Chapter 286: Have a Good Fight

After some conversation, Akiwara Yuto saw Xidao Zongtai out.

Watching his departing back, Akiwara Yuto’s heart sank.

Before this, he had never imagined that Anjiujin Gangyi would "betray" him; after all, even setting aside their personal relationship, from a commercial standpoint, Anjiu Bookstore should not be able to function without him.

Unless, Jingfan Society could offer the other party even greater benefits!

But what surprised Akiwara Yuto even more was Xidao Zongtai’s "whistleblowing" regarding Anjiujin Gangyi’s actions.

However, after their conversation, Akiwara Yuto could discern the motive behind the other party’s actions.

In this incident, Anjiujin Gangyi had completely cast aside Xidao Zongtai, a "founding member," leaving Xidao feeling resentful.

Moreover, in Xidao Zongtai’s view, even if he were to leave and start his own publishing house, it might not necessarily be any worse than Anjiu Bookstore.

Therefore, his goal also included the idea of obtaining the copyrights to his own works.

That said, what exactly would Anjiujin Gangyi do?

Akiwara Yuto pondered for a while, then made a phone call, taking the initiative to have Asano Aiko contact a well-known management consulting firm in the industry.

So-called management consulting, also known as strategic consulting, is usually provided by a group of "experienced" consultants who offer advice or guidance regarding a company’s operations and other aspects.

Therefore, they are often quite clear about certain commercial traps within the industry.

At 7:00 PM, at the Funai Management Research Institute.

Akiwara Yuto and Asano Aiko arrived at a dedicated reception room and met a 40-year-old woman in a tailored suit named Shanzhu Li-hui, a senior industry consultant specializing in the publishing sector.

After handing over the background information and all the legal contracts for her to review, Akiwara Yuto asked, "Ms. Shanzhu, what do you think Anjiu Bookstore will do?"

The copyright contract Anjiujin Gangyi gave him was a standard form contract, and there were no issues with it from a legal perspective.

Unless it went completely bankrupt, it had to strictly execute the contract, which meant vigorously publishing and promoting his works.

Under such circumstances, it was hard to imagine what kind of trap the other party could set.

Shanzhu Li-hui subconsciously pushed up her glasses, then said in a calm voice, "Mr. Akiwara, combined with the internal intelligence you provided, this incident is primarily about Jingfan Society wanting to further monopolize the field of mystery literature publishing."

After a pause, she added, "Looking at it this way, Jingfan Society might adopt a method of acquiring Anjiu Bookstore."

Akiwara Yuto nodded and continued, "Please, go on."

"Under the deliberate concealment of President Anjiujin Gangyi, you would sign this exclusivity agreement. Then, Jingfan Society would acquire Anjiu Bookstore and artificially control subsequent operations, such as reducing print runs and promotion."

"In that case, the subsequent sales of your works would also be affected, which would allow Jingfan Society’s mystery titles to dominate the market, thereby achieving their desired goal."

Akiwara Yuto thought about it and found this tactic quite feasible, but he was still a bit puzzled and continued to ask, "In that case, wouldn't Jingfan Society’s own reputation be affected?"

He was now a public figure with no shortage of channels to voice his opinion, and he was also a writer himself.

If Jingfan Society did this, it would undoubtedly look very ugly, which would not only make some writers dissatisfied but might even make some mid-sized publishing houses in the industry feel insecure.

Shanzhu Li-hui nodded and added, "Besides this approach, it is even more likely that the other party will have Anjiujin Gangyi directly file for Anjiu Bookstore’s bankruptcy."

"Direct bankruptcy?" Akiwara Yuto was startled.

When he first met Anjiujin Gangyi, the man had treated that broken publishing house like his own lifeblood, but now he was actually going to let it go bankrupt.

"But how would this process be operated?"

"Mr. Akiwara, according to your source’s information, Anjiujin Gangyi specifically sought out heads of finance and human resources beforehand while avoiding other departments. Practically speaking, this is a complete precursor to layoffs."

"I believe he may have signed a guarantee agreement with Jingfan Society, and as for the content of the guarantee, it is the right to exercise all copyrights held by Anjiu Bookstore."

"So once Anjiu Bookstore goes bankrupt, Jingfan Society has the right to fulfill this agreement and publish all of your works."

Asano Aiko, listening from the side, was somewhat confused and asked, "If it’s not an acquisition, why would President Anjiu agree to direct bankruptcy? And even if the copyrights are transferred to Jingfan Society, Mr. Akiwara’s works still need to be published, right?"

Before Shanzhu Li-hui could answer, Akiwara Yuto cut directly into the conversation; he had already cleared up many of his thoughts.

"Asano, Jingfan Society might have given Anjiujin Gangyi some compensation overseas or in other places that bypass commercial laws. As long as the compensation amount exceeds the losses from filing for bankruptcy, Anjiujin Gangyi has the motive to file for bankruptcy directly."

Shanzhu Li-hui added,

"And once the relevant copyright licensing agreement is transferred to Jingfan Society, their legal department can demand that Mr. Akiwara lower his royalties; otherwise, they can refuse to distribute the corresponding works for other reasons."

"By that time, no matter what Mr. Akiwara chooses, Jingfan Society will have achieved its goal of monopolizing the mystery publication market."

"Fortunately, Mr. Akiwara did not sign this agreement."

After finishing these points, Shanzhu Li-hui looked up and asked Akiwara Yuto with a thoughtful expression.

"Mr. Akiwara, what do you plan to do next? In other words, do you really intend to confront Jingfan Society?"

Asano Aiko opened her mouth but said nothing, while Akiwara Yuto fell into deep thought.

What should he do next?

Directly resolving the conflict with Jingfan Society was not very realistic.

His previous dispute with Mantan Society was undoubtedly caused only by Takei Kohei and others deceiving their superiors and hiding the truth, so both sides could resolve everything through negotiation.

But Jingfan Society’s move this time was because he had truly moved their cheese.

Moreover, being able to acquire or bankrupt Anjiu Bookstore undoubtedly involved at least one billion yen or more in capital.

Therefore, behind all of this, there must be real high-level figures pushing it.

Unless he could take a step back and transfer the copyrights to Jingfan Society for them to publish, in which case the conflict between the two sides would be eliminated.

However, this would undoubtedly harm his own interests!

At this stage, he would likely only be able to accept a 30% royalty split offered by the other party, and perhaps not even 30%.

In that case, his annual income would shrink drastically!

He had clashed with one of the four major publishing houses, Mantan Society, when he first debuted; now that he had plenty of confidence, there was even less reason to fear the other party!

Since Jingfan Society wanted to snatch his interests, then let’s have a good fight!

Akiwara Yuto hesitated for a moment, but it was only for a moment, and he immediately made his decision.

His eyes were clear and transparent, and he said in a firm voice, "Ms. Shanzhu, I do not intend to give up any of my interests!"

Hearing this answer, Shanzhu Li-hui smiled, "If that is the case, then I have a suggestion..."