I asked you to write a light novel, but you wrote about living?

Carter never actually expected "To Live" to be a hit in the West Coast region.

Although the East and West regions are both part of the federation and have interconnected networks, allowing platform accounts to log in across regions, cultural connections are not something that can be completely bridged simply by connecting a fiber optic cable.

West Coast readers are more accustomed to coastlines, wastelands, individual heroes, and desperate counterattacks.

But that's not what "To Live" is about.

It neither resisted nor cried out in pain.

Fugui was merely existing.

Therefore, when To Live was officially launched, Carter did not use the core resources of the Light platform.

It's not on the homepage holographic screen, there are no cross-region pop-ups, and the words "phenomenal masterpiece of the Eastern region" aren't displayed on the cover.

The operations team didn't understand this at all.

"Mr. Carter, given the popularity of 'To Live' in the Eastern region, we can definitely launch a cross-regional event-level publicity campaign."

The operations manager of the West Coast branch pushed the proposal in front of him.

"The explosive popularity of the Eastern region, the ancient method of typing in the AI ​​era, the reversal of the plagiarism scandal, the deification of holographic live streaming... these labels also have dissemination value on the West Coast. We can even package it as an Eastern literary spectacle."

Carter only flipped through two pages before closing the plan.

"Don't package it as a spectacle."

The operations manager was taken aback.

Carter looked at the eye-catching marketing slogans on the cover of the proposal, paused for a moment, and then said:

"It's not for the thrill of the exotic."

The meeting room fell silent.

Carter didn't explain much more.

Having worked in publishing and content operations for over a decade, he certainly knows what kind of packaging is most likely to generate clicks.

But "To Live" is not a product waiting to be packaged as an oriental wonder.

At least not in his case.

He simply felt that people on the West Coast should have the opportunity to read such a book.

Whether they understand it or like it after reading it is another matter.

First, place the books in front of them.

This is what he wants to accomplish.

As a result, "To Live" was eventually placed in the "Cross-Regional Translation" section of the West Coast section of Weiguang Literature.

The location isn't bad, but it's definitely not a top recommendation.

The cover was not changed to the wasteland style that West Coast readers are familiar with.

Grayish-yellow earth, an old man, and cows.

It's very simple.

However, Carter did not expect that when the official version was launched, the first to flood in were not completely unfamiliar readers.

Instead, it was a group of people who already knew about "To Live".

After all, the internet is interconnected.

The uproar in the Eastern region was so big that the name Yu Huashi had already caught the attention of some Eastern culture enthusiasts on the West Coast.

Especially those netizens who frequent the Touhou forum, follow Touhou virtual idols, watch Touhou short dramas and read old literary relics, had already used AI to translate "To Live" on the very first day it became a hit.

So as soon as "To Live" was released, a group of familiar faces immediately appeared in the book review section.

[It's here! I heard this book drove the Eastern region crazy the other day. I'm curious to see what's going on.]

[I previously used AI to translate a version, and how should I put it? I could understand it, but it felt like reading an old-fashioned disaster chronicle. The official version is here; let's see what the differences are.]

Wait, why is the book titled "To Live"? My AI translation clearly says "Be Alive."

[What I found here is "Survivor Fugui," it's hilarious, it's like some kind of post-apocalyptic survival game.]

Wait, why is the translator listed as Carter?

Which Carter?

[Carter, the director of the West Coast region for Microlight.]

What?

【what? 】

Wait, isn't he in charge of platform operations? Why is he personally translating?

[Didn't they say in the Eastern region that the author typed this book out word by word using ancient methods, without using AI? I didn't expect the translation to be done using ancient methods too?]

[Traditional typing and translation methods—what kind of old-fashioned performance art is this?]

[This is something, let's see how it goes.]

Thanks to this novelty, "To Live" was quickly promoted to the top of the cross-regional translation section.

But that's about it.

Even when placed within the broader West Coast region, it still failed to make a significant impact.

The top-ranked book is an AI-generated mecha fantasy novel where the protagonist fights his way from an underwater prison through seven floating cities in the first three chapters.

The second-ranked category is virtual romance, where readers can pay to choose the female lead's emotional storyline.

The third book on the overall list is a Western wasteland rebirth novel with a title that takes up almost half the screen.

"To Live" is nestled among these works, as quiet as a piece of soil brought from elsewhere.

Many people initially clicked in just because it was popular.

They wanted to see why this book had caused such a stir online in the Eastern region, and they also wanted to see how the version translated by the director of Weiguang differed from the AI ​​one-click translation.

Then, the comments section started to get complicated.

The official version is indeed much smoother than the AI ​​translation. The AI ​​version simply copied the sequence of events, while the official version at least sounds like a human being speaking.

[Carter is quite skilled; some sentences are actually very simple, but they're more difficult to read than the AI ​​version.]

[It's truly heartbreaking. I thought the netizens in the Eastern region were exaggerating, but after seeing Fugui lose all his wealth, my first thought was, why doesn't he fight back?]

[I've been waiting for him to turn the tables for ages, but he just went off to farm.]

Why is there no outlet for this book? I've read plenty of tragedies on the West Coast, but at least they have a climax. This book is like cutting away at something with a dull knife.

[This is my first time reading a work set in the old era of the Eastern Region. To be honest, there are many things I don't understand. Why did everyone seem to be acting according to some kind of rule that I don't comprehend when Jia Zhen was taken away?]

I don't understand those rural relationships either, but I can understand how a home slowly empties out.

This isn't a wish-fulfillment story, nor is it a post-apocalyptic survival novel. I don't even know how to categorize it; all I can say is that it was a brutal reading experience.

[A cruel reading experience.]