When the old steward opened the book and saw the title “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King”, his attention was instantly captured.
After all, the title was both strange and full of suspense…
What rebirth?
And what Interstellar soldier king??
Could it be that after reading this book, the young master had simply set a new life goal, and he had wrongfully blamed the book?
Regardless of his feelings, the old steward unconsciously flipped to the second page, determined to see what this was all about. He had no idea that he might end up resembling a character from the villain’s camp in the book.
In the carefully crafted first three chapters, the protagonist Lin Mu went from being betrayed and killed to being reborn and then rising and counter attacking. The tightly packed, thrilling opening left no room for readers to pause and think. Instead, they were dragged straight into the exhilarating and fantastical world of the story.
As a result, the old steward, with one hand stroking his beard and the other flipping page after page, soon completely forgot his original intent of vetting the content.
When he read about the protagonist being oppressed by a jealous and domineering rich young master, the steward didn’t even find it unusual at first.
“Well, I suppose it’s inevitable. The tall tree catches the wind. An uncontrollable force like this could indeed become a regional threat.”
Instead, he thought the book’s logic was sound.
It kept reminding him of real-life situations that he could validate, nodding unconsciously as he read.
For instance, if a genius like this suddenly emerged from nowhere in an area he managed, the only options would be to recruit them or destroy them early on…
As he continued reading about the failed attempt to recruit Lin Mu, which escalated into an attempt to kill and seize his treasures, the steward became even more engrossed. The tense battle scenes had him nervously clutching the book while habitually analyzing:
This won’t do!
After all, a young man without awakened power, no matter how clever, couldn’t realistically fend off a siege by low-level awakened fighters from the region.
Moreover, if it were him, he could exploit Lin Mu’s loyal and emotional nature, forcing him to risk everything to resolve a crisis for his orphan companions and walk straight into a trap…
Just as the steward had this villainous thought, he turned the page and found Lin Mu indeed luring the enemies away to create an escape opportunity for his companions, running alone toward a cliff with no way out.
The steward sighed and nodded his head repeatedly—of course!
These villains were really despicable and cunning.
Especially that lackey villain in the book. How could his thinking be so meticulous? Even the most hidden escape routes were blocked off. He seemed eerily similar to…
‘Uh…’
But before the steward could dwell on the unsettling familiarity of the character’s design, his attention was quickly drawn back to the climax of the plot.
At the moment when all seemed lost, with no way to turn the situation around, Lin Mu fell into a cave and encountered a mysterious old man, a miraculous turn of events.
This old man turned out to be the “God of War” Hachir from an ancient battlefield. Recognizing Lin Mu’s so-called “heart of the soldier king”, he decided to impart all his lifelong skills to him!
When the old steward transitioned from his previous worries and tension to reading through the entire chapter in one go, he felt so content that even his beard seemed to smooth out.
“Good, good, good! So this is what the ‘heart of the soldier king’ means!”
Although the story was a bit too idealistic, if you asked whether it was satisfying…
It was absolutely satisfying—so satisfying it was off the charts!
He couldn’t wait to see the protagonist return to the cliff after receiving the inheritance of the God of War and annihilate that group of scheming villain cannon fodder in one fell swoop.
The old steward even felt that he had not read such an exhilarating piece of work in his whole life, and he was filled with anticipation for what came next.
However, when he habitually tried to turn to the next page to see how majestic and domineering this “heart of the soldier king” was…
He was caught off guard to discover that the seemingly thick book had already been read cover to cover!
“What an extraordinary book this is,” he muttered.
But where could the second volume of this book be?
Where had that dwarf gotten such a peculiar book?
Experiencing the feeling of a “cliffhanger” for the first time in his life, the old steward had yet to realize that once he obtained and finished the second volume, his feelings would be entirely different.
After all, Yu Mian had deliberately structured the first volume to end right at the thrilling scene where the protagonist jumped off the cliff and encountered the mysterious old man.
Although the subsequent exciting developments were not yet detailed, the narrative was brimming with promise, leaving the reader certain that the story would only get better and more thrilling!
The plot? Naturally, it would involve the protagonist dealing with the villains: defeating the minor ones, facing the bigger ones, and ultimately destroying the entire chain of villain cannon fodder in succession… ahem.
