I am a literary giant in Japan

Meanwhile, Kitagawa Hide, whom Mori Tetsutaro had been longing for, was at Yevgeny's villa carrying out post-production repairs on "Ring 1: Bell".

This novel, which became a hit after being adapted into a horror movie and was later hailed as a classic by the world's science fiction community, actually has many flaws.

Especially with complex timelines, many plot holes inevitably appear. The original author, Koji Suzuki, didn't pay much attention to these issues. At that time, he was already making so much money that his hands cramped, and he was only focused on making the film and television adaptations of the "Ring" series last longer. He had no intention of polishing the original novel.

But Kitagawa Hide, who holds a very high position in the literary world, cannot do that.

This was his stepping stone into the horror literature and light novel market, and it is also a model that many successors need to refer to in the future. We must not be so careless.

Meanwhile, Yevgeny, who was also writing a new book called "Expulsion," was utterly shocked by Kitagawa Hideaki's boundless energy and terrifying self-control.

Both of them decided to write new books at the same time and started writing around the same time (Yevgeny even started writing a little earlier), but the result was that Yevgeny's new book was still in the middle and late stages, while Kitagawa Hide had already started working on his old book!
This guy isn't normal.
Yevgeny watched as Kitagawa Hide wrote "Childhood" step by step, and then focused intently on revising "Ring 1: Bell," and finally gave him this evaluation in his heart.

Kitagawa Hide was unaware that his actions had such a profound impact on Yevgeny's "young mind".

While fixing plot bugs in "Ring 1: Bell", he was also thinking about the research for "In the World".

"My Apprenticeship," one of Gorky's autobiographical trilogy, describes Alyosha's life from 1871 to 1884, a period of 13 years.

During this period, he had left his maternal grandfather's house. In order to make a living, he had to pick wild fruits with his maternal grandmother to sell.

In addition, he also worked as a draftsman's apprentice, a dishwasher on a ship, and an apprentice in an icon workshop.

Throughout his life, Alyosha faced numerous hardships, interacting with all sorts of people from the lower rungs of society, and his life was filled with difficulty and suffering.

But he reads a lot of books whenever he has the chance, keeping himself constantly learning and improving.

Life experiences and extensive reading broadened Alyosha's horizons, and he resolved to "be a strong person and not be subdued by his environment."

With this firm belief, he once again left his comfort zone, and this time he was even more determined. He planned to leave Nizhny Novgorod and go to Kazan to study at university!

The final book in the trilogy, "My Universities," picks up where the story left off, beginning Alyosha's learning journey at the "university of life" in Kazan.

Each of these three parts has its own theme and plot.

"Childhood" tells the story of the young and naive Alyosha, who, under the influence of his grandfather and other corrupt relatives, is fortunate to avoid being assimilated by reading a lot of books and gradually develops self-awareness and personality.

"My Apprenticeship" tells the story of Alyosha's childhood. During those 13 years, he and his grandmother struggled to survive in the complex and chaotic world. Through extensive reading and learning, Alyosha developed a strong will and clear goals.

"My Universities" tells the story of Alyosha in his youth. He went to Kazan alone, failed to get into university, and then decided to learn and grow in the "university of life," eventually becoming an outstanding and advanced "proletarian fighter."

The trilogy is intricately linked, with its main theme constantly deepening and progressing, and it has been widely used in later generations. At this time, there were not many writers who would use the "map-changing writing style".

This writing style was later adopted and developed by online writers, resulting in numerous long fantasy and martial arts novels.

What Kitagawa Hide needs to do is preserve these essential elements and then modify some of the illogical plot holes and controversial points in the novel.

Another problem that troubled him was that "My Childhood" involved many low-level professions and people, and those places were a mixed bag, so he had to experience them firsthand to write the essence of the story.

"It seems I'll have to stay in Tsarist Russia for a while longer to finish all the research needed for the trilogy."

After much deliberation, Kitagawa Hideyoshi concluded that these elements could not be replaced by imagination or by the same environment in Japan.

The best approach is still to have someone accompany him on his travels so he can fully experience the elements depicted in the novels.

After making up his mind, Kitagawa Hideaki immediately told Yevgeny about his idea.

"What?! You're saying you're planning to try out low-level jobs like a draftsman's apprentice, a dishwasher, or an icon workshop apprentice?"

