Chapter 1 The Taste Has Faded

On a long bench, a man in an old leather jacket closed the comic book in his hand and placed it beside him.

The comic's cover featured two women on the phone, one in formal attire and the other with a slightly flirtatious air. Blood-colored snowflakes drifted around the edges, creating a depressing atmosphere akin to a funeral.

The jacketed man took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, and blew out a smoke ring. He then pursed his lips, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.

A Lamborghini approached and braked smoothly just before passing the bench.

A man in a burgundy suit stepped out of the car. He and the jacketed man exchanged a glance, acknowledging each other, but neither rushed to greet the other.

The suited man pulled out an e-cigarette, filling the heating rod with a cartridge while his gaze swept the surroundings, finally settling on the comic book on the bench.

"Is that Head's new work?" the suited man asked.

"Yeah," the jacketed man replied with a nod. His hair was slicked back with oil, and not even the winter wind could disturb his bangs.

"How's the flavor?"

"It's faded."

The suited man's eyes narrowed upon hearing this. He reached out and picked up the comic book, flipping through it.

The artwork, composition, and design were all impeccable – up to Head's usual standard.

The last drawing, in particular, was a double-page spread that created a huge contrast, both in terms of plot and artistic style.

The initial melancholic narrative and urban neon art style culminated in a double reversal at the end – a good story and a good comic.

But the suited man nodded in agreement. "It's definitely too faded."

They knew Head's style well. He liked to pursue the ultimate sense of tearing, both in the plot and the visual rendering, creating immense pressure that made readers hold their breath.

Compared to Head's previous works, this comic was like a master chef who usually cooked hard dishes suddenly frying a plate of broccoli, seasoned with only a little salt.

"You guys are here early."

Across the street, a man and a woman were walking towards them together.

They were siblings. The younger brother wore a black down jacket, hat, and scarf, shivering as he walked, clearly unaccustomed to the cold outdoors.

The older sister wore a white down jacket and sky-blue jeans. She didn't have a typically narrow face but a slightly rounder one, though her features were still delicate, giving off a pure and innocent vibe.

"Siyao, Siyu, you're here," the suited man greeted cheerfully, especially enthusiastic when facing the girl.

"Deng Ge, wipe your drool."

Every younger brother held a natural hostility toward any man trying to be his brother-in-law, and Qin Siyu was no exception.

But every prospective brother-in-law tended to be extremely tolerant of his future brother-in-law.

Of course, once he was officially a brother-in-law, he would start to be wary of him, lest his wife become a family-supporting leech.

"Siyu, why did you come out? It's cold today; be careful not to catch a cold."

Warm greetings and a sincere attitude.

Qin Siyu walked to the bench, ignoring Deng Ge, and smiled at the jacketed man. "Qiang-ge, are you still single?"

The jacketed man was called Xu Qiang. He was the oldest in this circle. Back then, everyone was generally a college student or recent graduate, but Xu Qiang was already an uncle. He had been single for a long time, so this aspect of his life was always the target of everyone's teasing.

Xu Qiang shook his head and scratched his oily, reflective hair. "It's still early."

Qin Siyao took the comic book from Deng Ge's hand.

Deng Ge introduced it eagerly. "This is Head's new work. Looks like it was drawn a few months ago."

Qin Siyao began flipping through the comic. It was thin, and the story wasn't long. If you didn't pay too much attention to the artwork, you could read it quickly.

After turning to the last page, Qin Siyao put down the comic and pursed her lips.

"What's wrong? What's wrong with Head's comic?"

Qin Siyu took the comic book from his sister and flipped through it for a while, looking surprised. "Why would Head draw something like this?"

Xu Qiang, sitting on the bench, speculated. "Maybe Head's short on cash."

If he wasn't short on cash, Head wouldn't draw such a light-hearted comic, given his personality.

"Head should have come to me if he needed money," Deng Ge said from the side.

