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In the days to follow, "The Kindaichi Case Files" continued to be serialized, with more and more new content coming out.

On the Starry Sky website.

The rating was out.

The manga called "The Kindaichi Case Files" had unbelievably achieved a rare rating of 9.5 points!

The reviews were through the roof!

It was the highest-rated of all the manga Shadow had released, with readers becoming more and more satisfied with its plot twist. Even many people claimed that "The Kindaichi Case Files" was the best quality detective manga among all Blue Star Comics!

But what was odd...

Despite being the best-reviewed of all Shadow’s published works, this manga’s popularity didn’t seem to explode in relation to its ratings and reviews!

On the contrary.

While Kindaichi’s reputation continued to rise, the popularity of this manga actually dropped slightly from the first day?

Yes, it was dropping!

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On the new work chart, Kindaichi gradually slipped from the first day’s top position to the second.

The one to surpass Shadow was a new work from a less famous mangaka.

It looked like the third place was closing in on Kindaichi fast, maybe it could push Kindaichi to third place in a few days?

The situation was now clear.

Shadow’s new manga was critically acclaimed but not popular among readers!

On one hand, there were waves of positive reviews and ratings, but on the other hand, there was a daily decline in rankings and popularity!

In the past, this would have been an impossible situation.

No one ever thought Shadow’s manga could end up being critically acclaimed but not popular!

The industry finally stopped hesitating and doubting:

"After all, detective stories are niches. Even Shadow cannot save this category’s low popularity and attention."

"No matter how good the reviews are, insufficient sales still make it pointless!"

"This time Shadow chose the wrong theme."

"Shadow thought he could draw a niche detective story and readers would still be interested, but in the end, he has proved to be overly arrogant."

"The artwork is really good, the plot is really good, everyone acknowledges that this manga is excellent, but such a theme is destined to not be universally popular."

"The reason for the high rating is that those who don’t like this manga have given up."

"The high score is because those who gave up on this manga couldn’t give it bad reviews, because everyone knows the work is actually great, from the plot and artwork you can tell, like a director’s heartfully made movie, the scenes and shots are top-notch, but unfortunately not everyone finds it intriguing."

"Shadow flopped."

"..."

In fact, this achievement is pretty decent for an average mangaka.

But for a manga artist of Shadow’s caliber, this result is absolutely a flop.

In terms of popularity comparison.

Out of Shadow’s four manga, the most popular one is "Death Note".

The least popular one is Kindaichi.

Even though Kindaichi’s reputation surpasses "Death Note".

Almost a year without a new manga.

The long wait did not cause Shadow’s fans to leave.

However, because "The Kindaichi Case Files" was of a niche and unpopular genre, it led to a loss of Shadow’s fans.

Considering this.

Those readers and fans who like this manga even started to worry:

Would Shadow end up cutting short "The Kindaichi Case Files"?

Manga readers were well-experienced.

They knew it well!

Some manga artists, when facing disappointing sales of new works, often stopped the unsuccessful work to start a new one.

Especially a manga artist like Shadow who became super popular right out of the gate!

The previous three manga each more popular than the last, suddenly the fourth manga was underperforming, successful in reviews but unpopular among readers.

Under such a huge drop, could Shadow withstand such a blow?

...

Of course, Lin Yuan could withstand such a blow.

Whether it was a flop or not, "The Kindaichi Case Files" was clearly a popular manga.

It’s just that everyone subconsciously benchmarked the popularity of this manga with "Death Note".

Compared to his previous work, the performance of this manga was not satisfactory.

But in the whole manga circle, this manga was still very successful, not to mention that the reviews were so positive!

Anyway, Lin Yuan had no plans to stop this manga.

It would be too hurtful to those readers who truly loved this manga.

He’d just keep going with the serialization.

As a matter of fact.

Not only the readers were worried about Shadow’s serial absenteeism.

Seeing the success of "The Kindaichi Case Files", Luo Wei and Jin Mu also tested Lin Yuan’s attitude:

"Have you considered starting a new project?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

Jin Mu’s face changed slightly.

Luo Wei hastily asked, "What about ’The Kindaichi Case Files’ then?"

Lin Yuan replied matter-of-factly, "Continue to release."

Jin Mu breathed a sigh of relief: "Then you are still considering starting a new project…"

Lin Yuan countered, "Who said we can only work on one project at a time?"

Jin Mu was shocked.

Luo Wei was also taken aback:

"Two at once?"

Lin Yuan laughed, "That’s the idea. Anyway, ’The Kindaichi Case Files’ will definitely not be cut."

"..."

The expressions on Luo Wei and Jin Mu’s faces became strange.

Just as the two were about to say something, Jin Mu’s phone rang.

Jin Mu went out to answer the call.

After the call, Jin Mu returned to the office, his face looked somewhat uneasy.

Luo Wei asked, "What happened?"

Jin Mu snapped, "Tribe Comics hinted at us abandoning ’The Kindaichi Case Files’ to start a new project."

Luo Wei was drawing, her hand paused suddenly, she no longer wanted to continue drawing. She spoke coldly:

"Didn’t Tribe Comics always refrain from meddling with authors’ affairs? The contract also stipulates that the website should not interfere with the author’s creation. Their hint to cut off the comic is very unfair to readers who are waiting for updates!"

Luo Wei still loved ’The Kindaichi Case Files’ very much.

From her personal feelings, she absolutely did not want to abandon this comic. Although this piece did not perform as well as Shadow’s previous three works, it was nowhere near discontinuation.

Lin Yuan also frowned slightly.

Tribe Comics had somewhat overstepped their boundaries.

Jin Mu sighed, "They understand the contract, so it was just a suggestion. I’ve already declined it. This is pure capitalist behavior. They think we can make more money by starting a new project than ’The Kindaichi Case Files’."

Luo Wei pursed her lips: "But they can’t just think about making money, they have to respect their own users."

"They have a new person in charge..."

Jin Mu was helpless.

If Han Jimei were still in charge of Tribe Comics, this would not have happened.

This new manager is not very capable.

Lin Yuan suddenly said, "Then let’s start a new project and communicate with them."

"Are we really going to take on two projects?"

Both Jin Mu and Luo Wei were somewhat worried.

Lin Yuan nodded.

Luo Wei said, "Then the update speed of both comics will be affected."

Jin Mu added, "Taking on two projects at the same time could also lead to insufficient creative energy, making it easy to pull each other down and not focus on one comic."

You must know, ’The Kindaichi Case Files’, this kind of comic is very plot driven.

If there isn’t enough time to brainstorm, the quality of the plot may suffer.

"It’s okay."

Lin Yuan had already made up his mind.

Jin Mu has always had no power to sway the decisions of his boss, so he did not continue to insist: "What is the theme of the new project?"

Cuisine?

Competition?

Or continue following the successful path, drawing a cunningly-crafted intellectual comic like "Death Note"?

"Mystery."

Lin Yuan spoke.

Poof!

Luo Wei almost fell over.

Jin Mu was also utterly confused, "What?"

Lin Yuan had to repeat himself: "Mystery."

Luo Wei: "..."

Jin Mu: "..."

The new project is still a mystery comic?

Teacher Shadow, is it us or is there something wrong with you?