Chapter 243: Internal Disagreement!

Unlike Kawai Shinta, Wada Shin realized that this work was not simple as soon as he read the beginning—that is, the notebook section of the painter "Umezawa Heikichi."

The content of the first part immediately introduced the knowledge of alchemy—using six parts of the human body to compose "Azoth."

This undoubtedly gave all readers a clue! A clue to use for solving the case!

Therefore, Wada Shin believed that the author who wrote this work was either a complete novice who had no idea what they were doing, or a "madman" attempting to challenge every reader.

But because of Kawai Shinta's words, Wada Shin was more inclined toward the latter.

Just as he was pondering how the owner of the notebook would kill his 6 daughters and nieces, Umezawa Heikichi, who wrote the notebook, suddenly died. After his death, his daughters died one after another in different locations.

This further piqued Wada Shin's interest!

Who exactly killed them, and what was the method of murder?

But after finishing most of it, he encountered the same frustration as Wada Shin: he did not know who the culprit was.

The interpersonal social relationships of the deceased were too complex, and the locations of death were spread across the entire country, far exceeding his imagination as a traditional orthodox-school writer.

Out of a quest for the answer, he had to slow down his reading speed and even flip the manuscript pages back, trying to dig out details he had overlooked.

But after looking for half a day, he was still confused and had to give up on that plan.

He simply regarded himself as an ordinary reader to continue reading the rest of the work.

After reading for a full three and a half hours, he finally reached the last page and understood all the causes, consequences, and tricks.

By this time, he was deeply shocked!

Amazing! How on earth is this writer's brain wired!

Who exactly wrote this?

What is the relationship between them and Kawai Shinta?!

While the traditional orthodox-school writer Wada Shin was shocked, Gao Tian Zhijiu, as a representative of the new-orthodox school, also received a huge impact.

In his previous life, "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" was one of the pinnacle masterpieces of the new-orthodox school.

Its author, Shimada Soji, besides the title "God of Mystery," was also known as the "Mentor of the New-Orthodox School" and was highly esteemed by many new-orthodox writers.

But the emergence of a new genre often faces immense social pressure and is suppressed by the old school.

When "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" was first published, it caused unprecedented controversy in the Japanese mystery world.

In the mystery world at that time, the works of Matsumoto Seicho and many social-school authors were the mainstream of mystery literature.

And this unexpected work, "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders," was therefore heavily attacked by supporters of the social school, who deemed it "childish, ridiculous, and fantastical."

Some even bluntly stated: "A writer like this should be purged from the mystery world immediately."

Shimada Soji later admitted that he was under unprecedented pressure at that time.

But it is undeniable that the unexpected methods in "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" also attracted a large number of readers and fans who admired the orthodox school.

For example, the mystery club at Kyoto University held high the banner of "Reviving the Orthodox School" and followed Shimada Soji to begin imitating this type of work, and many of them became new-orthodox writers.

So it is not hard to imagine what kind of feeling it would bring to Gao Tian Zhijiu, a representative of new-orthodox writers, when such a work appeared before him!

This world is different from his previous life; because the orthodox school has always suppressed the social school, the emergence of the new-orthodox school often represents a breakthrough beyond traditional "locked-room" solving methods and a supplement to traditional orthodox works.

This also makes many writers in it unable to conceive of whimsical trick methods like those in "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" when planning their own plots.

Therefore, after finishing the whole book, Gao Tian Zhijiu admired the author of this work even more.

At this moment, he felt that compared to the other party, he wasn't even fit to carry their shoes! He even had the urge to become an apprentice!

He thought for a while, put down the manuscript in his hand, stood up, and asked urgently: "Chairman Kawai, who exactly is the author of this work?"

Because his voice was loud, some authors who hadn't finished the book also raised their heads to look over.

Kawai Shinta looked at someone calmly, then turned to Gao Tian Zhijiu, revealing a meaningful expression.

"Mr. Gao Tian, there is no rush for that; could you please share your thoughts on this work first?"

