Guide to Becoming a Tyrant in Online Novels

Because Lin Ke's message was too frightening, Yao Guang hurriedly checked in and immediately took out his phone to see what was going on. The more he looked, the more shocked he became.

His author assistant's backend data was about to explode, with the comment section a sea of ​​red. Entering the author group where information was blocked, his colleagues were all tagging him and discussing breaking taboos. The comment sections of each book were in complete chaos, with book fans, haters, jokers, and colleagues all embroiled in a melee, making it seem like the entire Qidian platform had just experienced World War II.

He slapped himself; it hurt, he wasn't dreaming.

He just took a nap, how did the sky suddenly collapse?

He opened Lin Ke's chat window, wrote and deleted the message six or seven times, feeling that nothing he sent was appropriate, so he sent three question marks.

Lin Ke seemed to have been waiting for him, and was stunned when she received the reply.

Three question marks...

This guy made a huge mess of things, and all he got in the end was three question marks?

Could it be that all of this was actually within this guy's expectations?

She suddenly felt deflated, realizing that the courage she had mustered had become a huge joke, because the other person didn't need it at all!

Oh well, whatever, I guess I'll just consider it as doing it for my KPI.

She wasn't angry; instead, she sent a few flattering messages, asking when the new contract would be signed.

Yao Guang opened the contract appendix. The new contract favored him with a higher profit-sharing ratio for breaking taboos and listed promises regarding the priority of IP adaptation. But he didn't care about or understand any of those; he only noticed the deeply binding clause.

A long, dense string of things: platform professionalism requires cooperation in promotion, attendance at events, active participation on the platform, non-compete agreements, etc...

The core can be summed up in just two words.

Sign the contract.

What he hates most is being restricted. Not having time to go fishing while working is already driving him crazy. Now, even writing a book to earn a little money is being tied up and forced to sign a contract of servitude. Life is only a few decades long. As a single guy, it's enough to not starve to death. Why torture yourself?

He immediately lost the will to write, but for the sake of appearances, he still asked, "Is this the new contract from Qidian? Does everyone have to sign it?"

Lin Ke said no, this was a special case on the platform that was made to adjust the customized contract for him, and it was only for him.

Little did they know that this statement, which represented the platform's appreciation and recognition, had stepped on Yaoguang's biggest landmine!

Because he was unfamiliar with the online novel market, he had no concept of the terrifying power of Po Ji. He only felt that although Po Ji had become popular, he was still a newcomer. Qidian was full of established authors, and there were countless successful newcomers, so why was he being asked to change his contract? Was there some kind of trap hidden here? Would something like a free lunch just fall from the sky?

He had fallen into the trap of online lending once before. As an ordinary person, where would he get the capital to gamble on risks?

He immediately replied, "I think the original contract is fine, and I'm not considering any changes for the time being, thank you."

Upon seeing this sentence, Lin Ke sat up straight instantly, her eyes practically reaching into the screen.

He refused...

He actually refused!

Does he even realize what this contract means for the newcomer?!

Could it be that he only used Qidian as a stepping stone to become a god, and then left after gaining fame, so he was unwilling to be deeply involved?

She had thought it would be an easy task, but it turned out to be so difficult. After a while, she typed to ask if there was anything she was dissatisfied with and if she could bring it up.

This was a task personally assigned by the boss, and the editor-in-chief even expressed his intention to make her a permanent employee and give her a raise. If she couldn't even do such a simple job well, it would be really unacceptable...

Yao Guang replied that it was good, but he didn't want to change the contract. Lin Ke persuaded him that the new contract would allow Po Ji to receive the best incubation and that his own income would double, which was something the original contract couldn't do.

The barrage of messages annoyed Yao Guang. He suspected that the missing person might have already resigned and become a fraudster. He became wary and instinctively wanted to delete the person, but then he remembered that Lin Ke had found him. There was some kindness in their friendship, so he remained polite but kept quiet.

Lin Ke felt like she was going crazy. She threw her phone on the blanket, lay on the bed and kicked her legs hard, wishing she could kick Yao Guang.

Squidward is difficult to deal with, but his owner is even more difficult!

This is infuriating!

By the time this misunderstanding ended, Squidward's tentacles had already spread outwards from the starting point.

