Objectively speaking, Fish Soup Noodles’ new book was not only novel in content but also perfectly complemented by the black-and-white line illustrations.
Many people outside the circle who saw the picture were curious and excitedly asked if it was a scene from a movie or animation.
Upon learning that it was actually an illustration from a novel, the number of downloads for the Huanyu Reading Platform surged, all from people drawn in by the allure of a fully nude, handsome man.
The main reason was that when someone posted the image in various comment sections asking for help identifying it, many “enthusiastic” netizens provided highly persuasive recommendations.
[Brother/Sister, congratulations on discovering a hidden gem! This is absolutely amazing and not to be missed! Just a heads-up, the content is quite stimulating, so I sincerely suggest not reading it in public or during the day when there are a lot of people. [Sunglasses smile]]
[Exactly, exactly! I made the mistake of reading it in public and almost suffered a social death. Make sure your light brain doesn’t get spotted by your classmates or coworkers. I deeply regret not waiting until I got home at night. My face is burning, wuuu.]
[I completely agree with the above. Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ new book not only has an incredible atmosphere in the illustrations, but the novel itself is also deeply immersive, making your emotions surge with it. Absolutely amazing! Must-read!]
These enthusiastic recommendations quickly flooded countless inquiry posts.
Their passion and unwavering confidence gradually piqued the curiosity of more and more passersby.
Was it really that exciting?
Not even recommended for reading in broad daylight or when there are people?
Ordinary book recommendations might not create a strong sense of urgency, but when someone emphasizes it like this, well, now we have to check it out.
That very night, countless readers, unable to hold back any longer, hurried home, locked themselves in their bedrooms, and turned on their light brains…only for a loud “bang!” as their trembling hands caused the device to slip from their blankets and crash onto the floor.
They picked it up in disbelief, took a second look, and their faces grew even paler.
A creepy conscious light brain that couldn’t be thrown away.
A huge, mysterious prison planet where scientists were held captive somewhere in the depths of the universe.
Faceless robot supervisors roaming everywhere.
Microchip monitors implanted in the body…
Help! Was this really suitable for reading alone at night?!
The worst part was that, despite their fear, they kept reading and actually felt like they had entered this eerie, egg-shaped, isolated experimental site themselves.
And when those two players appeared, they casually mentioned that this was a game dungeon, and the suspense reached its peak.
What kind of existence was this?
At first, everyone had come for the naked handsome man, but before they realized it, their focus had completely shifted.
[Are you guys seriously calling this a proper book recommendation!? TwT Can I ever trust a book recommendation again!?]
[Who was the genius that specifically told me to keep the lights off? Thank you so much! Crying. My light brain just lit up with a notification, and I screamed so loudly I almost got beaten by my mom.]
[Trust between people no longer exists!]
As the first wave of “book recommendation victims” emerged, the popularity of Fish Soup Noodles’ new book, “I Picked Up a Traveling Light Brain”, skyrocketed even further.
After all, getting scared alone while reading a horror novel was one thing, but seeing others get scared because of your recommendation was interesting.
Some even wished Fish Soup Noodles would write the main text even scarier wouldn’t that make the dramatic effect even stronger?
And honestly, was there anything inaccurate about the book recommendations?
Wasn’t a book with this kind of eerie thrill meant to be savored alone at night?!
[Excellent. Now our Traveling Light Brain fandom family is growing bigger and bigger. Isn’t chasing updates together just wonderful?]
[The more people huddled together at midnight, the more fun we’ll have. Also, I’ve realized Fish Soup Noodles’ new book is great for strengthening friendships. After reading it, everyone’s clinging to each other tightly…]
[Absolutely. The ups and downs of the plot and the exciting and bold illustrations are so wonderful [Tears behind sunglasses tears]
In a sense, the new book had some similarities with”God of Cooking”.
It’s just that while one released poison late at night and made people hungry, the other “healed” them so thoroughly they couldn’t sleep at all.
[So is this really a new book by Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, the author of “God of Cooking”? The style is way too different. Wuuuu.]
[It must be. After all, this urgent need to see what happens next feels so familiar. But I really don’t dare read it at night. The worst part? I’m in charge of light brain sales during the day, who would understand this pain?]
[I swear I’m developing technophobia. Will I end up with PTSD from seeing lab coats after reading this new book?]
Many readers expressed strong protests in the comment section. Some even hoped Fish Soup Noodles would just continue writing “God of Cooking” and stop working on the terrifying “I Picked Up A Traveling Light Brain”.
“The style of Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ new book is bold, to say the least… Shaxs, you’re telling me this is just the first dungeon? Are there even more thrilling ones coming next?”
