I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 263 Those Who Learn from Me Live, Those Who Imitate Me Die: Tips for Evading Searches

Undoubtedly, the conclusion of a novel like *A Study in Scarlet*, which recently sparked a reading frenzy in London, will generate tremendous attention and discussion. Among these discussions are what the next story will be like, and the three new books Mikhail recommends in his postscript:
"I've already finished reading it without even realizing it. It's such an amazing story, but it ended too quickly. Thankfully, there are still new stories to read."

"After all, the case has been solved and the murderer has been arrested. If they write a lot more stuff, I won't be interested in reading any more."

"What will the next story be? Look at this trailer, an unprecedented criminal method and way of solving the case! Only seen in Sherlock Holmes stories! I'm already looking forward to it, why can't time go by faster!"

"Whose works are these three new books that Mr. Mikhail emphasized at the end? Are they by well-known London authors? I've never heard of them before."

"They seem to be three new writers writing their first novel, but in any case, since Mr. Mikhail speaks so highly of them, I choose to trust his literary taste, and I'll buy it to read later."

"When will the collected volume be released? I want to buy it and read it again."

……

For several days after the release of the final issue of A Study in Scarlet, many readers in London were immersed in the disappointment of the story's conclusion and the excitement of the upcoming new story. While waiting for the next issue, many readers not only re-analyzed the crime-solving methods in A Study in Scarlet, but also paid attention to when the three new books recommended by Mikhail would be available for sale.

Besides readers, people in London's literary circles were equally interested in the news of *A Study in Scarlet*'s completion. In fact, some magazines and writers who had prepared in advance had already placed advertisements in newspapers and magazines in the two days following the novel's conclusion.
"A detective who completely surpasses Sherlock Holmes has appeared! Please read Mr. Patrick's new work, 'The Hidden Murder Case'!"

"Holmes is unique? That's because Mr. Mikhail hasn't yet had the chance to read Mr. Leonard's latest work. Once he has, he certainly won't think so!"

"A detective novel more suited to the British gentleman is about to be published, embodying the true spirit and demeanor of a British gentleman."

Since London already has many writers who have created detective novels, they and their respective magazines naturally want to take this opportunity to promote themselves, and ideally, steal the limelight from "A Study in Scarlet".

In fact, besides this method, a better way is to proactively find Russian writers, establish a good relationship with them, and then ask them to help recommend their new books.

The problem is that most writers who try this type of novel for the first time and receive attention and support from magazines are already quite famous in London. Rather than trying to please a Russian writer who is much younger than them, they are more willing to believe that they can use their abilities to crush this foreign writer.

If they were to actually try to curry favor with the other party and ask for recommendations, they would probably have to remain subordinate to that party indefinitely, which they would find unacceptable.

In addition, Mikhail's success and the rise of Fiction Ten Days as a result have inadvertently offended many people. Therefore, after the undercurrents a while ago, many major publishing houses and magazines in London have unanimously adopted the approach of praising one while criticizing the other, and have once again emphasized Mikhail's foreign identity and the pure British spirit in their works.

Even if Mikhail is now being accepted by people of all classes in Britain, for a country with rising nationalism, emphasizing identity and lineage will always attract a solid audience.

As their actions became increasingly blatant and yielded some results, the pressure mounting, Sanders finally sought advice from Mikhail. Soon after, having received only a single line of advice, Sanders happily began contacting major newspapers. After spending a relatively small fee, the following line quickly appeared on the most prominent pages of many London newspapers:

"Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die!"

Many readers in London, as well as writers and critics in the literary world: "?"

What does it mean?
Those who learn from him still have a chance to live, but those who want to write works similar to his only path is death.

Others can only draw inspiration from him, and there is absolutely no possibility of them surpassing him.

That's incredibly arrogant!

In Britain, where social values ​​are relatively conservative, such outrageous remarks are rarely seen even in the literary and artistic circles. Therefore, after the statement was published in the newspaper, many people unconsciously ignored the small print that read "in the field of detective fiction" and instead engaged in a rather heated discussion about what the statement actually meant.

Amid this discussion, almost all the previous criticisms of Sherlock Holmes and promotions of the new book were drowned out by the discussion about this statement. As a result, mainstream media such as The Times reported in a serious tone: "This young literary genius has declared his originality with a self-conscious arrogance, but one should perhaps remind him that the arrogance of genius is often the beginning of his downfall."

Many critics commented sarcastically, saying, "He seems to want not only to invent a new detective, but also a new myth—his own myth. The Byron of literature may be returning, but he seems more like a inferior version of Byron."

If many in the literary world were merely discussing the implications of this statement, as well as Mikhail's character and writing philosophy, and London readers were simply watching the spectacle, then for those London writers who were imitating Mikhail, writing detective novels and promoting them, such words were utterly disrespectful and severely wounded their pride.

"He's only just finished writing a fairly bestselling book in London, how dare he be so arrogant? I've been famous in London for almost five years, and I've never spoken like that before!"

"Does he really think his eccentric detective is unique? In my opinion, it's just that his eccentricity has attracted temporary public interest! It won't be long before a better detective appears."

"Just wait and see. Once my work starts serialization, it won't be long before people discover that he's the one secretly learning my creative methods!"

……

Sanders was certainly happy to see these debates and comments in the newspapers. In other words, when writers are not writing, they often need similar events and social activities to assert their existence.

