The next morning, Ethan Reed left StarForge Entertainment, with Martin Chase personally seeing him off.
As the car moved toward the airport, Ethan stared out at the skyline and silently made a note to himself.
Next time I come to Lumen City, I'm making the boss buy an office building here.
As a first-tier city, Lumen City offered far more opportunities than Linan Arcology ever could. If Northstar Games wanted to truly expand, it would eventually need deep connections with cities like this—at least on the business side.
Back at Northstar, Ethan went straight upstairs, travel-worn and dusty. The moment he stepped into the office, he noticed Vivian Frost staring at him with a strangely complicated expression.
"Boss, long time no see," Ethan said cheerfully. "How about a hug?"
"You literally left yesterday!" Vivian said, blushing—yet she still stepped forward and hugged him.
The moment it ended, she darted back several steps, watching him with clear suspicion.
Recently, Ethan had been… odd.
He praised her for being beautiful.
Called her smart.
And—most suspicious of all—he kept initiating physical contact.
Vivian wasn't opposed to it.
But the problem was—
Ethan had never acted like this before.
At first, she felt happy.
Then confused.
Then alert.
Whenever Ethan complimented her now, she would instinctively tilt her head, take a half-defensive stance, and prepare to escape at any moment.
It left Ethan laughing and helpless.
The online guide to wooing your boss was clearly unreliable.
"Rachel Quinn said Edgewalker's production is going extremely smoothly," Vivian said, changing the subject. "It might even finish earlier than expected."
"That's good news," Ethan nodded. "What about the fighting game Ryan Young is handling?"
"The characters are finished," Vivian replied, leaning back in her chair. "But Ethan… aren't the female characters in that game a little too anti-human?"
She paused, then added curiously, "Will players really like thighs that thick?"
She was clearly referring to Chun-Li.
In Street Fighter 3, Chun-Li's thighs were nothing short of outrageous.
Beautiful, iconic, full of old-school Hong Kong comic flair—but undeniably muscular.
Vivian was fairly certain Chun-Li could knock her unconscious with a single kick.
"And the male characters," Vivian continued, "each one looks stranger than the last."
She tilted her head. "Compared to that, the designs in King of Fighters seem more… normal. Even if they look a bit non-mainstream."
Yet strangely enough—
After everyone in the company saw the designs, the male employees unanimously preferred Street Fighter's characters and were far more enthusiastic about working on that project.
Ethan smiled.
"Chun-Li is a fighter," he said. "And every male character in that game looks like they grew muscles by eating rocks."
He leaned slightly forward.
"If Chun-Li didn't have strong muscles and thick, powerful legs, how would she gain any advantage in combat?"
Vivian thought about it—and nodded.
"That's true," she admitted. "Ryan Young also said the legs look best when performing the Hundred-Kick Technique. Slender legs wouldn't have any impact, and she'd look strange standing next to the male fighters."
"He understands it well," Ethan said with a mischievous grin. "How's the game coming along overall?"
"The framework is basically done," Vivian replied. "Ryan and his team are currently focusing on hit feedback and impact."
For fighting games, strike feedback was everything.
Ethan nodded in approval.
Silence fell between them again.
Vivian broke it first.
"How's the filming of Neon Blade: Echoes of Lumen going?"
"It should be excellent," Ethan said. "StarForge is far more responsible than I expected. They actually gave me full casting authority."
"Will the TV series clash with Edgewalker?" Vivian asked.
Despite both projects being tied to Northstar, her concern clearly leaned toward the latter.
After all, Edgewalker was Northstar's own production—every bit of profit would flow straight back.
The TV series was different.
The copyright had already been sold.
No profit sharing.
Not a single cent would come back.
"No," Ethan shook his head. "There's about a two-month gap."
Filming alone would take at least three months—possibly more.
Edgewalker, on the other hand, would release in just over a month.
Ethan didn't want to wait.
Northstar had been too quiet.
Last year, Northstar released games continuously and dominated discussions. But this year, the first half had been almost silent.
Aside from acquiring Mooncrest Studio, the live-action Neon Blade, and vague talk of a "3A masterpiece," players had received nothing concrete.
A mature game company needed at least one release a year.
Even trailers or expansions would be better than silence.
Otherwise—
They'd fade.
"Then I'll urge Rachel Quinn to speed things up again," Vivian said decisively.
"Easy," Ethan replied. "Don't let quality drop."
"It won't," Vivian said confidently, hands on her hips. "I gave her so much funding. If the animation quality drops, I'll sacrifice that monkey to the gods."
That was Vivian Frost in a nutshell.
She immediately pulled out her phone and made the call.
Ethan sat back, sipping tea and enjoying rare peace.
Strangely enough, he realized—
Between the two of them, Rachel Quinn might actually be working harder than him.
The thought made him chuckle.
---
Linan Arcology – Mooncrest Studio
At that very moment, Rachel Quinn sat slumped before her monitor, dark circles so deep they were almost legendary.
Her eyes were bloodshot.
Her wrist—wrapped in a pain-relief patch—trembled as she gently pushed her drawing tablet aside.
She swallowed, then released a long, exhausted breath.
This sigh felt like the final thread holding her together.
"F-f-finally… finished…"
Her voice cracked.
"You heartless monster… you soulless beast… how can you exploit people like this?!"
"Do you have any idea what I've been through?! Day and night, sleeping at the studio, four days without a shower—wuuwuuwu!"
"If the bonus isn't big enough, I swear I'll fly over and squeeze you to death!"
On her screen was a single completed frame.
A woman in an astronaut helmet stood beneath the moon, raising her hand to shield herself from white light.
Her eyes were red—filled with sorrow, resolve, and longing.
Behind her, in the next layer, was David Martinez's bright, foolish, sun-like smile.
Rachel stared at the image she had poured herself into.
Slowly, she leaned back, clasped her hands over her abdomen, and closed her eyes in peace.
"…Now," she murmured softly,
"it's fantasy time."
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