[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment":3,"chapter-tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-550":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Tokyo: You Call This Normal Equipment?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1952525,2739,"Chapter 550","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-550",550,"\u003Cp>Xia Xia Xia Mujun also arrived at the side of Konoe Hitomi.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"It's over, I should be getting back to work soon too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Konoe Hitomi watched him in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Are you planning... to have the match tomorrow, just like last time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Xia Xia Xia Mujun nodded calmly and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Yes, I dislike that person, so I intend to settle this quickly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The publishing house in the middle of the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Time quietly slid toward seven in the evening.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Editor-in-Chief Kitahara Sosuke finally slowly put down the thick and precious photocopy of “Snow Country” in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He took off the reading glasses that had accompanied him for many years, rubbed his sore brow with his fingertips, and then closed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>However, the closed eyelids did not bring darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Replacing it was still that pure white snowfield.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The illusory beauty of Komako’s reflection in the mirror under the dim light of the hot spring inn, Yoko’s clear and sorrowful voice that seemed to come from the other shore, Shimamura’s futile pursuit, Komako’s futile writing and love…\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Those images and emotions, wrapped in the extreme atmosphere of “mono no aware” and “nothingness,” still swirled in the corridors of his consciousness, carrying the cold, unique fragrance of the text, refusing to dissipate.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He felt a deep, near-exhausting shock, unable to return to his senses for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>From the lowest-level proofreader, it took him a full forty-five years to climb to the position of Editor-in-Chief of this branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>His editorial career had spanned almost the majority of his known life.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>In these long years, enough to witness several changes in the industry, the manuscripts Kitahara Sosuke had read, if piled up, could probably fill a small warehouse.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The misty traps of suspense and mystery, the profound artistic conception of pure literature, the magnificent imagination of science fiction, the sharp criticism of social literature… all kinds of stories, styles of writing, passed through his review like flowing water.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He had a precise scale in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Which were the true gold that could withstand the test of time, which were the fleeting bubbles of vanity, and which were pure literary waste—he only needed a few pages to weigh them with reasonable accuracy.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>And this “Snow Country” in his hand…\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>When he reopened those eyes that had seen everything and were no longer young, the depths of his pupils still retained the shock that had not yet dissipated.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He couldn't help but look down again, his gaze falling on the manuscript, his eyes complex and difficult to fathom.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>This novel, on the scale in his heart, had already steadily and indisputably taken the throne of the number one pure literature list in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Its refinement of language, the profoundness of its artistic conception, and the depth and purity of its emotional core reached a peak rare in his career.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Just the scene of the snow country that opened up after passing through the long tunnel had a magic that could instantly suck the reader’s mind into that crystal-clear and lonely world.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Those words, purified by the strictest standards, had shed all vanity, leaving only bone-like lines and jade-like luster.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>They were not images “described,” but imagery “condensed” directly from a void of extreme cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Snow mountains, hot springs, reflections in mirrors, night fires… under the author’s extremely restrained pen, they came to life on their own, rushing toward the reader with a tragic, fragile, and fleeting phantom beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Even more heart-palpitating was the cold undercurrent running through the entire text, called “futility.”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The heat of love was weak and futile in the world of ice and snow, and beneath the vivid texture of life was the cold echo of all things returning to silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>This “sense of nothingness” deeply rooted in Japanese aesthetics was incorporated by Xia Xia Muchun with ease into a snowflake, a sigh, a fleeting firelight.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kitahara Sosuke even felt that his own heart, seasoned by the world at his age, had been hit by a stone, rippling with the sorrowful question of “is life equally futile?”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>And being able to trigger such deep resonance and philosophical debate was the supreme proof of a great work of pure literature.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>What made him feel even more “outrageous” and even “horrified” was—\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The author who wrote this “Snow Country,” which was enough to be recorded in literary history, Xia Xia Muchun, had just recently exploded the book market with a suspense and mystery masterpiece, “The Devotion of Suspect X,” with its exquisite structure, surging logic, and fiery emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Based on “Suspect X” alone, the sixteen-year-old Xia Xia Muchun was already an unquestionable genius of mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>But how long had it been?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>This young man had actually turned around in the opposite field of pure literature and produced a literary ice peak as crystal clear and bone-chilling as “Snow Country”?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Now, even as the Editor-in-Chief of a suspense and mystery publishing house, he was absolutely certain—once this “Snow Country” was released, it would surely set off a storm in the literary world and become another phenomenal classic.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Thinking of this, in Kitahara Sosuke’s heart, a strong sense of regret and heartbreak, identical to that of Section Chief Miyagi and Editor Takahashi, surged up.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Such a masterpiece, yet due to the limitations of the publishing house’s positioning, it could not be pushed to the market by his own hands!