Chapter 9 (2/2)

When the owner of the bookstore near the school opened for business, she was so shocked and rubbed her eyes because she could not believe what she was seeing. Never in the 30 years of opening this bookstore had she ever seen such a scene.

It felt like every reader in the world was there.

They looked like they wanted to break through the door of her bookstore.

What was even more shocking was that the person who led the way shouted, “The door’s open! Everyone, charge!”

The crowd rushed into the store.

Everyone rushed straight to the newly published section to grab the two-part series of “The Coiling Dragon”.

They held onto the book tightly and refused to let go.

Countless pairs of hands held green dollar bills and waved in front of the cashier. These were all lucky people who managed to snatch a copy and were impatient to pay the bill.

The bookstore accepted the distributing channel’s request and forcibly stocked up nearly a thousand copies of “The Coiling Dragon”. When the bookstore owner heard of the online rumors, she was originally worried about whether this book would be able to sell.

However, it seemed that she was just overthinking it.

Nearly a thousand copies of “The Coiling Dragon” were sold out in less than half an hour after the store opened.

Some readers even started a fight in the bookstore for the ownership of the last remaining book.

They were beaten black and blue and had to seek medical treatment after.

“I want this book and I’ll pay three times the price!”

“I’ll pay tenfold!”

“I’ll pay a hundred-fold!”

A paperback that cost 12 dollars was sold for 120 dollars.

Just like that, it became priceless.

Every reader who bought the book was unwilling to give up their copy. Instead, they immediately squatted on the ground and started reading with great interest.

They could not wait to read about the next plot.

“What’s the second volume about? Tell me, please…”

“Don’t bother me! I’m reading it right now!”

“Then lend it to me after you finish reading it.”

“Are you that shameless? I was here first, so get in line!”

“Don’t fight! Tell me what’s so good about ‘The Coiling Dragon’. I’ll lend it to whoever gets the right answer.”

The other bookstores near the university were also facing the same situation.

Although the University of Iowa was located in the university town and there were definitely many bookstores there, there were even more students who wanted to buy this book and could not wait to go back and read it.

The bookstores were all crowded.

The printing stores were also crowded.

Originally, these printing shops would only have business during exam season, where students would fight to copy the notes of the top students.

Today, a large number of students rushed in to print a copy of the second volume of “The Coiling Dragon”.

Although they only managed to get one book, one copy could easily become two!

Everyone knew that this kind of private copying was piracy, but they could not care less about it at this moment.

One should never underestimate the fanaticism of avid readers.

Before noon, all the bookstores put up the “sold-out” sign for the second volume of “The Coiling Dragon”.

However, there were still a lot of hungry readers at the door.

This rare phenomenon quickly attracted the attention of literary media.

The second volume of “The Coiling Dragon” was just released, yet there was a rush to buy it on all the major campuses in Iowa.

“Bookstores are selling out like crazy! A new wave of fantasy is sweeping across America!”

“Breaking through the barrier, ‘The Coiling Dragon’ is truly hard to come by!”

“100,000 copies of first print and more copies to come!”

“Watch out for the best new fantasy author in the world!”

“Reprint: the second print has already arrived. Would it reach a hundred prints soon?”

The media was naturally great at chasing headlines. Many columnists finished reading their copies as soon as possible to publish their reviews of the book.

The actual situation was in stark contrast to the wildfire that spread across the internet.

Penguin’s long-prepared post to defame the book was no longer of any use.