While thinking about how to make money, Lin Zhiyan soon found himself at the entrance of a convenience store nearby.
Japanese convenience stores are truly convenient. Beyond the usual daily necessities, they also sell bento boxes, newspapers, magazines, and manga.
Just as he was about to enter, the door suddenly swung open, and a tall girl with long, jet-black hair, wearing a beige baseball cap, a gray-green short-sleeved t-shirt, and a black pleated skirt, rushed out. Perhaps she was in too much of a hurry and wasn't looking where she was going, as she collided head-on with Lin Zhiyan.
Caught off guard, Lin Zhiyan stumbled back a step. The girl, however, landed on her backside with a thud, her shoulder bag slipping off and spilling its contents onto the ground.
All the items were paper-based.
Lin Zhiyan glanced at them: a manga magazine was the most conspicuous, followed by a notebook, textbooks, and several test papers.
The top test paper clearly showed the name and score: Nanase Mayumi, 62 points, for math.
"Ouch! That hurt!"
The girl rubbed her sore backside and quickly let out a gasp of embarrassment, as if mortified that her belongings had been seen. She frantically gathered her things back into her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and stood up. Turning to Lin Zhiyan, she bowed deeply and apologized, "I'm so sorry! I'm really, truly sorry!"
"Are you alright?" Lin Zhiyan asked with concern.
"Thank you for your concern. I'm fine," the girl replied, her head bowed.
"Good. Be more careful next time," Lin Zhiyan said. Without another glance at the girl, he turned and entered the convenience store.
For him, this was just a minor incident.
Inside the store, he bought some daily necessities and a financial newspaper before returning to his rented apartment.
Once inside, he closed the door, found a seat, and opened the newspaper, silently beginning to read.
He bought this type of paper hoping to find some quick business opportunities that could make him rich.
But after scanning it for a long time, he couldn't uncover any promising ventures.
Most of the companies mentioned in the paper were completely unknown to him. Of the few he'd heard of, he only knew their names—he knew nothing about their histories, making it impossible to spot any business opportunities in the information provided.
He also knew nothing about the financial figures mentioned in the paper. As he read, he couldn't help but think, *So there was a person like this in Japan's financial world?*
"This isn't going to work."
He sighed, clapped his hands together, and placed the newspaper on the small table, feeling somewhat discouraged.
After all, if there were really a business opportunity that could make him rich quick, he wouldn't be going to the IG interview.
He still had to work in animation, but if he weren't so poor—if he were a second-generation rich kid—he'd probably follow the Makoto Shinkai route: starting as an independent animation creator, begin with short films, gradually build his reputation, and then use that fame to attract industry veterans to his team.
But as a poor kid with no family safety net, he had no choice.
"If I can't raise 200 million yen..."
Lin Zhiyan briefly considered this scenario and realized that if it came to that, he'd probably have to start by taking on outsourcing work.
Many people who left their animation companies to form new ones first take on outsourcing for a while, earning a bit of money before partnering with other types of companies to form a Production Committee and create their own animated works.
That's how it's supposed to be.
But starting with outsourcing would take at least three years, maybe even five.
And even after five years, he might not earn 200 million yen. Most likely, he'd still need to form a Production Committee then.
If Lin Zhiyan had left IG in 2000, he would have been 23 years old. If he then spent another five years doing outsourcing work, he would be 28.
While many big names in the animation industry didn't start their own businesses until their thirties, Lin Zhiyan was a reborn soul with the advantage of past memories and max-level Keyframe skills. Starting so late would be a complete failure.
This wouldn't do.
No matter what, he had to secure funds before leaving IG. Even if it wasn't 200 million yen, even just 100 million would make things much easier later on.
With this thought, he picked up the newspaper on the small table and continued browsing.
Suddenly, a news item caught his eye: a scandal involving a listed company where a senior executive was caught having an affair with a female subordinate. The media exposé caused the company's stock price to plummet.
It was an ordinary news item.
Lin Zhiyan had never heard of the company before, and he didn't recognize any of the people involved in the scandal.
What truly caught his attention were the words "stock price to plummet."
Between 1995 and 2000, the event most people in the future would remember was the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
Before his rebirth, Lin Zhiyan had never worked in finance and had never even traded stocks. He knew almost nothing about the stock market.
He understood even less about the Japanese stock market, so he had never considered making money through stock trading.
But now, seeing the words "stocks continue to fall" in the newspaper, he suddenly remembered.
Normally, he would never be able to get rich through stock trading—he simply lacked the ability. But if he could use the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis to make a small profit, say around 200 million yen, that should be no problem.
Realizing this, Lin Zhiyan was immediately delighted.
The funding issue seemed to be solved. All he needed to do now was follow his plan step by step, develop steadily, and once everything was in place, leave IG and establish his own animation company.
"Hmm, this plan is viable."
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
But he quickly regained his composure.
He needed to cram as much financial and stock trading knowledge as possible before the financial crisis hit. Otherwise, even if he knew the cause and effect of the Asian Financial Crisis, he couldn't guarantee he'd make money—he might even end up being exploited like a clueless retail investor.
He didn't need to be an expert, but he should at least understand the basics.
With two years to go, it wasn't exactly cramming at the last minute. Mastering the fundamentals of finance should be manageable.
The rest was about saving as much as possible before the financial crisis hit.
With more capital, he could earn more when the time came. After all, his goal was 200 million yen, not 2 million.
Right now, he was just a small-time Key Animator, but he couldn't be compared to ordinary ones. By next year at the latest, he should be promoted to animation supervisor, and becoming a Character Designer wasn't out of the question.
Assuming an annual income of 3 million yen, that would be 6 million yen over two years. After deducting living expenses and living frugally, he should be able to save at least 3 million yen.
To turn 3 million yen into 200 million... That would be impossible under normal circumstances. But in a situation like the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis? Maybe not.
If all else fails, he'd find ways to raise more capital through other channels.
Making a fortune might be difficult, but earning some extra cash should be easy enough.
After weighing his options, Lin Zhiyan put down the newspaper and thought to himself, "Give myself five years to develop. I hope everything goes according to plan."
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