The first episode of 'Death Note' actually packed in quite a lot of information.
Some people in the industry had started to wonder—after ten years of creative dominance—whether Jing Yu could still come up with truly innovative works.
But after that premiere, at least for now, those doubts were silenced.
A killing notebook, a protagonist using it to punish criminals, and a rival, L—, who declared such actions the greatest crime and vowed to bring him to justice.
Well... calling L the "villain" doesn't quite fit.
Typically, the person opposing the protagonist is considered the antagonist. But in 'Death Note', it really feels like Light is the dark overlord, while L is the embodiment of justice.
"Old Thief really went all in. I didn't expect the first episode to hit this hard."
"And the intelligence these two displayed in episode one? Solid."
"Just solid? Even though the story hasn't fully unfolded, I already feel like Jing Yu nailed their intelligence. If I swapped places with either of them, I'd get crushed instantly."
"Let's wait and see. The tone is clear—it's a battle of wits. A lot of creators start strong with these, but it's hard to stick the landing."
"Sure, with other creators I'd agree. But this is Old Thief. When has he ever fumbled a series with a strong start? He doesn't do slow burns. If it starts good, it stays good."
"He's still human. No matter how much faith we have in him, there's always the possibility of slipping up."
"Ah, yes, the classic 'Old Thief will flop' theory again. I just don't see it happening. Sure, people have creative limits—but Old Thief's life is too short to run out of ideas. I've followed him for years. I'm confident."
"Exactly."
Though 'Death Note' aired without a hitch, most online chatter wasn't about the plot itself—it was about whether Jing Yu could truly handle this genre.
After all, detective, suspense, and psychological battle stories are very demanding for creators. Audiences have seen too many promising thrillers crash and burn in the final stretch.
Even so, Jing Yu, still overseas, found these discussions amusing.
'Death Note' had only aired one episode—the real brilliance came later.
The first part simply introduced the characters. The core of the series lies in the psychological warfare that unfolds from the middle onwards.
In fact, from L's appearance to his death, the show maintained peak intensity. The IQ battles between Light and L stayed top-notch throughout.
Worried the series might fizzle out? Not likely. In fact, for the Great Zhou version, Jing Yu skipped the post-L arc from the original anime and instead used the alternate ending from the movie, where both Light and L perish together.
"Not bad." Jing Yu let out a long breath, shut his laptop, and leaned back to sunbathe on the yacht.
"You don't look like you're having much fun."
Yu Youqing, dressed in a light blue swimsuit, sat beside him.
Her fair skin and well-toned figure had only improved over their months of travel. She looked healthier than ever.
"It's not that I'm not enjoying myself… Just that I feel like we've been out for a bit too long."
"Can't sit still after just three months?" she teased with a laugh.
"Remember in February when you said we should've taken a world tour ages ago? Now look at you—missing the entertainment industry already?"
"Well, I've worked in this field for over a decade. Suddenly taking such a long break… it leaves this odd emptiness."
Jing Yu sat up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, gazing at the sun setting over the sea.
"The fantasy of a lazy, carefree life is beautiful—but in reality, it leaves me feeling guilty. I get now why so many rich people aren't truly happy. Their dreams are too shallow—just food and pleasure. Once that's fulfilled, and they lose long-term goals, life starts to feel empty."
"So what, you're saying you've transcended shallow desires? That you'll never lose sight of your goals?" Yu Youqing looked at him curiously.
"Of course. My passion is sharing more interesting stories with the world. And honestly, even if I worked until death, I'd never get through all the ideas in my head. Human life is just too short."
"You're really that confident in your creative ability? That even on your deathbed, you'd still be able to produce hits?"
Yu Youqing clearly interpreted it differently, but Jing Yu didn't bother correcting her.
"Still, we should play a bit longer before heading back. After ten years of nonstop work, I earned this. Who knows when the next real break will be?"
Yu Youqing didn't reply, but she knew the company was at a critical turning point.
Jing Yu had shared many of his plans with her—like his ten-year roadmap to develop existing IPs like 'Evangelion', 'Pokémon', and 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' into global-level cultural franchises.
The plan was to ride the rise of internet media, and build Bluestar into a multimedia titan—not just in Great Zhou, but around the world.
She had once thought Jing Yu only wanted to be a famous actor and writer.
Now it was clear—if this worked, Jing Yu wouldn't just be influential in Great Zhou—he'd become a global entertainment mogul.
The yacht, guided by the hired crew, returned to a nearby port, marking the end of their three-day city visit.
And though Jing Yu and Yu Youqing kept traveling abroad, the 'Death Note' episodes continued airing back home.
