novelraw Chapter 104: The Final Push
Chapter 104: The Final Push
“Holy sh*t!!”
Mingyu TechPrivate office.Early morning.
A sudden roar shattered the quiet.
Si Jinliang was still wearing the same yellowed white T-shirt. His face still looked sickly pale, but this time, flushed with excitement, he actually looked healthier than he had in months.
Right now—He was holding his phone, dark circles heavy under his eyes, clearly hadn’t slept a wink…But the mobile game on his screen had him utterly energized.
“That art style! Those event mechanics! Totally unique… You can do this kind of stuff in mobile games?!”
“And the quality—don’t even get me started—the story is incredible!? The characters are so well-written!”
“And the monetization model… it's genius!” “……”
Si Jinliang kept shouting, waving his arms as his excitement built.
At first, he was just a manga reader.When he heard Fate/Zero was being adapted into a game, he even slammed the project a few times publicly, criticizing them as manga people straying from their jobs.But once the game actually launched—He couldn’t resist and downloaded it.
And once he started playing—
He was HOOKED.
He didn’t sleep at all last night!
He’d originally checked it out because of Fate/Zero, and during the game he mostly focused on the FSN sequel story.But it didn’t take long before the gameplay, story, and characters completely sucked him in.
After all, FSN’s plot hadn’t even been fully released yet—it was being drip-fed in updates.And the game’s story and characters were just as amazing!Even the core game systems were super engaging!No PVP, all solo content—
And yet, Si Jinliang was totally addicted.
In fact, despite having completely given up on games before,Playing this one made a spark reignite in him—
A burning urge…
He wanted to go for it again!Make another mobile game!
Because he saw it now—this was the future!
Sure, people had been hyping up mobile gaming for a while…But he’d never been fully convinced—until now.Now that he’d seen a real product with his own eyes.
Say what you will, no amount of hype beats one standout title.
“This kind of heat… it’s nuts. The money this must be raking in… no, it’s not even about money anymore—Even the mangaka I follow are recommending this game!Even Teacher Rumi is saying it’s fun!Wait—Is that a celebrity? He’s playing it too?This game’s about to break into the mainstream!!”
After playing all night,Si Jinliang was starting to feel the exhaustion.He shut off the game and started scrolling through player feedback online—
And instantly got another shock.
This game…It wasn’t just a cash cow.It had a shot at becoming a cultural phenomenon.
And that got him thinking.
Seeing how widely accepted this mobile game was…He couldn’t lie.
He was tempted. He wanted back in.
But very soon—
That thought was forcibly stomped out.
“...I’m drowning in debt. What the hell am I thinking?”
Si Jinliang glanced out toward the depressing shell that was Mingyu Tech, then looked down at himself and let out a bitter chuckle:
“Most of my team got poached by Avalon…”
He sighed, dejected.
If this kind of product had existed earlier…He wouldn’t have made the boneheaded decision to stubbornly build a PC game and fail so hard.
Especially since his top people had already…
Wait.
His mind suddenly jumped to the now-bustling Avalon Studio.
He looked at his phone, his expression changing slightly.
Do they… even know about this mobile game?No way they’re still grinding away on their own doomed project, right?
But soon he shook his head.
“They must know. Even if they didn’t before, they’ll find out soon enough.”
“But whether they’ll change course… probably not.”
He smiled bitterly again.
He’d been in game development. He knew how hard it was to pivot mid-project.Especially once things were half done—you just couldn’t accept it was a lost cause.
But to keep making a PC game… as a startup?
“They’ll regret it later…”
He muttered to himself, shaking his head.
To this point, Si Jinliang still had no idea what kind of game Avalon was actually making.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pitied Tang Yao for wasting her time on a "PC game" when he posted online.
And as for the former Mingyu Tech staff now working at Avalon—He still tried to avoid running into them out of embarrassment.
So even now,He still assumed Tang Yao was making a PC title.
Which, frankly, was kind of impressive—Despite “Avalon” being plastered under the logo in English (even if it was small and stylistically blended),Despite two trailers,A promo video for serialization,Even despite the bright signage on the studio door…
He never noticed.
“Whatever. Not my business anymore…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Because he suddenly thought of that pretty girl who always left early and came back late.Of the talented team now working at Avalon.
He looked at his phone, then shot to his feet.
No—he couldn’t let them make the same mistake.
Maybe he could talk them out of it!
Mobile games were the future for small studios!
The explosive success of Fate/Grand Order proved it!
With that in mind,He rushed out of the office.
Meanwhile.
For the first time since Avalon Studio had gotten on track,Tang Yao didn’t arrive until after ten.
She’d gone to bed late.Really late.
And—
Her thoughts stalled a bit as she walked in,Because as soon as she entered, the shrinking operations team from Mingyu Tech all turned to look at her.
Tang Yao was long used to being stared at—No matter where she went, it happened.
But maybe because of what had happened that morning,She did feel a little awkward now.
Damn it, Xun!
Thinking back to what her sister had pulled earlier, she instinctively ducked half her pale face into her sweater collar.
She’d get her back later…
But even as she thought that,The first person who popped into her mind wasn’t Xun—It was last night’s soft, warm Li Xue.
Hmm…Getting back at Li Xue didn’t sound bad either.
Tang Yao blushed, catching herself.
What was she even thinking?
