I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 166 The “Paradise Lost” Phenomenon!
Death is the final outcome that everyone must experience.

Some people fear death, some look forward to death, and some wait for death.

Life and death have always been the oldest, most moving, and most difficult themes to write about in literary history.

The final chapter of the second half of Paradise Lost.

At the beginning of the story, Muramatsu Tomoshi secretly went to various pharmacies as an associate professor of medicine to inquire about the sales of potassium cyanide.

Next door, the most well-known poison is arsenic trioxide, commonly known as arsenic trioxide.

Its chemical name is arsenic trioxide.

People who often commit suicide should know that arsenic is impure arsenic trioxide. It is relatively mildly toxic, with a lethal dose for humans of about 0.07 grams to 0.3 grams.

In modern times, cyanide has gradually replaced arsenic and become the "suicide weapon" more favored by suicide victims.

The reason why cyanide replaced arsenic as the poison of choice in the 20th century is that it has a very rapid onset and a high mortality rate.

The poisoned person no longer has to endure the relatively long death process like arsenic poisoning. This is the best choice whether it is used for suicide or homicide!
Muramatsu Tomoshi and the other man quickly figured out the pharmacology and attack mechanism of cyanide.

After taking a lethal dose of potassium cyanide, death can be achieved in just a few stages:
Stage 1: Potassium cyanide is alkaline, it will directly irritate the mucous membrane, causing irritation. Soon your breathing will speed up and deepen, accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue and headache.

If taken orally, the tip of the tongue will feel numb.

Stage 2: The period of breathing difficulties, increased blood pressure, and because tissues cannot utilize oxygen, venous oxygen saturation increases, causing the skin and mucous membranes to turn cherry red.

Stage 3: convulsions, coma, respiratory failure.

Stage 4: Muscles throughout the body begin to relax, symptoms such as cardiac arrest and multiple organ failure appear, and death occurs rapidly.

"This is still too slow. And I can't stand the disgusting state of my body turning cherry red."

Rinko said this to Muramatsu Tomoshi.

The same goes for Muramatsu Tomoshi.

He hoped to die, but could not accept dying like this.

But soon, they got the most perfect answer——

The bodies of people who died from taking regular doses of cyanide are likely to have bright red livor mortis all over the body, and the tissues and blood will also be bright red.

As for the bodies of people who died of acute cardiac arrest caused by taking an overdose of cyanide, the moment of death is usually within a few seconds, and only the heart attacked by cyanide will stop suddenly.

As for other parts, because the cyanide has not yet spread, these organs will still show amazing vitality even after a person dies!
This is how they wanted to die.

In the most extreme happiness for the two of them, they died together in the quickest way, never to be separated.

To die in satisfaction amidst splendor, vividness and intensity, this is the "blissful" act they long for!
Seeing this, whether it is Yoshiaki Kobayashi, other members of the crew, or readers all over Japan who are reading the final chapter of "Paradise Lost" at the same time.

Everyone was infected by the strange emotions they showed in Hide Kitagawa's writing.

The feeling is particularly intense because I know they were real people who once existed.

Many novels like to use death as their theme, and this is not the first time that Hide Kitagawa has written a novel related to suicide.

The previous book, "No Longer Human," which was popular all over Japan and has sold more than 300 million copies to date, is a top novel on this subject.

But "Paradise Lost" is the first novel that meticulously depicts the psychological changes of suicide victims and those who commit suicide for love, as well as the process of pursuing suicide!
This is so immersive and so despairing!

Just as Tomomi Muramatsu said in the novel.

"In Japan, there are endless books on the meaning of life and how to live, but there are almost no books discussing the meaning and methods of suicide."

"It's such a bad society, such a repressive country, but everyone pretends to be happy, as if our life and future are so colorful."

"But if life is so happy, why do so many people commit suicide? I heard that the suicide hotline is always open 24 hours a day. Are those who call for help joking?"

Sentence after sentence from the depths of the soul not only makes readers empathize, but also shocks some literary giants who are reading "Paradise Lost".

The Tanizaki Prize was ultimately not awarded to Kitagawa Hide because the number of books he wrote was small, the depth was insufficient, and the novels were not groundbreaking compared to his previous works.

Kitagawa Hide has now slapped them in the face with a groundbreaking novel.

After seeing this, those literary celebrities who had denied Kitagawa Hide's writing ability were so ashamed that they could no longer make such sarcastic remarks.

There are countless real cases, but there are only a few authors who can bring them to life in books and make readers empathize with them.

There is no doubt that Kitagawa Hide is such an author.

in the novel.

Muramatsu Tomoshi determined the method of death and quickly obtained a dose of potassium cyanide sufficient to quickly poison ten people.

This is another small irony of Japan.

You keep admonishing people not to commit suicide and to embrace life.

However, this poison that can easily kill people is so easy to get.

The noisy members of Congress argue endlessly every day, but they can't even solve such a simple issue.

"This is really..." Kimura Takuya looked at the newspaper and couldn't help but secretly glanced at Kudo Shizuka who was also quietly reading a novel beside him.

