The Red Dragon Lord is OP, but Insists on a Pop Culture Invasion!

Chapter 263: Chapter 217: Elsa’s Family Are All Treasures 2.0

Most mornings, Elsa was woken up by her cat lying on top of her.

The little cat, an unexpected find on her way home from work, would perch on her chest at eight o’clock sharp every day, waiting for her to get up.

The only problem was, this little cat was an orange tabby.

A few months ago, she’d been happy to open her eyes to a tiny kitten face that she could almost smell the milk on.

But now, that love from her kitty had gotten a little heavy.

Fifteen pounds of love pressing on her chest came with a slight risk of suffocation.

It got to the point where she had to start sleeping with her door closed.

However, while the door could keep the cat out, it couldn’t keep her mother out. And what was worse, her mother came even earlier.

"What time do you call this? Get up!" Her mother shoved the door open, practically breezing into the room. In one smooth combo, she ripped off the covers, yanked open the curtains, and threw open the window. "It’s almost seven o’clock! What kind of kid sleeps in until seven every day?"

Elsa didn’t say a word. She just rubbed her slightly puffy eyes and glanced at the alarm clock by her bed.

6:32.

A concept of time unique to her mother: once the clock passed the half-hour mark, it was basically the next hour.

Elsa struggled out of bed, looking like a zombie on the train to the Holy Mountain.

Lately, she’d been so addicted to gaming that she wasn’t going to sleep until one or two in the morning.

It wasn’t her fault. Zog’s newly released game, *Heavy Armored Soldiers*, was just too addicting.

She had never experienced this kind of gameplay before, where you could control a character that grew stronger bit by bit and become a hero in a fictional world.

’What was it called again? Role-playing, I think.’

She was now at the part where Red Wolf appeared.

The mechanical weapons in the game, called tanks, looked so cool.

She had never been very interested in the various dolls Zog’s Toy Store marketed to female players, but she really wanted a tank toy.

Her mother’s combo wasn’t over yet. She reached out and turned off the temperature-control Magic Array in the room.

"Haven’t I told you not to sleep with the temperature set so low? It’s bad for you. You’ll get sick now, and by the time you’re my age, you’ll regret it."

"Have you been reading those weird forum posts again?" Elsa asked weakly.

As part of the upper-middle-income bracket in Twin Tower City, Elsa’s house was equipped with a temperature-control Magic Array.

As they say, if you buy it and don’t use it, you might as well have not bought it at all.

In the perpetually hot south, Elsa was used to setting the temperature to 20 degrees, then sleeping under a blanket while hugging a stuffed animal.

"What weird posts? I think what they say makes perfect sense."

"Sigh..."

Elsa sighed, not knowing what to say.

She had originally bought her mother a phone because she was afraid her mom would get bored being alone. But now, her mom was obsessed with all sorts of health and wellness forums. And as if reading them wasn’t enough, she loved to forward the posts to Elsa.

One day she’d read that you should eat small, frequent meals and believe it. The next, she’d read that you should only eat two meals a day and believe that, too.

She also loved watching health shows on Demon Vision and buying all sorts of supplements recommended by "experts."

As one of Zog Group’s earliest employees, Elsa’s entire family had been "harvested" by Zog.

She quickly washed up and went to eat. The main benefit of her mother visiting was that there was breakfast.

At the breakfast table, her father was also scrolling through his phone. He liked different things than her mother; he was into current events and various conspiracy theories.

Things like, "Top Secret! This world is controlled by a secret organization, and all the famous people you know are actually its members..."

And he loved to tell people about it with utter conviction.

This was also why her older brother, Yuno, had been living at his lab for the past few days, only showing up for family outings.

There was no helping it. The pressure on him to get married was several times greater than what Elsa faced. Moreover, Yuno’s sleep schedule—which was entirely dependent on his mood—made him an absolute thorn in their mother’s side.

"I’m off to work!"

Elsa took a few quick bites and headed out the door.

Lately, her enthusiasm for work had been far greater than usual.

