"The internet was in an uproar. As for Fang Zheng, his fans naturally weren't really going to send him any sort of concern. After all, they treasured Fang Zheng dearly."
"Looking across the entire internet, apart from Fang Zheng, not a single company or individual had announced plans to produce anime. If anything really happened to Fang Zheng, who would make anime for them?"
"Anime was a very strange thing. Those who liked it were hopelessly addicted, while those who disliked it wouldn't pay much attention. The circles on either side were clearly divided."
"Those who followed Fang Zheng were naturally the kind of people who were hopelessly addicted to it."
"If someone really went looking for trouble with Fang Zheng, these fans would be the first to refuse to stand by. The experts and professors who had spread rumors online before were a living example."
"Those experts and professors had gained quite a bit of attention by desperately promoting conspiracy theories about Fang Zheng."
"But ever since Fang Zheng posted on Weibo moments ago, announcing that 'Akame ga Kill!' would be released on the ACG Community at seven that evening, those people had seemingly agreed beforehand and vanished without a trace."
"And Fang Zheng's Weibo post challenging them to a debate was reposted by netizens who loved watching the world burn. One after another, they tagged those experts and professors, telling them to come out and face him."
"Yang He was one such influential account. He was also a pioneer in promoting conspiracy theories about Fang Zheng and had been among the earliest participants."
"At that moment, he was raging in his office. The room was a complete mess. He knew that if he didn't handle this properly, everything he had done before would be for nothing."
"He had worked so hard to attract so many people's attention. He was truly unwilling to accept failure just like this."
"Damn it! Didn't they say that producing a single anime required drawing a massive number of key frames? How had Fang Zheng finished it so quickly?"
"Yang He's face was somewhat twisted. Although he badmouthed Fang Zheng and promoted conspiracy theories about him to attract attention, he wasn't an idiot. He had his own principles of conduct."
"Take Fang Zheng's situation, for example. When Fang Zheng first proposed the concept of anime, he had already attracted the attention of countless people."
"As an emerging cultural industry, anime had no idea how many eyes were hidden behind it, nor how many capital magnates were greedily waiting for an opportunity."
"Moreover, Fang Zheng had never concealed anything about anime production. After all, professionals could easily see through its production methods."
"Yang He had indeed sought out professionals to learn more about it. The result he received was that, taking 'Star Dream' as an example, creating an anime like that would require at least seventy to a hundred thousand key frames."
"After hearing this, Yang He began to entertain some crooked ideas. Although he didn't understand anime himself, he still knew some basic mathematics."
"'Star Dream' had only five episodes, yet it required so many frames. How many would 'Akame ga Kill!' need?"
"Even if Fang Zheng were a robot who worked without sleep or rest, there was no way he could complete such a massive amount of drawing in such a short time."
"That was why Yang He had brazenly promoted conspiracy theories about Fang Zheng online. Coincidentally, Fang Zheng had been too busy establishing his company and producing 'Akame ga Kill!' to pay much attention to the internet."
"This had allowed Yang He to rise rapidly by taking advantage of the hot topic."
"According to his calculations, Fang Zheng's new work wouldn't meet the audience until the end of the year at the earliest. All he had to do was rake in a wave of attention, then properly deal with the public opinion before Fang Zheng's new work was released."
"But he had never expected Fang Zheng's progress to be so fast—so fast that before his plan had even had a chance to be carried out, the other man's work was already complete."
"Now Yang He was caught between a rock and a hard place, while the internet had launched a one-sided barrage of condemnation against him."
"Where exactly did things go wrong?!"
"Yang He sat in his chair, tugging at his already sparse hair in frustration. His eyes were bloodshot, making him look just like a wild beast gone mad."
"If Fang Zheng knew about Yang He's plan, he would definitely have answered with a cheeky grin, Because I'm a cheater~"
"Picking a fight with a cheater—weren't you just asking to die?"
"Professor Yang, Big Shot Fang is calling you out for a face-to-face showdown!"
"Don't chicken out, Professor Yang! Fang Zheng's Weibo post was just a ploy for attention, and everything was fake. Come out and face him~"
"Damn it! You were barking everywhere like a mad dog before, but now that Big Shot Fang has come out, you've all tucked your tails between your legs and pretended to be dead. Aren't you disgusting?"
"The internet was full of demons and monsters before. Every kind of freak had come crawling out. The moment Big Shot Fang returned, they all wilted. Not one of them could put up a fight. Bah!"
"..."
"Looking at the sarcasm and mockery directed at him online, Yang He was furious but helpless. He had started this whole mess himself. The one seeking attention wasn't Fang Zheng—it was him."
"Now that he had become a rat everyone wanted to beat, there was nothing he could do except swallow his anger."
"Ring ring~"
"Just as Yang He was racking his brains over how to resolve the situation, the office phone rang."
"Hello? Who is this?!"
"Yang He was already in a terrible mood and extremely irritable, so his tone was filled with anger as well."
"Heh heh. Judging by your tone, Professor Yang seems to be in a very unpleasant mood because of what's happening online~"
"Hearing the teasing voice from the other end of the phone, Yang He narrowed his eyes. His years of experience dealing with people told him that the caller's identity was certainly no ordinary one."
"May I ask why you're looking for me? Surely you didn't call just to mock me~"
"Although his current situation was extremely bad, anyone who called him at a time like this clearly had something they wanted from him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have contacted him now."
