From American Internet Celebrity to God Among Men

11: Chapter 11 went viral! And then? Let’s add some juicy details!Alex was shaken awake by his phone. It wasn’t an alarm, but that buzzing, buzzing, continuous vibration, as if the phone were tap-dancing. He squinted, grabbed it, and took a look. Good heavens, the screen was about to be submerged by push notifications—YouTube subscriptions exploding, comment tags flooding the screen, channel analytics sending congratulations... The top one was simple and brutal: ”Your video ’If Cities Could Dream’ is trending in the popular section!”

He woke up instantly, sat up with a start, and opened the data dashboard.

Views: 420,000, and the number was still jumping like a stopwatch.

Real-time viewers: 28,000.

Subscriber growth: +9,200 (just in the past few hours).

The number of comments was already unreadable, refreshing faster than a blink.

”Holy crap... this is a big one.” He rubbed his face, feeling a bit like he’d won the lottery, but better—this was a stir he’d created with his own hands!

Opening the comment section, the hot comments were basically a stand-up comedy show:

User ”Los Angeles Night Owl”: ”I saw this at 4 AM, and it made me kneel! Bro, did you open a celestial eye for these shots? That lighting, that color grading—I’d believe it if you told me this was a Hollywood art film that just left theaters! Confess, whose alt account are you?”

The replies below were perfectly aligned:

”Seconded! This quality doesn’t look like an individual creator!”

”Is the blogger taking apprentices? Tuition is negotiable, I just want to learn the magic of ’filming trash into epic scenes’!”

”Am I the only one wondering how the blogger snuck into those weird angles? Some shots made me afraid of heights just watching them!”

Scrolling down, the style gradually shifted:

User ”Lives on a Broken Street in DTLA”: ”My mind is blown! That flickering, about-to-die ’Blue Note Hotel’ neon sign in the video is right across from my window! I complain about how tacky it is every day, so how did it become... so melancholic and soulful in your lens, like it’s starring in a sequel to ’La La Land’?! I feel like my crappy apartment is artistic now!”

User ”Recovering Internet Addict”: ”I thought it would be one of those ’don’t understand it but it feels high-end’ boring films, but once I clicked, I couldn’t leave! When the music started, my scalp tingled! That lonely yet gorgeous feeling was like a top-tier massage for my eyes and ears! Liked, subscribed, and favorited. Blogger, update quickly, don’t force me to beg you on my knees!”

Even official accounts were getting in on the fun:

User ”California Department of Transportation (Intern)” (with blue check): ”Um... blogger, this is truly awesome, the visual effects are maxed out. But... about that aerial view of the 110 freeway interchange, did you, you know, apply for a permit? (Dog head emoji) Next time you film something this cool, can you give us a heads-up? We’d love to cooperate to promote ’Beautiful California’! (Madly implying cooperation)”

Alex scrolled through these comments, his shoulders shaking with laughter. This feeling of being marveled at, praised, and even having official accounts try to ride his coattails was more intoxicating than picking up money. Especially seeing the locals resonate, or the professionals looking baffled, that sense of achievement—’I made this, and it’s damn good’—was bubbling up.

The sharing data was even more exaggerated; the link spread like a virus, from the Reddit film section to the Twitter photography circle, and even several art and design Discord groups were analyzing it heatedly. The system’s notification sound chimed like victory BGM, and his popularity rocketed past 3,800 points, clearly heading toward 4,000.

”Low profile, low profile.” He told himself, but his mouth was practically splitting to his ears. This feeling was amazing!

The heat soon burned into the real world. First, Sarah from Horizon Outdoors sent a string of bomb emojis: ”Alex!! You’ve exploded again?! Our big boss had a meeting this morning, and the first sentence was ’That dream city video is the soul of our brand!’ Cooperation needs an upgrade! A top-tier contract and a bonus that will make you wake up laughing are on their way!”