Home / Entertainment Creator System: Building an Anime Empire / Chapter 113: The Wrong Direction

Continue on Novkyn

Entertainment Creator System: Building an Anime Empire

Chapter 113: The Wrong Direction · Oct 10, 2026

Prev Chapter Novel Info Next Chapter

Chapter List (176)

Page number / 4

101 Chapter 101: The Contract He Chose 2026-10-10
102 Chapter 102: The First Real Cost 2026-10-10
103 Chapter 103: The First Casualty 2026-10-10
104 Chapter 104: The Day Nobody Cared 2026-10-10
105 Chapter 105: The Public Failure 2026-10-10
106 Chapter 106: The Event 2026-10-10
107 Chapter 107: The Archive Room 2026-10-10
108 Chapter 108: The Thing He Ignored 2026-10-10
109 Chapter 109: The Voice 2026-10-10
110 Chapter 110: What Yui Wanted 2026-10-10
111 Chapter 111: Back to the Desk 2026-10-10
112 Chapter 112: Rank Fourteen 2026-10-10
113 Chapter 113: The Wrong Direction 2026-10-10
114 Chapter 114: Every Story Needs an Editor 2026-10-10
115 Chapter 115: The Cost of Staying 2026-10-10
116 Chapter 116: The Cost of Recovery 2026-10-10
117 Chapter 117: Hoshino Arata 2026-10-10
118 Chapter 118: The Thing He Couldn’t Learn 2026-10-10
119 Chapter 119: The Offer 2026-10-10
120 Chapter 120: Osaka 2026-10-10
121 Chapter 121: After the Confession 2026-10-10
122 Chapter 122: The Release 2026-10-10
123 Chapter 123: The Meeting 2026-10-10
124 Chapter 124: The Empty Chair 2026-10-10
125 Chapter 125: The Contract He Refused 2026-10-10
126 Chapter 126: The Deadline 2026-10-10
127 Chapter 127: Aoi Kisaragi 2026-10-10
128 Chapter 128: The Person He Forgot 2026-10-10
129 Chapter 129 - 131: The Public Cut 2026-10-10
130 Chapter 130: The Last Sunday Before Osaka 2026-10-10
131 Chapter 131: The Public Cut 2026-10-10
132 Chapter 132: Open Doors 2026-10-10
133 Chapter 133: The Wrong Story 2026-10-10
134 Chapter 134: The Article 2026-10-10
135 Chapter 135: The Article Goes Live 2026-10-10
136 Chapter 136: The First Offer 2026-10-10
137 Chapter 137: The Price Tag 2026-10-10
138 Chapter 138: The Girl Who Didn’t Wait 2026-10-10
139 Chapter 139: The Manuscript 2026-10-10
140 Chapter 140: The Day Before Departure 2026-10-10
141 Chapter 141: Season Two 2026-10-10
142 Chapter 142: The Ring in the Drawer 2026-10-10
143 Chapter 143: Kanzaki 2026-10-10
144 Chapter 144: The Second Ledger 2026-10-10
145 Chapter 145: The Photograph on the Desk 2026-10-10
146 Chapter 146: The System Speaks Again 2026-10-10
147 Chapter 147: The Woman in the Lobby 2026-10-10
148 Chapter 148: Three Names 2026-10-10
149 Chapter 149: Aya Is Gone 2026-10-10
150 Chapter 150: The Wedding 2026-10-10

Chapter 113: Chapter 113: The Wrong Direction

Haruki should have followed Kuroda.

That was the obvious choice.

Which was exactly why he didn’t.

---

The networking event continued around him.

---

Editors talked.

Creators exchanged business cards.

Publishers negotiated future meetings.

---

The industry kept moving.

---

As if the mysterious older man hadn’t just walked into the room.

---

As if Haruki’s heart rate hadn’t doubled.

---

Across the hall, Kuroda disappeared into a private discussion area.

The gray-haired man followed.

---

The mystery practically begged for attention.

---

Ghost Project.

The voicemail.

The missing employee.

The archive room.

---

All connected.

---

Probably.

---

Maybe.

---

That uncertainty mattered.

---

Because Haruki suddenly remembered Suzune’s warning.

---

Someone keeps controlling the pace.

---

The thought hit harder now.

---

Every clue.

Every message.

Every push.

---

Someone wanted him moving in a specific direction.

---

The realization irritated him immediately.

---

Not because it was wrong.

---

Because it was probably right.

---

Aoi Kisaragi noticed his expression.

---

”You’re thinking too loudly.”

---

Haruki blinked.

---

”What does that even mean?”

---

”It means your face is arguing with itself.”

---

Fair.

---

Probably fair.

---

The creator leaned back in her chair.

---

”Are you leaving?”

---

Haruki looked toward the private hall.

---

Then back at her.

---

Then at the networking event.

---

Dozens of editors.

Creators.

Industry professionals.

---

Actual opportunities.

---

Real creator opportunities.

---

Not mysteries.

---

Not conspiracies.

---

Work.

---

Haruki sat back down.

---

”No.”

---

Aoi raised an eyebrow.

---

Interesting.

---

No.

---

Still banned.

---

”That’s probably the correct decision.”

---

The woman sounded disappointed.

---

Which made Haruki suspicious immediately.

---

Very suspicious.

---

At seven-thirty, Reika found him.

---

The contract strategist looked annoyed.

---

Her default expression.

---

Possibly her only expression.

---

”Good.”

---

Haruki groaned.

