I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 42

All of a sudden, news about the “Revival of Yae-Do Novels” and the “Acquisition of Yae-Do Novels by Honeydew Light Novels” spread across the entire internet.

I woke up to both of the novel websites I’m associated with undergoing a major transformation.

According to the message from “Marisa’s Iron Butt,” it seems the bosses of both websites met around five or six in the evening the previous night, “shook hands warmly,” booked a hotel, and while having dinner, they discussed the “acquisition” matters.

Pipi, the editor-in-chief, and the others found out about it around eight or nine in the evening at the hotel. It seems there were some major bosses from large public companies present there as well. They decided to invest in both websites and promised to provide a loan to Yae-Do, helping them through the current difficulties. However, the condition was that they had to focus solely on the novel side of the business, which meant cutting ties with Yae-Do’s original parent company, “Shenzhen Network Technology Co., Ltd.,” which dealt in computer parts.

In other words, from now on, Yae-Do will become a fully novel-based company, restructured under the umbrella of Honeydew. The company’s original design, operation, programming, and editing departments will all merge into Honeydew.

Apparently, the investors who pumped money into both Yae-Do and Honeydew are not small players. One of them happens to be China’s largest video platform, “Tongmeng Video,” with several billion active users.

?Their strategy is pretty clear; they probably want to obtain novel rights from both Yae-Do and Honeydew and proceed with adaptations into manga, anime, movies, and TV shows.?

?To be honest, we underestimated Jituto. I initially thought he was just a simple second-generation rich kid, but when we met Yae-Do’s boss together yesterday, something didn’t add up. Many people on their side showed a lot of respect for Su Yunjin. Clearly, this individual has a very complex background.?

?Nuo’er, I’m only telling you this. I tested Su Yunjin a bit on the way back, and he subtly admitted that the idea of getting “Tongmeng” to invest was his.?

?Originally, he didn’t want to get involved with Yae-Do’s bankruptcy. He met with us just to get to know you and “Marisa’s Iron Butt” better, considering we’ve played together for two to three years. But he was quite moved by your situation and the fact that you’re such an adorable little girl, so he helped Yae-Do a bit on a whim… Uh, can you understand what I’m saying??

?Su Yunjin is a young master with a net worth in the hundreds of millions.?

Young master? Tongmeng Network?

After reading the messages from Pipi, I fell into brief contemplation.

The largest video platform in China, Tongmeng Network, also known as “Tongmeng Fairyland Video Network,” initially gained popularity through the world of 2D animation and derivative works. Now, it’s expanding into anime, movies, and TV shows.

Investing in Honeydew makes sense for Tongmeng since they have the capital for manga and anime production, but they lacked experience in novels and intellectual property (IP) management. By investing in Honeydew and becoming a shareholder, they make it more convenient for future adaptations into manga, anime, TV shows, and movies.

What piqued my curiosity was the connection between Jituto and Tongmeng Network.

In my moments of pondering, I recalled the scene from yesterday when I met Pipi and others in Mingzhu Garden.

Jituto, Su Yunjin, appeared to be around 27 or 28 years old. He had a great physique, a clean face, and always spoke with a calm expression. He clearly belonged to the type who didn’t need to work much daily, regularly visited the gym for exercise or had a personal fitness trainer, maintained a good sleep schedule, practiced skincare and grooming routines, and maintained a consistently high level of energy.

Compared to Pipi and me, “Marisa’s Iron Butt” had a somewhat better relationship with Jituto. However, it seemed that even Jiang Wei himself didn’t know much about Su Yunjin.

A long time ago, shortly after I met Pipi in the authors’ signing group, Pipi invited Marisa to join us, and the three of us formed a “Triple Iron Butt Gaming Team.” Typically, after writing for the day, we’d play games for an hour or two in the evening before going to bed. Jituto, however, was brought by Marisa’s Iron Butt. I remember it was during an event in League of Legends or some other game where you could get rewards by playing with friends. We only had three people, so Marisa’s Iron Butt brought Jituto and said, “He’s also an author from Yae-Do, writes fanfiction, Kamen Rider fanfiction. He’s won the best-selling award in the fanfiction section and happens to be a rich second-generation guy, haha.”

“But you guys better be careful, this guy isn’t straight.”

At that time, Jituto just responded very calmly, “That’s right, I’m gay. You can still run away now.”

“Gay? Gay is great!”

