Chapter 278: Target, the Kingdom's Capital!

"Ahem—"

"Finally done."

Yun Mu looked at the Painting Board in front of her with satisfaction, continuously stretching her somewhat stiff body.

Tomorrow she could go find One-Eared Rat and deliver the content for the latest chapter. As for after she leaves Frostfall City... isn't there still Ultra-long Distance Teleportation?

In any case, the updates won't stop; she just needs to find time to actually experience what the teleportation effect of the Divine Blood Pendant is like.

After all, having never used it before, many specific details remain unclear. If she were to make a mistake at a critical moment due to unfamiliarity, that would be bad.

Besides that, she also needs to go accept a commission to hunt a Monster tomorrow; this matter concerns her professional advancement and must not be forgotten.

As for now, it's time to sleep.

It's getting late.

Because of the effect of the Reversing Pocket Watch, even without looking at the time, Yun Mu clearly knew it was 10:06 PM, and she even knew the microsecond value perfectly.

She could completely be called a human timekeeper; using her as a timer was also entirely feasible.

As for an alarm clock, that would depend on whether she could crawl out of bed when it needed to ring, and whether she would forget about it.

Eh, wait, why was she thinking about these meaningless things?

Timekeeper, timer, or alarm clock... these things aren't that precious; ordinary machines can handle these jobs very well. There's absolutely no need for her to—ahem, that's not the point!

Casually tossing the Painting Board into the space within her earring, Yun Mu got up, took off her coat, and changed into comfortable pajamas.

Then she lay on the bed and, as usual, wished herself goodnight in her heart.

The next morning.

Yun Mu finished her breakfast early and, carrying the manuscript drawn the previous night, rushed toward a building in the southwest corner of Frostfall City.

The office location of Yun Chao Publishing House was right here, completely inherited from the previous publishing house's office site.

And One-Eared Rat, who was the nominal investor of the publishing house, had been working here recently.

Calling it work, in reality, was just sitting in the company basking in the sun, drinking two cups of coffee, and reading newspapers, magazines, and the like.

After all, he didn't understand the workflow of a publishing house at all.

Moreover, as the investor, he had already bought the entire company; how could there be any reason for him to do the work himself? So the work of the publishing house was basically left to the original employees to complete. That said, in reality, Yun Chao Publishing House currently didn't have much work to execute.

After all, the people coming to them to submit manuscripts could be said to be almost non-existent.

And the only work the company was currently serializing was that one Rain Curtain Magazine, so naturally, there was nothing to be busy with.

What, you ask why One-Eared Rat is the investor and not the president?

This is naturally because the president's name is Yun Mu! Ever since the Scarlet Incident ended, because of the Church's publicity and the scramble for reports by major media outlets, she is now completely famous within Frostfall City.

Walking on the street every day, she would be recognized because of her conspicuous Cat Ear and heterochromatic eyes.

Fortunately, people in this era are not all like those on Earth; even when encountering a celebrity, they wouldn't pester her excessively, at most just enthusiastically saying hello or forcibly stuffing various gifts into her hands.

If you ask what this matter has to do with her becoming president, that naturally exists.

Because it wasn't until she arrived at the publishing house this morning that Yun Mu learned of the matter of One-Eared Rat transferring the presidency to her.

No need to doubt, the reason the other party did this was undoubtedly out of her current reputation.

You must know, just a few days ago, the nominal president of Yun Chao Publishing House was still One-Eared Rat! Although Yun Mu was still being wanted at that time, didn't she still have a fake identity? Why didn't One-Eared Rat transfer the president's position to her at that time? To put it bluntly, he still had his own little schemes in mind.

However, Yun Mu didn't have any thoughts about the president's position, as long as she could successfully spread "Torina's Adventure Journal".

Moreover, even if she became president, she had absolutely no intention of managing the affairs of Yun Chao Publishing House. After all, she knew very well in her heart that she had no ability to manage a company, nor did she have the time.

So continuing to be a hands-off manager is fine. As for the money the company earns?

Excluding the funds to maintain company operations, the remaining money would enter the pockets of Yun Mu and One-Eared Rat according to a 70/30 split, Yun Mu getting seven, One-Eared Rat three.

