Started as a comics editor

How am I supposed to write Chapter 335?
Zhang Da's voice sounded somewhat abrupt in the relatively quiet office area, prompting several members of the "Wanderer" project team who were engrossed in their work nearby to curiously look up.

But then they heard Zhang Da's words, and their faces showed a knowing yet slightly amused expression as they lowered their heads again.

As Kang Ming watched Zhang Da's shocked expression, as if his worldview had collapsed and then rebuilt, listened to his almost screaming questions, and felt the gazes from his colleagues, the embarrassment on Kang Ming's face slowly faded, replaced by a subtle expression that mixed helplessness and pride.

He looked down at the heavy blueprint in his hand, a blueprint that could change Avalon's future, then looked up at Zhang Da, whose eyes were burning with an urgent desire for confirmation. Finally, he nodded: "...Yes, she is our boss, Tang Yao."

Zhang Da opened his mouth, stood there blankly, and only one thought was echoing wildly in his mind.

No wonder they say to put aside the facts!
How the hell can I get rid of this?!
Therefore, my initial guess was completely wrong! The whole "artistic core" thing is utter nonsense! The information Kang Ming has has proven this! And that statement about which game had nothing to do with Tang Yao wasn't an exaggeration at all! It was the truth!

...On the other hand, it turns out to be a really beautiful girl!
They don't even look much older than a high school student!

Those rumors! They were actually true!
There really is such a beautiful girl! She founded Avalon! And led it to where it is today!

What a joke! !
"..."

Zhang Da took a deep breath, his mind in turmoil. After a while, he looked at Kang Ming and murmured, "It's not... gilded, is it?"

no way.

This was relatively easy for the staff who had followed Tang Yao step by step to accept.

But for Zhang Da, an outsider, it was a different story.

"What you're trying to say is that she has a sugar daddy behind her and a well-established professional team running Avalon, and she's just a mascot... that's not it."

Kang Ming shook his head and replied, "There is a sponsor, but it's not what you think... It's just Tang Yao's best friend, and the amount isn't much. It might seem like a lot to an ordinary person, but it's really very little for a startup. In fact, as far as I know, if FGO had failed back then, the entire Avalon probably wouldn't exist now."

"..."

Zhang Da fell silent, then glanced at Kang Ming again.

Kang Ming knew what he was thinking and asked with a smile, "How would I know...right?"

"That's not what I meant. I..."

"It's okay. The reason is actually very simple: I was Avalon's first employee and the first person to leave with Tang Yao to work on games."

Kang Ming waved his hand and said, "So of course I know about this. Speaking of which, when I joined Wenxin Pavilion, it was Tang Yao who interviewed me... At that time, she was just an ordinary editor and was being targeted by the stupid editor-in-chief. I never expected that she would invite me to leave the company to work on games. The most outrageous thing is that I actually succeeded and we've gotten to where we are today."

"........."

Zhang Da's mouth opened even wider.

What do you mean?
edit?

Quitting your job to make games?
The first employee?
After a while.

Zhang Dacai stammered, "So back then, FGO was just the two of you..."

"...It's not that exaggerated. We recruited more people later, and I also invited my friends to join."

Kang Ming waved his hand, interrupting Zhang Da's romantic fantasy of starting a business together: "But the game's success... or rather, Avalon's success today, is 99% thanks to Tang Yao."

"After all, although I understood some technical aspects at the time, I was completely clueless about other aspects, as were my friends and the staff I recruited later."

"So she almost single-handedly took on all aspects of the work, including art direction, planning, operations, and storyline."

"For example, the gacha system, story pacing, and character development framework of FGO, including how to balance player experience and commercial demands, were all decided by her. Even when a group of us with technical backgrounds were debating which engine was suitable, it was she who made the decision to use the one that was relatively niche at the time but had huge potential. She even personally taught us how to optimize the rendering pipeline and solve the lag problem..."

With each point Kang Ming made, Zhang Da's mouth opened wider.

This level of expertise goes far beyond that of a boss or decision-maker! It's more like that of an all-around core developer!
In fact, Kang Ming didn't know why he was saying these things.

Tang Yao clearly dislikes being in the public eye.

But he couldn't help but speak up.

Perhaps it's because... Tang Yao wanted to take a year or two off, and he felt a bit sentimental about it.

After all, Tang Yao really changed his fate, and the fate of many others, but apart from those within Avalon, no player knew her significance to Avalon.

but.

Although Kang Ming was caught up in the moment, he still realized what was happening when he saw Zhang Da's mouth wide open.

Tang Yao knew she would definitely come after him...

So he quickly stopped himself from venting and coughed lightly, saying, "We've gone off on a tangent, let's continue with the trial."

