ICTEUWMN Chapter 11

During those five days of obsessively refreshing for updates, Kane had been in utter torment.

His emotions over these five days could only be described as a progression: from initial anxiety and confusion, to mid-stage anger and frustration, and finally to numb bewilderment. Kane felt as though he had been cursed—a curse specifically for getting stood up.

Signed a contract? The newcomer ran off.
Read a book? The author stopped updating.

Kane had never felt this miserable in his entire life.

However, at this very moment, as one of the first readers to finish the author’s explanation, Kane suddenly felt that he had been far too harsh.

How could he be so critical of an author with such determination despite physical hardship!?

After all, health comes first!
Of course, it would still be nice if the author could quickly write the part where Gu Bai and Caesar resolve their misunderstanding.

No matter what, he absolutely had to support this admirable author.

Meanwhile, Yu Mian was still furiously typing away, stockpiling chapters for the upcoming days and completely unaware of the commotion brewing in the comment section.

Little did he know that under the combined manipulations of the system and the world’s rules, the readers now saw him as an wheelchair-bound writer but strong willed who had overcome unimaginable obstacles.

And ever since unlocking mental power as a reward for completing the first task, Yu Mian had discovered something new.

Maintaining his fishtail form and writing both consumed mental power.

Among these, the mental power consumed by writing was several times greater than simply maintaining his fishtail.

In short, anything that required brainpower drained his mental energy at an alarming rate.

No wonder he had fainted last time after churning out tens of thousands of words in one go.

However, he would have to ask the system for clarification on the details.

At this moment, he was completely immersed in his writing.

After laying the groundwork with tens of thousands of words as an appetizer, the “chasing wife to the crematorium” plotline was finally entering its first critical phase.

What was the essence of the first phase of the crematorium arc?

It was undoubtedly about making a domineering CEO, whose mouth was harder than Jinjiang’s censorship system, repeatedly dance on the bottom line of his lover’s favorability—without even realizing he was in love.

Perhaps because he had slept for five straight days, Yu Mian now felt mentally refreshed aside from a little hunger.

His fingers flew over the keyboard without meeting any writer’s block.

Considering his current special situation of living in an aquarium, a single update was obviously not enough.

It would be best to write tens of thousands of words in one go, post one chapter, and throw the rest into the draft box for scheduled releases.

This would maximize the chances of avoiding another hiatus like last time. If something unexpected happened and he couldn’t access the light brain, the draft box could still buy him some time.

As Yu Mian typed, he kept an eye on the golden mist in his mind, observing its consumption. He managed to finish just as the last bit of the mist was depleted.

Surprisingly, it seemed like he had more energy this time compared to before.

By dawn, Yu Mian had written a total of 35,000 words without experiencing the overwhelming mental exhaustion like last time.

It seemed his limits weren’t fixed after all.

Yu Mian’s mood immediately became better. Except for the 3,000-word chapter that had already been published, the remaining 32,000 words were directly stuffed into the draft box.

Task perfectly accomplished!

The updates were done, the hiatus explanation was posted, and the draft box was filled.

Even if readers were still upset after seeing the new chapter, the explanation for the hiatus should at least dissipate some of their negative emotions.

But Yu Mian couldn’t help wondering how the comment section was reacting.

When he opened it, the flood of comments left him completely confused.

Sensing that something was off, he quickly reviewed the author’s note from the previous chapter—and was completely petrified.

Meanwhile, the system, which had been silently observing Yu Mian’s focused writing session, could no longer suppress its desire for praise and finally popped up.

System: [How is it, Host? Satisfied? Hmm? Say something!]

[This is the result of our system’s automatic sensitive-word replacement. Backend data shows that your readers’ blackening values have been completely cleared!!]

“You guys sure know how to censor…”

This was worse than just straight-up censoring with mosaics!!!

System: [qwq?]

[But isn’t this good? Your readers aren’t angry at all now!]

The system couldn’t understand why its host seemed on the verge of breaking down even though all the blackening value had been erased.

Elsewhere, anchor Bai Lande was equally unprepared for the unexpected outcome of his impromptu live-reading session.

Not only had the author resurfaced and resumed updates, but viewers also discovered an inspiring, tragic story of perseverance behind the author.

As a result, the live broadcast’s popularity soared, with his live broadcast briefly reaching the hourly top in the entertainment section.

One had to know that this was a level that his previous highest historical score had never reached.

However, this also left Bai Lande feeling deeply guilty as if he was sitting on pins and needles as he stared at “Contract Marriage”.

