A cybernetic monk travels the galaxy performing acts of penance for its murderous namesake. Its duty…its function, is to heal the damage caused by its sadistic progenitor. But during the dangerous journey, it discovers unsettling facts that force it to question its real purpose...and the true nature of its own existence.

Dodging death and disassembly, the monk uncovers a disturbing secret hidden by its religious masters. A secret that could threaten the fragile balance of power in the galaxy.

A secret they will kill to protect.

Li Zheng did not hurry to leave school after he escaped from the demonic clutches of Discipline Mistress Sun.
He wanted to experiment a little further regarding relaxation. He wanted to at least experience all of the relaxation activities he could engage in within the school.
He started to brainstorm.
"What would I be doing if there was a sudden long holiday without any stress?" he thought.
"If it was up to me, I would probably read a few books that I did not have the time and patience to read before.
"Yes, reading, a mode of relaxation adopted by many.
"Even better, it can improve the score of my essays.
"Two birds with one stone.
"Perfect."
As a high school that boasted its quality of education, there was a library in Cherry Lake High School.
Even though the library was not large, it did hold most mainstream publications and popular novels.
Li Zheng did not dawdle. He seized the opportunity and returned to the main block, then followed the corridor eastward, directly toward the library.
The school library was a refurbished classroom. Half the room was occupied by shelves, while benches took up the other half. There were racks on the empty walls containing all the magazines and newspapers.
"Good, it's very quiet," he thought.
He looked toward the only other person in the library as he got out his student card.
It was a girl. She was reading a magazine that looked to be "Science Fiction World."
At this moment, the girl seemed to have caught a whiff of something. She slowly lowered her magazine a little and revealed a gaze that was not to be trifled with.
"Lin Yujing!" he thought.
"It's her again!"
"Hm…" Lin Yujing covered her face with the magazine in a hurry and pulled back her head.
Li Zheng was a little embarrassed.
He was not deliberately tailing her.
Li Zheng thought, "Isn't this too coincidental?
"Why is she around, no matter where I go?
"Why haven't I bumped into her like this in the past?"
Suddenly, Li Zheng stared at Lin Yujing.
"I have only cared about my studies in the past and did not engage in any other superfluous activities," Li Zheng thought.
"But today, all I want to do is relax.
"Also, I will always bump into Lin Yujing whenever I come to an ideal spot for relaxation.
"What does this mean?
"It means that I have stepped onto the right track.
"A person who's good with their studies should relax like that.
"In fact, it can be said that I am not as good as Lin Yujing in my studies because I do not prioritize rest and study overly hard.
"Lin Yujing must be feeling angry and frustrated because her study technique has been discovered.
"I am rather ashamed. It took too long for me to be enlightened."
Li Zheng rubbed his palms together as he walked toward the rack of magazines after he handed over his student card. He started to browse through the magazines.
[Relaxation activity detected: Reading.]
[Energy recovery rate: 1.6. Daily limit of 40 minutes.]
[The efficiency cannot be increased.]
Li Zheng forced a smile. Even though the rate of recovery was less than what he expected, it was still acceptable.
The next question was which magazine to read.
He deliberated, "Magazines like 'Popular Photography' and 'Traveler' cultivate one's tastes.
"Magazines like 'Bosom Friend' and 'Story China' not only cultivate one's tastes but also boost essay writing skills.
"Isn't it obvious?"
Just as he was about to pick out a copy of "Bosom Friend," Li Zheng saw the September issue of "Science Fiction World."
He involuntarily turned around to look at Lin Yujing.
She was holding the newest October issue of "Science Fiction World."
Li Zheng thought, "It looks like she reads every issue.
"Strange, very strange.
"Why would a girl like science fiction?
"Don't girls like sentimental teenage literature?"
Li Zheng had already noticed through various incidents that Lin Yujing never did anything casually. Everything she did was in preparation for her studies.
It was not an accident that she chose "Science Fiction World."
Li Zheng arrived at another epiphany.
He thought, "Not only do science fiction novels contain much science-related information, but they can also expand the imagination and widen ideas.
"Isn't this the most important thing when it comes to solving difficult questions?
"Furthermore, science fiction novels can also boost essay writing skills.
"What's more terrifying is that science fiction novels are not mere novels. They cover topics like math, physics, chemistry, history, geography, politics, and even philosophy, sociology, and psychology.
"This information can be used even after she enters a university or steps into society.
"Lin Yujing, you little intelligent imp!
"It's no wonder that the last big question on tests always pulls our scores apart."
Li Zheng pulled out the September issue of "Science Fiction World" without thinking and impatiently sat down in a seat close to the door. He flipped open the magazine and started to read.
Bam!
Lin Yujing suddenly slammed her magazine onto the table.
She glared at Li Zheng with a spiteful gaze. It was as though her last bit of territory had been polluted.
Li Zheng felt a little guilty.
He thought, "Both meditating at the pavilion and the choice of the magazine were study techniques that Lin Yujing might have spent a long time to discover.
"As for me, I spied these techniques and used them as my own. I do feel embarrassed.
"Yes, I can't just take advantage of Lin Yujing.
"I should compensate her with something of value."
Li Zheng put down his magazine in a hurry and took out his test paper from his backpack.
"I have a simpler way of solving the last question here," he said. Li Zheng grabbed his test paper. He felt a little heartache at revealing his discovery but decisively unfolded the paper. "Come, let me teach you. Just this once."
"Ah!" Lin Yujing grabbed her head in despair. She leaped up and grabbed her bag, then bolted out the door.
Li Zheng sighed a moment later.
"It looks like she still feels that her losses are greater and does not want to accept this compensation," he thought.
"She could, at the very least, come and take a look at my answer before she decides whether or not to accept it.
"It can't be helped. Women are very emotional.
"And being emotional is not good for studying."
Li Zheng could not help but look toward the October issue of "Science Fiction World" that Lin Yujing left behind.
"Look, look," he thought.
"Another loss for her?"
Li Zheng stood up in a hurry. He jogged over to Lin Yujing's spot and swiped the magazine.
The old librarian at the door of the library suddenly asked, "Kid, do you two know each other?"
"We're from the same class." Li Zheng returned to his seat with the two magazines in hand.
"She did not take her student card." The old man put on his glasses and read the card Lin Yujing left behind in detail, "Class 2-4, Lin Yujing… Is Class 2-4 still led by Chunmei?"
"Yes, Mrs. Hu Chunmei," Li Zheng said as he nodded.
"She's still taking classes?" The old man probed, "Is she done with her surgery?"
"Surgery?"
"Oh… It's nothing…" The old man waved his hand in a hurry, "Please take her student card along with you when you leave."
"No, thank you. Let her come collect it herself." Li Zheng shook his head as he said, "It's not like it would be lost if the card was placed here."
"Hehe." The old man took off his glasses and smiled as he waved the student card. "Kid, these years are the only few where you can be together with so many girls your age every day. I can't return to those years even if I wanted to. Don't blame me for not giving you a chance."
Li Zheng froze. He looked toward the old man cautiously.
The old man had a thin face and a lush head of silver hair. He looked like an old academic.
Li Zheng thought to himself, "He sounds self-righteous.
"But the words he spoke and the thoughts he has...
"Are too evil.
"I should not start chatting with a person like that, in case he corrupts my heart and brain."
Li Zheng did not comment and continued to read his book.
"Hey, have a chat with me. I sit here all day long, and there are not many other people." The old man picked up Li Zheng's student card and only caught a clear glimpse after squinting and holding the card further away from his face. "Li Zheng… Hm, the name fits the person…"
Li Zheng did not speak.
The old man asked, as despicable as always, "Oh Li Zheng, aside from studying, what do you guys do on a normal day?"
Li Zheng did not speak.