"His scandal was causing a huge uproar online. Yang He didn't believe that the person on the other end of the phone didn't understand the principle of not getting burned by someone else's fire."
"Heh heh. As expected of Professor Yang. Your composure in the face of change is truly admirable."
"Hearing this, Yang He merely smiled noncommittally. He was a smooth operator and had long since passed the age when young people acted rashly and lost their tempers. Calling him an old fox would not be an exaggeration."
"I want to cooperate with Professor Yang!"
"Cooperate?" Yang He was startled. He was currently being attacked by the entire internet, with people cursing him thoroughly online."
"In this situation, the other party actually wanted to work with him?"
"That's right, cooperate. If Professor Yang is willing, there will be plenty of benefits for you." The voice on the other end paused slightly before continuing, "If Professor Yang can bring some of your peers into this, that would be even better."
"Which peers are you referring to?"
"Yang He was suspicious. Through the phone, he could tell that the other party knew his circumstances extremely well, yet he didn't even know the other party's name."
"The two of them were clearly not on the same level, so Yang He even changed the way he addressed him to 'you.'"
"As for Yang He's change in attitude, the person on the other end merely chuckled twice and said nonchalantly, "Professor Yang should know which peers I mean. Why play dumb~"
"Yang He's heart sank. He was already trapped in the mire, and the other party had chosen this moment to propose cooperation. The person they intended to deal with was obvious."
"The so-called peers were probably the experts and professors who had promoted conspiracy theories about Fang Zheng alongside him."
"How do you want to cooperate? And why should I trust you?"
"Yang He became increasingly certain that the other party's identity was extraordinary. After all, Fang Zheng had received support from Liao Qingli, director of the Modu Culture and Entertainment Publicity Department."
"If even he knew about that, there was no reason for the person on the other end of the phone not to know."
"Since the other party was so fearless, that meant they didn't take the Modu Culture and Entertainment Publicity Department seriously at all."
"Of course, we'll cooperate using the method Professor Yang is best at. As for why you should trust me... do you have any other choice?"
"The voice on the other end was leisurely, as if he had already seen through Yang He."
"If you agree to cooperate with me, I can immediately give you one million as a signing fee. As for how much you can earn afterward, that will depend on your ability."
"One million!"
"One million that he could get immediately without doing anything!"
"Yang He's breathing paused. One million was no small sum, and he was tempted."
"But Yang He hadn't lost his reason. The other party had offered such a generous price, which meant the matter was also extremely troublesome. Otherwise, there was no reason to give him so much money for nothing."
"Since this is cooperation, shouldn't you tell me your name?"
"Yang He forced himself to calm down. The greater the reward, the greater the risk. That was the experience he had accumulated over decades of struggle."
"You don't need to know who I am. Knowing too much won't do you any good! I'll notify you about what exactly you need to do." Clearly, the person on the other end no longer wanted to waste time with him."
"Are you cooperating or not? There are plenty of people in circumstances similar to yours. You're not indispensable."
"Yang He clenched his fists. He knew the other party was telling the truth."
"There were many people online who had attacked Fang Zheng, and plenty of them were on the same level as him. If the other party cooperated with those people instead, Yang He wouldn't get a single cent."
"Yang He gritted his teeth and said, "Fine. I agree!"
"Hahaha, a wise decision. One million will be transferred to your account immediately. Check it yourself."
"The voice on the other end disappeared as soon as he finished speaking. Listening to the beeping tone, Yang He collapsed into his chair as if all his strength had been drained."
"Buzz buzz!"
"Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Yang He took it out and saw a bank transfer notification."
"Not a cent more or less—exactly one million!"
"Yang He tried to trace the other party's identity through the transfer account, but the other party had clearly prepared in advance. He still knew nothing."
"He didn't know the other party's name or identity. If the voice had been forged, he didn't even know whether the other party was a man or a woman."
"Fortune favors the bold, while the timid starve. Fang Zheng, don't blame me. If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for offending a powerful figure!"
"Yang He put away his phone. People died for wealth, and birds died for food. For money, he could resort to anything."
"Having suddenly obtained a large sum of money, Yang He stopped caring about the condemnation online. In the face of money's power, those filthy insults on the internet seemed pale and powerless. He was even too lazy to pay attention to them."
"Let them say whatever they wanted and curse him however they pleased. It wasn't as if he would lose a piece of flesh."
"On the other side, Fang Zheng, who had fled home in a sorry state, had no idea that someone was targeting him. He was thinking about what his next anime should be."
"After all, producing anime was no small undertaking. He had to make arrangements in advance. Otherwise, once 'Akame ga Kill!' finished airing, there would be a gap in the anime available on the ACG Community. That was not something Fang Zheng wanted to see."
"At six fifty that evening, with ten minutes remaining before 'Akame ga Kill!' premiered on the ACG Community, countless viewers waited in front of their screens, eagerly anticipating it."
"Ever since the promotional PV for 'Akame ga Kill!' had been released, almost all the fans had been captivated by the exquisite character designs and art style. Countless viewers were looking forward to its official broadcast."
"Of course, there was also a small portion who wanted to see what kind of results would come from Big Shot Fang, known as the Ultimate Healing Mentor, trying his hand at a different genre for the first time."
Before you continue