Qin Siyu glared at Deng Ge, annoyed. "We know you've made a lot of money from those blockbuster animated movies you've produced in the last couple of years, but what's the point of showing off here?"

"Showing off? If Head needs money, wouldn't I give it to him? If it weren't for Head helping me out back then, I'd have gone back to my hometown and been squatting around doing nothing."

"Head wouldn't ask us for anything, even if he was short on cash," Xu Qiang said with a sigh.

Deng Ge and Qin Siyu immediately fell silent. Yes, Head was Head, after all. No matter how difficult his life became, he would never reach out to them for help.

At that moment, a motorcycle pulled up and stopped beside them. The driver was a woman in a tight motorcycle suit that accentuated her perfect figure.

The woman lifted her helmet visor and glanced at everyone present, saying calmly, "You're all here pretty early."

"A-Qiu…"

"Qiu-jie…"

Deng Ge and the others were very surprised because they hadn't expected her to be here today.

"Yeah, Head sent me a message."

A-Qiu took off her helmet and hung it on the handlebars, got off the bike, took out her phone, and read:

Following the prompts on her phone, she quickly found the house.

"Is Head planning a gathering?"

Deng Ge asked as he prepared to enter the door lock password.

It had been three years since the studio disbanded, and they hadn't really gathered since then.

Deng Ge had joined an animation company and quickly became a manager thanks to his skills and creativity. The two animated films he personally oversaw and produced became well-known blockbusters in the last two years, and his income and status were now vastly different.

Qin Siyu's health was poor, so he had stayed at home since the studio disbanded and hadn't gone out to work. As for Qin Siyao, she was a designer at a clothing company.

Xu Qiang worked at a game company, enduring the 996 work schedule (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week) and enjoying the blessings of hard work.

As for A-Qiu, after leaving the studio, she had volunteered in the mountains for two years before returning at the beginning of the year.

"Maybe… maybe," Qin Siyu said uncertainly. "It's been a long time since I've seen Head. I really miss him."

Head's name was Zheng Fan. He was a bit younger than Xu Qiang, but because he had spearheaded the establishment of the studio, he was the undisputed leader of the group.

He had put the most effort into the studio during its five years of operation, and even after it disbanded and everyone left for various reasons, he continued to watch over it.

Every so often, Head would send them electronic versions of his comics, even though they were unlikely to be published or distributed.

Deng Ge entered the password, the lock released, and the door opened.

Behind the door was the living room, but the walls were covered in dark-colored wallpaper, creating a strong sense of oppression.

Combined with the tightly closed curtains, the room was still dark even during the day.

"This is Head's house, right?"

Deng Ge reached out and touched the switch on the wall by the door, turning on the lights.

The lights weren't very bright. There were three of them, each emitting a faint, smoky yellow light, but they were enough to fill the room.

"What's hanging on the wall is…"

Qin Siyu squeezed past Deng Ge and walked to the wall. A painting hung there.

The painting was nearly two meters long and one meter wide, framed like a photograph.

It depicted a dwarf.

The dwarf's face was somewhat deformed, and his legs and feet were disproportionately thick. On the dwarf's back was an iron sword that seemed incongruous with his small stature. Naturally, the iron sword couldn't be vertical because the dwarf wasn't as tall as the sword, so it hung horizontally on his back, looking rather comical.

"That's Xue San."

Upon seeing the painting, Qin Siyu's hands began to tremble because the figure in the painting came from his own creation – the protagonist of one of his long comic series.

Qin Siyu wasn't tall, and this had always been a source of insecurity for him, so his protagonist was a dwarf – an evil dwarf. This dwarf had a habit of targeting those who mocked his height and "reorganizing" them. If they were too tall, he would saw off a section; if they were too short, he would stretch them out.

This habit was derived from Western mythology, but it also represented a common aspect of human nature.

"Xue Sanjiao?"

Deng Ge teased from behind Qin Siyu.

The dwarf's name was Xue San, but he had a nickname: Xue Sanjiao (Three-Legged Xue), a nickname given to him by the comic's readers.

