People in Tokyo, the world is clear

Page 126

As more and more paragraphs were circled with a marker, the female editor's brows furrowed more and more.

The deeper you dig, the more frightened you become.

"Apart from the basic framework of the main storyline, I found almost nothing of the author's own in it."

She flipped the marked book over and pushed it toward Lin Sen. "The characters' inner thoughts are from other works, as are the author's third-party lyricism. Even the few shops the hero and heroine occasionally visit use fictitious names from other works."

"This guy obviously has something."

Lin Sen, sitting across from him, pinched his chin, adding, "Without a tremendous amount of reading, one wouldn't be able to accomplish something like this. Furthermore, the fact that he was able to perfectly stitch together such a vast array of external objects shows that he possesses a high level of literary literacy."

“So, I can’t understand it even more.”

The female editor practically gritted her teeth. "Clearly, this guy has a top-notch aesthetic. The passages he selected are almost entirely the essence of less popular works. I really don't understand. With such a high level of skill, why doesn't he rely on his own abilities to create something original?"

She banged the table with her clenched fists, expressing her strong sense of disappointment.

In fact, as the two people present gradually understood the situation, they both realized that this guy was too smart.

He did not touch any of the current popular works or famous quotes and passages from well-known writers, and perfectly achieved the goal of not offending the mainstream literary world.

The targets of the theft are all the failed works of unknown authors, and only the amazing words that every writer would come up with are selected.

What is even more disgusting is that most of the stolen works are posthumous works of unknown writers who have passed away, and some are even old books that have rarely been reprinted.

"I can sense this guy's passion for literature," Sasagawa Rio's voice began to brew with suppressed anger. "Many of these books are incredibly hard to find. Even when I was collecting them, I had to ask people to go to several stores before I could get them from some old bookstores. For the rarer ones, I even had to go to bookstores in other places to ask for them one by one. Anyone who can do this must have a sincere passion in their hearts."

Judging from the flamingo's complex expression, if it had met the writer earlier, perhaps the two of them would have had a chance to become literary confidants.

But now, it is obviously impossible.

because--

"Doing something like this just makes me completely, totally, absolutely disgusted."

An inexplicable sadness surged in her heart, causing Sasagawa Rimei to lower her head.

"If you can find these works, you must also know the life stories of these writers. I remember that several of them were poor and unsuccessful throughout their lives, and these works are almost all their hard work."

"As a result, they were drained of their essence. Works of art, condensed with time and experience, were reduced layer by layer to stepping stones for this guy's success."

"This bastard isn't the kind of idiot who thinks [I want to be famous] and just finds useful sentences to stitch together. And that's precisely why he appears smarter, the more thoroughly evil he is. I really, really, really despise that broken, festering heart."

By the end, the female editor's voice began to tremble, and she emphasized the depth of her emotions three times in a row.

Perhaps, the more people love and respect literature, the more they will dislike this behavior.

Even Lin Sen felt a little uncomfortable.

In fact, my biggest dissatisfaction is not writing this book.

If you only do this integration and then generously introduce the works of the writers you referenced at the end, it would be a great job.

But the greatest evil comes from the behavior of "over-hype".

Lin Sen closed the book in his hand and found the exaggerated slogan published by the publishing house on the cover.

A groundbreaking masterpiece from a talented new writer! Five years in the making! A tale of the trials and tribulations of exploring the meaning of love!

Then he took another look at the pen name and couldn't hold it in anymore.

—Robin Jiro.

At first glance, it seems to be just a somewhat strange Japanese-Western pen name, but it is also a test of the reader's knowledge.

A little bit of disassembly will give you some ideas.

The first two words clearly allude to Robin Hood, the famous thief in British legend.

The last two characters are taken from the real name of the famous thief [Shu Xiaoseng] during the Edo period of Japan, [Nakamura Jirokichi].

More importantly, these two men were not some vicious thieves. If we really examine their historical evaluation, they could even be called "chivalrous thieves" to some extent.

If we speculate with more malice, we can infer that the author is trying to justify his actions.

Therefore, this deliberate little detail is really disgusting.

Perhaps you can see a smug face through the name, with the kind of secret joy of being invincible and treating everyone as ignorant fools.

“But, unfortunately.”

After another long sigh of relief, Sasagawa Rio clenched her fists, stood up, and concluded, "Under normal circumstances, this thief might have achieved success and fame, made a fortune, and then hidden his identity and waited for the opportunity to commit the next crime. But, unfortunately, he met me."

She waved her hand.

"I, Kobayashi Rimei, am risking my family name and marriage. I will never let this matter rest and allow these despicable people to succeed."

"You sound so passionate, but Editor Sasakawa's bet seems a little strange. Doesn't it mean you win regardless of success or failure?"

"So, does the potential accomplice also want to let this happen?"

"Moral kidnapping, right?"

After finishing his passionate declaration, Lin Sen sat back in his chair, opened the book in front of him that was full of annotations, propped up his chin, and looked at the woman in front of him who suddenly became imposing.

What is the meaning of the word "Yiyi"?

For some reason, when she was at home, she rarely wore her hair tied up like she used to when she went out, and would more often let her hair down with some slight curls.

Lin Sen was rather curious about the reason for this change.

But let’s get back to business.

"So." Staring at the flamingo in front of him, the young man's expression gradually became serious.

"Have you thought of any way to punish him?"

Chapter 66: The Road Ahead is Long and Difficult

"I think we shouldn't rush things for now. Things like this can easily escalate. No matter when it's brought up, it's going to be incredibly powerful and shocking. We can wait, and we can afford to wait. If the situation gets worse, even if it takes six months, a year, two years, or even longer, it doesn't matter."

When it comes to dealing with the enemy, Sasagawa Rio did not let her emotions sway and remained calm.

