The devil is coming

Chapter 2 End and Begin
On the bench, a man wearing an old leather jacket closed the comic in his hand and placed it beside him.
The cover of the comic shows two women talking on the phone. One is wearing a formal dress, and the other is slightly promiscuous. There are blood-colored snowflakes floating in the corners of the cover, showing a kind of depression similar to a funeral.
The man in the jacket took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, blew out a smoke ring, and then pursed his lips, with a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.
A Lamborghini drove towards this side, and when it was about to pass the bench, it stepped on the brakes and stopped steadily.
A man in a burgundy suit got out of the car. After the man got out of the car, he looked at the man in the jacket. They must have known each other, but neither of them was in a hurry to say hello.
The man in a suit took out the e-cigarette from his pocket, and while filling the heating rod with cartridges, he wandered around casually, and finally landed on the comic book on the bench.
"Is it the boss's new work?" the man in the suit asked.
"Yeah." The man in the jacket nodded. His hair was so oily that not even the cold wind in winter could shake his bangs.
"what about the taste?"
"Faded."
Hearing this, the man in a suit narrowed his eyes, reached out and took the initiative to pick up the comic and start reading.
The painting, composition, and design are all impeccable and at the level of a boss.
Especially the last painting is a large picture with the left and right sides combined. It can be said that it creates a huge contrasting impact both in terms of plot and change in painting style.
The initial narrative style of scar literature and the urban neon painting style formed a double reversal in the end. It is a good story and a good comic.
But the man in the suit nodded and agreed:
"It's indeed too bland."
They know the boss's works. He likes to pursue the ultimate sense of tearing. Whether it is the plot or the rendering of the picture, it can give people great oppression, making people even breathe when watching it. Gotta be careful.
Compared with Touer's previous works, this comic is like a chef who is used to cooking hard dishes suddenly frying up a plate of broccoli, and the condiments are just sprinkled with a little salt.
"You guys are really early."
Across the road, a man and a woman were walking together.
They are a pair of siblings. The younger brother is wearing a black down jacket, hat and scarf. When walking, he shrinks his neck and legs and shivers a little. Obviously, he is not used to the cold outside.
The elder sister is wearing a white down jacket and sky blue jeans. She is not an oval face, but a bit round, but her face is also very delicate, giving people a very pure feeling.
"Siyao, Siyu, you are here."
The man in the suit greets me happily, especially when facing a girl, he is even more enthusiastic.
"Deng Ge, wipe your saliva quickly."
Every younger brother will have a natural hostility towards any man who tries to be his brother-in-law, and Qin Siyu is no exception.
But every reservist brother-in-law tends to treat his brother-in-law with great tolerance;
Of course, once he has passed the reserve service, he will start to be wary of his brother-in-law to prevent his wife from becoming a Fu Di demon.
"Siyu, why are you out here? It's cold today, be careful not to catch a cold."
Ask for help with a sincere attitude.
Qin Siyu walked to the bench and ignored Deng Ge. Instead, he looked at the man in the jacket with a smile on his face:
"Brother Qiang, are you still single?"
The man in the jacket is named Xu Qiang. He was the oldest in the circle at that time. At that time, everyone was generally still college students or just graduated. However, Xu Qiang was already an uncle, but he had always been single. Therefore, he had always been everyone's favorite in this aspect. The target of teasing.
Xu Qiang shook his head, reached out and scratched his hair, which was so greasy that it could reflect light, and responded, "It's still early."
Qin Siyao took over the comics from Deng Singer,
Deng Ge introduced attentively:
"This is the boss's new work. It looks like it was painted a few months ago."
Qin Siyao started to read this comic. The comic was very thin and the story was not long. If you don't carefully appreciate the artistry, you can read it very quickly.
After turning to the last page, Qin Siyao put the comic down and pursed her lips.
"What's wrong, what happened to the boss's comics?"
Qin Siyu took the comic from his sister, flipped through it for a while, and said with some surprise:
"How could the boss draw such a work?"
Xu Qiang, who was sitting on the bench, guessed:
"Maybe the boss is short of money."