In episode 2, Light identified the JTF agent tailing him—and tricked him into writing his colleagues' names, using a sheet of paper cut from the notebook itself. Without even needing personal info, Light destroyed the entire Japanese task force sent to investigate him.
In episode 3, the fiancée of one of Light's victims tried to deliver important info to L. Light intercepted her first. Their 20-minute conversation scene, filled with psychological maneuvering, had no special effects or fancy transitions, yet still hit a peak viewership of 11%.
If episode 1 showed Light and L's intelligence, episode 2 revealed their ruthlessness.
By episode 3, the show also highlighted their mental strength, endurance, and luck—critical parts of the power scale.
And with that, 'Death Note's influence in Great Zhou truly exploded.
This wasn't a show you could fully grasp in a single watch. On the top three streaming platforms, their paid subscription numbers were staggering.
Fans scrutinized every frame, looking for plot holes—but always came up empty.
After all, the original work had been heavily tested by fans in Jing Yu's past world. If any issues existed, Jing Yu had already fixed them when adapting it.
In Great Zhou, fans rewatched the first three episodes with a microscope—but couldn't find a thing to complain about.
On Yindou Net, it had a 9.8 rating.
Even though official merchandise hadn't launched, pre-order numbers were already surging.
Just a month into the summer season, it was clear: 'Death Note' had once again dominated the TV drama market.
And not just in Great Zhou.
Thanks to previous international hits, Bluestar Media & Film Company already had a significant overseas fan base.
Those international fans had naturally noticed the company's new drama, and after seeing the first three episodes, they went wild.
They began promoting the show themselves, spreading word-of-mouth with impressive results.
In every world, across every ocean, people tend to be a bit more unrestrained.
While Great Zhou was still relatively tame, overseas fans were bold—frequently approaching Jing Yu and Yu Youqing during their travels, asking for spoilers about 'Death Note's future plot.
But the longer they traveled, the more restless Jing Yu became.
Until finally, one day:
"Let's go back," Jing Yu said to the equally bored Yu Youqing.
"Tired of playing?"
"Yeah. What about you?"
"Same. I've been over it for a while. I seriously admire those people who can travel the world for years without getting tired. I guess that's a talent too."
She glanced at the towering pile of souvenirs in their hotel room.
"Alright. Tomorrow I'll ship all this back to Great Zhou. Let's head home. You've been relaxing abroad all this time—your fans are getting restless. Some even blame me, saying I didn't guide you back to the right path," she chuckled.
Mid-May.
Jing Yu ended his long-overdue honeymoon and returned to Great Zhou. Though he kept a low profile, the media was watching his every move.
That morning, even at the airport—with a mask on—just his eyes were enough for people to recognize him and Yu Youqing.
By nightfall, fan chats and forums were flooded with excitement.
And within his company? A wave of relief.
The truth was: the team had been struggling without him.
When Jing Yu was in charge, he bore most of the burden for profits and losses.
But during his absence, projects stalled, production slowed, and several original dramas underperformed. Not only had they failed to profit, but they were on track to lose money.
The upper management was under intense pressure.
"Boss is finally back! Thank heavens!"
"Fans have been crashing our site, begging for new works."
"He's probably back to prep marketing for 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and 'Pokémon' TV shows. He takes those two pretty seriously."
"Yeah, and there's a new 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' game launching at year-end too. Who knows how many units it'll sell?"
"We're still recruiting across three major departments. No one knows how big the boss wants this company to be."
"Isn't it obvious? Once he greenlights all the pending IP adaptations, this team won't be nearly big enough."
Even employees admitted it—they were capable as middle managers, but if Jing Yu really retired?
The company's future would be uncertain.
This was the difference a true visionary leader made.
Jing Yu returned to his office, reviewed all major company decisions made in his absence, and sat in silence for a long while before setting the documents down.
"This… isn't going to work."
Being a hands-off boss wasn't as easy as he thought.
Yes, this year's project roadmap had been set the previous year—every release scheduled from January to December.
But no one had outlined next year's plan.
Everyone was waiting for Jing Yu to return and make the call.
He leaned back in his chair for a long time, then finally shook his head—accepting reality—and booted up his computer to get back to work.
He never planned to coast off past hits.
The sequels to 'Pokémon', 'Yu-Gi-Oh!', and 'Evangelion' were essential, yes—but for Bluestar to maintain its position in the industry and keep attracting top talent, it needed at least one or two influential new projects each year.
He couldn't count on his team—not yet.
All he could do was hope that over the next ten to twenty years, as the entertainment industry thrived online, Bluestar would nurture a few creators as talented as Togashi, Oda, or Kishimoto.
But for now?
Jing Yu had to keep pushing forward himself.