A Single Person's Infinite Wonderful Life

People in every place have their own eating habits. The Japanese like to eat raw food. No one will stop them, but no one can persuade them to accept this eating habit. Raw fish sashimi existed in Japan as early as the 8th century BC, but later people found that eating it would cause diseases, so they gradually abandoned this eating habit. Who knew that Japan would actually promote this practice?

Sushi originated in the Later Han Dynasty, but it was gradually phased out in the subsequent development of food culture. However, it flourished abroad, developing a completely new lineage in Japan, breaking free from the constraints of the past and forging a new path.

Even setting aside the raw sushi, the wide variety of cooked sushi is enough to satisfy even a food enthusiast like Li Wei.

Since it wasn't peak dining time yet, there weren't many customers in the conveyor belt sushi restaurant. The five of them sat side by side, each taking the sushi they wanted to try.

What Li Wei wanted to complain about was that the place was marked as "self-service," which didn't mean that everyone could eat as much as they wanted after paying a certain amount of money.

The self-service style here simply places the sushi on a conveyor belt for diners to take as they please. When it's time to pay, the price is calculated based on the number of plates containing the sushi, with different price ranges having different plates.

The average cost per person here is over 50,000 yen, which is quite luxurious compared to a typical family restaurant where you can get a full meal for 2,000 yen per person. Although it can't compare to a traditional Japanese restaurant, it's already considered to be at the top of the price range for casual dining.

As for high-end restaurants, a single meal there costs at least 500,000 yen per person. Aside from the truly wealthy, most people, and those with only a little money, wouldn't dare to go to a restaurant. Even a moderately wealthy woman like Kasumigaoka Utaha can't afford the cost of a restaurant. Those places are all about the prestige; what you actually eat is less important.

Li Wei ordered all kinds of cooked sushi. It has to be said that the chef at this sushi restaurant is quite skilled, and all kinds of cooked sushi are delicious and appealing, satisfying the palate of a cooked food enthusiast like him.

"Hey? Li Wei, won't you try this salmon sushi?" Aki Tomoya asked curiously, watching Li Wei keep eating cooked sushi.

Li Wei took a stack of caviar sushi from the conveyor belt and said, "My stomach isn't very good, so raw sushi is a bit too much of a challenge for me. As for raw sushi, caviar sushi is my limit."

Regular fish roe sushi usually contains sashimi, but this sushi restaurant's fish roe sushi doesn't contain sashimi. Instead, it uses fish roe as the main ingredient, with cucumber strips, carrot strips, and seaweed as side dishes. Served with vinegared rice and light soy sauce, it tastes quite good.

Without sashimi, the amount of roe is maximizing, covering the entire surface of the sushi, creating a striking visual impact. However, the price of the roe sushi is justified by its appearance; a plate of two pieces costs 1,500 yen, enough for a filling meal at a typical family restaurant.

After swallowing the sushi in her mouth, Kasumigaoka Utaha picked up a large glass full of drinks and said, "Let's celebrate! Let's celebrate the great success of the first book by the Great Demon God! Let's strive to break 50 copies sold per volume."

Hearing Kasumigaoka Utaha's words, everyone else smiled and raised their glasses. As a member of the game development club, Li Wei was also the link that connected everyone. The entire club was implicitly led by him, so even Sawamura Eriri, who was somewhat wary of Li Wei, did not put on airs in this situation.

"Selling over 10 copies would be quite good, considering that the market might not accept such a counter-mainstream work. The editor-in-chief is offering me such a high salary, so I'm under a lot of pressure," Li Wei said.

Although Li Wei is confident in his work, he cannot guarantee that he can satisfy the tastes of the general public. He feels that even if there is to be a celebration, it should be after the results are announced.

Moreover, after returning to his apartment tonight, he still has to rush to finish a promotional image. If his physical fitness hadn't been enhanced to the extreme, it would have been impossible to finish a promotional image in one night.

The illustration style of "Today, His Majesty the Demon King is also performing Rakugo" is different from the mainstream style on the market. Li Wei always adopts a thick painting style, and naturally, the style of large-scale promotional paintings must also be complex and exquisite thick painting.

In addition, Li Wei needs to rush to complete the illustrations for the new work these days, so he won't be able to continue playing games and watching anime at night. He will just turn on his computer in the classroom and do his own thing. This is too arrogant. Even mavericks like Li Wei and Kasumigaoka Utaha would not do this. So Li Wei will be quite busy for a while.

