Qin Zhibo was sitting on the sofa, reading the book in his hand.
Although editor-in-chief Iwata had previously recommended that he read it, Qin Zhibo didn't want to spend too much time on becoming a writer, so he didn't read it.
Before officially reading, Qin Zhibo read some of the editor's recommendations on the back of the book cover.
"African Odyssey" is a travel book about what Tomonori Kinoshita saw and heard in Africa.
However, unlike traditional travel books, this book combines fiction and reality, combining local customs and fictional travel stories.
Magical and bizarre characters and plots, as well as various supernatural phenomena are inserted into the narrative and description that reflect reality.
It turns the mysterious African continent into a modern myth, with both bizarre and fantasy artistic conception, as well as realistic plots and scenes. Reality and illusion are mixed, making it difficult to distinguish between humans and gods.
It has a flavor of magical realism, so it is popular among readers.
The above are the comments from editors and media. It sounds really different from other boring travel books and can easily arouse people's interest.
Start reading.
The first chapter of the book is narrated in the first person, telling the story of the protagonist, "Kinoshita Tomonori" himself, who is the heir to a large company.
One day, his mother fell seriously ill. No matter how many major hospitals she went to for examination, no physical abnormalities could be detected.
Only behind his mother's shoulders grew a strange pattern of red markings, similar to a human mouth, teeth and tongue, which caught his attention.
So, Kinoshita began to search for information about this pattern in various books, asked professors at Toto University for advice, and finally got information about the pattern.
It originates from the distant African continent and is a special pattern used by Kenyan people in Africa for sacrifices.
Kenyans will tattoo this pattern on their bodies to symbolize the "destined person".
In order to solve this mystery, "Kinoshita Tomonori" embarked on a thousand-mile journey to save his mother and headed to the mysterious African continent.
Qin Zhibo didn't know whether this story was true or false, but he always felt that the plot seemed familiar.
However, there are more cultural works in later generations, and it is normal to have similar plots.
Tomo Kinoshita traveled around the world, taking a ship from the Gulf of Aden, passing through waters where pirates were rampant, and finally arrived in Africa.
The first country he settled in was Ethiopia. On the barren land of Africa, Ethiopia was not considered a wealthy country.
The dry air and scorching sun made his body weak, and he fell ill as soon as he arrived in the Egyptian capital.
He had no choice but to recuperate his body in a small clinic here and wait for his body to adapt to the African soil before he could go on the road.
In a tavern in Addis Ababa, he tasted a local specialty wine, a kind of honey wine called Tej.
It is brewed from honey, water, and a plant called gesho. It is golden in color and has a thick and long taste. It is packed in a special container with a big belly and round bottom, similar to a flask.
Although Tej mead is mellow and sweet, its alcohol content is very high. People who are not good at drinking will get drunk after half a glass.
The amount of wine in the glass is barely a sip, but the aroma and taste are better than any old Chianti or the best Chateau d'Gin.
Kinoshita Tomonori, who was experiencing this kind of wine for the first time, accidentally drank too much, and his brain felt like he was in a trance.
According to locals, this mead was formerly known as "golden mead."
As long as some special magic is added to the mead, the person who drinks this wine can maintain physical and mental integrity under extreme circumstances.
Even the severe cold and absolute vacuum environment of outer space cannot cause any harm to the human body during the effect of "Twilight Mead".
A certain wizard who lived in seclusion in Gray Worm Alley, the capital of Egypt, had such power that he could make enchanted golden mead for travelers from all over the world.
After drinking the golden mead, people never saw those travelers appear again, as if they disappeared out of thin air.
In the end, even the wizard himself disappeared, leaving only a note at home saying "Don't try to find me, because I have flown away."
As a result, golden mead was lost, leaving only today's Tej mead.
The second chapter of "African Odyssey" is about metaphysics.
Enchanted golden mead can keep people physically and mentally intact under extreme circumstances.
This sounds a bit like a magic potion made by Koizumi Anko, or something like that.
However, the effect of this potion sounds a bit evil, and it seems to have some special purpose.
After staying in Egypt for more than half a month, Kinoshita Tomonori, who had recovered his health, left Egypt and headed to Kenya in the south.
Some interesting events happened on the way, and I saw some African customs and customs.
In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Kinoshita hired a guide to ask locals about the strange symbols on his mother's back.
Soon, he heard the news from some local elders.
In Nandi County in the Western Province of Kenya, there is a Nandi people living there, and this pattern is what the Nandi people use when performing sacrifices.
The old people also warned that the Nandi people there were somewhat exclusive of other races except black people, and it was best not to approach them easily.
However, in order to save his mother, Kinoshita Tomonori went there anyway.
Arriving in Nandi County in the Southern Province, Kinoshita asked the locals here about the pattern, but everyone was silent about it.
Here, he didn't even hire a guide or a place to stay.
This place is more exclusive than imagined.
But just when he felt desperate and helpless, a woman appeared in time and helped him.
The content of the third chapter is based on saving his mother. The protagonist "Kinoshita Tomonori" arrives in Kenya, Africa, to seek help here.
Mentioning Kenya made Qin Zhibo think of Bloody Tongue.
The Bloody Tongue is a powerful killer organization with branches all over the world.
Previously, Qin Zhibo discovered two bloody tongue killers in Japan, one was Tachibana Maya and the other was the killer Silver Fox.
Silver Fox was more unfortunate and chose the same way to die as Xiunian during the escape.
Tachibana Zhenye is currently operating in a country in Southeast Asia. Since the last "Egg of Memories" incident, she revealed the background of "Shi Kaobing" to Qin Zhibo, and there has been no contact for a long time.
However, in other people's sense of time, not much time may have passed.
The headquarters of Bloody Tongue, according to Tachibana Maya, is in Kenya, Africa.
The woman who helped Kinoshita Tomonori was named Mweru, a Nandi native with brown skin.
Mwiru's exact age is unknown, but he looks very young.
Although he is a black man, he is still considered beautiful in universal aesthetics, and the charm he exudes naturally attracts Kinoshita Tomonori at that time.
She ran a hotel and took great care of Kinoshita Tomonori, an outsider, which made Kinoshita quite happy.
However, because he took too much care of outsiders, Mwiru was subjected to various negative attacks from the locals.
This made Kinoshita Tomonori blame himself and came up with the idea of taking Mwiru to escape from here.
He told Mweru his idea, and Mweru agreed.
That night, the two had sex.
The next day, Kinoshita Tomoe packed his luggage, and Mwelu said that he wanted to go back to his hometown to see his parents before leaving.
Of course Kinoshita Tomonori agreed, so the two of them went to a peak called "Black Wind Mountain" near Nandi County.
When he came to the "Black Wind Mountain", Kinoshita Tomoze was dumbfounded.
Here, dozens of locals wearing red striped headdresses surrounded them, holding various sickles and terrifying tools for removing skin and bones.
Just when Kinoshita Tomonori manfully protected Mweru behind him, Mweru walked to the front himself.
Under Kinoshita Tomonori's incredible gaze, everyone bowed their heads to Mwiru and called him "high priest".
Only then did Kinoshita Tomonori realize that he had been deceived.
Everything is a scam.
Mwiru is the leader of this group of Nandi people and the high priest of the Bloody Tongue.