Tokyo Literary Masters: Starting from the Late 1980s

As the last note faded, the accompaniment abruptly stopped.

A brief silence fell over the cramped container.

Sachiko Kamachi put down the microphone, panting. Her bangs were soaked with sweat and stuck messily to her cheeks.

At that moment, she felt a burning sensation in her throat, as if she had just swallowed a piece of red-hot coal, but the boulder that had been pressing on her chest miraculously vanished with her roar.

"Will this... work?"

As the adrenaline subsided, anxiety returned.

Sachiko Kamachi looked at Iwao Kitahara somewhat nervously and said, "Was that... too rough?"

Pop, pop, pop.

Slow, powerful applause broke the silence.

"Sachiko."

Kitahara Iwa looked at her, his eyes filled with no mockery, only unreserved admiration: "Sing like this next time you go to an audition. Don't wear those lace dresses to please the judges, just wear the simplest jeans."

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Sachiko Kamachi's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by unease: "But, what if the judges don't like it..."

"If they don't like it, they're deaf."

Kitahara Iwa stood up, shoved a bottle of water into her hand, and smiled confidently: "Don't worry."

"If no one understands you, then I'll write songs for you until they do."

In late February, on this day, the Golden Week holiday had just ended.

Shinchosha headquarters building in Kagurazaka, Tokyo.

The editor-in-chief's office was filled with smoke, and a tense atmosphere permeated the air.

Machida, the young editor in charge of the Midnight Ring publishing project, stood nervously in front of his desk, his hands pressed tightly against his trouser seams.

Sitting behind the desk was Sato, the editor-in-chief who had been in charge of the literature department of Shinchosha for thirty years.

The knowledgeable old man was wearing reading glasses and frowning as he flipped through a thick outline.

This is the continuation spiral submitted by Kitahara Iwa.

The only sounds in the room were the rustling of papers turning and the dull ticking of the clock on the wall.

Finally, Editor-in-Chief Sato turned to the last page, then took off his glasses, rubbed his throbbing temples, and exhaled a long smoke ring.

"Machida."

"exist!"

Machida was startled.

"This Kitahara Iwa..."

Editor-in-Chief Sato's voice was a little hoarse as he lightly tapped his fingers on the outline, saying, "He's a devil."

"Huh?"

"I originally thought that The Ring was just a lucky horror novel. But after reading the outline of This Spiral, I realized I was wrong."

The old editor-in-chief stood up, walked to the window, looked at the gloomy sky outside, and said, "They explained Sadako's resentment as a circular virus, explained paranormal phenomena as medical pathology, and even introduced the DNA double helix structure and cloning technology..."

"He's forcibly elevating what we know as horror novels to the level of hard science fiction and medical thriller!"

"Moreover, he constructed a perfect closed loop."

The old editor-in-chief turned around, his eyes gleaming with excitement, and said, "The first volume is responsible for creating superstition, and the second volume is responsible for explaining superstition with science."

"These two books together are the Bible and Revelation of the Heisei era. He manipulates the reader's psychology, first scaring you to death, then using cold, hard science to tell you that this is not just fear, but an inevitable part of evolution."

"Editor-in-chief, then..."

"Notify the distribution department."

Editor-in-Chief Sato waved his hand and made the decision: "The initial print run of 'The Ring' will be increased from 10,000 copies to 30,000 copies!"

"Also, raise Kitahara Iwa's contract level to the highest S rank. We absolutely cannot allow him to be poached by Kodansha or Kadokawa!"

"yes!"

However, just as Shinchosha decided to go all out to create a god-like figure, an unexpected incident occurred.

A few days later, in the evening, Kitahara Iwa was watching TV in his new apartment in Setagaya when he suddenly received an urgent call from Machida.

"Teacher Kitahara! Something's happened!"

On the other end of the phone, Machida sounded like he was about to cry: "The printing plant in Saitama Prefecture... has stopped operating."

"Work stoppage?"

Kitahara Iwa raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Is the machine broken?"

"It's not a problem with the machines, it's a problem with the people!"

Machida hurriedly explained, "Because of the tight deadline, the printing plant arranged for a night shift."

