Chapter 66: Don't Get Distracted!

At this moment, Zhang Chu had no time to worry about the two goats at his grandmother’s house. He was distressed by the fact that he didn’t know a single lawyer and had nowhere to even ask about legal fees.

But he still had his group of friends. He planned to seek their help—who knew, maybe someone’s family or friends were lawyers!

In their WeChat group, Wei Wenlin had just sent a screenshot of himself rebutting netizens under a news post. He complained indignantly, “These people don’t have a shred of common sense. ‘Damaging the international image’—the truth hasn’t even come out yet, and they already think it’s Zhang’s fault.”

“Yeah, they’re great at playing keyboard warrior. I wonder how Zhang Chu is doing right now. This feels pretty serious—it has to be clarified as soon as possible!” Feng Tianrui said, worried. Though it wasn’t their own work, everyone was tense.

At that moment, Zhang Chu spoke up: “Guys, does anyone know a reliable lawyer?”

“Why do you need a lawyer? Are you going to court?”

“Yes, I’m planning to sue that foundation. The complete works of Sherlock Holmes are already out of copyright. They have no right to impose any restrictions—at most, they can criticize me morally.”

Fu Deyu sent an ellipsis, then switched to voice, “You’re not joking, are you? Are you really going to sue them in America?”

“Brother, you’re something else! Calm down, there’s no way you’ll win this!”

Even these impulsive young men didn’t dare to think this way. It was like an ant trying to stop a chariot—there was simply no chance from any angle.

Zhang Chu had made up his mind and asked, “Whether I can win or not, I want to consult a lawyer first. Does anyone know one?”

“No, I’ve never had any dealings with lawyers.”

“Why don’t you look up law firms in Jiangcheng online?”

“Can a domestic lawyer handle a foreign lawsuit? That doesn’t sound reliable to me.”

The friends were all a bit apprehensive. What Zhang Chu was doing seemed like smashing an egg against a rock—the outcome was almost certain.

“I’ll keep asking around. I’ll bring the sample book back for you guys in a few days.”

After closing WeChat, Zhang Chu fell into deep thought. Was this step too big for him? To leap straight from China onto the international stage—though he was in the right, the other side had every advantage, and any judge would surely favor the foundation unless he could find an exceptionally skilled lawyer.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to take this path, but money limited his options. If he were a famous writer, he could throw around money, and some well-known law firm would take the case.

“System, do you have any solutions for this?”

He almost forgot about the system, his ace in the hole. Zhang Chu hurriedly asked. Since it was the Savior System, it ought to help him out.

“The host can use reputation points to exchange for system functions. An international top-tier lawyer requires five million reputation points, a first-rate international lawyer requires two million, and an ordinary lawyer requires one million. Since the host’s reputation points are less than one million, the system is now offering a loan service at a daily interest rate of one percent.”

Zhang Chu patted his forehead. The system was getting craftier—now it was even offering loans. If he borrowed four million, wouldn’t he be repaying it for the rest of his life?

It was so much easier right now!

“What happens if I can’t repay the loan on time?” Zhang Chu asked, unwilling to give up.

The system’s electronic voice replied coldly, “All system functions will be suspended until the loan is repaid. Furthermore, all host income will be automatically transferred to the system account.”

Zhang Chu shook his head at once—he had no intention of becoming a slave. The idea of a loan was out of the question.

…

Meanwhile, the tide online seemed to be shifting, with people’s focus gradually drifting off course.

Ran Jia hated copyright violators the most. One of her books had been plagiarized, and she and her fans were even attacked by the plagiarist. Even after winning in court, nothing changed.

Today, news just broke that Zhang Chu had published “Detective Sherlock” without the permission of the Conan Doyle Estate, reminding her of her own experience.

So, with her verified Weibo account, she also stepped forward to criticize—she couldn’t accept it!

However, when she entered the site to read the first chapter of “Detective Sherlock” for free, she noticed something odd about the book’s review section.

Earlier, the comments had been sharply critical, but suddenly they turned into praise.

And it wasn’t just one or two people—there was a whole group.

Ran Jia muttered to herself, “Did Zhang Chu hire an army of fake commenters? They’re so coordinated.”

The comments below were fascinating, making her itch to click open the novel herself.

“I take back what I just said. This novel is actually quite good. Just remember to apply for copyright with the estate next time.”

“Holmes and Watson are too adorable. I’m hooked by these two. Even if it can’t be published, I’ll keep reading!”

“I’m really sorry for my previous harsh words—I’ll delete them now.”

“The writing is excellent; don’t confuse that with infringement. I admit it’s a good book, but I’ll still share to boycott it. If Zhang Chu releases a free e-book, then it’s not for commercial use.”

“To the later haters: please note, China’s copyright law is valid for 50 years after the author’s death. All Conan Doyle’s works are public domain here, and the characters and stories are open to everyone. There is no infringement, so don’t follow the crowd or be misled!”

Ran Jia was also a writer, though she wrote boys’ love fiction. After being plagiarized, it had been a struggle to defend her rights. Seeing the last comment, her heart skipped a beat.

“Could I have wronged Zhang Chu? It really does seem to be only 50 years.”

Her eyebrows twitched slightly—a bad feeling coming over her. Had she just helped the wrong side, making things harder for someone who was in the right?

With this worry, Ran Jia clicked into the first chapter of “Detective Sherlock” and began to read carefully.

To her surprise, the opening scene was an intense gunfight. Through the words, she could feel the fierceness of the battle and the heavy casualties.

“So this was Watson’s dream. And Watson has learned to blog!”

After all, it was modern times; writing diaries or journals was a bit outdated, so why not let Watson blog? It was, in fact, an important detail, preparing to record the great detective Sherlock Holmes.

Before Holmes even appeared, Zhang Chu had already depicted three victims.

The grand drama began—the police held a press conference to explain the case, and then Sherlock Holmes made his brilliant entrance. The plot unfolded methodically. Even though Ran Jia had never read a detective novel before, she found herself thoroughly engrossed.

“This is interesting. It makes me want to write some Sherlock Holmes fanfiction. If I post it online, will it count as infringement?”

Faced with this thorny question, she couldn’t help but sigh—these two characters were so charming, she really wanted to write about them…