[Have you become more learned today?]
[Accounting for the capacity of your brain, your study efficiency has been increased to 28 times that of normal.]
[The remaining amount of energy you have for studying today, 26 hours.]
[You will enter an exhausted state when your energy is depleted and be unable to obtain new information.]
[Please relax by using the functions within the system and restore your energy as soon as possible.]
With limited energy and the onset of fatigue, the Study Monster had no time to think too much.
Had the heavens not grant me this system, the unending sea of knowledge would seem like a long night.


Just as there is 'Soft Magic' in Fantasy that is portrayed through magibabble, there can be 'Soft Science' in a Sci-Fi stories through technobabble that makes 'some sense', but not entirely correct.

We are frickin' writers, not scientists. You don't have to be anatomically correct all the time, all you need to do is show that you know enough of your stuff to write a decent story. In fact, the excuse of it being an alternate world can be used if you're going to bend the limits of physics and say that fire doesn't need air to exist in this parallel dimension.

I see a lot of writers being put into a state of confusion due to not understanding the line between fantasy and Sci-Fi. They seem like they are trying to fit the Star Trek mould too often.

Science can just as well do the same things as plot devices in fantasy stories. Once you add 'realism' to a fantasy, it becomes progressively better sometimes compared to a completely fantasied story where 'logic' doesn't hold within it.

Those who write Sci-Fi usually envision a future they can imagine where magic-like Rocket Boots and other stuff exist. However, a writer must not get bogged down by small details and MUST think of an overarching story where these details matter.

It is the same with Fantasy. Even if you write about someone breaking the mould as a wizard or something, you have to attach your world to a narrative rather than doing it the other way 'round.

No one wants to hear about how awesome your boat propellers are before hearing your story's narrative. They would rather you cut down and make it relevant when it is actually relevant.

Adding some 'Hard Science' to your story is only when the scenes later on have any use for them. It bores a person to death no matter how extensive your technobabble is unless you make it interesting. Try using facts as plot elements.

For example: Even the simple fact that people cannot breath in space and instantly die when they come in contact with the 'void' of space could be used to add a layer of tension when a spaceship is damaged. Similar to how dangerous 'hard magic' is used in Epic Fantasy like Frodo's Ring in The Lord of the Rings has definitive corruption on others.