As for how much of this money would be deducted and embezzled by One-Eared Rat, she didn't care.

The other party is a smart person; even if he embezzled a portion, his way of eating wouldn't be too ugly, especially when Yun Mu clearly had someone backing her.

"How is the publishing house recently?"

Handing the third chapter's manuscript to One-Eared Rat, Yun Mu asked somewhat casually.

"If you are asking about the publishing house, honestly, not very good." One-Eared Rat took the manuscript from Yun Mu's hand and, after hearing her words, replied.

"How so?"

Yun Mu sat opposite him with some curiosity, tapping the tabletop lightly with her fingers.

"..." After a moment of silence, One-Eared Rat flipped through the manuscript in his hand: "The good news is that the sales of our Rain Curtain Magazine are rising, and it has indeed made a name for itself in the market."

"And the bad news?" Without the other party saying it, Yun Mu knew the following news shouldn't be very wonderful.

"The bad news is that our reputation is not good." One-Eared Rat spread his hands helplessly: "Especially when most people know the content of the adult version of the Comic."

"These attacks in public opinion have affected quite a few authors who were originally updating in Rain Curtain Magazine; many of them have run away now."

"Hmm," Yun Mu pondered for a moment: "Does this have an impact on spreading my work?"

"Actually, it has no impact." One-Eared Rat grinned: "Although public opinion is attacking us, their, uh..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence, suddenly noticing the girl's face, and only then remembered the other party's gender, so he hurriedly stifled the rest of his words.

However, what he didn't expect was that Yun Mu immediately picked up on the meaning he wanted to express.

"But their 'second brothers' are very honest, right?"

"That's right," One-Eared Rat looked at the girl's expression, feeling a bit strange: "I didn't expect you to be so... thorough."

"Please." Yun Mu noticed his expression and smiled: "I'm the one who draws this kind of thing, so how could I not understand what you mean?"

Pausing, she suddenly thought of something and continued: "Since those original Writers have all run away, how about we simply convert the nature of Rain Curtain Magazine into a Comic magazine?"

The Frost Kingdom has Comics, but those Comics are mostly small four-panel strips published in newspapers; the content is simple, and the paper used for printing makes it hard to display the Comic content beautifully.

Publishing a magazine that only features Comics separately is something no one has done yet.

Moreover, Yun Mu's art style is in a class of its own in this world.

As for the Rolling Stone Town Comic she drew earlier, that was something she had slightly improved by imitating the art style of Neisen's wife, and it still had a large gap from the true two-dimensional art style. "Comic magazine?"

"Do you mean a magazine specifically for telling stories using pictures?"

"That's right!" Yun Mu nodded earnestly. "Pictures combined with text can carry more information, and they are also more interesting. Don't you think so?"

"But we don't even have anyone submitting work right now, let alone finding people who can draw Comic." One-Eared Rat stated the current predicament of Rain Curtain Magazine.

"Solving this kind of thing is simple." Yun Mu had already guessed he would say this, so she immediately replied:

"There is no need to create stories; we can find those successful novels and discuss comic adaptations with them. As for the issue of the drawings... I believe many Master have already learned my style of Painting by now."

"We just need to throw money at it and let those Master draw for us."

"So that's how it can be done, finding successful novels to adapt into Comic." Hearing Yun Mu's words, One-Eared Rat was first surprised and muttered to himself, then gradually became excited.

"That's right, this can solve it. As for the funding issue, I can fill it in with my own money first." He thought Yun Mu's idea of publishing a comic magazine had great potential.

Even if it meant spending all his savings, it was a gamble worth taking!

"Don't be in a hurry, it hasn't reached the point where you need to spend money yet." Yun Mu chuckled upon hearing his words. "As for the issue of painters, I can go talk to the president of the Painter Association."

"We can exchange a portion of the future comic revenue to have the painters in the Painter Association work for us. As for getting the comic adaptation authorization from novelists..."

The figure of a middle-aged uncle suddenly popped into Yun Mu's mind.

"Do you think my face is worth anything?" She suddenly asked One-Eared Rat.

"Huh?"

"It's pretty much like that. Mr. Sixin, what do you think?"

Inside the Painting room on the second floor of the Painter Association, Yun Mu was communicating face-to-face with the president, Sixin.

