaking for the N-level Awakeners; he was doing it for his system tasks!
"Ha! These N-level trash aren't completely useless after all!"
Yu Lei's eyes lit up!
5000 headline value, that was a big gain!
Just then, a comment from a netizen caught his attention: "I think it would be more reliable to have Xiang Beifei, the top N-level scorer, speak out. Does he have a personal Weibo account?"
"Right! Nothing works better than the person involved speaking out!"
Many echoed this sentiment, preparing to seek out Xiang Beifei's Weibo account and have him represent the N-level System Awakeners.
Yu Lei frowned.
He wasn't sure if Xiang Beifei used Weibo, but as a marketing account, he quickly saw a bigger opportunity for sensationalism in this situation!
In his view, Xiang Beifei indeed needed an account!
And this account had to be under his, Yu Lei's, control.
With just one status update to drive traffic, he could make "Xiang Beifei's" personal account's followers skyrocket!
Later, by hyping up both accounts and leading these N-level Awakeners, using them as pawns, wouldn't his system tasks be completed more effortlessly?
"No time to delay, today I must get Xiang Beifei and his grandfather under control, then use Xiang Beifei to register an account."
Yu Lei couldn't let the real Xiang Beifei have his say; given his attitude that day, it was clear he was unwilling to cooperate. If the real Xiang Beifei came forward to speak, denying the interview Yu Lei had fabricated, that would spell trouble.
Fortunately, he knew Xiang Beifei was just a high school student. Even if he had an account, it likely wouldn't draw much attention. Even if Xiang Beifei issued a denial today, it wouldn't get many reads, as no one would know if it were true or false.
Just by controlling that kid today, how the situation would develop from there would still be up to him, wouldn't it?