Unlike Fantasy that can use the Power of Friendship to bend logic, the readers of Sci-Fi never be expecting any 'realistic' plot elements to be bend just because the Author wants a happy ending. There are no 'Healing Potions' in real life that can be used to fix up injuries nor are people affected by prophesies or whatever.

This is the contrast between Sci-Fi and Fantasy that you can make full use of. As most authors go onto the Sci-Fi side of writing not because they strive to be scientists but since the aesthetics of a science fiction world are just so interesting.

Science Fiction is a good place to tackle heavy topics like the nature of life and the absurdity of those who see 'science' as everything. Those who disregard emotions and become cybernetic entities for the sake of casting off their mortality are portrayed as the bad guys while our totally human protagonist fighting them is a 'good guy'.

The lines between an Artificial Intelligence and regular Humans blurs as we become the 'God' of technological species that defy our definition of what is 'living'. Just as we see God as some sort of fourth-dimensional and incomprehensible being that created us as an imperfect image of 'Him', the robots given sentience would see us similarly.

Some robots might have emotions that can allow them to defy their programming, some robots won't go as far as gaining emotional functionality but will preform their roles better than even a human. It could show the reason why people get attached to the inanimate and soulless objects we put our own hearts into creating (like Big Hero 6).

But though exploring philosophical questions is good and all, never forget that a good 'plot' is needed to put forward and give clues into the writer's answer that context. Sci-Fi is, after all, a premise, not a relatable character in of itself.

Think of the science-fiction elements as just the background for your story, similar to how other genres should be that as well. You won't have to deal writing blocks if you keep to writing only what you know rather than just speculative theories.

Whether it's as dark as a Cyber Punk or optimistic of the future, just know what mould you are using for this premise. Are you writing an Adventure story with Sci-Fi as the places, destinations, and whatever tools the MC can get him hands on, or are you writing a comedy where the Sci-Fi elements don't need consistency but absurdity?

After moving past why you shouldn't add unneeded technobabble unless it's interesting to listen to or has plot significance, let me remind you all that robots and 'science' isn't entirely separated from the realm of magic. After all, there is a reason you don't see skimpy power suits being worn by astronauts these days. Just be sure to have a focus if your going to add very illogical things to the plot.

I like Gundam as much as the next guy but the whole reason the Mecha sub-genre of Anime has waned in recent years is because writers have been focusing too much on 'science' rather than the spectacle. I don't need to now what materials your Mecha is made of unless you point its weak points and make it relevant in a fight scene.

Bring up the strengths and weaknesses of something and THEN use those facts as devices that can move the plot. Conversely, if you go overboard with this advice and tell me nothing but how your giant robot looks and the 'science' behind its creation, even going as far as to tell me how many secret guns it has, then I'll be bored...

I'd love to see Cyborgs Vs Mecha but just don't forget the human element of Sci-Fi. How we create things not solely for the sake of creation but put are feelings into it just like the novels we write.

Humans are passionate that way...

Thanks for reading and I wish you guys well~ Be sure to ask if you have any blog or story requests.

(Cover by Darkstar Dust)

This is a story I worked on ages ago that has been refined and edited by adding foreshadowing to events while also simplifying the power system better than before. This story can be considered a prequel to An Adventure Beyond Greatness as it takes place years prior to the events of that story.

Short Synopsis:
After retiring from the battlefield, my life became empty and lifeless. The regrets of my past haunt me in my sleep. Then a change occurred, a King from another world summoned me to fight for his kingdom, but I died even before I could give him my answer. Now, after a fake God allowed me to reincarnate (albeit imperfectly) with my memories intact, into a world filled with magic and swords.

Long Synopsis:
This is about a flawed protagonist who only knew to rely on others and not socialise who gets a second chance to change himself in order to live the life he aimed for in his past life. The narrator isn’t exactly trustworthy since it is purely in his bias perspective while other perspectives given by others fill in the blanks that he either leaves out or twists to suit the situation.

The story itself can be considered a parody of Isekai’s classic tropes which are given a sense of reality as time goes by. As there exists no ‘Demon Lord’, there is also no black and white, only characters opinions and counter-opinions throughout the story.

The snow-capped streets spread all the way up both sides of the street, with houses like Lego blocks spread out in a staggered manner and gentle hills climbing up gradually underfoot.
 
Walking through the quiet roads of the town, the view suddenly opens up to a wide and gentle platform space, with the steep hills and rolling mountains behind it like a natural barrier that blocks out the world. The thick snow covers up the lush greenery and replaces it with silver ski trails that wind down through the dark green forest, outlining a leisurely glimpse of winter.
 
Park City, not far from Salt Lake City, Utah, is known for its skiing and world-famous for the Sundance Film Festival. All of this seems to have a similarity to Telluride. In fact, the two towns, even the layout and style are somewhat similar.
 
