Chapter 1290: Chapter 1075: Almost Reaching Our Wei Continent’s Level

Just like Huyan Dabo and Chen Le, when “Wandering Blue Star” was released, too many people clicked to read it.

And upon finishing it.

The readers’ reactions were even more exaggerated than Huyan Dabo’s and Chen Le’s, especially those sci-fi fans!

“This is wildly imaginative!”

“The old rascal’s brain hole has broken through the sky this time!”

“Wandering Blue Star project, the evolution of cosmic civilization, an epic backdrop, all the intimidating yet unchallengeable astronomical knowledge smacking me in the face, it really hurts!”

“On purpose!”

“The old rascal is definitely doing this on purpose!”

“Gotta ask since I don’t get it, does this qualify as hard sci-fi?”

“All I can say is, the old rascal’s really gotten hardcore this time (lol)”

“The distinction between hard and soft sci-fi is quite subjective anyway. Compared to scientific papers, all sci-fi novels are super soft, but just among sci-fi novels, this can definitely be considered very hard. I even find it too hard sometimes, leading to a lack of micro-level description and pretty much no solid character development. The focus is always on humanity at large, but this shortcoming was greatly rectified in the ending.”

“The ending truly is shocking.”

“Is the solar explosion just the old rascal’s wild guess?”

“It’s not a wild guess but based on science. Just like it’s written in the story, about five billion years from now the Sun will enter the red giant phase. As the helium core contracts against gravity and heats up, the hydrogen layer surrounding the core will fuse more quickly due to the increased temperature, resulting in continuous heating which propagates to the outer layers, causing them to expand. Once the core’s temperature reaches a certain threshold, helium fusion will begin, burning and producing carbon.”

“Pff, big shot, take my kneel!”

“What big shot my ass, I just flipped through an encyclopedia online, it’s not the same, it’s exactly identical. Also, isn’t it common knowledge that the Sun will eventually explode?”

Before this.

Everyone was endlessly debating whether Chu Kuang could really write what’s called hard sci-fi.

At this moment.

The debate comes to a stop.

People’s focus has completely shifted to the content of the novel itself.

Especially those sci-fi loving readers are ecstatic as if they have discovered a new world!

What?

Got slapped in the face with hard sci-fi by the old rascal?

Chu Kuang’s readers say:

Used to it!

Although some silly netizens couldn’t help but grumble a few words:

“This guy can really write, huh.”

“Slapping readers in the face is probably his biggest writing motivation.”

“I was a bit disappointed at the beginning, felt like the old rascal added too much specialized knowledge just for the sake of hard sci-fi, but the story later on completely drew me in. When I read about the execution of more than five thousand members of the Blue Star Sect, I was really upset, but this is the old rascal’s specialty, to make the readers feel restless.”

“Some always uphold the truth.”

“Reflecting on this, is the old rascal suggesting that the pre-Sun Era is the golden era that future generations yearn for, and that our current life is wonderful?”

“Suddenly feel that this thing would be shockingly stunning if made into a movie.”

“Don’t joke around, many great sci-fi novels have turned rotten when made into movies, adaptation is always a huge problem.”

“That’s true, better not ruin the original work with an adaptation.”

“Although I still prefer ‘The Heartbroken’, this kind of epic-feeling sci-fi novel really does showcase the potential of science fiction.”

Of course.

Not everyone is full of praise, very few works can reach a consensus among all readers, and Chu Kuang’s comment section also has some voices that don’t find the work that impressive.

…

And as the readers finished the novel.

Writers from all continents also gradually completed “Wandering Blue Star”.

Including many sci-fi authors.

Qin Continent.

In a certain sci-fi authors’ group, the argument over this novel has already become heated!

“Science fiction in Qin Continent is saved!”

“I feel like Chu Kuang has the potential to lead our sci-fi beyond Qin Continent and gain recognition from other continents!”

“Isn’t that too much?”

“The narrative style is too extreme, especially the part with the rebelling forces in the end; it feels like tormenting for the sake of tormenting, portraying humans as foolishly believing that the Sun will never explode.”

“I really liked that part, although the character plot is indeed weak.”

“The characters in there aren’t really human, they are just mouths for Chu Kuang to illustrate his fantasies. Chu Kuang is still better suited for soft sci-fi, like his previous ‘The Heartbroken,’ where the character plots were explosive.”

“Don’t you guys think the settings are astounding!?”

“Chu Kuang adopts a very brief and efficient compressed narrative, deleting the description of human emotions so the whole work looks like a skeletal specimen. It’s definitely not perfect, but even as a specimen, it’s well worth studying.”

“Still a gap compared with Wei Continent.”

“I can’t stand it anymore; pointing out flaws is okay, but can you guys not criticize for the sake of criticism? I dare to admit the book’s shortcomings, yet you guys don’t dare to acknowledge its merits?”

Science fiction in Qin Continent is declining.

In fact, other continents are not faring well either.

Just as Zhong Continent and Qin Continent can dominate the Blue Star music scene, the Blue Star science fiction market is completely held by Zhong Continent and Wei Continent.

It’s rare for works from other continents to break through these shackles.

In such an atmosphere, all continents hope to produce some sci-fi masterpieces that would catch the attention of the world.

Unfortunately.

