Honkai Impact 3rd: Join Anti-Entropy at the start and dominate the entertainment industry.

He is the "god of short stories"!

Lin Yi naturally wanted to invite him to participate in the competition.

Zhang Yucheng was taken aback for a moment after being rejected, but quickly recovered and chuckled, "Isn't it normal to be rejected? There are so many events held around the world every year, he can't possibly attend them all, can he? Besides, he's one of the 'three musketeers,' it's okay if we can't persuade him."

However, her subordinates were very anxious and helpless.

"That's true, but the key point is that the reason Mr. Yang Yagang refused me wasn't because he didn't want to come, but because he told me personally that he had already received an invitation from 'Reader' magazine to participate in their event!"

Upon hearing this, the entire Lin Yi office fell silent, and everyone's expression changed!

It's okay if Yang Yagang doesn't participate in their activities.

However, Yang Yagang participated in an event hosted by a rival publishing house during the same period they were organizing!

This is very relevant!

To promote their event, Zhang Yucheng boasted an "all-star lineup," featuring over forty writers, most of whom were renowned authors.

But now, one of the three most famous teams in China has moved to the opposing side, and their "all-stars" have instantly lost their luster.

The once impressive list has lost its appeal.

Zhang Yucheng was still smiling, but the smile on her face had become very forced.

Yang Yagang, one of the three driving forces, is also the youngest, only thirty-six years old this year.

Some say he is the youngest, while others say he is the weakest of the three.

However, regardless of anything else, he remains one of the three insurmountable mountains in the field of short stories.

To firmly suppress him, we need to enlist the help of two other powerful figures.

however--

The subordinate said with a wry smile, "The other two carriages are Teacher Changkong and Teacher Yundan. Teacher Changkong hasn't written anything for a long time, so we can't get him to write. I just tried to contact Teacher Yundan, but she's been taking care of her health and has no intention of participating in any activities."

Zhang Yucheng didn't give up. She asked persistently, "Have you tried contacting top short story writers in other regions?"

The Chinese region has the strongest "three musketeers," and other regions naturally have their own top writers, such as the "three tanks."

The subordinate looked troubled: "We do have that, but the regions differ. They've never liked participating in events across regions, and 'Reader' magazine will definitely be competing with us for staff, so it'll be very difficult."

"No matter how difficult it is, we must do it!" Zhang Yucheng said firmly. "We've put a lot of effort into this event, and we absolutely cannot let 'Reader' steal it!"

The subordinate nodded and quickly turned to work.

However, the result was not good. They tried to contact many people, but were ultimately politely declined by everyone.

Both parties said they hadn't had much inspiration lately and hadn't produced any works.

That's how cultural creation works. It's not like you can invite me and I'll produce a good piece of work. It really requires inspiration and a certain state of mind.

If you insist on writing something out of necessity, the final product will not reach your own level, which is a very damaging act to your reputation.

The more famous a writer is, the more they value their reputation. They generally won't easily produce a work unless they are absolutely certain of success or have written something they are particularly satisfied with.

It's February now, and the event starts in May, which is less than three months. It's quite difficult to create a short story that can compete with a group of masters. No one can guarantee that they can definitely write one.

Moreover, all of these forty-odd people, except for Bai Qianqu, received the news in advance and began preparations before the new year.

Zhang Yucheng had also guessed this outcome, and she remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Keep searching! I refuse to believe that among so many writers worldwide, there isn't a single one who can make a move!"

Just then, a subordinate raised his hand and said, "I've secured a manuscript from a top writer, but the price they asked for is a bit high, and they can't guarantee that the work will be published. Three months is too short a timeframe."

What price are they asking for?

"Eight million."

Zhang Yucheng fell silent.

Eight million is no small sum, but the other party is a top writer, and this is an urgent order, so although the price is high, it's not an exorbitant amount.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally nodded: "Okay, let's make an appointment first. If the other party really writes an excellent work, this price is not unacceptable."

Zhang Yucheng's eyes flashed with malice: "As long as we can suppress 'Reader,' it's worth spending ten million!"

Compared to the unexpected situation faced by "Lin Yi", "The Reader" also faced its share of challenges.

They paid a considerable price to invite Yang Yagang, spending ten million yuan in money alone.

Having put in so much effort, they certainly wouldn't give up such a great opportunity for publicity.

So, the day after Lin Yi published its announcement, Reader also followed suit and published its own announcement, emphasizing the news that Yang Yagang had joined them.

If a short story were placed in the original world, it might not have the same impact as a novel by the author.

However, in this world, the influence of short stories is in no way inferior to that of novels!

Although there are few readers, the quality is high!

We are all cultured people, so we naturally know how to promote and control the public opinion field.

So, after the two top short story magazines announced their events, the online comments exploded.

The readers are very excited!

