After dealing with the demon Freddy in Nancy's dreamscape, Bella returned to the hotel to take a shower.
She'd been splashed with a lot of seawater and the great white shark's mucus. Even after a quick rinse earlier, she still felt uncomfortable.
The next day, after receiving the custom-made oversized water tank, Bella returned to the nameless beach.
When she drove a trailer and hauled the lively great white shark into town like a trophy, it immediately caused a huge sensation.
People had seen this thing on TV before, but seeing it up close in real life was truly a first.
The only downside was that the container was really ugly—and not transparent—so there was no way to take photos!
Collective ingenuity knew no bounds. Pooling the creativity of half the town, by noon a massive glass tank made of ultra-high-pressure acrylic was transported over from the Portland Aquarium.
Humans were the most ferocious animals in the world. Without Bella lifting a finger, a group of people used a crane to hoist the great white shark straight into its new home.
Photos! Group photos!
The residents of former Elm Street—now Oak Street—were as happy as if it were a holiday. If Bella hadn't stepped in to stop them in time, some American kids who loved courting death would've jumped in to swim with the shark.
Nancy Ingram, who had already awakened, also came in a wheelchair to see the culprit that had nearly bitten her to death.
With her was a middle-aged man with refined features and an extraordinary bearing.
"Thank you very much for saving my daughter. I'm Nathan Ingram. If you ever run into trouble in New York, feel free to call me."
The man expressed his sincere gratitude to Bella and Natasha. They exchanged phone numbers, and he invited them to visit his home in New York so he could properly thank them.
Natasha had never been interested in this kind of socializing. Bella, on the other hand, chatted briefly with Nathan Ingram, who had traveled from afar. He was a supplier of electronic components to government agencies and held shares in several major banks. He was clearly very wealthy—though his field had little overlap with Bella's own interests.
As the two spoke politely, Nancy Ingram—sitting in her wheelchair with one leg propped high—circled the great white shark once.
All memories of Freddy had been sealed away. She only remembered the beach incident.
Her emotions were mixed. She had nearly been killed by this monster, yet another girl hadn't been hurt at all—and was now happily dragging the shark back as a trophy.
It was almost unbelievable. Was the gap between people really that large?
"Hi, Nancy. You look like you're recovering pretty well," Bella greeted her warmly.
Nancy's impression of Bella was extremely positive. There was the life-saving grace, as well as a subconscious sense of closeness. Though she felt words couldn't fully express her gratitude, she still spent a full three minutes offering heartfelt praise.
Bella was very pleased. See? This girl had sense. People like this were worth saving.
Seeing that the father and daughter seemed somewhat interested in the shark, she asked bluntly,
"Are you interested in this fish? If so, I can sell it to you. You can slice it up or deep-fry it—either works."
Nancy Ingram: "…"
Her father, Nathan Ingram: "…"
Father and daughter fell silent at the same time. Nathan tossed the question back to his daughter.
"Nancy, what do you think?"
For Nathan Ingram, buying a shark was pocket change. Even airlifting it from the West Coast to the East Coast wouldn't be much trouble. If it could make his daughter happy, he wouldn't hesitate.
Nancy's feelings were… complicated.
This shark tried to eat me, so I buy it, haul it home, and eat it instead?
Logically speaking, that didn't seem entirely wrong…
Just then, Bella received a phone call—it was from Victoria Hand.
"I heard you caught a great white shark? How did you manage that? If it's convenient, sell it to me."
Bella didn't hesitate. She nodded readily. "Sure. Send someone to pick it up."
She didn't ask the price, nor did she ask what Victoria Hand wanted the shark for. She already owed Victoria Hand several favors; this shark was a convenient way to repay part of that debt.
"Sorry, you two. I've got a friend who wants this thing," she said, pointing at the shark and addressing the Ingrams.
Nancy was still wrestling with her thoughts. Hearing that, she let out a huge sigh of relief.
"That's fine. To be honest, even if you sold it to me, I wouldn't know what to do with it."
Selling it to you would obviously be for revenge—were you actually planning to keep it as a pet?
Bella admitted she didn't really understand the mindset of American girls.
That afternoon, a truck drove into town. After confirming the other party's identity, Bella let them haul the great white shark away.
From start to finish, neither side mentioned money. She only knew that Victoria Hand's research institute was conducting a shark-related research project. As for the specifics, she never asked.
After spending a fairly pleasant weekend on former Elm Street—now Oak Street—Nancy was taken back to New York that evening by her father for further treatment. Her leg injury was severe. With current medical technology, even if it healed, a large scar would remain. Still, with her father's resources, regaining mobility wouldn't be an issue.
Bella and Natasha stayed one more day, then returned to Los Angeles on Sunday night. Random House was moving fast—The Da Vinci Code was about to go on sale.
Bella needed to head to New York again to review performance data and prepare for the next phase of promotion.
…
New York was still the same calm New York. No Spider-Man swinging through the streets, and no need to worry about aliens or interdimensional creatures jumping out of dark corners to kill people.
Public safety was far better than expected.
The book was beautifully printed and priced at $19.80.
Inside the cover was her photo. A character persona required careful construction. Coming right out with I'm unbelievably beautiful, I wear luxury brands, and I own shares in a top Swedish supercar manufacturer? That definitely wouldn't work.
That kind of persona would only create distance from readers. Selling misery was cliché—but undeniably effective.
In the photo, Bella wore glasses, her hair messy, her plaid shirt clearly cheap. She sat on a train seat, gazing into the distance with sensitive, emotional eyes—a classic image of a down-and-out literary young woman.
Divorced parents. An unfortunate childhood. Yet she bravely stood back up, studied hard, wrote tirelessly, and spent ten years completing The Da Vinci Code, a work worthy of being called a masterpiece of the age.
Those were the core elements of Bella's first-stage public persona.
Not being able to promote her own beauty was a bit of a pity—but for the sake of dollars, she didn't complain.
After cooperating with Random House on several utterly miserable "life photos," she turned around and went straight to a Michelin restaurant for lobster.