People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Because Wei Yanwu had already received the sample copy.

"Boom boom boom!"

A knock sounded at the door. Wei Yanwu took a deep breath, stood up, and a joyful smile spread across his face.

"Look, Miss Vina, the books should have arrived!"

As he spoke, he disregarded his status as the Governor of Lungmen and, ahead of Vina, stepped forward to the gate and opened it himself.

The man outside, leaning against the doorframe and panting, saw that it was Wei Yanwu who opened the door. He quickly straightened up and greeted him somewhat stammeringly:

“Governor Wei…, you…”

"Stop talking nonsense, did you get the book?"

Wei Yanwu asked in a low voice.

The man nodded immediately, took the thin book out of his bag, handed it to Wei Yanwu, and said:

"Of course, of course, Governor Wei, you have no idea how crowded the bookstore was. Everyone was scrambling to buy Mr. 'The Emperor's' latest interview. It took me a long time to squeeze in. But thankfully, although the book was displayed at the front, nobody paid any attention to it. I spent more time queuing than actually buying it!"

Nonsense, why do you think the Emperor's latest album and interviews are being released today?

Isn't that still my arrangement?

Wei Yanwu clicked his tongue and said:

"Alright, enough talk, give me the book, and the commission should be deposited into your account!"

He had no time to listen to this talkative errand boy's endless tales of his experiences navigating the world of ten rock 'n' roll giants. After taking the book, he emphasized...

"No one is allowed to tell anyone about what happened today! Absolutely no word of it! Understand?"

The man couldn't understand why Governor Wei Yanwu, who was always so kind and approachable on television, was so serious at this moment, and could only nod blankly.

"I understand, I understand."

Wei Yanwu nodded, closed the door, and his face, which had been chameleon-like, returned to a smile. He walked into the room, boasting as he went:

"Oh my, no wonder it's Prime Minister Ernst's masterpiece, 'The Chronicles of Ernest.' The servant said the bookstore was packed today. He spent hours outside trying to squeeze in. If he hadn't been quick, 'The Chronicles of Ernest' would probably have been sold out!"

"Really?" Vina asked in disbelief. "I thought the general public wouldn't be this interested in this type of novel! Ernst will be very happy now!"

Wei Yanwu nodded, and then vividly repeated what the servant had just said before taking the book hidden behind his back and handing it to Vina.

"Here you go, Miss Vina, take a look. Are you satisfied?"

Vina excitedly accepted the book from Wei Yanwu's hand.

The book cover is exquisite, featuring a figure in an ancient black robe standing on a cliff with his back to the camera. Beyond the cliff lies a vast wilderness, and on this wilderness stand the iconic buildings symbolizing the four ancient civilizations in "The Chronicles of Erzley: Ancient Civilizations".

The majestic Sphinx and pyramids of ancient Egypt, Mohenjo-daro, the ancient Indian city of the Mohenjo-daro, the Hanging Gardens of ancient Mesopotamia, and Chaoge, the capital of the Shang Dynasty in ancient China.

Based on the content of the manuscript, the ancient black-robed Philin should be the "narrator" in "The Chronicles of Erzley," that is, the "traveler" who traveled from Terra to Erzley.

Although the text does not provide any specific description of the narrator's appearance or race, considering the race of Cheese Snow Leopard Ernst, Wei Yanwu set it as Film.

As for those ancient cultural relics, Wei Yanwu spent a great deal of money to have experts reproduce them as accurately as possible according to the descriptions in the book. He even supplemented the details of the buildings, which Ernst himself had not written down, according to the styles of the corresponding Sargon, Da Yan and other countries.

It can be said that they put in a lot of effort, leaving no room for criticism, and can only be described as a stunning feat.

But Vina still frowned.

Because this book is quite light.

He remembered that Ernst's manuscripts weighed more than this, so how come the book became lighter after adding the cover book and using plenty of good paper and ink?

And isn't it a bit thin?

And this book title...

Vina read the book title with some confusion.

"The Chronicles of Erzley: The Four Ancient Civilizations (Preface)?"

"Governor Wei, what is the meaning of this preface?"

It means that there is only a basic worldview setting and framework.

Wei Yanwu really wanted to give such a straightforward answer, and at the same time make those unlucky guys Adams (Swire's grandfather), Lin Gerui, and O'Eal Peters (Bison's father) come over one by one to kowtow to him and apologize for the brain cells he had burned out these past few days!

You guys are really daring. I got China, Adams got ancient Egypt, Linge Rui got ancient India, and O'Ear got ancient Mesopotamia.

The manuscripts detailing the four ancient civilizations were all taken, leaving Ernst with only a basic setting of the Ers worldview, a preface, and a statement that was left unfinished.

