Chapter 48: Bitter Resentment

Chapter 48: Bitter Resentment

Kuku, the gold-medal junior editor at the Under the Maple Tree E-zine editorial department, currently wore a thoroughly bitter expression.

When she first finished reading the manuscript for *Dragon Clan III*, she had urgently wished for the novel's publication so that countless razor blades could be mailed to that scoundrel author, Teacher Big B, letting Dora-B-Meng truly understand what reader resentment felt like.

However, she had forgotten that ever since he started writing, Dora-B-Meng had never once revealed his personal information to the outside world. Those who wanted to mail razor blades had no proper delivery address and could only send them to the editorial department to vent their dissatisfaction.

Such razor blades certainly did not arrive through official channels. Through legitimate postal services, items like razor blades could never be mailed. Yet, provided no major adverse impact was caused, the editorial department did not involve the police; they simply asked Kuku to mention it to Dora-B-Meng.

As a result, Kuku passed the message along to Dora-B-Meng, and Dora-B-Meng gave her precisely this reply.

Kuku felt that Teacher Big B was truly a scoundrel.

Had he anticipated this very day all along, which was why he steadfastly refused to reveal his identity to his readers?

Editor Kuku thought to herself.

With these thoughts in mind, she typed to Lu Anzhi on QQ: "Master B, haven't you checked Talker? The threads denouncing you are piled ridiculously high. Zhou Bo's new TV drama finishing principal photography didn't even steal your trending spot."

This was entirely normal. After all, Zhou Bo's television series had just wrapped up filming, and official promotions had not yet rolled out. Meanwhile, Lu Anzhi's *Dragon Clan III* had already been generating online buzz for quite some time.

Moreover, the primary battleground for promoting entertainment works was still traditional media. It was completely ordinary for internet-generated trends to be leveled out by other news.

Very soon, she received Lu Anzhi's reply: "Didn't look. Too busy."

Knowing that Lu Anzhi ran a bookstore, Kuku figured that Teacher Big B must have been quite occupied lately, so being too busy was only natural. She typed again: "Do you know what the highest-trending post on Talker is?"

Then, before waiting for Lu Anzhi to comment, she answered her own question and sent another message: "It's a proposal to mail razor blades to you."

She was about to inform Lu Anzhi that someone had also suggested mailing a dead mouse to Dora-B-Meng when she saw Lu Anzhi reply: "Busy, talk later."

Kuku's eyebrows bristled with anger. This Teacher Big B really didn't care at all about his online reputation!

Depressedly closing the QQ chat window and going into stealth mode, Kuku browsed over to Talker.

The popularity of *Dragon Clan III* was exceptionally high, with explosive sales, and bookstores from all over had been calling to reorder the novel. In some regions, copies were completely sold out, while in others, although stock remained, selling out was projected to be effortless; hence, orders poured in continuously, flowing like a rushing stream.

With such popularity and sales figures, Kuku's performance quotas for the year were effectively fulfilled ahead of schedule.

Come to think of it, for the past three years, she had met her targets earlier and better with each passing year.

That was why she could leisurely browse Talker without having to rush to her inbox to collect and read new manuscripts.

With such perks, being infuriated a few more times by Teacher Big B didn't matter at all.

Teacher Big B, be as much of a scoundrel as you like; I shall remain utterly unperturbed!

So Kuku told herself.

It had been a few days since the release of *Dragon Clan III*, and many people had already finished reading the third installment of the series. Discussions about *Dragon Clan III* on Talker were endlessly abundant.

Browsing casually, Kuku caught sight of a thread titled: "As of now, my heart belongs solely to Erii; Nono has already vanished with the wind."

Though Talker functioned somewhat like a forum, it was not strictly one. Most posts here carried the feeling of personal essays.

Kuku clicked inside to read. The post was a lengthy piece written with exceptional literary skill, though the content was somewhat ethereal. The entire text poured out raw emotion, expressing deep feelings for Uesugi Erii, the new character introduced in *Dragon Clan III*, while drawing comparisons to Nono (Chen Motong).

It was decent, but lacked real substance.

Kuku skimmed through the article roughly, then scrolled down to read the comments.

Even though it lacked substance, the emotions expressed in the piece struck a chord with many readers who had also finished *Dragon Clan III*, evoking widespread empathy.

Consequently, the comment section below the post was brimming with replies, long ago surpassing ninety-nine pages.

While there were comments agreeing with the original poster's sentiments, an even greater number were dedicated to denouncing Lu Anzhi.

Reading these denunciations gave Kuku a sense of satisfaction, evoking far more empathy than the main post itself.

That bastard Teacher Big B deserved every bit of condemnation! These readers still weren't harsh enough!

Kuku felt this way as she read through the threads.

Yet, this was simply how things were. The even more intense remarks had undoubtedly already been deleted and silenced by the administrators.

Aside from these emotion-driven posts, discussions regarding *Dragon Clan III* also encompassed plot theories, background speculations—such as Mingfei, Mingze, the White King, and the Black King—and an abundance of other topics.

Among these threads, some were of high quality, featuring lengthy, well-reasoned analytical essays in the original posts. But Kuku had no desire to read any of them.

Right now, she only wanted to read posts roasting Dora-B-Meng to find resonance for her own feelings.

As she scrolled, she suddenly spotted an interesting thread titled: "A scoundrel author like Dora-B-Meng truly deserves a B-shaped blade!"

A B-shaped blade? What on earth was that?

Kuku clicked inside to take a look. The post wasn't a lengthy dissertation; instead, it came with a whole bunch of pictures.

It turned out the original poster was quite the inventor, stating in the thread that he intended to forge a B-shaped blade and mail it to Dora-B-Meng to express his dissatisfaction. The pictures showed the step-by-step process of his craftsmanship.

What's more, it wasn't just a forged blade; he had even attached a tiny loudspeaker hidden inside the hilt. Every time the blade was swung, it would randomly broadcast phrases like "Dora-B-Meng, go die" or "Why won't Dora-B-Meng just go die?"

Kuku's eyes lit up, thinking that netizens were truly talented, and she couldn't help but give the original poster a "like."

To her surprise, however, her identity was quickly recognized, causing this technical thread to draw a crowd of curious onlookers.

...

Come quickly, it's the editor!

Dora-B-Meng's editor, officially verified by Under the Maple Tree!

Hahahahaha, I'm dying of laughter! Dora-B-Meng's editor actually liked this post! Even the editor harbors deep resentment toward this scoundrel author!

The scoundrel author is guilty of heinous crimes!

Come look, there's a fresh editor caught in the wild here.

Editor-in-charge, how does it feel to receive the manuscript? Come out and share your thoughts.

...

Realizing she had stirred up such a commotion, Kuku shrank her neck and closed Talker.

Forget it, forget it. *Dragon Clan III* was already a thing of the past. In any case, Teacher Big B made a fortune, and sipping some soup from her performance bonuses alongside him was already more than enough—why bother caring about the rest?

Once the monthly sales figures came out, she would simply disburse Teacher Big B's royalties according to the proper percentage. For now, she might as well go look at some fresh manuscripts.

What if she happened to unearth a "Little B-Teacher" or an "Old B-Teacher"? Wouldn't that be hitting the jackpot?

With these thoughts, Kuku opened her email inbox, panning for gold amidst a mountain of submissions.

The ultimate result, however, was that no gold was found, leaving Kuku mentally dazed, dizzy, and bleary-eyed.