Preparation

It was obvious.

Li Xue had also seen the twenty-odd works released early for the manga awards, or more accurately, she had seen the two works that Tang Yao had enthusiastically recommended... and which she herself had drawn.

Uzumaki aside, Li Xue had already seen it.

But this was Li Xue's first time reading Fate/Zero.

Because Tang Yao hadn't found an opportunity to show it to her.

After all, it was drawn later, and to meet the deadline for the manga awards, Tang Yao had just finished it before the original manuscript went to Shang Tao.

So, like other ordinary readers, Li Xue was also reading Fate/Zero for the first time, seeing for the first time the manga that Tang Yao had mentioned... as the original concept for a game.

And after finishing it.

Li Xue's only thought was—this is the original concept for a game? What a waste of talent.

Most importantly, not only did she think the manga was good, but so did many other readers.

In this situation... she could completely debut and become a manga artist!

So.

She called Tang Yao immediately.

"Miss Li, I know about the situation on the website..."

Tang Yao couldn't help but chuckle when she heard the excited words from the older sister on the other end of the phone: "But I really have no intention of becoming a manga artist."

"... Aren't you going to try at all?"

Li Xue was silent for a moment, then continued to persuade: "The beginning of Fate/Zero right now... is already enough for a serialization."

"No need to try."

Tang Yao lay on Xun's lap, looking at the ceiling above her head: "If I really wanted to serialize it, I wouldn't have given the original manuscript to Shang Tao in the first place. Although the manga's popularity after its release has indeed exceeded expectations, I've already decided not to change it. Moreover..."

Speaking of which.

Tang Yao thought of the topic they had discussed before and joked: "I want to take you away from the literature museum, how could I possibly become a manga artist... What would you do then? Would I have to make you an editor? You're not in charge of male-oriented works, so I have to try my hand at games with higher potential to earn more money and leave the literature museum with peace of mind... to take you home!"

"..."

Li Xue suddenly fell silent.

At the same time.

Tang Xun also looked at her sister's face.

Tang Yao noticed and looked at Xun with a confused expression, asking... what's wrong?

But Xun, whether she didn't understand or didn't want to disturb her, didn't speak, just stared at her.

"... I don't actually value the position of assistant editor that much."

As the two sisters made eye contact, Li Xue's voice rang out again, but without the previous excitement, it was rather... shy?

Why was her tone so strange?

Tang Yao was a little confused, but temporarily shifted her gaze from her sister's face and replied: "I value it... Anyway, I've made up my mind. Miss Li, please help me contact your relative."

"I've already contacted them..."

On the other end of the phone.

Li Xue seemed to take a deep breath, then muttered something inaudible, her tone slowly returning to normal: "But, about Fate/Zero... what do we do? You put it on the website this time for promotion, right? Then what about the subsequent updates?"

"Mm... let the popularity rise a bit more."

Tang Yao thought for a moment and replied: "Then on Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll release it for free at a weekly update pace."

"Release it for free?"

"Mm, to avoid any unnecessary copyright disputes."

"And after it's fully released? Will there be collected volumes?"

"Uh..."

"Haven't you considered it? The royalties from collected volumes are an important source of income for manga artists, accounting for forty percent of a manga artist's total income. Even if you update it for free and don't care about the manuscript fee, you can't completely give up on collected volumes... Given the current popularity of the manga, as long as the subsequent story is exciting enough, the collected volumes will definitely sell well."

"I really haven't considered it..."

"Then give me some time to think about it. I'll help you plan. Free serialization is fine, but we can't give up on the potential future revenue."

"... Actually, it's too early to consider all this now."

Hearing Li Xue's serious tone, Tang Yao felt a little embarrassed and hesitated: "It's just the beginning, barely a good start. Besides, I can't trouble you anymore."

"This isn't trouble!"

Li Xue replied directly: "Even if it is trouble, I'll help you... But I need to confirm one last time, Tang Yao, are you really planning to resign?"

Tang Yao gave a definite reply: "Yes."

Li Xue was silent for a moment, then said: "Then promise me first, if you fail, don't get discouraged. You must come back to drawing manga... At that time, I can resign and become a freelance editor to help you. I really don't value this assistant editor position that much."

"Okay."

"Then be ready... I've made an appointment with my relative for Wednesday. I'll have them come to the company building, and I'll accompany you then."

"..."

Tang Yao immediately got up from the sofa upon hearing this, tidied her slightly messy hair, and asked, "Miss Li, really?"