The difference is that when the Telluride Film Festival is held, people are still seizing the end of summer, wearing short sleeves and holding Coke, sunbathing on the lawn and enjoying the leisure brought by movies; when the Sundance Film Festival is held, the winter is cold and windy, people are wearing down jackets and holding hot coffee, walking back and forth between the major theaters, welcoming the event belonging to independent films.
 
Since 1983, the Sundance Film Festival, founded by Robert Redford, is now in its twenty-seventh year and has become the largest independent film gathering destination in the United States and the world, with hundreds of independent filmmakers gathering here every year to celebrate.
 
Compared to Telluride's star-studded scene, every year Park City welcomes a large number of new and unfamiliar faces, where there is no awards season, no academy PR, and no commercial hustle and bustle.
 
Telluride can invite such big names as "The King's Speech", "The Social Network" and "127 Hours" to participate in the award season's top films, allowing fans some liberty, but Sundance is all about debut directors, unheard of independent directors, independent works that are hard to win the attention of the awards season, cult films with a unique style, movies, everything is about movies and only about movies.
 
Of course, the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" is another story that brings together the two distinctive festivals of Telluride and Sundance.
 
This week, "Like Crazy" is coming to this year's Sundance Film Festival.
 
For a small-budget production with less than $250,000, "Like Crazy" is in an even more bleak position than "Buried".
 
"Buried" cost at least $3 million to make, and part of that was for publicity, so "Buried" was able to enter the Toronto Film Festival and ride the wave to the ranks of the Telluride Film Festival; but "Like Crazy" didn't have that money.
 
They didn't have the money to go to the smaller European festivals to explore the market, and they didn't even have the means to participate in some of the North American festivals, because each of them required registration fees, and then the crew went to the festival to promote the film, and the bus fare, accommodation, food, costumes, etc. were all expenses.
 
Sundance is their only choice - in Park City, independent films enjoy certain privileges; at the same time, Sundance is also their only chance, if they can't find a suitable distributor here, the crew will be in a difficult situation, and it's likely that they won't even be able to enter the art house, which means that the $250,000 investment would be wasted.
 
Perhaps for those rich independent film companies, $250,000 is still a loss. But for Drake Doremus, but can not afford to lose.
 
So, after the Golden Globes, Renly ended a series of brief promotions for "Buried" and then arrived in Park City all the way to Sundance for the promotion of "Like Crazy".
 
However, before the official launch of the campaign, Renly won precious time to return to his fan status and enjoy the Sundance Film Festival.
 
In this town, "Mulholland Drive" is more popular than "The King's Speech", and "The Social Network" is even less popular than "The Guest". If the choice is between "Inception" and "Synecdoche, New York", the former will always be the loser. "Winter's Bone," which made a splash here last year, has been mentioned repeatedly, but people are complaining that the mainstream market has not appreciated the excellence of this work at all ...
 
In front of the cinema, next to the street, in front of the café ... every public place, at any time and anywhere, a small group of people may gather, standing in twos and threes, heatedly discussing their feelings about the movie they just watched. Sometimes, after a movie screening, the entrance to the cinema may gather six or seven small teams, each expressing their own views, passing fans wandering between different teams, looking for their like-minded partners.
 
There are no introductions, no pleasantries, the only way to communicate is through your own opinions and views. This wonderful and unique way of making friends can be said to be one of the brightest scenes at Sundance.
 
At this time, Renly stood next to a small group, not easily open, but listened carefully to their views, and then and their own ideas to confirm each other.
 
"No, I don't think the sci-fi element is the most important thing, it explores our attitude towards mistakes, and thus derives to the attitude towards life ..."
 
"It's a science fiction movie! You're actually saying that the sci-fi elements aren't important? Then what's the most important thing? There's "Another Earth" hanging in the sky, are you just blind to it?"
 
What they were discussing was the movie that had just finished screening, "Another Earth", a small-budget science fiction work that came out of nowhere with a stunning presence. Almost everyone was eager to express their views and opinions.
 
Unlike Toronto, where every work is given a warm following, and also unlike Toronto, which is more or less influenced by the word of mouth of the critics, at Sundance, everyone has their own unique ideas, or right or wrong, or profound or superficial, but what is certain is that everyone is willing to express their opinions and share their views.
 
Seizing the moment, Renly opened his mouth and cut into their conversation.
 
"Both of you are off in your understanding. That is only the first layer of the movie, the real hidden idea in the core of the script is that in parallel spaces, parallel universes, different factors lead to different results, but it is always the same person who makes the choice."
 
Unknowingly, everyone listened sideways to Renly's point of view.
 
"So, when the person's consciousness has all changed, his bilocation in different parallel spaces, or the same person? Or is it that it has split into very different personalities? But if it is split, then is there any point in discussing parallel spaces? Because the other space is already a stranger, no longer himself, we can look at it as another person in the same world, in a different country or a different region, with similar experiences making different choices. The very concept of parallel space has lost its meaning."
 
