My daily life in various anime crossovers can't possibly be this sci-fi.

Although it's described as a luxury apartment, the word "apartment" itself is completely incompatible with the Nishikino family's status, and adding any prefixes would be meaningless. Therefore, this apartment mainly serves as a place for Maki to stay temporarily while she's at school, as well as a place to store her various expensive collections.

"So stop it!" Maki, who was almost pushed off her seat, roared in exasperation. "Lord Jinghua is watching!"

"Ah... Ahahaha..." Honoka had probably managed to calm down, finally letting go of Maki, returning to her seat, sitting properly, sticking out her tongue playfully, and giving an embarrassed smile, "I lost my composure..."

"Haha, would you two be angry if I said I was actually having a good time watching this?" Jiang Jinghua gave a meaningful smile.

"Oh! So, it turns out that Lord Jinghua also has this taste..." Honoka perked up immediately upon seeing this, and quickly transformed her expression into a sly grin like that of a royal lord in a patriotic movie, turning to Maki, who was still in shock.

"So stop right now, you idiot!"

Jiang Jinghua looked at the driver calmly steering the wheel ahead and thought to himself that this man was indeed an excellent lackey of the capitalist system. Even in an environment where people could almost achieve a moderately prosperous life, he could still maintain the purity of his revolutionary spirit and remain unmoved by temptations...

The car finally stopped in front of a residential complex consisting of a dozen or so buildings with an average height of about sixteen stories.

Jiang Jinghua and two others got out of the car: what came into view was the typical European-style exterior decoration, the common stone-paved road and the fountain with sculptures, and of course, the security guards and sentries dressed in black clothes, leather boots and wide-brimmed hats, looking like half of the yellow-skinned SS.

Speaking of which, this kind of residential community that combines Chinese learning with Western learning was quite common in China in my previous life... I never expected that Japan would also have this strange habit.

“Look, we’ll finish our production work here these next few days.” Maki straightened her messy collar and pointed to a building in the distance. “Let’s go in quickly.”

what

Section 87, Chapter Eighty-Seven: Production Begins

"I said, the room is surprisingly small."

Honoka tilted her head back, curiously surveying the space she was in.

Actually, the suite isn't small at all; it just looks cramped because everything except the bathroom and living room is neatly piled with all sorts of random things.

"That's the restroom over there, and that's the power supply room. Don't go in unless you have to." Maki gestured to indicate the surroundings. "The room on the right has some... odds and ends. The server room is on the left. There are three workstation-level computers. I don't think Jinghua-kun is the type with a dozen tentacles... so that should be enough, right?"

“Of course.” Jiang Jinghua nodded.

“Honoka, there’s a clean desk in that bedroom you can use,” Maki said, pointing to the last room.

"Oh! Got it!" Honoka excitedly rushed into the room with her backpack, then slammed the door shut.

“Alright, we should probably get started soon.” Maki said as she pressed the switch on the central air conditioning on the wall. “Time is precious. The promotional campaign will officially start in a week, and we need to have the first batch of finished products ready by then.”

"Okay, okay, let's get started." Jiang Jinghua found a seat in the computer room and turned on one of the computers that Maki had placed in a row on the desk.

The static images printed on the flyers fall under Honoka's responsibilities, while Jiang Jinghua's plan for himself and Maki involves creating an animated promotional video and a song PV that will be broadcast in animated form.

Once completed, these works will be uploaded to Muse's homepage and Lovelive's official promotional page.

Jiang Jinghua typed rapidly on the keyboard, bringing up the software interface for production: "Let's solve the problems with the PV and promotional video first, and then decide whether to produce a full-length feature film with a storyline based on the results."

“Okay, let’s do it this way.” Nishikino Maki placed two bottles of mineral water next to the monitors they were using.

The two sat down at their respective computer stations and then fell into a long silence: in the well-ventilated and pleasantly climatic computer room, apart from the slight noise of the central air conditioning and the crisp tapping of the keyboard, there was no other sound.

After that, I don't know how much time passed... all I could see was the water level in the two bottles dropping at a visible rate.

Ah... damn it...

Looking at the empty water bottle, Jiang Jinghua sighed inwardly.

It's much more troublesome than I imagined...

If you want to create animations using 3D-to-2D rendering software, you must first master the creation of the 3D parts. This means you first need to build a large number of 3D models and then perform complex motion manipulations on them, enough to degrade the human brain.

Although the software on Maki's computer comes with a large number of human body parts and motion templates, which makes adding and editing a large number of motions as easy as possible... in reality, it can't be that easy.

Moreover, if you rely solely on the combinations of actions provided by the template, the final product will inevitably be a rather stiff and flawed one... Using such a thing for promotion will only result in a laughable outcome.

and so……

"Phew..." Looking at Honoka Kousaka on the screen, who was vividly reading her lines without any sound, Jiang Jinghua had an urge to "I might as well just kill myself."

Because there are still eight people's parts left to complete...

Moreover, considering that this is only the roughest Alpha stage of the image, the details and effects have not been corrected in a long time, and things like 2D rendering have not even been seen yet, so the work he has completed is far less than one-ninth.

And there has to be an animated PV after the promotional video...

...Yao practically worked himself to death.

...But that's not surprising. If you want to be better than others, you either need to be more intelligent or work harder. Otherwise, if everyone works the same way, why should you get paid more?

Here, water.

At some point, Maki appeared beside him and handed him a new bottle of mineral water.

"Shall we confirm with each other?" she suggested casually.

"Okay."

The two showed each other the documents they had prepared.

