42: "Bole"

Su Province, Jinling.

Inside the deputy Editor-in-Chief's office of the Shiyue Magazine Agency, the atmosphere was dead and gloomy.

Fang Zhenyun sat behind a huge mahogany desk,

currently staring expressionlessly out the window.

Assistant Xiao Liu stood to the side, lightening even his breathing,

for fear of crossing the Editor-in-Chief and bringing bad luck.

The entire Jinling literary circle was now watching Fang Zhenyun make a fool of himself.

The door to the Editor-in-Chief's office hadn't been opened for him in two days,

and even the process of submitting documents had been changed to electronic circulation.

Fang Zhenyun knew that this was one of the few disastrous defeats in his career.

He had originally wanted to pluck Jian Shen, that most dazzling fruit,

but unexpectedly, the other party summoned the east wind, ignited a wildfire,

and burned the orchard he had carefully arranged into scorched earth.

That grand event of "Searching for the worry solver"

was now reminding him of his disastrous defeat every day.

"Editor-in-Chief, please have some water."

Xiao Liu cautiously handed over a cup of hot tea.

Fang Zhenyun didn't take it, just waved his hand.

He withdrew his gaze from outside the window and let it fall onto the computer screen.

On the screen was the overwhelming pre-order countdown for the physical book of The Miracles of the Namiya General Store,

and those dazzling red numbers seemed to mock his overestimation of his own abilities.

"Editor-in-Chief, don't let a person like Wang De'an get to you. He just got lucky, a blind cat running into a dead mouse."

Xiao Liu tried to comfort him, but looked in the wrong direction.

Fang Zhenyun shot him a cold glance,

a look that instantly made Xiao Liu shut his mouth.

Right at this moment, the office door was knocked on,

and a young editor poked his head in, with a strange expression, hesitating to speak.

"Editor-in-Chief Fang, um..."

"If you have something to say, spit it out."

Fang Zhenyun's tone carried no temperature at all.

"Um... the human world is like a prison on Hongguo Novel Website has updated."

Fang Zhenyun's eyebrows didn't even twitch.

In his eyes, that was just a substandard web novel that couldn't see the light of day.

Xiao Liu, as if seizing an opportunity to curry favor, chimed in playfully:

"That's just some attention-seeking web prose, why bother giving a special reminder to the Editor-in-Chief?"

"No, Assistant Liu, this time the content is a bit..."

"Wait."

Fang Zhenyun suddenly spoke.

"What's wrong with the content? Let him speak!"

Upon hearing this, the young editor quickly bypassed Assistant Liu.

He placed the transparent tablet directly on Fang Zhenyun's desk.

Assistant Liu also looked curious and leaned over to look together.

On the screen, the title of the latest chapter appeared before their eyes.

[Volume Four: Feeding Ghosts]

[Chapter 32: the talent scout]

Seeing the two words "the talent scout", Fang Zhenyun's pupils shrank imperceptibly.

He had a premonition that this novel might not be quite what he thought.

He reined in his impatience and read on.

[...]

[Yang Jian was trapped in a ghost city. This city was constructed by an extremely terrifying malicious ghost that called itself 'the talent scout'.]

['the talent scout' never killed anyone with its own hands; it would even 'help' those survivors who accidentally strayed into the ghost city. It would instruct them on how to avoid other wandering evil ghosts, how to utilize the rules of the ghost city, and even bestow upon them some weak power capable of resisting ghost entities.]

[It was like a generous, wise elder, screening the most potential 'seeds', watching them struggle and grow stronger in desperate straits, step by step transforming from prey into qualified Ghost Controllers.]

[Until that 'seed' grew into the most perfect appearance in its eyes.]

[In the story, a young man named 'A-Jin', under the guidance of 'the talent scout',]

[successfully harnessed a powerful malicious ghost and became an existence in the ghost city second only to 'the talent scout'.]

[He regarded 'the talent scout' as his second-chance parents and obeyed its every command.]

[On the night when he was at the height of his complacency, thinking he was about to become the new master of the ghost city, 'the talent scout' invited him to dinner.]

["A-Jin, you are the most talented child I have ever seen."]

[the talent scout smiled at him with that benevolent face. "Your growth makes me feel gratified."]

["Now, you have matured."]

["You can become my food now."]

[In A-Jin's terrified gaze, 'the talent scout' opened its mouth.]

[That mouth expanded infinitely, transforming into a bottomless black hole that instantly devoured A-Jin along with the malicious ghost he had harnessed.]

[After finishing all this, 'the talent scout' burped with satisfaction, and its aura grew a fraction stronger again.]

["Who will be the next one?" it muttered to itself, casting its gaze toward the other survivors in the ghost city who were struggling to survive under its 'help'.]