If there was no shortage of money, according to the boss's character, he would not draw such light comics.
"Boss is the same. If you need money, why don't you come to me?" Deng Ge said next to him.
Qin Siyu glared at Deng Ge angrily and said:
"I know you have produced several popular animated movies in the past two years and made a lot of money, but what do you mean by showing off here?"
"What kind of show is there? If the boss is short of money, will I not give it to him? If it weren't for the boss's help, I would have gone back to my hometown and squatted."
"Even if the boss is short of money, he will never ask for it from us." Xu Qiang said with emotion.
Immediately, Deng Ge and Qin Siyu also fell silent. Yes, the boss is the boss after all. No matter how difficult life is, he will never reach out to himself and others.
At this time, a motorcycle drove over and stopped beside everyone. The driver of the motorcycle was a woman, and her tight-fitting motorcycle uniform highlighted her perfect figure.
The woman opened her helmet and goggles, glanced at everyone present, and said calmly:
"You all came quite early."
"Aqiu..."
"Miss Qiu..."
Deng Ge and others were very surprised because they did not expect that the person in front of them would come here today.
"Well, the boss sent me a message."
Ah Qiu took off his helmet and hung it on the handle. He got out of the car, took out his cell phone and read:
Following the prompts on the phone, I quickly found the house.
"Is the boss planning to hold a party?"
Deng Ge said while preparing to enter the door lock password.
It has been three years since the studio was disbanded. After the dissolution, everyone basically never got together again.
Deng Ge entered an animation company and relied on his own strength and creativity to quickly become the company's management. The two animation movies he personally supervised and produced became well-known hits in the past two years, both in terms of income and status. The status is not the same.
Qin Siyu's health was not good. After the studio was disbanded, he basically stayed at home and did not go out to work. As for Qin Siyao, she worked as a designer in a clothing company.
Xu Qiang works in a game company, 996, and enjoys good fortune.
As for Aqiu, after leaving the studio, he went to work as a volunteer in the mountains for two years and came back at the beginning of the year.
"Maybe... maybe." Qin Siyu said with some uncertainty, "I haven't seen the boss for a long time. I really miss him."
The leader's name is Zheng Fan. He is younger than Xu Qiang, but because he took the lead in establishing the studio, he is the well-deserved boss in the studio.
During the five years of operation of the studio, he put in the most effort. Even if the studio was disbanded and everyone left for various reasons, he still guarded the studio alone.
Every once in a while, the boss will send electronic comics to their mailboxes, even though it is basically impossible for these comics to be published and distributed.
Deng Ge entered the password, the door lock was unlocked, and the door was pushed open.
Behind the door is the living room, but the walls of the living room are covered with dark wallpaper, giving people a strong sense of depression.
In addition, the curtains were tightly closed, so even during the day, the room was still dark.
"Is this the boss's home?"
Deng Ge reached out and touched the switch on the wall at the door and turned on the light.
The lamp was not very bright. There were three lamps at the top, all of which could only emit a faint smoky yellow light, but it was enough to fill the room.
"What's hanging on the wall is..."
Qin Siyu squeezed past Deng Ge and walked to the wall, where a painting hung.
The painting is nearly two meters long and one meter wide, like a photo, and is covered by a photo frame.
In the painting, there is a dwarf.
The face of the dwarf is somewhat deformed, and his legs and feet are disproportionately thick. On the back of the dwarf, there is an iron sword that is extremely inconsistent with his short stature. The iron sword cannot be vertical. Yes, because the dwarf is not as tall as the iron sword, so the iron sword is hung horizontally on his back, which looks very funny.
"This is Xue San."
When he saw this painting, Qin Siyu's hands began to tremble, because the character in this painting came from his creativity. It is the protagonist of one of his long comics.
Qin Siyu is not tall, which has always been an inferiority point for him, so his protagonist is a dwarf, an evil dwarf. This dwarf has a habit of treating people who ridicule his height as his prey, and he is very fond of these people. The prey is "rearranged" by sawing off a section if it is too tall, and elongating it if it is too short.
