The Great Fire of Dou Po

"You've been talking about that contract with Cook for half a month now. How's the novel selling?"

"Not bad. It's doing decently among new releases, but I can't compare to established authors yet."

"Kid, be grateful! This is your first book, and you've already got results like this. What more do you want? To actually compete with authors who've been at it for years?"

"Of course! I'm Sheriff Marcus's junior, after all. If I can't beat them, wouldn't I be letting you down?"

"You little brat..."

In the passenger seat of the patrol car, Li Congxin was chatting and laughing with Sheriff Marcus of the Manhattan Police Department.

As the saying goes, it's good to have friends in high places—even in the Marvel version of America.

As luck would have it, the squad on duty today was led by Marcus. When he realized the person involved was Li Congxin, his focus immediately shifted from the street brawl to how serious Li Congxin's injuries were.

As for those thugs, who clearly had records, they'd bolted the moment the sirens sounded.

With Li Congxin as the sole witness and a friend of Sheriff Marcus, who was going to argue with his version of events?

And so, Li Congxin became both a victim of New York City's poor public safety and a good citizen who fought off criminals. After a quick bandage job by medics at the station, Sheriff Marcus personally drove him home—treatment fit for a prince.

If those thugs had seen this, would they have second-guessed calling 911?

"I suggest you buy a car. At the very least, don't take shortcuts through those shady alleys. New York's public safety..." As they reached Li Congxin's building, Marcus couldn't help but add a warning, but his position didn't really qualify him to complain about public safety issues, so he just cleared his throat and said, "Stay safe."

"Thanks for the reminder, Uncle Marcus. I will." Li Congxin agreed readily, but what he'd actually do, he didn't say.

Would he buy a car? Stay safe? Or keep taking those shady alleys?

After saying goodbye to Marcus and heading upstairs, Li Congxin glanced at the system interface, where his Impression Points had skyrocketed by several hundred. He already had his answer.

When profit was the motive, American efficiency could be counted on.

After signing the contract for Doupo Cangqiong, it took the publisher just one week to handle cover design, advertising, layout, printing, and all the prep work. By Monday of the second week, it was on sale in bookstores across the city.

But because the initial promotion was rushed, and Li Congxin was a complete newcomer, sales for the first two days were just so-so—nothing like the dominance Doupo should have shown.

However, starting on the third day, Doupo Cangqiong's sales shot up sharply. By the time the first week's stats came out, it had crushed other new authors by a wide margin and was even threatening to match established ones.

By the second week, that threat became reality. Doupo Cangqiong sold 100,000 copies, landing it in the middle of the bestseller list. That was a solid foothold in the American literary scene—especially since the rankings included all books released in the same period, not just novels.

For example, the latest issue of Playboy magazine was also in the running!

If you counted only novel sales, Doupo Cangqiong was already a standout.

As for why sales hit exactly 100,000 copies—no more, no less?

That wasn't a coincidence. It was because the publisher had only printed 100,000 copies!

The first volume of Doupo Cangqiong sold out by Friday of the second week, missing the weekend prime time slot and hurting its sales. Back home, the publisher would have had workers overtime to meet demand.

But this was America—a country that officially preached "freedom and democracy," where workers' rights were fiercely protected.

Overtime?

Ha!

Not happening!

Still, this accidentally played into the idea of hunger marketing.

Suddenly, following Doupo Cangqiong became trendy, especially among teenagers, where the trend was unstoppable. With the school year starting, owning a copy of Doupo Cangqiong was bragging rights among classmates.

During breaks, conversations revolved around Doupo Cangqiong—"Don't bully the youth for being poor," "Fen Jue," "Karma Fire Red Lotus," "Terrifying as such"—became catchphrases. Those who'd read it could show off; those who hadn't could only listen like ducks hearing thunder.

And those duck-hearing classmates weren't about to take it lying down. But since the books were sold out, they could only save up their cash and swear silently: when the next volume comes out, I'll be first in line for a deluxe hardcover, just to shut you braggarts up!

In a bar in Manhattan, two youths who looked like Quicksilver and a fat kid were chatting about Doupo Cangqiong.

One of them, a black-haired youth resembling Quicksilver, suddenly spoke up: "Hey, you two ever thought about becoming superheroes?"

