Chapter 10#
The achievement obtained by Gao Xinglu’s team was not made public by the state.
In fact, after hearing the sequence of events of this research from Academician Gao, the leaders of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) repeatedly asked in disbelief: “Is what you’re saying true? A novel?”
“Yes,” Gao Xinglu lamented. “I’ve already written it in the internal reference for the central government. I’m not a senile old fool; go see for yourself, the book is called ‘Song of the Earth’.”
Leader: “…Isn’t that the story my daughter is following?”
Gao Xinglu then remembered that the leader’s daughter seemed to be Ding Qi’s junior sister from undergraduate studies; they had even met once at the school. He couldn’t help but chuckle.
He naturally knew what kind of results would be caused if he reported it before the research results were made. For the sake of caution, Yan Heqing’s novel would certainly be banned, and the national security department would thoroughly investigate his background—because no one could believe that a person possessing such technology had the sole purpose of writing a web novel.
But as a member of the older generation of scientists, after several interactions in the comment section, Gao Xinglu still made a bold decision:
Betting his own reputation to guarantee Yan Heqing, allowing him to continue serializing “Song of the Earth.”
He had a premonition that in this ancient land, a cross-era new star was about to be born.
And geniuses have always had privileges.
“You’re only eight thousand away from second place!” 008’s cat eyes were wide open. It wished it could directly pull eight thousand yuan from the bank to make up for Qiao Jing. “Quick, quick, quick, he seems to be about to add more updates!”
Presumably because Qiao Jing made them feel a sense of crisis, not just Sa’en, but all the authors on the chart added several more chapters.
In contrast, Qiao Jing was still leisurely roaming within the database, as if he didn’t care about this competition at all.
“The money is already earned, and the inspiration is gone.” He had nearly a hundred thousand yuan coming in today alone, and he had even broken the record for Liuliu Web. “It’s impossible to code. It’s no big deal to skip a day, right?”
008 let out a soulful cry: “Don’t ‘pigeon’ (skip)!!!!”
Speak of the devil.
Don’t Pigeon’s avatar lit up on the screen.
Qiao Jing slightly curled his lips, and in a good mood, clicked on the chat box. He found that his editor had sent a “teary cat head” emoji, saying: “Big shot, someone is looking for you later. Could you please add them?”
“Who?”
He had some premonition, but still asked.
Don’t Pigeon: “People from the state.”
Before Qiao Jing could reply, he saw a red dot light up in the “New Friends” column.
He thought for a moment and then clicked to add.
It was a side account with a plain landscape avatar, and nothing was posted in its space. But the moment Qiao Jing accepted the add, the other party expressed their intention with great sincerity, looking as though it had been written and copy-pasted long ago:
“Hello, Mr. Yan. Are you interested in having an offline chat? Please rest assured that we will guarantee your safety and various rights, and provide you with generous rewards. If you have other requirements, you can also tell me. On behalf of the state, I will do my best to help you achieve them.”
Qiao Jing, however, saw a hint of something in his words. He was silent for a moment and typed to ask: “Who is your person-in-charge?”
This time the other party didn’t reply immediately, presumably asking a superior.
Half a minute later, he sent a name.
Qiao Jing stared at that name, with a thought of “as expected.”
“I’m sorry,” but he still refused the person’s request. “Let’s talk online if there’s anything. I don’t want to disclose my true identity.”
“Okay,” the other party replied quickly, probably having prepared a contingency plan. “If you need help or change your mind, you can contact me at any time. Thank you for your huge contribution to national scientific research. Since you don’t wish to appear publicly, we will convert the amount into a novel tip according to the CAS research reward standards, and Liuliu Web will not charge any commission fees from it.”
As a representative of the state, his attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, but he also gave Qiao Jing enough respect.
Regarding this, Qiao Jing didn’t find it strange.
With 008, a cross-era AI, all network traces behind the pen name “Yan Heqing” were completely erased the moment they appeared. No one could find his true identity.
Even if the national team took action, it would be the same.
But after pondering for a while, he still dialed a number.
“Hello, Mom, it’s me,” Qiao Jing asked. “Mm, don’t worry, I’ve been doing quite well lately. I just wanted to ask, is Dad… is his health okay recently?”
Before he could wait for his mother’s answer, he heard a vigorous roar of anger on the phone: “Not dead yet, you brat! You’ll be twenty-six after this New Year; hurry up and get to work like a normal person! Do you want to stay at home for a lifetime until you rot?”
Qiao Jing: “…Still the same as ever.”
After saying goodbye to his mother, he quickly ended the call.
It seemed that the big order signed with Europe recently had kept the old man proud for a long time, Qiao Jing thought, otherwise how would he have the time to worry about his affairs?
008: “Quick, look at the comment section!”
“What?” Qiao Jing was stunned for a moment, clicked on the comment section of “Song of the Earth,” and found that the entire comment section had exploded.
—A reader had tipped him a full million yuan.
He understood: this should be the CAS research bonus the person just mentioned.
A research bonus of one million is actually not much; it seems they were still relatively cautious. But for a web novel tip, this was an achievement enough to go down in history!
A whole million!!!
The readers were all like crazy, starting to frantically spam the comment section in worship of the big shot.
After having 008 withdraw the money, disguise it, and donate it again to national student aid agencies, Qiao Jing stared at that reader’s ID and sighed in distress.
Presumably, the other side had directly bought a Liuliu Web account to send him the money, but before that, they should have changed the name, right?
According to the rules of the web novel world, for such an ultra-large tip, the author would generally add the reader’s ID into the plot. Whether it becomes a meme or a character, in short, it’s a gesture of thanks.
But Qiao Jing stared at the four words “National Football Team Must Win” (Guozu Bi Sheng), feeling deeply that this was even more outrageous than the state researching an aerospace carrier right now.
He could help with other things, but for this…
“Your servant” truly cannot do it.
“What, a million tip!?”
Sa Yi jumped straight out of his chair while holding his phone. “Is Yan Heqing crazy!!??”
He didn’t believe for a second that this was some tycoon reader tipping Yan Heqing. Xingchen Web held half of the web novel world’s territory, and even so, the largest single tip Sa Yi had received was only three hundred thousand. How could Yan Heqing, a small newcomer on a “pheasant” website, attract the attention of a tycoon?
It must be that he spent his own money to find someone to cast it!
“A million—did he sell his house?” Sa Yi said hatefully. “This is going to be a fight to the death with me. Fine, then I’ll play along!”
He checked his bank card balance and found with some frustration that because of his retaliatory consumption after being snubbed at the author conference—spending lavishly on a house in full and changing his car—there was now only a bit over seven hundred thousand in the card.
The money earned by a top hit novel for an author was enough to make up for all early investments. Sa Yi hadn’t done this kind of thing before, and luckily, he had won the bet every time.
Cars, houses, reputation, status—these were all his trophies.
But he always had a premonition that this time was different.
If he lost, it would be several million down the drain.
Sa Yi was hesitant for a moment, but looking at that eye-piercing name pressing down on him on the chart, he gritted his teeth and decided to go for it!
At worst, he would also sell his house and car!
He picked up his phone and contacted editor Wang Cheng.
Beijing Time, 2:37 AM.
—A reader with the account name “Qilin Invincible” tipped Sa’en’s newly listed book 1.5 million yuan.