Lin Yuan was in a good mood.
The Galactic Empire Series truly deserves to be the science fiction masterpiece, directly pushing Chu Kuang to the ninth position on the author ranking list, and he is extremely close to the data of the eighth position.
"The goal for this year is very close."
At the beginning of the year, Lin Yuan wrote a New Year’s Planning Book and set a small goal for Chu Kuang, which was to enter the top seven on the author ranking list by the end of the year.
This was just a minimum goal.
Now, this minimum goal is halfway complete, and half a year has just passed.
Since this is the case, why not strike while the iron is hot and get the eighth place first!
Anyway, he was already in the red with the eighth position.
This means that the data gap between Chu Kuang and the eighth-ranked author is already negligible.
Lin Yuan started typing on the keyboard with a clatter.
Four big words soon appeared on the screen.
That’s right, Lin Yuan is going to write Big Liu’s Ball Lightning.
There are three reasons for writing this novel.
The first reason is naturally to go for the eighth position on the author ranking list.
The second reason is that Ball Lightning, as a high-quality science fiction novel, is only about 200,000 words long in its entirety, which is quite appropriate in length. After all, the data gap between Chu Kuang and the eighth-ranked author is not large, and Lin Yuan does not need to fill the gap with a tome.
The third reason is that Ball Lightning is considered a prequel to The Three-Body Problem.
This book serves as a groundwork for the future emergence of The Three-Body Problem.
In the following days.
Lin Yuan consistently worked on writing Ball Lightning.
The novel was completed.
Lin Yuan directly logged into Chu Kuang’s account and published it.
Across various continents.
Readers were suddenly surprised when they saw that Chu Kuang had published another science fiction novel.
"The buff of a powerful code writer!"
"Just finished writing the Galactic Empire Series and now releasing a new book?"
"This efficiency is terrifying!"
"Looking at the genre, it seems to be science fiction again."
"I’m reading the first Chapter, and it feels pretty interesting, though not as stunning as the Galactic Empire Series. Maybe my taste has been spoiled by the laws of robotics?"
"This old rascal is aiming for the eighth position!"
"When he aimed for the top ten, he released a 200,000-word novel, The Devotion of Suspect X."
"The word count is similar this time, only the genre is switched to the currently hot science fiction."
Netizens instantly guessed at Chu Kuang’s intent.
At the same moment, countless people began reading this book.
"A person’s death is the process of changing from a strong observer to a weak observer, and then to a non-observer. I have to say, the old rascal has a knack for writing hard sci-fi!"
"The invisible quantum rose in the vase at the end brought me immense shock and emotion. It comes from both a godlike macro overview and the secret ties of cyclical life."
"It turns out I prefer Chu Kuang writing something different."
"Reading this hard sci-fi is really strenuous."
"Some parts of the Galactic Empire Series were also difficult to digest."
"That’s exactly what I like!"
"Hard sci-fi is ; soft sci-fi tends to focus on the narrative itself, the more effort put into the story, the more the meaning of sci-fi diminishes, and it’s hard to achieve a balance between the two."
"The character Ding Yi is pretty intriguing."
"The setup is too ingenious; it feels like it could expand into a larger worldview."
Maybe Ball Lightning is too hard, or perhaps its length is much shorter than the previous work; the reputation and popularity of this short to medium-length work are good, but noticeably less impactful compared to the Galactic Empire Series.
This is understandably expected from the readers.
No one would demand Chu Kuang’s sci-fi works to always reach the heights of the Galactic Empire Series.
And when not compared to the Galactic Empire Series, even with the readers’ tastes spoiled, Ball Lightning is undoubtedly a very excellent science fiction novel.
However, some readers who are unaccustomed to hard sci-fi couldn’t help but complain.
"Too hard, hurts the teeth!"
"Old rascal, write something simpler."
"Indeed, leave a way out for those of us with low education."
"The old rascal’s books this year are either laws of robotics or psychohistory, and now there’s quantum technology, you can’t understand it without some knowledge reserve."
"Ha-ha-ha, that’s how the old rascal is."
"Following the old rascal’s books, you’ll find yourself casually reading through the entire range of Blue Star’s novel genres."