[...]

The story wasn't long, but it made Xiao Liu's scalp tingle and his back turn cold.

He suddenly realized: where was this writing about ghosts?

This was clearly making veiled accusations!

the talent scout? Screening seeds? Becoming food once matured?

Wasn't this satirizing Editor-in-Chief Fang?!

"Preposterous!"

Xiao Liu was so angry his face turned red, and he slapped the desk.

"This Hell Dream Weaver has truly eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall! Isn't he pointing right at your nose and cursing you?!"

"Editor-in-Chief, this matter absolutely cannot be let go just like this! We must..."

His words came to an abrupt halt.

Because he saw that,

far from flying into the expected rage,

Fang Zhenyun instead leaned his body deep into the back of his chair, narrowing his eyes slightly,

his eyes churning with suppressed anger and cold calculation.

For a long time, that suppressed anger slowly receded,

and the corners of his mouth parted into an almost morbid arc.

"Interesting... Really interesting..."

He muttered in a low voice,

and that smile was filled with the pleasure of finding a new toy.

"Editor-in-Chief, he... he has insulted you like this, how can you still..."

Xiao Liu completely failed to understand.

"Insult?"

Fang Zhenyun shook his finger, closed the webpage, stood up,

walked over to the huge French window, and overlooked the night scenery of Jinling.

"Xiao Liu, look, this city has tall buildings and brilliant lights, as well as shabby alleys and dark drainage ditches.

Some people like to look up at the stars, while others like to look down at the mud."

He turned around, looked at the still-perplexed assistant, and spoke deliberately.

"Of course I can tell that the target of this story is me. But can you see the tricks inside?"

Xiao Liu blankly shook his head.

"Then let me ask you, that Jian Shen, what do you think he is like?"

Fang Zhenyun prompted step by step.

"Like... like a hermit? A sage?"

Xiao Liu answered hesitatingly.

"Correct. He places himself in the clouds, uncontaminated by worldly affairs.

I used fame and fortune to seduce him, but he wasn't moved.

I used political maneuvers to suppress him, and with a backhand move, he borrowed the east wind of the entire city and burned me until I looked disheveled.

This kind of person is impervious to oil and salt, immune to water and fire, with an unfathomable depth of scheming, a born chess player.

To deal with him, you cannot use conventional methods."

Fang Zhenyun paused, his tone shifting:

"As for this Hell Dream Weaver though? What is he like?"

Xiao Liu thought of ghosts do not read poetry, and then thought of this the talent scout,

and said with righteous indignation:

"Editor-in-Chief, I think this Hell Dream Weaver is just a brainless angry youth!

Having a little talent makes him not know the immensity of heaven and earth, biting whoever he catches, just like a mad dog!"

"Calling him a mad dog sounds a bit harsh. It's not accurate."

Fang Zhenyun smiled and sat back down in his seat.

"He's just a young man with a little talent, but extreme conceit and full of rebellious spirit.

He thinks that by using this kind of naive innuendo, he can hurt me and win victory.

He is too young, full of anger, and anger is the easiest emotion to exploit."

Fang Zhenyun cast his gaze toward Assistant Xiao Liu, his eyes calm and wave-less,

yet it made the latter feel a surge of inexplicable chill.

"Editor-in-Chief..."

"Go, mobilize all our troll resources."

Fang Zhenyun's tone was indifferent.

"Starting from today, I want everyone to know that the human world is like a prison is the most profound and courageous critical work of this era."

Xiao Liu was stunned:

"Ah? Editor-in-Chief, didn't you say you wanted to boycott..."

"Boycott?"

Fang Zhenyun interrupted him.

"No, we won't boycott. We are going to elevate him, elevate him even higher than Jian Shen."

He slowly stood up, walked to the window, leaving Xiao Liu with a meaningful back.

"A perfect god is very hard to pull down from the altar. But what if... two gods start fighting?"

Fang Zhenyun leaned against the back of his chair, letting out a low sneer.

"When the partisans of light and darkness are incompatible with each other, when two factions of fanatical believers begin to attack each other...

By then, do you think people will still remember who lit the first fire?"

He didn't explain any further, but instead picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Teacher Sun, it's Zhenyun."

[...]

"Right, I'd like to invite you out of retirement to write a review for the human world is like a prison."

"Yes, you heard it right. My view is that it is more literary avant-garde than The Miracles of the Namiya General Store."

Hanging up the phone, Fang Zhenyun looked out the window, his voice lingering faintly.

"Just watch, I will first lift up this sharp sword of hell to pierce that god named Jian Shen."

"And then, with my own hands, snap this sword in half right inside hell."

[...]