The other, a blond Quicksilver lookalike, immediately shook his head: "Whoa, Dave, you're crazy! Where'd you get that idea? Doupo Cangqiong is just a story—don't take it too seriously. Besides, 'Xiao' isn't exactly a traditional superhero."

Dave, the "black-haired Quicksilver," shook his head seriously: "I know. But I see a brave, persistent heart in him. I believe that's what it takes to be a superhero."

The chubby kid sitting nearby couldn't help chiming in: "Oh, Dave. I'd advise you to drop that unrealistic idea. Our society is nothing like what's in the book!"

Hearing both friends oppose him, Dave shook his head helplessly: "Too bad Clark isn't here. He'd be on my side."

The blond Quicksilver nodded: "That guy's been hitting the gym and learning Eastern martial arts lately. He does look like he's gunning to be a superhero. But from what I know, he started working out at the start of summer break, and the kung fu lessons began before Doupo Cangqiong came out."

The black-haired Quicksilver said nothing more, but a glint of determination shone in his eyes.

"Peter!" Meanwhile, in a house in Queens, Ben Parker opened the door and called out for his beloved nephew.

Soon, a boy who looked about seven or eight came running out of his room, saying, "Uncle Ben, you're back!"

"Peter, look what I brought you!" Ben pulled a hardcover copy of Doupo Cangqiong from his backpack and waved it in front of Peter.

Young Peter's eyes lit up. He jumped for joy, grabbed the book from Ben, and couldn't contain his excitement: "This is so cool! Uncle Ben, you know how awesome the kids in my class who have this book act at school?"

"Thirty years east, thirty years west—don't bully the youth for being poor!"

"I, Peter Parker, will also become a man of iron integrity like Xiao in the future!"

On a bench in some nameless small town, a middle-aged man in a black suit, holding a walking cane, set down the copy of Doupo Cangqiong he had been reading and murmured to himself, "Who would have thought that human subjective initiative could harbor such immense potential, even capable of defying fate and changing one's destiny?"

Shaking his head, he clearly found the notion of "defying fate and changing destiny" quite unconvincing.

But after glancing again at the closed Doupo Cangqiong, he shook his head once more and muttered, "Though it cannot defy fate and change destiny, it can improve work efficiency. That being the case, that youth named Johnny is not the best choice..."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man stood up and strode toward the direction of New York City.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched his shadow long, but if anyone looked closely, they would surely notice that his shadow did not match his gentlemanly appearance—it looked more like a hunched demon!

Situations like Dave's and Peter's were unfolding all over New York City, but most people were just watching the excitement. The few hot-headed fools who actually aspired to become superheroes because of a novel were few and far between.

Starting in the third week, the publishing house immediately swung into action, halting all other work that could be paused and pouring resources into the printing of Doupo Cangqiong. The publisher, overjoyed at this week's sales data, directly gave Cook a bonus and instructed him to keep in touch with Li Congxin. If he could finalize the publishing rights for Doupo Cangqiong, he would be promoted to editor-in-chief!

At the same time, the publisher seized the opportunity to sign contracts with other publishing houses, borrowing their resources to expand the print volume.

From early Monday morning, the second batch of Doupo Cangqiong went on sale, and every major bookstore was packed to capacity.

When the third week's sales figures came out, the results stunned everyone. Doupo Cangqiong sold over 3.4 million copies, becoming the second-best-selling book in New York City for that period, trailing only Playboy magazine.

And the craze for Doupo Cangqiong was just beginning!

With the hot sales of the new book, Li Congxin also harvested a massive amount of Impression Points. After adding them to a few BGM tracks, his system attributes became...

BGM Already Unlocked:

Code
"Calories"
Level: 6 (0/1000000)
Effect: Increases exercise efficiency by 60%, and reduces exercise-related consumption and damage by 60%.

"A Man Should Better Himself"
Level: 4 (0/1000000)
Effect: Maintains calm and composure in battle, while boosting combat awareness by 80%!

"Chinese Kung Fu"
Level: 4 (0/1000000)
Effect: Increases the speed of mastering combat techniques by 80%!

Impression Points Balance: 13265