Chapter 195: Simultaneously Happy and Irritated

Unlike the newspapers, which were almost entirely full of praise for the work *Furuhata Ninzaburo*, the reviews on the internet were much more chaotic, and some even began to criticize the work.

Akiwara Yuto frowned as he read some of the critical content, feeling quite speechless.

The vast majority of these critical posts were published by readers of another work.

Some claimed that compared to the detective series *Detective Kamimura*, currently being serialized in *Tokyo Youth*, *Furuhata Ninzaburo* was far inferior in both character design and plot.

However, Akiwara Yuto also discovered that beneath these critical posts, there were all sorts of retaliatory comments.

"Is this person crazy? That *Detective Kamimura* is such a cliché-ridden piece of work; I wanted to sleep after three seconds of reading it."

"I think he's just nitpicking. I've read the latest issues of *Furuhata Ninzaburo*, and it's excellent!"

"Shut up! I suspect you haven't even read the work, so stop asking for trouble."

"Are the moderators not going to do anything? Why is this kind of post still here?"

"Do you feel superior because you read books? You're a complete moron; I really don't know why people like this exist."

"Everyone, let's disperse. The other party is a masochist; the more they get scolded, the happier they are..."

The tone of the conversation below changed; some even began to discuss the plot of *Furuhata Ninzaburo*, guessing what the direction of the next issue would be. Others complained about *Detective Kamimura*, believing that after dozens of issues, the other party was basically using the same old formula.

Akiwara Yuto took a look, registered an account named "Sangen-in," and posted a few casual replies. After all, he had just finished soaking in the hot spring and had nothing else to do.

He replied to a few posts briefly, then continued reading, discovering that besides the critical posts, there were hundreds of posts praising *Furuhata Ninzaburo*.

Someone even started a thread to establish a fan club for Furuhata Ninzaburo.

Although the popularity of the thread about the club wasn't extremely high, hundreds of people had already added their replies.

After reading these posts, Akiwara Yuto felt satisfied; after all, these readers who posted online were undoubtedly the core fans of *Furuhata Ninzaburo*!

With core fans, they would recommend this work to others! In that case, the sales of *April Youth* would undoubtedly continue to rise!

Very good, everything was now developing along the expected trajectory!

While Akiwara Yuto felt happy, a 50-year-old man with a mustache was staring at the words "Furuhata Ninzaburo" on the magazine page in his hand, a look of irritation on his face.

His name was Furuya Masaaki, and he was an author signed to the magazine. The manuscript he was currently serializing was titled *Detective Kamimura*.

He had been creating this work for nearly five years now.

In these five years, he had published over 60 issues, constructing over 60 murder mystery stories.

Because of the continuity of the stories, his work had a loyal group of readers and had become one of the signature pieces of the magazine he was currently signed to, *Tokyo Youth*.

But he was not without his troubles; after all, even though *Detective Kamimura* was an episodic detective mystery, it still required every story to be independent and compelling.

Due to the constant, year-round serialization, he felt his foundation was being hollowed out, and he didn't know how to write the next murderer and trick.

If the trick wasn't novel enough or was even cliché, a portion of the readers would certainly sneer at him. If he wanted to take a break to properly conceptualize, the editorial department would send people to urge him on.

To be honest, he actually knew the solution: end the serialization and let it conclude at the most perfect moment.

But the editorial department of *Tokyo Youth* would certainly not agree, as many readers had already formed the habit of reading this work. Once the serialization stopped, the magazine would lose those readers.

This made Furuya Masaaki feel that although he held the title of a signature author, he was just a corporate slave earning a high salary! He had no creative freedom at all!

In fact, because he forced himself to create this series of stories, many characters had become increasingly stereotypical and formulaic. This caused many book critics to publicly criticize him in the newspapers!

Whenever he saw these criticisms, he wanted to curse right back!

You idiot book critics, why don't you try writing it yourselves instead of just criticizing in the newspapers!

Use your pig brains to think: what detective series can be serialized for over 60 issues!

You don't understand my pain at all!

Furuya Masaaki sighed, then looked down at the magazine in his hand, feeling even more irritated.

He had always wanted to stop the serialization, but this Akiwara Yuto, found by *April Youth*, had released a series of similar works.

Under these circumstances, the editorial department of *Tokyo Youth* would be even less likely to agree to his request.

Besides that, with *Furuhata Ninzaburo* as a comparison, many book critics and readers now had reasons to attack and criticize him!

Damn it, this guy had quite a bit of fame before, but I want to see what kind of garbage he actually wrote?

He sat on the sofa, took a sip of coffee, and continued reading, nitpicking in his mind as he went.

The protagonist is named Furuhata Ninzaburo and likes to bully his subordinates; isn't this blatant workplace bullying? And he's so slow when solving cases; he has no professional spirit at all!

And the story reveals the murderer's method at the very beginning; how is this supposed to provide suspense for the readers?

Are those book critics crazy? This stuff is better than what I write?!

He was about to put down the book, but after thinking about it, he continued reading. Immediately after, the plot where Furuhata Ninzaburo set traps for the murderer using various means unfolded before his eyes.

These plot points were things he hadn't thought of before, so he involuntarily fell into the rhythm and followed the story.

Huh? You can trick the murderer like that? The portrayal of the murderer is actually quite interesting. That guy named Akiwara probably did a lot of research, right?

Hmm, so that was Furuhata Ninzaburo's intention. Why didn't he just expose the other party directly...

Hmm, what is this? A policeman's gentleness? Why treat the murderer like this instead of just bringing them to justice?

This person's writing seems a bit different from his own!

Two hours passed quickly, and during this time, Furuya Masaaki finished reading the first four issues of *Furuhata Ninzaburo*, but the more he read, the more he felt a sense of inadequacy.

In terms of trick design, the other party's work was not inferior to *Detective Kamimura*, and in some parts, it was even superior.

In terms of human portrayal, this work not only explained the logic between the murderer and the victim clearly but also depicted a mutual appreciation between the protagonist and the murderer.

In terms of character setting, the character of Furuhata Ninzaburo was even more charming than his own protagonist, not just a fixed template who only knew how to deduce and solve cases.

Damn it, although I'm unwilling, I have to admit that this work is indeed better than *Detective Kamimura*.

No, I am an author; how can I praise a competitor? After all, the other party is just a junior. I still need to think about whether there are any problems in it...

Furuya Masaaki frowned and thought for a long time, only to find that he couldn't pick out any flaws, and could only say that the other party's writing was a bit monotonous and dull in its word choice.

But this wasn't a big problem; after all, for detective mysteries, the most important things were the tricks, the humanity, and the excitement of the story!

The more he thought, the more powerless he felt; the more he thought, the more he felt the gap between his work and the other party's, and the feeling of irritation in his heart surged even more.

After a while, he scratched his messy hair and made a decision!

Tomorrow, I must go to the editorial department and propose ending the serialization!

Although I am unwilling to admit it, I have already lost!

Bastard, why couldn't this guy write anything else instead of picking the same subject as me!