Gao Tian Zhijiu did not hesitate and replied directly: "It is written very brilliantly; I believe this work is truly an epoch-making work!"

Kawai Shinta smiled and turned to Wada Shin, who was sitting to the side, "Mr. Wada, what do you think?"

Wada Shin had wanted to praise it, but upon seeing Kawai Shinta's expression, he immediately realized there might be more to these words.

He hesitated for a moment, put away his inner thoughts, and only said: "I think it's not bad, but there is room for improvement in some places."

Kawai Shinta stared at him for a moment and asked again: "For example, where?"

Wada Shin stammered for half a day, then finally gritted his teeth and said: "Regarding the culprit's motive for murder, and the human nature aspect, it needs further improvement! Some parts are too far-fetched!"

Hearing this, everyone at the venue looked at him, all revealing expressions of surprise.

This seminar is an orthodox-school work discussion meeting; the focus of the critique should be the design of the tricks!

You, Wada Shin, as an orthodox-school writer, actually think this work needs improvement in terms of human nature and motivation?!

You aren't one of those social-school people, so what are you spouting nonsense for!

After hearing these words, Gao Tian Zhijiu was also speechless at Wada Shin.

However, his thoughts this time were somewhat complex.

He didn't know if Wada Shin said this because he felt there was a trap in Kawai Shinta's words; in his view, these words from Wada Shin were a suppression of the new-orthodox school!

Although the orthodox and new-orthodox schools share the same main stance—supporting trick design as the core—

they still have some differences regarding specific tricks.

"Orthodox" (Honkaku) means "genuine, authentic" in Japanese.

Therefore, "orthodox mystery" leans more toward tradition and is considered to be "a difficult murder case occurring in a fixed space, with a famous detective playing an important role in solving the mystery."

But the new-orthodox school often focuses on changes to this "tradition" and proposes many trick methods outside of locked rooms, focusing on the fun of the tricks.

But because they still focus on tricks, many new-orthodox writers often consider themselves part of the "orthodox-school" writers.

This also makes the new-orthodox school considered a radical faction of the orthodox school, and they stand together with other orthodox writers during voting for awards and when suppressing works in the social-school field.

But regardless, there are still slight differences between the two.

And these differences also make some older-generation "traditional orthodox writers" dissatisfied.

In Gao Tian Zhijiu's view, Wada Shin, as a representative of the traditional orthodox school, had now exposed this thought.

Facing a work like "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" that is enough to represent the new-orthodox school, he was still nitpicking and pointing out problems with its human nature.

Thinking of this, his heart was filled with dissatisfaction, and he retorted in a cold tone: "Mr. Wada, I personally do not agree with your view!"

Wada Shin heard this and turned to look at Gao Tian Zhijiu.

But the moment he saw the other party's expression, Wada Shin immediately realized he had said the wrong thing just now.

No matter what relationship this work has with Kawai Shinta, it ultimately represents the new-orthodox school.

And his nitpicking behavior would inevitably cause Gao Tian Zhijiu to misunderstand!

The people at the venue also looked over with different eyes at this time.

There were more than 40 orthodox-school writers attending this meeting, most of whom were radicals, but among the radicals, one-third were new-orthodox writers.

So Wada Shin's words also made these new-orthodox writers, who were very convinced by "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders," dissatisfied.

While Wada Shin was trying to make amends, Kawai Shinta smiled and interjected.

"Mr. Gao Tian, Mr. Wada, let me introduce you: the author of this work is Mr. Akiwara Yuto!"

Upon hearing this name, everyone showed expressions of disbelief.

After all, Akiwara Yuto had never written any purely orthodox works before, and "The Devotion of Suspect X," which was shortlisted for the Uemura Prize, could even be said to be a representative work of the social school!

But never did they expect that the person who wrote "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" was also him!

Immediately after, at Kawai Shinta's signal, Akiwara Yuto stood up, bowed to everyone at the venue, and thanked everyone for spending their time reading the work.

Watching Akiwara Yuto's actions, Wada Shin's face wore an expression as if he had eaten shit...