Book fans enthusiastically promoted the book on various social media platforms, while those who enjoyed the story followed suit, sharing memes and jokes about it appearing on five different bestseller lists simultaneously, sparking numerous arguments and online battles. This massive surge of traffic naturally attracted the attention of marketing accounts and online platforms, who quickly got involved, drawing the attention of casual readers outside the online literature community to this monster named Po Ji.

But no one anticipated that their actions were brewing an even greater disaster...

The next day, the news that Yao Guang refused to revise the contract shocked the editor-in-chief. He immediately questioned Lin Ke, asking if she had lost her temper with the author or said something she shouldn't have.

Lin Ke felt wronged and directly showed the chat history. The editor-in-chief became more and more confused as he read it, and bluntly said that this author must be a monster, it was really outrageous.

Lin Ke asked what to do, and he said to tell the editor-in-chief. Lin Ke immediately panicked: "Do we have to report such a small thing to the editor-in-chief... won't he...?"

"Don't worry, it's alright." He reassured Lin Ke, "You didn't make any mistakes; it's the author's problem. We can't solve it; it's wise to let the leadership step in."

In reality, he was thinking that this was too much of a burden for him to bear, and that he absolutely could not take the blame; he had to pass the buck to the editor-in-chief.

In the editor-in-chief's office, the editor-in-chief, without looking up from reviewing the data, said, "Does this little matter really require my personal intervention? Doesn't your work efficiency need improvement?"

He was thinking to himself that this author was too arrogant. If it weren't for the task assigned by his boss, he wouldn't have bothered to even glance at this author.

The suspense editor grinned and said, "Yes, yes! We admit our mistake! But authors are all a bit arrogant, and he probably felt that we didn't have enough influence or sincerity, and that we needed a big shot who could make the final decision to give us face."

The editor-in-chief glanced at him and scoffed, "What's the author's contact information?"

While on patrol, Yao Guang's phone suddenly rang. Seeing it was a landline number, he hung up immediately. The editor-in-chief, who had been calm, paused, glanced at the phone, confirmed it had been hung up, and called again, only to be hung up again.

The editor-in-chief tentatively asked if he wanted to call by phone. The editor-in-chief thought to himself, "What a hassle!" He took out his phone and dialed. This time, the call was answered by dialing, but the first thing he said was, "I don't buy insurance."

……

The editor-in-chief and the chief editor exchanged a glance, and before Yao Guang could hang up, they quickly said, "Excuse me, is this Yi Ji Yao Guang? Hello, I'm not selling insurance, I'm the chief editor of the editorial department of Qidian.com."

Yao Guang stopped walking, her tone somewhat surprised: "Editor-in-Chief? Hello, what can I do for you?"

The editor-in-chief was surprised that the person was actually quite polite, so he quickly exchanged a few pleasantries and got down to business.

His explanation and presentation of the new contract were far more professional than Lin Ke's, but after several minutes of speaking, Yao Guang's final reply was: "I thought it was fake, but it turns out it's real. Thank you for your appreciation, but I'm still considering sticking to the original plan."

The editor-in-chief had just given the chief editor a look that said, "That's it? Isn't this a piece of cake?" when he heard the first half of the sentence, but he was choked half to death by the second half.

His eyes widened involuntarily, and he asked incredulously why. This time, Yao Guang didn't hide anything and expressed her desire not to be bound.

But these words hit the editor-in-chief, and even the platform's biggest sore spot.

Who wants benefits without being willing to pay the price? What if the platform provides resources, but you suddenly run away? Who will bear the risks and costs?

But he wouldn't say these things aloud; instead, he continued to persuade her. Yao Guang listened for a while longer, then asked, "Can I understand this to mean that if I'm unwilling to amend the contract, the platform will limit the reach of my book or even remove it from the platform?"

This rhetorical question caught the editor-in-chief off guard. He quickly explained that he didn't mean it that way; the platform wouldn't coerce any work, and the contract change was to allow the work to develop better. But then, a voice suddenly came from the other end of the phone saying, "Old Yang, the supervisor wants to see you," followed by Yao Guang saying he had something to take care of and that the original contract was fine, no need for all that trouble, before hanging up…

The two big names who had made their way up in the online novel world looked at each other, the office so quiet you could hear their own heartbeats...

"It seems Squidward is just a minor enemy; this One-Hit Light is the real boss!"