A week later, Vivian Frost was still in Linan Arcology.
She stood beside Rachel Quinn, facing nearly thirty employees from Q-Quinn Animation Studio. Every single one of them looked at Vivian with solemn, respectful eyes.
They recognized her.
The oldest person present was barely over thirty. To put it bluntly, they were all young—people who had grown up online. Illustrators, animators, designers—most of them loved games. And games and animation were, at their core, neighboring industries.
If Q-Quinn Animation collapsed tomorrow, these people could easily jump into game development or graphic design.
The industries overlapped.
And that was exactly why many of them were fans of Northstar Games.
As for the seriousness in their expressions…
Well.
All that could be said was that the mascot standing in front of them was absurdly wealthy.
After being treated to an excellent meal earlier, the employees had already developed a natural sense of respect toward Vivian.
Now, Q-Quinn Animation officially belonged to Northstar Games.
"Alright," Rachel said sharply, clapping her hands together. "Let's sign the confidentiality agreements."
"You all know the rules, so I won't waste words. Once you've signed, I'll send the script to your backend systems. Review it carefully, then we start immediately."
She put her hands on her hips.
"You've had two weeks of rest. That should be more than enough, right?"
"Yes!"
"No problem!"
"Ready anytime!"
The room responded in unison.
Vivian stood slightly to the side, watching Rachel command the room with confidence and authority. A trace of envy flickered in her eyes.
At Northstar, everyone respected her. They greeted her warmly, helped carry things, smiled whenever they saw her.
But she had never truly led a team.
Not like this.
The company was primarily run by Ethan Reed, with Daniel handling secondary management.
As for her?
She didn't bear responsibility.
Watching Rachel direct her people so naturally made Vivian feel… complicated.
But then another thought surfaced.
Wait. I'm her boss now.
That realization instantly improved her mood.
Hmm.
When she got back, she'd make that long-legged monkey give her a proper shoulder and leg massage.
But… his hands were always restless.
Every night they slept in the same bed, he always wanted to hold onto her.
Was that just monkey nature?
Couldn't he just… not hug something?
Vivian frowned slightly as she thought.
A few employees noticed her expression and misunderstood it as dissatisfaction with the meeting. They immediately straightened their backs, standing even more rigidly.
Rachel, meanwhile, had everyone sign the confidentiality agreements one by one before assigning tasks.
"Alright," she said loudly after everything was finalized.
"Let's get started!"
With a wave of her hand, Rachel—now effectively second-in-command at Q-Quinn Animation—issued her orders.
The employees received the scripts and began reading.
Minutes passed.
Then—
"What the hell?! This concept is insane!"
"Cyberpunk style? Holy shit, this cybernetic body design is amazing!"
"The protagonist's development arc is so clear… but damn, it's tragic."
"Have we been watching too little dark animation? This hits way too hard."
"Who wrote this script? Ethan Reed?"
"This is crazy! Science fiction, fantasy, surrealism—this blend is unreal!"
Excited voices filled the studio.
Seeing her team completely absorbed, Rachel hummed proudly and stepped closer to Vivian, elbowing her lightly.
"Well? My people are pretty sharp, right? They got it instantly."
"Are you saying I didn't?" Vivian shot her a sideways glance.
Her expression remained calm, but inside—
Chaos.
She hadn't understood it at first.
Cybernetic bodies.
Night City.
Braindance systems.
The setting was ridiculously complex.
"No, no," Rachel said quickly. "I didn't mean that. They're just talented. It's not that we lack good animators domestically—there just isn't room for them to shine."
She sighed softly.
"Our animation market is worse than your gaming market. Do we lack imagination? Of course not. But bad money drives out good. Capital wants IPs it can mass-produce, not quality."
"And audiences…" Rachel paused. "They've gotten used to garbage. When they've never tasted something good, they're forced to eat trash."
"Unless someone breaks this cycle—lets audiences see good work, lets animators know quality still has value—this market will rot completely."
Vivian nodded.
She didn't fully understand the industry, but she knew what had been released recently.
Cheap 3D adaptations. Same models. Same faces. Same expressions.
The female lead, second female lead, third female lead—all identical except for hair and eye color.
It was like playing spot-the-difference.
No wonder the environment was suffocating.
Rachel soon immersed herself in work, leaving Vivian alone in the office.
Rachel's task was supervision—integrating Ethan's materials, controlling the overall vision, refining overlooked details, and shaping character personas.
And honestly?
This was the easiest job she'd ever had.
The script Ethan provided was over sixty thousand words long, packed with practical details. Even wall corners were described precisely.
Her workload dropped drastically.
This was exactly why the market favored novel adaptations—because they were convenient. Follow the plot, follow the character design, and churn out animation in months.
From an investor's perspective, it was perfect.
Rachel realized this was even easier than her past adaptations.
This project won't take long, she thought.
---
Two days later, Vivian Frost left Linan Arcology.
That afternoon, she returned triumphantly to Northstar Games.
She swaggered.
Hard.
"Boss, you're back!"
"Boss, that business trip must've been exhausting!"
"Welcome back, Boss!"
Employees greeted her enthusiastically. A customer service girl even twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to her.
Feeling the affection, Vivian became even more smug.
Northstar really is the most comfortable place.
Home is best.
"Shh," Vivian whispered upon reaching the seventh floor. "Keep it down. Don't let him know I'm back."
Daniel was about to greet her when she pressed a finger to her lips.
Instantly, Daniel covered his mouth.
So did everyone else.
Ah.
So this was sugar.
No wonder she'd felt off lately—she hadn't been getting enough of it.
Vivian tiptoed into her office and pushed the door open slightly.
Inside, Ethan Reed sat in her chair, arms resting on the desk, head lowered.
He was asleep.
Vivian, who had planned to boast about her successful acquisition, demand praise, and complain loudly, went silent.
She walked over and looked at him.
Then reached out.
She touched his hair.
Short. Slightly prickly. Dry, not oily.
Ethan slept deeply, even snoring faintly.
Vivian squinted.
"…Forget it."
She wouldn't wake him.
She wouldn't demand he greet the returning boss.
Because—
He'd have to work even harder from now on.
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