Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist.

Chapter 95 Pear Girl, You Have No Heart! (3-in-1 6K!)

And soon it was noon on the deadline day.

Masaya Sakurai then looked at Shih-Ping Lin.

"I'll go pick up the manuscript in a bit. I'll call the teacher first to ask."

Lin Shiping immediately said he understood, picked up his phone, found Aragaki Eri's phone number, and dialed it.

The call was connected very quickly.

"This is Aragaki, Mr. Hayashi?"

Eri Aragaki's voice came through the phone.

"Yes, it's me."

Lin Shiping quickly said, "It's like this, Ms. Riko, Sakurai asked me to come and collect the manuscripts for this week's Attack on Titan and Fog Hill of Five Elements. Is that alright? If so, I'll get ready to leave now."

Eri Aragaki didn't think much of it and said, "Of course, no problem. I'll be waiting for Mr. Hayashi to come."

"Okay, please wait a moment, teacher. I'll leave now."

Then Lin Shiping hung up the phone, picked up his coat and briefcase from his workstation, and strode out of the editorial department.

He went to the address of Eri Aragaki's family home, as given by Masaya Sakurai.

Although it was his first time there, he quickly found his way to Eri Aragaki's apartment and rang the doorbell.

The door opened from the inside, and Eri Aragaki appeared in the doorway dressed in winter loungewear.

She wore a dark gray, thick cotton loungewear set, with a section of white turtleneck sweater trim peeking out from the neckline, and her hair was casually tied in a low ponytail.

Because her hair wasn't short like a boy's, but rather the length of Mikasa's, she would tie it into a ponytail for convenience when eating.

Even when she's at home without makeup, Eri Aragaki's stats are quite unusual.

Lin Shiping also agreed that Sakurai Masaya was right; this teacher was indeed a beautiful girl who could become a big star just by virtue of her looks, even if she didn't become a manga artist.

"Please come in, Mr. Lin."

Eri Aragaki remained as polite as ever.

Lin Shiping was led into the apartment, where he took off his shoes and put on spare slippers.

The heating in the living room was on full blast.

"Would you like some tea, Mr. Lin?"

"Yes, thank you, teacher."

Lin Shiping sat down on the sofa, and after Aragaki Eri poured him some tea, he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Then Eri Aragaki took out two brown paper file folders from the studio, one of which was labeled "Attack on Titan this week's draft" and the other was labeled "Fog Hill of Five Elements short story completed".

"Mr. Lin, this is Giant's manuscript for this week, and this is the manuscript for 'Fog Hill of Five Elements'."

"OK."

Lin Shiping quickly reached out and took it, first placing the giant's copy on the coffee table, and then opening the manuscript of "Fog Hill of Five Elements".

The first page of the cover features a color illustration, which Eri Aragaki couldn't resist drawing herself.

On the drawing, the protagonist, Wenren Yixuan, is engulfed in flames against a backdrop of misty mountains and seas of clouds. The red of the flames and the gray of the clouds collide in shades of ink, creating a powerful visual impact.

Lin Shiping stared at the colored illustration for several seconds before turning to the next page.

The story opens with a battle between the protagonist, Wenren Yixuan, and the awakened Qilin.

In the stone forest, the scene opens with a high-intensity battle.

Wenren Yixuan initially engaged in close-quarters combat with the Qilin, his dark-colored fists and feet crisscrossing among the stone forest, but he was no match for the Qilin at all.

Later, Wenren Yixuan used his companion fire spirit, Huo Huan, and flames exploded on the drawing paper, starting a new round of battle with the Qilin.

The design of the Qilin is quite special. The scales and mane on its semi-human body are all outlined with ink lines, stroke by stroke. The variations in ink density give the feeling that the creature is moving on the paper.

Lin Shiping was also captivated by this ink painting style.

This style of drawing is almost unique in the Japanese manga industry. The freehand brushwork of the brushstrokes and the hard lines commonly used in Japanese manga represent two completely different aesthetic systems.

With such skillful drawing and a unique art style, even though the opening battle of "Fog Hill of Five Elements" is somewhat inexplicable and nonsensical, it can still captivate people.

A boy and a qilin fought fiercely in a stone forest. The story was not explained at all, but it still made people want to keep watching.

However, it was clear that Wenren Yixuan was no match for Qilin.

The Qilin's strength far exceeded his expectations. Huo Huan was shattered by the Qilin's claw, and Wenren Yixuan was sent flying, crashing into several stone pillars.

Later, the other five envoys arrived and each displayed their abilities, blocking Wenren Yixuan and Qilin.

However, at this moment, Qilin's son, Little Qilin, ran away and slipped out of the Giant Shield in the chaos.

This enraged the Qilin, which then kidnapped Wenren Yixuan's mother and Shentu Yuanshu, the Water Executor's sister, and imprisoned them inside the Giant Shield, vowing that Wenren Yixuan must find the little Qilin.