"I think it's quite good." Sixin nodded and looked at One-Eared Rat standing beside Yun Mu. "However, I have another proposal."

"What proposal?" Yun Mu asked.

"There is no need for Master or high-level painters to be dispatched. Actually, I have seen your comic before... That art style is relatively easy to imitate and learn. Neutral-certified painters can also achieve good results after training."

Noticing that Yun Mu's gaze was a bit strange, Sixin immediately explained, "Don't misunderstand. I read that comic only because its influence in the city is truly great."

At the end, he added silently, "Within the circle of painters."

"I just didn't expect that it was actually Miss Yun's work... Truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance." Sixin looked at Yun Mu teasingly.

"Ugh." Yun Mu's face turned red in a flash. She explained in a flustered manner, "Th-this was just a last resort for the sake of advancement. I, I myself have absolutely no interest in things like drawing!"

After a pause, she added, "I hope Mr. Sixin will not tell anyone about this. I would be extremely grateful."

"I understand, I understand, it's all for the sake of advancement... Wait, you are already about to advance!?" Halfway through his sentence, Sixin suddenly noticed something and slammed the table.

"Well..." Yun Mu did not deny it this time, just being slightly modest: "Not yet for the time being."

"Hiss." President Sixin gasped and blurted out, "You are only... cough cough."

Before he finished speaking, he remembered there was another person in the room, so he immediately held back his words. As a result, because he was too surprised, he accidentally choked on the breath he had just inhaled.

"Cough cough, I agree to help with the Painting. As for the content to be drawn, wait until you have decided, then send someone to find me."

"Thank you very much." Yun Mu stood up happily and then bid farewell to President Sixin. "Then we will leave here first."

"Go, go." President Sixin waved his hand while stroking his chest.

"Hmm, next is to go find those famous novelists to discuss the copyright of comic adaptations of their novels."

Leaving the Painter Association, Yun Mu took One-Eared Rat and walked toward Liuli Street.

She planned to find Neisen and use her 'face fruit' to get the comic adaptation rights to his past works.

If she remembered correctly, before Neisen became the editor-in-chief of the Frostfall City Weekly, he was a somewhat well-known novelist.

"Ah, no."

Halfway there, Yun Mu's footsteps suddenly stopped.

She remembered something very important.

At this time, Neisen hadn't finished work yet; going to his house now would mean not finding him at all.

Better to wait until the evening.

Thinking this, Yun Mu dismissed One-Eared Rat, intending to first complete the task commission she had accepted at the Painter Association.

But before that, she could actually stop by the port terminal of Frostfall City to see how her future ship was being organized.

Just as she arrived at the location of the port, the familiar noise reached Yun Mu's ears.

She stood on the pier by the sea and looked around, quickly finding the most conspicuous ship docked at the shore—the Xiangyang.

It was a very beautiful three-masted sailing ship. According to the parameters Edward told her, the Xiangyang was 58.66 meters long, 45.3 meters high, and 10.88 meters wide, equipped with 22 sails, 42 side-mounted cannons, three bow cannons, and two Whirl cannons.

The ship's maximum draft line was about 12-15 meters, and the displacement could reach 1600 tons.

Apart from these things that could be observed on the surface, there were several Mortar on the ship's deck, capable of causing long-range strikes against enemies from far away.

Yun Mu had already seen Edward demonstrate these before.

"Good afternoon, Miss Yun."

Brenna appeared beside her at some point and gently patted her shoulder.

Yun Mu was not surprised at all; after all, she had 'smelled' the scent in the other person's blood from far away.

"Good afternoon, Brenna." She first greeted her, then looked at the Xiangyang in front of her. "Are we going to take this ship to the Orc Federation later?"

"That's right. The destination is the capital of the Orc Federation—Feiluokainuokata, which means 'City of Equality and Progress' in the Beastkin language."

"'City of Equality and Progress'?" Yun Mu looked at the Xiangyang docked in the water, her eyes suddenly flickering with anticipation.

The life-taking Scarlet had already disappeared, and what would greet her next would be a brand-new life in another world.

And heading to the Orc Federation was the first step she would take after leaving the Frost Kingdom.

Target, the Federal Capital—Velocainocata, advance! (End of chapter)