Chapter 389 260: Can't Be Led Astray by a Bad Woman

Praise Luo Sen!

[Er Shang]: Your book goes on sale next Friday. I've arranged a release promotion for you. If you have a stockpile of chapters, you can do a mass release. The effect will be better that way.

[Wu Bao]: Roger! I'll be sure to release more chapters!

[Er Shang]: Mmm-hmm.

[Er Shang]: Heh, looks like you really are someone who's weathered great storms. I thought you'd be more excited.

[Wu Bao]: Hehe, I am excited.

Upon suddenly learning he'd have a release promotion, Wu Bao was, of course, incredibly excited.

This was a perk that only new books with exceptional performance could secure! It was also heavily dependent on luck; if your book launched at the same time as a great author's, they could easily snatch up all the good promotional spots.

When he'd started writing, he never even dreamed of getting a contract. He just couldn't contain his impulse to tell a story and was writing for fun.

He never expected to make it this far.

'It's all thanks to Boss Er Shang's support!'

'And Senior Gou Mao's writing advice... and study materials.'

[Er Shang]: Mmm, but of course, quality is still the most important thing. If it's hard to maintain a high update frequency, prioritize quality first.

[Er Shang]: A lot of new authors who hit ten thousand subscriptions fall into the update trap. Their performance is clearly good, but in an attempt to push further, they force themselves to write ten thousand characters a day. This leads to the plot collapsing, their numbers don't improve, and it's all just a real shame.

[Wu Bao]: Understood!

Wu Bao had seen a few fellow authors in the group chat go through the same thing, and he felt it was a real pity.

'I'll just have to take it steady,' he thought. 'Writing twenty to thirty thousand characters a day should be fine; no need to push myself too hard.'

[Gou of Gou Mao]: (Image) HOLY SHIT! Wu Bao, you're a fucking legend! @Wu Bao

[Seven Curves Falling Flower]: Fuck! You damn big shot!

[Purple Gold Sheep]: Sorry, reported. It's not you, it's my own rampant jealousy. Seeing you make money every day is more painful than me losing it. Every day I see you guys go quiet, I get so scared—scared you're all secretly making money behind my back again.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Sorry, reported...

In the group chat, Gou Mao had suddenly @'d him, and then everyone started spamming the same message, hitting 99+ notifications in seconds.

'What the heck happened...' Wu Bao clicked into the chat, completely bewildered. He had to scroll up for a long time before he finally found the message Su Mao had started with.

The moment he saw the picture, Wu Bao's eyes shot wide open.

'This picture... it's Photoshopped, right?'

To verify its authenticity, Wu Bao opened the Qi Point Reading app to see for himself. The moment he saw the splash screen, he froze on the spot—

[The "Point Addition Cultivation in the Beast Taming World" release reservation event has officially begun! Countdown: 145:11:45]

[Current Reservations: 9,124]

About twenty-four hours had passed since the event began, and the number of reservations was already nearing ten thousand. At this rate... hitting thirty thousand initial subscriptions on release day wouldn't be a problem!

Wu Bao was stunned for a long time before he switched back to his chat with Er Shang.

[Wu Bao]: (Image) Boss, quick question... this is my release promotion???

[Wu Bao]: I thought it was just going to be one of those twenty-four-hour promotions on release day...

[Er Shang]: So you only just found out /facepalm

[Wu Bao]: But I'm just a new author, this is against the rules, isn't it???

[Er Shang]: It is indeed against the rules.

[Er Shang]: On the day we were scheduling promotions, the editor-in-chief only agreed to give you a twenty-four-hour release promo. I argued with him for a long time.

[Er Shang]: In the end, after hearing about your situation, the editor-in-chief agreed with me, and the editors from the other teams accepted the arrangement as well.

[Er Shang]: Don't feel bad about it. You deserve this promotion, no doubt about it.

[Er Shang]: If you really feel bad, then just write a damn good book! I'm looking forward to you rekindling the flames of your youth!

[Wu Bao]: Yes, sir!!!

Wu Bao switched to the Qi Point app, his gaze repeatedly caressing the release reservation page, and his eyes couldn't help but well up with hot tears.

Even though Er Shang sometimes said strange things he didn't understand, like "weathered great storms" or "rekindling the flames of your youth," he could feel that Boss Er Shang's expectations and trust in him were incredibly genuine.

"Chirp?"

He had to be strong. 'That's right! I absolutely cannot let Boss Er Shang down!'

"..."

"..."

The air was silent for a moment.