As she reached the door, she found her cat sleeping soundly in its bed.

A sudden rage welled up inside her.

’I don’t even get to sleep in, so why should this cat?’

’If you don’t tire out the cat during the day, the cat will tire you out at night.’

Elsa reached out, picked up the cat, and placed it in a sitting position. ’No sleeping! Get up and go back to sleep properly!’

Then, under the cat’s dazed and confused gaze, she opened the door and swaggered off.

She hopped on her beloved bicycle.

There was a small park near her home that she passed every day on her way to work.

Ever since music players hit the market, a pay-to-sing booth had popped up in the park.

Customers could request a song, and the booth owner would play the corresponding instrumental track on a player. They even offered a recording service.

It was here that Elsa realized just how ear-splittingly bad most people were at singing.

She had seen her mother here a couple of days ago, but she’d been in a hurry and didn’t get to hear what she was singing.

’Thinking about it now... she couldn’t have been recording a demo for the show here, could she?’

A cold sweat broke out on Elsa’s skin. Ever since they made the bet about her mother advancing in the show versus her going on a blind date, her mother hadn’t mentioned it once.

She had assumed her mother gave up, knowing her own limited abilities.

’Did she really record a demo?’

’Impossible,’ Elsa thought. ’Knowing what a gossip Zog is, he definitely would have come to tease me the moment he found out someone named Stone had signed up.’

She rode all the way to the Zog Group headquarters.

"Good morning, Sister Elsa."

"Sister Elsa, you’re in early again today?"

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Work makes me happy," Elsa spouted casually.

She sat down at her desk and checked her work email.

A new feature had been added to Social Circle: virtual mail.

It didn’t feel as convenient as the Chatting Spell, but all emails could be archived, making them easy to search and use for accountability.

Therefore, all official work at the company had to be confirmed via email.

Besides, writing an email always felt a bit more formal, so people tended to consider their wording more carefully and not be as casual as they were in chat apps.

It lowered communication efficiency but effectively reduced the rate of errors.

"Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle R&D Progress Report."

Ever since Zog learned that someone was researching vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, he had immediately invested in their R&D team.

Zog had declared with great conviction that this would be the most mainstream form of transportation in the future.

However, judging by the progress, things weren’t looking too optimistic. The engine still smoked three times over the course of a single kilometer.

Elsa suspected Zog was just looking for a way to use up the oil discovered in the mines outside Twin Tower City.

As for it becoming the mainstream form of transportation...

’Oh well, Zog is the boss. Whatever he says, goes.’

’Just believe, and then believe some more.’

"First Draft of Transforming Toy Designs Based on Vehicles and Ships."

It was an email from Ackley’s Toy Store.

What Elsa found even harder to understand was that they were already designing toys for vehicles that didn’t even exist yet.

She glanced over the design drafts.

"Whoa."

She couldn’t help but marvel at how cool the vehicle designs were.

Sleek curves, dynamic body styles, and even shiny tires.

’This is what Ackley is good at, all right.’

But then she took another look at the email from the vehicle R&D team.

Giant wheels, an ugly chassis, and not even a roof.

’Are these two things really supposed to be the same?’

She opened the next email.

It wasn’t addressed to Zog, but to her.

"Regarding Makeup Confirmation for Show Appearance."

"Oh?"

Elsa’s interest was piqued.

’Appearing on a show? Is it finally my turn to be on a show?’

She quickly skimmed the email. It was from the Drama Guild’s makeup team, asking her to confirm a time to come in and get a makeup look designed specifically for a Demon Vision show.

’A little thrill of excitement.’

Although she, Elsa, wasn’t a natural-born beauty, she could be considered pretty.

With a little packaging, she could definitely become a Big Star.

She’d been coveting the life of a star for so long. Zog was finally remembering to promote her! Her years of diligent work hadn’t been in vain.

’This would be so much easier than being Zog’s assistant.’