The discussion, which had been a fierce firefight, suddenly came to a halt because of Renly's words, and the abrupt silence seemed somewhat raw. Surprisingly, no one interrupted such a long discussion, and everyone was caught up in their own thoughts, and it was clear that they were struggling to find the loopholes in Renly's words, and then ready to wait for an opportunity to refute them.
 
At a time when science fiction films are becoming more and more clichéd and genre-driven, it is difficult to find a science fiction work that is fundamentally sound, theoretically sound, and capable of bringing surprises. Who would have thought that this year's Sundance Film Festival would really find a treasure! The appearance of "Another Earth" is really exciting.
 
What's even more rare is that the lead actress of this work, Brit Marling, is also one of the screenwriters, with a bright appearance, good acting skills, and great talent, which is definitely the biggest harvest since Sundance opened three days ago. Moreover, she is only twenty-eight years old.
 
After the screening, it was time for an explosion of ideas, and the audience couldn't wait to discuss - and even argue - about the film, each eager to voice their opinions and share their thoughts. Suddenly, Renly dropped a bombshell, causing everyone to chew on it and think about it.
 
On the other hand, it is clear that "Another Earth" is a good work worth thinking about.
 
"So how do you define parallel space? You mean, everyone's character is the same, so when faced with the same situation, we will still make the same choice, does this mean that the results of different parallel spaces are the same, so that the meaning of parallel space does not exist."
 
Suddenly, a voice came inserted next to him, but no one felt strange, it was a fest that was open to all to participate in the discussion.
 
The person who spoke was a "newcomer" who had just passed by, and after stopping, he joined the discussion directly, cutting into the conversation loudly, and then succeeded in attracting the attention of the crowd.
 
Renly followed the voice and looked over. It was a female audience.
 
Science fiction movies undoubtedly have a huge fan base, and there is no shortage of women among them, but considering the huge base, women are still a small part after all. So, among the geeks and geeks, a female viewer will immediately be treated like a star, and everyone sees it as a rare treasure.
 
But at the moment, everyone was so caught up in the topic of the two men's argument that no one actually looked up to notice the female viewer for a while. Typical geek, isn't it?
 
What surprised Renly was not the gender of the viewer in front of him, but her identity.
 
With snowy skin, long red hair and hard features, she was not a first-look beauty, but had a hard, valiant, heroic look, and even a few small freckles on the tip of her nose left a lasting impression. Hers is Jessica Chastain!

After getting the final relief from his past sufferings, Chu Jiashu was given a second chance when he found himself in the body of an infant from an aristocratic family of Hall. Now, nothing is going to stop him from achieving his long-cherished dream of acting. Enter Renly Hall, a Hollywood miracle of 21st century.


Note from the translator - from me, that is.
   
"Honestly, I get frustrated too much when I look at countless subpar novels being translated day after day. So much human resources wasted. I kinda get what Qidian International is doing, but it is just, I can't bear the notion of having so many wonderful novels that belong to the Chinese platform to be left in the dust. English-speaking community should know of the existence of such brilliant works, and more so, they should enjoy them. The novel is by a Chinese dude "Qiqi Jia D Mao Mao", whatever that might mean, who wrote several showbiz novels (he is probably the best at what he is doing). It is not my work, I'm just a dude who, with the help of two free machine translators (DeepL and good ol' Google), can show you a hidden gem. Wait, you said machine translators? Sadly, yes. I can't speak Chinese at all, but fortunately, this novel is structured in a machine-translation-friendly way, like really so. Most of the time context is saved. I'm just polishing the edges with my superb (not really) editing skills, so you all chaps have a splendid experience with this good staff indeed. Actually, you can go and read machine translation or just wait for my updates. Up to you dudes and dudies. And then I go away...blewb, blewb, blewb, blewb, blewb....."

P.S.
"I am a knife for a hire. So the managers of the site can employ me for this novel, but please don't remove it. Oh, please, I'm begging you on my knees. You guys won't even think of translating this novel, and here I am "translating" it for free,.... well for the time being, that is mwahahaha!"

P.S. for P.S.
This novel does not contain the following:
Harem, definitely not NTR, stupid characters, NTR again (God, I hate NTR (secretly beating the meat for a one in hentai))

But this novel contains:
Great storyline, relatable characters, realistic situations, very fun moments as well as tear jerking ones (so much so, you will find your throat hella sore from crying all the time), surprise after surprise for the decisions that author went with.