Pipi replied, “Big bro really likes man. Get ready and stand by, everyone!”

And that’s how we started our cheerful four-player games. From what I remember, Jituto didn’t talk much, unlike Pipi and Marisa, who almost played games and had voice chats every day. He appeared about once or twice a week. He’d usually join us when he saw the three of us in the voice chat and ask if there was room for him.

His gaming skills were also fairly average. If he made mistakes, he would calmly apologize for the blunder. Our group, however, never displayed any signs of anger when making mistakes, and we didn’t shout like others did. In general, we had very good temperaments.

In terms of our relationships, we all shared a certain degree of familiarity and could joke around with each other. However, it wasn’t the kind of friendship you might describe as “best buddies.” Still, playing games with him was quite enjoyable. None of us, whether it was me, Pipi, or Marisa’s Iron Butt, liked to play with gamers who easily became frustrated, lashing out at teammates and opponents alike. We believed that when you played together using voice chat, it meant you recognized each other’s abilities. Making a sarcastic comment or light-hearted banter if someone made a mistake was perfectly fine. However, taking it too far indicated a problem with one’s attitude.

So, was Su Yunjin more than just a regular rich second-generation individual? The messages I received from Marisa’s Iron Butt, Pipi, and the editors from Honeydew and Yae-Do left me somewhat bewildered.

But, well, even if he was the son of the CEO of Tongmeng Video, it didn’t seem to have much significance for me. After taking some time to digest the messages from Pipi, Marisa’s Iron Butt, and the editors from Honeydew and Yae-Do, I clicked on Pipi’s profile and messaged him:

?I think I understand, but this doesn’t seem like something I should worry about with my 3,000 yuan monthly salary.?

Afterward, I switched to the conversation with “Marisa’s Iron Butt.”

?My Yae-Do’s editor, Ai Luodi has already contacted me. She said I can use my old account to update my novels. Is everything fine on your end??

After replying to the message, I put my phone in my jeans pocket, donned the “Hibiki” cap, and pushed open the door of my rented room.

“Xiao Qian! Xiao Qian, listen to my explanation. Things are not what you think!”

Just as I stepped out, I saw a gorgeously dressed woman run down the stairs in front of me with a loud “whoosh.” Following closely behind was the male tenant who lived in 502. He shouted, “She’s not what you think, really! We don’t know each other!”

“Enough, I don’t want to hear your lies. You never speak a word of truth!”

The woman at the foot of the stairs didn’t even look back. She clattered away in her sharp high-heeled shoes and said, “Don’t follow me, scram!”

Seeming to sense the determination in her words, the man at the staircase landing stopped in his tracks and didn’t pursue her any further. The woman known as “Xiao Qian” quickly disappeared around the corner on the ground floor.

Adhering to the principle of avoiding unnecessary trouble, I kept silent and carefully walked past the man from 502. His voice came from behind, “Is your brother not awake yet?”

Was he calling me?

It couldn’t be for me, right? Never mind, I’ll go buy breakfast.

“Hey, little sister.”

It seemed that he saw I didn’t react, so the man behind me descended the stairs in his slippers with a “clack, clack, clack.”

“Is your brother still asleep?”

“No, he’s playing games.”

I put on a puzzled expression and asked, “Is there something you need?”

My brother? Did this guy get information about me from the property management?

“Oh, no, just casual inquiry,” the man said with heavy dark circles under his eyes, seemingly not having rested well last night as he yawned. “Doesn’t your brother work?”

“He writes novels online,” I replied.

“Isn’t that considered jobless?” The man almost blurted it out. “In one of the buildings over there, there are two guys with jobs similar to your brother’s. They never go out, just make money every day by reselling game equipment.”

Well, as long as they’re making money, it’s legal. Why should you care what others do?

“If there’s nothing else…”

Seeing that this man genuinely seemed to want to chat with me but realized we didn’t have much to talk about, I quickly turned around to appear busy. “I have to go.”

The man probably also recognized that he had no particular topic of conversation with me. He yawned again and said, “Okay, then, I’ll… go upstairs to take a nap.”

I was about to leave when, at that moment, a familiar black rift opened up in the space in front of me. What? In my sight, a “Grim Reaper” wearing a black trench coat, hooded head, and carrying a scythe, entirely shrouded in darkness, emerged from the rift and then floated straight toward the man standing beneath it.

No, this can’t be…

……