"Head drew this, right?" Xu Qiang said as he walked over.

"Probably. It's a pity that Siyu's work didn't sell well back then. After all, it's hard for readers to empathize with this protagonist," Deng Ge said with a sigh.

When the studio was still around, Head had asked everyone to create a character based on their own ideas, and then everyone would work together to turn it into a comic.

*Dwarf Xue San* was Qin Siyu's comic, but it had the worst market response. After all, few people could put themselves in the shoes of an ugly dwarf character.

"It's been years; is there any point in bringing this up?" Qin Siyu said, displeased with Deng Ge's tone.

In fact, people's temperaments and personalities did change depending on their position in society, especially Deng Ge, who was now a successful person. Even if he didn't mean to, some things would naturally surface when he saw his old, "unsuccessful" friends.

"No, no, no, this is called market control. Our studio failed because we spread ourselves too thin and didn't focus on the most popular works, which led to…"

"Enough," Qin Siyao interrupted.

Deng Ge immediately shut up.

Qin Siyu ignored Deng Ge's words and simply stared at the dwarf painting on the wall.

Deng Ge pouted, turned around, and looked to the other side, immediately saying with surprise, "Siyao, come look at this; it's your Feng Si Niang."

This was also a portrait.

In the painting, a charming woman leaned against a door, her face flushed with spring, wearing an outfit similar to a kimono, revealing just enough skin to make most men's hearts flutter.

Qin Siyao walked to the painting and stared at Feng Si Niang in a daze.

Feng Si Niang was a character from her comic series. She was neither human nor ghost, and because she hadn't explained Feng Si Niang's background in the comic, readers had only speculated that Feng Si Niang might have experienced emotional betrayal or some family tragedy.

Because Feng Si Niang in the comic was a woman who didn't follow the rules. She ran a brothel, and in different series, she would run her brothel in different cities or different eras.

Feng Si Niang liked luxury and enjoyed torturing people. She followed an unconventional set of rules.

Back then, this comic had decent sales because it contained a lot of erotic scenes. The depictions were delicate, rounded, and full of imagination and visual impact, not inferior to those of foreign masters of the genre, and many readers came for those kinds of scenes.

But Qin Siyao had joined the studio when she had just started college. At that time, she hadn't even been in a relationship, and Deng Ge was certain that she was still a virgin. Yet, the scenes she wrote were so… experienced.

Deng Ge had once thought that the reason he hadn't been able to pursue Qin Siyao back then wasn't because he wasn't good enough but because any living man couldn't compete with Qin Siyao's two-dimensional characters.

"This is my Fan Li."

Xu Qiang stopped in front of a painting and reached out excitedly, scratching his greasy hair again and causing a lot of dandruff to fall.

The painting in front of him depicted a woodcutter carrying firewood on his back. The woodcutter was muscular, and looked honest and simple.

He was a woodcutter, but he was also a heartless killer. He killed as often as he chopped wood. He didn't kill for pleasure but mechanically and habitually.

This comic series, like Qin Siyu's Xue San back then, was among the lowest-ranked works in the studio and was considered a failure.

The reason was simple: contemporary comics were a highly specialized industry. There were too few all-around talents who were proficient in art, scripting, plot design, character creation, and so on.

For example, Qin Siyu and Xu Qiang's strengths lay more in practical operation.

Xu Qiang's comic series about a wood-chopping butcher, like the man himself, was too simple, so simple that readers couldn't get into it.

"There's no way Head would draw for you and not for me. Hey, I found it, A-Ming!"

Deng Ge pointed to a painting depicting a slightly thin man with fangs faintly visible at the corners of his mouth, his entire face pale and sickly.

He was called A-Ming, and he was a vampire, a character designed by Deng Ge.

It could be said that Deng Ge's current success had already shown signs when he was still at the studio. His vampire-themed comic series was the second best-selling series at the studio at the time, second only to Head's *The Magic Pill*.

