ROSGT ### Chapter 109: What’s Wrong with This World?
### Volume 1
### Chapter 109: What’s Wrong with This World?
In the editor-in-chief's office of *Serial Picture Weekly*, the editor-in-chief felt exceptionally refreshed today. He had vented his frustration on *Comic King* on television last night, which left him feeling particularly satisfied, making for a peaceful night's sleep.
“Such garbage comics deserve this treatment!” the editor-in-chief thought scornfully.
Entering his office, he turned on the desktop light-brain on his desk and instructed the intelligent program to automatically retrieve information about *Comic King*. As he started browsing, he was still thinking, “After my comments last night, people must have realized the true nature of *Comic King* by now. Serial comics are far more artistic. Everyone should hurry back to the embrace of true art!”
As he began browsing the related news and posts, the editor-in-chief’s expression turned increasingly shocked.
One post read: “After watching *Urban Topics* last night and hearing the editor-in-chief talk about *Comic King*, the story of *Dragon Ball* sounds so interesting. Does anyone know where I can buy this magazine? I definitely want to check it out.”
A popular Weibo post: “I love Sakuragi Hanamichi! I didn’t even know someone had created such a unique character. I have to thank the serial comic magazine’s editor-in-chief!”
A forum comment: “Where can I buy *Comic King*? I must get a copy. The stories sound so intriguing after what the editor-in-chief said.”
The editor-in-chief’s face darkened gradually.
What infuriated him even more was a comment he saw: “The editor-in-chief of *Serial Picture Weekly* is clearly advertising for *Comic King*. Confirmed!”
“Who’s advertising for that garbage magazine!? This is slander! Absolute, blatant slander!” The editor-in-chief felt like he was having a heart attack. He couldn't help but lament, “The world has gone crazy! How can garbage like comics be so popular!?”
The editor-in-chief felt furious all day. However, he was old enough to know how to control his emotions. By the afternoon, his rage had subsided a bit.
“Comics are just a novelty. People will get tired of them soon enough,” he consoled himself.
Just before the end of the workday, his assistant secretary knocked on his door.
“What is it?” the editor-in-chief asked calmly.
“Chief, I wanted to report today’s sales figures for our latest issue…” the assistant whispered.
Today was Wednesday, the release day for the new issue of *Serial Picture Weekly*. Sales figures were usually stable, with an average circulation of 800,000 copies per issue. On the release day, they typically sold about 400,000 copies. The assistant wouldn’t normally report these figures, so what was going on?
The editor-in-chief had a thought. Could it be that his comments on the TV show had sparked interest, causing *Comic King*'s sales to soar?
“What's the sales figure?” he asked, smiling.
“Sales are lower than usual…” the assistant continued.
“Lower?” The editor-in-chief was taken aback. “How much lower?”
“By 10,000 copies,” the assistant replied.
Upon hearing this, the editor-in-chief sighed in relief. “Just 10,000 copies, that fluctuation is normal.”
“But…” the assistant hesitated, “I checked the sales records of bookstores and newsstands nationwide and found that sales in other regions didn’t drop significantly. Only sales in the Yanjing area dropped by over 10,000 copies.”
“Only the Yanjing area?” the editor-in-chief was puzzled. Why would this happen?
*Serial Picture Weekly* usually sold 70,000 copies in the Yanjing area, with 30,000 to 40,000 copies sold on the release day. Losing 10,000 copies was much more serious.
The assistant glanced at the editor-in-chief and cautiously reminded him, “Chief, *Urban Topics* only airs in the Yanjing area…”
“What!” The editor-in-chief suddenly realized that the sales drop in Yanjing was due to his appearance on *Urban Topics*. Many people abandoned *Serial Picture Weekly* and turned to *Comic King* instead.
Understanding the cause, the editor-in-chief was even more confused: “How is this possible? I clearly criticized *Comic King* harshly last night. Why are so many people still interested? What’s wrong with this world!?”
He felt this was beyond comprehension, his face growing darker.
The assistant had one more blow to deliver. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to speak: “Chief, there’s one more thing to report.”
“What is it?” the editor-in-chief asked weakly. Could there be worse news than declining sales?
It turned out there could be.
“*Comic King* printed an additional 50,000 copies this morning. Their magazine is primarily sold in the Yanjing area. By noon, it was on the shelves, and by now, it’s sold over 20,000 copies…” the assistant said.
His words clearly implied that the sales drop in *Serial Picture Weekly* had transferred to *Comic King*. Some of the original readers of *Serial Picture Weekly* had turned to *Comic King*.
“How could this happen?” The editor-in-chief was dumbfounded.
He knew many readers only bought one magazine a week. Those who originally chose *Serial Picture Weekly* might now prefer *Comic King*, abandoning *Serial Picture Weekly*.
But why would they abandon *Serial Picture Weekly*?
He felt he had never encountered something so incomprehensible in his life. Despite his severe criticism on the show, *Comic King*'s appeal only seemed to grow.
This defied all logic!
The editor-in-chief dismissed the assistant, muttering to himself, “What’s wrong with this world… What’s wrong with this world…”
Quickly, he found a justification.
“It’s just novelty! People were curious because of what I said yesterday, so they bought *Comic King* out of curiosity. Once they realize it’s not good, they’ll return to *Serial Picture Weekly*.”
This was his self-consolation.
But…
A few days later, the second issue of *Comic King* was released. The magazine was on the shelves in bookstores and newsstands in the morning, and sales figures were available by the evening.
“The second issue printed 80,000 copies. From noon until now, they’ve sold…”
The assistant looked at the figures in his hand, then at the editor-in-chief: “In one day, they sold 45,000 copies! Based on this, their sales in the Yanjing area could reach 90,000 copies!”
Ninety thousand copies in the Yanjing area!
*Serial Picture Weekly* used to sell 70,000 copies in Yanjing!
“So many people are buying it…”
The editor-in-chief was even more disheartened. Browsing the news, he saw nothing but praise for *Comic King*, which made him feel even worse.
He tried to calm himself.
“Let’s see how our sales look on Wednesday.”
Two days later.
The latest issue of *Serial Picture Weekly* was released. That evening, the editor-in-chief received the sales figures.
Previously, the first-day sales were between 30,000 to 40,000 copies.
This time—
“First-day sales in the Yanjing area dropped to… 19,000 copies!?”
The editor-in-chief almost screamed.
The first-day sales usually accounted for half of the total issue's sales.
Nineteen thousand copies meant the total sales in the Yanjing area would be less than 40,000 copies.
A drop of over 30,000 copies from the usual 70,000!
“What… What’s wrong with this world!?” The editor-in-chief exclaimed again.
*Comic King* was only sold in the Yanjing area. If its sales spread nationwide, surpassing *Serial Picture Weekly*'s 800,000 copies per issue dominance would be easy!
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