Tokyo: My obsession with China led me to become the king of Japanese entertainment.

"Dear Chinese players, hello, I am Jun, producer and sole developer of Hakimi Studio. Today is our weekly live Q&A session."

"As of today, my first indie game, Yokai Survivor, has sold over 400,000 copies in Early Access, which is an astonishing number that far exceeded my expectations."

"Among them, Chinese players accounted for an astonishing 65% of the purchases and left thousands of valuable comments and words of encouragement."

"It is a great honor for me, as a Japanese indie game developer, to receive nearly 95% positive reviews and substantial purchase support from our esteemed Chinese players."

"It is you who have elevated this fledgling game to a whole new level. Please allow me to express my deepest gratitude to you all."

"By the way, this game hasn't even sold 20,000 copies in my hometown of Japan yet, and the positive review rate is currently around 70%, which is pretty much in line with the style of those otaku..."

February 2019, Japan, Akita City, Akita Prefecture.

In a room with rather avant-garde decor, an excessively handsome young man was speaking fluently and clearly in Chinese in a calm tone, facing the camera and a barrage of comments.

His voice carries the vigor of youth, and is melodious and pleasant to listen to; he may have a good talent for singing.

Between the lines, there is a constant undercurrent of absolute respect for Chinese players, almost to the point of fawning, and a subtle disdain for their fellow Japanese players.

It seems that this double standard makes the barrage comments, which are almost entirely in Chinese, particularly enthusiastic, with gifts or eye-catching messages flying out from time to time.

Jun Sakurada accepted all of these suggestions without question.

"...Okay, that's all for the questions about the development plan. Next are some more personal questions, which I will answer as clearly as possible."

"Is the host really from Japan? Absolutely! I'm from Akita City, Akita Prefecture, I'm fifteen years old, and I haven't graduated from junior high school yet. Should I show you my student ID?"

"How did I learn Chinese... I taught myself from a young age, and practiced my accent by watching the news broadcast. It seems the results were pretty good."

"Why doesn't the streamer, who is so good-looking, debut in the entertainment industry? Instead, she's making games—haha."

Upon reading this question, Jun Sakurada paused for a moment, then chuckled.

The fifteen-year-old boy had delicate and handsome features, fair skin, a straight nose, and light-colored lips. When he smiled, the corners of his eyes curved slightly, as if they were filled with tiny starlight, clean and dazzling.

"Well, in Japan, handsome teenage male actors who enter the entertainment industry generally follow pretty much the same development path unless they get signed by a top agency like Johnny & Associates."

"Those with good resources can first act in one or two Toei tokusatsu shows, such as Kamen Rider or Super Sentai. Although the salary is very low, it can help them build up some popularity."

"And those with poor resources... can almost only act in BL dramas, selling a BL CP with another man who doesn't know the depth of their feelings on screen."

"And I... Kongtong."

When he said this, Jun Sakurada made a point of straightening his posture, as if he was not joking at all.

"What? You're asking what would happen if I got signed by Johnny's? That's great! I won't have to go on TV and sell BL (Boys' Love) pairings anymore!"

"Just go down to the store and accept President Kitagawa's 'love'!"

So everyone, both on and off screen, burst into laughter.

"...Alright, that concludes today's live stream. I will continue to work diligently to advance the development of 'Yokai Survivor' and strive to bring the full version of the game to everyone as soon as possible."

See you next week.

In less than an hour, Jun Sakurada ended his live stream, let out a long sigh, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

With sales of nearly 500,000 units in the first month, each unit is priced at 500 yen, and the lowest price in the world in China is 25 RMB.

Based on Steam's usual 30/70 revenue split, his pre-tax income from this month's sales alone will reach nearly 200 million yen.

This is the story of a time traveler who is not yet sixteen years old. In just over half a year, he used the right timing, location, and people, along with a little bit of plagiarism, to earn his first pot of gold.

"As expected, it's all thanks to the support of our compatriots back home; all my hard work these past few days has been worthwhile..."

Just then, a crisp system notification sounded in Sakurada Jun's mind:

[Beep! The third cycle has ended! Results are being calculated...]

[During the third cycle, the host sold a total of 430154 faith carriers, developed 51007 superficial believers per 100000 people, 624 regular believers per 1000 people, and 0 devout believers per 10 people. The cycle target was not achieved.]

[To encourage the host to continue his efforts, a reward is given: the succubus's memories!]

[Host detected to be 15 years of age or older; the next cycle will be shortened from five years to two years!]

Upon seeing the reward, Jun Sakurada's lips twitched involuntarily. He felt a cool sensation wash over him, and his previously hazy memories from his past life suddenly became crystal clear, with every detail vividly presented.

"How did it get shortened to two years...? If the next cycle requires 1000000 believers, how am I supposed to collect that many?"

"This reward is something else. If it had come a week earlier, I would have made it big by now. At the very least, I could have just copied the game's stats instead of manually adjusting them like I am now."

"In this lousy place called Japan, it gets harder to survive the later the era goes on. It's almost the first year of the Reiwa era, and there's not much room for me to maneuver."

Thinking about it, I couldn't help but sigh: "How did I end up in 2019 Japan? What happened to the bubble economy?"