After *A Study in Scarlet* was completed, some writers and critics in London did just that, and it was clearly unwise to simply be judged by them without responding. But Sanders never expected that Mikhail would only respond with this one sentence.
But this one sentence is enough to rival a dozen other people's articles. No wonder he is Mr. Mikhail!
Just as the London literary world was abuzz with this truly alarming statement, Jonathan Wichter, after making inquiries from various sources, finally made his way to Mikhail's residence with some trepidation.

After all, although he belonged to a special department like the Detective Agency, his official rank was not particularly high. Logically speaking, an ordinary police officer of his rank would not be able to attract the attention of a very famous writer. It would be more likely that the head of the Detective Agency, Charles Field, would come, and this head was also a friend of the great writer Dickens.

But Jonathan, on a whim, still came. And when he nervously knocked on Mikhail's door and introduced himself, it was Mikhail's turn to look at this officer, who was supposedly from Scotland Yard, with some surprise.

First, someone from Scotland Yard actually came to him for help; second, Mikhail seemed to have seen the name of this person somewhere before.

In short, this seemingly ordinary police officer will solve a series of major cases over the next decade or so, thus truly becoming another legendary figure in Scotland Yard.

The most famous case is undoubtedly that of Kent, a three-year-old boy from an upper-class family in Wiltshire, southern England, who disappeared in the middle of the night. After a report was made, police found the child's body in the outdoor toilet outside the country house. Despite their best efforts to find clues, the local police came up empty-handed.

When Jonathan Witchell became involved in the investigation, he quickly raised a new suspicion: could someone in the family have murdered the child? Ultimately, Witchell became convinced that Kent's half-sister, Constance, was the killer, but he couldn't find any evidence or obtain a confession. Public opinion also fiercely criticized him for "insulting a girl from a respectable family."

The case was thus left unresolved, and Witchell's reputation was nearly ruined. However, five years later, accompanied by a pastor, the sister surrendered herself to the police, confessing to murdering her brother. This led to a widely publicized trial. The case became so famous that it influenced works by Dickens and Wilkie Collins. It was even later made into a film.

At that moment, Mikhail invited the police officer to come in and sit down, and even personally made him a cup of tea.

Faced with such treatment, the rather flattered police officer first praised the novel *A Study in Scarlet* with a limited vocabulary, and then solemnly stated:
"To be honest, at first I just treated this novel as a pastime, but some of the details and the methods used to solve the case really made me think it was feasible. I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, so I wanted to come and ask you for your advice."

"As far as I know, Scotland Yard has issued at least two statements opposing the novel, right? But that's understandable, considering I portrayed you all in a somewhat less-than-positive light for dramatic effect."

Is that a little bit? Although some parts aren't wrong, they are.
Although Jonathan wanted to echo Mikhail's words and mock some of Scotland Yard's internal strife, out of rationality and restraint, he ultimately admitted frankly, "It does have some influence, but I personally came to you with a feeling that I could learn something from you."

"Then when you become famous, you must prove Holmes."

Mikhail said in a joking tone.

In fact, Jonathan later rose to a fairly good position at Scotland Yard and enjoyed a high reputation among the public in the 1950s and 60s.

"From what you're saying, you do have some research and insights in this area?"

Jonathan's eyes lit up immediately: "Just like your book on footprints, I think you still have a lot to write about, such as specific investigative methods."

"It's not really research, just some scattered ideas. Whether they're right or wrong is something you'll have to judge for yourself."

"Tell me about it!"

Jonathan pulled out a pen and paper from somewhere: "Let me write this down."

Mikhail: “?”

It feels like you stole my lines.
Regarding so-called footprint studies and even trace studies, later generations have published textbooks and papers to analyze and study these areas. Unfortunately, Mikhail basically didn't read them much, only casually glancing at a few chapters out of interest.

Even so, his skill was enough to get Jonathan to write down notes diligently and ask Mikhail a few questions from time to time.

When Mikhail finally stopped, he said with some amazement, "You seem to be able to turn those vague case-handling experiences into a clear and identifiable system. Even if not everyone can apply it well, it must be helpful in handling cases. Also, are you really telling me all this? Don't you need me to do anything for you?"

"There shouldn't be any more for now, but perhaps you can keep an eye out for my upcoming detective stories. As for more..."

Mikhail thought for a moment and said, "If you find these things truly useful, please gradually spread them to others. In fact, I'm not just telling you; perhaps I need to tell more people in more places. Although you are not actually responsible for the majority, I still hope that some of you can fight the real criminals."

"What are you doing this for? You don't seem to be planning to get anything out of it?"

In an era where solving cases is solely for career advancement, wealth, fame, and currying favor with the powerful, Jonathan asked this somewhat foolish question.

"Personally, it's about promoting fairness and justice. Although it's actually a very complex issue, I hope this can at least become a clearer direction. I hope you will give it serious consideration."

Mikhail couldn't help but shake his head when he thought about the situation in various countries and places in this day and age.

After chatting about this topic for a while, Mikhail suddenly had an idea and asked Jonathan, who seemed to be deep in thought, "By the way, as an undercover detective, do you have any tips for hiding in crowds and avoiding searches and tracking?"

Jonathan: “?”

Why would a writer like you ask these questions?
Could it be that he is continuing to search for material for his own work?
However, you've come to the right person.

Although Jonathan was somewhat puzzled, since Mr. Mikhail had asked, Jonathan, who was not old but very experienced, did not refuse. Instead, he quickly used his best skills to explain to Mikhail in detail, and even demonstrated from time to time.

Mikhail became completely absorbed in the listening.
(End of this chapter)