The Extra Episode Storm

“Add episodes! Add episodes! Add episodes!”

On Little Li's computer screen, the barrage was filled with the words “add episodes,” so dense that it seemed to burst the screen.

He is a data analyst for an online drama. His job is simple: stare at the screen, monitor data in real-time, then turn the data into charts, and report to his superiors.

Recently, the costume drama "The Color of Splendor" invested in by their company became a hit. Every day, countless netizens were shouting “add episodes” in the barrage.

“Add episodes” seemed to have become a curse. Every morning when he went to work, the first thing Little Li did was to turn on his computer, check yesterday’s barrage data, then turn the data into charts and report to his superiors.

The superiors were very satisfied, they smiled every day and said to Little Li, “Little Li, work hard, the future is bright!”

Little Li was also happy, because “add episodes” meant traffic, traffic meant performance, and performance meant bonuses.

However, he recently discovered a strange phenomenon.

Every night at ten o’clock, the “add episodes” in the barrage would suddenly erupt, as if some mysterious force was controlling everything.

He began to analyze the data and found that most of the accounts posting the “add episodes” barrage were newly registered, and the IP addresses were also very suspicious.

He reported this finding to his superiors.

After listening, his superiors frowned and said, “Little Li, data is just a reference, don't be too serious about it, the important thing is the results.”

Little Li was stunned for a moment, seeming to understand something.

Over the next few days, he found that people within the company were also secretly registering accounts and then posting "add episodes" in the barrage.

He finally understood that the so-called "add episodes" craze was just a facade created by the company itself, in order to give investors and audiences a false image of "prosperity."

He began to feel that his job was absurd, that he was analyzing fake data every day, adding fuel to the fire of a carefully planned farce.

He suddenly recalled the cartoons he watched when he was a child, where the villains always liked to use all sorts of tricks to manipulate people’s hearts, and were eventually defeated by the protagonists.

He felt like he was also living in a cartoon, and that he had become a minor henchman in the villain’s camp.

But what could he do? He was just a regular data analyst, and could only watch helplessly as the data was manipulated, as people were swept up in the false “add episodes” craze.

One day, his superior called Little Li to his office and happily said, “Little Li, you are really our company’s lucky star. The viewership of ‘The Color of Splendor’ has broken all-time records, and the boss has decided to give you a big bonus!”

Little Li looked at the bonus his superior handed him, but there was not a trace of joy on his face.

He thought of those netizens who were shouting "add episodes" in the barrage every day, of those audiences who were kept in the dark, and of his own conscience, which was being covered up by the data.

He suddenly felt that this bonus was too hot to handle, that he couldn't take it, and that he couldn't put it down.