Fantasy Writers 1860

Dorian couldn't hold back any longer as he read the situation described in Clancy's letter.

He had considered that his work might be criticized, praised, become a hit, or be ignored, but he never imagined that it would be studied and put into practice.

What do you mean someone imitated the plot of my novel, impersonated a wealthy person to swindle people, and even succeeded?!

They only found out now that everyone's run away?

So this world is just a makeshift stage after all.

To make matters worse, Clancy also mentioned in the letter that those who have discovered they have been deceived are now furious and enraged, but the hardcore ruthless man's last known whereabouts were a few days ago when he left Lentinion by train, and they can only vent their anger on the Lentinion Weekly.

The victims are now all insane. They dare not admit that they were fools, so they blame the newspapers, saying that the novel serialized in the Lontinion Weekly "incited" the crime.

Clancy also stated that the newspaper is currently facing a major crisis. If the newspaper is brought down by this outrageous public opinion event, then the outstanding payments will be impossible to make. He earnestly requested Dorian to find a solution.

The letter concluded by saying that some matters could not be explained in a few words and that he hoped Dorian could personally come to the newspaper office to discuss important matters.

"I haven't even seen Lily yet, and now this mess has happened... Can we think of a solution? What else can we do? Call the police, and then deal with whatever comes up..." Dorian took a deep breath, put down the letter, and suddenly remembered that he still had some dealings with Director Lentinion of Scotland Yard.

Although the process was somewhat inexplicable, they did indeed meet once.

The next morning, Dorian asked for a day off from the Academy of Literature, intending to visit the new editorial office of Editor-in-Chief Clancy to see what was not mentioned in the letter and what important matter he wanted to discuss with him.

The atmosphere at the Creative Content Agency was always relaxed, so Dorian's leave application was approved very easily.

Before leaving, he glanced back nervously at the large desk with a typewriter on it, a desk that was always deserted.

Since returning that day, he has never seen Lily again; she's probably off on some mission again.

He's a little unsure how to face her now.

When Dorian returned, he subtly inquired with his colleagues and discovered that none of them seemed to know that Lily occasionally fed the cat.

Dorian, belatedly realizing, then understood that he might have stumbled upon some of his boss's little secrets.

Oh no, is she going to target me now?

Some experiences from my past life instantly surfaced in my mind.

I accidentally caught the project manager eating in the office, which led to my being forced to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In the end, I ended up delivering food and was reassigned to this job.

But after that day, Lily never appeared again, and he couldn't be sure of her attitude. He spent a few more days in unease.

Then I received another letter from Editor-in-Chief Clancy, and another troublesome matter arose.

After leaving the Academy of Arts and Sciences, Dorian took a public carriage to 114 Lambeth Riverside Square in the Tannhäuser district, only to find the entrance crowded with a bustling crowd.

There aren't any shops here, so why are there so many people?

Dorian, who had been somewhat curious, got out of the car and saw the sign they were holding:

"We strongly protest against the Lentinion Weekly for inciting crime!"

"We demand compensation from the newspaper for our losses!"

"Shut down this harmful newspaper!"

A large crowd had gathered at the main entrance, and inside, a human wall of police officers was blocking the angry mob from rushing in.

Dorian shrank back, thankful that he was dressed rather plainly today.

Although he knew that none of the angry crowd recognized him, he instinctively went around to the side of the building to find an inconspicuous back door.

The back door was ajar. Dorian pushed it open and, guided by the editor, arrived at Clancy's office.

He saw two people he would never have expected sitting in front of Editor-in-Chief Clancy:

"Detective Inspector Rider? Captain Lily? What are you doing here?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you too!" Inspector Leeds was equally surprised.

Lily remained calm as always, except that her silk hat seemed to sway slightly again.

Dorian gradually noticed that Lily's face was always expressionless, like she had a blank expression, but her top hat would always sway slightly when a normal person should have shown emotional fluctuations.

And that hat was usually as if it were welded to her head, it didn't budge even during the fierce battle with Blackwood.

Could this hat be Lily's true form?

Dorian sat down on the empty sofa in the office. "Editor-in-Chief Clancy, what's going on? Why are all the Scotland Yard inspectors here?"

"Let's make a long story short," Editor-in-Chief Clancy's face grew increasingly grim. "There's more than one copycat. Several copycats have appeared in different regions in the past few days. Some have cheated a lot, some have cheated a little. The letter only mentions... the one in the most dangerous situation."

"At first I thought it was some other newspaper that was jealous of our achievements and was deliberately stirring up trouble to mess with us, but Inspector Leeds and this lady showed me another possibility..."

"The Immaculate Dawn Order," Inspector Reid added. "We suspect this, like the previous theater bombing, is their doing."

Was the Mayfair Theater explosion related to the Immaculate Dawn Order?

Wait, what exactly is this Order of the Immaculate Dawn?

Did I miss reading a few chapters?

Dorian shook his head, clearing his jumbled thoughts, and continued listening.

"As far as we know, that conman Samuel spread false 'insider information' everywhere and charged low fees, even managing to swindle three members of parliament. Then, four days ago, he took the ill-gotten gains and disappeared overnight at King's Cross Station in St. James's District..."

Four days ago? King's Cross Station, St. James's District?

Why does this time and place feel so familiar?

He turned his head slightly to look at Lily.

The latter remained expressionless, but the silk top hat trembled slightly.

Could he be the rich guy who booked the entire first-class carriage that day?

If it really is him, then it means he's not a tycoon at all, but a criminal imitating the plot of his own novel.

"Detective, I have a lead to report! I saw him at King's Cross Station in St. James's four days ago!"

"You've seen him?" Inspector Lesder asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, we met once, back then I..."

Dorian briefly recounted what happened that day, and Lily also testified that she was at King's Cross Station in St. James's District that day, and had stayed there with Dorian for a day because of that incident.

"I've written down your description; it's a very important clue." Inspector Reid closed his notebook, which contained a brief sketch he had drawn based on Dorian's description.

"Getting back to the point, how did an unemployed man who spent his days doing odd jobs at the docks and harbors and occasionally stealing small items suddenly manage to perfectly deceive so many people, even a councilor?"

"Why did so many similar copycat crimes occur simultaneously across the city? Was it really just because of the novel 'The Millionaire's List'? Why would so many people, so far apart and strangers to each other, have the same thought at the same time?"

"Perhaps someone is deliberately using this novel as a cover to conceal their true purpose..."