Chapter 20: Proofreading

Undoubtedly, alongside Sherlock Holmes, the detective Hercule Poirot, created by Agatha Christie, stands out as a typical "grim reaper detective," much like the famous "grim reaper schoolboy" Conan Edogawa. He has the attribute of bringing death wherever he goes, encountering murder cases even when traveling or on vacation.

"The Murder on the Orient Express,"

"Death on the Nile,"

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,"

"The ABC Murders,"

...

Poirot has solved countless cases.

Lu said to Cooper, "Let's set aside the matter of the new work for now and wait until the serialization of 'The Adventure of the Empty House' is finished."

Cooper felt a strong itch in his heart but didn't press further. He could only compromise and say, "I hope you will consider submitting to our newspaper, 'The Scottish Herald,' first."

Lu didn't want to make any promises and changed the subject, "Let's go inside."

Only then did Cooper remember the purpose of their visit today: to discuss with Scott how to deal with the formidable Sherlock Holmes.

The three entered the office building together and headed straight for the editor's office.

Scott was so busy that his feet didn't touch the ground. With a pencil in each hand and another in his mouth, he didn't even lift his head, mumbling, "You're here? I don't have time to greet you separately. Please pour your own tea."

His desk was piled high with various news manuscripts:

"Sherlock Holmes Detective Stories" may be reissued;

Baker Street 221B has been bought and will host a large-scale Sherlock Holmes-themed exhibition;

"The Seaside Magazine" is sold out, and there are crowds of protesters on Stran Street;

...

A fictional character could put a newspaper in such a frenzy, indicating the extent of his popularity.

Cooper clicked his tongue, "Tsk..."

Scott, busy behind his desk, heard clearly and said, "I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush. It won't help."

With Sherlock Holmes's triumphant return, novelists were all silent,

what's the use of writing well?

Whether it's a dragon or a tiger, you have to bow to me;

Scott then consoled Lu, "Mr. Lu, hide and bide your time. It's not a good time for 'The Adventure of the Empty House' to come out yet. Alas... I didn't think it through enough. I didn't expect Dr. Doyle to make a move at this time."

At first, he wanted to use Lu's identity as material, but now, he didn't need to think about anything.

Lu waved his hand, "It's okay, it's okay. I was prepared for this."

As he said this, he handed over his manuscript and asked, "Didn't you invite me to submit a social commentary? Do you have time to take a look now?"

Scott hesitated slightly, not expecting Lu to be so quick.

Can this work?

He had doubts in his heart but, having worked with Lu for a long time, knowing Lu's magical abilities, he remained patient.

He glanced through the manuscript and found that the titles of the dozen or so articles were coherent,

"Are you writing social commentaries according to the structure of a book?"

Lu scratched his head.

Originally, he was just copying from a book.

Scott sighed and said, "Well, you're good at writing English novels, but this kind of thing... well..."

He glanced at Lu's manuscript, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

The manuscript began with a story:

On November 16, 1532, the Spaniard Pizarro, leading 168 soldiers, met with the Inca Emperor Atahualpa.

As a result, Pizarro and his men killed 7,000 of the emperor's 80,000-strong entourage and captured the emperor himself, without a single casualty among the Spaniards.

More importantly, such stories didn't just happen once but several times.

In the process of Pizarro conquering the Inca Empire, which had a population of several million, there were four major battles. The number of Spanish soldiers involved in each battle was 80, 30, 110, and 40, respectively, while the enemies they faced numbered in the thousands and tens of thousands, yet they won every time.

Scott felt his blood boiling and his temples throbbing.

168 vs. 80,000,

What a difference in numbers!

Scott concluded that the excitement Pizarro felt when leading a small number of soldiers against an enemy army 450 times their size must have been more exhilarating than charging into bed with a lover, stimulating a hundredfold, a thousandfold.

He raised his head and looked at Lu.

"Is this a fabricated history?"

Lu replied confidently, "No. I used this story mainly to raise the following questions, which are the core questions I intend to answer in this series of articles."

Scott nodded and continued reading. But he never expected that the first viewpoint in the manuscript would give him such a shock:

The vast expanse of the Eurasian continent is home to numerous species, with an absolute advantage in the number and quality of species suitable for cultivation compared to other continents;

The Eurasian continent has a stable climate suitable for cultivating annual grain crops;

The Eurasian continent's longitudinal distance allows for smooth horizontal transmission of grain production, while the Americas are elongated along the latitudes, making it difficult for grains to spread longitudinally;

...

Is this still within the scope of social science research?

Scott was a bit confused.

"Is this geography? Um... maybe ecology? No, it's geography..."

He was starting to lose his coherence and couldn't articulate his thoughts properly.

Lu said, "Mr. Scott, even if you don't read what I've written, it's not difficult to see from the facts that the level of development and civilization in temperate regions is higher than in tropical regions. Of course, there is a premise that the influence of colonization and foreign rule needs to be excluded."

Scott felt this was a bit of a tautology, a case of reversing cause and effect,

but Lu's arguments were very well-founded, and his reasoning was very rigorous, making him somewhat inclined to be persuaded.

With difficulty, he shifted his gaze away from the manuscript.

"Mr. Lu, I had already concluded that you couldn't come up with anything new, but who would have thought that your method of argumentation is completely revolutionary. Compared to you, I am simply a babbling child who is not worthy to judge your articles."

This was not a bit of insincere flattery but completely heartfelt.

Lu felt a little embarrassed. He thought it would be great if there was "Civilization VI," so that Scott could play a few rounds and gain a deeper understanding of "Guns, Germs, and Steel."

He asked, "So, is this manuscript proofread?"

Scott nodded.

"Of course! It's proofread!"

Lu's articles were both popular and scholarly, and they should have been published in academic journals. Submitting them to "The Manchester Guardian" was almost squandering them.

Scott had already decided to start serializing them from tomorrow.

He couldn't help but look at the reports about Sherlock Holmes and suddenly felt them tasteless.