Kasumigaoka Utaha laughed and said, "For many light novel authors, just getting published is already a victory. No matter what the final sales are, at least it's been published. Li Weijun's new work is a masterpiece that even the editor-in-chief, who has read countless books, praised highly. 50 copies sold per volume is very easy for him."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's optimism also infected the others, and the atmosphere of the small group became much more harmonious.

Chapter 39. The Unexpected Finisher

Li Wei leisurely savored the cooked sushi, occasionally joining in the conversation. He didn't talk much, but every time he spoke, he hit the nail on the head, surprising Aki Tomoya and Sawamura Eriri with his erudition.

Eriri Sawamura looked at Li Wei and asked curiously, "Li Wei, you were also admitted to Tokyo University of the Arts early. What are your thoughts on contemporary painting art?"

Li Wei laughed and said, "To be honest, this question might offend some people."

“Anyway, there’s no one else around, so it’s fine to say it,” said Eriri Sawamura. She was very curious about this issue, and she also wanted to hear what a genius like Li Wei had to say about it.

"I can no longer understand contemporary painting, or rather, so-called modern painting. Painting is meant to be seen, to allow viewers to appreciate its beauty. But modern painting has become a self-contained little circle, producing purely conceptual works that ordinary people can't understand at all, completely out of touch with popular aesthetics." Li Wei was being quite tactful. If he were to put it more bluntly, he would say that the vast majority of modern painters are a bunch of pretentious fraudsters.

"This isn't the first time I've heard such comments, but every time I do, I'm struck by them. And the modernist painters have strongly refuted them, arguing that the critics don't understand art," said Eriri Sawamura with a sigh. She studied classical oil painting, and she couldn't understand those strange modernist paintings either. If the painters didn't explain their works, ordinary people would only see a bunch of messy blocks of color and graffiti, looking completely bewildered.

Li Wei took a sip of cola to moisten his throat and said, "You all know the great poet Bai Juyi, right?"

All four nodded. Bai Juyi was a very famous poet in Japan because his poems were very suitable for beginners. Anyone who had a little knowledge of classical literature would inevitably encounter Bai Juyi when studying Japanese culture.

Li Wei said, "Why are the works of the great poet Bai Juyi so easy to understand? The reason is simple: after creating a new work, this great poet would read it to illiterate old ladies. He would revise it until the old ladies could understand it. It is precisely because of this that Bai Juyi's works are very suitable for beginners to Chinese ancient culture."

High schools in Japan also teach basic ancient Chinese culture, and the group was quite familiar with the great poet Bai Juyi.

Li Wei continued, "My creative philosophy is similar to that of Master Bai Juyi. He wanted to ensure that even illiterate old ladies could understand his poems, while my philosophy is to create paintings that even people who don't understand art can understand. I am not on the same path as those modern painters at all, so naturally we don't see eye to eye and despise each other."

Eriri Sawamura nodded and said, "That's true. When I went to the Museum of Modern Art to see the exhibition before, apart from the works of a few masters, I was completely confused by the so-called modernist paintings created by most modern painters."

Li Wei laughed and said, "The modern school is not without masters. Although I personally do not like the modern school, I still have to admit that this school has masters. But more often than not, there is a group of people who only know how to seek fame and fortune and are just pretentious. These people are simply tarnishing the reputation of the modern school."

Eriri Sawamura looked somewhat excited. She hadn't expected that Li Wei shared similar views on this matter, which made her feel like she had met a kindred spirit.

Li Wei smiled and said, "Later I will show you some of my previous works, but in exchange, Eriri, you also have to show me your own works. It's a way of learning from each other."

Eriri nodded. Although she hadn't seen Li Wei's paintings yet, she had overheard Li Wei's conversation with the paperback staff across the street at the coffee shop. The fact that Li Wei was able to convince the paperback staff to let him draw the illustrations himself instead of having an illustrator showed that Li Wei's skills were definitely not a problem, and even his commercial style was excellent, which was why he was able to convince the paperback staff.

The atmosphere gradually became more harmonious, and everyone spoke their minds without any of the previous awkwardness. Li Wei was very satisfied with this atmosphere. Although the game development company was just a tool in his hands, no one would complain that the tool in their hands was more convenient.

Li Wei also noticed Aki Tomoya, who was starting to fall behind the conversation. Unlike Kato Megumi, he didn't hide his presence, so he sat there awkwardly, unable to join the conversation, and could only eat with his head down, feeling quite frustrated.

