Chapter 8

Today, Gange updated another fifty thousand words, bringing the total word count of *Survival Rules in the Starry Sea* to over one hundred thousand. It was only natural that it caught the attention of Qidian.

Chen Xin went on QQ and directly contacted the editor, Yezi, to confirm the signing process. After that, he went out to print the contract and mail it.

...

Fang Wei was an ordinary book enthusiast with over ten years of reading experience. During his middle school days, he read all the novels by Jin, Gu, Huang, and Liang. After high school, he became a regular at the rental bookstores near his school, spending most of the pocket money his parents gave him on books. In college, he finally had his own computer, so he started reading pirated posts online. It wasn't until he had some spare money after starting work that he began to recharge his Qidian account to read the official versions.

After so many years of reading, Fang Wei's tastes had changed significantly. He used to enjoy *Son of Light* by Tang Jia San Shao, but now he rarely read the top-ranked novels on Qidian's monthly ticket list. The more books he read, the more picky he became. The works of veteran authors were repetitive, and Fang Wei felt helpless, so he started looking for new books by new authors.

This was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Occasionally, he would come across a book with a stunning opening, but it would either be abandoned or collapse later on, and few could hold his interest.

Fang Wei had become quite adept at finding new books. By looking at the title, synopsis, and the first three chapters, he could usually judge the quality of a book.

Recently, he had noticed a science fiction novel called *Survival Rules in the Starry Sea*.

Fang Wei rarely read science fiction, except for the popular *The Three-Body Problem* trilogy. Most other science fiction novels on Qidian didn't really qualify as science fiction. Whether it was post-apocalyptic, infinite loop, or mecha space war, they were all monster-upgrading stories with a science fiction facade, similar to fantasy and cultivation novels.

But this novel was different. The protagonist was a mechanical life form.

While Qidian had published some unconventional novels like *The Giant Lizard in the Forest*, the protagonist in those stories still had a human soul. In this novel, the protagonist was purely a mechanical life form, with no connection to humans.

At first, Fang Wei was worried that such a novel would lack the necessary immersion, but he quickly dismissed this thought.

The novel's setting was incredibly novel. The distant planet Cybertron, the wondrous mechanical life forms, their origins, their society, their technology, their culture, and their way of thinking—all of these were gradually revealed through the eyes of the protagonist, Gange. Fang Wei followed Gange's journey, slowly uncovering the mysterious veil of a new civilization.

Usually, when Fang Wei read a light novel, he didn't need to think much. He would flip through it and forget most of the plot the next day. But this novel was different. While reading, his mind was also engaged, and it wasn't as oppressive as reading *The Three-Body Problem*. Each time he understood a new concept, a deep sense of joy welled up inside him, making him extremely captivated.

By the time he finished the hundred thousand words, nearly two hours had passed without him noticing.

Fang Wei took a deep breath, feeling an urge to reread it, which was almost unimaginable for a seasoned reader.

When he read it a second time, Fang Wei began to notice other aspects of the novel. Objectively speaking, the writing style was only average, but the word choice was extremely precise, the logic was tightly woven, and the plot, though intricate, was coherent. Fang Wei couldn't find any obvious flaws.

The scientific theories subtly presented in the novel also piqued his interest. As an engineering student, he had a natural sensitivity to such topics. Unfortunately, the author didn't reveal much, so Fang Wei could only grasp the general idea.

In the following days, *Survival Rules in the Starry Sea* updated ten chapters, totaling fifty thousand words, every day, giving Fang Wei a great sense of satisfaction.

Today, *Survival Rules in the Starry Sea* officially made it to the Three Rivers recommendation on Qidian's homepage. The book had only been uploaded for five days and had already updated to two hundred and fifty thousand words, almost setting a record for new books on Qidian.

However, while enjoying the updates, Fang Wei was also secretly worried. The author's update speed was terrifying, and it was unlikely that the backlog could last for long.

Fang Wei had seen many new authors start with great enthusiasm, vowing never to abandon their work, and those with a backlog would try to finish it all at once. Those without would spend all day writing to ensure daily updates.

But as time passed, their passion waned, and many new books either became abandoned or turned into weekly, monthly, or even yearly updates, eventually being shelved.

If *Survival Rules in the Starry Sea* became one of those, Fang Wei would be devastated.

This novel had reignited his long-lost reading pleasure. Every day brought new expectations and new experiences. As the plot developed, Fang Wei had completely immersed himself in Gange's role. Not reading the updates felt like something was missing from his life.

Moreover, the novel involved many aspects of astronomy, physics, mathematics, sociology, and biology. The author's ability to explain complex scientific phenomena in simple terms made Fang Wei feel as if his IQ had been elevated by several levels. Previously obscure and difficult-to-understand cutting-edge scientific knowledge now seemed much simpler.

Fang Wei was eager to do something for this book.