The deputy chief editor wiped cold sweat from his brow while checking recent reader reactions and questioning Shaxs, the editor who knew the most about the book.
“Ahem, of course. And I have a feeling each one will only get more intense. After all, the ancient Blue Star elements that Teacher Fish Soup Noodles is best at have not appeared yet.”
Shaxs had noticed something interesting: the deputy chief editor, who usually seemed fearless, turned out to be more squeamish than himself when it came to horror novels.
The man stayed at the office and worked overtime last night, even deliberately placing his light brain far away.
It made one have the inexplicable urge to bully him.
‘Could it be that I have also become a bit dark because of the influence of Teacher Fish Soup Noodles?’
[Crispy Shark in deep thought.jpg]
“Ancient Blue Star horror elements…?”
The deputy chief editor looked at Shaxs, unable to connect Fish Soup Noodles’ face with the chilling words he wrote.
How could someone who looked so approachable write something this cold and unsettling?
“But isn’t this subject matter a bit too niche? Many readers have said they were too scared to continue!”
Another editor chimed in.
The first wave of readers had been lured in by clever marketing, resulting in an unprecedented surge in data.
But how many of them would actually stick around?
“But the retention rate for the first three chapters is quite good. If readers were genuinely scared, why would they continue past the first chapter?”
Another editor quickly analyzed the backend data and pointed out a blind spot.
Despite loudly declaring they wouldn’t keep reading, a significant portion of readers had clearly binged the entire release.
“Could this be what Teacher Fish Soup Noodles once meant by, ‘The mouth says no, but the body is honest’?”
Shaxs finally grasped the sentence’s meaning on a deeper level.
“What do you mean by ‘The mouth says no, but the body is honest’?”
“It means complaining verbally while still being completely honest in your actions.”
After hearing Shaxs’ explanation, the deputy chief editor swallowed back the suggestion he had been about to make, urging Shaxs to convince Fish Soup Noodles to update the new book more frequently.
He was definitely not someone who said one thing and meant another. He simply wanted Fish Soup Noodles’ new book to perform even better.
The more updates there were, the happier the readers would be. And as the deputy chief editor, naturally, he would be happier too.
“But I’m really curious, who’s the illustrator this time? Where did Teacher Fish Soup Noodles even find such an artist? The art style is so unique. Beautiful, yet eerie.”
Everyone had assumed the illustrations for the new book were commissioned by Huanyu.
But that wasn’t the case.
The illustrations had been prepared in advance and uploaded by Yu Mian himself.
“It seems the illustrator was recommended by that elf game developer.”
Shaxs wasn’t entirely sure.
[Derqin: Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, these illustrations are incredible. Everyone thinks they match the story perfectly!]
Derqin was currently chatting with Yu Mian about the artwork.
Although “I Picked Up A Traveling Light Brain” had left Derqin very unsettled, nearly too scared to stay up to finish a coding session.
Unexpectedly, the company, which was now steady after its rocky startup period, had managed to bring in an illustrator whose unique art style perfectly complemented the new book.
[Fish: They’re indeed fantastic, even immersive. I’d love to meet them in person sometime. When is everyone free?]
Initially, Derqin’s game company had formed its artist team through introductions from An, who ran an art gallery. With the success of “Taoyuan Restaurant”, funding had become more abundant, and the team of artists was gradually supplemented with a lot of new forces.
Therefore, before starting the new book, Yu Mian simply reached out to Derqin, hoping that the other party would recommend an artist from their own company to help him illustrate this new book with a unique style.
After all, the interstellar era lacked any frame of reference for such visuals. Wouldn’t illustrations deepen the atmosphere of the story?
Unexpectedly, the results were stunning, evoking a chilling, eerie sensation.
The artist had also drawn the muscle lines of the human body so skillfully, otherwise the illustration of the god-like Experimental Subject 114, floating in the incubation pod while locking eyes with the deranged yet beautiful scientist Si Yao, wouldn’t have exploded in popularity.
[Derqin: Of course! Everyone would be thrilled. Lina will definitely make the arrangements.]
To commemorate their first game, “Taoyuan Restaurant”, Derqin had directly named the company “Taoyuan Studios”.
Since Derqin excelled at technical work but not management, the last time the elves came for the exchange visit, he invited Lina, a very capable and powerful elf from his homeland, to serve as an offline administrative manager. Derqin himself still preferred online communication.
Most people who applied to “Taoyuan Studios” were already fans of Fish Soup Noodles’ works. In other words, applicants unfamiliar with his works would find it difficult to pass the interviews.
The newly recruited illustrator carried an indescribable air of mystery, but he was a senior Fish fan.
