4 Becoming a Top Celebrity Overnight

Andrei was tongue-tied, unable to utter a word.

He pursed his lips in frustration, a faint flush creeping onto his cheeks.

“But you’re being disrespectful to the gods,” he insisted.

Zhi Wei stared at him, suddenly leaning forward, her elbows resting on the table, eyes clear and steady as she looked into Andrei’s.

“Then…” she ventured cautiously, “why don’t you prove it to me? Convince me to respect them.”

It was intentional.

In just a few words, she had already glimpsed Andrei’s nature, though not as keenly as Hector before.

Since he leaned in, Zhi Wei genuinely wanted to glean some information from him—at least to understand how this real world with gods actually operated.

Andrei thought for a moment, lowering his gaze. He clasped his hands together, pressing them against his nose, closing his eyes with his lashes resting quietly below.

Zhi Wei observed him calmly.

Then Andrei’s clear voice sounded, and he said—

“The god I believe in shields me from suffering and grants me blessings. May the god have mercy on me, care for me, and love me.”

Zhi Wei thought that was a normal prayer—praising the deity while expressing desire and seeking protection, as a faithful believer would.

But it wasn’t over.

Andrei hadn’t finished speaking.

He was utterly serious, devout almost to the extreme, and softly said: “I pray to the god who governs chocolate, longing for a piece of blueberry-filled chocolate.”

Zhi Wei: ...?

Then she saw Andrei reach into his pocket and pull out a banknote, smoothing it flat on the table.

Andrei said, “Oh god of chocolate, please hear my prayer. I ask for a piece of blueberry-filled chocolate to appear in my hand. I offer the corresponding price; please, god, take my money.”

When he finished, he pushed the bill slightly forward, resting his forehead on the edge of the table. His hands were close together, palms flat on the surface, fingertips touching the cash.

The air froze for over ten seconds, then the banknote vanished into thin air.

Zhi Wei’s gaze halted, her breath momentarily disrupted, eyes unblinking as she stared.

Five seconds after the cash disappeared, a piece of chocolate appeared in the spot where Andrei’s palms had been spread on the table.

Its deep blue wrapper clearly indicated blueberry flavor.

Andrei tore open the packaging, broke off a small piece and popped it into his mouth, then offered the rest generously to Zhi Wei.

He raised an eyebrow and boasted, “See? This is god.”

“You offend the gods, and that’s wrong,” he added.

Ah, so that’s how it is. Zhi Wei finally understood. No wonder, even in the interstellar age, people still used cash here.

So that’s how it’s used.

Zhi Wei couldn’t help blurting out, “That’s just buying.”

“You give money; you get chocolate. If that’s not buying, then what is?”

She said, “All this prayer and blessing talk sounds complicated, but honestly, this is just a transaction.”

Andrei got angry: “Chocolate costs only fifteen credit points, but I prayed and paid a hundred credit points. This is a divine blessing!”

So it’s not a transaction, it’s a losing deal?

Zhi Wei’s expression became complicated. “I don’t understand…”

If I did, I’d be beating you up!

Zhi Wei pulled out a banknote, holding it between her fingers, shaking it in front of Andrei. “Help me buy a piece of chocolate, too.”

Andrei asked expectantly, “Do you also believe in this god?”

“No, I just have a sweet tooth.”

She didn’t really distinguish the money here and casually pulled out a large denomination note.

Andrei examined it carefully but didn’t take it, instead looking somewhat puzzled. “You’re from a backwater planet and yet you’re quite rich.”

Good question.

You see, when Zhi Wei first crossed over, she had no money from this world at all, but when she left the temple, her arms were full of cash.

Speaking of which, Zhi Wei was puzzled too.

“I don’t know what happened. When I finished my speech and stepped down from the stage, many people started shoving money into my arms.”

Andrei lifted his chin, explaining in a somewhat irritating aristocratic tone: “That’s an offering.”

“They were moved by your chosen divine platform and willing to contribute their strength, paving your path to godhood with money.”

Zhi Wei nearly dislocated her jaw.

...Really juvenile. Gods or no gods, this random way of throwing money around is pretty crazy!

She awkwardly busied herself, fidgeting with the table, glancing at the ceiling, then chewing on thin air before sighing deeply.

But there truly were gods here, and you really could choose them—it was absurd and bizarre.

Zhi Wei quickly changed the subject: “Does campaigning require money?”

“Of course. The further you go, you’ll even have to hire a special finance officer to manage your campaign funds.”

After speaking, Andrei looked at Zhi Wei’s pained expression as she pressed her temple, then softly said, “But you really aren’t like other candidates.”

Zhi Wei looked at him with a questioning gaze.

Andrei slowly said, “They say—on the StarNet—that you shut down the brainwave payment channel, so no one can transfer funds to your brainwave or offer you donations.”

Zhi Wei’s heart skipped a beat.

Andrei continued, “People say you’re noble and unbothered by petty gains, truly possessing the selfless character of a savior.”

