Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Adventures of Zhang Dog Released

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Adventures of Zhang Dog

After school, Shi Bai returned early to the hotel. At this time, nothing was more important than the matter of the comic. Only by starting a company and losing one million could he complete his task and earn a million in return.

So far, he had already spent seven hundred and fifty thousand, with another two hundred and fifty thousand to go. He planned to allocate one hundred and fifty thousand for the release fee of the second volume of "The Adventures of Zhang Dog," and the remaining one hundred thousand would be spent entirely on company feasts and entertainment.

When he returned to the hotel, the employees were still there. Shi Bai hurried to discuss the plot of the second volume with them.

Zhang Da Chui handed him the story they had revised over the day. Shi Bai glanced at it; the story went as follows:

The protagonist is unwilling to venture into the world; Dog says, "If you don't want to go, then let's not." But when the two return home, they find their house suddenly on fire. Dog says, "Now you have nowhere to go, so let's venture out." The protagonist agrees, and thus their journey begins.

Upon entering the world, the protagonist encounters a beautiful woman. The two develop feelings for each other and travel together, acting as heroes and champions of justice.

But soon, they encounter the demonic cult leader, who knocks them off a cliff. The beauty believes the protagonist has died and leaves, heartbroken...

"Stop!" Shi Bai slapped the table again. "After all this, you only changed the opening?"

Zhang Da Chui hurriedly explained, "No, we revised the ending too. Now, the protagonist masters an unrivaled skill but is still killed by the demonic cult leader with a single blow."

Shi Bai forced a bitter laugh. "Is this what you managed after a whole day?"

The employees all lowered their heads.

Shi Bai shook his head helplessly. "You really are something."

But then he remembered—these people were never meant to be competent. He had specifically recruited failures.

With a sigh, he declared, "I’ll have to do it myself!"

He opened his computer and began directing the revision.

The first sentence: The two return home and find their house suddenly on fire. Dog says, "Now you have nowhere to go, so let's venture out." The protagonist agrees, and thus their journey begins.

"This line is good—absurd enough. Let's look at the second."

The protagonist enters the world, meets a beautiful woman, the two develop feelings for each other, travel together, acting as heroes and champions of justice.

"This won’t do. Change it. Replace the beauty with an old lady."

The employees' eyes lit up, applauding enthusiastically. "It has to be Director Shi himself. We can't handle your style!"

Shi Bai smiled wryly, unsure if he was being flattered or mocked.

"Continue," Shi Bai said. "The protagonist and the beauty develop feelings, travel together, acting as heroes and champions of justice. Soon, they meet the demonic cult leader, who knocks them off a cliff. The beauty believes the protagonist is dead and leaves, heartbroken."

"Change it! The protagonist and the old lady develop feelings, travel together. Soon, they meet the demonic cult leader, who has secretly loved the old lady for decades and becomes jealous. To win her over, he knocks the protagonist off the cliff. Seeing the protagonist dead, the old lady decides never to marry again."

The employees applauded once more.

"Brilliant!" Zhang Da Chui exclaimed. "Honestly, with this plot, no one could guess what happens next."

Shi Bai grinned and kept revising.

"The protagonist falls off the cliff, bones shattered, tries to move and find some water. Suddenly, a black bear appears."

"Change it! The cliff is only two centimeters high, yet the protagonist falls, bones shattered. Then a black bear appears."

The employees stared in disbelief. Was that even possible?

Shi Bai continued.

"The protagonist thinks he’s doomed, expecting to be eaten by the bear. Unexpectedly, the bear removes its head, revealing a stunningly beautiful face. The protagonist is shocked and faints."

"Change it! The protagonist meets a beautiful woman, who suddenly removes her mask, revealing a bear’s head. The protagonist bursts out laughing and his body instantly recovers."

The employees were at a loss for words.

Shi Bai kept at it.

"When the protagonist awakens again, he finds himself lying in a room filled with flowers, a white-robed beauty smiling beside him."

"Our beauty has become a bear, and the protagonist has recovered, so he can’t be in a flower-filled room. Instead, the protagonist and the bear fight fiercely, but neither wins. They find mutual respect and become sworn brothers."

The employees gazed at Shi Bai in admiration, awed by his boundless imagination.

"Continue," Shi Bai said. "Man and bear become brothers. The bear teaches the protagonist a set of Black Bear Fist. The protagonist learns it, and his skills immediately weaken."

"The protagonist leaves the valley to search for the old lady, only to find her flirting with another old man. He is overjoyed, and the three form a team to play cards."

"..."

"During their game, the two elders suffer from high blood pressure and both pass away. Overcome with grief, the protagonist decides to follow them and commits suicide. Thus ends the second volume."

Thunderous applause erupted among the employees, who finally felt relieved, thinking, "This nonsense is finally over."

Shi Bai sighed as well. Who would've thought making a lousy comic could be so difficult?

"Alright, that's the plot for volume two. Spend the next few days drawing it. Our first project ends here."

The employees quickly agreed, and their workday came to an end.

The following days were simple; the employees drew, Shi Bai attended classes. Aside from Liu Feifei’s increasingly fiery attitude toward him, nothing particularly noteworthy happened.

Soon enough, Monday arrived—the day "The Adventures of Zhang Dog" would be released on the homepage of the Love Anime website.

Shi Bai was filled with anticipation. He wanted to see just how many insults this comic would draw.

Sure enough, within an hour of release, the comments broke a thousand. Shi Bai quickly opened them.

User "I Love Kakashi": "Damn! This is truly miraculous. In all my years, I've never seen anything so awful! It’s an insult to my eyes!"

User "King of Combat": "Are the website editors blind? How did this end up on the homepage? What are they trying to do—murder us?"

User "Wild Donkey Shin": "Damn! That line, 'If you don't want to go, then let's not,' made me laugh until I cried! Hahaha..."

User "KKKKKKL": "I declare this is a milestone in the history of dogshit comics! It’s reached a whole new level of awful!"

...

Seeing the overwhelming tide of insults, Shi Bai finally felt at ease. He brushed aside the hair on his forehead and smiled in satisfaction. "Looks like the past few days’ efforts weren’t wasted!"

The next day, he immediately announced, "To celebrate the success of our first comic, we're going out for a feast!"

The employees were speechless—clearly, they'd been cursed to oblivion, yet the boss called it a success. But since he was offering a treat, who would refuse? Joy spread among them.

"Boss, where are we eating?" Zhang Da Chui asked excitedly.

Shi Bai smiled and pointed to the floor. "Right here."

The employees clamored, "So what are we eating?" Liu Xiaoyan asked.

Shi Bai grinned, "Guess."

Liu Xiaoyan pondered, "Western food! Steak!"

Shi Bai shook his head, "Unimpressive. Try again."

Wang Xiaodong said, "Seafood! A seafood feast!"

Shi Bai shook his head again, "No."

Then Liu Dafui chimed in, "Hotpot! It must be hotpot!"

Shi Bai laughed heartily. "You really are something." He strode out first. "Today, we’re having a Manchu Han Imperial Feast."