---

The disease had reached another victim.

---

Reika ignored him.

---

”You stayed.”

---

A pause.

---

”Most creators your age would’ve chased the mystery.”

---

The statement felt oddly specific.

---

Haruki frowned.

---

”How do you know there’s a mystery?”

---

Silence.

---

Reika stared.

---

Then:

---

”Because your face keeps looking toward the hallway every thirty seconds.”

---

Fair.

---

Very fair.

---

The conversation shifted toward publishing.

---

Actual publishing.

---

Foreign rights.

Digital strategy.

Audience retention.

---

Useful information.

---

The kind Haruki desperately needed.

---

At one point, Reika introduced him to a veteran editor from Kansai.

---

Then a merchandising specialist.

---

Then an adaptation consultant.

---

The networking event transformed from social torture into education.

---

Slowly.

---

Painfully.

---

Successfully.

---

By nine o’clock, Haruki had collected more useful information than he had during the entire leak investigation.

---

That bothered him.

---

A lot.

---

Because it revealed something uncomfortable.

---

The creator side of his career still offered more value than the mystery side.

---

Exactly what the blueprint demanded.

---

Exactly what Kuroda had warned about.

---

The manga remained the main story.

---

Good.

---

Useful.

---

Safer.

---

Then everything went wrong.

---

Not because of Ghost Project.

---

Because of Threadless Gate.

---

An adaptation consultant approached him near the drinks table.

---

The woman introduced herself.

---

Then immediately asked:

---

”Can I be honest?”

---

Another dangerous sentence.

---

Haruki nodded.

---

The consultant crossed her arms.

---

”Your recent Chapters are stronger.”

---

Good news.

---

Unexpected.

---

Then:

---

”The readership decline is real.”

---

Less good.

---

Much less good.

---

The consultant pulled out a tablet.

---

Graphs appeared.

---

Professional graphs.

---

The most dangerous kind.

---

”The audience trust damage is deeper than you think.”

---

The statement landed hard.

---

Not because it was cruel.

---

Because it was data.

---

Actual data.

---

The consultant continued.

---

”Readers who leave after disappointment rarely return immediately.”

---

A pause.

---

”Sometimes they watch from a distance first.”

---

Another.

---

”Waiting to see if the creator learned.”

---

The room suddenly felt smaller.

---

Not emotionally.

---

Professionally.

---

Because she wasn’t discussing a Chapter.

---

She was discussing reputation.

---

Recovery.

---

Trust.

---

Long-term damage.

---

The consequences arc wasn’t finished.

---

Not even close.

---

At ten o’clock, Haruki finally left the event.

---

The city greeted him with cold autumn air.

---

Traffic lights reflected across damp streets.

---

Tokyo remained awake.

---

As always.

---

His phone buzzed.

---

Message.

---

From Yui.

---

Simple.

---

Short.

---

How was the event?

---

No hidden meaning.

No emotional trap.

---

Just curiosity.

---

Haruki smiled.

---

Then started typing.

---

Halfway through the response, another notification appeared.

---

This one from Mizuno.

---

Meeting tomorrow. Bring every draft page.

---

A threat.

---

Clearly a threat.

---

The editor offered no explanation.

---

Naturally.

---

No.

---

Still banned.

---

Haruki sent Yui a reply.

---

Then continued walking toward the station.

---

His thoughts drifted toward Chapter Thirty.

Toward rankings.

Toward contracts.

Toward recovery.

---

Not Ghost Project.

---

For the first time in weeks.

---

Not Ghost Project.

---

The change felt small.

---

Important.

---

Then he reached the train platform.

---

And froze.

---

Not because of a mystery.

---

Not because of a clue.

---

Because somebody was waiting.

---

A woman.

---

Mid-twenties.

---

Professional suit.

---

Long dark hair.

---

Confident posture.

---

A familiar face.

---

Very familiar.

---

Haruki recognized her immediately.

---

Because her photograph sat inside one of the old Ghost Project files.

---

The file that supposedly had no surviving members.

---

The woman looked directly at him.

---

Then smiled.

---

Not warmly.

Not coldly.

---

Knowingly.

---

As if she had been expecting him.

---

As if this meeting had been scheduled long before either of them arrived.

---

The train pulled into the station.

People moved around them.

Announcements echoed overhead.

---

Neither person moved.

---

Then the woman finally spoke.

---

”You’re making the same mistake he did.”

---

Haruki stared.

---

”What?”

---

The woman’s smile faded slightly.

---

Just enough.

---

Then:

---

”You’re treating the mystery like the story.”

---

The train doors opened.

---

Passengers rushed forward.

---

The crowd swallowed the moment instantly.

---

And when Haruki looked up again—

---

She was gone.

Prev Chapter Novel Info Next Chapter

Also worth opening

Reborn at Boot Camp: General, Don’t Mess Around! 直上青云

The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse P_Drop

Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy xlntz

Trafford's Trading Club White Jade Of Sunset Mountain

Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely 半壶生姜水

The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective West of the River Looking at the Moon

Evolution Begins With A Big Tree Crimson Night

Invincible Little School Doctor Tang Bohu plays with Qiu Xiang

Child of Destiny ProudMonkey

Supreme Husband System! & Supreme Wife System! Ongoing_Expert

Taking the Mafia to the Magic World RVN_1998

Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore 孤风一醉

THE GOD EATER DMadLord

Medical and Martial God White liquor three and a half jin

The Return Of The God Level Assassin Tyramisu