Chapter 42: Riding the Rocket

After enjoying a sumptuous lunch, Zhang Chu lay down on his bed for a nap, though in truth his mind was entirely immersed within the Savior System, examining its various features. In recent days, his exposure had steadily increased, and his reputation points were approaching a million, with new points still accruing every minute.

He wasn’t sure if this surge was due to being the college entrance exam top scorer, the story “The Death of Red Hare,” or perhaps “Sherlock the Detective.” In any case, as long as the points kept coming, he was content.

The glory of being the top scorer would soon fade—perhaps in just a few days, people would forget. But great works can be immortal, remembered for centuries, becoming an inexhaustible source of reputation points. That was why Lin Han had no intention of writing web novels. Instead, his sights were set on enduring classics.

Web novels cycled in and out of fashion too quickly. What was popular now might seem simplistic or cringeworthy in a few years. The world was filled with countless classics that had withstood the test of time; Zhang Chu planned to bring those out, one at a time, once his schedule allowed.

One can’t become fat in a single bite, nor should one present ten classics at once—it would defy all logic. With his path now clear, Zhang Chu felt far more at ease, at least no longer wandering aimlessly. He intended to be a disciplined and methodical curator of literature!

“Right, the deadline for the Sherlock Holmes fan fiction contest must be approaching. I wonder if my book will make the top ten.”

He had entered the contest in the first place for the generous prize of five hundred yuan per thousand words. Now that the money was in hand, his sights were set higher. With only three and a half days left until the June 30 deadline, he had little hope of overtaking the works in first or second place.

After all, those were well-written, and many Holmes fans and mystery enthusiasts had praised them. The front-runner, “Holmes’s Will,” had nearly a million votes!

There probably weren’t that many mystery fans in the country, but the movies’ publicity had made a difference—many were familiar with Holmes from film. The millions spent worldwide on promoting “Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective” had clearly paid off.

Zhang Chu immediately sat up, turned on his phone, and found the contest page for Sherlock Holmes fan fiction. He scrolled through the real-time leaderboard, carefully scanning from top to bottom.

After more than ten days, “Holmes’s Will” remained at the top with 1.41 million votes, leading “Holmes: The Curse of the Baskervilles” by nearly three hundred thousand. The third to eighth positions were all clustered around six or seven hundred thousand votes.

“I wonder where my story is ranked.”

Zhang Chu clicked through page after page until he finally found “Sherlock the Detective.” Of the fifty-seven shortlisted Holmes fan works, his stood at thirty-eighth, with only 791 votes!

The ranking seemed dismal—not even close to the top ten, let alone first place. Still, Zhang Chu understood that once more people read his novel, the ranking should rise.

He checked on his father, Zhang Bowen’s, “The Science of Deduction”—its ranking was even more dismal, just 188 votes, forty-fifth place.

The latest issue of “Ages of Mystery” had only been out for less than a day, so all the stories were languishing at the bottom—mere cannon fodder for the contest. Though the vote count was low, readers could leave comments, and the reviews caught Zhang Chu’s eye.

Fewer than eight hundred people had voted, yet more than ten had written long reviews, and there were many short comments too. That meant nearly all the readers were seasoned Holmes fans!

If someone didn’t like the story, they wouldn’t bother to vote or leave a lengthy review. So, Zhang Chu eagerly began to read.

“This is the heartfelt awe and playful critique of a die-hard Holmes fan. It seems all of us Holmes devotees blur the line between reality and fiction. We sincerely believe that Sherlock Holmes is a real person, the stories were penned by Dr. Watson, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was merely a stand-in. The Holmesian Society has produced countless studies, arguments, and papers, exhaustively investigating anything related to Holmes—his background, his experiences, his favorite tobacco, even how he liked his roast beef cooked. Even the Royal Society of Chemistry joined the fun, bestowing an honorary fellowship on Holmes—proof of Britain’s deep affection.

But Holmes, in the end, must age like an old tenor, unable to pick up his magnifying glass and pursue wrongdoers with Watson by his side. A century has brought immense change—human ingenuity has produced countless marvels, but these inventions cannot exist in Holmes’s world. This is a sorrow all true fans feel.

Suddenly, I found Zhang Chu’s ‘Sherlock the Detective!’ The Great Detective has shed his aged shell, returned to youth, and once again walks the halls of 221B Baker Street, resuming his beloved hunt for criminals. Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard brings him new, unsolved cases; Mrs. Hudson still complains about his target practice in the flat; and Watson is home from Afghanistan.

This is the best Holmes fan fiction I’ve ever read. It feels as if Sherlock Holmes truly belongs in the twenty-first century—the use of modern technology is brilliantly seamless! It avoids the melodrama of lesser mysteries, preserves the essence of the originals, and weaves in lively British humor. The pacing is superb, with constant surprises.

Thank you, Zhang Chu, for giving us a Holmes who lives in our own time, as if he really were just across the globe!”

When Sherlock Holmes steps onto the streets of London once more, crossing the gulf of time, it brings a special joy—first surprise and wonder, then a bittersweet nostalgia—for the devoted fans.

After reading this review, Zhang Chu fell silent; for the first time, he realized his work could provide readers with such an extraordinary experience.

When he exited the review section, he was astonished to see the vote count for “Sherlock the Detective” had leapt from 791 to 1,544!

This had happened in just a few minutes—the vote total had doubled, faster than a rocket.

“Could someone be rigging the votes for me?” he muttered uneasily. Of course, he wanted to win, to claim the 500,000-yuan prize, and to represent the country against foreign works—but he had never considered such means.

While the other stories’ votes climbed slowly, his own surged by dozens with each refresh. He was already up to thirty-first place!