A vampire with an Eastern face, coupled with a cold and unrestrained personality and a high-paced, bloody, and stimulating story, had a good market response.

Being able to create characters that audiences liked, coupled with stories that could ignite their passion, was key to grasping the market. It was precisely because he believed in this principle that Deng Ge had been so successful in his career in recent years.

In the comic, A-Ming's personality was absolutely crazy. No matter who his opponent was, he would flip the table and go straight for them.

At the same time, A-Ming was lonely. He didn't think he was a vampire, but he wasn't human either. He didn't have any friends, and after each bout of madness, all that was left was a heartbreaking coldness.

As a result, the character had many female fans.

A-Qiu silently walked past everyone.

She seemed somewhat fearful, yet also somewhat expectant.

But what was coming, still came.

She saw a painting of a man with a slightly pale face, squatting on the ground with a scene of carnage and corpses around him.

He was called Liang Cheng, and he was a jiangshi (Chinese zombie).

He thirsted for blood and was ruthless and heartless.

He had lived from ancient times to the modern era, and time had brought him an increasing sense of alienation from the world.

And his name was the same as that of his author.

Liang Cheng…

Qin Siyao had already shifted her attention from Feng Si Niang. After seeing A-Qiu and the painting in front of her, she couldn't help but fall silent as well.

There had been seven people in the studio back then.

They were Head, herself and her younger brother Siyu, Deng Ge, Xu Qiang, A-Qiu, and Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng and A-Qiu had been a couple. They were already together when they joined the studio, but Liang Cheng had died in a car accident more than three years ago.

The studio's disbandment could be said to have originated from Liang Cheng's death, but it wasn't the main reason.

Liang Cheng's death had made A-Qiu lose interest in many things, but a studio with seven people could still operate even after losing two members.

The main reason was that the studio had always focused on horror and bloody comic styles, which were already relatively niche, and coupled with policy restrictions and crackdowns, the studio's survival became increasingly difficult.

After the studio's most popular and best-selling series, *The Magic Pill* and *Vampire A-Ming*, were banned, the studio suddenly found itself in a state of uncertainty.

Deng Ge had strongly suggested at the time that the studio should cater to the market and draw some more positive or at least less bloody and terrifying topics, which would create a better survival environment and bring higher income with a larger audience.

But Head had directly rejected this suggestion.

Head said that everyone had gathered together because they liked horror and bloody themes, and he didn't want to taint their original intentions.

As a result, the studio's operations completely stalled.

First, Deng Ge left and joined an animation company, starting his new career.

Next were the Qin siblings. The Qin family's financial situation was average, and their parents were both workers. Qin Siyu's health was poor, and the annual treatment costs were a problem, so Qin Siyao had no choice but to leave and choose a new career.

The last to leave was Xu Qiang. After everyone else had left, he silently packed his things, made Head a bowl of noodles, and went to a game company.

Back then, they had gathered together because of shared interests and had walked through five years of ups and downs together, but in the end, they couldn't overcome the law that all good things must come to an end.

Near the jiangshi Liang Cheng, there was also a painting, which was A-Qiu's comic protagonist, but not a female character, but a man with empty eye sockets.

He was called Bei, and he was blind. He was good at playing the piano, and when he killed, he liked to put his hands in front of him, playing piano melodies in the air while his prey was tortured to death.

A-Qiu herself was the main artist for this comic, and the art style was very realistic, but the plot was weak. In many series, Bei was often killing people from the beginning, as if the entire comic was just about killing.

This made even readers who liked horror themes unable to accept it. After all, everyone still needed some plot to add variety.

However, seemingly because of the uniqueness of the female perspective, the character of Bei also attracted many die-hard fans, so its sales were still a bit higher than those of Dwarf Xue San and A-Li (Fan Li).

The characteristics of the protagonist in *Blind Bei* were probably related to A-Qiu's family background. Her father had died in the line of duty at the hands of a criminal.

The two side walls of the living room each had three paintings hanging on them.