This hobby was born out of Western mythology, but it also explains a commonality of human nature.
"Xue Sanjiao?"
Deng Ge walked up behind Qin Siyu and made a joke.
The dwarf's name is Xue San, but he has a nickname, Xue Sanjiao, which was a joking name for him by the original comic readers.
"This was painted by the boss," Xu Qiang came over and said.
"Probably so, but it's a pity that the sales volume of Siyu's work was very poor at the time. After all, it's hard for readers to have a sense of involvement with the protagonist." Deng Ge said with emotion.
When the studio was still there, the boss asked everyone to create a character according to their own ideas, and then everyone helped make the cartoon.
"Dwarf Xue San" is Qin Siyu's comic, but the market response is the worst. After all, few people can put themselves into the role of an ugly dwarf.
"It's been several years, is it interesting to still mention this?" Qin Siyu was somewhat dissatisfied with the tone of Deng Ge's words.
In fact, a person's temper and character will indeed change depending on the level of the society in which he or she lives. Especially now, Deng Ge is undoubtedly a successful person. Even if he did not mean it, when he meets his "down" friends again, , some things will still be revealed naturally.
"No, no, no, this is called market control. At the beginning, our studio spread too much energy and failed to focus on its flagship works, which led to..."
"That's enough." Qin Siyao said.
Deng Ge shut up immediately.
Qin Siyu turned a deaf ear to Deng Ge's words and just stared silently at the portrait of the dwarf on the wall in front of him.
Deng Ge curled his lips, turned around, looked to the other side, and said in surprise:
"Siyao, come and see, this is your Feng Siniang."
This is also a portrait.
In the portrait, a graceful woman is leaning against the door panel. She has a pink face and is wearing an outfit very similar to a kimono. It exposes just enough skin, which is enough to make most men feel distraught.
Qin Siyao walked to the portrait and looked at Feng Siniang in the painting, feeling a little lost.
Feng Siniang is her comic work. This is a character who is neither human nor ghost. Because she did not explain the background of Feng Siniang in the comics, the original readers only guessed that Feng Siniang might have experienced love. Betrayal or something happened to the family.
Because Feng Siniang in the comic story is a very unruly woman who runs a brothel. In different series, she runs her own brothel in different cities or different eras.
Feng Siniang likes luxury and also likes to torture people. She pursues an alternative rule of life.
At the beginning, the sales volume of this comic was not bad, because there were many beautiful pictures in the comic, which were delicate, round and full of imagination and visual impact. They were no less than those of foreign masters of this art. Many readers were attracted by this. It comes from a similar picture.
But you must know that Qin Siyao joined the studio when she was just in college. At that time, she had not been in love yet. Even Deng Ge was sure that she was still in love at that time, but the pictures she painted were so... veteran driver.
Deng Ge once believed that the reason why he failed to pursue Qin Siyao was not because he was too bad, but because no living man could compete with the Two-dimensional character written by Qin Siyao.
"This is my Fan Li."
Xu Qiang stopped in front of a painting. He reached out and scratched his greasy hair with some excitement, bringing down a lot of dandruff.
In the painting in front of him, there is a woodcutter carrying firewood. The woodcutter is very strong and looks very simple and honest.
He is a woodcutter, a woodcutter who kills without blinking an eye. He kills people with the same frequency as he chops wood. He does not simply take pleasure in killing people, but kills people mechanically and habitually.
The sales volume of this comic is the same as that of Qin Siyu's Xue San. It is the bottom character in the studio and can be regarded as a blockbuster.
The reason is very simple. Contemporary comics are an industry chain with a very detailed division of labor. There are still too few all-rounders who are proficient in painters, scripts, plot design, character creation, etc.
For example, Qin Siyu and Xu Qiang, their advantages lie more in practical operations.
The plot of Xu Qiang's comic, which features a woodcutter butcher as the protagonist, is just like him. It seems a bit too plain, so plain that readers can't stand it at all.
"There's no reason why the boss painted it for you but not for me. Hey, I found it, A Ming!"