‘Oh god, the author was already enduring such tragic circumstances, and I went and turned the book into entertainment fodder. ‘

Even though his #100 Bizarre Novels# live broadcast column wasn’t intended to ridicule but was a neutral, lighthearted series…

He really deserved to die!

What if the author saw this? How heartbroken would they be!?

Moreover, since “Contract Marriage” wasn’t signed or monetized, Bai Lande couldn’t even offer support through subscriptions.

Could it be that this new author, trying their hand at online writing for the first time after losing their legs, didn’t even know about signing contracts or earning income?

Do you even know how to make money!?

Frustrated, Bai Lande directly added a link to the book on his homepage, as a free advertisement for this new author who didn’t even know he had become a V-level author.

“Anyway, I’ll leave the link to this book here. If you have time, please go read it and show your support. This author’s life is truly hard!!”

On camera, Bai Lande ruffled his white-dyed hair, growing more distressed the more he thought about it.

Perhaps he should contact the author directly and at least teach them how to sign contracts and monetize their work.

Otherwise, with no income, no home, and a frail body prone to fainting…

What if they suddenly died? Who would keep writing the updates readers were waiting for!?

For the first time, Bai Lande felt like he had encountered some kind of rare fragile creature, and inexplicably developed an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

In the interstellar era, physical fitness had already seen breakthroughs. Even in resource-poor star systems, cheap physical enhancement serums were widely available.

The side effects were mostly cosmetic—coarser skin or less aesthetically pleasing muscles.

But compared to improved health and longevity, these side effects were trivial.

So how could someone still have a body this weak?

Unless… they belonged to an extremely frail species, one with inherent physical limitations!

If that were true, the poor author’s real-life circumstances might be even more miserable.

After all, in the interstellar era, the atmosphere of admiration for the strong was very serious.

Even though federal laws strictly prohibited discrimination and differential treatment for species that were inherently weak, with low potential and poor mental strength, it was difficult to avoid facing all problems in reality.

With this in mind, Bai Lande opened the reward page and decided he had to become the top supporter. It was the least he could do to compensate for using the author’s work in his live broadcast.

As a first-tier anchor, Bai Lande was quite well-off financially, especially considering his family background wasn’t bad either.

“By the way, quickly find a way to contact this author. If we can get their Star network ID, that would be even better.”

“Got it, boss, but it seems like our live broadcast room has gone a bit viral outside our usual circle!”

Behind the scenes, Bai Lande’s assistant team had already noticed a wave of secondary effects and spin-offs stemming from this live broadcast.

For instance, there were memes of Bai Lande’s cool and handsome face frowning deeply while reading, clips of him jumping up while gnashing his teeth, and even screenshots of him nearly smashing his light brain in anger…

Coupled with amusing background music and comedic captions, these moments quickly went viral on the star network short video platforms, sparking a small wave of popularity!

The novel “Contract Marriage” also caught this wave of momentum, being introduced to a wider audience across the star network for the first time.

What kind of novel could evoke such dramatic and unique reactions from Bai Lande, a notoriously picky and demanding reader?

Driven by curiosity, a surge of new readers either downloaded or opened the Huanyu Reading Platform to start following the updates of this new book.

Once the new readers fell into the pit of the novel, they experienced the whirlwind of intense plot developments for the first time in their lives.

Their hearts were filled with indescribable confusion, endless commentary, and an overwhelming desire to share their thoughts.

However, just as they were about to flood the comment section with their passionate speeches, they stumbled upon fans from Bai Lande’s live broadcast enthusiastically popularizing the author’s tragic situation of “disabled legs and making a living by writing”.

Oh my god, how could such a pitiful author still exist in the interstellar era!?

As a result, countless short essays of several hundred words written in the comment box were all silently deleted and replaced with heartfelt encouragement and positive affirmations.

More importantly, as more and more readers poured in, the comment section became more and more heated.

It even sparked numerous in-depth analyses and discussions.

[I used to think the protagonist, Gu Bai, enduring his mother’s exorbitant medical expenses while still striving to live without complaints was overly exaggerated and idealistic. But now I realize this must be the author encouraging themselves!]

[Exactly! I also feel this way. This novel isn’t as overly unrealistic and fantastical as some critics claimed. On the contrary, it’s a story meant to inspire people in the galaxy who, like Gu Bai, face countless hardships to bravely pursue love!]

[I’d even argue that this novel is a symbol of resilience itself. Those readers who criticized it for being shallow completely missed its deeper meaning!]

The bubbling comment section suddenly seemed to uncover a profound truth: could it be that “Contract Marriage” carried such a deep and meaningful message all along?

Who could deny that this was, in fact, a work of inspiration—an unyielding fight against fate, filled with strength and hope in the face of adversity?