After sending the message, Li Yao closed the chat window and returned to the book group and the reviews section to collect more information.
Come to think of it, Yu Xin’s account was not one that he used often after all. His disguise just now was a bit hasty, too, and he had left a lot of loopholes. It shouldn’t be difficult for someone to discover that the ‘little rabbit in the sea of stars’ was an imaginary existence.
If Master Snail was a gentleman with a heart as still as water, or if he had some basic wisdom, it was hard to say whether or not he would be fooled.
Therefore, he had better think of more solutions.
Li Yao once again beat around the bush in the book group chat. In the end, those who remained here were all loyal readers of 40,000 Years of Cultivation. Other than expressing regret and indignation at the author’s abrupt loss of updates, everyone else had a lot of insight into the novel. Li Yao’s words drew out the feelings of many readers who were reading the book. Quite a few people gave a lot of insightful comments.
It was a pity that, although many readers had high praises for this novel, and there was no lack of diehard fans like Zhao Kai who were addicted to it, there was not a second reader like Li Yao who had been triggered by into a dream that was both illusory and real, let alone having a strange superpower.
In the eyes of most readers, this was just a passable web novel. Even if he really stopped updating and became a eunuch, it didn’t seem to be a big deal. All he needed to do was curse a few times. No one had ever felt that Li Yao… was like being bitten by thousands of ants. It was an unbearable feeling.
Li Yao memorized the comments of the readers and some of the highlights of the reviews and comments section, especially the replies of the authors. He tried to figure out the author’s preferences.
Then, he found a few comprehensive online novel forums and searched for posts related to . Whether they were recommended or criticized, the opposing parties’ opinions were quickly swept through. If he could really get in touch with Master Snail, how he could attract the other party to communicate face to face would depend on his methods.
Communication through the network was partly because it was unsafe and other people could steal the information at any time, and partly because the initiative was not in their own hands and they could go offline at any moment.
40,000 Years of Cultivation was his only clue. If this clue was cut off, it would be extremely difficult to find another clue.
Therefore, Li Yao had to suit his taste.
Thankfully, after a few days of ‘training’, his eyesight and brain power had both been significantly improved. His reading speed was three to five times faster than before, and he could deal with both the computer and the screen at the same time. That was why he was able to browse through hundreds of thousands of words of information in only one hour.
The notification panel above the phone was still empty. There was no response.
“Alright. It seems that the guy didn’t see my message at all. Or he simply laughed it off when he saw it. He even saw through my prank immediately.
Li Yao thought to himself, It does make sense now that I think about it. Judging from the plots of the battle of wits and bravery in and the magnificent depiction of the universe, the author should be a person with a high sense of humor and a very quick mind. Such a clumsy…
Beep beep beep!
Master Snail’s profile picture popped up in the notification bar at the top of the phone. The other party sent a very reserved smile.
“…”
Li Yao scratched his hair. Alright. Since he was hooked, he might as well chat.
“A real person?”
Li Yao said, “Are you really ‘Master Snail’? I’m sorry. I’m a bit excited. I really like your books!”
Li Yao bought a cute, playful, and girlish ‘Pink Bunny’ emoji for the account. At the end of the sentence, a pink bunny with starry eyes was attached with an adoring emoji.
The other party was silent for a long time. It was so long that Li Yao thought that the other party had seen through his trick and went offline. Finally, Master Snail said, “Hello, hello. I didn’t know that there was a female reader in .”
“What are you talking about?”
Li Yao sent another pink bunny pouting emoji that seemed to be angry, “Who says we girls can’t watch sci-fi? Can’t we only watch those lovey-dovey and lovey-dovey things? Can’t we imagine an impassioned and soul-stirring story happening in the sea of stars? Let me tell you, there are many female students in our department who like to watch your . I alone have recommended it to three to four sisters. We are all chasing after it and often discuss the plot after lights out in the middle of the night!”
“Is—is that so?”
Master Snail seemed to be at a loss. “Really?”
“Of course it is!”
Li Yao once again sent a pink rabbit emoji with its hands on its hips, nodding its head heavily. “Although we usually read more novels in the girls’ channel, it doesn’t mean that we will reject the real good books in the boys’ channel! It’s just that the web novels written by ordinary boys are all about fighting and killing. They are selfish and have a lot of harems. They simply treat us girls as machines without feelings and will. We are at the mercy of the male protagonist… Of course, we don’t like reading such things!”
“However, your novel is different. Although at the beginning, it was still an old-fashioned way of leveling up and fighting monsters, your values are very upright. The protagonist is not a scumbag who has no moral bottom line. Moreover, he is very serious when it comes to relationships. After writing millions of words, he still only loves his wife. He is simply a clear stream in online novels!”
“As the saying goes, a book is just like a person. I believe that a real person must be an upright person in life. A noble person who has broken away from the vulgar interests. Most importantly, he is very loyal to his feelings and knows how to respect and love women, right?”