"..."

Zhang Da was led to Kang Ming's workstation in a daze.

I was still not able to calm down even after I gripped the handle.

He doesn't even have the energy to play "Rogue" anymore.

It's true that he's a game editor, and it's also true that he's more interested in games themselves, but the news I just heard... is just too outrageous!

So, holding the handle, he found himself unable to concentrate, so he looked up and continued to ask, "So... what Professor Kang Ming said in the conference room just now wasn't an exaggeration?"

"What?"

“Every game is related to that Ms. Tang Yao.”

"Of course it's not an exaggeration."

Kang Ming laughed and said, "Tang Yao has been taking on multiple roles since the very first game. Do you think she would just give up on everything later? Do you think we could grow up so quickly? In fact, after Miss Li came, she focused her work mainly on the game development department and was still full of energy."

Currently, all of Avalon's games—and I mean all of them—are related to her. Those amazing gameplay mechanics, those stunning art designs, and those mind-numbing marketing tactics are basically all her creations.

Including the game you're about to play, *Vagabond*, the entire project was initially proposed by her, and it was a choice between two ideas: the other was to fight crime by snagging spider webs in the city… but due to limited time, it wasn't officially approved yet.

"Didn't your magazine write reviews of the three new games at the AG platform's Summer Game Festival a while ago? Those were small-scale games that Tang Yao created to buy time for us and the two big projects next door. She led a group of newcomers to make them."

Because she was mentoring a new employee, she ended up handling almost all the important tasks herself, for which she complained that she had been foolish and wished she hadn't done so much.

"To be honest, sometimes I find it quite unbelievable... She's really amazing. Not only does she have boundless energy for game development, but she also manages to update comics and run the company..."

"..."

Zhang Da was numb.

Completely numb.

All the games are related to her? All of them? Including Rogue Ninja? And the three new games at the Summer Game Festival... were actually made by her and a newcomer?

All three?!
then.

Zhang Da heard Kang Ming's last sentence again, realized something, and suddenly came to his senses: "Wait! Comics...what comics?"

"FGO's success is inseparable from the manga. You don't think we had the ability to persuade the manga artist of a popular work to grant the adaptation rights to a makeshift team, do you? How could that be possible, unless the manga artist himself was the founder of the game company and a pseudonym for a third-rate artist..."

Kang Ming's expression froze halfway through his sentence: "Ah, I was just talking nonsense, it has nothing to do with comics. Come on, Reporter Zhang, the demo is the most important thing, this demo..."

"........."

However, Zhang Da didn't hear it at all.

Third-rate teacher.

That top-tier comic artist who rose like a comet in the comic world, sweeping across various charts with his amazing imagination and ever-changing art style, yet remains incredibly mysterious—Sanliu-sensei!

Although readers know that the third-rate teacher is one of Avalon's people.

But she's the owner of Avalon... who would have thought!
Zhang Da was completely dizzy at that moment.

Editor? Quitting a job to start a business? A beautiful young woman? A core game developer? A comic artist? The owner of Avalon?

Each of these labels, taken individually, would be astonishing enough, but at this moment, they fit together perfectly like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle on a stunningly beautiful girl who looks to be no more than twenty years old.

This can no longer be simply summarized as gilding or genius.

It's almost like...

Zhang Da didn't know how to describe it either!
A sense of absurdity and reality clashed fiercely in Zhang Da's mind. That girl who had just run away—too young, too beautiful to be real…

More than just the owner and soul of Avalon.

Or perhaps he's a mysterious, third-rate teacher in the comics world.

Avalon, the embryonic form of this vast gaming empire, is the sole source of all miracles.

At that moment, Zhang Da felt that all the knowledge he had accumulated in his interviewing career seemed so pale and ridiculous...

He opened his mouth, feeling his throat dry, and it took him a long time to find his voice, which came out in a daze, as if in a dream: "So... those rumors... are all true?"

Seeing Zhang Da's completely utterly bewildered expression, as if his soul had left his body, Kang Ming tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Yes, but this is just what I'm telling you personally, it's best not to report it..."

"……Why?"

"Tang Yao doesn't really like this kind of thing, and she plans to temporarily put Avalon aside for a while and go on vacation. If you report this, it will probably cause her trouble. She holds grudges quite a bit, and if she finds out I..."

"Is Avalon going bankrupt???"

But Kang Ming hadn't finished speaking.

Zhang Da interrupted him directly, asking in shock.

Kang Ming was speechless: "It's not that exaggerated... Okay, according to what I just said, Avalon does seem to be going bankrupt after Tang Yao left."

"However, we staff members haven't been completely without growth during this time, and..."