If you're going to publish these things, you might as well just find a poor student in school and have him publish his answer sheet.

It all has the same effect anyway; there's nothing to see except for a solution and a colon!

But there was nothing they could do. Those people were like they were possessed; none of them were willing to return a portion first. Even Adams, that guy, lay on his hospital bed and played the victim to Wei Yanwu: "Take it if you want. I don't have many days left to live. Governor Wei Yanwu is so cold and heartless, trying to deprive an old man on his deathbed of his last pleasure. I will absolutely not spread this news!"

There isn't a single human being among them.

What could Wei Yanwu do? He could only explain:

"It's like this, Miss Vina, please don't worry."

"It was the editor-in-chief who told me that *The Chronicles of Erzreel* had such great potential to become a huge hit, but its world-building was so complex and intricate, and so different from Terra. So, to prevent impatient readers from damaging the book's reputation, and also to maximize commercial success, he decided to publish the entire manuscript in batches. In this way, first, the *Preface* whetted people's appetites and gave them time to understand the world of Erzreel; then, *China* immediately sparked the interest of the people of Great Yan; then *Mesopotamia*, *India*, and finally, *Egypt* to conclude, showing us another legendary historical story with a Sargon flavor written by Mr. Ernst!"

Wei Yanwu's meaning wasn't hard to understand, and it even seemed to make some sense, but Vina felt that something was off.

Although she hasn't really delved into this area, could anyone really enjoy watching a story with just its premise?

She clearly didn't know that there were such things as "setting books" in other worlds, and that they were selling very well.

Since Wei Yanwu had brought it up and offered such a reasonable explanation, she could only temporarily accept his statement and asked expectantly:

"I see. Thank you so much, Governor Wei and the editor-in-chief. May I ask how long it will take for the remaining chapters to be published?"

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon," Wei Yanwu said with a forced smile.

Have you created a new folder? Yes.

At this moment, they had no idea that the "Chronicles of Erslie Kingdom (Preface)" published because of this little blunder would later be known as the progenitor of setting books, attracting countless writers to create all sorts of strange and wonderful derivative works.

Chapter Ninety-Four: He's a genius, but unfortunately, geniuses don't write jokes.

Vina isn't stupid.

Wei Yanwu's attitude was questionable; as the carrier, she had certainly seen Ernst's manuscripts as well.

She had to admit that the manuscripts were indeed very interesting. Just considering the various stories, the changes in civilization and the grand narratives, plus the occasional rants and evaluations by the "narrators," these manuscripts were definitely classics.

Even the most classic works will have disagreements, and among those who agree, a large portion will not fully agree. It's impossible to please everyone; this is a simple and clear truth.

Vina could guess why Ernst specifically asked her to come to Lungmen to publish this manuscript. In the chapter on the four ancient civilizations, apart from China, which was modeled after Yan, two of the remaining three kingdoms had virtually no prototypes left, and the last one was still Sargon!

What is Sargon?

In that vast expanse of yellow sand, books might be less valuable than toilet paper, at least the latter makes you look cleaner, while using the former to wipe your bottom feels disgusting, and you worry that it might make your anus look rather unsightly.

Therefore, choosing Longmen in Yan Kingdom as the publication location was actually a very clever move, because Yan is one of the few Terran nations that can find a sense of identity in the Four Ancient Civilizations chapter. The people of Yan are also one of the few nations that might feel familiar with those ancient customs.

To put it simply, their reading threshold is relatively low.

Therefore, Vina could understand Wei Yanwu's point about releasing the world-building setting first, but she found it somewhat unbelievable that he said those dry text settings without a story background could also become a hit.

At least when Vina herself saw the setting of "Ers," she was far from being "obsessed" with it; at most, she was "interested."

So she decided to go and see for herself.

In any city in a country where consumerism is rampant, bookstores are unlikely to be popular. Slow-paced reading is far less stress-relieving than watching a few short videos or playing a game or two. People's primary goal is survival and reproduction, followed by satisfying their physical needs, and only lastly pursuing their intellectual needs.

But Vina did indeed see the scene Wei Yanwu described: the bookstore packed to capacity.

Perhaps I'm overthinking it. "Ers" did indeed sell very well, and Wei Yanwu wasn't lying?

Just as she was about to move closer to ask someone who had just bought a book what was going on, she saw a purple-haired figure wearing a black leather skirt walking towards the bookstore not far away.

She immediately recognized the man's identity.

Lin Yu-hsia, daughter of the Rat King of Dragon Gate!

