CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 46: TRAPPED

It wasn’t just different; it was extremely different.

This world and the other world had developed in completely dissimilar ways, and novels were no exception. Compared to his previous life, the development of novels in this world seemed to have taken a different path. In his previous life, after Martial World came Immortal World, followed by major genres like "Mystic Fantasy" and so on, with "Supernatural" as a subsequent major genre—all traceable. From a Western perspective, the Western fantasy market was then divided. If one were to say the general direction was similar in this world, the details were different. Martial World literature had existed since the Ming, Qing, and Republic of China periods, a traditional old-school genre in both worlds, but what followed was different. In this world, following Martial World, two major categories also branched out. One was "Divine Path," which initially expanded from traditional myths combined with Martial World writing styles. The content basically took myths as the backdrop, adding some Martial World narrative structure. Overall, it resembled his previous life’s Immortal World but with fewer of the ethereal, fantastical elements and more human conflict. It diminished the vast Immortal World background and enhanced detailed portrayal, leaning more towards Martial World’s tales of love and hate. Another major category was "Powerful Martial Arts," comparable to the other world’s "Mystic Fantasy." It was still set against a Martial World backdrop but blended concepts from "Divine Path" without being based on myths, instead creating a fresh and original array of bizarre universes. The rest were somewhat similar: "Urban" was absent, replaced by "Modern." "Military" existed in both, unsurprisingly. Moreover, the "Western" category seemed more like Western narratives similar to Hollywood love stories, encompassing a hundred-year span of Western timelines, with every type of genre included. "Western martial" was similar to "Western Fantasy," still based on Western myths, with the mainstream focused around sects. "Detective" was simpler, very clear at a glance, nothing much to discuss.

After reviewing the general information, Chu Tian felt somewhat bewildered. In his previous life, he loved reading novels during his leisure time when he was young. He was very familiar with them. His last production was adapted from a novel IP, for which he had delved deeply into understanding. The *Candle in the Tomb* series, for example, was a very well-known and famous IP. It was definitely recognized by insiders, and he had even watched adaptations of it during his childhood. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to call it timeless. But this damn thing is "Mystery"! If not that, couldn’t it at least be "Supernatural"? So, where should it be placed in this world? "Detective"? A bunch of tomb robbers solving what case? "Powerful Martial Arts"? "Martial World"? None seem suitable. It surely can’t be put into "History," can it? If all else failed, should it be placed in "Modern"?

Chu Tian agonized over it for a while. In the end, he had no choice but to select "Modern." There was no help for it. He wasn’t a staff member of a novel website, nor was he some big shot who could set up a category specifically for himself. Moreover, it wasn’t just this website; it was probably a genuine difference between the worlds, as other sites had identical classifications. Anyway, it’s just about completing a task, so it doesn’t matter anymore.

He was truly conflicted, so Chu Tian could only cast a regretful glance at *Candle in the Tomb*. He didn’t know if releasing it this way would make it popular, or whether it would even be discovered. If it were to be buried like this, it would truly be a shame for the IP. But he was in a rush to complete the task; he really had no other choice.

After choosing a suitable category, he directly clicked to create the work, all set to publish.

"System, extract *Candle in the Tomb*."

[DING! Text works cannot be extracted, only available for viewing.]

"Hm? Huh?"

Wait! What does this mean? I could extract songs before, how come it doesn’t work with novels? What do you mean ’for viewing only’? Does that mean if I want to publish it, I have to type it out word by word myself?

[DING! Please figure it out yourself, Host.]

Damn it! What the hell is there to figure out? Are you insane? It makes no sense! Songs can be fully extracted, complete with lyrics, tunes, and arrangements, so why can’t novels? Isn’t it just a matter of a USB flash drive? The work is already provided; is it that hard to give a USB drive? It’s just a few million words, probably takes up less space than a single song, right? Why won’t you give it? Isn’t this deliberately making things difficult?

Chu Tian frantically vented at the system in his mind.

Regrettably, no matter what he said, the system remained unmoved.

Eventually, he got tired of cursing. Helpless, he had no choice but to accept his fate.

"Is it just about typing? Watch this old man’s Foshan Shadowless Hand!"

Out of desperation, Chu Tian could only transform into a genuine text-copier and part-time typing machine.

While flipping through the original text in his mind, he found a Word document and started typing furiously.

After finally typing over six thousand words, he looked up and saw it was almost time to leave work.

He still remembered it was just past two in the afternoon when he registered.

Which meant, from the start of typing until now, four hours had unwittingly passed by.

And from what many people online said, it seemed one needed to publish at least four thousand words a day; any less and no one would read it. He had enough words for today, but just these six thousand words took four hours! He couldn’t possibly just sit here and type all day, every day, right? Millions of words... when would he ever finish?

Just thinking about this possibility made Chu Tian feel desperate. Wait a minute, the system only said that publishing it would complete the task; it didn’t say I had to keep writing, right? So if I just publish one Chapter and don’t write the rest, that should be fine, right?

Thinking of this, Chu Tian suddenly started chuckling gleefully, as if he had found a bug in the system.

Unfortunately, his good times didn’t last long. His grin hadn’t even fully formed when a system notification arrived.

[DING! Warning to the Host: After publishing the work, please complete it within six months, or you will be penalized. If it exceeds six months, the maximum Reputation Points limit will be reduced to one million. If it exceeds one year, the limit will drop to one hundred thousand. If it exceeds two years, the Reputation Points feature will be disabled.]

Damn it! You update patches way too quickly, don’t you? I hadn’t even finished thinking, and WHAM, your patch is out? Are you a worm in my gut? No, wait... You’re literally in my brain! You know everything I’m thinking. This damn system... Sneaking and tricking isn’t going to work. But what’s with this six-month timeline? Millions of words—are you sure they can be completed within half a year? With his current speed—six thousand words in four hours, twelve thousand words in eight hours without eating or drinking—that’s 360,000 words a month. In half a year, that’s just over two million words... Oh boy, are you setting the bar right at the limit?

Chu Tian was going insane. According to these requirements, didn’t it mean he couldn’t do anything else for the next half year? He’d have to type the moment he woke up, typing for eight hours a day without eating, drinking, holidays, or rest, continuously for half a year? Who can withstand that? Even slaves couldn’t do this kind of work, right?

"System, have you lost your mind? Are you sick? Even the production team’s donkey wouldn’t be pushed this hard, right?"