"Mhm, but securing investment isn't easy. Even though your Fate/Zero manga is very popular right now... if it ultimately fails..."

"I know, I'll be prepared."

"Then we'll discuss the specifics at the company on Monday. I need to think about the collected volumes and releasing the manga for free. Also, remember to dress maturely on Wednesday... Never mind, don't bother. You look fine as you usually do."

"..."

After chatting for a while longer, the two hung up.

Tang Yao slowly put down her phone, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, forcing herself to calm down.

Finally, the most crucial step was here: getting the money.

Although there were still many problems to solve, this was undoubtedly the most important step.

"...Miss Li."

At this moment.

Tang Xun saw that her older sister had finally hung up the phone and asked, "Is that a colleague?"

"Mhm, a friend I met at the magazine publisher."

Tang Yao snapped back to reality, nodded, and smiled brightly, "A very good friend!"

She could tell that Li Xue was genuinely invested in her situation.

For that, she was truly grateful.

Tang Xun hesitated for a moment before continuing, "...Is she female?"

"Huh? I called her Miss Li, so of course she's female."

"Oh..."

Tang Xun lowered her gaze, thought for a moment, and didn't ask further.

"Let's not talk about that, Xun."

Tang Yao got off the sofa and walked over to her sister, extending her hand and saying seriously, "I need your help with something right now. It's very important."

Tang Xun slightly raised her fair chin, looking at her sister, who was still beautiful and captivating even in a simple pajama set. She looked a bit confused but placed her small hand in her sister's palm. "What is it?"

"Help me pick out clothes."

Tang Yao pulled her sister up and led her into the room.

Then.

Tang Yao stopped, spread her arms slightly, and said earnestly, "Xun, I need an outfit that's somewhat androgynous... something that makes me look more mature."

Although Li Xue hadn't finished her sentence earlier, Tang Yao had understood that she wanted her to dress more maturely for the meeting.

And she felt it was necessary; after all, when asking someone for money, one should maintain a proper attitude.

Tang Xun heard this and shook her head, "...It won't suit you, and we don't have anything like that at home."

"Then something more female-oriented is fine too."

Tang Yao hesitated for a moment before replying.

Forget it.

I'll go all out!

"..."

Hearing this, Tang Yao didn't say anything else. She simply looked her sister up and down, who was still in her pajamas, then thought for a moment and turned to start searching.

About five minutes later.

"Xun, can I ask what you're doing with pantyhose and high heels?"

"Don't you want mature-style clothes?"

"...Maybe we should just forget it."

At the same time.

While Tang Yao was preparing her outfit...

The popularity of the manga awards... continued to surge.

But as time went on.

The manga awards, which had gained immense traffic because of Ou Congquan, gradually had nothing to do with Ou Congquan.

And it seemed... it also had nothing to do with the manga awards themselves.

Because most readers weren't discussing the manga awards at all; instead, they had started discussing a manga artist, a manga artist with a rather peculiar name—Third-rate Painter.

And as the readers' discussions continued... the popularity of those two works grew higher and higher, attracting more and more readers.

Thus forming a positive cycle.

Then.

Even Kang Ming, who had already learned from Tang Yao that Ou Congquan had changed the storyboards and was no longer focusing on the manga awards, saw those two works.

And his thoughts after reading them were the same as most readers: How can there be such interesting manga!!!

However.

Besides marveling at how interesting it was.

After finishing Fate/Zero, Kang Ming felt a sense of admiration and had an idea.

"Holy relics, Heroic Spirits and Servants, Command Spells, the summoning of Heroic Spirits, the Holy Grail War..."

Kang Ming looked at the last page of Fate/Zero on the screen and said excitedly, "Where did Editor Tang find this manga artist! This is too amazing! These settings are genius! If this were made into a game..."

As he thought.

He seemed to have a burst of inspiration and couldn't help but open a document, then began writing something based on the existing manga settings.

After all.

This new recruit of the Editorial Department still preferred games more.

So when he saw novel settings, the first thing he thought of was games.

However.

There were still too few settings revealed in the manga so far.

Soon Kang Ming got stuck.

He raised his head again, then grabbed his mouse and switched back to the webpage, about to re-read Fate/Zero for inspiration.

But looking at the black and white manga on the screen, he suddenly came to his senses... and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

...What was he doing.

Never mind that the manga wasn't finished, he was already an editor, why was he still doing this.

Besides, how could this possibly be made into a game.