They hadn't seen such fierce competition in short stories in a long time!

The clash between two top magazines is sure to produce many outstanding works!

This is exactly what readers have been waiting for!

"Teacher Yang Yagang actually made a comeback? It's been over a year since he released a new work!"

"That's right! Remember that suspenseful short story he wrote last time, 'The Wooden Door'? It had three unexpected twists in the beginning, middle, and end! It was so thrilling! Who would have thought the murderer was a door?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's so brain-teasing!"

"It seems that Mr. Yang Yagang has had another inspiration this time!"

"According to rumors, the reason why Professor Yang Yagang took action this time was because he had read 'The Tale of the Magi,' which gave him new inspiration!"

"What? Could it be that Mr. Yang Yagang's work this time will also use the 'Thousand Swords ending'?"

"What's particularly interesting is that Qianjian seems to have also participated in the activities organized by Lin Yi."

"This wave, this wave is called the Yangtze River, where the front waves push the back waves, and the back waves die on the Yangtze River."

Chapter 304 Valentine’s Day

"The Gift of the Magi is indeed amazing, but it's just that the technique is strong. If Teacher Yang Yagang learns this technique, Qian Jian will have no advantage at all."

"I think Qianjian has more than just this much. He must have a trump card up his sleeve, otherwise he wouldn't have participated in this event."

"Don't mythologize Qian Jian. Don't forget the saying: the higher your expectations, the greater your disappointment."

Because of Yang Yagang's appearance, the popularity of "The Reader" gradually surpassed that of "Lin Yi".

Even the writers who participated in the "Lin Yi" event this time were somewhat uneasy.

Although Yang Yagang did not compete on the same stage with them, they released their works together, so the quality of their works could still be compared, which put invisible pressure on many people.

Just like the war of the gods, as long as the God of Music participates, the other composers will be terrified.

However, Bai Qianqu is an exception.

Although he knew Yang Yagang would be participating, he didn't care.

Since they're not on the same platform, it doesn't affect his ability to earn money.

As for fame and popularity...

who care?

He writes short stories purely out of interest, and just to make some money on the side.

He didn't value the so-called status of short stories that much.

At that moment, he was in his office brainstorming ideas for his next short story.

Since you've agreed to participate in the event, you should naturally have some dreams; the prize money for the top three is quite substantial!

One million is enough for him to commission a song!

Although he now has tens of millions, he would never say that he doesn't like money.

In order to deepen people's understanding and impression of "O. Henry", Bai Qianqu plans to continue writing this type of novel in her next story.

However, even though she had decided on the type, Bai Qianqu was now struggling with which one to choose.

Given that the opponents participating in this event were all quite formidable, Bai Qianqu ultimately decided to bring out something truly impressive.

So he chose "The Necklace".

As one of Maupassant's representative works, this piece perfectly utilizes the "O. Henry" ending, vividly depicting the dramatic nature of a person's fate. Once the reader is immersed in it, their thoughts will rise and fall with the protagonist's emotions.

Without a doubt, this is another true masterpiece!

It should be perfectly fine for participating in such a high-quality competition.

Bai Qianqu's requirements are not high; getting into the top three is enough.

He commissioned this novel on the spot and wrote it down in five minutes.

The story is still set in a fictional world, and the whole thing seems quite reasonable.

After finishing the novel, Bai Qianqu put it aside. Since the deadline wasn't until April, he would send it over then.

Releasing it prematurely could cause some unnecessary trouble.

After finishing these steps, Bai Qianqu calmly opened the document, created a new folder, and renamed it: "Ghost Blows Out the Light - The Ancient City of Jingjue".

Although Bai Qianqu obtained all the volumes, he did not intend to write them into a single book, but rather to write one volume per book.

This makes the reading experience smoother for the reader and avoids any confusion or entanglement.

After all, there's really no connection between the volumes. One part is exploring the desert, and the next part is jumping into the deep mountains. If it were written as one book, there would be some inconsistencies.

The first volume is naturally about the ancient city of Jingjue!

This volume is very exciting. It mainly tells the story of the protagonist Hu Bayi, the heroine Shirley Yang, and their best friend Wang Pangzi who go through many dangers to find the "Ghost Cave" in the ruins of the ancient city of Jingjue in the Taklamakan Desert.

In my opinion, this volume is one of the most exciting in the Ghost Blows Out the Light series. Whether it's the ghost play at the beginning, the Nine-Story Demon Tower, or the Black Desert and the Corpse Fragrance Devil's Flower later on, it's enough to give people the deepest shock.

In the days that followed, Bai Qianqu had a rare period of leisure. Since work had just resumed and Lei Dian Long Ma hadn't assigned him any tasks, he spent his mornings painting with Gretchen in the studio and his afternoons writing in the office, maintaining a very reasonable daily routine.