Started as a comics editor

Chapter 273 Today is different from the past

No wonder Cai Quan was so surprised.

...almost two pages.

There are currently two whole pages of streamers broadcasting Hearthstone-related content.

Although most streamers seem to have only average popularity, with few viewers and little support.

But the fact that so many players are willing to stream it speaks volumes.

He clicked into what is currently considered the most popular live stream.

"...The universe system? It's quite fun. The advantage of this approach is that it guides players to give up some powerful cards for some powerful effects, which indirectly frees up card slots for the deck. This gives many second-tier cards that never had a chance to play a chance to shine, increasing the diversity of the environment and making it more interesting."

"However, I feel it can be further evolved. There are still a few powerful effect cards at the moment, but the discovery mechanism makes up for this deficiency. It's mainly for fun."

"My deck? This deck isn't a pure Highlander deck. The reason I included Reno is because the entire deck only has six duplicate cards, so it can only be considered a semi-Highlander deck. However, the addition of Reno also has its drawbacks. It makes the deck too late-game, and if you have Reno in your hand early on, you'll have a lot of hand clogs."

"How will you finish off the Cosmic Shaman? Haha, watch closely!"

"..."

on the screen.

A young man who looked very young, with an honest appearance and slightly protruding teeth was passionately explaining his card deck.

He possesses a blend of confidence, naivety, and mischievousness.

Very pleasing.

And he does seem to be very meticulous when playing cards.

He seemed to have a deep understanding of the game's scoring mechanism and how to achieve victory.

At the same time, he has good speaking skills and can explain his thoughts in a clear and concise manner while fighting.

It looks very thin!

As thin as a needle.

originally.

Cai Quan only wanted to take a peek, but as he looked, he started to stare.

He actually got absorbed in it.

“5+4+2+5+2……刚好！死了。”

"That's what precision is!"

"Do you guys think the streamer is awesome?!"

"..."

The match ended quickly.

The seemingly simple-minded young man in front of the camera began to boast and gesticulate wildly in front of the camera.

Although there weren't many viewers in the live stream, they were very enthusiastic, typing "666" and "I don't want to watch" on the screen.

Cai Quan fell into deep thought.

Li Xue, who had been standing not far away, naturally saw the live broadcast as well.

This will end the game.

She finally spoke, asking softly, "Although I don't know much about it, it seems quite interesting?"

"very funny."

Upon hearing this, Cai Quan withdrew his gaze and muttered, "I should have thought of that earlier. During the game's testing phase, many onlookers liked to comment on it. This game must be quite fun. How could I have forgotten that..."

"It's full of interactivity and entertainment, making it definitely high-quality content."

"Such high-quality content..."

"Cai Quan."

Li Xue called out to him, somewhat helplessly.

Cai Quan suddenly woke up, looked at Li Xue, and realized what was going on: "I'll make the arrangements in a bit."

"Ah."

Li Xue glanced at him, then nodded gently.

The other party seemed to already have a plan, so she decided not to say anything more. The initial staff who joined Avalon were still trustworthy.

Their current achievements prove their capabilities.

So she turned her attention to asking about ANF.

How's the website doing lately?

"Very good, monthly active users..."

Cai Quan then began to talk about the situation of ANF.

Overall, Avalon is currently experiencing rapid growth in both its website and games.

Even if ANF's game section is taken over and made independent, it won't have much impact on the website itself.

ANF ​​is already the undisputed number one in the ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) field, and it is now slowly expanding its influence.

And it seems to be working quite well.

With the addition of numerous UGC content creators, the website's content has become increasingly diverse and interesting.

When Li Xue browses social media, she occasionally sees people sharing videos from ANF.

This is undoubtedly a very good sign.

This proves that the website's influence is indeed radiating outwards.

After giving a brief overview of the current state of the website, Cai Quan stopped.

"What about the comics section?"

Li Xue then asked about a specific section that she was particularly interested in.

After all, she comes from a background in comic book editing, so she does have a better understanding and interest in this area.

Of course, most importantly, Tang Yao's comic book "Chainsaw Man" is still being serialized, and Li Xue is still nominally her editor... Although, Tang Yao is too strong, she doesn't need to give any advice at all, and because online serialization is not a traditional magazine, there aren't as many tedious details.

But she still paid close attention to it.

Rather, she would pay close attention to anything related to Tang Yao.

"Thanks to the influence of Chainsaw Man, the increased popularity of Avalon in the ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) community, and the existence of high-quality fan-made content platforms."

Upon hearing this, Cai Quan smiled calmly and said, "Currently, ANF's comics section has completely overshadowed Wenxin Pavilion and Zhuxing Society's online reading platforms. Even though their physical magazines are very well-known, even though they are publishers famous for comics, even though Zhuxing Society and Rumi Teacher are there, in the field of online reading, they all have to kneel down in front of ANF!"
Recently, even the notoriously difficult editor mother of teacher Rumi has relented, saying she's prepared to make teacher Rumi's previous works available to us.

"...You've given in?"

Li Xue was somewhat surprised upon hearing this: "I remember that after the online reading website of Zhuxing Society came out, she always refused to let Teacher Rumi's works be listed on other platforms, right?"