Vina and Lin Yuxia met at a dinner hosted by Wei Yanwu. She had come with the "Rat King," who was known as the "Underground Ruler of Longmen." Her reason for coming was simple.

Lately, her father has been eating out a lot, and it's always Governor Wei, who is usually very stingy, who treats him. This is something that Lin Yuxia's mother, who knows Wei Yanwu's temper, finds very puzzling.

When asked, Wei Yanwu's reason for treating them was even more unbelievable: "to reconnect with my old buddies."

What's going on? Has the sun risen in the west and there's only one moon left? Or is Longmen about to start another war with someone?

After some deliberation, Lin Yuxia's mother sent Lin Yuxia to the banquet with the Rat King to prevent Wei Yanwu from causing any trouble at the banquet.

After a while, as the number of times they met increased, it became difficult for Lin Yuxia and Vina to avoid noticing each other, the newlyweds at the banquet.

Upon seeing Lin Yuxia walking towards the bookstore, Vina immediately went up to her and greeted her:

"Miss Lin, it's been a long time. Are you here to buy books too?"

"We met at the banquet last night, didn't we?"

Lin Yuxia muttered to herself that Wei Yanwu had been treating people to meals too frequently lately, to the point that she felt her weight had increased a bit, and she was just worrying about it when she was called out on another errand. Hearing Vina's words, she naturally shook her head.

"Not entirely. I mainly came to deliver manuscripts to the editors of this publishing house."

Linquan Publishing House is a subsidiary of the Adams Swire Group, headquartered in Longmen. The first five floors of this small building house a bookstore and an accompanying coffee shop, while the upper floors are the editorial offices of the publishing house.

Upon hearing this, Vina became interested:

"Manuscripts? Miss Lin, do you also write books?"

"It wasn't me who wrote it. My mom asked me to help."

It wasn't anything confidential, so Lin Yuxia just mentioned it casually.

“Governor Wei recently received a manuscript of a novel, and my father also received a portion of it. As a result, he suddenly became very mysterious. Not only did he not do any serious work for several days, but he also often went to Mr. Adams’ hospital with Governor Wei and stayed out all night.”

“A few days ago, Governor Wei came to urge the manuscript, but they talked in the study for a long time and then it ended without any result for some reason. Until today, my father heard that the first part of the manuscript had been published, so he edited the part he had and sent it over.”

As Vina listened, her brows furrowed.

Did Governor Wei receive the manuscript?

Published today?

Why does this sound so familiar?

"Is the manuscript you're referring to 'Ers'?"

Lin Yuxia paused for a moment, then nodded: "You know about it too? Do you also read 'Ers'?"

She immediately explained as if she had found a kindred spirit: "Actually, I also secretly read it for a while when my father wasn't around. This book is indeed interesting, but let me tell you a secret, it really encountered a lot of trouble to get it published today."

"I heard that my father and Uncle Earl both thought the book should not be published because some of the things in it, although written in a simple way, could have a bad influence."

Vina asked in confusion, "Why? I've read part of this book, and aren't the stories in it quite educational?"

Lin Yuxia replied seriously, "It's a good thing if it's educational, but what if it actually teaches something bad?"

Vina's CPU spun for a while, and she was filled with awe.

As expected of the Rat King's daughter, your words are quite cryptic.

But her focus was clearly not there. After all, Ers (preface) had indeed been published, which meant that at the end of that secret meeting between Wei Yanwu, Lin Gerui, Adams, and Earl, Wei Yanwu and Adams finally persuaded the other two.

The key question is—since you have part of Ernst's manuscripts, are the remaining manuscripts also with the other three people?

"I don't know, but that should be the case, otherwise my father wouldn't say every night that he's spending the night at Uncle Adams' house."

Clearly, these four Dragon Gate giants had formed a small organization, much like a book club, and the organization's address was Adams's home.

As for why they chose that location instead of Wei Yanwu's house, it's probably because they would have to move Adams around every night, and who knows, one night they might have to carry a coffin. That would be too much trouble.

"In short, I'm here to deliver this abridged version of the manuscript. If the rest of the manuscript is still in someone else's hands, I estimate that it will be reviewed and revised by now, and then delivered here."

What Lin Yuxia didn't know was that only O'Ear's copy hadn't actually been sent to the publisher yet. Wei Yanwu and Adams, who were the first to receive the manuscript, had already completed the initial review and revision of the manuscript, and the copies had already been sent to the publisher.

The process of reviewing and editing is a characteristic of Da Yan Audio-Visual Books and Publications, and one has no choice but to experience it.

Moreover, just as Lin Yuxia said, the book contains a lot of "inappropriate" content, and it happens to be educational. What if it actually teaches something?