“Yes, of course!”
Master Snail said, “You are too courteous. Your evaluation is too high. I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve it. Hahahaha!”
“You are indeed modest. As I expected, you are as low-key, easygoing, and elegant as Master Lie Niu.
Li Yao probed, “Right, can I call you ‘real person’, or should I call you… ‘Teacher Zhang’?”
“No, no. I wouldn’t dare call myself a ‘teacher’.”
Master Snail said, “My pen name is ‘Master Snail’, and my real name is ‘Zhang Daniu’. Everybody calls me ‘Old Bull’ in the book group. But in fact, I’m not old. We are all friends. Why don’t you call me ‘Big Bull’!”
“That won’t do. Your novel has indeed given me a lot of inspiration. I have been deeply influenced by both in life and in work. Of course, you are my ‘teacher’.”
Li Yao confirmed that the other party’s name was really Zhang Daniu, “How about I call you ‘Teacher Niu’? You can call me ‘Little Rabbit’. Oh right, Teacher Niu, why did you suddenly stop writing such a good novel? I saw in the group chat that you were injured. Is it true?”
“Cough. Don’t mention it.”
Master Lie Niu—Zhang Daniu sent a frustrated emoticon over. He was no longer as reserved as before. “Don’t listen to the comments section and some people in the book group. It’s true that, oh my, how should I put it? The endings of some of my previous books are not perfect, but a bad ending is not equal to a eunuch. How can these people insult my innocence out of thin air?”
“As for this time, I was really injured. I slipped in the bathroom and fell heavily on my right hand. The bone in my right hand is broken, and it’s swollen to the point that it’s even thicker than my thigh. The moment I touched it, I felt an excruciating pain. The doctor said that I need to rest for a while. The swelling has only just subsided today. How can I have the strength to write?”
“Is that so?”
Li Yao pondered for a moment and did not think that the guy was lying. “Then, will you continue to write and paint the marvelous world of ‘Forty Thousand Years of Cultivators’ for us after your wounds are healed? I really want to know what happened later and what the so-called ‘Vulture Plan’ is!”
“Well…”
Zhang Daniu hesitated for a moment before he laughed and said, “I will definitely write it when I have the chance. Really. Thank you for your support. Let’s see how it goes. I will try my best.”
“Is that so?”
Li Yao found a pair of round eyes, drooping rabbit ears, and the cutest and most “cute” emoticon from the emoticon pack and sent it over. “Please, please, Teacher Niu. Can you spoil the rest of the story in advance? Just a little bit, just a little bit. Sob sob sob, I can’t wait!”
“Well, spoilers are not mysterious at all!”
Zhang Daniu was still very persistent on this point. “However, I can tell you in advance that the rest of the story is very grand, brilliant, soul-stirring, and bizarre. It’s true. I’ve thought through all the final secrets of the federation, the imperium, and the Sanctuary Alliance, as well as the Pangu civilization and even the entire universe. Of course, the ‘Vulture Plan’ and the ‘Origin of Earth’ are necessary, too. I’ve written the outline. I guarantee that nobody will guess what I’m going to write!”
The outline had been written. The Vulture Plan, the mission of Earth, and the ultimate secrets of the universe were all inside!
Li Yao’s heart was beating fast. He was getting closer and closer to the truth. Chances were that, as long as he got the outline of the author, his superpowers would be maximized.
“If you say so—”
Li Yao sent a few smiley faces. “I’m more interested in what happened next!”
“Cough cough.”
Zhang Daniu said, “There’s still a lot of stuff that needs to be sorted out. I can’t explain it in such a short time!”
“Then… why don’t we talk face to face?”
Li Yao said, “Are you in Jiangnan City, too? Why don’t we have a chat? I have a lot of science fiction questions that I would like to ask you in person!”
“Huh?”
Zhang Daniu said, “Hey hey hey?”
“Please don’t blame me for my presumptuousness. This is sort of ‘privacy’. In fact, I came to you with a mission.”
Li Yao sent an emoji of a rabbit sticking out its tongue. “There’s a science fiction association in our department. All the sisters in the association like to read your novels very much. We’ve been preparing to share the book with the theme of 40,000 Years of Cultivation. Then, all the sisters said… I heard that Master Snail is in Jiangnan City. I wonder if he could be invited as a guest of the reading club. If he could come, everyone would be so happy! So, I shamelessly asked you to come. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not. Of course not.”
Zhang Daniu said, “Sisters of the Science Fiction Association?”
“Exactly!”
Li Yao said, “The Teacher’s Institute has always been a bit disproportionate between men and women. Our department is even more miserable. We are all girls with long hair and swaying skirts. There are not many boys. The development of our Science Fiction Association is quite difficult. Teacher Niu, please guide us!”
