Chapter 805: Youyu: I Can Hit Platinum Today

Youyu: I can hit Platinum today.

At the dinner table, as Xu Youyu spoke about her new book, Li Luo slowed his eating slightly, chewing slowly as he pondered.

"I've got plenty of interesting ideas in my head, I just don't know which one to start with."

Li Luo considered, then looked at Xu Youyu and said, "How about this—you pick the topic you're interested in, and I'll write it."

"You mean I can pick whatever I want?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and asked eagerly, "I'm currently writing about Spiritual Qi Revival, leaning toward xianxia. What do you think of xianxia themes?"

"Well… I might've mentioned it to you before," Li Luo rubbed his chin. "You could try setting it in the Honghuang mythos, but design the protagonist cautiously—start from character construction."

"I think I heard you say that," Xu Youyu frowned. "Would that even be interesting? Sounds kind of bland."

Li Luo glanced at her and chuckled. "It might sound that way on the surface, so it still needs careful thought."

To be honest, themes and power systems are essentially worthless.

Because even with identical themes, power systems, or gimmicks, different authors will produce completely different results.

Even someone like me, who leverages memories from my past life to write, has created I Am Really Not a Star and Da Gan Patrol Corps with content and details vastly different from those books of my former life.

This isn't because Li Luo didn't want to copy those past-life books—it's simply because the author is different.

Unless he was willing to risk daily mental exhaustion by using his Memory Palace to replicate content one-to-one, what he wrote would at best resemble the original in structure and outline, never be identical.

After all, recalling past-life memories through the Memory Palace consumes more mental energy the more vague those memories were originally.

Back then, I read online novels at ten lines per glance—how could I possibly endure daily recall sessions of several thousand characters? If I tried that, I'd go mentally fried and become an idiot long before finishing a multi-million-word novel.

"Current online novel protagonists all favor direct confrontations—facing danger head-on, relying on their power systems to take risks, and ultimately gaining unexpected rewards."

Li Luo said simply, "Writing that way isn't wrong, but readers get fatigued. After reading too many of these protagonists, they naturally crave something different."

"At that point, you go against the grain—depict a protagonist in a Honghuang mythos setting who is cautious in every step, diligently and humbly cultivating."

"Even if his strength is already immense, he remains constantly calculating—never striking unless he must, and when he does, he unleashes his full power instantly, eliminating threats completely with no lingering dangers."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu's eyes lit up—she found the idea intriguing.

But her eyes darted, then she said, "This xianxia theme is fairly fresh, but I'm already a bit tired of Spiritual Qi Revival. Let's pick something else."

"Then what genre are you interested in?" Li Luo asked with a smile.

"Let me think," Xu Youyu pondered, then added, "Your current book, Da Gan Patrol Corps, leans toward low-magic fantasy and alternate history."

"So put fantasy and history aside—I'm not interested in military or sports—then…"

"What about suspense and horror? You probably haven't thought about that, right?"

Li Luo knew Xu Youyu was setting him a challenge, and smiled slightly. "Well… I do have an idea."

"The typical online novel leveling system conflicts somewhat with the core appeal of suspense and horror."

"Simply put, readers most want to see the protagonist, while still weak, being chased by mysteries and supernatural entities."

"Once the protagonist grows strong, that sense of dread fades—the protagonist becomes safe, but the core tension of suspense and horror weakens."

Hearing Li Luo explain so clearly, Xu Youyu curiously asked, "So how would you solve this problem?"

"Let ghosts fight ghosts," Li Luo smiled.

"Huh?" Xu Youyu blinked, momentarily confused. "Let ghosts fight ghosts? What does that mean? Make the protagonist become a ghost?"

"Of course not," Li Luo shook his head. "The protagonist shouldn't have any extraordinary innate abilities—but he can subdue ghosts."

"Humans cannot kill ghosts, but ghosts can kill ghosts."

"So humans who want to fight ghosts must coexist with them, gain their power, and stand against wild ghosts."

Hearing this, Xu Youyu's eyes lit up again—she found it fascinating. "This theme is great too!"

But she paused, suddenly realizing the issue: "You're a city-based writer by origin—even though you've never written suspense or horror, you're still familiar with urban settings, so you'd naturally have an edge."

"Let me think again…"

"What if we switched to Western fantasy? You probably aren't good at that, right?"

"Western fantasy…" Li Luo's expression turned strange. "If you're asking about that genre, I might actually be quite confident."

"Huh?" Xu Youyu froze. "You're serious?"

"Hmm…" Li Luo paused, then said, "You've read Da Gan Patrol Corps, right? It has several cultivation paths—from Ninth Rank to First Rank—unlike conventional xianxia."

"If we switch to Western fantasy, we could take this cultivation system, heavily modify it, and implant it into a fitting Western fantasy setting."

"Then, based on that, design a more complete system tied to the worldbuilding—it could be very interesting."

Seeing Li Luo's confident demeanor, Xu Youyu grew curious: "Of all these themes you just mentioned, if you actually wrote them, which one do you think would perform best?"

"They're all good," Li Luo said. "But in terms of potential, I think the last one has the greatest edge."

"Really?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow. "I'd think xianxia has a larger audience. Western fantasy is pretty niche now, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Li Luo smiled. "You just reminded me—I might write this one for my next book."

"Really?" Xu Youyu was surprised—she hadn't expected Li Luo to decide so quickly.

Still, she was deeply interested in the cultivation system he designed for Da Gan Patrol Corps, so she pressed him for more details, and grew even more intrigued.

"Twenty-two Sequences… that must've taken a ton of brainpower. Only someone with your memory could fully grasp it…" Xu Youyu exclaimed after hearing it, feeling her head spin just imagining it.

