141 Kills Deaths Assists

"Riot Games Korea?" Miaoyi was initially confused. "What kind of contract could they possibly want to sign with me?"

Had she ever spoken to Riot Games before? Or was this just coming out of the blue?

Probably the latter, right?

"Uh... you'll need to read the contract to find out. In short, it's about electronic music," came the response.

"No surprise there. If they're contacting me, it's definitely because of electronic music. What else could it be?"

Miaoyi pondered for a moment. This was actually the second time in recent weeks that she'd heard about this company. The first instance was when Song Ziyin brought it up. And now, out of nowhere, a contract from Riot Games' Korea division.

Wait... hold on... that time with Song Ziyin...

Suddenly, the thought popped into her head. Miaoyi didn't immediately put it all together, but as she thought deeper, a certain term resurfaced.

"Could it be related to the K/DA Project?" Miaoyi looked surprised as she turned towards the speaker. She cleared her throat and cautiously asked.

It dawned on her that Song Ziyin had babbled about Riot Games HQ contemplating the "K/DA Project" a solid three years ago, but for reasons only known to the cosmic algorithms, it got shelved. Could this Riot Games contract be the secret ingredient for that "K/DA Project"?

This wasn't baseless speculation or a wild guess—it was highly likely!

According to Song Ziyin, the official reason for the delay was primarily related to difficulties with finding electronic music producers; other aspects were not so problematic.

"Yes, they are indeed discussing such a project. I'm surprised you knew." It was a bit astonishing that Miaoyi had caught on so quickly.

Miaoyi hadn't expected it to be related to that, and her expression briefly froze. "I've heard it from others."

"Thinking of jumping on this bandwagon?" East lounged back, chipper as a squirrel with a nut stash. After all, Miaoyi's latest single had crossed the 20 million sales mark, so he was feeling like a kid in a candy store. "No pressure, turning down this contract won't really affect anything."

"Do I strike you as someone who's interested in joining a girl group, whether it's a virtual one or not? Even if it's a virtual girl group..." Miaoyi's response was straightforward. The disgust in her eyes was impossible to conceal. "You can decline this for me. I'd sooner fly to the moon on a bicycle than join a girl group, real or pixelated."

Did they expect Miaoyi to go all pixel-pom-pom for a girl group? Did they think she'd moonwalk through virtual rainbows?

Absolutely not...

She had waited curiously for several days, only to hear this piece of news.

Actually, she had wondered what significant event had kept her from returning to Shanghai for the past few days. As it turned out, it was the "K/DA Project" knocking on her door.

Moreover, speaking of which... wasn't this a recruitment offer? Why would they be actively sending a contract? Wasn't it supposed to have a bit more of a recruitment feel to it?

"No, no, no... actually... no one ever said they wanted you to be in a girl group," Miaoyi's read-between-the-lines left East momentarily stupefied. "Riot Games never mentioned you becoming a member."

"Huh? They never asked me to join? Then why did they go through all the trouble to send a contract all the way here if not for that?" Miaoyi felt like her internal GPS had lost signal. Her expression turned to stern disbelief.

Had she misunderstood their intentions?

"Um... well, of course, Riot Games would be most thrilled if you joined. But the central focus of this project is to create music," he explained with a mix of amusement and mild exasperation. "They didn't intend for you to join as a member directly. Their idea is to invite you to be the overall project leader, overseeing the most crucial part—the musical composition."

"..."

So, she had been off base with her thinking?

"Not as a member directly, but to be their producer..."

"Wait, hold on, isn't this like your subconscious secretly wishing for a girl group gig? It was the first thing you thought, so maybe your subconscious influenced your expectations..." East unexpectedly said this outright.

Miaoyi: "...Aren't you worried I'll just turn and leave immediately?"

"I'm not really concerned." He was in an unusually buoyant mood today, a chirpy cricket of a boss. "Because, if I know Teacher Tang like I do, you won't miss tonight's victory feast."

"Your cool boss image is going to crumble if you keep this up." Miaoyi suddenly felt a tad deflated. Why did her boss have a personality that seemed freshly imported from Wonderland?

"I lost that kind of prestige eight millennia ago. It's far too late to worry about it now. Being overly concerned about everything is just tiring." He matched Miaoyi's teasing stride for stride before shifting to a serious tone. "So, what do you think about their project? Personally, I believe it's worthwhile for you to consider. It's a great opportunity for you."

"It depends. I don't have a strong feeling about this project." Miaoyi shook her head, playing dodgeball with a definitive answer. "I'm more curious about why they reached out to me."

Basically, I'm just the messenger... Plus, word on the street is a certain domestic company gave you a thumbs up, and then Riot Games' Korea division did some sleuthing of their own before extending the olive branch."

"A domestic company?"

"Bilibili, to be exact. They've been playing wingman for this project in the China region. You didn't know, did you?"

Miaoyi: "..."

She hadn't expected it to be Bilibili, mirroring her past life.

In fact, during her past life on Earth, there was a little-known fact that the "K/DA Project" recruitment was actually real. Similarly, it had been open for three years, seeking members and suitable electronic music producers from all around the world.

In Earth's timeline, the head of the China region for the "K/DA Project" was also Bilibili, the pioneering platform in the *ACG industry!

(*Anime, Comics and Games)

"So, it's likely that you'll receive a call directly from Bilibili tonight for further negotiations." He had someone bring over a sealed envelope and handed it to Miaoyi. "This is the contract. You can take a look at it. Whether you agree or not is entirely up to you. My responsibility as a messenger is done."

Miaoyi accepted the envelope, glanced at An Qiuying, then turned her attention back to the envelope.

There was a series of pitch-black characters on it. In the meeting room's light, they seemed to gleam with an ebony shine, as though opening this seal would reveal a whole new world.

"K/DA Project: Candidate for Chief Planner - TMY, presented by... "

On this day, Miaoyi, with her unmatched prowess, broke through the threshold of 20 million in sales, yet ultimately ended up with this...