Evolutionary Superstar

"Alright, Old Chen."

Lin Haoren acknowledged, feeling astounded in his heart.

He could practically hear Director Chen’s overwhelming eagerness to bring him onto the show.

It seemed like the canceling rumors regarding A Home of Paws were likely true, and Director Chen had become anxious.

"Good!" Director Chen exclaimed.

Shortly after, he discussed the filming schedule, episode content, and Oreo’s requirements with Lin Haoren.

Actually, there wasn’t any big requirement.

Director Chen and the Production Team hoped Oreo could become the show’s mascot, interact a bit with their resident celebrities, and show off some tricks.

Lin Haoren and Oreo were expected to appear in episode 4 of season 6, and filming was planned for 2-5 days.

Currently, episode 3 of season 6 is expected to wrap up filming in 2 days, after which the Production Team will take a 1-day break.

Afterward, they would officially start filming episode 4 of season 6 and air episode 1, giving roughly a 3-week buffer between filming and airing each episode.

This filming schedule was designed to gauge audience response and adjust accordingly without delaying filming.

Finally, episode 4’s planned content was a little interesting.

Episode 4 was titled Little Ironpaw Duchess.

It was the name given to a fierce abandoned kitten who had made an abandoned warehouse her home. The place was riddled with hidden dangers.

Thus, rescuing the little kitten was not easy.

Lin Haoren was required to work with resident celebrities to rescue, rehabilitate, and find the little kitten a forever home.

This was also the biggest challenge given to him by the Production Team, and also the show’s biggest flaw.

After all, it might only take a few days to rescue an animal, but rehabilitation could take weeks to months before the rescued animal is fit for adoption.

This made it difficult for a completed story to fit into a single episode and also for viewers to get invested in it.

The flow of the story couldn’t be interrupted.

Lin Haoren was confident that his skills could help rescue and rehabilitate the little kitten within a short time.

"I don’t have any issues with the arrangements. I agree to join your show, Old Chen," Lin Haoren stated.

"Good! Good! Good! You’re straightforward enough, Xiao Ren. Hahaha!" Director Chen laughed excitedly and said, "Send me a picture of your ID, and I’ll arrange your flight ticket and accommodation right away."

"Alright, Old Chen. Will do."

Just as Lin Haoren was about to end the call, Director Chen suddenly added, "Oh, by the way. Is it okay if you can arrive a day earlier to sign the contract?"

"The Production Team would also like to interview you. This will give us a better understanding of your abilities and help us film smoothly."

"Sure. No problem, Old Chen. Just send me the itinerary when it’s ready, and I’ll follow the schedule accordingly," Lin Haoren said.

Finally, he ended the call, took a picture of his driver’s license, and emailed it to Director Chen.

"Looking forward to working with you, Xiao Ren," Director Chen messaged.

Lin Haoren sent a reciprocating reply, "Likewise, Old Chen. Oreo’s health certificate will be sent later. I’ll get it sorted today."

"Good."

A cat didn’t need a passport or ID for a domestic flight as humans do, but it did need a health certificate.

Fortunately, Lin Haoren has never skimped on Oreo’s treatment. It was already vaccinated. Thus, he should be able to get a health certificate after a brief examination on the same day.

Today was the 9th of January, and episode 4 was scheduled for filming on the 12th. He was flying over to Beichuan Province on the 11th.

Looking at this tight schedule, Lin Haoren realized he only had the 10th free to visit Su Xiaoran and the drama production in Xinghai Film City.

He barely had a foot in the entertainment industry, but he could already experience its busyness.

Everyone, whether successful or not, was forced to be workaholics for survival. Wasting time meant losing traffic and money, or even losing to competitors.

Ding!

[Congratulations, Host. You have accepted your first real opportunity to be on TV. This also marks your first step closer to becoming a superstar. To commemorate this occasion, a quest has been generated.]

[Quest 1: The Ratings Challenge.]

[Description: As a future superstar’s first variety show appearance, its performance cannot be poor, let alone discontinued. That would be a mark of shame in one’s career that would stick for life. The brightest superstar must not have such a stained record.]

[Objective: Help A Home for Paws achieve at least a 1% TV rating to save the variety show from discontinuing.]

[Reward: A Beginner-level Random Gift Pack.]

[Note: For every 0.1% TV rating increase over the passing mark, the final reward will be upgraded by a tier. The final reward will be issued after the season finale’s TV rating is calculated.]

Lin Haoren stared at his first quest with surprise.

He finally got his first quest, but its difficulty was hard to judge.

Actually, its difficulty was quite great.

After all, he was only appearing in one episode, yet the system wanted him to save the entire season. That didn’t seem possible to achieve good results unless he could participate in additional results.

’It seems I must achieve a performance so good that the Production Team wishes to keep me in the TV show for more episodes,’ Lin Haoren figured.

"Lumi, show me the TV ratings for the previous five seasons of A Home for Paws."

"Yes, Master."

The Smart Personal Assistant AI worked quickly, and new information appeared on his phone screen.

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TV Show: A Home for Paws

Season 1: 0.75% average TV rating, 0.99% peak episode TV rating.

Season 2: 1.16% average TV rating, 1.34% peak episode TV rating.

Season 3: 1.38% average TV rating, 1.52% peak episode TV rating.

Season 4: 1.12% average TV rating, 1.21% peak episode TV rating.

Season 5: 0.88% average TV rating, 1.01% peak episode TV rating.

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Lin Haoren looked at the TV ratings and immediately saw the pattern.

A Home for Paws never reached the level of a hit show (2% TV rating), but it was still a solid show, breaking the 1% average TV rating mark across three seasons.

However, the repetition of content and lack of creativity must have drained the audience’s interest, which led to the later decline.