Yevgeny felt that Kitagawa Hide was "going astray".

It's perfectly normal for writers to go on field trips and experience different places in order to write a good novel.

But that only applies if it doesn't disrupt daily life.

No one would actually become a hard-working dishwasher just to write a novel.

It's difficult to go from extravagance to frugality; this is a common problem for all humankind.

Yevgeny felt he might have misunderstood Kitagawa Hide, so he changed his question: "Excuse me, do you mean you want to imitate the working patterns of these low-level professions at home or in a factory?"
For example, they might give you an abandoned factory and then set up a small restaurant inside.

"No. What I mean is to experience the job, the closer to reality the better, rather than putting on a show with some simulated environment, like a landlord experiencing peasant life."

Kitagawa Hide shook his head, directly rejecting his suggestion.

"That kind of simulated performance can't capture the most genuine emotions that come with being a professional."

Seeing Kitagawa Hide's resolute expression, Yevgeny finally realized that he was serious, and a strange feeling stirred within him.

Before this, although he was very angry that the authorities ignored and deliberately concealed the hardships of the people at the bottom of society, he was, after all, one of the beneficiaries. So, he was just protesting verbally, but his actions were still very honest.

If you really asked him to experience the lowest level of society, or even to live there, he absolutely couldn't accept it.

Kitagawa Hide, who came from afar, is said to be recognized as the "number one in the world" in the Japanese literary world, far surpassing him in both social status and income level.

Logically speaking, Kitagawa Hide should have been more resistant to these things than he was.

But in reality
"Believe me, you won't truly understand that kind of life. I understand your thoughts, but wanting to do something, actually doing it, and actually sticking with it are two completely different things."

Yevgeny offered one last piece of advice.

Kitagawa Hide shook his head firmly and replied again, "I understand, but I still want to try, and I'm prepared to go to Kazan alone."

"Kazan? That's no problem. Its development is no worse than Moscow's now, and many important cultural and scientific centers are located there."

Yevgeny nodded slightly, but then, remembering that he had just said "alone," he couldn't help but ask,
"But are you sure you want to go alone? Your Russian is still at a level where you have difficulty communicating, and you'll run into a lot of trouble if you go alone."

“That’s exactly what I want,” Kitagawa Hide nodded. “All I need to do is ensure my personal safety, and that will depend on your help, Yevgeny.”

“Understood. I will arrange for bodyguards to secretly follow you, but it won't affect your field trip.” Yevgeny nodded in agreement. “Thank you. I will treat you well when you come to Japan in the future.” Kitagawa Hide shook hands with him lightly, and the two smiled at each other, everything understood without words.

1995 4 Month 10 Day.

Kitagawa Hide, far away in Moscow, packed his bags and, with the help of friends such as Yevgeny, traveled alone to a slum in Nizhny Novgorod.

Like Alyosha, his first job was as an apprentice to a draftsman.

Russian draftsmen were completely different from the engineering draftsmen or information technology draftsmen that ordinary people are familiar with.

In Tsarist Russia, a draftsman was another name for a tailor in the fabric trade.

In other words, Kitagawa Hide actually went to be a tailor's apprentice.

To ensure the authenticity of the work environment and content, Kitagawa Hide and his colleagues did not tell the draftsman their true identity.

The overweight draftsman, clinging to outdated white-skinned ideas, immediately mistook Kitagawa Hide's Asian face for that of an unregistered worker who had been brought in through connections, and gave him a completely unfriendly look.

In his mind, these "illegal workers" were all smuggled in, and were most likely good-for-nothings who couldn't make a living in their home countries.

Kitagawa Hide is good-looking and young, yet he has fallen so low that he has to work as an illegal laborer in a foreign country.

The illustrator immediately labeled him as "lazy and gluttonous".

And so, Kitagawa Hide's working life in Nizhny Novgorod officially began.

On the other hand, the 10th is also the day when countless readers regularly read "Kitagawa Library (Online Edition)".

After e-reading and online models were developed and accepted, the light novel market immediately became a highly sought-after commodity for countless publishers.

Not to be outdone, the "Four Heavenly Kings" have all launched their own online websites, preparing to compete for a share of the huge online light novel market.

What sets "Kitagawa Bunko (Online Edition)" apart from other websites is that the authors on it maintain a frequency of updating every two or three days, making it more anticipated than a literary magazine that is published once a month.

