"Finally, it has calmed down."
When departmental phone calls ceased and the constant clamor of his subordinate editors finally quieted, Cao Dezhi could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He thought for a moment, flipping through the pages of the "Poirot Case Collection" next to him and focused on the last paragraph.
[Hastings suddenly spotted a man.
The man must have been over one meter eighty, holding a bowler hat in his left hand and bowing to Poirot's grave.
Hastings had never seen this man before and couldn't help but approach him.
"May I ask who you are...?"
The man had a slicked-back hairstyle, a defined face like a polished diamond, and a thick and long eagle hook nose made him look especially alert and resolute. Hastings, for some reason, found something eerily familiar about him.
The man took off his bowler hat and introduced himself.
"You're a friend of Mr. Poirot?"
"Merely a mourner who has heard many of his tales and traveled from afar to pay his respects," the man named Holmes replied.
As the man turned to leave, Hastings, staring at his retreating figure, finally understood where his sense of familiarity came from—
His eyes, they resemble Poirot's.]]
This was the final scene of the "Poirot Case Collection" written by Chu Kuang.
Cao Dezhi had confirmed with Chu Kuang that this would be the protagonist of Chu Kuang's upcoming mystery novel.
This excited Cao Dezhi. Poirot's death was undeniably distressing, but the fact that Chu Kuang was still willing to write detective stories was great news to him as the editor-in-chief of Silver Blue mysteries.
"But the information is too sparse. There is only a physical description and the character's name to go on."
Not just Cao Dezhi, many others also took note of this paragraph.
As everyone began to accept Poirot's death, many gradually shifted their attention to the new character that appeared at the end of the story, sparking many speculations -
Poirot's death shook everyone, so initially, all discussions were focused on Poirot.
No one mentioned this new character.
Furthermore, even though this person appeared at the end of the "Poirot Case Collection", his description was extremely brief.
It was only when everyone began to calm down that they noticed the exceptionality therein.
"Why would such a character suddenly appear at the end?"
"Does this man have no connection to Poirot?"
"What about Hastings's feelings? It must be noted that the narrative suddenly shifts from Hastings's first-person perspective to a third-person perspective, stating in the original language that this Sherlock's eyes resemble Poirot's."
"Could Chu Kuang be implying that Poirot isn't dead?"
"If that's the case, though it's just a hint, I have to say that the old rascal does have moments of conscience."
"I thought of a larger possibility. Could this man be the protagonist of Chu Kuang's next novel?"
"Like a sequel to the 'Poirot Case Collection,' Chu Kuang wants to replace Poirot with a new protagonist?"
"I only accept Poirot, not others. Nobody can replace Poirot."
"My heart has already died with Poirot. Chu Kuang, don't even think about replacing Poirot with a new character."
There were small-scale discussions on the internet about this issue.
Because the signs weren't clear, many people couldn't guess what the appearance of this man named Holmes signified. Everyone vaguely felt that there was more to come from this story.
Because in terms of character directions, it made no sense.
Unless, for some reasons, this appearance would become meaningful, but what could be behind that?
The same question was also asked by Jin Mu: "Who is this Sherlock?"
"The protagonist of the next book."
Lin Yuan didn't hide anything, he had told Cao Dezhi earlier.
Jin Mu was taken aback, then asked with a frown. "You plan to write another detective protagonist like Poirot?"
"You're only half right."
Lin Yuan said, "Sherlock and Poirot are both detectives, but their personalities, methods of solving cases, and many other aspects are vastly different. The only thing they share is their relentless pursuit of the truth."
Jin Mu smiled bitterly. "So you didn't actually tire of writing Poirot's story, prompting you to end it abruptly?"
The story was, in fact, finished.
Moreover, Lin Yuan knew that Poirot's death would cause a major upheaval among his readers.
But clearly, Lin Yuan had underestimated the scale of this uproar, as well as the depth of people's feelings for Poirot.
It's good that people still have their sensibilities.
After comparing with the previous text, everyone accepted Poirot's death.
Because Poirot was getting old anyway.
For a heroic figure like him, it's hard to imagine him growing frail. Letting him live forever in the readers' hearts in this way wasn't too bad.
"As long as it's not that."
Jin Mu said with relief, "Take it easy in the future. Don't throw curveballs out of nowhere. After finishing the novel, even I wanted to smash the windows of your house."
"Antarctica is on guard."
Lin Yuan seemed to think carefully for a moment and then gave a very sincere answer.
Of course, he knew that Lin Yuan had a pet dog, Antarctica, who had acted in the movie 'Hachi: A Dog's Tale.'
The dog was a real movie star.
He didn't dwell on this topic with Lin Yuan, instead changing the subject:
"The protagonist of your next detective novel won't end up dead too, right?"
Lin Yuan was silent for a few seconds before answering, "No."
In fact, in the story, Holmes was indeed written as dead at one point, but ultimately, he was resurrected.
Jin Mu took a step back instinctively: "Boss, were you serious just now when you hesitated?"
"And were you serious just now when you took half a step back?"
"You can't do this, I'm sincerely and solemnly advising you to be kind-hearted!"
Being resurrected doesn't count as dying.
Jin Mu sighed, "Anyway, you judge for yourself. But with the readers, everyone needs comfort and reassurance. Why not say something?"
Lin Yuan also felt that the readers needed some comfort.
He logged onto Chu Kuang's Tribe account, confirmed it was the right one, and posted a message:
"New book announcement, it's still a mystery novel, 'Great Detective Holmes'."
The news that he was going to publish a new book could probably make the readers happy—
Lin Yuan could distinctly feel that whenever he announced a new book, the readers' mood would improve.
This was the best consolation he could think of.
He surely couldn't claim to be a "warrior of love" like Urobuchi did, stating that his "creative purpose is to bring warm, healing stories to everyone," right?
After Lin Yuan posted the message, Jin Mu suddenly looked alarmed: "Boss, how could you do this? Do you realize what your actions are implying?"
The Prince of Lanling being so hated wasn't without reason!
You wrote off Poirot and then immediately sought to replace him in the readers' hearts with a new character?
Are you implying that without the old, the new will not come in?
Will the readers accept it!?
ps: Thank you, Little Dinosaur Loves Fish, for becoming the second Alliance Hierarch, ▄█▀█●. Let's keep writing!