Gamble and Fate

It was almost two o'clock.

Tang Yao and Li Xue finally parted ways.

One went downstairs, and the other went upstairs.

This was because the Editorial Department for the two magazines was not on the same floor.

When Tang Yao returned to the big comic Editorial Department, most of the editors who worked during the day were out, and even the editor-in-chief was nowhere to be found.

However, Kang Ming was still there.

He heard footsteps from afar and looked up to see Tang Yao. His eyes lit up. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon."

Tang Yao returned to her workstation and began assigning panels for Shao Changqing's original manuscript. At the same time, she peeked over at Kang Ming's desk. "What are you doing?"

Kang Ming: "Reader survey."

Tang Yao showed a knowing expression and then asked, "How does it feel?"

The so-called reader survey was similar to the "survey-first" principle from her previous life's Shonen Jump, which suffocated all Manga Artists and was born out of the need to effectively cope with brutal market competition.

Simply put, this system stipulated that for every manga serialized to its fifth chapter, if its votes in the survey rose and its popularity increased, it could continue serialization.

But if the votes declined and popularity fell, the manga would be forcibly cut after its tenth chapter.

Regardless of the plot's development or where the story had reached, it would end abruptly.

And after the fifth chapter, there was also a last-place elimination system... Manga ranked last would also be cut if its ranking didn't improve within a few weeks.

In short, it was extremely brutal.

This was also why Li Xue hadn't forcefully pushed her onto the path of a Manga Artist.

Because she knew how difficult it truly was for Manga Artists under this cruel system; they couldn't afford to slack off even a bit. Every issue needed suspense, climaxes, and forced scenes that would make readers anticipate what's next.

"It feels a bit different than I imagined."

Kang Ming looked at the survey in his hands. "I can only say I'm still getting used to it?"

"Oh--"

Tang Yao drew out her tone and then suddenly asked, "What do you think about mobile games?"

"Mobile games?"

Hearing this, Kang Ming turned his head in surprise.

Tang Yao nodded. "Yes."

Kang Ming hesitated for a moment, then said with a blush, "You might not believe me, but I think that's the future. The development potential of mobile phones is greater than that of the traditional Internet. If possible, I'd actually like to try working in that field. That battle platform is one of the products of that dream."

"I see."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yao's hands paused slightly as she flipped through the manuscript. Then she asked, "So, if an average-paying job related to mobile games were offered to you, would you take it? Ah... there's a prerequisite: the company is in its early stages of development."

"I would take it."

Kang Ming hesitated, but in the end, he replied honestly, "Even if it's a company in its early stages."

"..."

Tang Yao smiled and then said softly, "It's a deal."

"?"

Kang Ming looked at Tang Yao beside him strangely, and then he became a little dazed by her smile.

While salary and compensation were not directly tied to performance, they were indeed linked to dedication. The saying that one shouldn't risk their life for a few hundred yuan, though crude, held some truth.

When an employee starts thinking about resigning and decides to act on it, their performance is greatly affected.

Tang Yao was no exception; after all, she wasn't a saint.

After receiving Li Xue's promise and Kang Ming's answer, she instantly felt unable to continue assigning panels. She wished she could go home and draw cute girls right away... If she hadn't considered that drawing at her workstation would look strange, she would have started drawing immediately.

Fortunately, her remaining rationality pulled her back. Although she wasn't a saint, she still had a basic sense of responsibility.

So, she patiently spent the afternoon finishing her work.

It was past six in the evening.

Tang Yao gave Shao Changqing's manuscript one last check, and after confirming there were no issues, she placed it and Teacher Ou's masterpiece on the editor-in-chief's desk. Then, as if freed, she began packing her things.

Time to go home and draw cute girls!

"You are like the wind~"

Perhaps because she was in a good mood.

She swayed her body slightly and hummed a song as she packed.

Beside her.

Kang Ming, still wrestling with reader surveys, heard her and turned his head to look at Tang Yao, who seemed to be in a good mood, gently swaying her body and humming an unknown melody. "Are we going home?"

"Mm, see you tomorrow."

Tang Yao waved her hand happily and then walked towards the door.

Kang Ming watched her retreating figure, radiating youth and joy, and felt as if he had been infected. A smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

Meanwhile.

Tang Yao was indeed very happy. Even the commute, which could be described as long, couldn't diminish her joy. It lasted all the way home.

"Xun."

As soon as she opened the door.

It was like a premonition.

Tang Xun came out of her room carrying clothes and then turned to look at her sister, scrutinizing her from head to toe. After confirming she was alright, she turned back towards the washing machine with the clothes.

Because she got out of class early and lived close by, Tang Xun had usually already showered and was preparing dinner by the time Tang Yao got home from work.

To be honest.