In any case, having gotten a tantalizing taste of an upgrade-style thrilling novel, the old steward naturally decided to investigate seriously—where was the second volume?
Meanwhile, “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King” had quietly begun spreading from the spaceport where the dwarf’s tavern was located.
Not only did it gradually become the “white moonlight” for many interstellar adventurers who lived on the edge, but it also inspired a trend among burly mercenaries and space pirates, who began sporting new tattoo designs on their arms.
The large characters “self-improvement” became the most fashionable and fiery emblem of interstellar tough guys!
Although most adventurers didn’t fully understand the ancient saying, it didn’t stop them from thinking it looked incredibly cool. Seeing the familiar tattoo on someone else’s arm instantly sparked a mutual understanding:
Ah, this guy also admires the tough Lin Mu, just like me!
Since everyone was following the same book, they could consider themselves good brothers, even if they’d never met before.
This trend of valuing “loyalty and honor”, traits of the soldier king, even brought unexpected order to Garbage Star—a place once rife with chaos and brawls.
Federation military reports showed that violent incidents in border regions had significantly decreased.
“This is baffling. Could it be that these space pirates are taking a holiday break for the New Year? They’ve been so quiet lately,” Secretary Hals remarked as he shook his head.
Huo Ting reviewed the materials in his hands, and was equally puzzled.
But wasn’t this a good thing?
Just then, a knock came at the office door, prompting Huo Ting to look up.
“Excuse me, is Secretary Hals here?”
When Yu Mian was invited in, he noticed Huo Ting was present as well.
“Actually, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you…”
After handing the materials to Huo Ting, Yu Mian explained with slight embarrassment that he wouldn’t be able to continue his internship for a while and needed to hand over some of his responsibilities.
This wasn’t because he planned to slack off.
On the contrary, it was because he was incredibly busy. Not only was he maintaining the daily serialization of “Eternal Night Rose”, but he was also working on the manuscript for the second volume of “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King”.
More importantly, after the cast for the adaptation of “Contract Marriage” was finalized, the filming process officially began. The production adopted a shoot-and-broadcast model similar to that on Earth.
The first three episodes premiered, and unsurprisingly, the ratings broke this year’s historical record. And the popularity of the cast skyrocketed.
Not only did Liao, who played Gu Bai, officially rise to fame with this role, he also became one of the most popular new actors in the entertainment industry.
Even the actors who portrayed the supporting male characters gained unexpected fame.
As for the actor playing Caesar, he initially faced skepticism since fans had hoped the real-life domineering president Kane would take on the role himself. Many lamented on the star network, claiming it wouldn’t feel authentic without Kane.
However, the actor’s exceptional skills shattered preconceived notions. His on-screen chemistry with Liao elevated the series, making “Contract Marriage” a masterpiece.
During the show’s buzz, Yu Mian released several new chapters of “Contract Marriage” featuring Gu Bai and Caesar in post-marriage side stories.
These sugary extras were so sweet and exciting that readers felt like they’d fallen into a jar of honey.
Who would’ve thought a novel could be this delightful?
As a result, the author’s pen name, “A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles,” became explosively popular.
New readers flocked to “Contract Marriage” and completed it, then naturally fell headfirst into Yu Mian’s ongoing serialization of “Eternal Night Rose”. For a while, the calls for updates reached an extreme level.
Even Editor Shaxs couldn’t help but poke Yu Mian.
[Crispy Shark: Is there any chance we can update “Eternal Night Rose” just a little bit more every day? QWQ]
After all, for the influx of new readers, chasing updates for “Eternal Night Rose” was truly a bittersweet experience.
Once the daily update was released, they couldn’t resist immediately checking it out. But as soon as they finished, they were plunged into an endless void, desperately counting down the hours until the next update!
“We’re completely at the mercy of Fish Soup Noodles—we must protest!”
However, while new readers clamored for updates without knowing the struggle of enduring the previous weekly schedule, the old readers were more understanding of Fish Soup Noodles’ workload even though they were also anxious.
[After all, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles has to write new side stories for “Contract Marriage” while also updating the main story of “Eternal Night Rose”. It’s a lot of work, and we should be more considerate!]