Li Wei steered the conversation towards Aki Tomoya, saying, "By the way, Aki-kun, how's your proposal coming along these past few days? I know I know asking you these kinds of questions might annoy you, but the production team is all set up and just waiting for your proposal."

Li Wei's tone was very tactful, as if he was afraid of hurting Aki Tomoya, which made Aki Tomoya even more embarrassed.

To Li Wei's surprise, the person who delivered the final blow was none other than Eriri Sawamura.

Eriri Sawamura said, "Rinya, Li Wei-kun is right. You came to me before saying you wanted to make a dating sim, but the proposal you came with was so rudimentary that it couldn't even be called a proposal. It's been several days now, shouldn't there be a more detailed version by now?"

Aki Tomoya's hand holding the sushi froze in mid-air. He said somewhat awkwardly, "Wait a little longer. The new version is still a bit short. I've been busy running around to the event department for the past two days. I've only written half of the plan. I'll finish the plan as soon as possible."

Aki Tomoya felt a little flustered. Being sandwiched among a group of geniuses was like being a duck among a flock of swans. The duck couldn't fly and could only look up at the swans soaring in the sky. This feeling was really unpleasant. He also wondered why he had made the game and put himself in such an embarrassing situation.

Chapter 40. Propaganda Posters

Li Wei was leisurely eating his sushi when he suddenly received feedback from the system.

Aki Tomoya started questioning his life again, and this time he was particularly ruthless, so much so that he directly received 500 points.

Li Wei looked at Aki Tomoya, whose expression was somewhat unpleasant, but he didn't seem to be in a state of collapse. If it weren't for the feedback from the system, he wouldn't have known that Aki Tomoya was experiencing such a huge emotional fluctuation.

He gained 500 points in this round, bringing his total to 1200 points. Although this level of points still doesn't allow him to do anything significant, it's much better than being penniless before. The available purchase options in the system shop suddenly lit up considerably.

As expected, Aki Tomoya is a gold mine worth digging into repeatedly. Although this is somewhat inhumane for Aki Tomoya, Li Wei, from his own perspective, will not be lenient.

Li Wei said, "Then let's wait a little longer. I'm all ready and can start anytime. However, without a plan, what can I do first?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was standing nearby, said, "Without a plan, we can't do anything. We can only wait."

Li Wei said, "An Yi-kun, are you planning to release your dating sim on a gaming platform, or will you go for physical discs and sell them at anime conventions?"

As a Steam player, Li Wei had also purchased some romance games on the platform. Japanese romance games were all very expensive and rarely went on sale. Before his transmigration, he had recently bought a Chinese-made romance game called "Sanshoku Eiko," which he hadn't had a chance to play yet.

Li Wei changed the subject and helped Aki Tomoya out of his embarrassment.

Aki Tomoya gave Li Wei a grateful look. Li Wei didn't say anything, but just continued eating his food. After all, some things are best left unsaid. If you act too deliberately, it will only attract the attention of those around you.

Li Wei was surprised that the first person to deliver the finishing blow would be Eriri Sawamura. He was puzzled. Wasn't Eriri Sawamura Aki Tomoya's childhood friend? This finishing blow was incredibly precise, hitting Aki Tomoya's vital point directly and breaking his defenses. This was something he hadn't expected.

Kato Megumi glanced over there, then looked away and focused on eating her food. She had a much clearer understanding of herself than Aki Tomoya, so she didn't have as many psychological problems.

Kato Megumi didn't have a very good impression of Aki Tomoya either. After all, Aki Tomoya kept saying he wanted to make games, but he hadn't produced a single plan yet, leaving everyone waiting in vain.

Everyone has their own things to do, and having your time wasted by others is never a pleasant thing.

In her view, Aki Tomoya was also testing everyone's patience, and if this continued, problems would inevitably arise sooner or later.

Kato Megumi is a very perceptive person. She has already seen the hidden dangers in this team. To put it simply, Aki Tomoya is not worthy of his position. As the main planner and source of inspiration for the game, he has not yet been able to provide a concrete and feasible implementation plan, leaving the other implementers to wait idly. This is already a dereliction of duty.

Megumi Kato could clearly see that while Tomoya Aki possessed some talent, he paled in comparison to the other three production staff members on the team. Aki lacked the ability to maximize the potential of the three executives, and that was his problem.

After stuffing a piece of cod sushi into her mouth, Kato Megumi continued to maintain her invisible demeanor. Although Aki Tomoya also had a lot of enthusiasm, some things cannot be solved by enthusiasm alone.