"Because they still had hope back then."

Cai Quan shook his head: "Back then, our collaboration between FGO and Rumi-sensei's 'Nightfall' made them a fortune. After that experience, they seemed to realize the necessity of online comic reading, so they prepared their own online reading website."

Not long ago, they were at loggerheads with us, acting as if they could be replaced. But Avalon is no longer the fledgling game company that needed its boss, Tang Yao, to personally intervene when collaborating with them.

The games released by the gaming division recently have been incredibly successful and profitable, resulting in a continuous influx of funds into ANF.

We at ANF have been able to continuously improve our copyrighted content while also fulfilling our promise to incentivize UGC creators.

This attracted more users and UGC creators, which, combined with the game, created a virtuous cycle.

In a very short time, ANF has become the spiritual home for the vast majority of ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) users in China. Not to mention, our comics section already had a foundation under Tang Yao's planning.

However, Chasing Stars Society cannot abandon physical magazines, and its online reading platform doesn't have any particularly heavyweight works. The most important works are still the previous works by Teacher Rumi. It would be a miracle if they could beat ANF.

Their online reading platform is now being relentlessly challenged by ANF Comics and is barely surviving.

And with the recent rise of mobile games, right? Because of the influence of FGO, many people are still willing to collaborate with comics. Perhaps it's for this reason that they've finally realized reality, understanding that their online reading platform can't sustain them, and have started contacting us again, wanting to put Rumi-sensei's previous works on our ANF comic section, hoping to leverage past collaborations to slightly increase prices.

"..."

Li Xue was somewhat dazed upon hearing this.

Yes.

Avalon is no longer in the same situation as before, where even its own Tang Yao had to personally participate in collaborations with comics.

After that FGO collaboration.

Both the gaming division and the website have experienced rapid growth.

Their size is expanding rapidly.

These days, if you want to collaborate with FGO, you don't need the boss to go in person. Sending a staff member can handle it. Many people want to collaborate but don't even have the chance!
After all, under Tang Yao's leadership, Avalon is no longer just about FGO; it has a bunch of new games under its umbrella, and the monthly revenue of these games is astonishing.

If Tang Yao wanted to, she could acquire any magazine company except for Chasing Stars!
of course.

Tang Yao didn't want to.

Avalon isn't that arrogant; this is just an example.

Things are really different now.

And all of this is because...

Li Xue smiled gently, thinking of the adorable girl who had been listlessly slumped over the table not long ago.

"Actually, I've been thinking about whether I should just reject them."

At this moment.

Cai Quan joked, "Teacher Rumi's mother is really too troublesome. She's stubborn and difficult to deal with. She was practically begging to be treated like a grandson back then... Now that the tables have turned, we have to let her experience what it's like to be treated like a grandson."

"No need."

Li Xue snapped out of her daze and glanced at Cai Quan: "This is a normal business collaboration. Don't let personal emotions get involved. That will only dig a hole for yourself. The other party's reluctance to let Teacher Rumi's work be listed on the ANF comics section is a normal business judgment. Do you want to retaliate against them?"

"I was just joking." Cai Quan scratched the back of his head and laughed, "President Li is right, let's handle business strictly by the book."

"Since they're willing, let's talk. It's not a bad thing for us anyway."

Li Xue shook her head slightly, not continuing the topic, but instead asked, "By the way, how's 'Chainsaw Man' doing?"

anyway.

Things are different now.

No matter what choice Ms. Mimi's difficult mother makes, it won't affect ANF's development, let alone Avalon.

This is just a trivial matter.

"ANF's comics section is absolutely a mainstay!"

Hearing Li Xue's words.

Without a second thought, Cai Quan said directly, "The ANF comics section has developed very quickly recently. Because of the collaboration, a large number of comic artists have flocked to the comics section. We have also discovered many excellent works and comic artists, but Chainsaw Man is still the mainstay of the entire comics section, with its popularity leading by a cliff."

Tang Yao was too busy a while ago, and after she switched back to regular single updates, it even affected the popularity of the entire comic section, which shows how terrifying the comic's popularity was.

In fact, we all feel internally that if this comic were published in any physical magazine, it could become this year's comic of the year.

It's just a pity.

The comic is so popular, but there's no corresponding game...

"Tang Yao has made arrangements in this regard."

Li Xue explained, "Moreover, the initial purpose of this comic was not for the game department, but purely to build up ANF's comic section."

"In order to build up ANF's comics section..."

Cai Quan muttered to himself, then said with a wry smile, "And then he drew ANF's most popular comic, it really is..."

He did not continue.

I just sighed a bit.

Then he continued, "Speaking of which, is the Reise arc coming to an end soon?"

"Ah."

Li Xue recalled the drafts and some saved drafts that Tang Yao had given her, and then recalled the parts that had already been updated, and replied, "It's almost done."

Although she's been too busy lately and the comic's popularity has stabilized, Tang Yao has switched back to updating only once a week.

However, to avoid stopping updates, I still saved some of the manuscripts.

What is the ending?

Cai Quan rubbed his hands together, and asked a question out of curiosity.

