I'm drawing an action-packed anime within a depressing one!

Even the top-ranked oolong tea, who had been lurking in the background, spoke up.

[Oolong Tea: Is it heavily edited?]

Tian Xiaoxi is known for her excellent aesthetic sense and drawing skills. If the artwork were more refined, the comic might look even better!

Amidst everyone's anticipation.

Tian Xiaoxi confidently posted the meticulously edited image of the Calabash Brothers to the group chat.

After sending it out, she also posted a long, enthusiastic paragraph outlining her design concepts.

[Tian Xiaoxi: He's wearing a colorful, auspicious cloud-patterned fairy robe, and the gourd on his head is a priceless treasure! He looks like an adorable little fairy boy from the heavens! He has a crane-like, cute appearance! His whole body glows, and he strikes a pose as if creating the world...]

"Exquisite lighting and shadow effects!"

"That's what makes him feel like a celestial being!"

"They're so lifelike!"

"Perfect!"

But the group chat was completely silent.

Everyone was silent.

...

"?"

Tian Xiaoxi was puzzled.

Why aren't you saying anything?

Were they stunned by the beautiful painting skills?

She was somewhat smug and wanted to tell everyone that it was just a sketch and she hadn't refined it yet, when she saw the group chat explode with messages.

[Oolong Tea: You drew very well, but it's ugly.]

[Oolong Tea: The original version is still the best. You shouldn't change it. I've realized that your original art style is the essence.]

Song Yaoyao: ...

[Song Yaoyao: I don't know what's wrong with it, it just feels really weird, don't change it! I like the original!]

[Xiao Liu: It suddenly feels like it's lost the essence of the original! The previous crayon-style Calabash Brothers was much better!]

[Xiao Liu: Your version is ugly everywhere! He Zhou's drawing has more life; it looks like it was drawn by a living person.]

"..."

"ugly?"

Tian Xiaoxi was bewildered.

Looking at my own drawing and that seemingly abstract crayon drawing, I was completely dumbfounded.

You mean!

My proportions are correct!

The clothes are beautiful!

Even the meticulously crafted gourd fairy can't compare to this crayon-style gourd boy!?

What went wrong?

She was dumbfounded.

...

Why are there so many people here today?

While He Zhou was still drawing comics, he heard the popularity notifications keep increasing.

There are also many comments.

But when he saw the first heavily edited picture of the Calabash Brothers in the comments section, he almost died laughing.

Chapter 14 Defying Heaven (Please Read On!)

A Calabash Brother with excellent drawing skills, but shockingly ugly, appeared before He Zhou's eyes.

He Zhou had just felt a chill in the school and was feeling a sense of crisis when he saw the Calabash Brothers and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Although the plot of this comic is a bit rubbish, the art style is quite funny.

This simple comic strip, which can be condensed into less than six chapters, doesn't need this kind of art style.

It's like trying to recreate a silly comic book you read in your past life with the style of a game CG; it just doesn't have the same feel to it.

This author seems to disbelieve in superstitions.

I also drew a modified version of the purple Calabash Brothers on the cover.

[Tian Xiaoxi: Those ribbons represent the magical power of this little fairy! He is surrounded by spiritual energy! His clothes are also the attire worn by celestial children!]

I designed it! Even the patterns on the clothes and sleeves are so dazzling! This pattern is a crane and gourd design, which I meticulously crafted… [Image/]

...

When the comic fans below saw it, they were all criticizing it.

[My eyes! Give up! This crayon version is much better! I've gotten used to the crayon version now, and I think it's really nice!]

[No more drawing! No more altering He Zhou's crayon version!]

[Although the drawing is very good, it just feels so bizarre...]

"Hahahaha!"

He Zhou burst out laughing in class, so loudly that Jiang Dai, who was groggily sitting next to him, was woken up. She looked over with a puzzled expression, her ears twitching involuntarily.

After surveying the area and confirming that there was no danger around He Zhou, she took out the dried meat He Zhou had given her from the small cloth pocket on her chest and ate a few pieces.

His carefree expression was completely out of place in the gloomy monster city surrounding him.

The two of them went about their own business.

...

The people next to them were talking about something, and suddenly remembered that Jiang Dai had transferred from outside the island, so they couldn't help but call out to her.

"Jiang Dai, classmate."

"..."

The kitten pretended not to hear.

"Jiang Dai!"

The person next to them raised their voice a bit.

Jiang Dai lay on the table eating dried meat, frowning as she pretended not to hear.

But there was a hint of wariness in her expression.

The way he looked was as if he was wary of those people over there trying to harm He Zhou, and this inexplicable wariness made He Zhou both laugh and cry.

Seeing that Jiang Dai wasn't responding or ignoring anyone, the classmate next to her reached out to pat her shoulder: "We are actually..."

Before his hand even touched her shoulder, she reacted extremely quickly, as if in a state of stress, turning around and leaning towards He Zhou. With her back to He Zhou, she faced them fiercely and let out a "Ha!"

"Don't touch me!!"

"what!!"

The alert look, with its vertical pupils like a hunter's and ears practically perked up, startled the students over there.

They immediately waved their hands: "We just have a few questions."

"what!"

"We won't ask anymore."

Seeing that they had backed down, Jiang Dai turned her head with a hint of smugness, as if she had protected He Zhou, and then lay down next to him to continue eating jerky.

...

The popularity suddenly increased.

[Popularity increased by 0.002]

[Popularity increased by 0.002]

Several comments suddenly appeared along with it.

[Why do I have a feeling that Jiang Dai is about to be tamed by this NPC?]

Don't they find it strange that people hiss when they're being fierce, like cats?

[Demons roam everywhere. In such a gloomy place, what's so strange about people breathing out bad breath? There are even more insane people out there.]

"So fierce."

He Zhou casually reached out and touched the small pocket hanging in front of her: "Do you still have any dried meat?"

"It's gone."

After Jiang Dai finished the last piece, her eyes were bright and she was completely relaxed next to him.

Even though his hand touched her waist and abdomen through her pocket, she only looked at He Zhou with a puzzled expression, turned the pocket inside out, and said seriously, "It's really gone."

"I'll pack some more for you when we get back."

Ever since he learned that Jiang Dai's fighting power decreased when she was hungry, He Zhou has been packing her a bag of jerky every day.

To prevent some strange buff that reduces combat power from appearing when you're unaware of it.

So far, this strategy appears to be quite successful.

...

in the afternoon.

During class, He Zhou was somewhat distracted.

After the first three episodes were drawn, several abilities finally appeared in the shop.

I glanced at it briefly.

The eldest Calabash Brother's abilities are all gray.

Below it was a line of cold, impersonal text: [Note: Only the protagonist can possess the abilities belonging to the protagonist.]

"..."

ruthless.

NPCs can only use the abilities of NPCs in comics, right?

Damn, that makes sense!

To use the Calabash Brothers' abilities, you have to be the main character, right?

...

He Zhou could only sigh and continue reading.

After searching for a long time, I finally found one that I could redeem with a little effort.

【Homecoming - Level Zero】

[Source: The background image of the bird mother from the first episode of "Calabash Brothers"]

[Effect: Allows the target to fall asleep peacefully for 0.1 seconds. The mother bird determines the nest location as the safe home for her chicks.]

[Identity Redemption: Background]

[Exchange Popularity Points: 0.1 Popularity Point]

[Next Level: Homecoming - Tier 1]