Chapter 66: You Call the Shots
Afterward, the show entered another tense and exciting online auction segment.
The production team members in the back repeatedly hinted that Arthur could use more exaggerated descriptions and perhaps blur the origins of the items slightly.
For example, with the pearls, they prompted him several times to associate them with Shellder or Cloyster, which could easily lead people to think of the much rarer Ice Soul Pearls.
They used to do this kind of thing frequently. Even if buyers later found out the items weren't what they expected, they often had no recourse against the production team.
This was because the items were discoveries from the host's exploration, not goods from a specialty store. The auction inherently didn't guarantee the quality or authenticity of the items.
The room for manipulation here had always been enormous.
But who knew Arthur would simply ignore them.
He even turned around and started educating the audience.
"The sea area we are currently in is tropical. The temperature at noon today was still above twenty degrees Celsius. In such regions, Shellder's evolution rate is generally very low because their evolved form, Cloyster, has the Ice-type and is usually more common in colder regions.
As for Ice Soul Pearls, those are treasures produced when a Shellder seals its shell for a long period during its pre-evolution preparation phase. They are almost nonexistent in tropical seas.
I estimate these pearls are just ordinary shell pearls. Let's start the bidding at 50 each."
This overly honest performance practically drove the production team crazy.
Do you even understand live streaming?! How are we supposed to get high prices like this?
They knew that the market price for a single Ice Soul Pearl was at least 800 to 1000, with good quality ones reaching two or three thousand. If he had just hinted vaguely, many people would surely be willing to raise their bids, gambling on the possibility.
Instead, Arthur had almost completely shut down that line of thought for the viewers.
That's no way to do business!
Behind the scenes, they were anxiously wringing their hands, but Arthur remained as steady as an old dog in front of the camera.
They were utterly helpless.
Any other host, no matter how popular, wouldn't dare to defy the production team so blatantly.
Keep in mind, this was an outdoor live stream, in a dangerous area like a reserve. The production team had countless ways to make a host suffer subtly, leaving them unable to complain.
But Arthur was clearly no longer in that category.
The guy had already speared a Tentacruel; how could they possibly make him suffer now?
Just as the production team members resigned themselves to a profitless auction, Justin suddenly raised a board with slight hesitation.
"A viewer donated a Creation Slate and requests that you take off your shirt again. She is willing to bid 1000 for the pearl."
The Creation Slate was the most expensive live stream gift on the platform.
"Uh, take off my shirt? Why would someone make such a weird request..."
Arthur had indeed taken off his shirt earlier when diving to spear the Tentacruel, but that had been out of necessity.
Such a strange request, really...
The next moment, Arthur very decisively unzipped his one-piece wetsuit, pulling it down to his waist, revealing his young, well-built upper body.
Immediately, the price for the pearl currently being auctioned instantly soared past 1000 and continued to climb wildly.
"Ah, this..."
Behind the camera, the production team members collectively gasped like they'd never seen anything like it.
Just moments ago, they were wondering if this kid understood live streaming at all. Who would have thought they'd be schooled so quickly...
Ultimately, a live stream auction is both an auction and a live stream.
While many viewers might be greedy, hoping to snag a bargain, once the show becomes popular, more people are actually just donating to the host in a different guise.
Donating while also getting to tease the host, isn't that wonderful?
And the foundation for all of this was singular: the show had to be popular!
And right now, Arthur's live stream was undoubtedly incredibly popular.
Meanwhile, outside the reserve, the higher-ups in the production company happened to inquire about this particular live stream today.
"How's that Crescent Bay Reserve show going?"
A subordinate, who was constantly monitoring it, quickly and smoothly replied: "It's doing well. They started diving operations today and are currently holding a live auction."
However, hearing this news, the executive frowned slightly.
"Diving today? Why so soon? Aren't they following the show plan?"
They had established a rough plan before departure. Diving was meant to be a climactic segment, originally scheduled for the later days of the stream to push the program to a peak.
"What on earth are those people on the front line doing!"
After scolding for a moment, the executive asked again: "So how are the numbers? What's the total revenue for the first day across all platforms?"
The subordinate pushed up his glasses and answered: "The numbers... are excellent, completely unexpectedly good. This morning, without us spending any money on promotion, the show already secured two hot search terms on Star Blog. The first-day auction revenue reached over sixty thousand. Gift revenue from various live stream platforms hasn't been fully compiled yet, but it's estimated to be no less than forty thousand."
Now the executive was truly shocked.
The revenue broke one hundred thousand on the very first day?
According to the show plan, wasn't the host supposed to still be wandering around Guhuang Island yesterday?
Did they somehow wander onto Dragonite's Dragon Cliff or into Milotic's Coral Palace?
The executive, who had just been reprimanding the frontline personnel for ignoring the plan, instantly changed his tune. He cleared his throat and said: "Ahem, everyone has done a great job, thank you for your hard work. So, does the frontline production team have any further plans?"
Although receiving praise was delightful, this question genuinely stumped the subordinate.
"I don't know."
He could only answer truthfully.
"What?"
The executive was stunned once more.
This was their own program, planned and drafted by them, and now his subordinate was telling him they didn't know the upcoming content?
"It's true, we don't know... The frontline personnel replied that the subsequent content depends on what the young host has in mind."
"..."
If this executive wasn't the head of the production team himself, he would almost suspect someone was secretly promoting their own host through this program.
But he distinctly remembered that this young host had been brought in by an agency at the last minute, just before the show was about to start. At the time, some people weren't entirely satisfied, feeling the kid's fame was too insignificant compared to some top-tier platform streamers.
How, in just one day, had the entire show come to revolve around that host's ideas?
Could anyone tell him what exactly had happened in between?
This was a complex question, and the subordinate couldn't answer immediately.
In fact, even the production team members on the front line, sharing the same boat as Arthur, couldn't really explain clearly how things had transpired.
Somehow, seemingly inexplicably yet also quite naturally, Arthur had ended up being the one calling all the shots on this boat.
This became especially true after he managed—in a way none of them could comprehend, despite being exceptionally honest and providing no misleading information—to auction off a pile of ordinary underwater "specialties" for ridiculously high prices. After that, nobody questioned his methods anymore.
So, even when they arrived at the second island of the Crescent Bay Reserve that day but didn't linger—merely resting overnight, replenishing supplies and food, then hastily setting sail again—no one expressed any dissatisfaction.
This program had, without a doubt, completely become Arthur's show.
And on the third day of the live stream, new "content" appeared.
Not long after they started broadcasting that day, a series of mournful dragon cries suddenly echoed from the distant sea surface, leaving everyone startled and confused.
"Did you guys arrange this?" Arthur asked, turning away from the camera.
Everyone on the boat shook their heads.
"No, we didn't arrange anything."
"Then shall we go check it out?"
"You call the shots."
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