Jun Sakurada is a transmigrator from China, born into a previous life, but he did not regain his memories of his past life until he turned fifteen. He lived with his maternal grandfather in Akita City, Akita Prefecture from a young age.

Upon regaining consciousness, he awkwardly realized that he had wasted fifteen years of foresight, fast-forwarding directly to the Reiwa era of Japan.

This is truly a year where even dogs don't come.

The economy has lost thirty years and will continue to lose more in the foreseeable future. Society is aging extremely rapidly, and the seniority system allows the elderly to act arrogantly in various positions in society.

Society was so oppressed that it exploded, and all sorts of abnormal groups began to emerge like mushrooms after rain. Upward mobility was almost completely blocked, and even becoming a plagiarist was extremely difficult because it was too late in the society and there was too little to copy.

Compared to those predecessors who lived carefree lives during the bubble economy era, dating Nakamori Akina and Matsuda Seiko, and earning high salaries that were equivalent to half a year's worth of living expenses in one month, his life seemed rather miserable.

Of course, he has the standard system for time travelers, but it's very subtle.

The system is called the Faith Demon God System. As the name suggests, it is dedicated to helping Jun Sakurada collect faith, cultivate believers, and achieve the position of Demon God in the modern world.

It sounds absurd.

However, after careful study, Jun Sakurada found that the system was quite humane; at least it didn't actually allow him to establish a demonic cult in the modern world.

The system counts all followers of Jun Sakurada's social media account as part of the "Asami Believers'" performance, and the games sold are also considered "belief products."

Theoretically speaking, if Jun Sakurada could follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and create a Sakurada Cult within the gaming community, that would be acceptable.

Furthermore, even if the system fails to meet the periodic targets that are settled every five years, the system will not directly eliminate the user; on the contrary, it will give Jun Sakurada an incentive reward.

In 2009, five-year-old Jun Sakurada had no memory of the events and couldn't even recognize all the kanji in the system. He failed to meet the first cycle target and was given the reward of "the body of a succubus".

From then on, he possessed a stunningly beautiful appearance that could attract both men and women, as well as physical abilities that were at the limit for humans of his age.

From then on, love letters from boys and girls throughout Akita Prefecture never stopped.

In 2014, Jun Sakurada was ten years old. The second cycle required 10,000 casual followers, and even though he had already attracted a large number of young children just beginning to experience romantic feelings, he was still far from reaching that number.

As a result, she was rewarded by the system with "the voice of a succubus," possessing a voice that could easily outshine many talented musicians, even in Japan, a country where the music scene is incredibly vibrant and places great emphasis on talent and timbre, and which also possesses the alluring power of a succubus.

Now, in 2019, Jun Sakurada has been recovering his memories for more than half a year, and even if he makes the most of the resources at hand, he has only just completed a little over half of the task.

Then he was rewarded with the succubus's memories, but it's hard to say whether it's too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost.

"Time is of the essence..." Jun Sakurada murmured.

Although, as it stands, the system is surprisingly user-friendly, even offering compensation for failed tasks.

However, considering that the three compensations he received were all "succubus's xx", Jun Sakurada could easily predict that if he continued to receive these incentives and rewards, he would eventually become a succubus himself.

At that time... it will probably be very troublesome.

"However, given the sensation Vampire Survivor achieved in his previous life, sales of over 400,000 units should just be the beginning," Sakurada Jun pondered.

Before transmigrating, I was just a college student who knew nothing about finance and the stock market and couldn't rely on my foresight to make investments.

To make money in a highly rigid economy like Reiwa Japan and complete the system's tasks, Jun Sakurada had no choice but to turn to his old profession from his previous life—games.

To be precise, it's an indie game.

In just six months, he recreated the legendary indie game that became a sensation in 2022, which inspired a large number of imitators, but which could be developed by just one person. He pioneered the "survivor-like genre" with "Vampire Survivor".

Thanks to the quality of the game and his own unique "operational skills," the current sales are very impressive, and he himself has begun to gradually build up his popularity among players.

If this trend continues, there is a good chance that the fourth cycle target required by the system can be achieved within two years.

"Xiao Run! Is Xiao Run home? There's a package for you!"

Suddenly, a deep but strong voice came from downstairs. It was a courier from the nearby post office, who was also a good friend of my grandfather.

"Mine? I haven't bought anything recently?" Jun Sakurada was taken aback, and then his alertness suddenly rose.

Could it be that some player tricked me, revealed my real address, and is now sending me razor blades?

I carefully went downstairs and signed for a thin, large envelope from the old postman. I weighed it in my hand; it probably only contained paper.

Upon opening it, I found it to be a rather formal interview invitation:

Dear Mr. Jun Sakurada:

We are pleased to inform you that, after rigorous screening and testing, your resume meets our requirements…

After reading just the first two lines, Jun Sakurada had a strong sense of déjà vu.

In the spring of 2009, a remarkable man surnamed Lu received a notice, thus embarking on a magnificent journey of slaying dragons.

In the early spring of 2019, Jun Sakurada received a similar notification letter.

Could it be... that I'm going to follow the patriarch and kill Samurai?

Sakurada Jun quickly held his breath and focused on reading, until he saw the final signature, at which point his face darkened.

It didn't say Kassel College, nor the Snake Clan, but rather—

Johnny & Associates.

Oh no, it's coming for my hook.