However, most readers haven't developed the habit of following the updates daily yet. As before, they prefer to choose a day to read all the updates in one go.

Junji Ito was one of these traditional readers.

Before 8 a.m., he was already waiting in front of his computer screen, repeatedly refreshing the "Beichuan Library" webpage while thinking about what works he should show the recruiting teachers of "Beichuan Library" during the final interview.

Earlier this month, due to the expansion of the website, Kitagawa Bunko announced that it would officially separate from Kitagawa Entertainment and operate as an independent sub-brand.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry also issued a statement indicating that Kitagawa Bunko has established its headquarters and is ready to be officially recognized as an independent literary brand company once all the necessary documents are issued.

After Kitagawa Bunko became independent, a large number of staff members were also reassigned.

Employees seconded from various subsidiaries of Beichuan Entertainment will all return to their original positions. Vacancies will be filled through external recruitment, with 10% selected from recent graduates of various universities and 90% open to recruitment from the general public.

Junji Ito seized the opportunity and immediately submitted his resume to the website he had his eye on for an internal concept artist position.

He was already a well-known horror manga artist, and his excellent resume was quickly approved by the personnel department of Kitagawa Bunko. He received a notice for his first interview the next day.

And so, Junji Ito overcame numerous obstacles and, after three brutal rounds of interview eliminations, finally became one of the three who made it to the final interview.

According to a headhunter from Kitagawa Bunko's HR department, being an in-house illustrator is an extremely prestigious position. Not only do they enjoy full employee benefits, but they also receive a share of the novel's revenue as one of the creators!

Even Junji Ito, who had been working in the horror manga industry for many years and had a decent income, was incredibly tempted after carefully learning about the benefits of being an internal key illustrator.

The final interview requires each applicant to present one of their past works to the interviewer. After passing the initial assessment, the interviewer will be asked to provide an illustration for a novel in the Kitagawa Bunko series to test whether the applicant can adapt to the style of Kitagawa Bunko.

Based on this requirement, regardless of whether they pass or not, all three applicants must provide at least two paintings to meet the assessment criteria.

Junji Ito also knew the other two; they were both well-known illustrators in the industry—there's no way around it, this circle is just too small, everyone runs into each other all the time.

He wasn't confident of winning against either of these opponents.

"I'll take 'Tomie' to the interviewer after much hesitation." Junji Ito finally decided to use "Tomie," a work with mediocre sales but which he was very satisfied with, as his application.

Of all his comic works, the best-selling is the short story "The Head Balloon".

"Tomie" can only be considered a mediocre work, and it did not cause much of a stir in the industry.

However, this work consumed a lot of his energy and time, and he considers it his masterpiece.

Submitting "Tomie" to the Kitagawa Library was also his way of hoping to find a discerning patron who would recognize his talent through a higher-level platform.

Junji Ito never doubted his drawing skills and talent for horror works.

As for the works in the Kitagawa Library, the one he naturally chose was Kitagawa-sensei's "Ring 1: Bell".

Although they were called application works, all the applicants understood that if they were selected, they might become the collaborating illustrators for the corresponding works.

According to the theory that one can get a share of the novel's profits, if one could become the illustrator for "Ring 1: Bell", one would never have to worry about money for the rest of their life!
I imagine the other two will also be eyeing Kitagawa-sensei's masterpiece.

"I absolutely can't be careless!" Junji Ito frantically cheered himself on, then refreshed the website page again, only to find that "Ring 1: Bell," which he had been following closely but had stubbornly stopped updating, had finally been updated!

After the last serialization ended, the other novels in the Kitagawa Library began to compete fiercely.

Even those with a low update frequency update once every three days, while those with a high frequency, such as Girl A's "Kara no Kyoukai" series, maintain a daily update frequency!
Simply terrible!
Of course, hard work pays off. With such frequent updates, the "Kara no Kyoukai" series quickly surpassed "Ju-on" and rose to second place on the website's best-selling list.

A few days ago, it even surpassed the unupdated "Ring 1: Bell" and topped the "Kitagawa Bunko" bestseller list.

However, with the update to "Ring 1: Bell" today, it's hard to say who will be number one on the leaderboard!

Junji Ito eagerly opened the webpage, ready to study it thoroughly! (End of Chapter)