Then the style shifts, and here Eri Aragaki demonstrates what traditional Chinese painting looks like.

The transition scene, reminiscent of the painting "A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains," features endless black and white landscapes with clouds swirling among the mountains, stretching from the depths of the misty mountains all the way to the villages in the human world. The entire double-page spread is like an ancient painting being directly transplanted into a comic strip.

Looking at the black and white landscape painting, Lin Shiping couldn't help but exclaim how amazing it was.

The story then shifts to a mountain village called Dizhan Village in the human world.

The village chief's daughter, Su Xiaoan, unexpectedly encounters Wenren Yixuan, who has been expelled from his family and stripped of his title as the Fire Elementalist, on a mountain road outside the village. Meanwhile, a demon beast force led by the Angry Beast Peacock launches a surprise attack on Dishan Village in order to seize the little Qilin imprisoned there.

Wenren Yixuan arrived with Su Xiaoan and immediately took action to eliminate the Wraith Beast's forces.

The story is the most classic and quintessential tale: a boy falls into misfortune, his village is attacked, he steps forward, and the hero returns.

Most importantly, the art style and drawing skills are truly unparalleled, even surpassing the previous "Wu Song".

"Wu Song" uses line drawing and texturing techniques, and you can still see the style of Japanese manga, and only occasionally uses the splashed ink style.

The painting "Fog Hill of Five Elements" is a step up, combining bold, freehand ink painting with meticulous brushwork. It uses bold ink painting for battle scenes and meticulous brushwork for everyday transitions, switching between the two techniques with ease.

Lin Shiping felt that the original drawings in his hands were works of art. He deliberately turned the pages with a light touch, afraid of leaving creases on the paper.

He looked at it again, flipping back to the cover of the fiery Wenren Yixuan, then to the transition page of the black and white landscape, and then to the double-page spread where the demonic peacock appeared.

I looked at it over and over again; I absolutely loved it.

Only when it was almost time to put the drawing back neatly into the file bag did he do so.

Then he took a deep breath and began to check the manuscript for this week's Attack on Titan.

When he opened the file bag, his expression was still one of excitement from reading "Fog Hill of Five Elements," but reason told him that he had to finish checking the manuscript of "Giants" before he could go back and hand it in.

Compared to when he was reading the manuscript of "Fog Hill of Five Elements," this seemed much more perfunctory.

I just flipped through it briefly to make sure the page numbers matched, the pages weren't obviously damaged or stained, and each page was in its proper place, and then I put it directly into the file folder.

He carefully placed the two file folders down before standing up from the sofa and saying goodbye to Eri Aragaki.

"Ms. Pear, both manuscripts are fine, so I'll head back now."

He said with immediate satisfaction.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Lin. Please drive carefully."

Eri Aragaki escorted him to the door. Lin Shiping changed his shoes, bowed slightly, and then quickly walked towards the elevator.

It was already afternoon when he returned to Shueisha.

He handed the manuscript of Attack on Titan to Masaya Sakurai, who took it, checked it to make sure it was correct, and then began the layout work for the week.

Lin Shiping returned to his workstation, put the manuscript of "Fog Hill of Five Elements" into the drawer and locked it. After sitting for a while, he opened the drawer again, took out the manuscript, and flipped through the black and white landscape transition page again.

"That's really... amazing!"

He couldn't help but say it now.

And soon, a new week arrived.

Lin Beimiao finally had some rare free time.

Although the university hasn't started its summer break yet, his advisor's research project is almost finished. The last batch of data analysis reports was submitted last weekend, and his advisor replied in an email with "Thank you for your hard work."

Graduate students at the bottom of the project team like him no longer need to be exploited for their labor. They no longer need to be on standby in the lab at eight o'clock every morning, and they no longer need to work non-stop between petri dishes and centrifuges.

Over the weekend, he met up with a few other students in Tokyo. They ate Chinese food in Ikebukuro, chatted about their respective lab mentors and interesting things, and then went their separate ways.

On Monday morning, he went to the research lab to check in. His supervisor was drinking tea and reading papers in his office. He looked up at him and said, "There's nothing much to do these days, so you can manage your own time." Then he left the research lab.

He had nothing to do for the rest of the time, a rare period of slacking off during his graduate studies, so he thought—why not read some comics from this period?

It just so happens that today is Monday, and Weekly Shonen Jump is released every Monday. He can buy the latest issue of the magazine, scan it, and send it back to his friends in China so they can translate it into Chinese as soon as possible.

So on his way back, he went to a bookstore on the street and picked up the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump from the magazine shelf.

This issue's cover features Luffy and the entire Straw Hat crew in full color on the deck, with the sails of the Thousand Sunny in the background.