And on the wall facing the door, there was a single painting.

After looking at their own comic protagonists, everyone tacitly gathered in front of this painting. It depicted a baby, full of ferocity and raging flames.

This was Head's comic, called *The Magic Pill*, which used a baby as a character.

Whether in terms of plot or artwork, it was almost impeccable. It could be said that it attracted a large audience with its pure horror and twisted essence, and even Deng Ge's *Vampire A-Ming* was overshadowed by *The Magic Pill* in terms of popularity.

"The Magic Pill is as stubborn as Head," Deng Ge said with a sigh.

He thought he was excellent, but at the same time, he thought that Head was an even more excellent person than himself.

It was a pity that Head was stubborn, like the character he created. Even though he could have had a better development if he had just changed a little or adapted a little, Head stubbornly persisted.

There was no resentment, really, because everyone could be said to have strayed from their original intentions, but Head was the only one who had stuck to his original heart.

What everyone felt more was probably admiration for Head.

"Where's Head?" Qin Siyu asked.

There was no doubt that Head had drawn the seven paintings in the living room, but where was the Head who had invited everyone to reunite after three years?

Xu Qiang pushed open the door to a bedroom on the side and found that the lights were on.

There were no sheets on the bed, and it was neatly stacked with everyone's series of works. Some had been published, and some couldn't be published and were self-printed, which could be considered illegal publications.

This was a collection of memories from the five years the studio had existed, such as *Vampire A-Ming*, *Woodcutter*, *Dwarf Xue San*, and so on. After the studio disbanded, everyone would periodically receive electronic drafts sent by Head in their mailboxes, as Head was still silently continuing to draw the subsequent stories for everyone.

Under the bed, there was also a thick stack of comics.

Everyone walked over and picked up the comics from below and found that they were mostly works similar to the comic book with the theme of two women on the phone.

Head had been sticking to the studio's original intentions, but he must have been short on money, so he had drawn a lot of works that could be monetized to earn money.

After seeing these works, Deng Ge frowned even more. He was a bit dissatisfied. He had originally thought that Head had always been sticking to his principles, not forgetting his original intentions, and was willing to do so even if he didn't earn much money or become famous.

But since Head was already drawing these works to earn money, it proved that he had already thought it through. Since that was the case, why didn't Head come to him?

Could it be that he was embarrassed?

Deng Ge felt that if Head thought that way, then he was really tarnishing the friendship that everyone had shared for more than five years.

Just then, Deng Ge's phone rang. A WeChat account labeled "Head" sent a video.

"Is that a message from Head?" Qin Siyu asked.

Deng Ge nodded and raised his phone.

Everyone else stood behind Deng Ge. They were really concerned about how Head was doing now, and they were also very curious about what Head had gathered them here to do.

In the video, there was only a chair at first, and the camera was a bit shaky, probably because Head was adjusting the angle of the phone's camera.

Soon,

a figure appeared in the camera, walking toward the chair.

The person was wearing a dark red hoodie and walking very slowly, seemingly with great effort.

When the person in the video reached the chair, turned around, and faced the camera,

Deng Ge and the others behind him all had shocked expressions on their faces.

"Long time no see… everyone."

The person in the video was indeed Head; there was no doubt about that.

But what the others couldn't believe was that Head, who was sitting in the chair at this moment, had sunken cheeks and sunken eyes, and the arms that were exposed from his sleeves were only skin and bones, twitching very clearly.

"How did Head become like this!" Deng Ge exclaimed.

Three years ago, when everyone parted ways, Head had only looked slightly unhealthy due to long hours of desk work. This was nothing for modern people.

But Head's current appearance was that of a skeleton.

Was he sick?

The purest relationships are the most worthy of remembering. No matter how high or low their achievements are now, no matter how well or badly they are doing, no one can erase the friendship they shared during those five years.

"Deng Ge, do you still blame me?"

Zheng Fan's (Head's) voice was already very hoarse, and speaking was as difficult as trying to push two rusty gears together in friction.

