Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 78: CM

But what exactly was different?
Chu Yuxin stared at Tang Yao’s back, lost in thought.
She was doing the same kind of work… Sure, the game genres were different, but logically speaking, the experience shouldn’t feel so different.
After all, she didn’t really understand games—only art. She had only worked on one project before and had no real basis for judging which game was better.
And yet, she could clearly feel that working with Tang Yao and working with Si Jinliang were completely different experiences…
But what exactly was different? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“Xiao Yuxin.”
While Chu Yuxin was frowning, dazing off while staring at Tang Yao’s back, a voice called out to her.
She snapped out of it, set her doubts aside for now, and looked in the direction of the voice.
The one calling her was a former colleague from Mingyu Tech—who, technically, was now her colleague again.
She was a mature woman in her thirties named Miao Qianling, much older than Chu Yuxin… yet she still treated her with genuine respect.
The reason?
“Take a look at this concept art composition—I feel like something’s off.”
Miao Qianling handed over the concept art in her hand.
Chu Yuxin took one look and immediately spotted the problem. She turned around and started scribbling and sketching right away:
“It’s simple. Your visual focal point is unclear…”
Miao Qianling stood beside her, listening to the explanation. As the pieces clicked into place, she couldn’t help but glance at Chu Yuxin’s little head.
She’d seen this happen back at Mingyu Tech too.
But it still amazed her every time.
This girl had a near-instinctive gift for illustration. Take composition, for instance—someone like Miao Qianling would need to revise again and again, rechecking and adjusting before vaguely figuring out what was wrong. But for Chu Yuxin?
Just one glance.
She could instantly spot the optimal fix: how to guide the viewer’s eye, how to build atmosphere, how to create a sense of depth—it was all second nature to her.
Honestly, it was a bit soul-crushing.
It wasn’t until she met Chu Yuxin that Miao Qianling truly understood what a “talent gap” was… what it meant to be a genius.
Sometimes, she’d think: If only this kid weren’t so socially clueless… she’d be unstoppable.
And then—well, she got a front-row seat to what Chu Yuxin was like when she wasn’t clueless…
With that in mind, Miao Qianling turned her gaze toward Tang Yao sitting at her workstation… remembering her experience since joining the studio. Her expression turned… complicated.
That one was even more absurd.
Chu Yuxin was already ridiculously talented—seriously talented—but that was strictly in the art department.
But Tang Yao?
She wasn’t just art.
To be honest, Miao Qianling was starting to worry…
Worried that Chu Yuxin might actually get discouraged someday.
Meanwhile.
Tang Yao had no idea what her new hires were thinking.
She was focused on the website.
She typed in the URL and hit enter.
A brand-new site loaded up on screen.
Tang Yao went through the redesigned layout carefully. Once she confirmed everything looked good, she gave a satisfied nod.
Then—
She opened social media.
Today happened to be the release day for Fate/Zero Chapter 3. Right on schedule.
“…This is basically the scraps from the game,” Tang Yao muttered as she began uploading the animated short she’d started working on the day she resigned.
“Hope you all like it. Let’s treat this as a test run—let’s see how much you’re willing to accept…”
Ding—
The short video uploaded successfully.
Tang Yao exhaled in relief as she stared at the upload confirmation screen.
Everything that needed doing had been done. Now, it was time to see how people reacted.
With that, she dove back into her work.
At the same time—
Across the city.
Su Deqiang opened his social media app and tapped into the Third-Rate Artist account, refreshing the page, his expression growing anxious.
But unfortunately, still no updates from Third-Rate.
No new chapter this week either…
Ever since Third-Rate started releasing Fate/Zero online for free, Su Deqiang had been checking in regularly, hoping for updates… but it seemed this artist only focused on drawing and hardly ever touched social media.
Even so, Su Deqiang kept checking in. Mostly because he was worried.
Worried that the artist might ghost the project…
After all, without a magazine serialization, there were no restrictions. Who knew if the creator might just quit one day, saying it’s too much work for too little pay?
That’s also why he felt it was a shame Tang Yao had turned down Rumi-sensei.
He really loved Fate/Zero and didn’t want to see it left hanging.
And today, he was refreshing the page more frequently than ever.
Because today was the promised drop date for Chapter 3.
And he was worried… what if it didn’t come?
That’s why he kept refreshing nonstop.
As time dragged on and the update still didn’t appear, Su Deqiang grew more and more restless…
He was sure there were tons of fans out there doing the same thing as him—refreshing, waiting, hoping.
“Please don’t ghost us now…”
He refreshed again and whispered a prayer:
“Please… I’m begging you.”
And maybe that prayer worked—
Because just as he said it, on the other side of the city, Tang Yao finished uploading.
When Su Deqiang refreshed one more time, a new post popped up.
“It’s finally here! You never let your fans down, Third-Rate-sensei!”
Su Deqiang got excited at the new update—but the next second, he noticed something was off.
Unlike the last update, which was a nine-panel post of the actual manga pages…
This time, it was a video, with just a URL in the caption.
Su Deqiang blinked in confusion.
“What the heck?”
Wasn’t this supposed to be an update?
Why post a video???
Wait a second… was this… a sorry-I’m-not-updating video?
The idea hit him, and his expression changed.
Then he saw the video length—barely over a minute.
Yup. Bad news incoming.
He wore a mournful look as he hit play.
Quick load time.
The screen lit up…
But instead of a bald mangaka bowing in apology—
An extremely stylish logo appeared.
It looked like a mix between a small boat and a sword’s scabbard. The word Avalon slowly faded into view beneath it.
What the…
Avalon?
Su Deqiang stared at the cool, elegant logo, still not sure what he was looking at.
Then the screen went dark.
A dim alley at night, both sides stacked with shipping containers, flickering street lamps—
The camera panned slowly…
And finally stopped at the tip of a red spear.
Suddenly—
The spear spun in a smooth arc, twirling once with a red flash of special effects, and pointed forward.
The camera zoomed out, revealing a man holding a red and a yellow spear, striking a fighting pose.
The black mole under the corner of his eye was especially striking.
“That pure aura of yours… I take it you’re Saber, aren’t you?”
Text appeared on screen.
Then—
The camera flipped low, skimming the ground, and slowly rose.
A woman stood at the center of the shot—
Wearing a flowing battle dress, regal and graceful, with golden hair cascading down.
She held invisible weapons in both hands.
The moment the camera locked on her, she raised them—
A spiral of wind swirled upward from above her arms!
“Then you must be Lancer.”
As Saber’s line appeared—
The camera zoomed out dramatically.
The gloomy night, the heavy mist, the flickering lights… the two stood poised, facing off in perfect standoff tension!
You could feel the explosive energy ready to burst!
Then—
After about three seconds, the screen went black.
The title Fate/Zero appeared, along with a message telling readers that Fate/Zero would now be serialized on the website.
“……”
Su Deqiang stared at what was probably the most impressive Live2D animation in the world right now, absolutely stunned.
He didn’t even know how to react.
All he could think was… That was freaking awesome.
After a moment—
He grabbed his mouse and hit replay.
As the short played again, things started clicking—
These two were characters from Fate/Zero.
This scene was the end of Chapter 2.
Fate/Zero… Heroic Spirits…
Su Deqiang’s brain slowly rebooted.
His jaw dropped.
Then—suddenly—he jumped up from his seat.
“HOLY SHT!!! THIS IS FATE/ZERO!? THIS LOOKS INSANE!!!! THAT ART STYLE!!! IF THIS EVER BECOMES AN ANIME—I’M FING IN!!**”