She was incredibly sensible. If it weren't for her shouldering the burden of daily chores, Tang Yao couldn't even imagine how terrible her life here would have been.

"Are you a bit too indifferent to your sister coming home, Xun?"

Tang Yao lay half-reclined on the sofa. When the cool and composed young girl returned, she gently patted the spot next to her and teased her.

"What do you want me to say?"

Xun sat down next to her sister, gently tucking her long hair behind her ear, and replied, "Sister, welcome home?"

"That's not necessary."

Tang Yao chuckled softly, looking at the girl beside her who seemed ready to tie her hair into a ponytail to cook. "I'm just curious what you mean by scrutinizing me every day? To confirm your sister is still alive?"

"Pretty much. I'm worried about your mental state."

The girl let go of her hair and turned to look at her sister, who usually returned exhausted but was unexpectedly relaxed today. "If one day you break down and don't want to go to work and just want to stay home, I need to prepare in advance."

Tang Yao said half-jokingly, "Prepare what? Prepare to kick me out of the house?"

The girl averted her gaze and didn't answer her sister.

"So cold, but don't worry, Xun."

Tang Yao didn't mind at all. She just shifted closer to her, relaxed, and gently rested her head on Xun's shoulder, smiling. "Adults are more resilient than you think. They relieve stress by complaining constantly, lie frequently to manage relationships, and do despicable things.

If all else fails, they can just cry in their car before coming home. It's perfectly fine."

"The adults in your eyes are too pathetic."

"Adults are indeed pathetic beings, so don't put on a stern face and long to grow up. The adult world isn't fun."

"Then why don't you complain to me? Do you cry every day before coming home?"

"..."

Tang Yao chuckled softly. Her sister was quite sharp. "That's not quite true. It's because your sister hasn't officially joined the ranks of adults yet. And your sister doesn't have a car, though I have experienced it."

"Then you should cry at home."

Tang Xun was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "At least there's someone at home. It's not as private as a car, and it's embarrassing, but I know all the embarrassing things you've done since you were little. In fact, you already embarrassed yourself in front of me a week ago."

A week ago was precisely the time Tang Yao arrived in this world.

Tang Yao's expression stiffened. Then, she moved her head off Xun's shoulder and turned her head.

Tang Xun looked at her sister, her face expressionless.

"Do you enjoy picking at your sister's scars that much?"

But Tang Yao wouldn't be intimidated by her gaze. She directly reached out and gently pinched Xun's soft, smooth cheek, applying slight pressure.

Tang Xun, facing her sister, her pretty face contorted, was forced to pucker her cherry lips... The cool and composed aura instantly vanished, making her look rather cute.

"...Go take a shower."

Tang Xun glared lightly at her sister, finally losing her composure. She broke free from her sister's hand and stood up. "I'm going to start cooking."

Tang Yao watched the girl walk away with a slightly larger stride than usual, tilted her head, and smiled knowingly.

After showering.

The two sisters ate dinner together.

As usual, Tang Xun voluntarily took her bowl to the cramped, semi-open kitchen, taking responsibility for cleaning up.

Tang Yao didn't help with the dishes; she had more important things to do.

She returned to the sisters' room and sat down at the desk again. She took out drawing paper, but this time, she wasn't drawing manga. She was drawing beautiful character illustrations.

Of course, she had mentioned it after work.

But she couldn't just start drawing randomly... Even though her past life experience told her that in the early days of the mobile internet, gacha games were indeed very popular and made a lot of money.

Even later followers made money, as if everyone could get a piece of the pie from mobile games.

Square Enix was the one who launched Million Arthur, the progenitor of gacha games. Even though Tang Yao was already past her prime before she transmigrated... she was still a major game developer with the Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts series, and Dragon Quest series under its belt. Their relevant experience and resources were completely incomparable to any studio, let alone an individual. Not to mention that.

Just the accompanying gameplay alone couldn't be solved with art assets. Although early gacha games were notoriously dismissive of gameplay, having none was out of the question.

Forget about any gameplay that was too difficult to implement.

There were also many other aspects to consider, not to mention the plot and voice acting.

Just how to allocate the in-game obtainable resources—free gacha resources—and the out-of-game input resources—paid gacha resources—was enough to give her a headache.

Fortunately, she had plenty of successful examples to reference.

What she needed to do first was to piece together and integrate a mobile game from the vast game library of her past life that balanced development difficulty and revenue, and was suitable for this world, in order to secure investment and earn the most important first pot of gold in her life.

This required caution and careful steps.

Because if she failed, she would only be able to make a living by drawing manga.

Of course, if she succeeded... she could probably break free from the shackles of money for a while and do more things.

This was a gamble.

"So first... I need to confirm the foundation of the game."

Tang Yao gently spun the pencil in her hand, thought for a long time, and then wrote a single word on the drawing paper—Fate.

The renowned Fate series.