"As a result, an old worker in charge of proofreading and two typesetters read the newly printed sample book in the middle of the night... especially when they read the section about how watching the videotape would kill them, the red warning light on the printing press just happened to come on."

"and then?"

"Then the old worker was so frightened that he went into shock and had to be taken to the hospital!"

"The remaining workers say the book is cursed, and whoever prints it will be doomed. They're on strike now and absolutely refuse to work the night shift!"

"The company's public relations department is in a panic; they think this is a scandal and are trying to find a way to suppress it..."

"Why press?"

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Iwa quickly interrupted him, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"Teacher Kitahara?"

"Editor Machida, look."

Kitahara Iwao slowly explained, "The best fuel for fear is the truth."

"Tell the PR department not to suppress it. Not only not to suppress it, but also to leak this to those gossip magazines. I've already thought of the headlines..."

Kitahara Iwa looked at the darkening sky outside the window and said with a smile, "Let's call it: 'The Book That Terrified the Printing Factory! A Cursed Book That Even the Workers Refused to Print.'"

"This works?!"

Machida was stunned and it took him a long time to come to his senses.

At this moment, in his eyes, Kitahara Iwa was simply a genius!

Not only is he proficient in writing novels, but he is also a master of hype.

I should have involved Kitahara Iwa in the marketing last time.

"Believe me. In this boring, peaceful age, people are willing to eat even poisonous pufferfish in their pursuit of thrills, let alone a cursed book?"

……

a few days later.

With the Yomiuri Shimbun officially publishing the winners of the "First Japan Fantasy Novel Award," and a gossip weekly magazine's sensational exclusive report, the entire Tokyo media landscape was abuzz.

On a JR Yamanote Line tram during the morning rush hour.

The crowded train carriage was filled with office workers reading newspapers and magazines.

"Hey Tanaka, have you read today's morning paper?"

An office worker pointed to the headline of the newspaper's entertainment section, looking puzzled, and said, "The winner of the first Fantasy Novel Award has been announced! The grand prize winner... Kitahara Iwao? Who's that?"

"Never heard of it, it's a completely unfamiliar name."

A colleague leaned over for a look, adjusted his glasses, and said, "A newcomer? And approved unanimously?"

"Didn't the previous promotion say that many established writers submitted their works this time? How come an unknown person won the five million prize?"

"Could it be that the first Fantasy Novel Award was actually worthless...?"

"Do you think there might be something fishy going on here?"

Compared to the focus of office workers on the prestige of the awards, a different, more chilling version circulates among female high school students and young office ladies in Shibuya.

In the classroom during lunch break.

Several female students were whispering among themselves around a latest issue of the gossip magazine, Friday.

"Hey, have you heard? That award-winning novel, 'The Ring,' seems to have some bad luck about it..."

"You mean that rumor about the 'printing press curse'?"

A short-haired girl lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "The magazine said that at a printing factory in Saitama Prefecture, two workers who were responsible for proofreading on the night shift suddenly foamed at the mouth and went into shock halfway through reading!"

"It's said that the descriptions in the book were so realistic that they scared people so much they had heart attacks."

"Really? That's too exaggerated! Is it just a publicity stunt by the publisher?"

"But...the magazine even published a picture of the ambulance!"

"And it's said that the workers at that printing plant refuse to print this book at night, saying that as soon as the machine is turned on, they can hear strange women crying..."

"How terrifying..."

The timid girl rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, but her eyes gleamed with a light of curiosity.

"But... the more I listen, the more I want to see what's going on."

The girl, who had just been talking about how scary it was, suddenly swallowed hard and said somewhat shyly, "What kind of story could scare someone to death? I'm a little curious."

"Right! I want to watch it too! Anyway, we're watching it during the day, so it should be fine, right?"

"Shall we go buy it together when it's released? If we don't check it out, I feel like I'll fall behind in class."

"Alright! It's settled then! We'll see what kind of devilish stuff this guy named Kitahara Iwa has written."

Just as Kitahara Iwao predicted, fear became the best seasoning for this boring era.

Who is Kitahara Iwa?

Is "The Ring" truly cursed?

These questions and whispers spread like a virus through the streets and alleys of Tokyo.

Even before the book is on the market, readers are already incredibly excited.