Chapter 55

After chatting with Li Wenyuan, Lin Han returned home. He did not immediately start writing "The Martian" but began searching online for science magazines, feeling that he needed to recharge his knowledge.

Due to the cultural differences between Earth and this world, Lin Han was unsure whether the technology needed for the novel would appear here, or if the names had changed.

These details are key to attracting readers; the more detailed and realistic, the more captivating it becomes. If a book is full of bugs, what’s the point of reading it?

While science fiction doesn’t require the same level of rigor as real scientific articles, it can’t have outrageous errors. At the very least, how to establish communication between Mars and Earth, and how to obtain water resources using fuel, must be accurate.

After some research, Lin Han was surprised to find that in this world, China, as one of the major countries, had also launched a Mars probe. This discovery delighted him.

In the novel, the protagonist finds the 1997-launched Pathfinder rover and digs it out. Mark Watney connects the power and uses the static camera to communicate with Earth.

Ultimately, under the guidance of Earth engineers, he repairs the communication equipment of the habitat and manages to use a computer and keyboard to communicate with Earth.

Of course, this was just the first communication breakdown, which was successfully resolved. However, the movie version did not depict the second communication breakdown, where the protagonist, after losing contact with NASA again, had to drag out text to briefly report his status to Earth.

To ensure that the satellites in Mars' orbit could clearly read the information Mark Watney wanted to convey, he dragged out trails that were half a meter to a meter wide, with each character being over 5 meters in size.

Lin Han even considered whether the protagonist should drag out Morse code, which would be simpler, requiring only different lengths of dots and lines. Writing super-large Chinese characters on the ground would be too difficult.

With the original novel as a reference, Lin Han found it much easier to gather materials, avoiding the chaos of searching aimlessly.

"Go to the National Library the day after tomorrow; they have more books. Finish this as soon as possible, and see if anyone buys the movie rights."

Lin Han felt that this novel had a very visual quality, making it a natural fit for a movie. However, it would depend on whether domestic investors had the courage to produce another hard sci-fi film.

Domestic sci-fi movies had always been weak, and after the original owner botched "Beyond the Solar System," the situation for sci-fi films worsened, leaving them to endure Hollywood sci-fi films dominating the box office and critical acclaim.

Now, with Lin Han’s revised "The Martian," it had the potential for excellent quality. If an investor saw it, that would be great. If it caught the attention of Hollywood, the production would be another matter.

However, it wasn’t the time to worry about such things. Whether it could be filmed would be decided later. For now, he needed to create this so-called big IP. "The Martian" being made into a Hollywood blockbuster was just one aspect of its massive influence.

It had already transcended the scope of a book or a movie, becoming a phenomenon with a dedicated fan base. In internet company terms, this book was undoubtedly a good IP, with potential for exploration in movies, novels, and games.

Such a novel required meticulous refinement, not something that could be rushed in a few days or weeks.

...

The next day, the sky over Yanjing City was clear, and long-awaited sunlight fell on the streets. Cold winds swept the withered leaves from the treetops, making them dance before settling on the road.

Lin Han followed the navigation to the store that Zheng Yucheng had mentioned. When he pushed the door open, he found a small group of people already seated inside, their youthful faces full of vitality. Most of the participants were male, with only a few females, like rare treasures.

To disguise himself, Lin Han wore a black-rimmed glasses without lenses, a cap, and a casual look, fully camouflaged to avoid being recognized.

If he were recognized, it would be a sci-fi author anonymously attending a fan-organized book club, which would be a laughing matter.

Seeing Lin Han, Zheng Yucheng and Xiao Liu hesitated for a moment. They almost couldn’t remember what Lin Han looked like, like meeting an online friend in person. "Xingcen?"

"It’s me. You’re Lao Guai and Xiao Liu, right? I remember you."

"Oh, oh, come sit over here. Have you finished reading 'I, Robot'? We’re about to start the discussion."

Lin Han smiled and walked over, sitting down. He whispered, "What’s with those foreigners over there? Can they understand Chinese sci-fi novels?"

Zheng Yucheng shrugged and explained, "They are international students at our school, all sci-fi fans. They’ve been participating in our discussions. They can chat in Chinese, but their reading isn’t great. Someone with better English has already narrated the plot to them."

"..."

This was true love for sci-fi novels. Even without understanding the language, they found someone to translate "I, Robot." What a great spirit.

So, Lin Han thought for a moment and said, "Actually, there’s no need for that. The English version of 'I, Robot' is already available on Amazon, and it’s quite cheap. They can try it."

"Really?" Zheng Yucheng looked surprised. He knew the Chinese version had only been on sale for less than a month, so how could the English version be out already?

Lin Han nodded confidently, "I saw it when I downloaded the e-book from Amazon. Since there’s Wi-Fi, they can try it."

Zheng Yucheng nodded and looked up at the two white guys, saying, "Jesse, my friend says the English version of 'I, Robot' is available on Amazon. Do you want to try it?"

The white guy named Jesse widened his eyes and looked at Lin Han, speaking in fluent English, "Really? I didn’t see it two days ago. When did it go up?"

"It was available yesterday. Not many people have bought it yet. If it’s good, you can recommend it to your friends." Lin Han was essentially providing a benefit to the international students, saving them from the trouble of not understanding the Chinese characters.

The foreigners quickly logged into Amazon on their phones and cheered with joy.

"Really! 'I, Robot,' by Han-Lin, priced at 4.99 RMB! Yes, yes, buy and download!"

"Shit, my card doesn’t work in China. I need to bind a Chinese bank card. Wait for me!"

"Praise the Lord, finally an English version. Lucy, you don’t have to interpret for me anymore. Thank the author; I’ll give it a great review."

"Damn, only three purchase records. Do these people not read the English version? It’s a classic. I’ll recommend it to my friends and tell them I found a good book!"

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You can see that the book’s performance isn’t great, so the author humbly requests your support to help the book go further and reach more friends.

During the new book period, whether it’s adding to your collection, clicking, recommending, or donating, every support is crucial. Don’t let the author perform a solo act!