Lin Yuan finished reading the related comments on Ball Lightning.
The impact of this novel indeed cannot compare with the Galactic Empire Series.
In terms of science fiction, since he brought out the Galactic Empire Series, the choices available for continuing to write sci-fi are actually much narrower moving forward.
But this point was within Lin Yuan’s expectations.
Persisting in writing Ball Lightning is because this novel is intricately linked to The Three-Body series.
However, some readers complained about the difficulty of reading hard sci-fi, making Lin Yuan smile knowingly.
This is a very normal situation.
People who don’t like sci-fi and read hard sci-fi find it as flavorless as chewing wax.
Somehow, I’ve been switching between various themes with the speed of wind, so some readers have no choice but to grit their teeth and follow. Whether they eventually come to like those themes they once didn’t depends on fate.
Reader requests can certainly be met, and I, Chu Kuang the old rascal, have always pampered my fans.
Lin Yuan used Chu Kuang the old rascal’s account and posted a new update:
"New book: ’The Last Blue Starian’."
Attached with a formal document behind.
Didn’t some readers want something simple, not so hardcore sci-fi?
Here’s the simplest one!
Even elementary school students can understand it!
Come, the world’s shortest sci-fi story!
As soon as Chu Kuang updated, the comments section exploded!
"Just released ’Ball Lightning’ this morning!"
"Master of writing, I bow down!"
"Judging by the title, it seems like a remarkable work!"
"The Last Blue Starian?"
"Somehow it’s filling me with anticipation!"
"Let’s see what it’s about!"
Amid discussions, readers downloaded the document and quickly opened it.
The content of the document left all the readers dumbfounded.
There was only one line:
"The last person on Blue Star sat at home, and suddenly there was a knocking sound."
Is this your new book?
Just one line in total!?
Even the most concise writer would bow before you!
Readers were bewildered.
Isn’t Chu Kuang pulling our leg with this book’s concept?
Yet, the next moment.
Some readers suddenly squinted their eyes.
Chu Kuang’s novel, excluding punctuation, consists of just twenty-two words. It seems simple, but it’s full of mystery!
The so-called three elements of a novel are all included in these twenty-two words, embodying the idea of "small but complete"!
The essence of science fiction lies in creating sci-fi suspense, giving readers broad space for imagination, just like ’The Last Blue Starian’, which provides ample space for such imagination.
Why is there only one person left on Blue Star?
Did a disaster occur on Blue Star?
Or was there an alien invasion?
Or have they left Blue Star?
Why can the last Blue Starian hear the knocking?
Or, is it even a person coming?
Will the last Blue Starian open the door?
What will happen after opening the door?
This is the freedom and vast imaginative space of sci-fi, with countless possibilities arising from a mere twenty-two words!
"Old rascal, awesome!"
"Got goosebumps as my imagination ran wild!"
"Full of suspense, but somehow I feel this isn’t a sci-fi novel, this is clearly a horror story."
"This might be the shortest sci-fi novel in history."
"Short but powerful!"
"Kneeling down, sci-fi can be played this way."
"Unlimited path for possibilities!"
Indeed, it’s an unlimited path for possibilities.
Amidst the heated discussions, many netizens spontaneously began to continue writing.
For example, someone wrote: "The man got up and opened the door, only to see a robot standing outside: Hello, this is your purchase, Mars’ Dongfeng Express."
Even some sci-fi writers joined the trend of continuing the story.
Of course, the number of words for these continuations wasn’t too long, everyone just played around with this ultra-short concept.
During this playful moment, many people sensed a different vibe.
’The Last Blue Starian’s concept, along with the public impact it caused, combined with the highly professional hard sci-fi like ’Ball Lightning’.
Chu Kuang’s intention is obvious to everyone.
Clearly, this is all to break into the eighth spot on the Blue Star writer’s list!
Having just achieved ninth on the writer list, Chu Kuang shows no signs of taking a break!
ps: I’ve been in the hospital for two days, just came out today, the air outside smells so fresh, my body feels much better now, at least I don’t have a nighttime cough anymore. The doctor said a bit of rest the next few days and I’ll recover, so updates can gradually resume. It’s been a while without writing, need to find my rhythm again, thanks for waiting everyone.