Before she could go further down that rabbit hole—
“Tang Yao.”
Si Jinliang’s voice cut in.
Tang Yao paused and turned to look.It was the elusive Si Jinliang, boss of Mingyu Tech—who had helped Avalon a lot, yet rarely showed his face.
“What is it?”
“How’s your game doing?”
He hadn’t expected to run into her so quickly.Before she could answer, he thrust his phone toward her and got straight to the point:
“Have you played Fate/Grand Order yet? If not, I strongly suggest downloading it right now—you’ll be blown away! And if you have played it, then you should already know what I’m about to say.”
“Turn back. Don’t hesitate. No matter what your game is, pivot. Go mobile! If you’re fast, you might catch the wave from Fate/Grand Order and make some money. But if you stay stubborn, you’ll definitely regret it. Don’t overthink this!”
“...Huh?”
Tang Yao looked at the very familiar game on his phone and let out a puzzled noise.
Si Jinliang saw her reaction and assumed she was on the fence. He doubled down:
“Just try the game and you’ll get it! Please don’t make the same mistake I did!”
“……”
Tang Yao watched his impassioned face—And it finally dawned on her:
She’d never told him what Avalon Studio was making.And now… she understood what this was all about.
Honestly?She was touched.
But—
Looking slightly moved, she said softly:
“Sorry… but that won’t work.”
Si Jinliang looked panicked and opened his mouth to argue—
But Tang Yao continued:
“Because… Fate/Grand Order is the game made by Avalon Studio. '遥远的理想乡 Avalon'—you’ve read the manga, haven’t you?”
“……………………”
Si Jinliang froze.His eyes widened.His jaw dropped as he stared at Tang Yao.
Ten minutes later.
Avalon Studio.
As soon as Tang Yao walked in,Everyone turned to look at her.
Kang Ming was the first to react, leaping to his feet:
“Tang Yao! It’s happening! We’re about to blow up!!”
Tang Yao turned to glance back at the door, then asked:
“...What’s blowing up?”
“What’s wrong?”
Kang Ming noticed her strange reaction and tilted his head.
“Just now… the boss of Mingyu Tech, Si Jinliang—he completely froze. Like he glitched out. Wouldn’t respond no matter what I said.”
Tang Yao’s expression twitched.
“Yeah, he totally locked up. Like a computer crash.”
“A crash?”
Kang Ming looked more confused, but when he heard it was about Si Jinliang, he waved it off.
“Forget him… Our game is exploding!”
He switched gears and launched into the update.
The momentum was incredible.Truly incredible.
The game’s popularity was still surging—And the praise? Overwhelming.
Core anime fans aside—They were already the foundation.
But last night, Teacher Rumi had posted about the game.Add to that the countless grassroots fan promos,And this morning, even a celeb had dropped its name…
“It’s breaking into the mainstream!”
Kang Ming looked at Tang Yao, eyes sparkling:
“We’re this close—it just needs that final push!”
“Hmm…”
Tang Yao nodded.
She was no stranger to this kind of moment.She’d lived through Fate/Zero’s breakout herself.
And while FGO hadn’t gone mainstream in her previous life,During the mobile game boom, one title had—Onmyoji.
Still, she hadn’t expected Avalon’s game to gain traction this quickly.It really had taken her by surprise.
“But there’s a problem too.”
Kang Ming, impressed by how calm she was, kept going:
“We’re short on staff again—especially operations.If we’re serious about this, we need a full team of professionals to run events, manage channels…And let’s be honest—this final push might need a little extra help from skilled ops folks…”
“...Operations?”
Tang Yao looked instinctively toward the door.
Kang Ming followed her gaze, catching her drift:
“Mingyu Tech still has a few people, right?”
“We really are growing by poaching from Mingyu Tech, huh?”
Tang Yao chuckled but didn’t object:
“I’ll talk to Si Jinliang once he recovers.”
“Actually… you might consider buying the company.”
Kang Ming hesitated, then offered half-jokingly:
“You’ll have to expand eventually, right? You’ve been doing way too much solo.Mingyu Tech already has people, gear, and even a game IP.The staff could transition over instantly—no adjustment needed.Most importantly… Mingyu Tech probably isn’t that expensive right now.”
“……”
Tang Yao was stunned at first—But then thought of yesterday’s insane revenue…
Maybe it was feasible.
“I’ll think about it.”
She didn’t give an answer right away.
Kang Ming didn’t press. After a bit more chatting, he returned to his desk, clearly hyped.
Tang Yao also sat down at her own workstation, thinking about operations as she opened social media and searched for their game.
And what she saw—
Confirmed Kang Ming’s point.
The game really was on the verge of going mainstream.
Just that final push…
Operations…
Tang Yao recalled Kang Ming’s words, pulled up the official game site, and opened the social media account for “Third-Rate Artist,” her pen name. Her expression turned thoughtful.
But before she could finish sorting out her ideas—
Her phone buzzed.
Tang Yao glanced at the screen, then made a strange face.
It was a message from Shang Tao at Wenxin Press, asking about Third-Rate Artist.
At that moment, she was sure—The game really might go mainstream…
“HAAAAA!!??”
Her thoughts were cut short—Because from outside the door came Si Jinliang’s loud, dramatic scream.
Everyone inside froze and turned toward the door.
Tang Yao: “……”
Took him long enough to process.