Fantasy Writers 1860

Dorian felt a bit surprised. He hadn't expected the Lentinian Weekly to spread so quickly. In just one day, it seemed to have become known all over the world and was everywhere.

Although no one knew that he was Mr. Hakimi, it was still too shameful to read his own writing aloud in public like this.

It was practically like a public execution.

After a slight pause, Dorian still forced himself to continue reading:

"A foreign journalist interviews a Britannian citizen..."

Upon hearing the opening title "Mr. Hakimi," everyone consciously quieted down, preparing to listen attentively to just how funny the "funniest joke" they had heard from various sources during the day really was.

After the first joke was finished, the tavern remained silent, and the hissing sound of the gas lamps on the walls seemed particularly jarring.

Dorian stopped reading and did not continue.

This reaction is wrong.

Why isn't anyone smiling?

Was the joke not as funny as I had imagined, or did I read it poorly and fail to make everyone understand?

The scene suddenly became awkward, and the silence in the air made Dorian feel a little uneasy.

The silence didn't last long; just four or five seconds later, a burst of unrestrained laughter suddenly rang out.

"I see, that's so true..."

"What do you understand? I don't understand."

"Fool, does this mean our happiness only exists in the newspapers? If we didn't read the newspapers, we wouldn't even know how 'happy' we are..."

"Explaining the punchline of a joke is the dumbest thing you can do..."

"So that's what you mean? Well, you're absolutely right! Those newspapers are always talking about how many more colonies the empire has conquered and how many more warships it has launched. What does that have to do with us?"

"Hey, this Mr. Hakimi is really something!"

After careful consideration, the other listeners gradually realized what was going on, and the laughter in the tavern exploded like a powder keg being lit, filling the place with a joyful atmosphere.

After the laughter subsided, someone urged, "Young man, keep reading! Any more? One more!" Dorian breathed a sigh of relief, stood still, cleared his slightly hoarse voice, and continued reading:

"A man casually remarked on the street, 'The king is a fool,' and was arrested by the police and sentenced to life imprisonment..."

He quickly finished reading all the jokes and, as instructed by his boss, skipped the boring news and comments, reading down the serialized novels and some gossip stories.

Serialized novels and gossip stories are usually very popular, and when Dorian got into character, he added some intonation, imitated the tone of the characters in the novel, and deliberately paused at suspenseful parts, etc., according to his own understanding. The overall effect was quite good and brought the whole atmosphere to life.

Even so, everyone seemed somewhat listless and disappointed today.

"What's going on? Why do I feel like this week's novels are no good?"

"That young man clearly reads better than everyone else, but why does it still feel like he's lacking something..."

"I don't know, I don't remember anything after that, I just remember the jokes, like giving the councilors a hundred gold pounds, tsk tsk, I wish I had a hundred gold pounds..."

"One hundred? You're too greedy, Joel. I'd be perfectly content with 50 gold pounds if some kind soul could give me that..."

"I once heard an old gentleman say that what you're doing is called malicious price-cutting, vicious competition..."

Hearing the conversation of the workers sitting to his right, Dorian was suddenly jolted, and a thought flashed through his mind.

The Million Pound Note

In its original form, it was a novella published in 1893, a classic work featured in both Chinese and English textbooks, but its humorous satire of materialism transcends time and national boundaries.

Moreover, the premise is quite appealing. The story begins with an ordinary protagonist receiving a million-dollar bill, followed by a series of exhilarating developments, giving off a strong "it's fantasy time" vibe.

After all, who hasn't fantasized about getting rich overnight?

For the general public, it can be seen as a lighthearted read; for thoughtful and insightful readers, it is also full of satire on materialism and reflections on the social phenomena it has caused. It is accessible to all, and everyone can find something they want to read.

Back then, in English class, the teacher even showed a movie adapted from this novel. It differed slightly from the original work, but it was still a good adaptation that expanded on the content of the original.

Therefore, Dorian did not intend to copy it exactly as it was, but rather to incorporate interesting elements from the film version into the original work.

Today's trip was definitely worthwhile; it's true that you really need to go out and explore to find inspiration...

How about changing the super-strong mute character to a super-strong beautiful girl? Wouldn't that be a bit cliché, especially since the main character already has a love interest...?

Dorian had already begun to think about how to start writing. Watching the others in the tavern chatting leisurely, he chuckled, put the crumpled newspaper back on the table, picked up his glass, and downed it.

"Why is this wine tasteless? It's like water," Dorian muttered to himself after taking a sip.

In an instant, all the chatter ceased, and the entire tavern became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Boss, did you hear that? This kid says your wine has no flavor!"

"This young man is quite arrogant for his age, complaining that it's tasteless!"

"Boss, you can't stand this? Fill his cup to the brim! Put it on my tab!"

Dorian smiled as he felt the enthusiastic atmosphere around him.

……

After an unknown amount of time, Dorian emerged from the tavern nonchalantly and found that it was already pitch black.

Behind him, a large number of people in the tavern had already passed out drunk, and almost none of them were sober.

What a joke! Back when I was working on construction sites, I was constantly having dinners with owners, supervisors, designers, colleagues, friends, project leaders, team bosses, and contractors. We drank 50-60 proof liquor like water and drank beer by the case. I'm already a seasoned alcoholic.

The alcohol content here is still too low.

Walking on the rough stone slabs, the gas lamps on both sides of the street provided a dim light source, barely enough to see the road.

With the slightly chilly autumn wind blowing, Dorian's already not-so-drunk mind became even more clear.

"stop!"

Just then, Dorian heard someone shout loudly behind him.

Before he could even turn around to see what had happened, the gaslights around him shattered with a "bang."

The boundless darkness instantly swallowed everything.