Anling City, Linjiang Mansion.
The night sky shed its deep blue, a faint fish belly white erging on the horizon, and shortly after, a streak of orange-red glimred with dawn.
The morning mist in August and September was thicker than usual, distant mountains looming in and out of visibility, the babbling of the riverbank blending with the sounds of passing cars, and occasionally a boat horn would drift high into the sky.
"Mmm—"
Lin Chuan woke up from his sleep, opened his eyes, and the Little Landlady was no longer at his bedside, having already gotten up.
He fumbled for his phone on the bedside table.
He checked the ti, it was nearly ten o'clock.
The icon for QQ lit up, with ssages from the editor Youyou, sent since eight o'clock, several in a row.
[You didn't get hurt, did you?]
[I saw the news, are you okay?]
[I guess you're still sleeping.]
[...]
Lin Chuan smiled and quickly replied, "I'm fine, just woke up."
Youyou replied to the ssage in an instant, "It's good that you're okay, last night must have been quite dangerous, right? The news said you caught the criminal leader all by yourself, that's too risky."
"Actually, it wasn't that dangerous, don't worry," Lin Chuan replied.
"Don't say I was worried, the chief editor and the operations manager both ca to ask right away if you were okay," Youyou replied.
"Thank them both for . /Haha.jpg"
Lin Chuan moved his fingers and attached an emoji.
"You're now a treasure at Sailing Novel, especially the overseas operations departnt, they've singled you out as a key IP to develop," Youyou had a light smile on her face at Sailing Tower, knowing that Lin Chuan was alright.
"Right, you ntioned last ti that the overseas operations departnt plans to cultivate 'Dark Empire' as an IP abroad, that ans continuing to publish cri-thed stories, right?" Lin Chuan asked, seizing the opportunity.
"Yes, this genre is very popular in overseas markets," Youyou replied.
Suddenly, Youyou thought for a mont, then blinked and sent another ssage, "You've already written a new book, haven't you?"
"How did you know?" Lin Chuan replied.
"Do I not understand you? Every ti you talk about a new book, you already have a manuscript in hand, it's so obvious!" Youyou replied with a slight tug at the corner of her mouth.
Lin Chuan laughed dryly, "Haha, I'll polish it a bit more and then send it to you to see."
"What's the the, a cri the?" Youyou asked curiously.
"Yeah, Mr. Lin is a toy factory owner who transitions into an arms dealer and becos an Arms Tycoon," Lin Chuan explained with a smile.
"Arms Tycoon, you can write about that?" Youyou was surprised.
"A little," Lin Chuan replied.
"Just a little?" Youyou was sowhat skeptical.
"Well... a little more than a little."
Lin Chuan smiled and jokingly replied.
"I get it, so you're writing detailed military stuff now," Youyou playfully responded with a smirk.
"Cough, readers are pretty savvy these days, you get criticized if you don't write with a bit of expertise," Lin Chuan explained earnestly.
"I've gone through the comnt section of your novels, and no one seems to question your expertise," Youyou laughed.
"Cough, web novels are too competitive now, what with writing about cars, harems, having fun, and so on. Authors have to have their own style; I can only get by with a bit more expertise in my cri professions, it's not easy," Lin Chuan said with a laugh.
"Your path in making a living is quite unique; I always suspect you're not seriously writing web novels," Youyou teased.
"How am I not seriously writing web novels, Youyou as my longti editor, you shouldn't slander !" Lin Chuan replied quickly, defending himself.
"Just kidding with you. /Haha.jpg"
Youyou laughed, then replied, "Alright, you're okay, now I've got to get busy with your work."
"Okay, I'm getting up too," Lin Chuan said with a smile, turning over to get out of bed.
Sailing Tower.
Chu Wanning, the manager of the overseas operations departnt, clothed in a body-hugging pale blue dress, approached Youyou.
"Manager Chu."
Youyou looked up, saw Chu Wanning, and greeted her with a smile.
"Youyou, is Lin Chuan okay?" Chu Wanning ca over and imdiately inquired about Lin Chuan's well-being.
Youyou's face bore a faint smile, "He's fine."
"That's good," Chu Wanning grinned, "Don't call Manager Chu anymore, it's so formal, just call by my na."
"Alright, Wanning," Youyou said with pursed lips and a smile.
"The preliminary plan we settled on last ti for Lin Chuan's overseas 'Dark Empire' IP, that news about Lin Chuan last night, it also exploded overseas," Chu Wanning said with a smile.
"Oh, it exploded overseas too?" Youyou's eyebrows knitted slightly in surprise, "I've been scrolling through QuikTok videos all morning, but I didn't pay attention to the overseas situation."
"I just happened to see it, turns out the last ti our Sailing Novel's overseas edition was attacked online, it was because Lin Chuan was engaged in a cyber showdown with the Morgan Group. This ti Lin Chuan arresting the criminal head of Anzhou Pharmaceutical, which is also owned by the Morgan Group, so now the foreigners are all excitedly discussing it; let show you so comnts I've captured," Chu Wanning said.
Then, Chu Wanning handed over so of the comnts she had captured to Youyou.
Youyou leaned in closer and looked down—
[Mr. Lin is taking on the Morgan Group, isn't he?]
[So brave! A common man actually arm-wrestling with the Morgan Group and winning twice, unbelievable!]
[How can Mr. Lin be an ordinary person?]
[Yeah, I've read his 'Hacker Kingdom' and 'Black Ice'; he's definitely a big shot!]
[So it's a clash between two major forces?]
[Guys, I'm already looking forward to the next showdown between the Morgan Group and Mr. Lin!]
[I'm looking forward to it too, based on the Morgan Group's usual way of doing things, they will definitely take the next step!]
[Am I the only one looking forward to Mr. Lin's next novel?]
[...]
Taking in these comnts, Youyou couldn't help but take a deep breath.
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