[Exactly! You newbies should be grateful we’re even getting daily updates now. Think about how we survived the weekly updates before. Show some gratitude, please! (tears)]
[Agreed. If Fish Soup Noodles gets overworked, we might face a complete halt in updates. Take your time, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles—we’re faithfully following along every day!]
Comments like these, which were full of understanding, only made Yu Mian, who was secretly serializing a third new book, feel even more guilty.
[Fish: ORZ, I’ll do my best!!]
[Crispy Shark: By the way, the music concert that “Contract Marriage” fans gifted tickets for is officially being promoted now. There are several complimentary tickets in the invitation, enough to bring a few friends along. It’d be a shame to waste them!]
[Fish: Ah, is it already scheduled to take place? Time really flies.]
Yu Mian was momentarily surprised to hear this news but soon remembered the invitation he had taken from Editor Shaxs’ package. It did indeed include complimentary tickets.
Ever since “Contract Marriage” became a sensation, it sparked a wave of interest in learning ancient instruments across the galaxy, gaining considerable support and admiration from music professionals and enthusiasts.
The students at the Central Star Music Conservatory, under the guidance of Professor Holse, had specially rehearsed an ancient instrument-themed concert for “Contract Marriage”. With the adaptation’s popularity, the concert was now set to officially take place.
The concert would feature the protagonist Gu Bai’s ancient piano performance alongside several other ancient Blue Star instruments, with all proceeds being donated in the name of the book’s fans to educational funds for remote star systems.
Therefore, since its announcement, the concert had become so popular that tickets were nearly impossible to obtain.
After all, the Central Star Music Conservatory was the top music institution, and this was the theme concert for the currently trending TV show of “Contract Marriage”. How could people not go crazy over it?
“But who should I give these complimentary tickets to…”
In the end, after much deliberation, Yu Mian decided to give one of the tickets to Huo Ting.
He felt that he owed a lot of his ability to write “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King” to Huo Ting’s recommendation letter, so it was only appropriate to give him a token of gratitude.
Although Yu Mian wasn’t sure if Huo Ting would actually attend.
Nevertheless, when Huo Ting arrived for his routine mental sea check-up that afternoon, Professor Mori—a curious and gossipy old man—immediately noticed the concert ticket in Huo Ting’s hand.
“Oh? It seems you’re finally taking a proper break this month. Is this an invitation from a friend?”
While waiting for the test results, Professor Mori asked curiously. Huo Ting, who had been examining the ticket with an unusually serious expression, finally looked up.
“If you feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity with someone but are certain you’ve never met them before, what could be the reason?”
In fact, during Yu Mian’s internship at the military department, Huo Ting had repeatedly confirmed that his inexplicable familiarity with him was not just his imagination—it truly existed.
This feeling had grown so strong that even after not finding any clues, it became something he couldn’t ignore.
“Uh… that’s a rather broad question. Can you describe the person in more detail? It couldn’t be an issue caused by the mental sea, could it?”
Noticing Huo Ting’s uncharacteristically serious demeanor, Professor Mori rubbed his chin thoughtfully and began to ponder.
After a moment of silence, Huo Ting handed Professor Mori a copy of Yu Mian’s resume, which he had submitted earlier during his work handover.
Professor Mori took the resume and, unsurprisingly, his eyes immediately landed on Yu Mian’s photo.
Adjusting his glasses, he shifted his gaze back and forth between the photo and Huo Ting several times. Finally, he asked, “Who gave you that concert ticket?”
“…?”
Huo Ting didn’t expect Professor Mori to suddenly ask this question after reading the resume for a long time.
“Was it this young man?”
As Professor Mori’s glasses reflected the light, he discovered the answer from Huo Ting’s seemingly normal but actually abnormal silence.
Seeing that his guess was already correct, Huo Ting silently acknowledged it.
“So, have you discovered anything?” Huo Ting asked. “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the resume.”
In fact, Huo Ting had already investigated Yu Mian countless times due to the strange sense of familiarity he felt around him.
But with a system-approved identity, nothing abnormal could be found.
“Nothing wrong? This resume has a huge problem!”