In the past, he only subscribed to books and never participated in activities like generous donations or becoming a patron.

But this time was different. He decided to do something big and clicked into his Qidian account.

...

"Damn! Dad, come and look, someone donated ten thousand Qidian coins to become a patron!" Gange shouted.

"Damn, there are so many rich people in China!" Chen Xin rushed to the computer. For someone who only occasionally read pirated novels, subscribing to the official version was already unimaginable, let alone donating to become a patron.

Ten thousand Qidian coins were equivalent to one thousand RMB, and the author would receive five hundred RMB, which was enough to feed Gange for half a meal.

Unfortunately, Chen Xin didn't understand the heart of a seasoned reader.

As for Gange, it was calculating the total amount of donations it had received and how long it could last. It didn't care who the patron was.

The user with the ID "Weige Chunyemen" not only donated to become a patron but also posted a comment in the book review section, announcing the creation of a thousand-member QQ group for *Survival Rules in the Starry Sea* and inviting everyone to join.

Chen Xin thought for a moment, then pinned and highlighted the comment, and logged into QQ to apply to join the group.

The potential of this novel surprised Chen Xin. When it reached one hundred thousand words, the book review section already had discussions. In just four or five days, the number of discussion threads had exceeded one hundred. Most of them were substantive discussions, which was extremely rare on Qidian.

On the Longtian Sky forum, *Survival Rules in the Starry Sea* also attracted attention, with over ten discussion threads.

Especially today, when the novel officially made it to the Three Rivers recommendation on Qidian's homepage, it received over forty thousand clicks in a single day, with a total of seventy thousand clicks and seven thousand recommendations. The click-to-recommend ratio was an astonishing ten to one, and the number of favorites increased from one thousand eight hundred yesterday to over six thousand today.

And these numbers were still rising rapidly.

The editor responsible for contacting Chen Xin suggested reducing the update volume to ten thousand words per day.

Chen Xin replied arrogantly, "I have three million words in my backlog."

The other party didn't respond for a long time.

...

The QQ group created by "Weige Chunyemen" was called "Gange Support Team." Chen Xin's application to join was quickly approved. When he entered, there were already over thirty members, most of whom were online and chatting enthusiastically.

A user named "Bloody Military Knife" wrote, "I'll use this novel as a guide for my future research. Occasionally revealing some unsolved mathematical problems in the novel could shock the world, using the novel to prove science."

"Lazy Cat" replied, "A well-written novel can indeed lead to technological development. *The Arcane Throne* (a fantasy novel that borrows from modern science) can spark readers' interest in specific scientific concepts. It's logical for a pure science fiction novel like this to inspire real technological progress. However, it depends on the author's ability to develop the story. I'm looking forward to it."

"jt1979" said, "I don't understand science fiction, but it's so enjoyable. I hope the author continues to update at this pace. Fifty thousand words a day is amazing."

"tclyks11" wrote, "The most impressive part so far is the transformation of the protagonist. The description of the robots in the novel is truly excellent."

"Chitian Zhi Yuyi" said, "I think this novel can surpass many of the top-ranked novels on the monthly ticket list. I hope it gets serialized soon. I've been saving my monthly tickets."

"Watercool" said, "I wait for updates every day. I don't know how much backlog Gange has, but as long as the quality remains, I'd rather have slower updates. I hope Qidian can produce a science fiction classic."

A user named "qazxcv322" asked the group owner, "Weige, has Gange joined the group?"

"Weige Chunyemen" replied, "I don't know. I just created the group and haven't contacted Gange yet, but he pinned my post, so I hope he can come and take a look."

"Zongheng Buli" said, "From a scientific standpoint, this novel is already on par with or even surpasses *The Three-Body Problem*. If these concepts could be adapted into a movie, it would be great. Even if it can't be made into a movie, an anime would be fine."

"Chitian Zhi Yuyi" replied, "Don't think about it. It might be possible in Hollywood, but with the current level of China's film industry, it would be a disaster."

"Bloody Military Knife" said, "Even Liu Cixin's novels can't be adapted, so how can you expect *Survival Rules in the Starry Sea* to be adapted? Web novels have a low status and don't appeal to literary critics."

...

Chen Xin propped his chin up, reading with great interest. Although the novel wasn't written by him, it was published under his name, and he felt a sense of pride.

The topic of adapting the novel into a movie sparked some new ideas in Chen Xin.

Making a movie was currently impossible. He was worried about making money, and a movie investment would require at least several million RMB, which he couldn't afford.

However, a CG movie seemed feasible. Chen Xin had been working with CG for years, and with Gange's help, making a profitable movie wouldn't be difficult.

With this in mind, Chen Xin turned to Gange and said, "Gange, what do you think about us making a CG movie?"

Gange tilted its head, its electronic eyes flashing, and said, "It's possible, but I want to be the main character."