And then he asked the question.

The staff members working diligently around them also perked up their ears.

no way.

They also read comics.

"I don't really want to give away any spoilers."

Thinking of the ending of the Leisai chapter, and that "Yay!" that she didn't know how to describe, Li Xue's expression became a little strange: "You guys should just wait for the update."

"alright."

Cai Quan thought for a moment and didn't press the issue. Although he noticed a hint of unease in Li Xue's expression, he couldn't help but think that following the updates had its own charm: "So, what's the next chapter? Can you give me a hint? Has Tang Yao drawn it yet?"

"..."

Li Xue recalled the Assassin arc, which was even more difficult to evaluate, and her expression became even stranger: "Assassin arc... you should wait for the next update."

"Assassin arc... Battle arc?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Quan rubbed his hands together again, sensing that something exciting was about to happen!
The staff around him all had similar expressions.

Seeing their expressions, Li Xue hesitated, but ultimately gave up the idea of ​​saying anything more.

At least.

Tang Yao said it was quite exciting.

Ok.

Think of this.

She didn't say anything more, but chatted with Cai Quan about the live stream again before turning around and going back upstairs.

After watching Li Xue leave, Cai Quan shook his head and temporarily put the comic book matter out of his mind.

Just wait for the update.

As he pondered this, he looked back at the screen, gently touched his chin, and after a moment of thought, suddenly said, "Xiao Li, come here for a second."

……

night.

Yuecheng.

A studio apartment.

Miao Zhang turned off the live stream, slumped wearily in his chair, and then looked at the game screen and smiled softly.

How interesting, Hearthstone!

He doesn't usually enjoy playing card games, let alone TCGs, which have a certain learning curve.

Miao Zhang only learned about a game called Hearthstone by chance... At the time, he was just browsing forums and saw a discussion thread arguing fiercely about whether Hearthstone Shaman was a discarded child of the designers. It contained words he didn't understand at all, such as "overload," "totem," and "Doomhammer," but the debaters' love-hate relationship and deep-seated passion inexplicably attracted him.

As if by some strange twist of fate, he downloaded the game.

At first, I struggled a lot and got completely overwhelmed by various decks.

But he has one particular trait: he's stubborn and loves to ponder things.

If you lose, review the game; if you don't understand deck building, learn it slowly; if you don't understand the settlement mechanism, test it slowly.

Gradually, he got the hang of it, and he developed a strong interest in the shaman class in particular—he loved the feeling of overloading the next turn's mana like borrowing, and relying on resource management to seek victory!

then.

He kept playing, becoming more and more engrossed.

Simultaneously.

He also discovered that he particularly enjoyed commenting while playing, and liked to express the fine calculations and predictions in his mind, as if this helped him clarify his thoughts and made things more interesting.

So he started a live stream. He didn't have any fancy equipment, just an ordinary camera and a microphone. In his studio apartment, he started his performance while watching the game on the screen.

As for the effect... just as Cai Quan observed, there weren't many audience members, but each one was quite enthusiastic.

Today's victory with the Highlander Shaman, especially the precise calculation of the final kill, made him quite proud. When he shouted to the camera, "Look how awesome the streamer is!?", it was genuinely a feeling of exhilaration.

But after the initial excitement, fatigue and the harsh reality set in.

He glanced at the data in the live stream's backend: peak viewership... less than two hundred people.

Gift revenue? Very little, barely enough to cover electricity and internet bills.

He leaned back in his chair, looked up at the yellowish paint on the ceiling, and sighed inwardly.

If all else fails... I'll have to go home and inherit the family fortune.

Sure enough, passion alone couldn't get rid of that damned hardware factory, plastics factory, and that radiator brand that was somewhat well-known in the industry... and along with it, that fortune of over a billion that he couldn't shake off.

"Sigh, passion alone isn't enough..."

He muttered to himself.

While live streaming itself is very interesting and sharing the fun of games gives him satisfaction, the pressures of reality are also looming.

The income from this job is far from enough to support him in defying his fate of taking over that ancestral business.

This is really annoying.

Maybe... I should consider finding a proper job? Or reduce my livestreaming time?
he thought.

Just as he was thinking of other solutions and preparing to light a cigarette to add a touch of heaviness to the yellowish ceiling above his head.

Ding dong.

The cell phone rings suddenly.

Miao Zhang paused, then casually picked up his phone and glanced at it.

Then... he was completely stunned.

It's not spam.

The sender of the text message was clearly listed as: AnimationFan (ANF) - Content Cooperation Department.

Miao Zhang thought he was seeing things.

After a long time.

He just reacted.

ANF!? That giant in the anime and manga world, ANF!? Content Cooperation Department? Why would we need to talk to this nobody?

He opened the message with a mix of doubt and unrealistic expectation.

The text message was formally and concisely worded: "Invitation to collaborate on Hearthstone livestream content..."

Miao Zhang read the text message word by word, then unconsciously opened his mouth slightly, revealing his signature little buck teeth.

At the same time, the feeling of fatigue was instantly dispelled by a huge, unbelievable surprise.

"What the hell!?"

(End of this chapter)