Collapse City, Starting with the Production of an Anime Version of Honkai

The board of directors.

I reckon someone will soon get antsy, so he'll have to head back to European headquarters again soon.

As for those people in the livestream, Yaqing just wanted to teach them a lesson: that loose lips sink ships, and the internet isn't above the law.

Thanks to Elysia's mediation, the livestream audience could sense she was getting upset, and the barrage of comments directed at Yaqing dwindled, almost disappearing completely.

Elysia adjusted her demeanor slightly and said, "Today, the Pink Elf Miss's livestream is once again dedicated to listening to fans' emotional troubles. The Elf Miss will be opening up voice chat soon."

As soon as Elysia enabled voice chat, a viewer connected.

"Hello, Miss Elf," a young man's voice said.

"This... uh, fan, do you have an emotional problem? Or do you just want to chat?" It wasn't that Elysia was deliberately avoiding reading the fan's name, but rather that the fan's name was too... wild.

Elf Miss's Dog?

Elf Miss's Dog said, "It's like this, Miss Elf. I've been feeling a bit lost lately. It's like this: a friend of mine has fallen in love with his girlfriend's colleague, but he hasn't confessed yet. He fell in love with that colleague after she got together with his brother, but his brother told him that he doesn't like the colleague he loves; he likes his girlfriend. But his girlfriend also told him that her colleague doesn't like men; she likes her. He asked her colleague, but she said his brother wasn't interested in her, and that he was the one she really wanted to get with. He's totally confused now. Who should he believe?!"

Yaqing, sitting next to Elysia, was completely dumbfounded. Never mind the characters in the story being confused; he was confused too. The complex web of relationships was beyond him.

Just as Yaqing was about to speak, he heard Elysia reply, "Based on your question, my dear fan, here's what the Elf Miss thinks: your friend's brother isn't lying, and your friend's girlfriend isn't lying either. But that colleague is most likely lying. She's hoping to use such lies to deceive your friend into leaving your friend's girlfriend, and to sow discord between your friend and his brother, all to reap the benefits herself."

Yaqing watched Elysia's expression shift from initial shock to subsequent bewilderment. He couldn't understand a word she was saying. He could understand each word individually, but when they were strung together, he was lost.

"So the Elf Miss suggests that your friend take his girlfriend far away from that colleague, or else he'll easily lose both love and money, okay~?" Elysia smiled.

Yaqing witnessed one bizarre emotional entanglement after another, more than he'd seen in his twenty-eight years of life. Yet Elysia responded to each one.

After the livestream ended, Yaqing didn't say a word, fleeing the living room as if his life depended on it.

Elysia looked at Yaqing in confusion, not understanding. She just felt like Yaqing had been even more traumatized.

Chapter 85: The Fallen Kevin

Yaqing returned to his bedroom without looking back, locked the door, changed into his favorite dinosaur pajamas, and collapsed onto the soft bed. Just as he was about to take a nap, his phone beeped a few times.

Yaqing picked up his phone and saw that Walter Yang had sent over the character designs for the new tokusatsu IP that Anti-Entropy was preparing. He felt another headache coming on. Where was he going to find so many male actors?

Yaqing covered his eyes with his arm and drifted off to sleep.

Sunset, five in the afternoon.

Yaqing woke up, scratched his messy hair, and yawned.

Yaqing left the bedroom.

"Ya! Qing!"

The familiar roar instantly woke Yaqing up. Seeing Kalpas striding towards him in a rage, Yaqing remembered that he had deliberately eaten instant noodles in front of Kalpas, and hurriedly explained, "K-Kalpas, I... I..."

Kalpas grabbed his shoulders, his eyes burning with anger beneath his face mask. "Yaqing Schariac! I won't allow you to eat instant noodles! You must eat what I make from now on!"

Shaken until his brains were almost mush, Yaqing could only agree.

Only then did Kalpas stop.

Slightly more awake, Yaqing looked at Kalpas's muscular physique. An idea flashed through his mind. Actors? Wasn't this a qualified tokusatsu actor right here!

"Kalpas, do you have any interest in becoming an actor?" Yaqing's eyes lit up.

"No," Kalpas said directly, walking back to his room, which was next to Yaqing's.

Rejected once again, Yaqing wasn't discouraged, because he remembered that there was someone in the courtyard who would definitely not refuse him.

"Pfft." Kevin spat out the juice he had just drunk.

Successfully attracting a glare from Hen, who had just finished mopping the floor.

Kevin looked at Yaqing in disbelief and asked, "What did you say? An actor? Me? And a tokusatsu actor at that?"

"What's wrong with being a tokusatsu actor? It's not like I'm asking you to wear the suit yourself. Believe in yourself, Kevin!" Yaqing made a gesture of encouragement.

"Can I do it?"

Mei, holding a freshly brewed cup of black coffee, sat down next to Kevin. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Mei, Yaqing wants me to be an actor," Kevin replied truthfully.

"What?" Mei looked at Kevin and Yaqing strangely.

"It's not like I'm asking you to go right now. It'll probably take about a year to prepare. You should use this time to work out, Kevin. How long has it been since you've been to the gym?" Yaqing said.

Hearing this, Kevin thought about it. It seemed that he hadn't been to the gym since he graduated and started working. Pinching the flab on his stomach, Kevin said angrily, "None of your business! Besides, you're not any better!"

Kevin looked at Yaqing's baggy dinosaur pajamas and asked the soul-searching question.

"Is that so?" Yaqing raised an eyebrow, glanced at Mei, and said, "Mei, could you please leave for a moment?"

Mei nodded and got up to leave.

Only Hen, Kevin, and Yaqing were left in the living room.

Yaqing unbuttoned his dinosaur pajamas.

