Above the Galaxy
Chapter 137 - 102: First Entry into the Galaxy List!

Chapter 137: Chapter 102: First Entry into the Galaxy List!

Crash!

Shen Anyuan hurled the wine glass in his hand, the beautiful glass shattering with a breaking sound, its red contents splattering all over the walls and floor.

The cleaning robot, detecting the spill on the floor, swiftly glided over to clean it, only to be kicked away by Shen Anyuan.

So, the cleaning robot lay on the floor, creaking and whining, its cleaning program struggling to clean itself...

"Worthless, all a bunch of worthless trash!"

"I’ve spent so much money, mobilized so many resources, and this is how you handle things for me?"

"That garbage, that dog shit, takes so much money from me every year. I keep them like dogs, provide for them, and at the crucial moment, they tell me they can’t do it..."

"Can’t do it? Why can’t they? They could before, why can’t they now?"

Xu You, the secretary, stood respectfully to one side, staying silent while his boss was in a fit of rage.

Feeling that his boss had vented most of his emotions, he finally spoke up to explain, "The initial progress was smooth, and the direction of public opinion was developing along our planned route, but we didn’t expect so many people to stand up and speak for him..."

"Someone like him, with no fan base, no money to buy media and manipulate public opinion... they usually just passively take hits. Whatever we say goes..."

Shen Anyuan glared at Xu You with a grim look and said, "Are you implying someone is paying to buy off the media for him? Are all those speaking for him just hired shills?"

"We monitored the data of those people and found that those speaking for him are real fans."

"Real fans? Where does he have so many real fans? Have those people gone mad? Supporting a little thug from the Old Land?" Shen Anyuan’s anger flared up again.

He felt so stifled, so furious.

He felt like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.

Ever since his son Qingping went to Ghost Mountain, he had been plagued with nightmares night after night.

He dreamt that Qingping had returned, standing by his bed, smiling at him.

Excitedly, he climbed up and said, "Qingping, you’re back?"

Qingping replied, "Yes, I’m back, and I’ve brought you a gift."

Then, he reached up, took his own head off, and held it out in front of him...

Every time he awoke, he was drenched in a cold sweat.

His wife spent day and night in tears, overwhelmed with worry about her precious son fighting among those inhuman monsters in such a place.

Time and again, she begged him to appeal to his second uncle Shen Boyu, and to his granduncle Shen Wuxiang, but Shen Anyuan had refused every time.

It wasn’t that he was too proud to beg others, nor was he unwilling to save his son from the abyss of suffering. He knew all too well that a decision made by Shen Boyu wouldn’t be easily reversed.

If he went to plead now, it would only increase Shen Boyu’s animosity, and it was possible that Qingping’s three-year tenure at Ghost Mountain would turn into six years.

Even his own standing could be diminished, making it uncertain whether he could maintain his position...

Xu You knew Shen Anyuan would not believe it, even he himself found it hard to believe.

Xu You displayed the virtual data chart he had prepared in front of his boss and said, "Originally, only a very few people spoke for him, but under our guidance of public opinion, those voices were quickly drowned out without stirring up any waves."

"Until a woman named Liang Xinai appeared, she wrote an article titled ’How long has it been since you said no to someone?’ and then that article went viral with crazy shares and comments..."

"Defeated by just one article? We have the support of media and platforms, hundreds and thousands of famous people from various fields speaking for us... and we were defeated by one article?"

"The article is average in quality, but it precisely hit the sore spots of modern life... Not knowing how to refuse, always flattering, compromising oneself, people-pleasing personalities..."

"So, when they saw Tang Fei briskly refusing, they felt that this was the life they wanted, the lifestyle they should learn and emulate..."

"They even created a fan organization for Tang Fei, called ’Lie-Fei’, meaning ’wherever you fall, just lie flat’. This slogan resonated with the hearts of countless people..."

"They felt life was too stressful, constantly in a state of intense competition work-wise... Knowing the existence of this organization, many eagerly joined..."

"These people weren’t even fans of Tang Fei; they just hoped to ’lie flat’... to live freely, to know how to refuse..."

"So, under the leadership of Liang Xinai, these people organized and disciplined themselves for a counter-offensive, and our advantage gradually weakened... Now, we aren’t fighting against one person."

"Then who are we fighting against?"

"The entire populace," Xu You said in a low voice: "Every person who feels that life is difficult."

Seeing the boss silent, Xu You hesitated for a moment, but still chose to report honestly, "There’s another piece of bad news..."

"What?"

"Data from the monitoring department just came in. Tang Fei entered the Galaxy List."

"..."

Shen Anyuan felt like smashing something again.

Finding nothing but emptiness on his desk, he instead punched the surface.

Frustration!

------

"He made it onto the Galaxy List?" Shen Boyu looked at the list data in his hand, feeling that the world was too absurd.

"Yes, the blue sublist of the Galaxy List. Tang Fei just made the list today, and he’s currently ranked four hundred ninety-seven," Goateed Chang Biao explained at his side.