The analysis is presented in a leisurely manner.

"Before, on impulse, I originally planned to find a well-known newspaper in the industry and expose this matter, but after thinking it over again, I realized the irrationality of this operation."

First, their current fame and power were limited. In an era without the internet, where it was impossible to post and quickly disseminate specific, comparable details, even through newspapers and other media outlets, it would have been impossible to quickly stir up a major public opinion storm.

Secondly, most writers whose passages and famous quotes were stolen have fallen into poverty, retired from the literary world, or passed away, and the mainstream literary community, whose interests have not been infringed, may not necessarily speak out on their behalf.

Ordinary people outside the literary readership generally don't pay much attention to such matters. Although Japan has always had a tradition of valuing literature, relatively speaking, when it comes to major events, they tend to wait for a few prestigious mainstream writers to speak out before taking action, which goes back to the point above.

Furthermore, even within the literary community, most people don't read that much, and certainly can't accurately judge the severity of such behavior. Based on hearsay, they might think this plagiarism is just ordinary allusion use, and it's difficult to empathize with the female editor who is well aware of the inside story.

Judging from these aspects, Lin Sen and Sasakawa Riya can't find many loyal partners at the moment.

If you charge rashly without looking for teammates, even the most beautiful first move will give the opponent ample time to react.

The fear lies in the reaction time.

Once the thief is alerted and reacts, he will have more room to maneuver.

Some people took advantage of the situation and hypocritically promoted those unknown authors to call for everyone's attention, apologized generously, and forced explanations to suppress the popularity, using various strategies such as high, medium and low.

Either way, there is a possibility of putting an end to this matter at a low cost.

This is clearly not in line with Ms. Editor's goals.

Due to her strong personal feelings, she could not take a so-called relatively objective stance. She only felt that the man was deeply sinful and hoped that he would be completely disgraced.

The more you want to cause greater damage, the more you should calm down and accumulate your strength.

"First of all, the most unrealistic method at the moment is for you, Mr. Itsuki, to become famous in one battle."

Sasagawa Rimei found a blank sheet of paper from somewhere and began listing the issues one by one. "You're also a victim of plagiarism. If your words carry more weight, you'll definitely be able to influence public opinion more."

"Why don't we skip this method for now."

"Although I really want to say something encouraging, now is not the time to expand on other topics."

Sasakawa Rio nodded, but still circled the number one mark. "But if there is any chance, I will definitely give the first one the highest priority. Because it is the most intuitive and effective method."

This is quite a heartwarming thing to say.

Lin Sen laughed for a moment.

When I focused my attention back on it, I found that the woman had already written the second sentence on the paper.

"We can also try to get Mr. Higashino, who was also a victim. Although he hasn't even produced a draft of his work yet, I still know his abilities. He's definitely a master. I'm not very good at talking, so I'll have to ask you to make contact, explain the situation, and form alliances. Is that okay, Mr. Itsuki?"

"Yeah... sure."

Lin Sen agreed to this with some reluctance.

It wasn't that he denied this, nor was it that he didn't want to deal with that teacher Dong Ye. It was just that, through vague understanding, he had almost guessed who Dong Ye was.

In later generations, he has many invincible hits, and they are all well-known names:

"White Night Walk", "Time Life", "The Devotion of Suspect X"...

He is particularly good at depicting human nature in detective novels, which is vivid and lifelike, and he can be regarded as the best in this field.

However, there is a problem.

In his previous life, Lin Sen had read about this person's life out of curiosity. After winning the award last year, he made up his mind this year to quit his job and become a full-time writer.

and then?

As if he had suddenly fallen out of favor with the market, this master of mystery novels fell into decline for a full ten years.

It's not that there weren't any works produced during this period; in fact, there were quite a few. Among them, there were several that Lin Sen quite liked, such as "The Sleeping Forest", "The Eleven-Character Murder", "Transformation", "Detective Club", etc. Many of them were later adapted into film and television.

However, the high output of three books per year on average did not bring the expected attention, but instead was ignored.

Judging from this later history and contemporary prophecies, it will probably be as difficult for Mr. Higashino to become famous in the next few years as it will be for Lin Sen to become a bestseller.

But, in the final analysis, you can give it a try. Lin Sen actually wanted to get to know this contemporary master up close. He also wondered if he was different in the parallel world than in his previous life.

It will also be a good experience.

While I was sighing, the female editor in front of me had already written the third item on the paper.

This time she didn't explain first, so Lin Sen focused on the neat handwriting on it:

[Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy: First, try to learn the writer's true identity. Second, find out if they're willing to appear in public interviews or attend large-scale book signings. If not, try to seduce them.]

After seeing it clearly, I was stunned for a moment.

"That's clever. To destroy someone, you first have to drive them crazy. Although he's being very cautious right now, hiding behind his pen name and books, there's no guarantee he won't become arrogant someday."

"It's unavoidable human nature."

Sasagawa Rio seemed to be enjoying the common language she shared with Lin Sen. Her gestures were filled with a certain air of commanding authority, and she stared at him intently, almost unconsciously. "Comrade, we're surprisingly on the same page."

"Great minds think alike."

"Fools seldom disagree."

"So, Editor Sasakawa is also an idiot?"

"To take Zero IQ-kun's feelings into consideration, I can be."

"Thank you so much."

"Then let's move on to the fourth option."

Trying to get back to the main topic from the prank, Sasagawa Rimei skillfully turned the pen.

This operation shocked Lin Sen.

"You didn't know this before, did you? When did you learn this technique from your friends?"

"Just took a quick look."

"sharp."

Receiving genuine praise seemed to be a happy thing. The corners of the flamingo's mouth rarely showed a tendency to turn up.