Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist.

"Sister, breakfast is ready, come and eat."

Just then, Erina suddenly called out to her. She looked up from her computer desk and smelled the aroma of frying hamburger patties and toast wafting from the kitchen.

"Okay, wait a minute, Erina, you eat first."

Eri Aragaki responded immediately, then gave a thumbs-up again and said...

Erina looked at her helplessly, but still placed the toasted bread, fried egg, hamburger patty and a small bowl of green salad on the table.

After finishing her breakfast, she got ready to go to school.

As she changed her shoes in the entryway, she glanced back at her sister, who was still sitting in front of the computer, and called out, "Sister, I'm going to class now."

"Okay, Erina, you do your best today too."

Eri Aragaki then walked over, stood by the entrance, and waved goodbye to Erina.

The door closed, and Erina's footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor.

Eri Aragaki returned to the dining table, pulled out a chair, sat down, took a slice of toast, sandwiched a fried egg between two slices of toast, and took a big bite.

But halfway through her meal, she returned to her computer desk with her plate, holding the toast in her left hand and the mouse in her right, continuing to browse the web.

She suddenly realized that she hadn't surfed the internet in the Republic for a long time.

She thought for a moment, then clicked into the forum called "Anime Home" again, and also opened the Baidu Tieba page.

Then she discovered that the most popular post on the pinned post page of the anime forum was titled...

"[Translated] Short Comic Strip 'Wu Song': The Heavenly Star of Sorrow, Wu Song, Returns to His Position!"

The post, followed by a thumbs-up icon, had a considerable number of views and replies.

And several of the popular posts below are...

"I have to say, the Japanese depiction of Wu Song is amazing, absolutely incredible!"

"As expected of a Japanese manga artist, they excel at drawing these kinds of exciting stories. Their 'Wu Song' made my blood boil!"

"The Japanese are truly excellent at making manga!"

……

Eri Aragaki was stunned for a moment when she saw this, and then she realized what was going on.

"Wu Song" is... experiencing a minor surge in popularity on the People's Republic of China's internet!

She quickly stuffed the last bite of toast into her mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then continued clicking on the posts with the mouse to scroll down.

The post on the anime website announcing the Chinese translation had over ten pages of replies. She clicked on each one and found that they were all praises.

"This 'Wu Song' is so well drawn! It's the first time I've seen a Japanese manga depict a Chinese story so authentically. The art style is so Chinese! Is someone who doesn't eat pears really Japanese? Are you sure they're not a fellow countryman who studied abroad?"

"The pacing of the plot is excellent. From Wu Song fighting the tiger to meeting his brother on the street and then avenging his brother, there is no dull moment. I watched it all in one go and my blood was boiling. This feeling of righteous indignation and revenge is the true spirit of martial arts."

"The storyboarding is amazing, especially the part where Wu Song takes up his sword and goes up Lion Street. You can feel the speed and power through the screen. Teacher Bu Chi Li Zi's drawing skills are absolutely top-notch."

"Ying'er's question, 'Will Father come back after I avenge him?' brought me to tears. A little child doesn't understand what death is, but she asked the most heartbreaking question in the whole comic. The handling of such details is amazing."

"I thought this author was talented when I read Attack on Titan, but I didn't expect him to be so good at drawing Chinese-style short stories. Is Bu Chi Li Zi an all-rounder? His ability to handle different themes and styles is so enviable."

"I studied painting, and the way this artist handles ink and white space is beyond the skill level of an average cartoonist. It requires a deep understanding of traditional Chinese painting to achieve this. Mr. Bu Chi Li Zi is definitely a hidden master."

"I recommended it to several classmates, and not one of them said anything bad about it. It's the best short comic I've read this year, bar none. If you disagree, let's argue."

"This is absolutely amazing. I thought the author was amazing when I read Attack on Titan, but I never expected that he could draw works in this style. Mr. Buchiri is definitely the strongest new manga artist this year."

"The Japanese can turn our classic novel 'Water Margin' into a manga, and it looks so good. You have to admire them."

……

As Aragaki Eri looked at the compliments, the corners of her mouth curved into a wider smile, and she leaned back in her chair, feeling completely relaxed.

Unlike the polite "very beautiful" and "very amazing" comments on Japanese forums, the praise from Chinese netizens is genuinely for someone's talent.

Moreover, because her soul belonged to the Republic, this praise from her own people made her feel even more pleased.

She couldn't resist finding the reply box at the very bottom of the post, logging into her previously registered account, and starting to type a reply to the last comment—

[Gabriel: This is probably what they call "The Little Western Paradise couldn't bestow the title of Great Sage, but the fake Water Margin produced a real Wu Song."]

She also copied a popular comment from her previous life, and soon her comment received a lot of likes, with many people replying that she was right.

Eri Aragaki continued chatting and laughing with netizens from the Republic while eating breakfast.

After she finished breakfast, she put the empty plate in the kitchen sink and wiped her hands with a paper towel.

At this point, drowsiness completely overwhelmed me. The fatigue from staying up all night felt like a switch had been flipped, and my brain started sending strong sleep signals. My eyelids felt so heavy I couldn't lift them.

"Ha~"

She yawned, turned off the computer, went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, changed into her pajamas, went into the bedroom, drew the curtains, and sank into the covers. She fell asleep in less than three minutes.

……

While Eri Aragaki was fast asleep, Shueisha released its weekly popularity rankings.

But today's situation is a little different.

In the large office, the editors were compiling reader survey questionnaires from the issue of the weekly magazine six weeks prior.

This is a standard delayed statistical process because the collection cycle for reader feedback in the short story section is different from that of the regular serialization. The feedback will be compiled only after a certain number of postcards have been returned.

When Lin Shiping emptied the postcards from the cardboard box, he noticed that there were significantly more postcards in this issue than in the previous one.

Short comics are also included in the weekly comic popularity rankings, but they generally don't get much popularity and definitely don't have much of an advantage over long-running series.

The short story only has one chapter, and the characters and story are meeting the readers for the first time. There is no reader loyalty or emotional foundation built up from the serialization, so it basically floats in the lower middle of the popularity rankings.

Therefore, the ranking is usually outside the teens or twenties, and its impact on the overall ranking is negligible. Editors don't pay special attention to this part of the data when compiling it.