The Galaxy List ranked individuals under the age of thirty from Above the Galaxy based on a comprehensive consideration of data on popularity, combat power, looks, family background, and future prospects.

It was divided into red, blue, and black sublists. Red and blue sublists were for the charm rankings of men and women respectively, while the black list was a pure combat power ranking, open to both genders.

Shen Boyu couldn’t help but bitterly smile, "Good wind with strength sends me soaring to the clouds. Have we perhaps blown such a favorable wind for him, propelling him onto the Galaxy List?"

Chang Biao understood the family’s intentions, knowing all too well whether this wind was meant for good or ill.

But unexpectedly, as they blew, they ended up blowing Tang Fei onto the Galaxy List.

The feeling of a failed attempt at stealing chickens only to lose the rice was unbearable.

Even more so for someone like the Second Elder, known as the ’Interstellar Silver Fox,’ whose intelligence was as deep as the sea—it was something he could hardly accept....

"It’s fine. It’s just a spot at the very tail end of the list. A few outstanding youths emerge, and he’ll be squeezed off. Besides, our Xing Lan is still number one on the blue sublist; Tang Fei can’t even reach him on his tiptoes," Chang Biao said to console him.

"Think about it, how many days has he been here at New Star? And he’s already on the Galaxy List. Not just anyone can achieve such a feat."

"If it weren’t for Shen Anyuan making such a fuss, he wouldn’t have made it onto the list. Barely anyone knows him," Chang Biao added.

Shen Boyu waved his hand dismissively, "Don’t put all the blame on Anyuan’s head. This plan was indeed my idea..."

"I just didn’t expect that we would end up losing this argument. Shen Anyuan controls so many media companies and manages tens of thousands of people. How could he not out-argue a kid with no family or foundation?"

"I originally thought Princess Xiu Xue might have intervened from her end, but upon investigation, it wasn’t the case... Those fans acted on their own to support him. Now, tell me, how do we make sense of these strange tastes? Who can you even reason with?"

"We aimed to manipulate public opinion but ended up being fooled by it instead," Shen Boyu passed the hand-held computer to Chang Biao and, grasping his water pipe, puffed away, "This is the will of heaven. This lad has a great destiny."

"Second Elder, why are you praising this kid again?" Chang Biao laughed as he spoke. "I think he’s just a blind cat that ran into a dead mouse, just a bit of good luck."

The Second Elder could praise Tang Fei, but Chang Biao knew he should not.

The Second Elder’s praise was to show his magnanimity, but him doing so would mean he didn’t understand whose side to take.

Could the Second Elder like Tang Fei? Certainly not.

So the correct approach was to belittle Tang Fei in his presence. The more he was disparaged, the more the Second Elder would feel at peace...

Shen Boyu shook his head, "Lao Chang, don’t just tell me what I want to hear. This kid really has something uncanny about him. We have to take him seriously."

"Second Elder, I’ve been keeping an eye on him," Chang Biao said. "Should we find an opportunity to send him back to the Old Land?"

Shen Boyu of course knew the true meaning behind ’sending him back to the Old Land,’ so he shook his head and said, "That’s too reckless. Everyone knows that our Shen Family has history with him. If this kid suddenly disappears, Princess Xiu Xue would come knocking on our door."

"That girl was smart and adorable as a child, making everyone fond of her. Now that she’s grown up, her thoughts run even deeper..."

"If she doesn’t hold power, it’s fine, but if she ever does, it will certainly spell trouble for our Shen Family. Why make an enemy of such a formidable opponent? Anyone could carry out such a task — anyone but our Shen Family."

"So, you’re suggesting that other families should do it?" Chang Biao instantly understood Shen Boyu’s intentions and said aloud.

"We’ve laid out the bait; surely there’s a greedy fish," said Shen Boyu with a chuckle. "Someone will want to curry favor with the Royal Family and the major families... Someone will be willing to take the risk."

"I understand," Chang Biao said, thumbing at Shen Boyu in approval. "Second Elder had Shen Anyuan stir up the situation and even threw out the rumors of Tang Fei and Princess Xiu Xue, naturally angering the Royal Family and those major families interested in the Princess..."

"Although Tang Fei is on the Star Cloud List, he has also become the target of everyone because of it. If someone wishes to eliminate him at this time, wouldn’t the Royal Family, aside from some sorrow from Princess Xiu Xue, actually be quite pleased? The King certainly would be happy, and the Princes would definitely approve..."

"As for the other families, being able to kick out Tang Fei, the troublemaker, without lifting a finger... they would naturally welcome it... The more talented he is, the more people there are who want to remove him..."

"So the Second Elder’s sword has released only its Sword Intent, the Sword Qi hasn’t even reached his head yet..."

"If Sword Intent could harm, why bother drawing the sword?" Shen Boyu said with a smile. "By the way, tell Shen Anyuan to come see me."

"Yes, Second Elder."