The quality of “The Wandering Earth” isn’t convincing enough for all Qin Continent writers.

Even the group owner bubbles up, commenting with emotion: “If this work could be expanded further, and go deeper into character and emotional development, the effect might be better. However, the intrinsic value of this novel’s overall quality is unquestionable, and I am planning to invite Chu Kuang to join the Qin Continent Science Fiction Association. We need Chu Kuang’s influence.”

…

Big Liu has many works.

Lin Yuan believes “The Wandering Earth” is roughly of medium quality among Big Liu’s contributions.

But Big Liu’s average level is already quite extraordinary, as he is the boss who single-handedly elevated Chinese sci-fi to a world-class level.

Therefore.

Seeing some discussions about the novel’s shortcomings in the comments, he didn’t take it too much to heart.

This is a process.

It’s the process of laying the foundation for The Three-Body Problem series.

Many people, after revisiting Big Liu’s works, will find the inevitability of the appearance of The Three-Body Problem series.

Because the style and tone of The Three-Body Problem series were gradually formed through these short stories, such as the division of generations after Earth’s rotation stopped in “The Wandering Earth,” and the descriptions of massive technological constructions, which are again presented in The Three-Body Problem series.

Even richer!

More magnificent!

As if it was all meant to be!

Including the concept of the human self-salvation community conceived in this novel, which was also born in this process.

All these are the rudiments of The Three-Body Problem.

Lin Yuan wants to refine these rudiments before launching The Three-Body Problem series, so there wouldn’t be any abruptness, just as naturally meant to be.

…

In fact.

There’s no need for The Three-Body Problem series for the time being, this novel has already been a great success!

Very soon.

There was broad media coverage on the internet.

Including blog hot searches, which were occupied by Chu Kuang’s new book in more than one topic.

Even readers from the Wei Continent have heard about this novel.

In this process.

Huyan Dabo and Chen Le played a quite important role.

The two of them, one after the other, used their official accounts to promote “Wandering Blue Star.”

Chen Le:

“After ‘The Heartbroken,’ Chu Kuang gives us another science fiction masterpiece, this time a hard sci-fi, folks!”

Huyan Dabo:

“I’m thrilled to introduce to everyone my idol, Mr. Chu, a writer from Qin Continent. Mr. Chu has just released a novel called ‘Wandering Blue Star,’ an epic sci-fi work with mind-blowing imaginative concepts and terrifying world-building abilities, not to be missed!”

Chen Le has not a few fans.

Huyan Dabo has even more.

This round of recommendations directly brought more readers to Chu Kuang, and also showcased Chu Kuang’s sci-fi writing prowess to more people from the Wei Continent.

“This ‘The Wandering Earth’ is truly fantastic!”

“You’ve got to admit, this Chu Kuang can really write some decent sci-fi novels!”

“I rarely read science fiction by authors from other continents, but after reading these two by Chu Kuang, I got quite shocked!”

“Is Qin Continent’s science fiction this strong?”

“I really like the kind of big-idea science fiction like ‘Wandering Blue Star’!”

“This person does write good sci-fi, but it’s somewhat of a tear-jerker.”

“Right, ‘The Heartbroken’ was one thing, but even this epic narrative makes you want to cry in the end.”

“Watching the last five thousand members of the Blue Star Sect face their execution was heart-wrenching.”

“The sun blew up, and humanity still doesn’t believe in science.”

“Has this Chu Kuang written any long science fiction works?”

“No, Chu Kuang has just started writing sci-fi.”

“No way, he’s this good at sci-fi already?”

“Indeed, pretty impressive, but short stories aren’t enough, they leave you wanting more. Truly, a long-form novel is where a sci-fi author can fully unleash their capabilities.”

Clearly.

Chu Kuang’s two short science fiction stories have successfully piqued the interest of many readers from the Wei Continent.

There are quite a few Wei Continent readers who downloaded the blog specially to read the novel, then left various comments expressing their love for these two short sci-fi works by Chu Kuang.

But some comments sound a bit off.

For example, one Wei Continent reader left this message:

“Keep it up, author, your science fiction is almost on par with our Wei Continent’s level!”

Well then.

Lin Yuan could endure it.

But Chu Kuang couldn’t.

Lin Yuan instantly felt the spirit of Chu Kuang within him stirring again.

What made Lin Yuan’s eyebrows twitch more was that the young readers started a new chant in the comments section:

“Short stories can’t cure this old rascal.”

“Gotta be a long story!”

“Absolutely!”

“Bring on the long-form!”

“Old rascal, dare you take up the challenge of writing long-form sci-fi?”

“Hahaha, forget it, after all, the old rascal isn’t a professional sci-fi contender.”

“Old rascal, I want to read wuxia now.”

“I’m more into fantasy novels though.”

“All are dull, better stick with mystery!”

“Is it just me here who wants to read fairy tales?”

“Yes, it’s just you.”

After skimming through these comments, and then looking back at the messages from Wei Continent readers, the spirit of Chu Kuang burst forth completely!

No way!

It’s got to be sci-fi!

Long-form sci-fi!

——————–

ps: I could have written ten thousand words today, but I wanted to watch the game, even though it feels like EDG is going to lose, the sense of ceremony is still important, so let’s wrap it up at nine thousand words for now.