Just look at Mr. Raul. He hadn’t acted in a Shadow of Evil production for over half a year. But his monthly income was still several times her own, just from royalties on rebroadcasts, sales of recorded Magic Crystal Stones, and merchandise cuts.

Not to mention the appearance fees for various events. It was basically free money.

He had so many event offers he couldn’t even choose between them all.

Even if the event offers dried up later, with a small "sacrifice," wouldn’t there be a whole line of noblewomen queuing up to throw money at him?

’It’s the perfect career.’

Elsa was already starting to fantasize about her life after becoming famous.

’Why would I even work? I’d just do a couple of gigs a month and wake up whenever I want.’

’I wouldn’t even have to argue with people online myself. I could just call them out on my socials, and my fans would go after them for me.’

"Heh heh heh!"

Elsa let out a rather evil laugh.

"Let’s see what show it is."

She rubbed her hands together excitedly.

"Feilin’s Best Songs?"

The moment she saw the show’s name, she was a bit dumbfounded.

’That’s not right. The on-screen talent for *Feilin’s Best Songs* was decided a long time ago.’

’And I didn’t even enter the competition.’

’Could it be that something happened to the original host and they need a last-minute replacement?’

’Well, I suppose I could reluctantly step up to the plate in this time of crisis.’

"...to appear in the second studio as part of the family-and-friends section..."

As what?

Elsa shot up from her chair in fright.

A terrifying idea began to take shape in her mind.

In her circle of family and friends, there was one and only one person who could possibly be participating in this show: her beloved mother.

Lady Susan Stone.

Her maiden name was Harris. According to her dad, her mother’s charming, cheerful laugh made him fall for her instantly.

Elsa, however, just found her mother’s laugh to be unbearably bizarre.

She found it hard to understand how her dad had been captivated by that laugh.

’Maybe he has a thing for the peculiar.’

But that wasn’t the point right now.

The point was that she might be forced to go on a blind date.

’What do I do?’

’Two strangers, forced to sit at a table and discuss their future like it’s a business transaction.’

’That’s just too horrible.’

’She was still young! She still had romantic fantasies about love!’

’What would she say when they met?’

"I make dozens of Silver Coins a month. You’re not good enough for me!"

’Would that be an acceptable way to reject him?’

No.

’Calm down, Elsa, calm down.’

’You’re someone who’s seen it all. You’ve even been kidnapped by an Ancient Dragon. What is there to be afraid of?’

Elsa calmed down and shrewdly identified the key point.

The bet was about *advancing*, not just passing the auditions.

So, strictly speaking, she hadn’t lost yet.

’As an assistant, you have to learn to play with words a little.’

The key now was to find the Ancient Dragon who had kidnapped her and see if he could get her mom stuck in the first round.

’Sorry, Mom. It’s not that your daughter plays dirty, it’s just that blind dates are too terrifying.’

Elsa immediately headed for Shudian Island.

She even paid for a teleport.

With the show’s official recording imminent, Zog was there every day. He wasn’t actually doing much, but with the boss on-site, the employees didn’t dare to slack off.

An "imperial inspection tour," so to speak.

"Zog!" Elsa burst into the studio in a panic.

"What’s wrong? Is there an emergency?"

"My mom, Susan Stone, she got into the show?"

"Yeah."

"So, is it possible for her to advance?" Elsa asked tentatively. If her mom wasn’t going to advance anyway, it would make her look like a bad daughter to be plotting behind her back.

"Of course. The vice-director of the opera troupe really admires her performance. He thinks that both her singing skills on the demo and the quality of her song are impeccable," Zog replied.

"He’s already decided to pick her during the official recording. The vice-director and Lady Roline fought over your mother for a long time. I didn’t expect him to dare argue with Roline."

The more Zog spoke, the more desperate Elsa’s expression became.

’Looks like my little tricks won’t work now.’

"Don’t worry, your mom’s a seeded contestant now. She’s guaranteed to advance. I was originally planning to surprise you, but I didn’t expect you to find out on your own. So, are you happy?"