novelraw Chapter 183: Misunderstanding
Chapter 183: Misunderstanding
Guan Fang hesitated for a moment.
In the end, she still picked up the call.
Even though she had no idea why the other party was calling, they were an investor, after all. If they were taking the time to call directly, the least she could do was answer.
The moment the call connected, the other person’s voice came through—clearly full of accusation:
“Ms. Guan, did you also sell the Into the Night license to Avalon?”
“……”
Hearing that, Guan Fang was stunned.
Back when they worked with Avalon, they’d kind of skirted the exclusivity clause.
After all, it was just a collab, not a full game adaptation.
But to be honest, it wasn’t exactly the cleanest move. It could be justified, sure, but considering how massive Avalon’s mobile game was now, imagine telling a quick-profit-seeking investor: “Hey, besides selling you the adaptation rights for Into the Night, we’re also doing a crossover with Avalon’s FGO.”
Go on then—go fight FGO under Avalon!
Anyone would be dumbfounded!
Why do you think I bought your manga’s adaptation rights in the first place? Because FGO makes bank!
And now you’re asking me to go up against FGO?
Tang Yao had actually mentioned this before and even had Li Xue remind Guan Fang that it was best to inform whoever bought the game adaptation rights.
If they strongly objected, she could pick another one of Rumi’s works for the crossover.
But Guan Fang hadn’t brought it up herself. Into the Night was Rumi’s most well-known title, and she figured it wouldn’t be an issue. What were the odds it would actually overlap?
But fate had other plans—and sure enough, it did.
That’s right.
The guy yelling at her on the phone right now was Ji Fuliang, the lead producer behind Revelation of the Dark Night, the very game that had approached ANF for a co-launch.
After ANF rejected the co-launch—
Ji Fuliang started having second thoughts.
It didn’t sit right with him.
To him, it was obvious that ANF was headed toward becoming a mobile game co-launch platform.
From the new FGO version rollout to the recent industry buzz, it all looked like a setup to cash in through co-launch deals.
Ji Fuliang even thought ANF had real vision.
So when he offered the olive branch—
And they played his demo and rejected it?
Rejected it!
He was stunned.
Someone’s willingly walking into your trap, handing you a cash cow, and you say no? Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to make a ton of money, boost a successful example, and attract more studios?
Could it be the game wasn’t up to standard? Maybe because it copied FGO?
No way.
That’s leaving money on the table!
Avalon should know better than anyone how profitable mobile games are.
What does it matter if it’s a clone? This is a goldmine! Just promote it right, leverage ANF’s user base, and boom—easy money!
So he quickly tossed that idea out and started digging.
And for an industry insider, it wasn’t hard to find the truth—unlike regular players.
Like, for example, Avalon’s partnership with Startrace Publishing.
And once Ji Fuliang got wind of that, he nearly fainted from rage.
So that’s what it was!
The Into the Night license was also granted to Avalon. No wonder ANF refused the co-launch!
It was a collision! Avalon was worried it’d hurt FGO’s numbers! That’s why they declined!
Of course, he was reading too much into it.
Tang Yao had genuinely rejected him because the quality was bad.
But most people only believe what they want to believe.
Which led to this angry, accusatory call.
“Ms. Guan, you’re quite the schemer, huh? Trying to have your cake and eat it too. Do you think I’m just going to suck it up and let it go?”
While Guan Fang was still in shock—
Ji Fuliang kept going, voice dripping with sarcasm: “You want me to watch my investment go down the drain while you and Avalon rake in profits off the website user base?”
“Hold on, Mr. Ji.”
Guan Fang finally snapped back and tried to explain: “Our deal with you is for a game adaptation, while Avalon’s is just a collab banner. They’re completely different things…”
“Oh really? ‘Completely different,’ huh?”
Ji Fuliang actually let out a cold laugh. “Then can you say with a straight face that ANF rejecting co-launch with Revelation of the Dark Night had nothing to do with your so-called collab banner?”
“???”
Guan Fang was baffled.
What the hell is he even talking about?
Not that it was her fault—Avalon had never told her the details on their end.
“Ms. Guan, you sure know how to play dumb. Must feel pretty smug, huh? Get Avalon to reject co-launching with me, push your collab banner instead, and then whatever happens to the adaptation rights you sold me is my problem. Marketing costs? Out of my pocket, right?”
Seeing Guan Fang stay silent, Ji Fuliang sneered. “You think I’ll just roll over? Since you’ve played dirty, don’t blame me for hitting back! Your announcements haven’t even gone public yet, have they? Trying to act mysterious and build hype? Dream on!”
Then—he hung up.
“?????”
Guan Fang slowly took the phone away from her ear, still totally confused.
At the same time.
In another office.
The round-bellied Ji Fuliang slammed his phone down in rage.
He had everything planned out.
As long as he copied FGO fast enough and launched the game, backed by the popularity of Rumi’s Into the Night and ANF’s pinpoint-accurate user base, he’d get players in the funnel and milk them for a few months—big profits guaranteed!
But who would’ve thought—
Guan Fang had also sold the manga rights to Avalon!
And Avalon, in order to protect their collab, actually rejected the co-launch!
That threw everything off!
He knew way too well how receptive ANF’s users were to anime-style games. They were the exact target audience! Without access to them, even with the big-name manga, there was no guarantee Revelation of the Dark Night could attract enough users right away.
Unless he threw serious cash at marketing.
But Ji Fuliang had jumped into mobile gaming precisely because it was a blue ocean! Players were still easy to fool! Low cost, high return!
But now? Without ANF’s support, he had no choice but to spend big on promotion! Otherwise, where were the users gonna come from?
And it couldn’t wait!
From what he’d heard—major studios were gearing up for their own mobile launches!
Ji Fuliang was furious. Furious that Avalon had snubbed him. Furious that Guan Fang played both sides. Fine, sell rights to both—but to Avalon? That’s practically tossing us poor game developers into a fire!
We’re supposed to go toe-to-toe with Avalon?!
“Fine, fine, fine! You started it—then don’t blame me for going all in! Large-scale promo it is!”
Ji Fuliang took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, then picked up his internal line.
Soon—
Several staff members came in.
Ji Fuliang looked at them and gave his orders: “Revelation of the Dark Night is going full-force with promotion! Reach out to all the major social platforms, anime forums, communities, and doujin sites. I want ads for Revelation of the Dark Night flooding every anime-related space in no time!”
“Later, give me a full marketing proposal!
“And another thing—make sure the promo subtly hints that our game is the real deal—the official manga adaptation! As for those other collab banners or whatever? Call them cheap knockoffs! Just reskinned gacha banners from the past!
“They want to play mysterious? Fine, I’ll blow it wide open! Let’s see how long they can keep up the mystique!
“No holding back on costs! I refuse to believe that, when players see a legit adaptation versus some measly crossover, they’ll still go for the collab banner! I dare them to draw attention now—I want to see just how many readers will go pull for FGO’s banner when they can play our full game!”
“…”
The staff all exchanged awkward glances.
Was… was he really planning to go head-to-head with Avalon?