The funny thing was, when Skybound's operations director used the official Skybound account to follow Ethan Reed on the Official Blog, it didn't cause any major reaction at all.
No trending topic.
No heated debate.
No "platform bows to genius developer" drama.
Nothing.
Because if we're being brutally honest, even a "big" platform account like Skybound didn't get the same level of engagement that Ethan's posts did.
A single post from Skybound might not get as many replies as Ethan Reed got in one hour.
That was just reality.
Players didn't really care about platform owners.
They cared about streamers, content creators, review channels, and gaming communities—people who took Skybound's news and repackaged it into fun, interesting, and digestible posts.
Skybound might have millions of followers, but most of those followers were passive. They were there like decorations—numbers that looked good in a report, but didn't move like a real fanbase.
Ethan Reed's 200,000+ active followers, however?
Those people actually replied.
Actually reposted.
Actually argued in comments.
Actually fought for his games like it was a religion.
So Ethan didn't notice the follow at all.
Why would he?
When you've got that many active fans, a single new follower—no matter who it is—barely registers.
---
Meanwhile, life at Northstar Games kept rolling forward at full speed.
Daniel had already been sent to the United States to handle the business discussion with Steam.
The art director and the second-in-command programmer were still grinding away on Neon Myth IV.
And Ethan Reed was… Ethan Reed—busy to the point of being dangerously tired.
In the entire company, only one person had the luxury of being "free."
Vivian Frost.
Today she'd be playing an online game in the office.
Tomorrow she'd be trying a single-player title.
She sat in her chair like a queen, glowing with pride.
And honestly, she had every reason to be proud.
Animal Party had gone overseas.
Steam revenue was starting to roll in.
Skybound's platform profit share had arrived too.
When everything was added together—three games combined—Northstar Games' total revenue last month was over 12 million.
After subtracting the development cost of Animal Party, employee salaries, office rent, electricity, and everything else…
Net profit: over 9 million.
And now?
Only six days into this month, Animal Party had already earned them nearly 3 million more.
When a game became popular, the money didn't trickle.
It poured.
To be fair, with Animal Party alone, Ethan Reed could've lived comfortably for the rest of his life if he wanted to.
But both Ethan and Vivian were the kind of people who had dreams.
And when dreamers got money, they didn't retire.
They reinvested.
Hard.
So instead of relaxing, they took the cash and shoved it straight into Neon Myth IV.
And the more they invested, the more absurd the quality became.
At first, the original Neon Myth IV was rough. Stiff models. Stiff scenes. Characters that walked like sleepwalking mannequins.
But the current version?
It was being rebuilt to match Neon Myth VII-level graphics—or even better.
The models were smoother.
The lighting was stronger.
The animations were dramatically improved.
And the character everyone kept noticing?
Mira Vale.
She wasn't just "pretty."
She was unbelievably beautiful.
And the most shocking part?
She could jump.
A gorgeous woman in a simple purple dress, moving naturally, leaping lightly, smiling with life in her eyes—
How could people not be moved?
Some employees joked about it.
"Hey, why is her skirt floating like anti-gravity?"
And the answer was obvious:
What's wrong with a fantasy heroine having an anti-gravity skirt?
It was a fairy world.
Let the fairy skirt float.
Also, Ethan's taste was different from most studios.
Mira Vale didn't have that sharp, identical "copy-paste" face that so many online games used.
No exaggerated chin.
No plastic doll look.
She had a natural, elegant oval face—beautiful in a way that felt human.
Of course, that kind of upgrade came with a new problem.
The better the game visuals became, the worse the CGI looked by comparison.
Mooncrest Studio started complaining.
They were responsible for cinematic work, and now they were being pushed into revision hell because the in-game quality was rising too quickly.
At first, they were unhappy.
But then Vivian offered to pay more.
And Mooncrest Studio instantly transformed from "annoyed and tired" to "happy and energetic."
They stopped complaining.
They started adding effects.
They started polishing scenes.
They even began suggesting upgrades.
Million-dollar CGI?
Forget that.
They were charging toward ten-million-level CGI now.
Mooncrest Studio's attitude became extremely simple:
"Boss Vivian, whatever you say. Just pay."
---
December 10th – Ethan Goes Missing
On December 10th, Ethan Reed did something unusual.
He didn't go to the office.
He stayed home.
Not because he was sick.
Not because he was lazy.
