Tokyo Literary Masters: Starting from the Late 1980s

Three days later.

South entrance of Koenji Temple, Café Lunova.

This long-established chain coffee shop, brimming with the atmosphere of the Showa era, is a living fossil of Tokyo's business negotiation culture.

The heavy, deep red velvet sofas, the waiters in black and white uniforms, and the unlimited refills of hot tea create a unique business atmosphere here.

At 2 p.m., Machida, a young editor from the publishing department of Shinchosha, pushed open the glass door of the café.

He straightened his tie and glanced around the dimly lit shop.

As the editor in charge of liaising with the winner of the "First Japan Fantasy Novel Award," Machida had prepared himself mentally before coming.

In his experience, authors who can write dark and oppressive works like "The Ring" are usually eccentric people with a withdrawn personality and an unkempt appearance.

However, when his gaze fell on the corner by the window, he froze.

A young man was sitting there.

He was wearing a clean white shirt with the cuffs casually rolled up, sipping iced coffee while intently flipping through the day's Nikkei newspaper.

The sunlight streaming through the window fell on his angular profile, making him look less like a dark horror writer and more like a young stock trader analyzing market trends.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Kitahara-sensei."

Machida strode over, handed over his business card, and his attitude involuntarily became respectful.

"I just arrived too."

Kitahara Iwao put down his newspaper, smiled, and gestured for him to sit down: "Mr. Machida, what would you like to drink?"

"Ah, iced coffee will do."

After exchanging pleasantries, Machida quickly got down to business, taking out a thick document and an envelope from his briefcase.

"First of all, this is the prize money check for the grand prize, five million yen."

Please keep this safe.

Kitahara Iwatsu took the envelope, didn't even look at it, and put it directly into the bag next to him.

"Then there was the publishing contract for The Ring."

Machida opened the document and pointed to the clauses, explaining in detail: "After internal discussions, we have decided to set the initial print run at 10,000 copies."

"This is an exceptionally high number for a newcomer. The release date is set for the middle of next month, just in time for the cherry blossom season."

At this point, Machida deliberately lowered his voice, as if he were about to share a secret: "Also, regarding the stamp duty..."

"Normally, the royalty rate for newcomers is 8%, but given that your work was a grand prize winner with a unanimous vote, and Mitsui Fudosan also has high hopes for it... we have secured the maximum royalty rate of 10% for you."

"In other words..."

Machida pressed a few buttons on the calculator and then showed it to Kitahara Iwa.

"Based on the current paperback price of 580 yen, an initial print run of 10,000 copies, and the maximum royalty rate of 10% for new authors... your first royalty income will be around 580,000 yen."

"Although the first print run may seem small, please rest assured. After all, in the Japanese publishing industry, we operate on a print run system—meaning we pay you as soon as the book is printed, regardless of whether it sells or not. This is our utmost sincerity. Both the editorial department and Mitsui Fudosan, the sponsor of this award, have extremely high expectations for your potential."

"If it's reprinted, the revenue will be immeasurable."

In this day and age, this is an absolute fortune.

Kitahara Iwa's expression remained calm; he simply nodded slightly and said, "10%, that's fair. Thank you for your sincerity."

Machida was somewhat unsure of what to do with this overly calm attitude.

However, to lighten the mood, he chuckled and recounted an amusing anecdote: "Speaking of which, Kitahara-sensei, your writing is truly magical."

"A few days ago, the printing factory called to complain that the workers responsible for typesetting were getting more and more scared while proofreading the manuscript, and several of them resolutely refused to work the night shift."

"I've never heard of anything like this before, in all my years in the publishing industry, that has scared printing workers into going on strike."

"Yeah?"

Kitahara Iwa stirred the ice in his glass and replied with a smile, "Fear is the most primal human instinct."

Anything that can scare people can be sold for money.

This is the ironclad rule of commercial fiction.

After discussing the publication of The Ring, Machida took a sip of coffee but didn't rush to leave.

He hesitated for a moment, leaned forward slightly, and asked about the second most important purpose of his trip today.

"Teacher Kitahara, to be honest, the company has very high expectations for you."