After a long while, Mei returned, looking at the dejected and silent Kevin, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Kevin? Yaqing, what did you do to him again?"

Yaqing leaned back against the soft padding of the wall behind the sofa, saying helplessly, "I just made him face reality."

Kevin hugged his legs, curled up on the sofa.

Mei had already guessed the gist of things, stroking Kevin's white hair like petting a puppy, comforting him, "Kevin, don't be sad. You don't need to compare yourself to Yaqing. There's at least one thing you're better at than him."

Kevin silently raised his head.

"You have a flawless girlfriend." Mei blushed even as she said the words.

The smile on Yaqing's face slowly disappeared.

The smile didn't disappear, but rather transferred to Kevin's face, and he perked up again.

"No, I have to start working out!"

Kevin excitedly ran upstairs.

"Why did you have to provoke him?" Mei said helplessly.

On the other side of the sofa, Yaqing had become the Kevin from just now, hugging his legs and curling up on the sofa.

"Another one," Mei sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Another one what?" Mobius, who had just returned, took off her heels, put on slippers, and sat down on the sofa.

Mei pointed at Yaqing on the sofa.

"What's wrong with him?" Mobius asked, puzzled.

"I'm thinking about things," Yaqing suddenly said.

"You're not sulking?" Mei asked.

"Of course not. If I didn't do this, how would Kevin go straight upstairs?" Yaqing stretched out his long legs.

"What's wrong with that little follower again?" Mobius leaned against the soft padding of the wall behind the sofa.

"I'm guessing, tomorrow you'll see his hands shaking as he codes," Yaqing said with a playful smile.

"Is that so? I'm looking forward to it," Mobius grabbed the melon seeds on the coffee table, found the remote control, and turned on the TV to continue watching cartoons.

Looking at the two of them with even the same lazy posture, Mei sighed inwardly, they really do look like a married couple.

Elysia, who came down from upstairs, asked curiously, "Professor Mobius, you're back? I just saw Kevin rush into the gym. Why did he suddenly think of working out?"

"Someone provoked him."

Mei pinched her brow, looking at the two people engrossed in watching cartoons.

The gym was on the second floor, opposite Yaqing and Kevin's rooms.

Kevin rushed back to his room, changed into a tank top, and immediately headed to the gym.

In the gym, Kalpas, who was doing bench presses, was a little surprised to see Kevin. Since he moved in, he had never seen Kevin enter the gym.

"Hi, Bro Robber!"

Kevin greeted him, lay down on the rack next to Kalpas, looked at the barbell, and his passionate heart cooled by half, somewhat regretting his impulsiveness.

Kevin gripped the barbell with both hands, all the muscles in his body straining, making a sound similar to constipation, but the barbell remained motionless on the rack.

Kevin was so anxious that his legs were slightly off the ground.

Kalpas's barbell moved up and down extremely quickly, forming a stark contrast to Kevin.

Seeing Kevin next to him, Kalpas lifted the barbell back onto the rack to secure it, stood up, and said, "Annoying, you're so weak!"

Kevin was stabbed in the heart again by Kalpas.

Kalpas grabbed Kevin's barbell with one hand and placed it on the rack.

Kevin looked dumbfounded.

Was it because the barbell that he couldn't lift with all his strength was lifted by Kalpas with one hand that he felt confused?

Or was it because Kalpas suddenly lifted his barbell that he felt confused?

Perhaps, both.

Kalpas pointed to the barbell on the ground to the side.

"Now get your ass over there and practice the basics, immediately! Now!"

Kevin climbed off the bench.

Seeing Kevin leave, Kalpas silently lay back down on the bench and continued doing bench presses.

Kevin picked up a 1kg dumbbell with a grievance and started doing arm exercises.

Chapter 86: St. Freya Spring Festival

When Kevin came out of the gym, his hands were shaking. He worked out like crazy, as if he felt he could build muscles in his arms in one day.

In the evening, when Kevin was eating, he couldn't even hold his chopsticks steadily and had to use a spoon to eat.

"Brother Kevin, shame on you, I don't even use a spoon to eat."

Ling was undoubtedly lectured by Sakura again.

Griseo placed a slice of meat on Kevin's plate, her intentions clear.

And so, in an atmosphere of laughter and joy, a world where only Kevin suffered was achieved.

"Ah!"

When Kevin woke up the next day, he felt like his hands weren't his own. They were sore and aching. Su examined him and found that he had strained his muscles and would probably need to rest for two or three days.

Mei personally granted her boyfriend a few days off.

Mobius found it a great pity that she wouldn't be able to see Kevin typing code with trembling hands. She had been quite looking forward to it before going to bed last night.

In the living room, Yaqing and Kevin, whose hands were weak, sat together on the sofa. Watching Yaqing leisurely eat fruit, Kevin asked in confusion, "It's Friday today. Aren't you going to work?"

At this time of day, everyone in the courtyard who should be at work or school was. Except for Elysia, who was streaming from home, Eden, who had no performances scheduled for the time being, Pardo, who was "temporarily" unemployed, and Kevin, who was injured and recovering, plus Yaqing.

"Please, I'm the boss. Whether I go to the company every day or stay in the courtyard, I'm just playing around. Why would I go all the way to the company when I can have fun here?" Yaqing picked up a grape and put it in his mouth.

"The evil capitalist," Kevin could only lament.

Yaqing didn't forget about Kevin either, picking up a grape and throwing it into Kevin's mouth.

Accurate hit.

"Speaking of which, what exactly is the plot of the Honkai movie later on? Tell me everything in advance," Kevin said.

"Kevin, don't you just want to know if there's a plot about you later on?" Yaqing asked with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Kevin just smiled awkwardly, taking it as a default.

"There is."