Chapter 5: Inspiration Source

On the appointed day, Akiwara Yuto got up early to wash up, stuffed a sheet of manuscript paper into his pocket, walked out of the house in high spirits, and walked quickly toward the train station.

It was still early for the appointed time, but the traffic environment during the morning rush hour in Tokyo was extremely bad, so it was better to leave early.

Arriving at the station, he passed through the gate and squeezed into the train with the dense crowd. There were people in front and behind him, making him feel a bit suffocated. For a moment, he had the feeling of taking the subway in the flower city in his past life.

Because there were too many people, the train carriage door couldn't close for a while. Staff in uniforms pushed passengers inside with force, causing many people to apologize for stepping on others' shoes.

After a short while, the train closed its doors and started to move.

Seeing all this, Akiwara couldn't help but think of a term from his past life: sardine can.

Unfortunately, he was one of the fish in the can.

After experiencing a "nightmare-like" train ride of more than 40 minutes, Akiwara finally arrived at the destination station. After getting off, he walked toward Mantan Society.

Before long, he found the coffee shop with the "double" sign.

This coffee shop was not large, and it was basically all floor-to-ceiling glass construction. Looking at the green plants inside through the glass, it looked quite unique.

He stood in front of the shop's glass and aimed inside. He didn't find any customers and thought it was still early, so should he wait for the other party at the door.

Before he could make a decision, a gentle and soft female voice sounded behind him: "May I ask if you are Akiwara-san?"

Akiwara Yuto turned his head immediately and saw a woman with short black hair who looked very gentle.

This woman was about twenty-four or twenty-five, 1.6 meters tall, petite, with a good face, hair draped over her shoulders, and wearing a red cardigan and a white dress. The whole person looked like she had a very clean temperament.

Akiwara Yuto reacted immediately and asked politely: "May I ask if you are Ms. Asano?"

The other party smiled slightly and responded very politely: "Nice to meet you, I am Asano Aiko, an editor of the 'New Novel' editorial department."

She pushed open the glass door and smiled: "Akiwara-san, let's sit down and talk in detail."

Akiwara Yuto nodded and walked into the shop with her.

The two were led by the waiter to a corner seat inside—it was quieter here, suitable for the conversation between the two.

Asano Aiko ordered two cups of coffee and said politely: "Akiwara-san, meeting today is to confirm your thoughts again. I would like to ask, what prompted you to write such an article."

Hearing the other party's words, Akiwara Yuto knew that the real test had come. However, regarding this question, Akiwara Yuto had already performed multiple rehearsals before. After all, he couldn't say that he was just submitting because he was about to be unable to pay the rent.

He straightened his posture and said seriously: "It's because of my own experiences and encounters."

Asano Aiko looked confused and asked strangely: "Experiences and encounters?"

Seeing that the other party was interested, Akiwara Yuto immediately started to persuade (bullshit): "Ms. Asano, do you know? People often create greater works in increasingly painful and desperate situations."

Asano Aiko nodded slowly, believing it to be true.

This world was not much different from his past life, and there were also artists similar to Van Gogh. These artists, without exception, created great works while hungry and cold, and were only recognized by the world after their deaths.

She was a bit confused. Did this Akiwara-san have any bad experiences?

Akiwara Yuto continued: "I was an orphan since I was a child. Before being adopted by the welfare academy, I wandered in parks, slept under bridges, and fought with wild dogs for food in trash cans."

His voice became a bit lonely: "Later, after graduating from high school, I left the welfare academy and came to Tokyo, only to hit walls repeatedly. Facing such a situation, my heart underwent earth-shaking changes, and I began to have the motivation to create."

This was not a lie. After all, the original owner's memory was indeed like this, but the original owner was considered lucky to be adopted by the welfare academy and grow up.

If he had been born earlier, he would probably have died on the way to wandering, just like the brother and sister in the somewhat controversial movie "Grave of the Fireflies" from his past life.

However, his purpose in saying these words was not to win the other party's sympathy, but to build a genius image who worked hard because of poverty, which would be of some help to his future creative career.

Asano Aiko's eyes were full of sympathy. She really didn't know that this refreshing young man who looked a year or two younger than her had had these experiences.

She didn't doubt that the other party was lying. The Japanese economy more than 20 years ago was still very bad, and there were many phenomena of parents abandoning children. She just didn't expect the other party to be one of them.

Akiwara Yuto looked at the change in the other party's expression and said in a slightly solemn tone: "In the struggle, two girls appeared vaguely in my heart."

Asano Aiko's expression was surprised: "Are they Koshi and Yoko?"

Akiwara Yuto nodded.

"Yes, the characters in the novel are all changes in my inner emotions. Yoko is the self in my heart who is painful, desperate, and cannot see hope, while Koshi is the self who is confident to the point of arrogance."

After a pause, he seemed a bit tangled in his expression, but continued to speak.

"The mother image comes from myself. Because of the hatred for my own incompetence, I tried to kill Yoko, who is similar to myself, but I didn't know that what I killed was Koshi, whom I yearned for."