"The publishing industry is fiercely competitive now; popularity comes and goes quickly."

Machida stared into Kitahara Iwa's eyes, his tone becoming eager: "Although The Ring will certainly cause a sensation, in order to solidify your position, I wonder if you... have any new drafts or ideas on hand?"

"The company's intention is to encourage you to strike while the iron is hot..."

The publishing industry fears nothing more than an author who has written a single book.

After writing his groundbreaking debut novel, he ran out of creative ideas and disappeared from the public eye.

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Iwa laughed.

He had been waiting to hear those words.

"If you don't strike while the iron is hot, the heat will definitely cool down."

As Kitahara Iwatsu spoke, he took out another pre-prepared kraft paper file from his briefcase and gently pushed it in front of Machida.

"I guessed you would ask that."

"This is……"

Machida's eyes lit up, and he quickly took it.

Kitahara Iwa explained, "This is the detailed outline and the first three chapters of the second part."

Machida eagerly opened the file folder and pulled out the manuscript paper inside.

He originally thought he would see cliché titles like "The Ring 2" or "Sadako's Revenge".

However, the title that caught the eye consisted of only two words.

spiral.

The story begins with Ando dissecting the body of Ryuji Takayama, the victim in the first part of the story.

He discovered a mysterious sequence of numbers in the deceased's coronary arteries, which, upon deciphering, turned out to be DNA coding.

This revealed a shocking truth: Sadako was not simply a vengeful spirit, but a circular virus similar to smallpox.

This virus has evolved, and its transmission medium has changed from videotapes to text.

Anyone who reads the record of The Ring will have the virus invade their brain through retinal signals and alter their DNA.

In the end, Ando chose to betray all of humanity in order to revive his drowned son.

He made a deal with the reborn Sadako to compile and publish the virus-laden notebook, allowing the virus to spread throughout the world with the release of the bestselling book.

"spiral?"

Machida paused for a moment, then began reading the main text with a sense of unease.

At first, his expression was relaxed. But as he read on, his brows furrowed, his eyes changed from confusion to shock, and finally to utter disbelief.

The protagonist of this installment is no longer Asakawa from the previous work, but a forensic doctor named Ando.

The story doesn't begin with a paranormal videotape, but with a corpse on an autopsy table.

There are no ghosts, no curses.

Instead, there were medical anatomy, smallpox virus, the double helix structure of DNA, and grand deductions about the evolution of life.

A few minutes later, Machida suddenly looked up, his voice trembling, and said, "This... Kitahara-sensei, is this science fiction?"

Is it a medical thriller?

Machida pointed to the contents of the manuscript, his fingers trembling slightly, and said, "You've interpreted Sadako's curse... as a virus?"

"A virus that spreads through circular DNA and reproduces by exploiting the human reproductive instinct?"

"Is there a problem?"

Kitahara Iwa leaned back on the sofa, looking at Machida, who had a surprised expression on his face.

"No...that's not the problem! This is..."

Machida, so excited he was almost incoherent, exclaimed, "This is revolutionary!"

"I originally thought you would continue writing ghost stories, but I never expected... you would elevate horror fiction to the level of hard science fiction!"

If you didn't see the author's name, no one would believe that this is a sequel to The Ring.

The previous film used supernatural powers to scare people into not daring to go to the toilet, but the sequel suddenly picks up a scalpel and coldly tells you: this is not just fear, it is the inevitability of biological evolution.

This type of fraud and plot twist is so shocking it's like a nuclear bomb.

"If The Ring were just a simple ghost story, it would stop there."

Kitahara Iwao looked at Machida and slowly said, "But what I want is a complete world."

"The first part is about a curse, and in the second part, I will use medicine to explain this curse. Whether it's ghosts or viruses, human fear ultimately stems from our own reproductive instincts."

"What do you think, Mr. Machida? What do you think of this idea?"

Listening to Kitahara Iwa's explanation, Machida took a deep breath and slowly closed the outline.

His palms were sweaty.

Only now did he realize that the young man in front of him was not just a genius at writing ghost stories, but a monster with a huge ability to structure stories and manipulate readers at will.

"Stunning...stunning like never before!"