After the event, everyone went home. Tokyo is a metropolis with more than ten million people living there. Because of this, it is normal for students from the same school to live in all sorts of places and not be able to get home on their own.

After returning to his apartment, Li Wei rested for a while before turning on his computer. He then took out an iced cola and some potato chips from the refrigerator. The cucumber-flavored potato chips, after being left in the crisper drawer, had a different flavor than usual, which Li Wei really liked.

Li Wei opened Photoshop and connected his drawing tablet to the computer. While SAI was now the dominant drawing software, Li Wei still preferred Photoshop. SAI was sufficient most of the time, but Li Wei's style was quite varied, so the more compatible Photoshop was the drawing software he found most comfortable using.

Painting in a thick, heavy style on a physical canvas is quite a hassle, but painting directly on a computer is much simpler. There's no need to repeatedly mix paints to create a base color, nor is there a need to wait for the paint blocks to dry. With digital painting, you can simply open the brush, fill it up, and it's dry. You can also repeatedly correct mistakes without worrying about damaging the underlying paint layers and making the painting look dirty, unlike with physical painting.

Most importantly, digital painting doesn't require contact with paint, so you won't get yourself all dirty. This is what Li Wei finds most convenient about digital painting. Once he has a composition in his mind, all Li Wei has to do is, like a "platinum printer," replicate the image in his mind.

Li Wei's hands, in terms of JOJO's Stand, would at least be rated A. Such stable hands could produce amazing works of art, whether it's painting, sculpting, or calligraphy.

As for the promotional poster, the composition in Li Wei's mind was already very clear. Since it was a vertical poster, the male protagonist was bound to be located in the central position at the top of the image, with a magnificent and intricate golden throne at his feet, a large number of servants carrying the golden throne, and a huge army stretching as far as the eye could see on both sides. In the background, there was a huge, fantasy-style gray castle, and the gloomy sky made the whole composition full of oppression.

The male protagonist, clad in magnificent black and blue armor, sat reclining on the throne, legs crossed, one hand supporting his cheek, the other holding a wine glass. Beside him, a tanned maid, her profile barely visible, knelt on one knee, holding a wine jug, her head slightly bowed, seemingly somewhat fearful.

The painting is grand yet oppressive. The male protagonist is like a great demon king in a fantasy story, looking down at the people viewing the poster with a playful smile on his lips, as if he has seen something interesting.

This wasn't the first time Li Wei had drawn this kind of demon king character. With practice, everything from the overall composition of the picture to the details of the character's accessories was incredibly easy for him. He found it quite enjoyable to simply draw according to what he had in mind.

Chapter 41. Dry girl

Li Wei discovered that his drawing efficiency was now far greater than before. He originally thought it would take him three hours to barely finish the illustrations for the promotional materials, not even counting the time for subsequent detailed revisions.

But now, he actually finished the drawing in just one hour. And because he drew it based on the image in his mind, there was no need for any further refinement, so he finished the work in just one hour. As for the subsequent illustrations, Li Wei also had images in his mind, and he was currently doing virtual refinement in his mind. Once he finished in his mind, he could simply transfer the picture in his mind to reality.

"Working so efficiently can make you feel like you have nothing to do. This is the first time I've experienced this feeling, and it's really great." Li Wei leaned back in the ergonomic chair, exuding an air of nonchalant leisure.

The advantage of multi-threaded thinking is that it allows you to multitask. The only side effect is that you get tired more easily than before. However, as long as you don't push yourself too hard and only use two thought processes, the mental pressure is not too great, and the rate of fatigue is still within an acceptable range.

After saving the completed painting, Li Wei closed Photoshop, unplugged the graphics tablet from the computer, and returned to the real world. He was preparing to get himself a high-end digital drawing screen.

He had his eye on a high-end LCD drawing screen, but it was quite expensive, costing over 60,000 RMB. Given Li Wei's current situation of desperately saving money, such a luxury was impossible for him, so he could only drool over that LCD drawing screen.

But things are different now. He now has relatively ample financial resources, and a 60,000 RMB LCD drawing screen is no longer a luxury for him.

Just as Li Wei opened the anime website, ready to continue browsing anime videos from this world, a notification popped up on LINE, and Kasumigaoka Utaha's profile picture lit up.

(Li Weijun, are you working now? ┴┤?ω?)?)

(I just finished drawing the illustrations for the promotional materials and am resting now.)

(Want to play World of Warships?)

(If you want to play, you'll have to wait for me. I need to spend some money, otherwise, there won't be any high-level ships that can match with you.)