Chapter 168: Loves to Teach

Chapter 168: Loves to Teach

With the addition of three assistants, Lin Qingshan indeed felt his workload lighten considerably.

After all, he no longer had to handle the more tedious tasks; his job was mainly to draw characters and "transcribe" the storylines.

However, he assigned different tasks to Wu Shiqing, Chen Chunqiang, and Jiejian Yuta.

Chen Chunqiang focused on background illustrations, while Wu Shiqing was tasked with inking, shading, and coloring. Jiejian Yuta, on the other hand, had a slightly more monotonous job, primarily responsible for applying screentone and placing dialogue bubbles.

But their tasks were relatively easy, especially since Lin Qingshan was a man with a stockpile of drafts. His work schedule wasn't rushed.

Eventually, Wu Shiqing, Chen Chunqiang, and Jiejian Yuta felt a bit embarrassed and proactively offered (or perhaps felt pressured) to help Lin Qingshan with household chores in his apartment.

They even helped clean up after Pochita.

During their first week, after completing their work, Lin Qingshan even had a chat with them.

"How are you all feeling?" Lin Qingshan asked with a smile. "Not too busy here, right?"

"Teacher... this place is quite unique," Wu Shiqing responded, looking at Lin Qingshan. "To think you have a stockpile of drafts... Teacher, you must have been very diligent before."

She mistakenly believed that Lin Qingshan was one of those people who had been working tirelessly, which is why he had so many drafts stored up.

Lin Qingshan shook his head, "Not at all. I've always been quite laid-back. It's just that I draw very quickly, so I can complete these tasks on my own in no time."

"Teacher is amazing..."

Among the three, the only one with actual experience as a professional manga artist, Chen Chunqiang, sighed, "I used to struggle just to meet deadlines, let alone having any drafts in reserve."

"Haha, maybe I'm just lucky."

Lin Qingshan laughed heartily, "You all should keep working hard too."

After all, being a time traveler with a system does mean having good luck, doesn't it?

"It's not just luck that makes Teacher amazing," Wu Shiqing said seriously. "I've read all three of your works, and the plots and settings are incredible. For Teacher to come up with so many great storylines and character designs while also doing all the artwork... you're truly a genius."

"It's just okay," Lin Qingshan scratched his head. After all, he was just a "plagiarist."

There's no need to think up plots or anything; just copy them!

"Actually, I want to ask you something, Teacher..."

At this point, Jiejian Yuta raised his hand, "I think the way you arrange character deaths is particularly well done, but I don't quite understand..."

"For example, the deaths of Mann, Dorio, Rebecca, and Togata all felt rather sudden. Was there a specific reason you arranged it that way?"

Lin Qingshan thought for a moment, then replied, "I believe that character deaths should always be meaningful and should showcase their charm and peak moments."

"But if you foreshadow their deaths too much, the readers will easily guess it and accept it, which would undermine the impact of those peak moments."

"So, I prefer to have characters exit the stage just before their development is fully complete, and then use their deaths to finish shaping their character."

This theory was something he had come up with. After all, whether it was Mann or Togata, their characters were fully realized only through their deaths.

Especially with Mann—before his death, people may not have fully understood him. They only saw him as a seasoned cyberpunk, a competent leader. But his death scene made his character more complete, turning him into the best big brother in Night City.

The same was true for Togata. Before her death, people merely saw her as a film-obsessed person with gender identity issues. But after she sacrificed herself to help Agni survive, she became the best sister Agni ever had.

"Is that really the reason?" Wu Shiqing, Chen Chunqiang, and Jiejian Yuta all seemed to be deep in thought.

"Using death to highlight a character's final charm and peak moments," Wu Shiqing murmured to herself.

"If you foreshadow death too much, it becomes predictable and easier for readers to accept..." Chen Chunqiang focused on this point.

"Using death to complete a character's development..." Jiejian Yuta seemed to ponder this idea.

Seeing their thoughtful expressions, Lin Qingshan felt a bit hopeful.

He hoped that his "teaching" would help them in their future careers as manga artists.

Who knows... maybe in the future, he would be credited with training three successful manga artists?

That might even boost his own reputation!

Lin Qingshan's eyes lit up, and he decided to put more effort into teaching Wu Shiqing, Chen Chunqiang, and Jiejian Yuta.

[Translator: sauron]

...

The fact that Lin Qingshan had hired three new assistants wasn't something that attracted much attention from the outside world.

The "Edgerunners" anime continued to air on TV, and "Fire Punch" was becoming increasingly popular through word of mouth.

Meanwhile, "Chainsaw Man" was still being serialized...

After Denji's brutal battle with the Eternity Devil, which he eventually survived, the story entered a rare calm phase.

"A welcome party?"

Having left the creepy hotel, Aki Hayakawa and Himeno sat in an alley, smoking together.

Fans were relieved to see this scene. Compared to the always oppressive and serious plot of "Fire Punch," "Chainsaw Man" seemed much more light-hearted and humorous.

In this light, "Chainsaw Man" appeared to be a more universally appealing story, despite its occasional lowbrow humor and suggestive content.

"That's right! The members of Division 4 haven't had a chance to bond yet."

Himeno said, "We should get to know each other better and address some of the issues we have."

Readers then learned that Kobeni and Arai had been so scared by the hotel incident that they wanted to quit.

Himeno also intended to apologize to Denji—after all, she had almost been swayed into offering him to the Eternity Devil at the hotel.

However, thanks to Denji, not only did they defeat the Eternity Devil, but they also retrieved a piece of the Gun Devil's flesh from inside it.

Finally, Himeno mentioned Makima.

"The strangest thing is, Makima seems to have taken a special interest in Denji for some reason."

"She used to be constantly on the move, but lately, she's been staying in Tokyo. I think it's because of Denji, right?"¹

"Maybe she knows Denji's secret?"

But as she spoke, Aki Hayakawa remained silent, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"How about getting her drunk and asking her?"

Himeno suggested as she stubbed out her cigarette.

¹ Note: Slight alteration to the original text for the parallel world background.