Chapter 461

"Sixty thousand!" Simon Croix's voice exploded through the phone.

Victoria Langley tightened her grip on her cell. "Sixty thousand what?"

"Single-day sales! Seven-Day Tales sold sixty thousand copies yesterday!" Simon's voice trembled. "It broke The Weapon's fifteen-year record!"

Victoria's breath caught.

"Victoria," Simon inhaled sharply, "your new book—it's a phenomenon!"

Not just successful. Explosively so.

A month ago, the situation had been completely different.

Simon had stared at the dismal first-week sales report, sweat beading on his forehead. The mocking words of a rival editor still rang in his ears: "This is what you paid a million for?"

He'd flipped through the advance copy of Victoria's novel again.

The prose was masterful, the plot intricately woven, every twist perfectly timed. Such work shouldn't go unnoticed.

Where had they gone wrong?

He pulled up the reader demographics—67% male, aged 30-50. Yet the marketing team had poured all resources into platforms dominated by young women.

"Change course immediately!" Simon slammed his desk and stood. "Book forums, literary blogs, newspaper review sections—full coverage!"

Three days later, the sales curve began climbing.

The real turning point came with a video from "Old Thompson Reads."

In the clip, the self-proclaimed "thirty-year fiction abstainer" Old Thompson sat engrossed in Seven-Day Tales, oblivious to his wife calling him for dinner.

The comments section erupted:

"Old Thompson actually reading fiction?"

"How good must this book be?"

"Just ordered—gotta see what could make Thompson put down his whiskey"

Soon, organic recommendations flooded social media:

"Finished at 3 AM and turned on every light in my house"

"Do NOT read before bed (trust me)"

"I'll never walk alone at night again after this"

The top comment went viral:

"After reading this, my local diner's tofu pudding sales dropped by half"

When asked why, the commenter simply replied:

"Read it"