Chapter 35 - Shooting Himself In The Foot

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Many people cursed at such an ostentatious operation.

“What the hell is ‘Ghosthand’? How can that thing compare to ‘The Lost Tomb’?”

“That’s right. They’re not even on the same level! I can’t bear to read another chapter.”

“It’s so lousy! After reading two chapters, I still don’t even know who the main character is…”

The scene was filled with curses, but the judges could not do anything about it since everything was based on data.

Now, “Ghosthands” popularity surpassed “Candle in the Tomb” and “The Lost Tomb”.

“Is it that bad? I think it’s very good. I just finished reading it.”

A different voice came out from the crowd.

This time, everyone was very unified. The fans of “Candle in the Tomb” and “The Lost Tomb” collectively denounced it.

“F*ck that! ‘Ghosthand’ is just trying to scare people. It’s not literature! How can that be good?”

“Yes, I agree. Please read ‘The Lost Tomb’ or ‘Candle in the Tomb’ first before commenting. There’s no place for you here!”

At the scene, everyone who had read “Candle in the Tomb” and “The Lost Tomb” was in an uproar.

An opponent was only worthy when their strength was equal.

Otherwise, that opponent would just be an ant. “Ghosthand” was not horrible, but it was just far inferior to the previous two books.

Dunbar went on stage and heard the commotion below the stage.

He pretentiously raised his hand and signaled for everyone not to speak.

However…

“F*ck! What the hell is he doing? Does he think that he’s a president?”

“No, he’s just reaching out his ‘Ghosthand’…hahaha! Get it?”

Dunbar had not even spoken yet.

The reporters below who supported “Candle in the Tomb” and “The Lost Tomb” raised their hands to ask questions.

Dunbar really had nothing to say when it came to writing inspiration, so it was especially uncool to share it.

Fang Yuan, the author of “Candle in the Tomb”, mentioned a lot of cultural knowledge in his writing inspiration.

He even gave a brief explanation of Chinese tomb culture so well that it made Dunbar feel a little inferior.

Although Dunbar saw that his book was ranked first and was naturally ecstatic, he felt a little guilty.

After going on stage, he was somewhat regretful. How could he make his creative inspiration sound good?

In the end, he only said that he got his writing inspiration from a strange dream. He was a little embarrassed and could not say anything else.

At this time, when a reporter asked him a question, it naturally gave him an excuse not to share his creative inspiration.

Dunbar maintained a gentle smile and said to the female reporter who had a question, “Please go ahead.”

“Mr. Dunbar, are you able to stand on the stage and say that you’re number one? What are the merits of your work compared to the two top tomb-robbing novels?”

This was such a sharp question and was a f*cking deliberate provocation.

Dunbar’s face sank as he said, “My work is recognized by the public, so naturally, it has its advantages over ‘Candle in the Tomb’ and ‘The Lost Tomb’. I don’t need to say more because won’t I be like the author of ‘Candle in the Tomb’ that said ‘The Lost Tomb’ was inferior to my own book?

…

“What the f*ck? How thick-skinned is he to say that his book has received the public’s approval more so than ‘Candle in the Tomb’ and ‘The Lost Tomb’? How is it better? Why can’t I see It? I think those who have agreed to it are either trolls or have never read ‘Candle in the Tomb’…”

Afterward, more reporters raised extremely sharp questions.

Dunbar’s good expression also gradually disappeared.

He felt that he was not shining in glory, but standing on stage to receive insults from a group of trolls.

..

Penguin Publishing Company.

Stoner and Walter, the two editors, clinked their wine glasses together.

“It looks like we’re going to win this time.”

The two of them thought so at the same time and even prepared to have fun with many beautiful women at the villa tonight.

This was a victory that could turn the tables.

“Ghosthand” relied on the gap between the two works and eventually rose in popularity.

This was yet another successful commercial novel.

Suddenly, there was a knock on their office door.

A wretched middle-aged fat man came in.

He was the boss of Traffic Player, the “outsourcing” company.

“Look, your goal has been achieved, so shouldn’t you fulfill your promise?”

Stoner drank a glass of red wine and took out a card, handing it to the man as he said, “I’ll pay you $150,000 first. As for the remaining half, if ‘Ghosthand’ can dominate the rankings for a long time and suppress ‘Candle in the Tomb’ and ‘The Lost Tomb’ for a month, I’ll give it to you.”

Fatty held the card in his hand and said with an unpleasant expression, “Mr. Stoner, the current situation is different from the past. To surpass the two books that topped the rankings, my cost is already far higher than $200,000. If you want to dominate the rankings for a week, it’s impossible to do so without $1 million. Even that is quite impossible, not to mention dominating the rankings for a month. I actually came to negotiate the price with you aside from the initially agreed $300,000.”

“Enough, enough! I know how you operate. You’re just trying to get more money from us. Is $300,000 not enough to eat your fill? Take this and scram! Otherwise, forget about the remaining $150,000.”

Stoner and Walter were completely oblivious and only thought that the man was just trying to up the price.

This sum was already very high.

The fat man had a troubled look on his face. He gritted his teeth and said, “If that’s the case, then you can give me the remaining $150,000. We can’t help ‘Ghosthand’ to dominate the rankings for another week. It’s truly a loss for us.”

Stoner picked up another wine glass and poured half a glass of wine for the fat man as he said, “Mr. Kaft, I can give you the remaining $150,000, but from now on, we will stop hiring you for our outsourcing business. Is this the result you wish to see?”

The fat man’s expression was a little ugly.

All these years, he had been relying on Penguin Publishing and had indeed earned quite a bit of money.

If it was a normal day, he would have endured it, but the current situation was different from the past.

The rankings of “Candle in the Tomb” and “The Lost Tomb” kept increasing. If he wanted to suppress these two books within a week, the cost would be ten times or even more than usual.

Naturally, he would be spending out of his own pocket.

$300,000 was only enough to suppress them for a day.

If this continued for a week, he would probably lose his business.

Thinking of this, the fat man cried, “Boss, it’s really different this time. If you want me to suppress them for a week, I will need at least $1.5 million.”

“$1.5 million?”

The two editors looked at each other and laughed.

“That’s impossible, Mr. Kaft. You have two choices. $300,000 to help ‘Ghosthand’ dominate the rankings for a week, or take this $150,000 and get out of here. From now on, we’ll cut off all Penguin’s outsourcing business with your company. There are so many outsourcing companies like you, so if you don’t want to do it, I’m sure others will.”

Suddenly, the fat man jumped up and pounced towards Stoner.

Since he was a big guy, Stoner fell to the ground.

Without any explanation, Mr. Kaft punched Stoner wildly on the face.