Anime Production, Starting with Healing the Audience

The internet was in an uproar. As for Fang Zheng, his fans wouldn't actually go and offer him any sympathy. After all, they cherished him dearly.

Across the entire internet, besides Fang Zheng, no other company or individual had announced the production of anime. If Fang Zheng were to suffer any misfortune, who else would they turn to for anime?

Anime was a peculiar thing; people were either completely captivated by it or paid it little attention. The communities were clearly divided.

Those who followed Fang Zheng were undoubtedly the ones who were completely captivated.

If anyone dared to cause trouble for Fang Zheng, these fans would be the first to object. The so-called experts and professors who had been spreading rumors online were a prime example.

Previously, these experts and professors had gained considerable attention by promoting conspiracy theories about Fang Zheng.

However, ever since Fang Zheng posted on Weibo announcing that "Akame ga Kill!" would be available on the ACG Community at 7 PM tonight, those individuals had, as if by agreement, completely disappeared.

Fang Zheng's Weibo post requesting a debate was further reposted by netizens who enjoyed stirring up trouble, with many tagging those experts and professors, urging them to come out and confront him.

Yang He was one such influential figure, a pioneer in promoting conspiracy theories about Fang Zheng, and among the earliest proponents.

At that moment, he was raging in his office. The room was a mess. He knew that if this matter wasn't handled properly, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

After finally attracting so much attention, failing now would be truly unbearable.

"Damn it, didn't they say that producing an anime requires drawing a massive amount of original art? Why did Fang Zheng finish so quickly!"

Yang He's expression was somewhat contorted. Although he slandered Fang Zheng and promoted conspiracy theories about him to gain attention, he wasn't foolish. He had his own set of operating principles.

Take Fang Zheng's situation for example. The first time Fang Zheng proposed the concept of anime, it had already captured the attention of many.

As a nascent cultural industry, anime had countless eyes watching it, and numerous capital moguls greedily awaiting opportunities.

Furthermore, Fang Zheng hadn't concealed anything about the anime production process. After all, professionals could easily discern the methods used in anime creation.

Yang He had indeed consulted with professionals and learned that, using "Star Dream" as an example, creating such an anime would require at least seventy to a hundred thousand original art pieces.

Upon receiving this information, Yang He began to scheme. While he didn't understand anime himself, he understood basic mathematics.

If "Star Dream," with only five episodes, required so much, how much would "Akame ga Kill!" require?

Even if Fang Zheng were a robot working non-stop, it would be impossible for him to complete such a massive drawing project in such a short period.

This was why Yang He had been so brazen in promoting conspiracy theories about Fang Zheng online. Coincidentally, Fang Zheng, due to establishing his company and producing "Akame ga Kill!," hadn't been paying much attention to the internet.

This allowed Yang He to rise rapidly by leveraging this trending event.

According to his calculations, Fang Zheng's new work wouldn't be released to the public until the end of the year at the earliest. He just needed to garner a wave of attention and then properly manage public opinion before Fang Zheng's new work was released.

However, he never expected Fang Zheng's progress to be so rapid, so fast that his plan hadn't even been implemented before the other party's work was completed.

Now, Yang He was in a difficult position, with the internet universally condemning him.

"Where did it all go wrong?!"

Yang He sat in his chair, agonizing over his already sparse hair, his eyes bloodshot, looking like a maddened beast.

If Fang Zheng knew about Yang He's plan, he would surely reply with a grin, "Because I'm a cheater~"

Who wouldn't lose when confronting a cheater?

"Professor Yang, Big Shot Fang is calling you out for a duel!"

"Don't be a coward, Professor Yang. Fang Zheng's Weibo is just for attention, it's all fake. Come out and debate~"

"Damn it, you were barking like a mad dog everywhere before, but now that Big Shot Fang is back, you're all tucking your tails and playing dead. Isn't that disgusting!"

"The internet was a mess before, with all sorts of monsters and ghosts crawling out. As soon as Big Shot Fang returned, they all withered. Not a single one could fight back. Bah!"

"..."

Looking at the mockery and sarcasm online, Yang He felt both enraged and helpless. He was the one who had started this. It wasn't Fang Zheng who was seeking attention, but himself.

Now that he had become a public enemy, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and swallow his pride.

"Ring ring~"

Just as Yang He was agonizing over how to resolve the situation, the office phone rang.

"Hello, who is this?!"

Yang He was in a bad mood and extremely irritable, his tone of voice filled with annoyance.

"Heh heh, it seems Professor Yang is in a rather unpleasant mood due to the matters online~"

Hearing the teasing voice on the other end of the line, Yang He's eyes narrowed. His years of experience in dealing with people told him that the other party's identity was definitely not simple.

"May I ask what business you have with me? You're not calling just to mock me, are you~"

Although his current situation was dire, anyone calling him at this moment must have a reason; otherwise, they wouldn't have contacted him at this critical juncture.