But because for the last two days…
He had been actively hiding from Vivian Frost.
Right now, Vivian's voice was blasting from the phone on his desk—clear, bright, energetic.
And because Ethan refused to put it on speaker and Vivian was talking at full speed, it almost sounded like she was muttering nonstop to herself.
"Just agree, Ethan!"
"Everyone online is talking about Animal Party now. Nobody talks about Neon Myth IV anymore!"
"Before, posts about Neon Myth IV would get hundreds of replies. Now we can't even get dozens!"
"If this continues, Neon Myth IV will die before it's even born!"
Her tone grew more dramatic, more pitiful.
"Ethan… you don't want our child to die like that, do you?"
Ethan's eyebrow twitched.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and snapped at the phone.
"What do you mean our child?"
"Boss, if you can't speak properly, can you just shut up?"
At the same time, Ethan was doing the exact opposite of "working."
He was playing Animal Party on a top-end gaming laptop.
He had picked a corgi.
And he was currently terrorizing the arena like a tiny demon.
To be fair, Ethan had money now.
Real money.
So even though he still hadn't changed houses, he did what every gamer with sudden wealth did:
He upgraded everything.
Two laptops.
One desktop worth over forty thousand.
New peripherals.
New setup.
Everything.
Gaming felt unbelievably smooth.
Vivian ignored his insults completely and charged forward like a train.
"Anyway, listen!"
"Long story short—just agree!"
"I thought about this move for a long time!"
Ethan got punched by an alligator, flopped over, and sighed.
"That's a good thought, Boss."
"Next time… don't think."
"ETHAN!" Vivian yelled, offended.
Ethan leaned back, considering.
Then he spoke honestly.
"Boss, it's more suitable for you to do this than me."
Silence for half a second.
Then Ethan continued, calm and sharp.
"Why don't you stream?"
"Think about it. You're adorable."
"Have you forgotten those reaction clips from the Skybound expo?"
"Those videos alone have twenty to thirty million views."
"Boss… you're more popular than me."
Vivian snorted.
"I know I'm cute."
"But the problem is, if I stream, I won't know what to say."
"So you still have to do it!"
Ethan laughed quietly.
Streaming?
Impossible.
Vivian had self-awareness.
She was loud and fearless around people she knew—like a tiny hamster holding sunflower seeds and screaming "draw your weapon!"
Cute and wild.
But in front of strangers?
She'd freeze.
Shrink.
Turn into a silent little quail.
Which meant, in her mind, this job had to be Ethan's.
Ethan stared at the screen for a moment.
Then he took his hand off the mouse, sighed, and finally spoke like a man surrendering to fate.
"Fine. I'll stream."
"But it can't just be me."
Vivian's voice brightened instantly.
"What do you mean?"
"We stream together," Ethan said. "And you have to cosplay a character."
Vivian instantly panicked.
"Cosplay?!"
Ethan didn't give her room to escape.
"Tomorrow at noon, we use the official account and release the character designs for Neon Myth IV."
"All four main characters."
"Then at 8 PM, we stream together."
Vivian's voice weakened.
"You… you want me to cosplay?"
Ethan's tone turned dangerously calm.
"If you don't agree, forget it."
"Think about how much I've done lately."
"And now you still want to push more work onto me."
"If this continues, I'm going to throw a tantrum."
"Boss… aren't you afraid I'll quit and go to another company?"
Vivian went silent.
Then, like someone swallowing a bitter pill, she sighed hard.
"Alright! Alright! I get it! I'll cosplay!"
Then she suddenly paused.
"…Wait."
"That's why you had someone make clothes?"
"You prepared this early?"
Ethan chuckled lightly.
"Me? Preparing early?"
"Boss… you dug your own grave."
Vivian's mood flipped instantly.
Excited again.
"Then what should I cosplay? Mira Vale?"
Ethan laughed.
"What are you thinking?"
He shut the laptop, holding the phone closer.
"Boss, do you think you have even one percent of Mira Vale's vibe?"
Vivian: "…"
Ethan continued without mercy.
"It's better for you to honestly cosplay Luna Ash."
The line
went dead for a second.
Then—
"ETHAN REED, YOU BASTARD!"
Ethan's lips curved into a smile he couldn't hide.
And from the other end of the phone…
Was that the sound of Vivian grinding her teeth?
It definitely sounded like it.
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Extra chapters available on patreon ❤️🔥
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