"I'm sorry…"

Zheng Fan's voice was very weak.

Deng Ge bit his lip.

"Deng Ge, forgive me for not listening to your advice back then. Otherwise, everyone might not have broken up, and the studio should still be around."

"We're doing well now too," Deng Ge muttered to himself.

"I just didn't want to change. Some things, some tastes, once you like them, you just want to keep liking them wholeheartedly, and you don't want to change, and you're too lazy to change.

Because I don't have much time left to live anyway.

So, Deng Ge, so, everyone, please forgive me, please forgive my selfishness."

Zheng Fan seemed to be planning to stand up and bow to everyone to apologize, but as soon as he stood up, he seemed to lack the strength and sat back down. In the end, he could only sit in the chair and lower his head.

"Five years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare terminal illness. There are probably only a hundred or so people in the world who have this disease, and there's no cure for it in medicine. So, at that time, I knew… knew that I wouldn't live much longer."

At this point, Zheng Fan laughed mockingly, which in turn caused him to cough, and each cough seemed as if he was about to pass out.

"I'm sorry for drawing some comics that weren't my style in order to make money. Actually, it felt pretty good.

I liked those comics too, but they really weren't my favorite style or type.

But when I realized that my physical condition was constantly deteriorating and I had a premonition that I would eventually be paralyzed in a hospital bed, I decided to go to the Netherlands to receive euthanasia.

These comics were drawn to raise the money for euthanasia in the Netherlands.

When you see this video, I should already be in the Netherlands, haha.

Siyu, you have to take care of your body. Your physical fitness is really too weak, ha… Of course, I'm not qualified to say that you're physically weak.

Siyao, don't be so picky anymore. It's time to find a partner, um, don't choose Deng Ge."

"…" Deng Ge.

"Qiang-ge, the bowl of noodles you made for me on the day you left, I've never forgotten the taste."

"Deng Ge, I've watched your movies. They're very well done. The visuals are great, really great. It's a pity that our works back then probably won't have a chance to be adapted into comics or make it to the big screen."

"A-Qiu, you should learn to let go of Liang Cheng's matter. By the way, A-Qiu, in the drawer of the table, there's a will that I left behind. The inheritance certificate has also been notarized. I don't have much money left, just this house. I know that you've been doing charity work since Liang Cheng left. Help me sell this house, and use the money to do some charity work.

After drawing so many demons for so many years, I have to leave something behind in the end, so I never chose to sell my only house to raise money to go to the Netherlands."

"My body is really not doing well anymore. To be honest, I don't want to spend the last part of my life lying in a hospital bed, so today is the day I've chosen to say goodbye.

I'm really happy, really happy to see you all again.

I'm very happy to have had your company in those five years, and I'm very happy to have created so many wonderful stories and characters with you. I will miss you.

I wish you success in your careers and good health."

……………

Inside a hospital room, Zheng Fan sat by the bed, his gaze slowly sweeping over the seven comic books placed around the bed.

*The Magic Pill*, *Woodcutter*, *Vampire A-Ming*, *Blind Bei*, *Feng Si Niang*, *Dwarf Xue San*, *Blood of the Jiangshi*.

When a person's life is coming to an end, the thing they often like to do most is to look back.

Like an old man in his twilight years, lying in a recliner, basking in the sun and squinting his eyes.

"Let's begin."

Zheng Fan said to a doctor and two nurses standing in front of him.

Then,

he lay down on the bed, that bed surrounded by comic books.

"Mr. Zheng, do you confirm that you don't need a priest present?" Out of professional responsibility, the doctor, David, asked again, adding, "He can let your soul rest in peace in heaven."

Zheng Fan shook his head calmly and said, "David, I believe in demons, and I won't go to heaven."

David shrugged and nodded, signaling his assistant to come forward and begin.

Zheng Fan slowly closed his eyes,

sensing a cold needle piercing into the area of his arm.

Phew,

is it going to end…