Chapter 80: The Readers Are Too Enthusiastic (Asking for Monthly Votes and Rewards)

At this moment, without exception, both the chapter review section and the book review section were filled with readers furiously berating the author. Everyone was beside themselves with rage, as if they had painstakingly raised a child only for it to be trampled by a wild boar. If it were a domestic pig, perhaps it could be tolerated—but this was a wild one.

"My wife is Xiao Xun'er": "Brothers, draw your swords. I can't take it anymore. The dog of a master must die today!"

"I am Elder Yao": "The master used to tease us a bit, but this time, at the grand finale, he outright killed the protagonist. This is the first time I've ever read such a book."

"Xiao Da": "Did the master’s account get hacked? He’s not stupid enough to do something that would ruin his own reputation, right?"

"Yun Yun is mine": "Brothers, does anyone know the dog’s address? I'll send him some local specialties."

"Little Medicine Fairy": "How can anyone endure this? We must send him razor blades—nothing else will quell the anger."

"Spiritual World": "Brothers, join me to kidnap the master. Anyone with me? I'll buy extra stockings."

"Just Reach Out and Can't See": "Count me in, upstairs!"

"Check Time": "Count me in."

"It’s Your Phone": "Count me in."

The disastrous finale of Battle Through the Heavens was quickly sending shockwaves across the web novel community.

At Baidu Literature’s Fantasy Editorial Department, Wang Ke and Liu Da stared at each other.

For a long moment, Wang Ke, his expression odd, finally spoke, “My condolences.”

He didn’t know what else to say—only that the master was capricious.

Liu Da covered his face, speechless for a long time.

Ten minutes later, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Li He: "Master, are you serious about this ending?"

Soon, Li He replied, "Isn’t it surprising? Isn’t it unexpected?"

Upon seeing the master’s response, Liu Da nearly knelt in disbelief. So the master had written the finale this way on purpose. And he knew exactly what consequences this would bring.

But… why? Liu Da couldn’t understand. Why did the master write it this way? Was it simply to spite the readers?

Thinking it over, Liu Da sent another message: "Master, your fans will mail you razor blades if you keep this up."

The master was his only author with the potential to become a true titan. If he kept angering readers and chasing them away, the next book would be at risk. It wasn’t just concern for the master—the master’s performance was directly tied to Liu Da’s salary and bonuses. He had to handle this carefully.

This time, the wait was longer—about twenty minutes before Li He replied: "I almost forgot! I updated a new chapter."

Liu Da breathed a sigh of relief; so this ending wasn’t the real finale. He quickly opened the new chapter.

It was very short—only a single page. Liu Da’s heart skipped a beat, anxiety surging. He nervously looked at the new chapter, and in the next second, his eyes widened in shock, his whole face written with disbelief.

Not only had the master not changed the ending, he had posted an address for readers to send razor blades—and even promoted an online shop at the end. Liu Da, confused, searched for the shop, and instantly wanted to smash his computer.

On his screen was a newly opened store specializing in selling razor blades.

Beside him, Wang Ke was dazzled and dumbfounded, finally forced to admit the master’s genius. He had to respect it.

He’d been an editor for years and had never heard of such a maneuver. Writing specifically to anger readers, then guiding them on how and where to send razor blades, and then showing them where to buy the blades—a perfect closed loop.

The master was truly a commercial prodigy… Wang Ke silently mourned for his old rival.

Fortunately, his own star author never caused him trouble. Not only was his output and book quality on par with the master, he never messed with readers’ emotions. Wang Ke felt a strong sense of superiority.

The storm of the disastrous Battle Through the Heavens finale swept across the entire web novel world.

Soon, all the editors in the fantasy department were watching Liu Da with concern.

The fat editor, upon hearing the news, rushed to comfort his friend.

Liu Da was utterly crushed.

But he wasn’t the only one; now even the chief editor of the fantasy department couldn’t sit still.

Battle Through the Heavens was a major IP for Baidu Literature’s fantasy division; its reputation absolutely could not be ruined at the end.

He gave Liu Da an ultimatum: the master must change the ending, or Liu Da would be fired.

Meanwhile, compared to the gloomy editorial office, Li He was overjoyed, basking in his own delight.

He didn’t look at the review sections, not daring to, lest he lose sleep.

He could avoid the book reviews, but he could still check the system’s backend data.

Watching the negative emotion values surge and scroll incessantly, Li He let out a long breath.

In the music field, he couldn’t harvest negative emotions for a while. August was still summer break; aside from movie theme songs and ending songs, singers couldn’t release new tracks for charting. So Li He had to lay low for August.

Looking at the negative emotion value column on the system panel, it soon exploded past one hundred thousand points, and Li He felt a bit embarrassed.

"The readers are so enthusiastic—seventy thousand negative emotion points in less than five hours. Incredible," Li He thought, full of anticipation.

"If it keeps rising at this rate, breaking three hundred thousand tomorrow is no problem." Li He decided, "Hold out for three more days. Whether or not it reaches five hundred thousand, I'll release the original ending."

Three days was about the limit—any longer and the readers would truly go mad.

Li He wasn’t stupid; if he never changed the ending, his Baidu Literature account would be ruined.

He had gathered passionate readers with great effort—how could he let them disperse so easily?

As time passed, the storm over the disastrous Battle Through the Heavens finale grew ever more intense in the web novel world.

Even at Yi Dian Du Shu, people had heard of it. Many downloaded Baidu Literature just to see the review section of Battle Through the Heavens, to observe and learn how to scold an author and gain experience for the future.

By the next day, the official literary blog updated with a new post.

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PS. Posted first, will revise later. Please correct any errors.