Singer Deng pointed to the scroll, which showed a slightly thin man with fangs looming at the corners of his mouth, and his whole body looked sickly pale.
His name is A Ming, he is a vampire, a character designed by Deng Ge.
It can be said that Deng Ge's current success showed signs as early as when he was still in the studio. His vampire-themed comic ranked second in the studio's sales at the time, second only to Boss's "Magic Pill".
A vampire with an oriental face, coupled with a cold and wanton character, paired with a high-paced bloody and exciting story, the market response has been very good.
Characters that can make the audience like them, coupled with stories that can arouse the audience's enthusiasm, are the key to grasping the market. It is precisely because of his firm belief in this principle that Deng Ge has been able to achieve great success in his career in the past few years.
In the comics, A Ming's character is also absolutely crazy. No matter what opponent he faces, he will just flip the table and go up to do it.
At the same time, A Ming is lonely. He doesn't think he is a vampire, and he is indeed no longer human. He has no friends. After every madness, what is left is a coldness that can make people feel heartbroken.
Because of this, this character has many female fans.
Ah Qiu walked silently behind everyone,
She seemed a little afraid, but also a little expectant.
But what should come, still came.
She saw a painting, which showed a man with a slightly blue complexion squatting on the ground. Next to him was a mess of corpses.
His name is Liang Cheng, and he is a zombie.
He is bloodthirsty and cruel.
He has lived from ancient times to modern times, and time has brought him an increasingly intense sense of alienation from the world.
And his name is the same as his author.
Liang Cheng......
Qin Siyao had already turned her attention away from Feng Siniang. After seeing Aqiu and the painting in front of her, she couldn't help but fell silent.
The studio originally had seven people.
They are, respectively, the boss, himself and his younger brother Siyu, Deng Ge, Xu Qiang, Aqiu, and Liang Cheng.
Liang Cheng and A Qiu were once a couple. They were already together when they entered the studio. However, more than three years ago, Liang Cheng died in a car accident.
The dissolution of the studio can be said to have originated from Liang Cheng's death, but it was not the main reason.
Liang Cheng's death made Ah Qiu feel discouraged about many things, but a studio of seven people could not continue to operate without two people.
The main reason is that the studio has always focused on the horror and bloody comic style, which is relatively niche, and coupled with policy restrictions and strict crackdowns, the studio's survival has become increasingly difficult.
After the studio's most popular and best-selling "Magic Pill" series and "Vampire Aming" series were banned, the studio suddenly fell into a dilemma with a confused future.
At that time, Deng Ge strongly suggested that the studio should cater to the market and draw some more positive themes that were at least less bloody and scary. This way, the living environment would be better, and a larger audience would also bring higher income. .
But the leader at the time directly rejected this suggestion.
The boss said that everyone got together because they liked horror and bloody themes, and he didn't want to tarnish everyone's original intention.
As a result, the studio's operations were completely paralyzed.
First, Deng Ge quit and joined an animation company to start his own career.
Next are the Qin family siblings. The Qin family's family conditions are average, both parents are workers. Qin Siyu's health is not good, and annual medical expenses are a problem, so Qin Siyao has to quit and choose a new career.
The last one to leave was Xu Qiang. After everyone else left, he quietly packed up his things, ordered a bowl of noodles for his boss, and went to a game company.
Back then, we got together because of similar interests and hobbies, and went through five years of ups and downs side by side, but in the end they couldn't compete with the reality of the law that there is no party that lasts.
Next to the zombie Liang Cheng, very close to him, there is a painting. This is the comic protagonist of Ah Qiu, but it is not a female character, but a male with hollow eyes.
His name is Bei. He is a blind man who is good at playing the piano. When killing people, he likes to put his hands in front of him and let his prey be tortured to death while playing the piano melody in the air.
The main writer of this comic is Aqiu himself. The painting style is very realistic, but the plot is very weak. In many series, Bei is often killing people at the beginning. It seems that the entire comic is killing people just for the sake of killing people.
This made readers who originally liked horror themes a little bit intolerable. After all, everyone still needs some plot adjustments.