Shizuka Kudo was already a very popular singer in the early 90s, and he loved listening to her songs.

However, later, with the gradual retirement of Akina Nakamori and Seiko Matsuda and the rise of new singers such as Izumi Sakai, her influence in the music scene gradually declined.

This is also the reason why Shizuka Kudo wants to switch to the film and television industry.

When reading novels, Takuya Kimura couldn't help but compare Rinko Matsubara and Shizuka Kudo.

They are all elegant and beautiful women. If it were Shizuka Kudo, she would also choose this
He shook his head, unable to continue thinking like this.

Mr. Kitagawa's novels seem to have an indescribable magic.

In order to film "No Longer Human", he specially read the original novel several times. This time it was "Paradise Lost", and he felt that his whole mental state was not right.

It seemed like he was getting closer and closer to Ohba Yezo! He shook his head and found that some people around him had finished reading the novel, and then they seemed to be decadent, and they just collapsed there, motionless.

And it seems that the older you get, the more susceptible you are to the influence of Paradise Lost.

So what is the ending?

Kimura Takuya continued reading.

On the eve of the day of death, Muramatsu Tomoshi and the two agreed to separate and end their last ties.

Rinko probably went to visit her father's grave secretly, and then went to see her mother.

Muramatsu Tomoshi had no idea where Rinko had gone, and the two of them tacitly did not ask each other.

He went to see his ex-wife who had been dissatisfied with his transfer and had never been understanding of him.

His only daughter has grown up and is about to graduate from college and enter society.

My daughter has admired him since she was young because he is an editor of a large publishing house and a practitioner in the literary field.

His daughter told him that she wanted to become a great writer like Mr. Kitagawa.

He was very pleased and replied: "That's great, Mr. Beichuan is a great writer. If...if there is a chance, I hope he can write my story into a book."

Probably in her rebellious phase, my daughter rolled her eyes and laughed, “That must be boring.”

Then there's the ex-wife.

The woman in his memory, who was not presentable and could not compare to Rinko at all, gave him a sweater she had knitted herself before they parted for the last time.

Is this a habit of being a wife?

Or does she actually can't bear to leave herself?

Or is it a final farewell gift?
Muramatsu Tomoshi couldn't tell the difference.

For a moment, he felt as if the personality of his ex-wife in his memory was different from what he knew.

If I admit my mistake now and say I want to go back, will she agree?

Unfortunately it was too late.

The packet of potassium cyanide in his shirt pocket was reminding him that it was time to die.

He was about to say, "I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble," but just as he was about to say it, he suddenly felt it was meaningless and just looked at the mother and daughter and whispered, "Take care!"

He wanted to say it as if nothing had happened, but he felt sad inside. He lowered his eyes and opened the door. Suddenly, his daughter Zhijia shouted from behind, "Don't go."

He turned around and saw his ex-wife looking away, while Chika was staring at him with a look on her face as if she was about to cry.

He still chose to leave.

Kudo Shizuka turned the page of the newspaper.

It turns out that the last person Rinko visited was her ex-husband. Although she only saw him from a distance, her emotions collapsed in an instant.

She didn't tell Muramatsu Tomoshi about this.

The two concealed the truth from each other, and neither knew until their death that the other had deeply regretted this step.

"This is a completely different story from Border. It feels more real, touching, and more heartbreaking."

Shizuka Kudo is a sentimental girl, and she couldn't help but shed tears.

After saying their final goodbyes, the two returned to their home in Yamanashi Prefecture.

Rinko whispered to him, "Don't you regret it?"

"No regrets," he replied.

"Your life." She looked at him and suddenly sighed.

"Although I've been through a lot, it's great to meet you in the end." He said with a smile.

"I have no regrets either. I'm so lucky to have met you." She also laughed.

"call--"

Kobayashi Yoshiaki closed the newspaper, but couldn't help but open it and take another look. Then he opened and closed it, opened and closed it, opened and closed it, over and over again.

The reason he did this was that he didn't want to finish reading Paradise Lost.

Because after reading it, it means that the two people in the book are really dead.

It was not until he saw the two cold autopsy reports in the postscript that his mood plummeted to the bottom.

What a great book!
What a great story.
I really don't want to watch it again.
The entire shooting scene was filled with a depressing and gloomy atmosphere.

"Director, are we going to start shooting now?" Seeing that he had finished reading the newspaper, deputy director Shunji Iwai ran over and asked in a low voice.

Kobayashi Yoshiaki couldn't utter the word "OK" in his throat.

He hesitated for a long time, then used all his strength to stand up and said to Iwai Shunji: "Let's take a day off today. Iwai-san, please help notify everyone. I need to take a break."

He wants to go home now to see his wife and daughter.

He was not the only one who thought the same way.

At this time, Tokyo, Japan seemed to be in a state of paralysis.

Mori Tetsutaro, who keenly observed this, immediately wrote down a new word in his notebook:

The "Paradise Lost" phenomenon.

This was the title of his next literary review!
(End of this chapter)