Chapter 242: A Trans-Era Work

On May 13th, Akiwara Yuto brought the completed manuscript of *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders* to the Mystery Writers Association.

In Hehe's office, he handed the manuscript he was holding to him.

"Chairman Hehe, this is the work I have finished. Please, I would appreciate your guidance."

Hehe took the manuscript and subconsciously glanced at Akiwara Yuto.

He felt that Akiwara Yuto had written this manuscript a bit too hastily; after all, he had just released another work previously, and yet he had immediately begun creating again.

However, because Akiwara Yuto had a precedent, he didn't say much, only lowering his head to look at it carefully with a skeptical mindset.

But as he read on, he became completely immersed in it, and was thoroughly shocked by the trick design within.

As the Vice Chairman of the Mystery Association, he himself was also a representative figure of the moderate Honkaku school, and he knew the Honkaku works on the market by heart.

For many mysteries, he could often guess the culprit and the solution method after reading halfway through.

But for this book, he had read halfway through and still didn't know who the murderer was.

Because compared to ordinary Honkaku works, the plot and tricks of this *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders* were truly too complex and vast.

Ordinary Honkaku works often set the crime scene as a specific "locked room."

In these works, whether it's the tricks or the suspects, everything revolves around this locked room—for example, what clues are in the locked room, who had the possibility of entering and exiting this locked room to commit the crime, and so on.

But this *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders* placed the stage across the entire Japanese archipelago and set up a series of exceptionally complex interpersonal relationships and clues.

It can be said that these two points greatly increased the difficulty for people reading this book to solve the case.

Not to mention the method of disguising five corpses as six people—that was something that had never existed in Honkaku trick design before!

After a long silence, Hehe sighed, "Akiwara, you must have thought about this work for a long time."

He didn't believe at all that such a work, which could shock him, was something the other party could think of in a short time.

Akiwara Yuto hesitated for a moment and could only "tell the truth": "Yes, I conceived it for almost half a year."

If he didn't say it this way, he estimated he would be viewed as a monster.

Hehe believed Akiwara Yuto's answer, but he still praised it from the bottom of his heart; if he were to think of this kind of work himself, he estimated it might not even be possible after spending a few more years.

He sighed for a while and then said, "Akiwara, then for this work, do you intend to serialize it in the *Chiji Newspaper*?"

Akiwara Yuto replied, "I don't think this is suitable for publication in a newspaper; I intend to release it directly as a standalone volume."

He thought for a moment and then asked, "However, if it's like this, will I be unable to complete the original goal?"

The channel through which the work is published is only secondary; the most important thing is to reach the point where those radical Honkaku writers can look at him squarely and change some people's viewpoints.

In this way, he would undoubtedly have much fewer obstacles in winning awards in the future.

But compared to a channel with such wide coverage as a newspaper, a standalone volume is a bit too weak; perhaps it will take a good while before it gets noticed.

Hehe put down the manuscript in his hand and laughed, "That's no problem."

Akiwara Yuto's work gave him great confidence, so he intended to convene a meeting to discuss Honkaku mystery.

As the Vice Chairman of the Mystery Writers Association, he still had this bit of authority.

Having made the decision, Hehe immediately instructed his assistant to start preparing for this meeting.

Through constant phone invitations, a batch of Honkaku writers or writers interested in Honkaku works soon accepted the invitation.

……

One week later, the large conference room of the Mystery Writers Association.

Gao Tianzhijiu pushed open the door and walked into the venue, subconsciously looking around, and discovered that quite a few people had already arrived in this conference room.

He looked at the watch on his wrist, found that it was still early, and found a seat to sit down, waiting for this seminar.

The seminars or research meetings of the Mystery Writers Association often analyze and study specific mystery tricks.

Besides this, some writers will share their writing experiences and bring out some outstanding works for appreciation.

As a representative of the New Honkaku and a supporter of the radical Honkaku school, Gao Tianzhijiu had always accepted invitations to such seminar meetings that only focused on Honkaku works and creative concepts.

However, what made him puzzled was that the convener of this meeting was actually Hehe.

One must know that although Hehe was also a Honkaku writer, he opposed taking Honkaku works as the orthodoxy of mystery literature, instead advocating for the competitive development of different schools of works.

For such a person to actually convene a seminar only targeting Honkaku—what exactly had happened?