However, it seems that because of the uniqueness of the female perspective, the character Bei has also attracted many die-hard fans. Therefore, its sales volume is still a little higher than that of the dwarfs Xue San and Ali.
In the work "Blind Man North", the characteristics of the protagonist are probably related to Aqiu's family background. Her father died in the line of duty at the hands of a criminal.
There are three paintings hanging on the walls on both sides of the living room.
On the wall opposite the door, there is a separate painting hanging.
After everyone read the protagonist of their comic, they gathered in front of this painting with tacit understanding. In the painting, there is a baby, full of violence and fierce flames.
This is Boss's comic called "Magic Pill", which uses a baby as the character.
Both the plot and the screen are almost impeccable. It can be said that with its pure horror and twisted nature, it attracted a large number of audiences at the beginning. Even Deng Ge's "Vampire A Ming" was ranked in popularity. "Magic Pill" was pressed down.
"Magic Pill, you are as stubborn as the boss." Deng Ge said with some regret.
He thinks that he is excellent, but at the same time, he also thinks that the leader is a better person than himself.
It's a pity that the boss is very stubborn. Just like the characters in his works, it is obvious that a slight change and a little adaptation can lead to better development, but the boss continues to be stubborn.
When it comes to complaining, I really don’t have any. After all, everyone can be said to have deviated from their original intention, but only the leader has always stuck to his original intention.
What everyone has in mind more is admiration for their enemy.
"Where's the boss?" Qin Siyu asked.
There is no doubt that the seven paintings in the living room were painted by the leader, but what about the leader who invited everyone to gather again in three years?
Xu Qiang pushed open the bedroom door on one side and found that the light was on inside.
There are no sheets on the bed in the bedroom, and everyone's work series are neatly stacked on it. Some of them have been published, and some of them cannot be published but are printed by themselves. They can be regarded as illegal publications.
Above this are the accumulation of memories from the five years that the studio existed, such as "Vampire A Ming", "Woodcutter", "Dwarf Xue San", etc. After the studio was disbanded, everyone would send messages to their mailboxes every once in a while. I received an electronic manuscript from the boss, who is still silently continuing to draw the rest of the story for everyone.
Under the bed, there is also a thick stack of comics.
Everyone walked over and picked up the comics below, and found that they were basically similar to the comic with the theme of two women talking on the phone.
The boss has been adhering to the original intention of the studio, but he was probably short of money, so he painted a lot of works that could be monetized to make money.
After seeing these works, Deng Ge frowned even more. He was a little dissatisfied. Originally, he thought that the leader had always adhered to his principles and never forgot his original intention, even if he could not make any money or become famous.
But since the boss is already making money by painting these works, it proves that the boss has thought about it. In this case, why doesn't the boss come to find him?
Could it be that it's because of embarrassment?
Deng Ge felt that if the boss thought so, it would really tarnish the friendship between everyone over the past five years.
At this moment, Deng Ge's cell phone rang, and a video was sent from the WeChat account labeled "Boss".
"Is this the news from the boss?" Qin Siyu asked.
Deng Ge nodded and raised his phone.
The rest of the people stood behind Deng Ge. Everyone was really concerned about how the leader was doing now, and they were also curious about what the leader wanted to do by gathering everyone here.
In the video, there was only one chair at the beginning, and the camera was shaking a bit. It seemed that the leader was adjusting the angle of the mobile phone camera.
quickly,
A figure from behind appears from the camera, walking towards the chair.
This man was wearing a dark red sweatshirt, walking very slowly, and seemed to be walking with great difficulty.
When the person in the video walks to the chair, turns around, and faces the camera,
Deng Ge and everyone behind Deng Ge had looks of astonishment on their faces.
"Long time no see...everyone."
The person in the video is indeed the boss, and this cannot be true.
But what everyone couldn't believe was that the head who was sitting on the chair at this time had a face that was so thin and sunken, and the arms that exposed the cuffs were only skin and bones, and they were still twitching very clearly. .
"Why did the boss become like this!" Deng Ge exclaimed.
Three years ago, when everyone broke up, the leader seemed to be in poor health just from working at his desk for a long time, which is nothing to modern people.
