Even though technological advancements have greatly reduced production time, finishing earlier would still make Alan Duke feel more at ease. Besides, this season’s rookie competition is almost over—if they don’t hurry up and get in, are they planning to eat dust outside?

After hanging up, Alan Duke contacted someone from the operations department. “Reserve a spot for the new song promotion three days from now.”

After scheduling with the producer, operations, and others one by one, Alan Duke asked the assistant nearby, “How many of the newly signed singers are still unassigned?”

“As for singers… four graduates were signed this year, three already have arrangements, only one is left, but it seems their condition hasn’t been good lately.” The assistant shrank his neck as he answered.

“Not in good condition?” Alan Duke frowned again, annoyed at hearing this kind of thing. The phrase “not in good condition” is just too vague.

“It seems… they… they had a breakup…” The assistant’s voice grew quieter as he saw Alan Duke’s face darken.

Of course, Alan Duke was in no mood.

What kind of people did they sign this year? So young and already acting like it’s the end of the world! He’s here to mentor rookies, not babysit kids—who has time to listen to their woes!

“Every single one of them, such a headache!”

This industry is so fiercely competitive, the season’s battles are so intense—who has the time to care about your feelings? Do you think you’re a superstar? Want comfort? Go cry to your parents!

A rookie has to tough it out, just like everyone else did. No matter what happens, when you’re given an opportunity, you have to grit your teeth and crawl your way over. If you can’t handle the pressure, then get out early!

“Bring him to me!” Alan Duke’s voice was practically explosive.

“Yes!” The assistant hurried out—he didn’t dare stay and face the now-irritable Alan Duke.

Lately, Alan Duke’s mouth was like a cannon, blasting anyone he caught. The staff below were all on edge, not daring to slack off for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

After receiving Alan Duke’s notice, John Foster took a car over. It took more than half an hour to get from the unified building district to the city center—even in this era of vastly improved transportation. Back before the apocalypse, you couldn’t get near the city center in under an hour, and if there was a traffic jam, it could easily take two or three hours for the same distance.

Silver Wing Media had a 150-story tower in the city center, shaped like a spire and nearly 800 meters tall, with a pair of giant silver wings hanging from the top. In terms of height, this building wasn’t the tallest in the area—there were plenty of buildings taller than Silver Wing—but as one of the three major entertainment companies in Yanzhou, its reputation was significant.

People in the building came and went in a hurry, and no one paid attention to a nobody like John Foster. The big shots had their own exclusive passages; John Foster could only use the elevators for regular employees.

Alan Duke was on the twentieth floor. When John Foster arrived, Alan Duke was in the middle of a spit-flying tirade.

Across from Alan Duke, a young man of about twenty was standing there, smiling obediently as he got scolded. Even with spit all over his face, he didn’t dare wipe it off, and kept assuring Alan Duke, “It won’t happen again, absolutely not! I’ve rested for three days, my voice is definitely ready to sing right now! Really, if you don’t believe me, I can sing for you…”

“Shut up!”

Alan Duke cut off the young man’s attempt to prove himself, and out of the corner of his eye saw John Foster entering. Seeing that John Foster’s mental state wasn’t as downcast as he’d imagined, his mood improved just a little.

“All right, enough talk, hurry up and get ready to record. The rookie competition rankings are almost set—if you don’t get in now, forget about the top fifty, you won’t even make the top hundred!” Generally, on the Yanzhou rookie chart, rookies launched by the three major companies would never fall below the top hundred, thanks to the resources and promotion channels at their disposal. But if someone really did fall below the top hundred, their contract would be immediately terminated.

According to procedure, John Foster needed to submit his composed song to the company, and then the company would select a singer. He was signed as a composer, and according to the contract—unless there was a supplementary agreement—his songs had to be sung by the company’s singers.

“John Foster, you only have one song?” Alan Duke asked.

“Yeah, I’ve only finished one for now,” John Foster replied.

“All this time, and others have two or three… sigh, whatever, let’s just finish this one first. You want to use your own arrangement?”

“Yes.”

“…Fine, whatever you want. Even if you wanted someone from the company to arrange it, you wouldn’t find anyone good right now,” Alan Duke muttered.

All the good arrangers had already been pulled away to support the big stars—none would be left for rookies. Rather than going to the weirdo in charge of the arranging department for a few mediocre arrangers, it was better to just go with John Foster’s wishes. Just thinking about that weirdo’s attitude made Alan Duke click his tongue—what an eyesore, every visit was a pain.

Having just finished scolding someone, Alan Duke didn’t rest. He gulped down a glass of water, then took John Foster and the rookie singer Betty Chase, who was also still in the probation period, to the recording floor. He wasn’t expecting much anymore—he just wanted to get this last person out there as soon as possible, so his own task would be complete. As for what results they could achieve, and whether they could seize the opportunity, that would depend on the interns’ own abilities. As their agent, all he could do was make sure everything was arranged.

John Foster watched with curiosity as Alan Duke organized the whole production process, truly experiencing what it meant to have the backing of a powerful company.