Chapter 92

《Science Fiction World》 is the leader in the science fiction category. It can be said that many science fiction authors have become famous here and then moved on to broader publishing fields.

However, among fantasy magazines, it doesn't stand out much. Its sales of just over a million only rank it in the middle to upper tier, with fantasy, magic, and mysticism selling better than science fiction.

Chen Chuhe also heard some rumors. He didn't know the exact situation, but he still needed to try to win some favor. So he asked, "Teacher Lin, I heard that 'The Martian Rescue' is almost published. Have you considered serializing it in our magazine?"

From the way someone is addressed, one can see the change in their status. Lin Han used to be called Lin Han, but now he is called Teacher Lin.

Although Lin Han's cooperation with *Science Fiction World* has been pleasant, compared to his friends, he still needs to take care of his friends. Besides, he has a good reason.

"Brother Chen, I'm sorry, but I've already decided on a magazine for serialization. I can't put it in *Science Fiction World* for now."

Chen Chuhe's heart sank. He knew it wasn't good and guessed, "No problem, no problem. This time we were a bit slow, but there will be opportunities in the future. Can you reveal which magazine it is? Is it Fantasy 1+1, or Novel Illustration, or The Most Joyful, or Imagination?"

The magazines he mentioned are all quite famous. If Lin Han's novel is a science fiction one, these are the places it could go.

However, Lin Han shook his head and said into the phone, "Brother Chen, I can't tell you the name of the magazine yet, but it will definitely surprise you. It will likely cause a stir when it's revealed."

The news of Li Wenyuan taking over *Fantasy Era* hadn't been exposed yet. Lin Han didn't know how many people were aware of it, so he couldn't reveal it himself to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"A magazine that will cause a stir? Is it Literary Wind, Knowledge is Power, Bud, or People's Literature, or Monthly Novel? These mainstream magazines are definitely better than ours." Chen Chuhe clearly misunderstood Lin Han's meaning, thinking it would be a more famous magazine.

"It's not any of those. You'll be surprised. Besides, *Science Fiction World* is already serializing *I, Robot* every month, from December last year to August this year. If I add *The Martian Rescue*, it would take up a fifth of the magazine, which wouldn't be good."

Although *I, Robot* has been on sale for nearly two months, the serialization in *Science Fiction World* is not fast, with one chapter per month, steadily attracting readers for Lin Han.

These are novels with a lot of text, not short stories of a few thousand words. Each chapter is about seven to eight pages long.

Reminded by Lin Han, Chen Chuhe realized he had been too hasty and forgotten this simple fact. "Look at my poor memory, I forgot about this. Otherwise, it would have been a joke. By the way, when will *The Martian Rescue* be available for sale? Our editorial department is still discussing it, and we want to know how you rescue someone from Mars."

"Soon, soon. I'll send you a copy in advance, and it will be delivered by SF Express."

"It would be even better if it had your signature. I'll take it home and let my son read it; he really likes science fiction novels."

Lin Han's phone flashed, indicating low battery, so he hurriedly said, "Science fiction should start from childhood. Brother Chen, I've been on the phone all afternoon, and my phone is about to die. Let's talk again next time, or you can find me on QQ."

"You go ahead and get busy. I know people must be calling you non-stop."

As soon as he hung up, Lin Han's phone shut down, and the world became quiet.

He was supposed to check some information, but he spent the whole afternoon answering calls, wasting his time. He packed up his things and applied for an online account at the National Library, so he could find some information in the library's electronic resources. He even considered checking the online libraries in the United States.

It was rush hour, and the subway was packed. The entire carriage was filled with people, like a sardine can. Lin Han couldn't even turn around, and there was almost no space.

The air inside was not circulating well, making it unusually stuffy. The flashing advertisements outside made him feel dizzy, and he couldn't help but start daydreaming, thinking about a death train or a haunted subway.

Finally, he managed to get off the subway. Lin Han felt like he had turned into a piece of paper. He collapsed on his sofa, rested for a while, and then plugged his phone into the charger to start charging.

But he didn't want to turn it on right away, even considering changing his phone number. If he kept being harassed like this, how could he focus on writing?

Lin Han wasn't in the mood to eat. He turned on his computer and saw a long list of friend requests on QQ. He could only ignore them all. Why were they still trying to contact him when he had an agent?

But he immediately saw several messages from Li Wenyuan, "Why is your phone off? Are you being harassed by a lot of people?"

"I have something important to discuss with you. Please reply if you see this."

"..."

Lin Han set his QQ to long-term invisible and replied with an emoji, [Struggling to come online].jpg

Li Wenyuan quickly replied, "I was trying to reach you this afternoon, but I found out you had turned off your phone. You must have received a lot of calls, right?"

"Yeah, my phone is dead from all the calls. It's still charging. What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to ask if you're interested in becoming a shareholder in a cultural company I'm about to set up to run *Fantasy Era* magazine."

This caught Lin Han off guard. Did he want to be a shareholder? Subconsciously, he did, but the company seemed a bit unreliable, and he didn't have much money to invest.

Li Wenyuan saw Lin Han's hesitation and continued, "You don't need to worry about the management. There will be professional managers and a chief editor. I'll just be the mascot and the face, using my old face to attract people to write for the magazine."

"I think the most important thing is to write good novels. If you publish a book in the magazine, your readers alone will make it a success."

The old *Fantasy Era* magazine only sold 10,000 to 20,000 copies a month. With such low sales, no advertisers were willing to place ads, and the稿费 (royalties) were not high, so authors were not interested in writing for it.

As a science fiction giant, Li Wenyuan's readers haven't seen a new work in almost a year. If he publishes now, it will definitely attract a lot of attention.

"My new book is prepared for this moment, but when it's published, we should stagger the release to avoid competing for the market."

The science fiction market is limited, and both Lin Han and Li Wenyuan have the responsibility to expand it. If they compete with each other, it won't be good for the entire science fiction market.

"You don't need to worry too much about the authors. I've already contacted five or six top authors, and once the company is established, we'll start accepting submissions. I want to make the company more rigorous. The initial capital is 10 million RMB. I can put in 8 million, and if you're willing, you can put in 2 million, which will be 20%."

2 million RMB is not a small amount for Lin Han. He would need to convert his pounds and dollars to RMB to have over 3 million, and using a large portion of his assets for a risky investment required careful consideration.

"I need to know more about your plans." Lin Han wasn't short of money. With so many classic novels, as long as his memory remained, he could keep earning money. What if this company turned out to be profitable?

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