Lin Yuan’s plan for this year is to push Chu Kuang to at least climb to seventh place on the author ranking list!
This is the baseline goal.
It certainly deserves attention.
Judging from the public’s current reaction to "The Three-Body Problem," this baseline goal shouldn’t be an issue.
Considering there’s still a bit of time this year.
Lin Yuan is contemplating whether he can produce some new works before the end of the year.
At this time, discussions about The Three-Body Problem are far from over.
On a certain online talk show called "Experts Talk About Trending Topics."
The Three-Body Problem became the hot topic of the latest episode.
The show invites elites from relevant circles to discuss major recent events within those circles, and it’s always been well-received.
For instance, this episode’s subtitle is "Experts Talk About The Three-Body Problem."
The guests invited by the production team turned out to be Chen Shi and Ye Cong!
The former is Chu Kuang’s last global challenger; the latter was the original leading figure in Blue Star’s sci-fi, essentially having his throne seized by Chu Kuang.
The fact that these two are willing to join the show to talk about The Three-Body Problem took countless people by surprise.
This also led to exceptionally high viewership for this episode!
And on the show, Chen Shi started sharing his thoughts on the first book of The Three-Body Problem right away.
The Three-Body series, after all, is a sci-fi novel, and it’s hard sci-fi, so it has a reading threshold.
Many details are actually only partially understood by readers.
Chen Shi, as a top professional sci-fi writer, analyzed it for everyone on the show, instantly enlightening the audience.
For example, regarding Sophon, which appeared in the first book, Chen Shi humorously stated: "Putting aside the technical aspects, just consider Sophon as the Trisolaran ambassador stationed on Earth, of course, she’s a beautiful robot ambassador."
As the conversation continued.
Ye Cong suddenly brought up something: "Actually, The Three-Body series has some connection with ’Ball Lightning’."
Some people noticed this before, but since The Three-Body Problem only recently became popular, not many mentioned it.
Chen Shi laughed: "You mean Ding Yi, right?"
Evidently, Chen Shi also noticed this detail.
Chu Kuang’s The Three-Body Problem features a character named Ding Yi.
The same Ding Yi also appeared in his previous work "Ball Lightning."
The host was curious: "Are these two people the same, or is it just that Chu Kuang was too lazy to come up with a new name?"
Ye Cong laughed: "Ding Yi kept Lin Yun’s photo; although the macro atom concept wasn’t used, it was mentioned in The Three-Body series. The peace in the world of The Three-Body is a result of the post-war scenario in ’Ball Lightning.’ Obviously, they are the same person. As for why I brought it up, I just suddenly realized why Chu Kuang could come up with a new book so quickly—he had it all planned out long ago."
Chen Shi: "You’re saying ’Ball Lightning’ is somewhat like a prequel?" Correct content is on NovelHub)
Ye Cong: "Exactly. Of course, you could say it’s a side story since both books are related but don’t necessarily have a chronological order."
The host was incredulous: "It’s probably like the Fairytale Town series back in the day; those stories hadn’t been written yet, but perhaps they’d been brewing in Chu Kuang’s mind long before!"
Chen Shi described it this way: "A normal person’s brain can conceive of one book at a time. A few genius writers can come up with three books, at most with guaranteed quality, but Chu Kuang seems capable of imagining over ten creative ideas at once, giving the impression that his creativity is infinite."
"The Strongest Brain."
"I’m talking about writing books."
Even after all these years, having gotten used to his style, when talking about Chu Kuang’s seemingly endless creative ideas and inexhaustible creativity, everyone can’t help being repeatedly amazed.
Including both readers and fellow writers.
Lin Yuan didn’t watch the show.
But the relationship between The Three-Body series and "Ball Lightning" is already an oft-discussed topic.
If it weren’t for this connection, Lin Yuan wouldn’t have intentionally written "Ball Lightning" first as a setup.
His sister and younger sister have also recently become engrossed in The Three-Body Problem, holding on to the book all day.
Lin Yuan was curious: "Why have you been reading it for so long?"
The younger sister: "My second read."
The sister: "My third read."
Lin Yuan chuckled, unable to distinguish whether it was the allure of The Three-Body or the charm of family.
Putting down the book.
The sister rubbed her hands together and said: "Should you consider doing a children’s literature next?"
Lin Yuan hadn’t responded yet, when the younger sister couldn’t help herself: "Does big sister need more achievements again?"
The sister laughed: "Not really, our department’s performance is quite good; Chu Kuang’s old books consistently sell well, but who would complain about even better performance?"
"The thing is, big brother is already the top in fairy tales."
The younger sister voiced Lin Yuan’s thoughts. Being the number one in fairy tales, writing more fairy tales doesn’t boost his ranking that much.
"Then seriously, what’s the plan for the next book?"
The sister looked at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said: "I’ll write something with strong literary qualities."
Most of Chu Kuang’s works lean towards commercial, though there are ones with higher literary value, they’re not strong enough.
Often people use "Journey to the West" as an example; is its literary quality exceptional? View the correct content at NovelHub
Journey to the West is one of the four great classical novels, but do you really read it for its literary quality?
Are the poems and verses written by Wu Chengen comparable to Li Bai, Du Fu, or Xin Qiji Su Dongpo?
Can you even name any poems or verses by Wu Chengen?
The greatest strength of Journey to the West is its popularity, as the story of Sun Wukong and the three disciples accompanying the Tang Monk to fetch the scriptures is well-known among the masses, and that’s the most remarkable aspect of Journey to the West.
"You really don’t play by the rules."
Big Yaoyao was surprised; this was an answer she hadn’t anticipated.
But she didn’t doubt her brother, because seemingly every genre Chu Kuang tried ended in success.
As if there’s no story genre in the world he can’t handle.
But then the sister suddenly laughed: "That’s a good direction, especially now."
Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow: "How so?"
The sister said: "Remember when I told you back then that the Literature and Art Association plans to organize a literature event similar to the music award ceremony?"
Lin Yuan felt frustrated.
That was indeed mentioned.
But it’s been so many years?
It felt like the higher-ups painted a pie for the literary world, and it hasn’t officially started yet.
"You don’t believe me?"
The sister seemed to have more precise insider information this time: "By the end of this year or next, they will definitely hold the first literary event, and this time I’m definitely not boasting; you’ll be there to receive an award!"
Lin Yuan decided to believe one more time.
The younger sister shook her head: "Even if big brother wins more awards, there’s no way to personally receive them; it feels unsatisfying."
Lin Yuan unknowingly said: "Next year, maybe I’ll be able to personally accept them?"
Lin Yuan himself laughed.
Perhaps because of the unification of Blue Star and the growing influence of Chu Kuang Xian Yu Shadow, he always felt like his true identity might be revealed any time.
The chairman and Jin Mu also reminded him several times, saying he should be mentally prepared.
Lin Yuan had been preparing himself mentally for countless years, and he was no longer so anxious.
So what if he’s exposed?
A great man should face death calmly!
The sister and younger sister listened to Lin Yuan’s seemingly casual words, glancing at each other, their hearts inexplicably racing.
Personally accept it?