Chapter 521

Late night at the publishing house.

Past seven in the evening.

Editorial department.

The temporarily convened group meeting had kept most of the editors behind, gathered in the slightly cramped conference room.

The air was filled with the scent of coffee, paper, and a faint mixture of fatigue and restlessness.

Takahashi Jun, Niigaki Shoji, and the gloomy-faced Yoshida Tomohito were all sitting in their respective seats.

Yoshida Tomohito lowered his head, his fingers turning a fountain pen unconsciously, while the corner of his eye glanced from time to time at Takahashi Jun, who sat diagonally opposite him, always looking humble and whom he regarded as the "bottom of the office."

A cold smile, mixed with schadenfreude and sinister anticipation, flashed across the corner of his mouth.

In a moment...

In a moment, when the group leader announces the sales data for all the new books today...

Let’s see how you, this "unlucky guy," can still pretend!

He had already calculated it in his heart.

The initial print run of "The Devotion of Suspect X" was as high as 5,000 copies, which was an extremely rare and bold move for a new author’s new work.

And "first-day sales data" had always been the first, and most cruel, touchstone for the editorial department to judge a book’s market potential.

If the first-day sales were dismal, or even just mediocre...

Then Takahashi Jun, the "direct person in charge" who insisted on a high print run and had caused controversy because of it, would definitely not be able to escape the blame.

Group leader Miyagi Kazuu would inevitably keep him behind alone for a severe "business reflection."

Even the group leader himself, who supported this decision at the time, might be marked down by the editor-in-chief.

After all, the decision to give a new author 5,000 copies only to have poor sales would lead to company losses, and someone had to be responsible.

And himself...

Yoshida Tomohito could almost imagine the scene:

Takahashi Jun being scolded with his head hanging low, while other colleagues would cast grateful or admiring glances at him because he had "wisely" advised everyone not to get involved in this "high-risk" book.

That "office tacit understanding" led by him to isolate Takahashi Jun would be consolidated once again.

After all, who would want to get too close to a "jinx" with terrible judgment who always dragged down the team’s performance?

A guy like Takahashi Jun should stay at the bottom of the editorial department, never to rise again.

This time, there would be no exception.

Yoshida Tomohito was immersed in the fantasy of the impending "victory," and the rhythm of his fingers tapping on the table even carried a hint of pleasure.

However.

When his gaze quietly swept toward the group leader, Miyagi Kazuu, who was organizing materials at the main seat, his heart "thumped" inexplicably.

Something was wrong.

The usual steady and slightly serious expression on the group leader’s face was gone.

Replacing it was a rare, almost overflowing joy and excitement.

That slightly upturned corner of the mouth, those shining eyes, were completely different from the state he had expected when "announcing mediocre data" or "handling problematic books."

An ominous premonition, like cold vines, quietly wrapped around Yoshida Tomohito’s heart.

"Ahem."

Group leader Miyagi Kazuu cleared his throat, and the buzzing whispers in the conference room quieted down instantly.

All gazes were focused on him.

He did not immediately look at the sales report in his hand, but raised his head, his gaze slowly sweeping over every editor present.

Finally, his line of sight lingered on Takahashi Jun for an extra moment, intentionally or unintentionally, and there was clear approval in that look.

"Before we start tonight’s regular data report..."

"I want to announce a piece of—extraordinarily good news that our Second Editorial Department, and even the entire Late Night Publishing House, hasn't seen in a long time!"

He paused to ensure everyone heard him.

"The book 'The Devotion of Suspect X,' created by the new author Xia Mu-sensei and handled by editor Takahashi Jun of our group—"

He raised his volume, word by word, incomparably clear.

"On its first day of listing, it achieved phenomenal sales results! It completely broke the first-day sales record for a new author’s new book since the founding of our Late Night Publishing House!"

As soon as his words fell, a gasp that could not be suppressed sounded in the conference room.

Many editors subconsciously looked at Takahashi Jun, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Miyagi Kazuu did not pause, continuing to elaborate on the details with an excited tone:

"As everyone knows, the initial print run of Xia Mu-sensei’s book was the highest among all new books in the same period, reaching 5,000 copies, almost two to three times that of other new books."

"But—!"

He emphasized heavily.

"Even under these circumstances, in just one morning, all ten cooperative bookstores that stocked 'The Devotion of Suspect X,' without exception, declared their inventory sold out before noon!"

"It’s not that it sold well; it’s that it sold out completely, even the trial copies were sold out!"

He picked up a fax that had just been summarized and signaled to everyone.

"Just now, we received urgent feedback and additional orders sent overnight from all cooperative bookstores."

"They unanimously requested that we increase printing at the fastest speed, and promised that as long as the supply keeps up, they will immediately provide the most core, highest-traffic golden sales position in the store for 'The Devotion of Suspect X'!"

He looked around at everyone, his tone deepening.

"The weight of this position, I think everyone here is clear about. Usually, only new works by god-tier authors with a stable fan base can possibly obtain it in the early stages of listing."

"And for our Late Night Publishing House, as a relatively vertical mystery novel brand, it is even harder to fight for such resources!"

"But now, because of the amazing market performance of 'The Devotion of Suspect X,' all bookstores have made an exception!"

"What does this mean?"

Miyagi Kazuu’s voice trembled slightly because of excitement.

"This means that the potential of this book has far exceeded our initial expectations! It is not just a 'bestseller,' but a super hit with the energy to sweep the market!"

He took a deep breath and threw out even more heavy news.

"This situation has even alarmed the management of our New English Publishing headquarters!"

"Headquarters has directly issued instructions, requiring us to seize this opportunity and do our best to build 'The Devotion of Suspect X' into our publishing house’s landmark work this year!"

"To this end, headquarters will personally come forward and use its wider channel network to open up brand new, more bookstore sales points for this book!"

"This is the first time in many years that headquarters has provided such channel support for a single work of our Late Night Publishing House!"

All the editors were stunned, clearly completely shocked by this series of incredible news.

Miyagi Kazuu looked at Takahashi Jun, who was completely dumbfounded, a bright smile on his face, and announced loudly:

"Therefore, after my urgent consultation with the editor-in-chief, and with the consent of headquarters—"

"We have decided to give the second printing of 'The Devotion of Suspect X' the same level of treatment as a new work by a god-tier author!"

He extended five fingers and shook them vigorously in the air.

"Additional print quantity—50,000 copies!"

"Bang!"

The pen that Takahashi Jun had been holding dropped onto the table, making a crisp sound.

But he didn't notice it at all.

He just sat there blankly, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly open, as if he had lost all ability to think.

Only those two constantly echoing numbers and words remained in his brain.

Fifty... 50,000 copies?

New author... second printing... 50,000 copies?!

"Great!! Takahashi-senpai!!!"

A cheer full of ecstasy rang out beside him.

Niigaki Shoji stood up from his seat abruptly, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a harsh sound because of the excessive movement.

His face was filled with undisguised, near-manic excitement, and his hands clapped vigorously.

He also had a signature on this super hit!

The value of this performance and the industry reputation that followed far exceeded money!

Driven by Niigaki Shoji, a few sporadic, hesitant applause sounded in the conference room first.

Immediately, more and more editors reacted.

Although everyone’s heart was filled with unspeakable shock, envy, and even a hint of jealousy...

Facing the "huge success" so definitively announced by the group leader, they could only suppress their complex emotions and raise their hands one after another, following the applause.

For a time, in the not-so-spacious conference room, the applause became somewhat enthusiastic, and even somewhat noisy.

However.