His situation was all over the internet, and Yang He didn't believe the person on the other end of the line didn't understand the principle of not adding fuel to the fire.

"Heh heh, as expected of Professor Yang. Your composure in the face of adversity is admirable."

Yang He chuckled noncommittally at the other party's words. He was smooth and had long passed the age of youthful impulsiveness and anger. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him an old fox now.

"I want to cooperate with Professor Yang!"

"Cooperate?" Yang He was startled. He was being targeted by the entire internet, and he was being thoroughly lambasted online.

Was this person actually asking him to cooperate?

"Yes, cooperation. If Professor Yang is willing, you won't be lacking in benefits." The voice on the other end of the phone paused slightly, then continued, "If Professor Yang can bring some colleagues into this, that would be even better."

"May I ask which colleagues you are referring to?"

Yang He was suspicious. Through the phone call, he knew clearly that the other party had a lot of information about him, but he didn't even know the other party's name.

It was obvious that they were not on the same level, so Yang He had even switched to calling the other person 'you' in a more respectful manner.

Regarding Yang He's change in attitude, the person on the other end of the phone just chuckled lightly and said noncommittally, "Professor Yang should know which colleagues I'm talking about, why play coy~"

Yang He's heart sank. He was currently in deep trouble, and at this moment, the other party was seeking cooperation with him. Therefore, who they were targeting was self-evident.

The so-called colleagues were probably those so-called experts who had once promoted the Fang Zheng conspiracy theory with 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 not simple. After all, Fang Zheng had received the support of Liao Qingli, the director of the Shanghai Cultural and Entertainment Propaganda Department.

If he knew this, there was no reason why the person on the other end of the phone wouldn't.

Since the other party was so confident, it meant that they didn't take the Shanghai Propaganda Department seriously at all.

"Of course, we'll cooperate in the way you're most skilled at. As for why you should trust me... do you have any other choice?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was very relaxed, as if they had him completely figured out.

"If you agree to cooperate with me, I can immediately give you a million as a benefit fee. As for how much you can earn afterward, that will depend on your abilities."

One million!

He could get a million right away without doing anything!

Yang He's breathing hitched. A million was not a small sum, and he was somewhat tempted.

However, Yang He had not lost his mind. The huge price offered by the other party indicated that this matter was also very tricky, otherwise, they wouldn't have given him so much money for no reason.

"Since it's a cooperation, shouldn't you tell me your name?"

Yang He forced himself to calm down. The greater the reward, the greater the risk; this was the experience he had accumulated over decades of navigating the world.

"You don't need to know who I am. Knowing too much won't do you any good! I will notify you of what specifically needs to be done." The person on the other end of the phone clearly no longer wanted to waste time with him.

"Just say yes or no to cooperation. There are plenty of people in similar situations to you; they don't lack you."

Yang He clenched his fists. He knew the other party was telling the truth.

Many people had slandered Fang Zheng online, and there were quite a few on his level. If the other party found them to cooperate with, he wouldn't get a single cent of benefit.

Thinking of this, Yang He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I agree!"

"Hahaha, a wise decision. One million will be transferred to your account immediately. Check it yourself."

After the voice on the other end of the phone finished speaking, it disappeared. Yang He listened to the busy signal on the phone and slumped onto his chair as if he had been drained of all energy.

Buzzz!

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Yang He took out his phone, and it displayed a remittance message.

Exactly one million, no more, no less!

Yang He tried to trace the other party's identity through the remittance account, but the other party was clearly prepared. He still knew nothing.

He didn't know the other party's name, didn't know their identity, and even if the other party had faked their voice, he didn't even know if they were male or female.

"The bold eat, the timid starve. Fang Zheng, don't blame me. Blame yourself for offending a big shot!"

Yang He put away his phone. Wealth makes a man risk his life, and a bird dies for food. For money, he could resort to any means.

Having suddenly received a large sum of money, Yang He no longer cared about the verbal attacks against him online. In the face of money, those online insults seemed pale and powerless, and he couldn't even be bothered to respond.

Let them say whatever they wanted, curse him however they pleased. It wouldn't make him lose any flesh.

Meanwhile, Fang Zheng, who had returned home in a sorry state, had no idea he was being targeted. He was contemplating what anime to work on next.

After all, producing anime was no small task, and he had to plan ahead. Otherwise, after "Akame ga Kill!" finished airing, there would be a gap in anime on the ACG Community, which was not something Fang Zheng wanted to see.

At 6:50 PM, ten minutes before "Akame ga Kill!" was scheduled to premiere on the ACG Community, countless viewers were eagerly waiting in front of their screens.

Ever since the promotional PV for "Akame ga Kill!" was released, almost all fans had been captivated by the exquisite character designs and art style. Countless viewers were eagerly anticipating the official broadcast of "Akame ga Kill!".

Of course, there was also a small portion who wanted to see how Fang Zheng, known as the Ultimate Healing Mentor, would fare in his first attempt at a different genre of creation.