But at this moment, the leader's appearance already gave the impression of a skeleton.
Is this, sick?
The purest relationship is the most worth remembering. No matter how successful we are now or how well we are doing, no one can erase the friendship that shared the same interests during those five years.
"Deng Ge, do you still blame me?"
Zheng Fan (the boss)'s voice was already very hoarse, and when he spoke, it was as hard as if he were pushing two rusty gears against each other.
"sorry…………"
Zheng Fan's voice was very weak.
Deng Ge gritted his teeth.
"Deng Ge, forgive me for not listening to your suggestion. Otherwise, we might not have broken up, and the studio should still be there."
"We are doing well now." Deng Ge said to himself.
"I don't want to change. Once I like some things or tastes, I just want to continue to like them wholeheartedly. I don't want to change, and I'm too lazy to change.
Because I don't have long to live.
So, Deng Ge, 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 be unable to do anything and sat back down again. In the end, he could only sit on the chair and lower his head.
"Five years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare terminal disease. There are probably only more than 100 people in the world suffering from this disease, and there is no medical solution. So, at that time, I knew... I knew I won’t live much longer.”
At this point, Zheng Fan laughed self-deprecatingly, causing himself to cough. It seemed that every time he coughed, he felt like he was losing his breath.
"Sorry, in order to make money, I drew some comics that are not my style. Actually, I feel pretty good.
I quite like those comics, but they are indeed not my favorite style or type.
But when I discovered that my physical condition was deteriorating and I had a premonition that I would eventually be paralyzed and lingering in bed, I decided to go to the Netherlands to undergo euthanasia.
I drew these cartoons to raise money to go to the Netherlands for euthanasia.
When you see this video, I should already be in the Netherlands, haha.
Siyu, you have to pay attention to protecting your body. Your physical fitness is really too weak, ha... Of course, I am not qualified to say that you are in poor health.
Siyao, don't be so high-minded. It's time to find a companion. Well, don't choose Deng Ge. "
"..." Deng Ge.
"Brother Qiang, I have never forgotten the taste of the last bowl of noodles you made for me on the day you left."
"Deng Ge, I have watched all of your movies. They are very well done and the pictures are very good. They are really good. It is a pity that our original works will probably not have the chance to be adapted into comics and will not be shown on the screen. ”
"Aqiu, you should learn to let go of Liang Cheng's matter. By the way, Aqiu, there is a suicide note I left in the desk drawer, and the inheritance certificate has been notarized. I don't have much money left, so This house is left. I know that you have been doing charity after Liang Cheng left. Help me sell this house. The money from the sale should also be used for charity.
After drawing the devil for so many years, when it comes to an end, I have to leave something behind. Therefore, I have never chosen to sell my only house to raise money to go to the Netherlands. "
"My body is really failing. 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 choose to say goodbye.
It's really nice to see you all again.
I am very happy to have everyone's company during those five years. I am very happy to create so many wonderful stories and characters with you. I will miss you.
I wish you success in your career and good health. "
...............
In a ward, Zheng Fan sat beside the bed, his eyes slowly scanning the seven comics placed around the bed.
"Magic Pill", "Woodcutter", "Vampire A Ming", "Blind Man Bei", "Feng Siniang", "Dwarf Xue San", "Zombie Blood"
When a person's life is coming to an end, the most favorite thing to do is to look back.
Like an old man lying on an armchair, basking in the sun and squinting his eyes.
"let's start."
Zheng Fan said to a doctor and two nurses standing in front of him.
Then,
He also lay on the bed, the hospital bed surrounded by comics.
"Mr. Zheng, are you sure you don't need a priest to be present?" Out of professionalism, the doctor David asked again and added: "He can let your soul rest in peace in heaven."
Zheng Fan shook his head calmly and said, "David, I believe in the devil, and I will not go to heaven."
David shrugged, nodded, and motioned for his assistant to come forward and start.
Zheng Fan slowly closed his eyes,
He felt a cold needle piercing his arm.
call,
Is it over...
(End of this chapter)