He was frowning and thinking when someone suddenly sat down next to him. He looked up and discovered it was his senior, who was also a supporter of the Honkaku school, He Tian Xin.

"Teacher Gao Tian, long time no see." He Tian Xin, wearing a men's kimono, said.

Gao Tianzhijiu responded simply, then carefully observed He Tian Xin and discovered that there was a trace of haggardness on his face.

Regarding this trace of haggardness, Gao Tianzhijiu was not surprised in his heart.

Because of the series of storms regarding the Modern Mystery Literature Award, this Teacher He Tian had not been living well since then.

During the storm at that time, he claimed in the newspaper that he wanted to take Jin Shang as a disciple, but as soon as the ghostwriting storm was exposed, he immediately retracted this invitation.

Later, when Jin Shang was exposed for attempting to assassinate Akiwara Yuto, quite a few critics brought this matter up, believing that He Tian Xin's "flip-flopping" behavior was one of the fuses that caused Jin Shang's mental illness to worsen and commit the assassination act.

"Teacher He Tian, why did you come this time?"

Gao Tianzhijiu thought for a moment and raised this question.

In his view, there was a very obvious conflict between He Tian Xin and Hehe, so there was no need to come and participate in this meeting.

He Tian Xin smoothed out the wrinkles on his kimono, scanned the surroundings, and said in a very indifferent tone: "I just came to see what exactly Hehe wants to do."

Regarding the disputes between factions, they were becoming more and more intense in the current mystery literature circle.

And Hehe, as a moderate, was convening this seminar only targeting Honkaku works, which was very likely to cause misunderstandings among writers of other schools.

So He Tian Xin's purpose for coming this time was to see what exactly Hehe's intentions were for doing this.

During the two's idle chat, the conference room was filled with more than half the people one after another.

He Tian Xin discovered that his eyesore, Akiwara Yuto, had also arrived at the scene and was sitting in a corner position.

He snorted disdainfully but didn't say anything; this "junior" was currently in the limelight, and there was no need for him to go and find trouble for the other party.

When it reached the last 10 minutes, Hehe also arrived at the conference room and sat in the main seat.

After he sat down, the crowd that had been chatting also quieted down one after another.

Hehe looked around at the crowd in the venue, then announced the start of the seminar and gave a round of polite remarks.

After he finished speaking, He Tian Xin interrupted very impolitely: "Vice Chairman Hehe, let's skip the extra words; what is the theme of this Honkaku seminar?"

These words of his also had the meaning of making things difficult; if Hehe couldn't explain the reason, he would inevitably lose prestige in the eyes of some people.

Hehe smiled and replied: "Teacher He Tian, no need to be anxious, I am just about to explain the situation."

He paused and raised his voice: "The purpose of this seminar is because I have discovered a trans-era masterpiece, and I hope all teachers can appreciate it!"

"I personally believe that this work can push the development of Honkaku forward by another 10 years!"

After hearing Hehe's "evaluation," everyone in the audience was in an uproar.

After all, whether it's "trans-era" or "10 years," such terms are very exaggerated claims!

It is hard to imagine that such words were heard from the mouth of Hehe, who is the Vice Chairman of the Association.

Although most people were filled with doubt, it could not be denied that because of this one sentence, everyone at the scene became curious about this work.

What kind of work could it be that it could actually receive such high praise from this old writer, Hehe!

After Hehe finished his speech, his assistant began to distribute the bound sample manuscripts to everyone in the venue; Gao Tianzhijiu and He Tian Xin, who were attendees, also received a copy each.

Gao Tianzhijiu picked up the sample manuscript in his hand and looked at it carefully, discovering that apart from the name *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders*, there was basically no other information.

He was even more puzzled in his heart.

This book actually only has a sample manuscript; it seems it hasn't been published yet? Then how did Hehe get it?

And why not put the writer's name on it? Could there be some taboo?

Out of curiosity, he opened the book.

And He Tian Xin, who was sitting next to him, had already opened the book and started reading.

He wanted to see what kind of work it was that could actually make Hehe praise it with such a big mouth!

If it's just a mediocre work, he will inevitably have to mock it properly at this meeting!

Holding this thought, he tried to pick faults in this work, but as he read on, he became completely addicted to it... ===== CHAPTER 243 =====