[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-literary-master-of-tokyo":3,"chapter-literary-master-of-tokyo-literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-157":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Literary Master of Tokyo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2355006,4607,"Chapter 157: Is This Guy a Monster?!","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-157",157,"\u003Cp>Regarding the creation of mystery fiction, both the West and Japan have established relevant codes and regulations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, many of these regulations have been refuted one by one by contemporary or even later mystery writers as time has passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, the most widely circulated Knox's Decalogue proposed that \"there must not be more than one secret room or secret passage in a story.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, in a series of orthodox and new-orthodox works that appeared in Japan, many works emerged that did not conform to these principles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another very famous set of mystery rules—Van Dine's Twenty Rules—imposed even more rigid frameworks, even stipulating that romantic plots should not appear in works.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one were to judge by his framework, works like *The Devotion of Suspect X* or *White Night* would not even count as mystery fiction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, in Akiwara Yuto's view, the framework of mystery rules should not be fixed; rather, it should be premised on the pursuit of the story's rationality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, under the principle of rationality, one should design the tricks and the human nature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto thought for two seconds, then continued: \"I have designed the following guidelines, consisting of 9 points.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, he took the paper and pen from the table, and as he spoke, he wrote down nine lines:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nine Guidelines for Mystery Works\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One, the situation at the beginning and the end of the story must have reasons that are acceptable to people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two, technical errors in murder and the method of execution are not allowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three, the characters, the structure of the work, and the atmosphere should all conform to reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four, the logic of the work should be meticulous, and the story must possess interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five, the structure of the work must be simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six, the method of resolution must be absolutely achievable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven, one can only choose between a puzzle-solving story or an action-adventure story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eight, the murderer must have a reasonable outcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nine, one must be fair to the reader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing writing, Akiwara Yuto looked at it carefully for a few moments, then tore off the sheet of paper and placed it in front of the three people sitting on the other side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These nine propositions came from Raymond Chandler, known in the Western literary world as the \"Poet Laureate of Crime.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This writer is called the greatest writer in American history, and even the only detective writer in the world to have entered the hall of classic literature and been written into the annals of classic literary history through detective fiction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His writing style and viewpoints were incompatible with traditional British-style detective fiction, lacking excessive rigidity and stereotypes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, due to the breadth of his theory, this set of theories of his remains quite feasible even after several decades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, what he depicted was the rationality of story design, not those messy framework standards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the nine points Akiwara Yuto wrote were not entirely consistent with the original text; in the eighth point, Raymond Chandler originally advocated that the murderer must be sanctioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if he wrote it that way, *Negligence*, which he adapted from *The Devotion of Suspect X*, would undoubtedly not fit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that work, the murderer completely escaped the sanctions of the law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he made a slight modification, changing it to the ambiguous phrasing: \"The murderer must have a reasonable outcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the other three start to read, Akiwara Yuto said in a polite tone: \"These are just some thoughts from my creative process; please take a brief look, teachers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what he did not know was that the other three no longer had the time to pay attention to his words, and instead began to ponder them seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon seeing the specific content, Seto Tamae's face revealed a solemn expression, and the smile on Miyagawa Yosuke's face faded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Kawai Shinta, although a smile still hung on his face, not a hint of mirth could be seen in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teacher Akiwara, you really know how to surprise people!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his original plan, Akiwara Yuto only needed to talk about some things casually, and as long as it was slightly reasonable, he would count it as passing the test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to his surprise, besides the \"Nine Kinds of Tricks,\" Akiwara Yuto had actually proposed these \"Nine Guidelines,\" setting rules for certain aspects of mystery fiction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the second point: \"Technical errors in murder and the method of execution are not allowed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to this point, the murder methods in mystery fiction should be completely feasible in reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the new-orthodox works that have been emerging in recent years have designed a large number of extremely complex tricks and routines, many ideas of which are completely unconstrained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, because the number of orthodox readers is huge, these completely unfeasible trick methods are still praised by many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides this, the last point, \"One must be fair to the reader,\" requires placing the reader in the same position as the detective, allowing the reader to enjoy the fun of solving the mystery together with the detective during the reading process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This point alone is something many mystery works cannot achieve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some mystery works, in order to surprise the reader, often design the detective to suddenly discover some evidence that did not exist in the text due to an accident, using it as a method to crack the murderer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this, undoubtedly, makes many readers feel they have been fooled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kawai Shinta read it several times before looking up, sighing silently in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Mr. Akiwara can no longer be simply described with the word \"talent\"; perhaps he should be called a monster!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto did not know the thoughts of Chairman Kawai; he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then calculated in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the lecture he gave at \"Seto Tamae's\" home, these three old seniors would probably ask him questions in a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, he still had some substance in his head, so he was not very worried even if he were questioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed bit by bit, and soon more than 10 minutes had gone by, but to Akiwara Yuto's surprise, the other three had clearly finished reading all the content, yet they had no intention of asking questions, instead showing solemn expressions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this scene, Akiwara Yuto felt a bit uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could there be a problem with what he wrote?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That shouldn't be, right? After all, they were just very broad guidelines?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto was somewhat puzzled, but still took the initiative to ask: \"Teachers, may I ask if there is any problem with the nine guidelines I wrote?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing Akiwara Yuto's question, Kawai Shinta looked up and exchanged glances with Seto Tamae and Miyagawa Yosuke respectively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the solemn looks in his two old friends' eyes, he knew that they, like him, were also surprised—or perhaps \"frightened\"—by Akiwara Yuto's talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kawai Shinta thought for a moment, then took the initiative to cough and started the conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher Akiwara, I think your nine guidelines are quite good. So, today's test is considered passed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His statement had his own intentions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his view, Akiwara Yuto was still too young, and his creative career was also too short.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he were to praise him rashly, it might make him arrogant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he had seen far too many talents who had perished halfway due to arrogance over these past few decades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not want Akiwara Yuto to become the next one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why he took the initiative to take over the conversation and say something like \"quite good.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seto Tamae and Miyagawa Yosuke were surprised in their hearts upon hearing this, but they quickly understood Kawai Shinta's intention and just nodded in cooperation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto did not know the thoughts of the three old foxes opposite him; he just let out a sigh of relief after hearing that he had passed the test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, these nine guidelines of Raymond Chandler came from a different time in another world; who knew if they would work?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, today's hurdle was finally passed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that case, they should talk about the cause and effect of this test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, until now, he was still completely confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, Miyagawa Yosuke also took a sip of tea, and then he took over the conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher Akiwara, since you have passed the test, then we can state our intention in inviting you. That is, we hope you will join the Mystery Writers Association and become one of its members.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this proposal, Akiwara Yuto was surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As far as he knew, weren't association members required to be writers who had debuted for more than 3 years? But he had only debuted for half a year!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that case, even if he joined the association, it should be as a candidate member.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was surprised for a moment, then quickly reacted; it seemed this was the reward for this \"test\"—letting him skip the three-year waiting period and join the association directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought for less than two seconds before deciding to agree directly; after all, for a writer, connections were indispensable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Mystery Writers Association was exactly the platform that could provide him with these connections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as Akiwara Yuto was about to speak, Miyagawa Yosuke continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher Akiwara, I must state first that regarding joining the association, it is not necessarily entirely to your advantage...\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1578,"2026-06-21T03:58:01.347Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","89ac65aadae9ec385df83a268db0dcdb448af7110185be1f155fcabfec52a3da","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-158","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-156",334,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fliterary-master-of-tokyo-cover.jpg"]