He was a bit worried, not knowing if he could convince the other party. You must know that in order to make up this statement, he thought for a whole night, and a large piece of brain cells died, almost making his head bald.

But after seeing Asano Aiko's expression, the worry in his heart was put down by more than half.

Sure enough, after hearing Akiwara Yuto's amazing "creative inspiration," Asano Aiko couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand.

Although she was an editor, she was also a woman, and it was hard not to sympathize with the other party. She admitted that she was moved by Akiwara Yuto's statement.

After being silent for a while, she planned to talk to Akiwara Yuto with a more gentle attitude, comfort the other party a little, and then talk about the signing. But before she could speak, she found that the other party had new movements.

Akiwara Yuto took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

"'Koshi and Yoko' is just one of a series of stories I conceived. I have 10 similar stories in my mind."

The stories he prepared came from the work "ZOO" by the Japanese writer Otsuichi from his past life.

This writer was known as the new generation "horror novel elite" in the Japanese literary world, and his works were very popular among young Japanese readers, and even made into movies because of good sales.

And the "Koshi and Yoko" he submitted was written based on his memory of the movie and novel plot. However, because the time was too long, he could only restore it roughly and sort out the main line completely.

"There are 10 more works like this?!"

Asano Aiko looked at him with some surprise. This was beyond her expectation. She thought it was good enough to write one such article, but he could write so many.

She thought further. If there were 10 similar stories, she seemed to be able to apply to the editor-in-chief to create a column and become the responsible editor specifically for Akiwara Yuto.

Then, she would be very likely to get rid of her status as a marginal figure in the editorial department.

This was an opportunity!

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but look at this Akiwara-san again.

At the age of about 20, his appearance looked gentle, just like a university graduate who had just entered society, but the experiences revealed in his words all indicated that he had experienced many trials in society.

Most importantly, when he talked about his works, he had a very confident feeling, completely without the timidity of a general newcomer.

Perhaps, this was the temperament born with a genius.

After Asano Aiko marveled in her heart, she took the manuscript paper handed by Akiwara Yuto and began to read it seriously.

There was a title "Seven Rooms" written on the paper, and a few small grids were drawn next to it, which made her a bit confused.

What is this? Is the genius's outline so hard to understand?

Seeing the other party's confusion, Akiwara Yuto began to slowly depict a story:

A brother and sister were kidnapped and thrown into a dark room. The door in the dark room had no keyhole, and there was a water channel besides that.

In order to escape, the sister let the brother drill into the water channel and swim out to report to the police, but failed. But it was not without gain; the two found that there were three rooms on the left and right, and each was locked with a woman.

After asking these people, the brother and sister learned that there was a murderer who would kill in order from left to right every day, and the fragments of the corpse would flow from left to right along the water ditch.

After confirming the corpse fragments flowing along the water ditch, the brother and sister fell into panic.

The sister calculated that 6 days later would be the day they were killed. In order to save themselves, she let the brother swim to each room to collect supplies and made a decision.

On that day, the murderer broke into the room with a chainsaw. The sister used the dummy disguised with supplies to deceive the murderer and hugged the other party tightly, making the brother successfully escape the door and close it.

And she herself was locked in the room with the murderer.

This article also came from "ZOO" by Otsuichi, which could be said to be one of the most amazing stories in the whole series. Many readers couldn't forget it for many years after reading it.

Although the article was not long, the elements contained in it were unusually rich, completely detached from the connotation of general thriller novels.

In the discussion of human nature, the article was even more unique, such as the feelings of the brother and sister and the different reactions of everyone to death, all of which had detailed depictions and in-depth descriptions.

This could be considered his trump card. It should be able to further convince the other party, right?

Thinking of this, he raised his head and carefully examined Asano Aiko's expression. To his surprise, Asano Aiko's expression became a bit strange, far from the amazement he wanted.

Asano Aiko's mood was actually a bit complicated after hearing "Seven Rooms."

On one hand, she marveled at Akiwara Yuto's talent, and on the other hand, she wondered if the other party had any mental problems.

In short, her impression of Akiwara Yuto underwent an earth-shaking change, and she subconsciously sat further away.

Such a plot was something ordinary people couldn't even think of. Why could Akiwara-san conceive it so completely?

He wouldn't really substitute himself into the murderer's perspective and want to take revenge on society, right?

No, no matter how you think about it, it's terrifying.

She was silent for a while, put the manuscript paper back on the table, tried hard to throw the thought that Akiwara Yuto was a potential criminal out of her mind, and further pondered the feasibility of creating a column.

Except for "Koshi and Yoko" and "Seven Rooms," if other stories all had similar levels, then this column was enough to become one of the existing serialization facades of "New Novel," which had no small benefits for herself.

You must know that an editor's career prospect is tied to the writer they are responsible for. The more the writer is loved by readers and the more popular the single-volume sales are, the brighter the editor's career prospect will be.

Now this series of stories by Akiwara-san was simply a rare opportunity. If she missed it, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

Then, how should she talk to the other party next? ===== CHAPTER 6 =====