"Surprisingly, it's not bad." Looking at Honoka Kousaka, who was still in a semi-finished state on the screen, Maki Nishikino nodded in satisfaction. "The details are smoother than I expected. After 2D rendering, it should be enough to satisfy the otaku in Akihabara, right?"

"If that were really the case, that would be great." Jiang Jinghua shrugged.

Then he went to Maki's computer window and began to observe her work.

She did the part in the film that she herself starred in.

"Hmm... if you ask me, the expression could be modified slightly like this," Jiang Jinghua said after saving the existing data. "Do you mind if I make a few adjustments?"

"...I'll let you give it a try for now." Nishikino Maki nodded noncommittally.

As Jiang Jinghua continued his work, Maki's previously noncommittal expression gradually became more animated, eventually transforming into one of slight surprise and approval. She raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "Hmm...it's actually working a little."

In truth, if you really asked Maki to explain exactly what changes had occurred to her on-screen appearance, she wouldn't be able to. However, the image of herself on the screen, after being modified by Jiang Jinghua, gave her a completely new perspective: although she couldn't explain why, it just felt more vivid.

"It's nothing special. I studied this kind of thing a little when I was a kid out of interest," Jiang Jinghua said. He was referring to the childhood experiences of the body he was currently inhabiting.

“Maki probably doesn’t have much experience in this area, right? Although you’ve studied modeling, I don’t think you’ve specifically studied techniques for anime characters,” Jiang Jinghua said. “In fact, a young lady born into a family of doctors would be more familiar with things like organ simulation, human skeletal structure, and 3D models of brain CT scans.”

Maki Nishikino sighed, her brows drooping helplessly. "That's why I said it's just a stereotype. Ah... even someone like me has normal hobbies! Is that not allowed?"

"Ah, oh..." Jiang Jinghua realized that he seemed to have unknowingly touched Maki's G-spot.

"So, so! Why do people immediately form all sorts of completely unnecessary first impressions when they hear I'm a doctor's daughter?!" Maki looked quite agitated and even angry, so much so that she started vigorously rubbing her hair. "Ah... So! Does being born into a doctor's family cause some kind of inexplicable abnormal mutation in human chromosomes? Why do they think that every doctor's daughter will inevitably become a certain way?"

Maki ended her complaint with a long sigh.

"That's why I really dislike this Japanese mindset," she said with a helpless expression. "What kind of person a person becomes depends entirely on their own will... what does it have to do with how they were born?"

what

Section 88, Chapter Eighty-Eight: "Big" Events

"Well, of course there's a connection." Jiang Jinghua shook his head with a wry smile.

He stood up from his chair and silently gazed at Maki before him.

"No one in this world has ever been free to become who they want to be... This right to choose has never existed in the first place. Even so-called 'heroes' are ultimately just products of 'circumstances'."

"Your environment and biological characteristics determine who you are: there is not even a trace of your so-called 'free will' to interfere. Because even so-called 'free will' is ultimately nothing more than the product of the combined effects of your environment and biological characteristics. How can the clay say to the potter, 'What are you doing?'"

Jiang Jinghua sighed and sat back down in his chair.

“What’s more…we live in such a crazy world.” He stared quietly at the ceiling. “Although we are here now leisurely and happily working on trivial things like school idols, things like war, killing, and death are happening non-stop in every corner of the world.”

The Sea of ​​Miracles.

Those dark figures.

The world destroyed in a dream.

And those memories that have vanished without a trace.

Time traveler...

Jiang Jinghua slowly closed his eyes. He whispered in a voice barely audible:

"If you can't even determine who you really are... what right do you have to demand that you become who you want to be?"

"Hey! I'm talking to you..."

Nishikino Maki hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Jiang Jinghua's reaction this time was completely different from the last time.

There were no tears in his eyes, nor any sign of emotional agitation. On the contrary, he was completely clear-headed and rational.

“You know I might have some mental issues lately,” Jiang Jinghua said. “That’s the truth: free will is inherently fragile, and anyone with a bit of cunning can easily manipulate it, whether through memes, illusions, or simply psychological brainwashing.”

"..." Nishikino Maki didn't know how to answer.

Technically speaking, refuting this is certainly easy: there are countless ways to counter such psychological interference.

It is certainly easy to refute this theoretically: in fact, it is precisely because free will is a fragile and vulnerable thing that we should cherish it and implement it in all aspects of our lives.

However, for some reason, she ultimately did not speak.

“I said, you should take a break.” Maki sighed and pointed to the clock on the wall. “More than two hours have passed without us realizing it. Modeling is quite a mentally taxing task.”

"Alright, thank you for your concern." Jiang Jinghua nodded and closed his eyes to rest.

“…I wasn’t trying to show you any special concern,” Maki Nishikino muttered as she turned around. “It was just to prevent you from talking nonsense when you’re out of your mind…”

Jiang Jinghua actually heard these whispered murmurs.

“I’m not talking nonsense.” He said slowly with his eyes closed, “I feel that something big is going to happen soon… no, something big is definitely going to happen.”

"So, what exactly is this big event? If we have to say, the Love Live! qualifiers are definitely a big event, aren't they?"

Jiang Jinghua did not answer.

"...It can't be something as serious as a containment breach, can it?" Maki shook her head.

Jiang Jinghua still didn't answer. However, his expression clearly showed his agreement.

"Well, if something like that really happens, there's nothing either of you or me can do. If something really bad is going to happen... I don't expect you to protect us or anything like that, just take care of yourself."

“...Even I would be unhappy to be talked about like that.” Jiang Jinghua shook his head with a smile.