"Hehehe!" Su Chen's laughter sent danger signals to Scott's brain, body, and even his backside.
"W-what else do you want?" Scott clutched his chest tightly. "I already transferred the license to you! What more could you possibly want?"
"Did you forget something? Your dog impression?"
At the mention of "dog impression," Scott fell silent.
Su Chen crossed his arms. "Do you know the difference between a dog and a human?"
"What difference?" March 7th nudged Dan Heng.
Dan Heng motioned for her to be quiet.
"Don't know? Let me tell you—a dog will always be a dog, but a human won't always act like one!"
"Got the guts to talk but not follow through? That doesn't sound like you, Scott!"
"Enough! Fine! It's just a dog impression, right? I'll do it! Woof… awoo…"
"Wait!" Su Chen glanced around the café, and everyone nodded in silent agreement.
In an instant, every single person had their phone out.
"What's this for?" Scott stared at them in confusion.
Su Chen wiped his phone's camera lens. "Don't worry, we're just documenting the birth of a rare species! For posterity! We won't share it."
"Hey! Boss, don't freeze up now!"
"You—!" Scott took a few deep breaths. "Woof… awoo… bark bark… woof woof… awoo… woof!"
"Bark bark! Bark bark…!"
After a full minute of this performance, Su Chen waved his hand. "Truly impressive, Mr. Scott. You've mastered the art—you even sound addicted! Us mere mortals can only look on in awe."
"You won today, but I, Scott, know how to take a loss! I wish your web series great success—may it crash and burn on launch!"
With that, Scott stormed toward the door.
"Mr. Scott, feel free to visit again!"
"Visit my *ss! Even if I die out there, even if I jump off the company building, I will NEVER step foot in this café again!"
Su Chen: "Don't speak in absolutes. What if you end up as my employee one day? Wouldn't that be a slap in the face?"
"Impossible!" Scott spat out his final words and slammed the door behind him.
"Boss… did we go too far? He is from Tenghua, after all." Firefly handed Su Chen a glass of water.
Su Chen gulped it down. "Ah, refreshing! You know why you kept failing job interviews?"
"It was him sabotaging you! I went easy on him today—he's got more coming!"
——
Meanwhile.
Scott walked alone down a deserted street.
What kind of godforsaken place is this?
Can't even get a taxi!
Ugh!
What's happening?!
My stomach hurts so bad!
A sharp cramp twisted through Scott's gut, forcing him to clench his backside.
"Ah! I can't hold it! What went wrong? Why am I so unlucky?"
"Bathroom! Where's a bathroom?!"
"Don't come out! Don't come out! Just give me one more minute!"
——
That evening, a young man sat at his computer desk.
He scrolled boredly through a list of web series.
Endless in quantity, identical in quality.
"These modern web series—I can predict the next 500 episodes after just five minutes. Is there nothing original left?"
"Just short videos, new media, new media, short videos!"
Just then, he noticed that Wang and Lai's accounts had posted something new.
"What's this? 'Very good, highly recommend everyone watch.'"
"Huh? Sponsored content? They're not even hiding it now?"
"But it's only a minute long. Might as well take a look."
However.
That one look changed everything.
"Holy crap! The special effects are insane! Who's that actress?! She looks like someone who could totally be my mother."
"Comments section, don't fail me now—what's the deal here?"
[Is this a web series? Is it going to air later?]
[Who's the purple-haired actress? So elegant, but her eyes are so gentle. It's like she's saying she loves me!]
[Graceful movements, poised posture—so beautiful, so captivating!]
[I noticed—the actress's violin-playing motions are professional. If you mimic her, you can actually play the melody.]
[For real? They paid attention to that detail?]
[A space station? Space battles? Interesting!]
[Bro, are you serious? This isn't fake, right?]
[If Wang and Lai posted it, it's gotta be real. They're professional critics!]
[Starting off with space scenes? Is this a space-themed series? Sci-fi fans, rise up!]
[Cowboy Bebop fan reporting in!]
[Star Trek fan reporting in!]
[@Wang @Lai, hey hey! What's this web series called? Is it filming this year? Will it release this year? Waiting online! Super urgent!]
[Please, someone with the knowledge—tell me who the actress is! Any codes?]
[Honkai: Star Rail? Never heard of it. Are you messing with us?]
[Hmph, you've piqued my interest. If this web series airs, I'm definitely watching.]
[Can't wait for it to premiere! The future looks bright!]
[Can't wait! I need to see what happens next!]
[I! Want! To! Watch! Got it?!]
[Who even made this? No company name?]
[Whoever made it, the tech is next-level. That space station looks too real—no way it's just green screen!]
[Good effects, sure, but you're not telling me the director actually built a set, right?]
After skimming the comments, the young man still had no answers.
So.
He furiously typed out his own comment—
"Posting pics but no source? May your backside know no peace! Bumping this so Wang and Lai see it!"
——
The next day, in the café.
"Everyone! Come take a look!"
March 7th excitedly knocked on every door.
Soon.
Everyone had gathered—except Silver Wolf, who was still dead asleep, catching up on rest.
March 7th grinned. "Look! Wang and Lai posted our video yesterday, and it already has one million views!"
"One million?" Himeko checked her phone. "That many in just one day? In this oversaturated web series market, that's incredible!"
Dan Heng calmly added, "Check the comments. Kafka's popularity is skyrocketing. Aside from a few trolls, everyone's excited for our series!"
Himeko couldn't help but smile.
She never imagined her dream, her utopia, was actually coming true.
Before Su Chen arrived, everything had been hazy—
as if an invisible barrier separated her from the world of Star Rail.
But now, with Su Chen here,
everything was changing.
"Purple Eggplant, you've really blown up!"
Kafka glanced toward the door—the person she most wanted to see hadn't arrived yet.
"It's fine. It's just because I'm the one who appeared first. If it were Firefly, she might've become everyone's sweetheart!"
"But I do have to ask—where's Boss Su Chen?"
All eyes turned to Firefly.
Firefly awkwardly smiled. "I really don't know!"
Just then, her phone rang—perfect timing.
"Hello, Boss? Huh? Another new location?"