"What about you?" Li Luo asked after sharing his ideas. "What are you thinking of writing for your next book?"

"I was thinking of writing a period entertainment story," Xu Youyu rubbed her chin. "But after hearing all these themes, I'm actually tempted."

"How about trying xianxia?" Li Luo smiled. "You just finished Spiritual Qi Revival—you've got some groundwork already."

"I could," Xu Youyu considered. "But do you have any urban-themed suggestions?"

"Urban…?" Li Luo thought for a moment, then said, "Remember that loss system I mentioned to you before? Want to try that?"

"Oh?"

…

During lunch, Li Luo and Xu Youyu talked at length; Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng beside them couldn't interject, so they just ate quietly and listened.

Even after finishing the meal, Li Luo and Xu Youyu hadn't finished talking—they kept chatting all the way into Xu Youyu's room.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng got up to clear the dishes, then the former left for the company, dragging along her annoying little sister to prepare for the evening livestream.

In Xu Youyu's room, after hearing Li Luo's analysis, Xu Youyu's face lit up with sudden understanding, her expression brimming with enthusiasm.

"So that's how it is—I thought it was just a plain system novel, and I was even reluctant to write it, but it turns out it's like this…"

Xu Youyu sprawled atop Li Luo, nodding vigorously: "This topic feels great. Once I finish this book, I can start planning for it."

"As long as you're interested." Li Luo smiled and patted her firm buttocks; his thought was simple—he wanted Xu Youyu's new book to succeed and earn as much royalty as possible.

As for money, they certainly weren't short now.

But if Xu Youyu wanted to buy a villa at Sky Ridge Elegant Residence, given current prices, an investment of tens of millions would still be a heavy burden—even for her.

If following last life's script, Xu Youyu's new book in the historical entertainment genre wouldn't perform badly, but it would hover between mediocrity and success—still slightly inferior overall.

Though she could take out a mortgage, if there was a better way to solve this, it would naturally be best.

Li Luo could easily cover this expense with a wave of his hand.

But he knew this wasn't what Xu Youyu wanted.

The Xu Youyu he loved had her own unique pride in certain ways.

If he did this and she accepted it without protest, that wouldn't be the outcome Li Luo desired.

If he could help her in another way, that would be best.

So whether helping her secure film and television rights or recommending this new topic now, it was all to achieve this goal.

"Hey, if I follow your path, how many average subscriptions might my new book get?"

Xu Youyu leaned down, kissed Li Luo on the lips, and asked with a grin: "My previous novels were all urban entertainment—I've never written a proper business war story. I don't know if I can pull it off."

"That shouldn't be hard for you," Li Luo chuckled. "I'd guess around fifty thousand average subscriptions?"

"That high?!" Xu Youyu exclaimed. "You're way too optimistic—I'd be thrilled just to hit thirty thousand. Fifty thousand? I dare not dream of it!"

"Give it a try," Li Luo laughed. "Who knows? Maybe it'll hit a hundred thousand?"

"You're just joking," Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "Where in Qidian is there a book with a hundred thousand average subscriptions? By the way, how many does your Great Han Night Patrol have?"

"About ninety-two thousand," Li Luo replied casually.

"What the hell?!" Xu Youyu shot up in shock from atop Li Luo, but he pulled her back with one arm; her hands still braced against his chest. "Ninety-two thousand?!"

To be fair, during the summer vacation, Xu Youyu had been stunned when she saw Li Luo's new book already at eighty thousand average subscriptions.

But that surge had been fueled by a summer marketing push, forcibly drawing in massive traffic.

Yet only three months had passed since summer ended—and Great Han Night Patrol's average subscriptions had climbed even higher.

It had already surpassed ninety thousand! Could it be…

"So it's already ninety-two thousand… that means…" Xu Youyu murmured, dazed.

"Mm," Li Luo nodded. "There's a chance it'll hit one hundred thousand."

"If it grows naturally like this, it might only reach that after completion."

"But Qidian really wants to set a record—the editor hinted they'll organize some promotional campaign to help push it past the hundred-thousand threshold."

"That's insane…" Xu Youyu couldn't help exclaiming. "One book equals five of mine—and the copyright fees must be astronomical."

"So you should work harder too," Li Luo smiled. "Get promoted to Grandmaster this year, and aim for fifty thousand average subscriptions on your next book—maybe you'll make Platinum."

"You're really dreaming," Xu Youyu rolled her eyes, then her gaze flickered, and she grinned mischievously. "Actually, I can become Platinum right now~"

"What?" Li Luo blinked, then realized—his expression turned speechless.

But Xu Youyu had already leaned down and kissed him fiercely.

…

In the afternoon came another round of battle; Xu Youyu became Platinum, absorbing a wave of fortune, then collapsed exhausted on the bed.

After Li Luo bathed her and held her, she fled back to bed to sleep; he changed into clean clothes and headed out for the company.

At this time, Yan Zhusheng had posted a short video as a livestream teaser; its popularity soared, quickly surpassing one million plays.

The livestream was scheduled for 7 p. m., lasting one hour—just like Yuan Wanqing's previous livestream.

Li Luo glanced at the video content, then opened the comment section.

【Yay! Finally a livestream!】

【I thought you were going to flake on us—it's been over a week since your follower count surpassed Chongran!】

【You'll livestream every week from now on, right?】

【Will your mom come today? Miss Qing now has twenty million followers—but hasn't livestreamed since that day.】

【Where's Chongran? Chongran? Chongran?!】

【Will Chongran show up too?】

Li Luo read the comments, his eyes flickered, and an idea formed in his mind.

After driving to the underground parking lot of Times Tianjie, he hurried up to the tenth floor.

(End of Chapter)