After The Web Novel Great God Transmigrated As A Scummy Online Dating Top - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

After the “Rising Stars” list ended, Lin Muxue made a pact with herself: as long as the “Smear Campaign” kept spamming negative reviews, she would update ten chapters a day. She kept this up for a full week. Her draft box remained resilient, but the bank account of Lightning-Thin Shrimp, who was footing the bill for the professional haters, was being bled dry.

Green Dog Literature’s rates are low, but the math was brutal. Massive updates plus a massive army of hired water trolls equaled a daily expense of dozens of yuan in subscription fees alone—not including the hiring fees for the accounts.

More frustratingly, the negative reviews were being buried. The review section of The Arcane Case Files had turned into a chaotic digital rave where readers cheered for the battle.

Dancing Underpants: Ooh! Another day of carnival! Fight! Fight! Fight! [Egg Hurt]: Negative Review Team, please stay blind and keep hating! We need those extra chapters!

Leading the charge was Wang Tianchong. Motivated by Lin Muxue’s “workaholic” energy, she had become a typing demon, vowing to learn from “Mu Qianshan-sensei.” Every time a hater left a negative mark, she would drop a massive tip to cancel out the point deduction.

By the tenth day, The Arcane Case Files climbed onto the Golden Rankings (the site’s main homepage). The haters had inadvertently provided so much traffic and engagement that people started calling them “Good Samaritans.”

Lightning-Thin Shrimp looked at her empty wallet and wanted to smash her keyboard, but she couldn’t afford a new one. She surrendered. The hater group disbanded in silence.

…

The First Paycheck

By early June, the data for The Arcane Case Files had exploded from 30,000 to over 60,000 bookmarks. Lin Muxue successfully withdrew her first paycheck: over 80,000 RMB ($11,000+).

Since the book wasn’t finished, this was only half of her actual earnings. She realized that by the time she finished the final 100,000 words of the 800,000-word novel next month, she could pay off her entire debt in one go.

“Finally,” she exhaled, leaning back from her computer. The high-pressure “crunch” was over. She could return to her preferred pace: writing as a hobby, enjoying the process.

To celebrate, she decided to treat herself to a high-end meal. At the restaurant, her phone buzzed with a message from “Sweetie.”

Sweet Orange Meow: Eating at the canteen today. I acted cute for the cafeteria lady and she gave me an extra fish! [Scattering flowers]

Lin Muxue looked at the photo of a braised crucian carp. It looked average, but the girl’s excitement was infectious. Lin Muxue took a photo of her own lunch—a sophisticated seafood pot and soup.

Chao Mu Cheng Xue: I finished a big project this morning, so I’m out celebrating with a feast.

Over the last half-month, Lin Muxue had grown accustomed to “Sweetie.” She had initially expected the girl to get bored of her “old-fashioned” and quiet personality, but the opposite had happened. Chu Meng had a talent for making the most mundane daily events sound interesting.

…

The “Seafood” Trap

At the DM training base, Chu Meng sat with a pair of chopsticks in one hand and her phone in the other. She zoomed in on Lin Muxue’s photo.

One serving. One seafood pot, one soup, one bowl of rice. No sign of anyone else in the reflection or the seat across.

So, she really is single, Chu Meng noted. Then, her stomach growled. I want seafood pot now.

Sweet Orange Meow: Wow! That looks delicious! Quick, taste it for me! If it’s good, I’m ordering the same thing for dinner!

Lin Muxue chuckled. Even if mine is good, it doesn’t mean the one at her place will be. It was a silly, “lovable” logic. She took a bite and savored the fresh, rich flavors of the W-City specialty.

Chao Mu Cheng Xue: It tastes great. You should definitely consider it for dinner.

Sweet Orange Meow: [Emoji of a cat clutching its stomach laughing] [Sweet Orange Meow] Ah-Xue, are you silly? Just because yours is good doesn’t mean mine will be!

Lin Muxue nearly choked on her soup.

Fine. I got teased again, she thought, hiding a smile behind her hand. Next time, I’ll have to call her out on her nonsense first.