"Master Xia only started driving for DiDi this month. He's currently working normally, but..."

"But what?"

"He's too rich... He said he won't accept any advertising deals."

"He won't?" Liu Qing furrowed his brow. "Gather all the managers for a meeting immediately. There's work to be done."

The meeting ended quickly, lasting less than an hour. Afterward, Liu Qing urged everyone to get moving.

The tasks were twofold, both centering around Xia Liang.

1. Publish articles across the entire internet, hyping up the heroic deeds of DiDi driver Master Xia and awarding him the title of "DiDi City Hero." This would include a five-second, unskippable pop-up on both the DiDi app and its mini-program.

2. Waive all of Xia Liang's commission fees and add a conspicuous badge to his profile on the driver selection interface.

...

They planned to capitalize on Xia Liang's momentum quickly. If he retired, the opportunity would be lost.

It was for this reason that the buzz, which had been slowly cooling, was reignited by DiDi's strategy of reheating this old news. Anyone who opened the DiDi app would be forcibly shown the announcement. Beyond that, they would hire a cyber-army to create hype across the web, endlessly writing articles, starting topics, and liking comments.

It could be said that if you were willing to spend enough money, you could make a completely unknown person dominate the trending topics. Of course, anyone with a discerning eye could see right through it.

The move was twofold: one, it was a gesture of goodwill toward Xia Liang, and two, it was to reap the enormous benefits of his positive image. A 6% increase in market share meant thousands more in value created each day. If DiDi could successfully go public, its valuation, which had shrunk to $1,000 due to two consecutive murder cases, could bounce right back to its previous $1,200.

And did you think it would end there? No, no, no. The capitalists' game was just beginning. After going public, the company would continuously issue new shares based on the stock price, endlessly shearing the leeks. If the hype from Xia Liang's incident could be sustained, it could create over $5,000 in value for DiDi.

The ruthlessness of capitalists is something an ordinary person could never imagine.

And Xia Liang was completely unaware of all this.

The next day, Xia Liang went about his business, driving for DiDi.

「On the other side of the city.」

"Everyone, you have to believe me! The fish has taken the bait, and soon we'll get to meet the legendary city hero. Thanks again to Brother Bei Moting for the Super Rocket! I'll be sure to arrange everything you asked for, crystal clear."

For the past two days, the beautiful Anchor named Tang Jie had been both thrilled and tormented. The thrill came from the constant stream of donations led by the big spender Bei Moting, which allowed her to successfully ride Xia Liang's coattails to fame, generating endless discussion topics. From an outdoor Anchor with just around a million followers, she had exploded into a major Anchor with over three million in just two days. And her follower count was still skyrocketing at a rate of tens of thousands per hour—something she had never even dreamed of.

But the torment that accompanied it was just as real. For days, she had tried various methods to contact Xia Liang himself, all to no avail. At first, she tried to get DiDi drivers who were in her chat groups to help her get in touch, but after taking dozens of rides and asking every driver, she found none of them were in any groups. If it weren't for Brother Bei Moting's relentless gifting of Rockets giving her confidence, she would have given up long ago. So far, he had sent her a fortune in gifts.

Fortunately, her persistence paid off. Just before noon today, a netizen reported receiving a pop-up message from DiDi. The man she was looking for had become a star driver, and passengers could pay a higher fare to specifically choose him for their ride.

Now, Tang Jie finally had a plan. She immediately called her best friend and some fans to help, stationing them near every subway exit to constantly refresh the available drivers on DiDi's premium service. With this wide net, they were sure to book a ride with him the moment he came online.

...

"Hello! Are you the passenger with the phone number ending in 4378?"

"Yes, yes, that's me! Hello, Master Xia. Let's hurry to the destination."

"Okay, please buckle your seatbelt."

Xia Liang had no idea he had been turned into a marketing tool by DiDi again. He certainly didn't know that this ordinary-looking girl would pull him into a live stream.

That's right. This female passenger was Tang Jie's best friend, who lived nearby and had been dragooned into service today. Her mission, of course, was all for the great hero being celebrated online. However, after getting into the car, she fell silent, simply sitting in the back with her head down.

Soon, Xia Liang drove the Hui Teng to the destination.

The girl in the back neither got out nor spoke, just sitting there with a flushed face. Just then, Xia Liang saw a beautiful woman holding live-streaming equipment, running ecstatically toward his car.

"Hello! Hello! God of Wealth Xia, I've finally found you! My persistence paid off! Everyone, look who this is!"

As she spoke, she switched to the front-facing camera, appearing on screen alongside Xia Liang.

"Awesome, Anchor! You're better than the reporters! You found the man himself!"

"It's confirmed! He really is a tycoon! He even got his hands on a luxury car that's one of a kind!"

"The Anchor is incredible! You're better than the paparazzi!"

"Wow! That big brother is so handsome! Hold the camera steady, I want a screenshot for my wallpaper."

??? Xia Liang stared at his own face on the phone she was holding up, watching the subtitles scroll frantically below. The viewer count at the top read 1.2 million.

This level of popularity? Xia Liang was utterly unimpressed. My own live streams used to attract far more viewers than this.

"God of Wealth Xia—ah, no, someone as handsome as you should be called 'little brother'! Can I do a live interview with you? I'll pay double—no, five times the fare for the ride!"

"I'm afraid not—" Xia Liang began to refuse outright, but he was interrupted by the girl in the back seat.

"Please, Master Xia, just help Tang Tang out! She's gone through so much trouble trying to find you these past few days!"

Judging by her words, am I obligated to satisfy her just because she worked hard? If that were the case, the word 'failure' wouldn't exist in this world.

Just then.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on triggering the hidden task: The Passenger's Request.

Completion Requirement: Fulfill the passenger's request and complete the interview.

Task Reward: 10% Walmart equity, 40 Work Points.]

It's just one interview, right?

Xia Liang's expression immediately turned serious.

"Ahem, I think there's been a misunderstanding. I wasn't refusing. My meaning was, please, ask whatever you want. Speak your mind! As for the five-times fare, let's not mention it again. I'm not the kind of person who's short on cash."

"That's wonderful! Then, on behalf of everyone, I'll ask you a few questions! By the way, little brother, what's your name?"

"My name is Xia Liang. The 'Xia' from Xia Liang, and the 'Liang' from Xia Liang."

"..."

Everyone was left speechless. It took them a few moments to recover before moving on from the topic.

"Everyone wants to know, when you disregarded the danger to do all those things and save so many people, what was going through your mind?"

"Danger? I didn't think it was dangerous. It was just a routine operation. As for your second question, I believe every citizen has a duty to stop any crime they witness. It just comes down to personal ability."

Xia Liang's slightly boastful words instantly sent the live stream into a frenzy, with comments scrolling past like a waterfall.

"Allow me to translate what the bigshot said: 'All in a day's work, nothing special!'"

"Not only is the little brother handsome, but he's also so kind-hearted! I like him so much!"

"Your actions deserve a thumbs-up. I'm not like you; I don't even have the courage to help an old lady up."

"Anchor, ask him if he's a rich second-generation!"

"I want to know too! Is God of Wealth Xia the son of some big tycoon?"

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