Zhi Wei suddenly understood, her thoughts clicking into place!

She finally realized why those people kept crowding around, persistently bothering her!

They wanted to transfer credit points to her, but she had no brainwave device to receive money.

So, everyone used that expression of “You’re so great, so different from others” to start handing her cash.

A misunderstanding! Purely a misunderstanding! Help, what are they saying about her out there? That noble, idealistic person—could it really be her?!

Zhi Wei took a deep breath and said, “No, it’s actually because I don’t have a brainwave device.”

Andrei tilted his head like a parrot, repeating, “You don’t have a brainwave device?”

His tone suggested hearing someone hadn’t eaten for days—utterly unbelievable.

“I really don’t. I’m from a backwater planet, after all,” Zhi Wei replied casually.

Andrei scratched the back of his neck in confusion, activated his brainwave device, and projected an external virtual screen floating before Zhi Wei.

“You don’t have a brainwave device, and you haven’t seen this before?”

Zhi Wei squinted, carefully examining the virtual screen.

Displayed was the footage of her speech on the stage, with views and comments skyrocketing to incredible numbers.

Zhi Wei’s eyes lost some of their spark, appearing a bit dazed.

She foolishly asked Andrei to confirm, “Is choosing a god a live broadcast?”

Andrei chuckled at the ignorance of backwater planets: “Of course.”

He kindly moved the virtual screen onto the table before Zhi Wei, laying it flat so she could look down and browse freely.

Zhi Wei watched, and Andrei played the sound aloud. She not only heard her own rambling about internet jargon but also the ongoing live commentary.

The two commentators lavished praise on Zhi Wei.

“This is the most surprising candidate we’ve seen in the preliminary rounds so far—Zhi Wei! Let’s analyze her platform and speech for everyone.”

“Clearly, she expresses great dissatisfaction with our current society, perhaps due to her origin from a backwater planet.”

“Backwater planets are on the fringes of the galaxy, more backward, but precisely because of this, she has witnessed social division, turmoil, savagery, and hardship, and thus she chooses to stand up, running as the sole god, becoming the savior!”

“And she doesn’t have an organization—she’s running independently, without a campaign team, yet can deliver such a speech and have such ambition. Truly a miraculous candidate!”

Zhi Wei: ...

She bit into the chocolate, the sugar rushing to her brain just enough to keep her from fainting outright.

She fiddled with the virtual screen for a while; at first, she was clumsy but, like getting a new phone or computer, after some probing and exploration, she found her way.

Zhi Wei exited the awkward replay of the live broadcast, forcing herself to listen to the commentators’ voices for information.

Her eyes moved to the comment section below, which was lively and noisy.

“Who is this? Some wild person from a backwater planet! Such a nonsensical platform!”

“Did the pollution test for someone from a backwater planet really pass? They can enter the temple now?”

“But it’s really tempting... We’ve had over three hundred elections, and any useful platform has already been proposed by predecessors, so now election platforms are getting more and more trivial and uninspiring.”

“‘Automatically dispose of peeled orange peels for everyone,’ ‘inhibit nail growth,’ ‘double everyone’s walking speed’—her platform is way better than these, isn’t it? She’s a candidate who really wants to get things done!”

“She never held a rally before! Where did she come from? So young and dares to run for god!”

Originally, the comments mocked her, but the commentators’ next words completely reversed the voters’ negative impressions.

“Zhi Wei’s profile is sparse; she hasn’t debated or held rallies before, but here’s a value we can share with voters.”

“That is her pollution value.”

“Because backwater zones are on the galactic fringe, near polluted areas, we assume people from backwater planets have higher pollution values. But Zhi Wei passed the pollution test in the temple, with a result of zero.”

“She is the first candidate with a pollution value of zero. This is a miracle created by humanity before the gods, a testament to the faithfulness of the believers...”

Zhi Wei saw supporters in the comments seizing on this point, insisting she wasn’t just empty talk. A pollution value of zero was enough proof of her devotion.

No wonder Hector initially looked strange during the test but then completely dismissed any doubts, even treating her with great respect when sending her out.

No wonder so many people swarmed her, and even now reporters blocked her room’s entrance.

Zhi Wei didn’t understand the pollution test, but she guessed that the lower the pollution value, the “purer” the person.

Yet, humans are still human, always harboring selfishness. Over the years, there have been humans with low pollution values, but never one with zero.

But she was a crossover from another world; somehow, the machine couldn’t detect her pollution value, making her the only miracle.

Now, StarNet was flooded with news about her. Everyone saw her as the dark horse in this election.

They believed she had the demeanor and ambition of a savior, destined to become the sole god and unify the chaotic realm of gods and the complex galactic society.

Zhi Wei’s fingers trembled. She clenched her fist, her fingertips pressing into her palm.

This morning, she left home to audition. In the afternoon, she arrived at the TV station building, walked around twice, and then the election to become god began.

Good news: she had become famous.

Bad news: help… just how far has this fame spread?