He tucked the magazine under his arm, grabbed a bottle of oolong tea, and paid at the cashier.

Back in his apartment, he put the magazines on the table and started reading the comics in order.

The magazine's front page still features One Piece, the highest mountain and longest river in the world of Japanese manga.

Yes, children, it's still him.

The popularity rankings in Weekly Shonen Jump are not just for fun; they determine a manga's treatment, income, and status.

If a comic has never even made it into the top ten most popular comics, then even if it's going to be released as a standalone volume, the magazines won't give it much pre-release hype.

At most, it'll just be placed in a color page in the middle of a magazine for promotion.

The kind of treatment that Attack on Titan received before its release, where even Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece had to give way to its cover and opening color pages, is something only top ten most popular manga can enjoy.

This is realistic, but there's nothing wrong with it.

On days when there are no special circumstances such as pre-release promotions for individual volumes or collaborative promotions, the covers and opening color pages are basically dominated by Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece, with One Piece undoubtedly taking the most appearances.

As of 2007, One Piece had appeared on the cover approximately 80 times, Naruto approximately 27 or 28 times, and Bleach less than 20 times.

This week's One Piece storyline is equally exciting and captivating.

The foreshadowing of the Shadow Revolution begins to unfold in this chapter, and the pacing of the entire Thriller Bark arc is just right.

After finishing One Piece, Lin Beimiao flipped through Naruto and Bleach, then watched Gintama and Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, following his usual reading order.

And so it wasn't until around the eighth volume of the manga that we saw Attack on Titan.

The plot of Attack on Titan over the past two weeks has been extremely brutal.

After Eren realized that trusting his comrades was the right thing to do, he chose to trust his Survey Corps comrades, his seniors in Levi's squad, and Commander Erwin's judgment.

However, the female giant managed to escape using a clever escape technique. At the critical moment, her body, which was bound by ropes, summoned a large number of giants who devoured her body completely.

Her true form, however, disappeared into the shadows of the trees under the cover of the forest and the chaos created by the giants.

Then, according to Commander Erwin's later speculation, the Female Titan's true identity should be a spy hidden in the Survey Corps.

The image of a figure dressed in Survey Corps uniform that Eri Aragaki drew later confirmed this, but then that figure approached Levi's squad where Eren was located.

Gunda, a member of Levi's squad, spotted a figure dressed in Survey Corps uniform. The figure was partially visible in the shadows of the trees, and Gunda, without much suspicion, assumed it was one of his comrades.

He was then ambushed and killed. The scene of Gundar falling seemed to happen silently, but Allen was furious when he saw it.

However, this gave Levi's squad time to prepare. Petra was the first to react, shouting for Eren to step back.

Seeing that there was no other way, the female giant transformed again, her huge body standing up from the shadows of the trees, and Levi's squad's formation was completely broken at this moment.

Afterwards, the other members of Levi's squad—Petra, Oro, and Elder—enabling Eren to continue to trust them and his Survey Corps comrades.

Allen had no choice but to believe again.

However, the price of this belief was that Petra, Oro, and Eld were successively brutally killed by the Female Titan.

Every frame of the battle scene is drawn with great impact, and Eri Aragaki's drawing skills have added a touch of animation dynamism to this part compared to the original work.

Witnessing the annihilation of his comrades, Eren's beliefs crumbled, and he chose to transform into a Titan and fight the Female Titan.

His giant rose from the forest and collided with the female giant.

However, Eren was defeated by Eren's overwhelming fighting skills. Eren was completely immobilized and eventually captured by the Female Titan.

Just last week, during the crisis when Eren was about to be captured by the Female Titan—

This week's episode has reached the point where Levi finally arrives "on horseback".

He piloted the 3D Maneuver Gear through the forest, past the scattered corpses of Levi's squad members—Gunda's, Petra's, Oreo's, Elder's—

He seemed extremely calm, his expression unchanged, just like the expressionless Captain he always was.

However, Lin Beimiao could sense the surging sorrow beneath Levi's calm surface through the visuals, especially in the close-ups of Petra's corpse—

It must be said that Eri Aragaki's drawing skills are now quite remarkable.

This doesn't feel like the original manga; it feels more like the animation.

Beneath the calm surface of the sea lies a raging torrent, powerful enough to tear everything apart.

As Levi passed by the corpses in his 3D Maneuver Gear, he didn't speak or show any grief, but the silent heaviness was more unsettling than any roar.

But Levi still couldn't explode, because he had more important things to do.

That is to save Allen.

He charged toward the giantess.

He then demonstrated why everyone calls him the pinnacle of human soldiers, the strongest human soldier, still spinning like a whirlwind, still with a style unlike any other soldier.

The trajectory of his blade through the air seemed to slice the entire scene into pieces. He precisely severed the tendons in the giantess's arms and peeled away the protective layer at the back of her neck layer by layer.

