Chapter 64

At this moment, Lin Han was at the peak of his popularity. As the big winner of the Galaxy Award, he quickly appeared in prominent positions on major websites, and his name, along with the award for "The Rural Teacher," reached more readers.

Even though science fiction is a niche genre, the highest domestic award still attracted a lot of attention. The website that live-streamed the event was the first to release highlights and replays: "Full Replay: 'The Rural Teacher' Sweeps Three Awards, Dominates the Galaxy Award!"

In addition, Sina News' headline read: "Galaxy Award Concludes, 'The Rural Teacher' Becomes the Biggest Winner!"

Tencent's pop-up notification: "'The Rural Teacher' Wins the Galaxy Award, Reader's Choice Award, and Best New Author Award; New Sci-Fi Talent to Watch!"

Yahoo: "2016 Galaxy Award Concludes, Lin Han Leads the Trend!"

Top News: "Future Technology Conference Features Sci-Fi Wonders, Galaxy Award Surprises Abound!"

Southern Metropolis Daily: "From Director to Author, Lin Han Writes a Sci-Fi Legend!"

Moreover, some local media also reported on the event, and the entire internet seemed to be ignited. Coincidentally, there were no other explosive news stories to compete for attention, so the focus was on the Galaxy Award.

The overwhelming news coverage greatly increased Lin Han's fame. His name even appeared on the Weibo recommendations, suggesting users to follow him. Additionally, his Weibo verification quickly changed from "New Director" to "Famous Sci-Fi Author, Representative Works: 'The Rural Teacher,' 'I, Robot.'"

With so much attention, coupled with the Weibo post Lin Han had just forwarded and commented on, the imaginative netizens became very interested.

The China National Space Administration said that the soil did not contain the decisive chemical components for life, while Lin Han's proposition added a series of constraints and provided a lot of information, leaving it to everyone to see what their ideas would be.

The first to react were Lin Han's original sci-fi readers. Their first thought was: Lin Han is starting a new book, and the protagonist is called Li Yunfan. As for the plot, they had to think a bit more.

"Damn, the new book is about surviving on Mars. Are you trying to get something for free?"

"Fire-tongs Liu Ming, let me think for a moment before I reply."

"Food can only last for 31 days, and he has to wait 4 years. Isn't that just a death by starvation! It was said that he was the only survivor. Could he find the bodies of other survivors and, like in 'Life of Pi,' eat their bodies to survive? But 4 years, how many bodies would he need?"

"Ugh, the previous post is too graphic, I can't take it. Is someone who eats corpses still human? If it develops that way, I'll definitely stop reading!"

"Let me share my thoughts. An astronaut on Mars must have a place to live, right? If the living quarters are damaged, the protagonist can only survive until the oxygen in the spacesuit runs out, not 31 days, let alone 4 years. If the living quarters are not damaged, there should be many other things inside, like water. With 31 days of food and an unlimited supply of water, by carefully calculating calories and human consumption, could the 31 days of food be extended to 310 days, or even longer?"

"Being alone on Mars, he might die of boredom before starvation. No one to talk to, such an environment could drive a person mad. But I'm looking forward to this new book, to see how a Martian version of 'Robinson Crusoe' plays out."

"Will the protagonist find aliens on Mars and marry a strange-looking alien princess, then live happily ever after?"

"This is a sci-fi novel, so it must have sci-fi elements. I guess he will travel around Mars for 31 days, find a leftover alien spacecraft, and use it to return to Earth. How many points would this guess get?"

"666, I'm here to read the comments."

The number of retweets and comments on this Weibo post began to surge. Everyone was vying to share their ideas and see if they matched those of others.

The most fitting and imaginative comments received over a thousand likes, which also sparked the interest of many others. Three cobblers can surpass Zhuge Liang, so the collective power of so many netizens couldn't be less than Lin Han's, right?

So, some people started inviting friends, sending links to groups, and gathering everyone together, creating a lively scene.

Even many authors received invitations, with many sci-fi readers calling on them to join in the brainstorming on how to keep a person alive.

Lin Han's proposition was somewhat broad and vague, just a few words, and no one knew whether it should be based on real technology or pure imagination.

At this point, the number of Weibo comments had exceeded 10,000. Many netizens who had commented continued to do so, even starting discussions within the comments.

The first sci-fi author to get involved was Li Wenyuan, who was the only one aware of the novel "The Martian." However, he was just muddling through, "I guess a nuclear war suddenly breaks out on Earth, destroying the entire planet. The protagonist becomes the only survivor in the solar system, then develops Mars, colonizes it, builds a series of robots, and creates the strongest robot empire in the universe!"

This comment quickly became a laughing matter among netizens. Everyone knew it was a joke, not serious.

"Mosquitoes are being naughty, I'll go back and whip them later."

"Mosquitoes' imagination is really big, directly linking robots and Mars. You might as well write a book yourself."

"You still have the nerve to show up here. Go back and write a book. You haven't released a new one in a year. I've already sent blades to the publisher, once a month. Please check your mail!"

More and more onlookers joined in, with most becoming spectators, while only a few actively discussed how to keep Li Yunfan alive in space.

So far, the comment with the most likes was from a netizen called Dong Dapao, who said, "As far as I know, a simulation of the Martian environment has been ongoing for almost a year. One of the training contents is to observe the growth of seeds in a biological laboratory under zero gravity and radiation, to see if the seeds have changed. Chinese scientists on Mars must have similar experiments, right? With water and seeds, hydroponics can be used to grow a lot of vegetables. Then, using the seeds from mature vegetables, more can be planted, allowing survival by eating vegetables."

Lin Han had to admit that this idea was indeed feasible. Building a greenhouse in the Martian habitat and using wattage, humidity, and temperature data to determine if hydroponics could be done.

Currently, hydroponics technology is very advanced and can be automatically controlled by a vegetable planting system, which manages irrigation pumps, temperature and humidity, grow lights, and nutrient solutions.

For example, under computer control, the grow lights can automatically adjust the lighting duration based on the growth status of the vegetables, the automatic irrigation system can inject nutrient solutions into the water tank every hour, and when the room humidity drops below 70%, the humidification system will spray water mist into the room.

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