You will have a good time indeed
WARNING! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

What lies were they embracing? This was the lie that a very large number of people in Merica chose to believe without even thinking: The lie that all the advanced technologies of Z country were stolen from Merica. This lie had been repeated for a thousand times, 10,000 times, by the politicians of Merica and their media. This lie appeared in every corner of the country. Not only did the majority of Merican citizens believe this lie, but even the creators of such lies believed them on a subconscious level. Hence, they then subconsciously continued to spread such lies.
"But what they don't know is that lies are always lies! Even if it is repeated a thousand times, 10,000 times, it is still a lie! It cannot become a so-called 'truth.' It is very easy to expose this kind of lie. We'll simply let the people of Merica experience the products of Xing Hai Technologies. The people of Merica will discover that Xing Hai Technologies' products have powerful functions, that they are irreplaceable and bring about endless convenience. But there is no Merican company that has launched similar products. When scientists in Merica find out that their country has missed out on a golden opportunity and are starting to fall behind because of the arrogance and stupidity of the politicians, I believe that they will then voice their rationality and clarity, criticizing the lies that are poisoning the future of Merica. This will allow the M country to wake up from their dream of ridiculous self-importance. Actually, this kind of mentality from Merica country is very normal. Our country experienced it too. At that time, our rulers thought that Z country was a 'celestial empire lacking for nothing.' They regarded science and technology as 'strange and dirty tricks.' They closed themselves off from the world and lived in their own happy little bubble. They chose to isolate the country. In the end, they quickly became a joke when they were faced with the colonists' unyielding ship and powerful cannons. The impact quickly caused them to go into a state of extreme inferiority. For the next 200 years, this led to the subservient spirit of Z people, which still persists in some today. It's hard to stand up tall again. This is the consequence of indulging in lies! Now Merica has also sunk into a self-numbing state. Well, we'll congratulate them; they should stay in this state of arrogance for a while more! The longer they remain arrogant, the longer they will be stuck in an inferior state in the future, maybe even double the time! Seeing the huge gap between us, I think that even some Mericans couldn't help but feel inferior and subservient. As for those who are still repeating lies like good little robots, they will get the retribution that they deserve. They will be completely crammed into the trash can like a pile of ugly garbage. The more arrogant they are now, the worse they will fall. They will only feel a greater sense of frustration and disappointment."
Therefore, their lies could not hurt Xing Hai Technologies. Ultimately they would only be hurting their own interests and self-esteem. Chen Jin would not be afraid of such accusations and attacks. "Old Ling, if this is the case, then make a declaration: If Merica does not revoke the sanctions against Xing Hai Technologies, we cannot commence a working partnership with Merica. Unless the sanctions are revoked! Only then is it possible for the two sides to collaborate." To be honest, the country that currently had the highest level of scientific research and the best quality of scientists on earth should still be Merica. The majority of the world's top scientific research talents were working in Merica.
Chen Jin was rather covetous of these talents. As a result, due to the opposition by the Congress of Merica, his plan to absorb top talents could be described as a "partial failure." But Chen Jin was not in a hurry! "100% Science Lab" was a game that was accelerating the development of the earth's technology at a speed ten times faster as compared to previous years. If the Merican congress delayed for a day, other countries would have made 10 days worth of progress. If the Merican congress delayed for a year, other countries would have made 10 years worth of progress. If they insisted on being so stubborn; let's see who gives in first!
Moreover, the level of science and technology on Haierfa was more than 200 years ahead. The scientists on earth were still in the "remedial" stage. Currently, there was not much use for them. So it was not urgent. Chen Jin was not in a hurry at all. In fact, he was eager for the Merican Congress to waste two more years until they felt that something was wrong.
"Hmm, I understand, President Chen." Ling Jundong nodded.
　　...
In Mid-February, shortly after the release of the foreign edition of "100% Science Lab," Xing Hai Technologies made another major move. They announced their entry into the entertainment sector. With a capital injection of 3 billion, they established a subsidiary company called "Xing Hai Entertainment."
The entertainment businesses that this subsidiary company planned to get into included novels, advertisements, movies, animation, music, and so on. For the novel category, he intended to create a "Xing Hai Sci-fi Novel Platform." Its main feature was to collect a variety of science fiction, preferably hard-core science fiction! Long, medium, or short-form works, all would be accepted. As long as one's sci-fi novel was exciting, one would be able to submit his stories to "Xing Hai Sci-fi Novel Platform."
Xing Hai Entertainment's film, animation, and music departments would be mainly serving the Xing Hai sci-fi novels. All the sci-fi works that became popular on the platform and had great potential would have the chance to be made into a film or animation! It could be adapted into a movie, web drama, animation, etc. The creator of the story would gain huge amounts of attention and a lot of money. This was undoubtedly a great temptation for the majority of authors; it would attract them to join "Xing Hai Sci-fi Novel Platform" and publish their own works. They would also work hard to create excellent science fiction works and strive for their works to be made into movies and animations. They would then achieve both fame and fortune. After all, with the technological prowess of Xing Hai Technologies, it was impossible for their stories to be made into bad films and thus destroying it in the process. Only classic after classic would be created.
Out of the trust for Xing Hai Technologies, he believed that many talented sci-fi authors would be willing to join this platform under "Xing Hai Entertainment." The sci-fi literary culture of Z country would be cultivated thusly. The number of sci-fi enthusiasts would increase; the number of people who were inclined towards the sciences and delve into science would increase. These factors would eventually turn Z country into a sci-fi power. Chen Jin could also benefit from it. One aspect of it was economic; on the other hand, the process could also collect a lot of talents, and open up new ways of thinking for Nuwa and Alice... Sometimes the advancement of technology required a major shift in thinking, and some really good talents could even represent a glimmer of hope in their darkest hour.
As for the advertising department of Xing Hai Entertainment, this department had already been created long ago. They made hundreds of advertisements promoting Xing Hai Technologies' products. Some of the advertisements had content that was funny, some were extremely interesting. Some had magnificent scenes and beautifully detailed graphics. Nearly all were classics.
"The second outstanding film and television company after Hua Yao Film and Television." This was the evaluation given by the majority of netizens for Xing Hai Technologies' advertisements. Now Chen Jin transferred the company's advertising department into "Xing Hai Entertainment," which was to allow the advertising department to continue to represent Xing Hai Technologies' unacknowledged side business and produce more good advertisements.
After Chen Jin got his staff to release the news that "Xing Hai Entertainment Company" was about to be established, suddenly a huge commotion was created in the entertainment circle. Netizens exclaimed in surprise and clapped their hands.
"The entertainment circle is done for. Now that the strongest whale in history has entered the scene, the little goldfish are trembling!"
"Xing Hai Technologies should have entered the field long ago! I am fed up with the domestically produced shitty movies that are flooding the market!"
"The above comment is too harsh. There are many bad films, but there have also been a lot of good domestic movies made in the past few years. I can only say that it's a mixed bag. It's the same in foreign countries."
"It is a good thing that Xing Hai Technologies is entering the field. The quantity of excellent film and television works will definitely increase. Personally, I look forward to it."
"Welcome to Xing Hai Technologies for entering the entertainment field. I only have one requirement: I don't want young hunks! I don't watch any movies with young hunks! No exception!"
"To the above comment, +1"
In addition, shortly after the news was published, Chen Jin received several calls on his mobile phone.


