Chapter 50: The Second

The next day, Jiang Zheng's instability had vanished. He didn't feel any obvious physical changes, but he knew he'd successfully received the reward.

Seeing Jiang Zheng washing up as usual, Zhou Quanyi asked in surprise, "Fourth Brother, is your foot healed?"

"Yeah, just needed a day’s rest," Jiang Zheng replied.

"Perfect, let's go out and take a stroll today," Zhou Quanyi said with a smile.

Jiang Zheng nodded in agreement.

The two quickly tidied up and left.

...

"This is the place you brought me to? Are you sure you want to hang out here?" Jiang Zheng asked, somewhat incredulous.

"Of course! Look at this place—it's a paradise for men," Zhou Quanyi grinned.

Jiang Zheng fell silent. This was no paradise for men; it was a haven for homebodies.

Looking at the hall filled with figurines and merchandise, Jiang Zheng was at a loss for words.

"I thought when you said we’d go out, you meant sightseeing," Jiang Zheng remarked.

"Tourist spots are boring, and they're crowded—sometimes you can't see anything but people’s heads," Zhou Quanyi shook his head.

"But..." Jiang Zheng started, but Zhou Quanyi interrupted him.

"No buts. I'll cover today's expenses. Whatever catches your eye, it's yours," Zhou Quanyi said, still smiling.

Jiang Zheng shook his head. "I'm not really interested in figurines. You go ahead. I'll wander around elsewhere."

"That's fine. Just come back here to find me," Zhou Quanyi replied.

Jiang Zheng acknowledged and walked off toward another part of the mall.

He was never particularly interested in shopping; he just wanted an excuse to leave and find a quieter spot to write.

He hadn't brought his laptop today, thinking he was here to travel and visit famous sites—lugging a computer would be too much of a burden.

But if he wanted to write, his phone would suffice, though it was slower and harder on his thumbs than a keyboard.

Every seat in the mall’s public areas was taken, and Jiang Zheng didn’t want to squeeze in with strangers.

So he found a coffee shop, ordered a cup of coffee, and sat down to write as he drank.

After two hours, his fingers were starting to ache, so he paused to rest.

When he stopped, he glanced at his author dashboard and discovered he’d received two more major supporter rewards.

They weren’t silver supporters, but every major supporter was precious.

A bit overwhelmed, Jiang Zheng decided to add a word of thanks in today’s update.

As for extra chapters, he’d hold off for now.

According to his editor, his book would soon be recommended on the “Three Rivers” list, and during that period, he could launch his new book.

He’d already calculated the timing and divided the chapters, keeping the update rhythm so that the first major climax would coincide with the launch.

He was doing this to maximize subscriptions.

There were many standards for judging a book's popularity, but subscriptions were among the most important.

Generally, a book reaching ten thousand subscriptions was considered popular.

If he added extra chapters now, it would throw off his rhythm, and the climax might be released before the launch.

If that happened, many readers might not subscribe.

He then browsed through reader comments, occasionally smiling.

He had to admit, his readers were talented—the comments section was full of witty banter, and many remarks amused him.

Even more impressive were some readers’ predictions and theories about the plot—some ideas truly surprised him.

He finally understood why so many authors borrowed ideas from the comments section; sometimes readers’ thoughts were genuinely brilliant.

Of course, copying them exactly wouldn't do—he could adapt the ideas.

His own thoughts became much clearer as he read.

There were also comments pointing out flaws in the book; Jiang Zheng considered them thoughtfully.

Time passed quickly as he read the reviews—before he realized it, an hour had gone by.

He had been in the café for three hours, and his coffee was still barely half finished.

Suddenly, Jiang Zheng noticed a comment: "Guys, I just saw this book climb to second place on the new release chart—it's not far from first!"

Jiang Zheng was stunned; he hadn't paid much attention to the new release chart.

The new release chart, as the name suggested, ranked books during their initial period; once that period ended, books dropped off.

He knew he was updating quickly, so his new release period was short; he wouldn’t stay on the chart long, so he hadn’t cared much.

What he truly cared about was the monthly ticket chart—the real battleground of gods, with the highest prestige.

Currently, he was ranked thirty-eighth on the monthly ticket chart—a remarkable achievement for a newcomer.

He hadn’t expected his book to reach second place on the new release chart.

It was a pleasant surprise.

When he launched his book, he hadn’t run into any extremely popular authors, though there were still some leading writers.

Second place meant Jiang Zheng had outperformed many top authors on the chart.

He felt a fleeting happiness, but didn’t dwell on it.

He didn’t intend to compete for first place; there was no need.

His new release period was nearly over, and whether he reached first or not didn’t matter much. Once the period ended, his book wouldn’t even appear on the chart; getting first now wouldn’t make much difference.

Besides, Jiang Zheng lacked the organization to rally readers for the ranking.

He’d never opened a fan group, so he couldn’t mobilize readers.

Second place was good enough; as for first, he wouldn’t think too much about it.

Exiting the comments section, Jiang Zheng realized he shouldn't spend more time there. Otherwise, the whole day would slip by, and he still needed to stockpile chapters.

...

Zhou Quanyi was delighted by the figurines and merchandise. Unfortunately, he couldn’t buy too many—not for financial reasons, but for other considerations.

He was selective, preferring items related to gaming, his main interest.

Many figurines here were anime-themed; those didn’t appeal to him.

He browsed through the merchandise, found several he particularly liked, and checked the time—four hours had passed. Where was Fourth Brother?

Zhou Quanyi was puzzled. Jiang Zheng had never been so fond of shopping before; where had he gone, and why hadn’t he returned?

He called Jiang Zheng.

Jiang Zheng, busy writing in the café, answered, interrupting his thoughts.

After telling Zhou Quanyi he’d return soon, Jiang Zheng hung up.

His train of thought broken, he decided not to write further; he’d already written enough today. The rest could wait until tomorrow.