15: Manuscript fee at the maximum

In his new studio, Lin Que leaned comfortably back in his ergonomic chair.

Outside the window, the night view of Jiang City looked like a sprawling galaxy of stars.

Inside, the melody of classical music flowed slowly,

and the rich aroma of Blue Mountain coffee permeated the air.

This feeling was exactly right.

This was the working rhythm he was familiar with, the environment a top creator should have.

He had just finished updating the latest chapter of the human world is like a prison,

and the comment section had long been flooded with overwhelming cries of "Holy crap!" and "Author, you have no heart!"

Looking at how the readers both feared and loved his work, Lin Que was in an excellent mood.

He clicked open his email.

An email from Xinchao Magazine Agency had long been lying quietly at the very top of his inbox.

The sender was Xu Lan.

Lin Que raised an eyebrow and clicked on the email.

The content of the email was long, and the wording was extremely respectful and earnest.

[Respected Teacher Jian Shen: Hello! I am Xu Lan, an editor at New Tide magazine.

We have read your work, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, and all our colleagues in the editorial department were shocked by it...]

In the email, Xu Lan used a tone that was almost like that of a fan,

expressing her and the entire editorial department's high appreciation for The Miracles of the Namiya General Store.

[...Editor-in-Chief Wang believes that your writing skill, conception, and insight into human nature are far beyond what a newcomer could achieve.

He even boldly guessed that you might be the elderly Mr. Su Mubai, who has been retired for many years...]

Seeing this, Lin Que almost sprayed a mouthful of coffee onto the screen.

Su Mubai?

He certainly knew of this person.

He had no memory of him from his past life, but after transmigrating, he had specifically looked into the literary world of this world.

Su Mubai was one of the few remaining literary giants of this era,

known for his gentle prose and profound thoughts.

However, this old gentleman had announced his retirement ten years ago,

no longer publishing any works and living a life of leisure.

They thought he was Elder Su's alias?

These editors really had quite the imagination.

Lin Que found it a bit amusing, but mostly he felt a sense of calm from being in control.

Misunderstandings were sometimes the best camouflage.

He continued reading.

[...No matter which great master you are, we will welcome this great work with the utmost sincerity.

We have decided to make The Miracles of the Namiya General Store the main feature of the next issue, the grand finale!

Regarding the contribution fee, we have directly applied for the magazine's highest standard for you: three thousand yuan per thousand words.

Furthermore, we hope to obtain the exclusive serialization rights for this book and the priority rights for subsequent physical publication...]

Three thousand per thousand words.

For a pure literature journal, this price was an absolute astronomical sum.

These people had truly gone all out.

He skipped the end of the email regarding the request for contact information and a phone call, and his fingers landed on the keyboard.

His wording was concise, carrying the indifference and detachment belonging to the identity of "Jian Shen."

[Editor Xu, hello. I am honored that my manuscript is appreciated by your magazine.

Elder Mr. Su is a senior I admire; I do not deserve such a comparison.

I am just an anonymous writer; the name 'Jian Shen' is enough.]

[The publication matters are entirely at your magazine's discretion. I have no objections to the payment and copyright terms.]

[It is just my personal habit to prefer peace and quiet; I do not like to be disturbed.

Please conduct all communication through email.

I will complete the next part of the work within next week and send it all then. Do not worry.]

Signature: [Jian Shen]

Click, send.

After doing all this, Lin Que stretched and felt refreshed.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the city.

Inside the New Tide editorial department, Xu Lan was restlessly refreshing her inbox.

Editor-in-Chief Wang Dean had not returned to his office.

He paced near Xu Lan's workstation, seemingly calm while holding a teacup, but his gaze frequently swept toward the screen.

"Ding."

The notification sound for a new email rang out.

"It's here!"

Xu Lan shouted excitedly and hurriedly clicked open the email.

Wang De'an also immediately leaned in.

The two of them read Lin Que's reply word by word.

After reading, the office fell into a long silence.

"Editor-in-Chief... he... he refused the call and also denied being Elder Su."

Xu Lan's voice was a bit disappointed.

Wang De'an, however, laughed.

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes flashing with the light of "as I expected."

"Xiao Xu, you are still too young."

He analyzed slowly.

"Look at his wording.

'Do not deserve such a comparison'—that's modesty.

'Anonymous writer'—that's self-deprecation.

'Prefer peace and quiet, do not like to be disturbed'—this is exactly the style of a great master!"

"Think about it, if he were really a newcomer eager for fame and fortune,

would he react this way when receiving a commission from a magazine of our level?

He would have been dying to give us his phone number and home address!"

"The more he is like this, the more it shows he has confidence; he doesn't care about these things!

Even if he isn't Elder Su, he is definitely a figure on the same level as Elder Su!"

Wang De'an said with absolute certainty.

Xu Lan listened in a daze, feeling that what the Editor-in-Chief said... made so much sense!

"Then... what do we do now?"

"What do we do? Do as he says!"

Wang De'an slapped the table.

"Respect! We must show 120% respect!

He doesn't want to be disturbed, so we won't disturb him.

He wants to communicate via email, so we will only send emails."

"Reply to him immediately, saying we completely respect his habits and look forward to his subsequent great work.

In addition, draft the contract and send the first contribution fee as quickly as possible!

We want him to see our sincerity and efficiency!"

"Understood, Editor-in-Chief!"

Xu Lan nodded heavily, feeling as if she had received a most sacred mission.

Wang De'an stood up and walked to the window.

He looked down at the veins of the city beneath his feet.

He clenched his fist,

as if he could already see what kind of heavy bomb The Miracles of the Namiya General Store would drop on the literary world.

And at this moment, the instigator who had stirred up these waves had already switched battlefields.

Lin Que closed his email and skillfully logged into the author backend of the Hongguo Novel Website.

As soon as he went online, he found that the notifications for internal messages, the comment section, and the book review section had all become 99+.

99+ was the limit of the software, but it was not the limit of the human world is like a prison.

The lingering power of "Tonight, Don't Look Under the Bed" was still there, and the readers' enthusiasm was at an all-time high.

Those urging updates, those giving tips, those wailing, those doing fan creations in the comments...

It was a scene of wild, chaotic activity.

Lin Que's gaze swept over the soaring data in the backend, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

Very good.

The lingering fear from this wave was starting to weaken.

It was also time to set off a new round of storms.

He created a new document, and the title of the document had only three cold words.

Ghost Knocks on the Door.

This was the first major climax of the human world is like a prison.

It was also the key event that would completely drag the protagonist Yang Jian into the boundless abyss of the supernatural.

Lin Que's gaze became focused.

In the studio, the melodious classical music had stopped at some point.

Outside was the heavy darkness of the night.

Inside, there was only the dense sound of the keyboard about to erupt.

He began to weave a "dream."