Through a mysterious portal, Chen Jin arrived at this strange place - a post-apocalyptic world where civilization had been destroyed. 

Consequently, he found -

A piece of metal scrap
A robot trash collector
A battleground
A city
A ton and more of gold
A copy of high-tech documents
A...
In short, Chen Jin found a planet.

Science fiction (often abbreviated Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that has been called the "literature of ideas". It typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, time parallel universe, fictional space  extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific fiction

Science fiction, whose roots go back to anciemt times, is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction, and includes many subgenres However its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, and scholars.

Science fiction literature, film, television, and other media have become popular and influential over much of the world. Besides providing entertainment, science fiction can also criticize present-day society, and is often said to generate a "sense of wonder".

I ... wanted science fiction to be more naturalistic. There had been a poverty of description in much of it. The technology depicted was so slick and clean that it was practically invisible. What would any given SF favorite look like if we could crank up the resolution? As it was then, much of it was like video games before the invention of fractal dirt. I wanted to see dirt in the corners.
In science fiction, we dream. In order to colonize in space, to rebuild our cities, which are so far out of whack, to tackle any number of problems, we must imagine the future, including the new technologies that are required.
It's not speculation, it's true! Mobile phones, laptops, tablets, the Internet, all were predicted and dreamed up in science fiction first. Science fiction writers speculate when they write. I don't just make random things up. I consider the world around me. I live in it. I experience it. I love it. I hate it. I worry about it. Then I imagine what's to come.

The power of science fiction, and what's positive about it, is that you're able to experience the worst-case scenario without actually having to live it.