Wu Bao stiffly turned his head and saw Shan Bao perched on the nearby armrest.

Shan Bao was tilting its head curiously, hanging upside down from the armrest. It was peering at the screen of Wu Bao's tablet and even seemed to be muttering something...

'Holy hell!'

Wu Bao hastily slammed the tablet face-down on the floor, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Chirp?"

Shan Bao tilted its head curiously.

'Brother Wu Bao, what were you just saying about Er Shang? Who is Er Shang?'

"..." Wu Bao's tense nerves relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

It seemed Shan Bao hadn't seen his chat log with Er Shang, nor did it know he was writing a book. 'Thank goodness, thank goodness,' Wu Bao sighed in relief.

If Shan Bao found out he was writing that kind of embarrassing stuff, he'd have to find a new planet to live on.

"Woof."

Wu Bao indicated that Er Shang was just a fellow reader he'd met on the Qi Point Reading app, and that was all. There was absolutely nothing else going on between them.

"Chiiirp..." Shan Bao nodded thoughtfully, its gaze drifting downward.

Wu Bao's gaze followed, and only then did he notice that the vegetation below was vaguely covering a pit. Combined with the structure of the surrounding walls, this place was probably a toilet.

"Chirp."

Shan Bao pondered for a moment, then slapped its left wing with its right, as if struck by a sudden realization.

I get it! Brother Wu Bao likes to hang out in the toilet!

Wu Bao: "?"

"Chirp chirp!" Shan Bao indicated that it wouldn't disturb him and hopped away.

Wu Bao wanted to speak but stopped himself, then wanted to again but still held back. He stretched out a front paw, wanting to stop Shan Bao and explain, but after a moment's hesitation, he gave up.

'It's fine. As long as my grand career of writing isn't exposed, it's fine. It's not a big deal if people misunderstand and think I have some strange fetish.'

'For the sake of writing... these are all acceptable sacrifices!'

Once Shan Bao was far enough away, Wu Bao resumed writing furiously with his stylus.

·

"Yo? Done talking with your little girlfriend?"

Shen Chuqing raised an eyebrow as she saw Su Zhi return.

Su Zhi looked around. "Have you seen Wu Bao? I feel like I never see him around lately."

"Chirp!" Shan Bao raised a wing, reporting that Wu Bao was in the toilet reading a book.

Yu Bao's ears perked up.

Su Zhi's mouth fell open. "Does Wu Bao have some kind of special fondness for toilets...?"

"Maybe he's unhappy and avoiding you?"

Shen Chuqing chuckled. "A Tier Five Beast Taming Space is needed to contract three Pet Beasts. You've been stuck for so long without reaching Tier Five. He's been an unofficial Pet Beast all this time; of course he's not happy."

Su Zhi clenched his fists.

'She has a point,' he thought. 'Who wants to be strung along with empty promises forever? I need to find a way to advance as soon as possible.'

"But I'd suggest you relax. Advancing your Beast Taming Space isn't something you can do just by wanting it. It's related to your Pet Beasts, yourself, and even your environment. Barring any surprises, you definitely have no shot at reaching Tier Five before we leave Hundred Rivers."

Su Zhi: "And there's the jinx..."

"Give me a break. There's no such thing as a jinx. Being Tier Four at your age is already pretty damn impressive. Don't even think about Tier Five."

"..." Su Zhi understood the logic, but the more she said it, the more a strange competitive urge grew within him.

"Are you actually getting worked up over this?"

Shen Chuqing shot him a glance. "I'll make you a deal. If you can successfully contract with Wu Bao, you can take your pick of any treasure from my family's vault."

"!" Su Zhi's eyes lit up. "Deal!"

"But if you can't reach Tier Five... hmph hmph."

Under Su Zhi's stunned gaze, Shen Chuqing pulled out a white, silk, garter-belt maid outfit and dangled it in front of him. It even came with matching underwear—the lace kind.

"Then you can get ready to wear this on the plane when we leave Hundred Rivers."

"Um, Sis, I'm suddenly regretting this..."

"Nope. A deal's a deal, no take-backs."

"It wasn't a deal! I didn't say anything just now! Nobody heard anything!" Su Zhi tried to weasel his way out of it.

Then he saw Shen Chuqing pull out a recording pen and turn the volume all the way up:

[Deal!]

Su Zhi was dumbstruck. "Wait... where did you even pull that out from..."

"That's not important."

Shen Chuqing put the recording pen away, a smirk playing on her lips.

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