Kang Ming waved the documents Tang Yao had just given him: "Didn't you just see them? Tang Yao left these things behind. So her break definitely had a big impact, but it's not enough to cause the company to go bankrupt..."

Zhang Da blushed.

He really asked that question subconsciously.

For a moment, he even thought that Chinese-made games were doomed.

"Anyway, let's try it out first. I've said too much already."

Kang Ming patted Zhang Da on the shoulder, waking him up.

Zhang Da gripped the controller, his hands sweaty, and watched the screen show the Rogue Demo loading. His heart was filled with mixed emotions, a turbulent storm churning within him.

He felt that the biggest bombshell he had uncovered in this interview was not the technical details of "Rogue," but the truth about Tang Yao—the true core and soul of Avalon, and that mysterious third-rate teacher—that was enough to overturn the entire gaming industry's understanding.

Shouldn't this be reported?

Zhang Da looked at the game loading screen and gave a wry smile.

Let's leave the report aside for now.

This manuscript... there's a problem no matter how he writes it...

Just as he was in a state of utter confusion, the screen in front of him went dark, and then a vast world suddenly unfolded before his eyes.

The distant mountains, like dark eyebrows, rise in layers, shrouded in a thin mist. A strong wind blows across the vast plains, and the tall grass undulates like waves, making a rustling sound.

A winding dirt road leads into the distance, at the end of which a lonely village can be vaguely seen.

Clouds drift across the sky, and light and shadow move rapidly across the vast land, creating a strong sense of the passage of time.

Zhang Da's mind was instantly captivated by the scene before him.

……

Meanwhile, in Avalon's spacious, simply furnished yet personal office...

Tang Yao pushed open the door, then gently pressed her ample chest and let out a long sigh. The embarrassment of being caught by the reporter and the hasty feeling of fleeing had not completely dissipated.

How could I forget that!
Tang Yao slowly lowered her hand, shook her head in annoyance, and habitually glanced towards the window.

Li Xue was standing by the window, looking down at the bustling crowds in the science park and the distant city skyline.

The golden sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a soft halo over her mature and graceful figure and outlining the thoughtful profile of her face.

Hearing the door open, Li Xue immediately turned around, a gentle smile on her face: "You're back?"

But soon.

He noticed a trace of unease on Tang Yao's face and approached her with concern: "What's wrong? You don't look well. Did something happen?"

"Don't mention it..."

Tang Yao sighed, walked to her desk and sat down, looking a little dejected: "I ran into a reporter who was doing an interview, it gave me a fright."

She slumped onto the table in frustration, burying her face in her arms, and muffled her voice: "Luckily I reacted quickly, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to just run away. I hope that reporter doesn't write anything out of line..."

Li Xue walked to her side, leaned against the large desk, looked down at the girl who had her head buried like an ostrich, smiled and reached out to gently stroke Tang Yao's smooth black hair, her movements tender.

"Don't worry, even if they recognize us, so what? We're about to 'run away' to rest, so even if the sky falls, it won't hit you."

"That makes sense."

Tang Yao slowly raised her head, her eyes lit up, and her cheeks flushed slightly from being buried in her arms.

Looking at Tang Yao's slightly disheveled hair and her adorable appearance as she cheered up and became happy again, Li Xue couldn't help but chuckle.

She reached out and took Tang Yao's small hand, which was resting on the table.

Tang Yao's hands were small and soft, with a slight coolness. Li Xue wrapped them in her warm palms and gently stroked the back of her hands.

"I feel like the preparations are almost complete."

Li Xue's voice was soft as she turned to look out the window again: "Only ANF is left..."

"Ah."

Tang Yao brushed her long hair off her shoulder with her other hand: "As for that third-rate teacher... never mind, I'll just have Cai Quan give him a hint that there won't be any new works coming up."

"Ah."

Have you decided where to go first?

"Didn't you want to ask Kaoru?"

She said she would listen to us.

"I'll take another look later."

"Ah."

"..."

The conversation paused.

Next.

The two simply held hands quietly, feeling the warmth and silent companionship conveyed through each other's palms.

A moment later, Li Xue's gaze slowly moved down from their clasped hands, sweeping over Tang Yao's slender and shapely arms, and finally settling on her long, beautifully straight legs encased in casual trousers. The afterglow of the setting sun seemed to be particularly kind, precisely outlining the long and graceful contours of those legs, which appeared to be bathed in a soft glow.

Li Xue gently shook their clasped hands and whispered, "Don't forget about the dress before you go out..."

"..."

Tang Yao gave her a light glare: "I haven't forgotten! No need for hints!"

"I didn't hint at that."

"You have."

"..."

In the office, the golden light spilled all over the floor, elongating the shadows of the two people and casting them onto the floor.

(End of this chapter)