As the name suggested, a 'story meeting' was a gathering for everyone to tell stories.
However, the people gathered in this mansion were probably the best storytellers in the entire history of mankind. It would not be any easier to stand out from this group of people than to land on the moon for the first time.
In fact, the fantasy best-selling female author next to Zhang Heng had become the most profitable author of her time with a series of novels. She had a terrifying net worth of almost seven billion pounds in 18 years. However, her writing skills had not even reached Level 3 yet. She was probably one of the weakest in the room, if not the weakest.
From the looks of it, it was unrealistic for her to leave this place. However, Zhang Heng noticed that the fantasy best-selling female author was eager to give it a try when the story meeting started.
Of course, one could interpret this as the self-confidence of every author. After all, her works had sold like hotcakes. Movies, toys, games, theme parks, and so on. Even if she lacked confidence in herself before, she would be nurtured by the sales figures now.
However, when the story meeting started, Zhang Heng finally understood where the fantasy best-selling female author's confidence came from.
The Hobbit housekeeper walked up to the fireplace and bowed to the group of writers in the room. "Welcome to this month's storytelling session. Before we begin, I would like to introduce a new friend to all of you."
"Zhang Heng. He is a rising star in the literary world. His published works have been well received by readers and critics," the Hobbit housekeeper paused and looked in a certain direction.
The applause was sparse. Other than the fact that no one had heard of this name before, Zhang Heng had chosen his side as soon as he entered the room. At least half of the people in the room did not like him.
Fortunately, the fantasy best-selling female author and the others applauded enthusiastically. That was why the atmosphere was not awkward.
After that, the hobbit housekeeper did not beat around the bush. "When last month's story meeting ended, it was announced that the theme of this month's story is eye-opening. I believe that everyone has prepared their own story. So, who would like to be the first to share?"
Zhang Heng finally understood. It turned out that every story meeting would have a theme that was announced in advance. Then, the authors could write their stories based on this theme for the next month.
The advantage of using this kind of propositional writing method to compete was that the probability of an upset was higher. It did not mean that the author with good writing skills would definitely win. This was because most authors had their own themes that they were good at. If they happened to encounter a theme that they were not good at, then even the strong ones might fail.
On the contrary, like the fantasy best-selling female author, those with weak writing skills would have a higher chance of turning the tables when they encountered a suitable theme.
For example, the theme of eye-opening this time was obviously more inclined to test the author's imagination. The fantasy best-selling female author was famous for her imagination. It was no wonder that she could not wait.
However, she was not the first to go on stage. Instead, it was a French man who looked a bit like Mr. Bean. He wore a jacket and a leather hat on his head, looking as if he had just jumped out of a plane. of dust.
Then, the pilot, whose eyes looked a little melancholy, told a bizarre story he encountered during a flight mission in the first person.
His story didn't have any fancy words, nor did it have any superb rhetorical skills. It was simple language that even a child could easily understand. However, everyone in the room listened attentively, and no one interrupted him.
Everyone even had an illusion that the adult's body was inhabited by the soul of a child. If that was not the case, how could the story he told be so pure and innocent?
After the pilot finished his story and left, many people were still immersed in his fairy tale.
Then, a second person walked up to the stage …
Zhang Heng estimated that there were about a hundred authors in the hall on the first floor. If all one hundred of them went on stage to tell their stories, the story meeting would take at least half a month to end.
However, according to the fantasy best-selling female author, her story meeting would only last for three days at most. Not everyone was in a hurry to leave this place. After all, not everyone had billions of pounds in their bank accounts, especially those authors who did not have much money in their hands.
This place was quite comfortable to stay in. Other than the fact that they could not leave, they could drink, taste all kinds of food, exercise, or do team sports. Basically, as long as one could think of it, they would be satisfied. Some people had even made up their minds to stay here for the rest of their lives.
Zhang Heng saw a man in a shirt, exuding a tough vibe. He sat alone, drinking alone, seemingly uninterested in the story meeting.
Mr. Tough Guy also seemed to notice Zhang Heng's gaze. He looked at Zhang Heng and raised the glass in his hand from a distance.
When the story meeting ended, the fantasy best-selling female author did not win as she had hoped. The final winner was a Frenchman. However, he was not the pilot who went up to the stage first. Regrettably, he lost to his fellow countryman by one point. Instead, he won the story meeting with a science fiction story.
Zhang Heng wasn't surprised. After all, when it came to science fiction, this nineteenth-century French prolific writer was a monument that couldn't be avoided. The eye-opening theme of this story was tailor-made for him.
After the twelve-member jury announced the winner, the hobbit housekeeper stepped forward again, holding an envelope in her hand.
So the group of authors who were still immersed in the ocean of stories were immediately attracted by the small envelope.
The hobbit housekeeper did not keep them in suspense. She opened the envelope neatly. "The theme of the next story meeting is … time."
After that, she turned the letter over and showed it to everyone.
For a moment, some people were happy, while others were worried. Time could be said to be an eternal topic in literary works. Many well-known authors had written related to time as the theme.
However, the more conventional a topic was, the harder it was to write. There were too many good works before, and it was not easy to write something new. Many people were already thinking hard about it.
However, Zhang Heng did not have much of a reaction. The main reason was that with his Lv.0 writing skills, the theme of the story meeting had nothing to do with him. On the other side, the tough man who had been drinking alone stood up, grabbed the leather coat he had taken off not long ago, and walked up to Zhang Heng. "Let's go," he said.
"Where to?"
"Let's go hunting. I know where the forest has the most prey."
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