\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>This feeling of watching a treasure having to be handed over to others was like a fine thorn stuck in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>But he was, after all, the Editor-in-Chief; he had experienced more storms and was more practical.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Regret was regret, but the benefits that should be fought for must not be less.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Such an excellent “Snow Country” must not be given to the headquarters for nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He had to fight for the greatest benefits for the branch and for the editors who discovered it.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kitahara Sosuke took a deep breath and suppressed his mixed emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He picked up the phone on the table, searched his contacts steadily, and his fingertips paused on a name labeled “Headquarters - Shin-Ei Publishing - Literature Department Editor-in-Chief.”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>After a brief exchange, a steady and forceful communication.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>A moment later, he put down the phone, a hint of satisfaction belonging to a negotiator appearing on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The conditions were settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Then, he picked up the internal phone on the table, preparing to call Takahashi Jun over to explain the matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>However, what came from the receiver was a continuous “beep-beep” busy signal.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kitahara Sosuke was stunned for a moment, then understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He smiled helplessly, put down the receiver, supported the table with both hands, and slowly stood up.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Picking up the jujube wood cane leaning against the table, he walked out of the Editor-in-Chief’s office with a slightly slow but steady gait.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The lights in the corridor stretched his shadow very long.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Pushing open the heavy door of the editorial department, a wave of clamor with a heat different from usual rushed toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Unlike the usual silence after work, the open-plan office area was brightly lit at this moment, and almost every editor’s workstation was busy.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Especially conspicuous were the phone rings that rose and fell, almost never stopping, and the raised, apologetic, and soothing voices of the editors when answering the phones.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>“…Yes, yes, thank you very much for your love and support for ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’!”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>“We have already arranged the second printing on the fastest schedule; please pay attention to our official website announcement for the specific distribution time…”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>“Fifty thousand copies, yes, the printing volume this time is fifty thousand copies! We will try our best to meet market demand!”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>“Please wait patiently, I am truly sorry…”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kitahara Sosuke stood at the door, his gaze sweeping over this busy scene, the wrinkles on his face seeming to smooth out a bit, carrying a complex sense of emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He certainly knew the reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Xia Xia Muchun’s “The Devotion of Suspect X” was like dropping a deep-sea bomb into the pond of mystery novels.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Not only did the first printing of five thousand copies sell out in a very short time, but the word-of-mouth effect and discussion craze it triggered were fermenting and spreading through the internet and readers’ word-of-mouth at an unprecedented speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Most of the incoming calls at this moment were from anxious readers urging for the printing progress and expressing their impatience to read it.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>This kind of “phenomenal” consultation craze triggered by a single work was rare in his many years of being an Editor-in-Chief.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Only a “hit among hits” that truly touched the nerves of the market and triggered the desire for national reading could possess such magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kitahara Sosuke leaned on his cane and paced slowly through the busy office area, the soles of his shoes making rhythmic light sounds on the floor, finally stopping beside the workstation of Takahashi Jun in the second editorial group.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Takahashi Jun was holding the receiver in one hand and recording rapidly on a memo with the other, his tone urgent but trying hard to remain professional:\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>“…I understand your feelings, please rest assured, we will definitely do it at the fastest speed…”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>His forehead was slightly sweaty, his suit jacket was draped over the back of his chair, his shirt sleeves were rolled to his elbows, and he was immersed in his work, not even noticing the arrival of the Editor-in-Chief immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kitahara Sosuke observed him quietly for a few seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He keenly noticed that this Takahashi Jun, who had always been evaluated as “a bit spineless” and “lacking sharpness,” seemed to have undergone some subtle change.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The sense of shrinking under long-term performance pressure had faded a lot, and although his brow was tired, it revealed a long-lost focus ignited by a major project and a hidden… confidence?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>It was as if a plant that had lacked light for a long time had suddenly been moved into the sun and began to stretch its branches and leaves hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kitahara Sosuke sighed inwardly, and at the same time, felt awestruck again by the terrifying energy contained in the young writer Xia Xia Muchun.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Sixteen years old, debut work, just the initial burst of performance light was enough to illuminate and change the professional state of a senior editor.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Wasn't this another kind of “terrifying” in another sense?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>“Editor Takahashi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kitahara Sosuke tapped the floor beside Takahashi Jun’s workstation with the tip of his cane, making a dull and clear “thud-thud” sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Takahashi Jun jumped at the sound, as if he had been pulled back from the world of the phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He quickly said a few closing remarks to the other end of the phone, hung up, and stood up almost as if he had bounced, his face carrying the busyness and a hint of tension that hadn't yet faded:\u003C\u002Fp>",1814,"2026-06-15T07:10:31.195Z","2026-06-17T08:41:32.805Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","f6c4efabe7934d676aeaa2f7bd07fc3a5ddebbc647a07cd9ca0e8d61a78d5ff3","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-551","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-549",624,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-cover.jpg"]