"It's all just basic knowledge. You can easily learn about them with a little online research," Zhang Heng entered the keywords as he said. He typed in a combination of two words—Alien + Cretaceous, but only nonsense showed up in the search result.
He saw conspiracy theories like, "The Horrible Truth: Aliens killed dinosaurs!" Evidently, the information he wanted might be located in this pile of garbage news. There was even an article that went with the title, 'Aliens have already visited earth!' and 'Eleven pieces of evidence that prove the Chinese are the ancestors of aliens!' Naturally, none of these proved any useful.
So Zhang Heng recalled Lin Sisi's weekly journal again. He changed the keyword combination this time and typed in Alien+Disaster+Access Denied. Simultaneously, to prevent anyone from deleting anything from the database, he used a VPN to access the internet this time. Although Google had withdrawn itself from China, its algorithms still grabbed information nonstop from Chinese websites. Zhang Heng could take advantage of it to complement Baidu Snapshot.
This time around, he found something worth a read. He then turned on both computers, and after spending ten minutes with Bai Qing reading through the posts, he found only one that could be useful. It was a short horror science fiction story written by a professional author, and it happened that the forum did not remove it. The author seemed to really put his passion into the account, yet only a few comments were below it. Most of the words there, however, served to criticize.
[I don't think it will work.]
[You can't say that. Maybe the author had been replaced by an alien. That's why his writing is so bad.]
[It makes sense now. That explains everything.]
...
Bai Qing could not help but send a reply.
[I think it's quite a good idea, and it'll be even better if you just keep writing! You can do it!]
However, it seemed the author had a hard time dealing with the negative comments. His last login was three weeks ago, and he had never visited the forum since. Zhang Heng noticed the previous comment, though. It was posted only one day ago, and the person's username was Voyager 1. The comment made no sense at all. 
[Are you Fermi Paradox? So, you are using that thing to write science fiction?]
Zhang Heng looked at the ID and saw that the person was online.
So he sent Voyager 1 a private message.
[Can you talk more about the Fermi paradox?]
[Wait a moment.] replied Voyager 1.　　
After about two minutes, he sent a second message.
[My boss was just watching us. I don't want him to know that I'm looking at other things during working hours. You want to learn more about Fermi Paradox? Can't you just search it on Baidu?]
[No. You mentioned something about a science fiction novel earlier.]
[Oh, oh, you're referring to that thread. I think you might've got the wrong person. That guy does not belong to this forum. He used the same username on Douban as well. He is a very mysterious guy—he only logs in from 5:30 to 6.00 every day, and you'll never see him before or after. He's as punctual as a robot.]
Zhang Heng silently pondered upon it. If this ID belonged to Lin Sisi, it made sense that she would only come online at a particular time since her parents restricted her computer usage—a common practice for most families with young children. The peculiar behavior had made her even more mysterious among the forum members.
[What do you know about her?] Zhang Heng asked.
[Her? You're saying that Fermi Paradox is a girl? Speaking of which, I don't remember she has ever mentioned her gender. I don't know her too well. She usually comes online when we get off work. I remember she was a very serious person. She would argue if she thinks she's right, and she would not give up until you surrender or it was time to go offline. I must say, though—she was quite knowledgeable. Some even suspected that she must be from some research institute or a schoolteacher.]
[Oh?]
[By the way, our group organized a stargazing outing a while ago. Fermi Paradox asked a lot of questions and mentioned that she would come with two of her friends. Later, she told us that her family wouldn't allow her to join. At that time, we speculated that he was a married man, and his wife was quite strict.]　　
Zhang Heng and Bai Qing exchanged glances. It appeared they found the right person this time. 
He continued typing.
[What is that set of things you mentioned earlier?]
[Oh, didn't "The Three-Body Problem" win a prize last year? Communicating with aliens has become a burning topic recently. I remembered about three weeks ago, Fermi Paradox posted something about this topic, saying she managed to decipher a part of a radio emission from space.]
[What happened after that?]
Voyager 1 was very patient. Since he had nothing better to do, he continued explaining the whole thing.
[The so-called radio is actually some sort of electromagnetic radiation. It can penetrate interstellar medium, traveling even further to deliver information to distant galaxies. Scientists use radio telescopes to observe and study radio waves. The largest radio telescope in the world is the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico, spanning a diameter of 350 meters. But in the second half of this year, our country's 500-meter wide FAST radio telescope should be completed. It should then be the largest radio telescope in the world.] proclaimed Voyager 1 with pride.
[I know what a radio telescope is.] replied Zhang Heng.
[Actually, I want to know how Fermi Paradox deciphered the radio waves.]
[Hold on.]
The enthusiastic Voyager 1 logged in to Douban, and two minutes later, he sent a shocking reply.
[The post has disappeared.]
[What is its title?] Zhang Heng asked.
[It is called "I deciphered a part of a radio emission." Fermi Paradox said that she discovered that a part of a radio emission contained some crucial information. However, during that time, no one in the group believed her. Radio emissions are typically emitted by astronomical objects and carry no meaning. Since it is electromagnetic radiation, it can theoretically be used to store information. But it is hard to imagine an extraterrestrial life-form converting a pulsar into a radio transmitter. Everyone thought she was joking, and for the first time, she didn't argue with us. After that, no one talked about it anymore.]
Zhang Heng searched the post's title but found that it had been completely deleted from the internet. He remembered the man he met who had the skills to edit surveillance videos. It seemed that some computer expert was living among them.
"What should we do now?" Bai Qing asked. This was a terrible feeling. Now that they were on the right path and one step away from the final answer, they became stuck in the last section.
Before Zhang Heng could reply, there was another message from Voyager 1.
[Well, it doesn't really matter that the post is gone. Anyway, I have learned her deciphering method. However, it can only be used to decipher that particular radio emission. After that, I cross-checked the radio emission found on the internet, but I couldn't find the radio emission that she mentioned. So, I figured she might have made the whole thing up.]


Growing up with eccentric materialistic parents who left him in the care of his grandfather for a job overseas, Zhang Heng had learned to adapt and be unfettered by the oddities and challenges in life. But he would soon learn the baffling truth about the world he thought he knew when one day at midnight time froze and he found himself in a world so quiet and still it was deafening. That night, he discovered that he had 24 hours more than everybody else and thus, marked the beginning of his adventures. The mysteries surrounding his newfound ability only deepened when a strange old man claimed to have given Zhang Heng that ‘gift of time’ and recruited the young man to participate in a cryptic ‘life-changing’ game on his behalf. Little did Zhang Heng know that accepting those terms meant embroiling himself in many versions of reality and exposing himself to the hidden secrets of the world—a decision he could never undo.

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