Unfortunately, he twisted his ankle halfway through, so he couldn't stay cool for the whole time.

Levi's body paused for a moment in mid-air.

However, with Mikasa's help, they managed to save Eren from being swallowed by the Female Titan.

Mikasa cut in from the side and took the opportunity to drag Eren out of the Titan's mouth.

However, this mission came to an end, and the Survey Corps' investigation concluded due to the massive casualties and insufficient supplies caused by the Female Titan.

On the way, however, the Survey Corps encountered a large group of Pure Titans.

In order to reduce the burden and to attract the attention of the giants, they had no choice but to push their comrade's corpse off the vehicle.

The corpses wrapped in white cloth were pushed off the carriage one by one, falling onto the grass, which diverted some of the giants' pursuit.

This included the bodies of Petra and others.

"Wow—is it really that real, that cruel?"

When Lin Beimiao saw this page, he was almost numb.

Over the past few weeks, Lin Beimiao has been repeatedly tortured to the point of exhaustion.

From the moment Levi's entire squad was wiped out, he was relentlessly tormented.

He thought that the heart-wrenching part of the plot had ended there, and that nothing else would cause him any more distress.

But what he thought was just what he thought; he still underestimated the ruthlessness of someone who wouldn't eat a pear.

The death of a person is not the end of the story. Even the body cannot be taken back. The body, still warm when it was pushed off the vehicle, was left in the wilderness outside the wall to be eaten by the giants.

They ended up with no remains left.

That's so tragic!

However, this is not the end.

When the Survey Corps returned to the interior of the wall, the onlookers there continued to point fingers and mock them.

They stood at the city gate watching the surviving soldiers of the Survey Corps ride back on horseback, their expressions filled with that familiar...

An expression that sends your blood pressure soaring.

"These guys went out yelling all morning, and I didn't expect them to be back by lunchtime—"

"What on earth did they go to do?!"

"Who knows? But judging from their expressions, they probably burned all the taxes we paid again."

19

"Commander Erwin! Has your investigation outside the walls yielded results commensurate with the sacrifices made?"

"Holy crap!"

Lin Beimiao couldn't help but swear when he saw this, and cursed directly.

But that's not all.

The most heart-wrenching plot is here, an original story created by the animation team. Eri Aragaki thought this plot was very good, so she added it to this week's serialization.

Petra's parents waited at the city gate for the Survey Corps to return, squeezing through the crowd to find their daughter among the soldiers.

Petra's father saw Levi and kept asking him where his daughter was and why he couldn't see her.

He also jokingly asked Levi when he planned to marry Petra, saying that Petra had mentioned him in her letters, and that she wrote more carefully every time she did.

Levi stood there, his sleeve being pulled by Petra's father, without saying a word.

Petra's father's smile gradually faded in Levi's silence.

Upon seeing this, Lin Beimiao felt as if sand had gotten into his eyes, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

He put the magazine on the table, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and then wiped his nose with a tissue.

Tears keep flowing even after you wipe them away; there's no end to them.

He sat alone in his empty apartment, the magazine in front of him turned to the page where Levi was silent. Outside the window was Tokyo, almost December, with a fine winter rain falling from the gray sky.

"Pear Girl, are you even human?! Damn it!"

Even though he knew that the woman who didn't eat pears was a female cartoonist and a beautiful girl, he still couldn't help but start cursing.

People are usually very tolerant of beautiful girls; pretty girls are tolerated more no matter what they do. But right now, Lin Beimiao really couldn't hold back anymore.

When Petra's father asked his daughter why she didn't come back, when Levi stood there without saying a word, when that page had no dialogue, no special effects, only the image of an old man's smile disappearing—

Only one thought remained in his mind—

If you don't eat pear blossoms, what kind of heart do you have?

It took Lin Beimiao a long time to recover. After reading the extremely heart-wrenching plot of "Attack on Titan", he continued reading the rest of the manga.

He thought there would be no more battles to watch until he was almost finished reading, and then he decided to read the last short comic strip section.

However, short comic strips are usually just snacks after a main meal.

Most of them are used by people to pass the time after they've finished reading other comics.

This is also where Shueisha uses it to nurture new manga artists or to test readers' reactions to new short stories by veteran manga artists.

Therefore, not many readers have high expectations for short comics.

Lin Beimiao then turned to the page with the short comic strip, and saw—

A scene that struck him as extremely beautiful.

The boy, engulfed in flames, is backed by a landscape painting-like black ink painting of mountains and clouds. The varying shades of ink blend and collide with the flames, creating a powerful visual impact.

The most crucial thing is————

This art style is definitely...

"Is this a traditional Chinese painting technique?"

Lin Beimiao's eyes widened immediately, then he looked at the column of author names —

really!

She refuses to eat pears again!

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