Chapter 20

In fact, it is impossible for the distribution of the magazine to be completed nationwide at the same time. The 20th only covers the majority of cities' newsstands, and the remaining days are used to distribute to other areas. However, by the 25th, people in all regions will be able to purchase the magazine.

In today's era of strict copyright protection and fierce reading trends, a sales volume of 800,000 is far from making it to the top three, and even the top ten is very difficult to achieve. Some magazines can sell millions of copies.

It is still too early to tally the sales figures, so the magazine's focus is still on the reviews. They gather conclusions from reader feedback to see if improvements are needed in the content arrangement for the next issue, which types of articles receive better reactions, and which authors can be invited to contribute more.

As a magazine aimed at students and young people, *Science Fiction World* has a relatively young readership compared to other publications like *Readers*, *Yilin*, and *Zhizhun*. The overlap in readership is not very high.

Chen Yang is a sophomore at Dongyang No. 2 High School. His greatest hobby is reading during his free time. He hasn't missed a single issue of *Science Fiction Magazine* and always goes to the cinema to watch Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters. He is unaware of the online arguments about Lin Han.

With so much homework every day and the looming third year of high school, where would he find the time to browse Weibo? Being able to squeeze in some time to read science fiction novels is his greatest pleasure.

There are many magazine stalls at the school gate. After receiving the magazine from the familiar vendor, Chen Yang couldn't wait to open it and start reading on his way. He has even bumped into a utility pole before but has never thought of changing his habit.

Flipping through the table of contents, all the contents of this issue are listed. "The Signal from Centaurus" looks interesting, but it's only a few pages long, a bit short.

"The Starship Cruiser" finally has its 8th chapter, but the serial has become a bit stale and can't attract his attention.

However, when he shifted his gaze to the back, he was surprised to see "The Rural Teacher" published in *Science Fiction World*. It even got nine pages, which is simply a miracle!

"Alien? Is this someone's pen name? To be treated the same as a sci-fi master, I'll have to read it carefully later."

After entering the classroom, Chen Yang opened his schoolbag, took out a book to use as a cover, and placed *Science Fiction World* under his desk. He pretended to read the biology book while secretly reading the magazine.

He has been practicing this set of actions for several years and has never been caught. His ability to multitask is quite strong.

Indeed, while the teacher was lecturing, he had already quickly finished the first few short stories and finally turned to "The Rural Teacher."

"He knew that this last lesson had to be given in advance.

Another intense pain hit his liver, almost making him faint. He no longer had the strength to get out of bed and could only move with difficulty to the window by the bed.

..."

After reading a paragraph, Chen Yang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. The protagonist was already on the verge of death from the start. Is this even science fiction? A struggling rural teacher, about to die, with students burning paper to pray for him, and the teacher recalling the past while in pain.

After reading more than a page, Chen Yang's patience was almost gone. This is not science fiction; it's a realistic novel. It should be read by the older generation, not in *Science Fiction World*.

"What the hell is this?" Chen Yang muttered. He flipped through the pages, many more to go. Should he just endure it?

As he continued reading, the novel finally shifted from the rural teacher's memories to the vast universe, which made Chen Yang breathe a sigh of relief.

"Five thousand light-years away from Earth, at the center of the Milky Way, a galactic war that has lasted for ten thousand years is nearing its end.

The carbon-based alliance's starship fleet has completed the first space-time jump of this patrol."

It turns out that the carbon-based alliance and the silicon empire had engaged in battle, and the carbon-based alliance emerged victorious. The grand description of a war that triggered the explosion of thousands of supernovae and the chaotic space-time structure captivated Chen Yang.

Humans are also a type of carbon-based life form, but they did not have the qualifications to participate in the carbon-based alliance's interstellar war. However, a crisis is quietly approaching. Under the command of the parliament, the supreme ruler of the carbon-based alliance began to conduct civilization tests on the stars in the quarantine zone.

Sacrificing the lower life forms around the stars in the quarantine zone to prevent the silicon empire from using the stars for interstellar jumps when it rises again. What kind of civilization is considered a low-level civilization? One that is below the 3C standard.

Unfortunately, Earth is within the quarantine zone set by the carbon-based alliance. If the civilization test fails, all life on Earth will be destroyed!

Chen Yang's heart tightened. Will they pass the alien civilization test?

"Chen Yang, Chen Yang!"

A loud voice suddenly rang out. Chen Yang, nudged by his desk mate, hastily threw the magazine under his desk and quickly raised his head, looking at the biology teacher on the podium with a serious expression.

The young biology teacher slowly walked down from the podium and tapped Chen Yang's desk. "To be honest, I can see all your little actions from the podium—those playing with phones, chatting, daydreaming, and looking in mirrors. I just don't want to say anything. Chen Yang, give me the book you were reading."

"Teacher Han, I won't do it again. Can you not take it? I haven't finished it yet," Chen Yang pleaded. Begging is usually more effective with young teachers, as there isn't a significant generation gap.

However, his last sentence made the whole class burst into laughter. "Haven't finished it yet? What the hell!"

"Hahaha, Chen Yang, you can go to Teacher Han's office after class to read it!"

"Or you can finish it and then hand it in?"

The young Teacher Han turned to look at the mischievous students. "I'll keep it for you for now and return it depending on the situation."

Chen Yang reluctantly handed over *Science Fiction World* to Han Fei, feeling as if a piece of his heart had been torn out. He had just reached the most important part, where several planets had been destroyed by singularity bombs due to failing the civilization test, and now Earth had been found. Its fate was still unknown, and the magazine was taken away by Han Fei.

After class, Chen Yang slumped his head dejectedly. "Sigh, if I could just read for a few more minutes, it's about to reach the climax. I'm so uncomfortable now."

"Meow, what magazine is that? Is it really that good?"

"Yeah, you were so engrossed in class. I kicked your chair several times, and you didn't even react. You asked for it."

"Teacher Han gave you several chances, but you didn't feel it even with so many people reminding you. If you get called to the head teacher's office, we'll be waiting to clean up your mess."

"Tell us what you were reading."

Chen Yang lifted his head and quickly entered promotional mode. "I was reading *Science Fiction World*. There's a novel called 'The Rural Teacher' that's super good. I swear, I'm thinking about sneaking back to steal the magazine during lunch to finish it. I have no mood for class now!"

"*Science Fiction World*? I bought it too, but I planned to read it during my nap at noon." Another boy in the class spoke up, quickly pulling out an identical magazine from his bag, which rejuvenated Chen Yang.

"Brother Hao, can I borrow it? I promise to help you with the cleaning duty next time, and the time after that!"

"I want to read it too. What's so good about it? Let me see."

"Don't rush. You can pass it to me secretly after you finish this political science class. We science students just play during political science class anyway."

"Li Yi, don't cut in line. I'm after Chen Yang, so give it to me first!"