“By the way, the sender also asked me to pass along a message. Ahem!”
Before leaving, the courier cleared his throat and held up a piece of paper.
—I can’t write, so I had someone else help convey this message for me. As a former mercenary wandering the universe, I fell into despair after a severe leg injury left me disabled, and even became a space pirate for a time.
It wasn’t until I encountered Lin Mu, the character from your book, that I realized none of all this was insurmountable. Life could still start anew.
After thinking for a long time, I realized that there was nothing special on Garbage Star, so I had my brothers capture a star lion beast mentioned in your book as a gift for you. I hope the second volume comes out as soon as possible.
I’m sure you’re a tough guy like Lin Mu, someone who’s also roamed the stars. If there’s a chance, I’d love to invite you for a drink!
“That’s it.”
The courier read out the note with an odd expression before handing it, along with the delivery receipt, to the utterly dumbfounded editor, Shax.
“Oh! So the sender is a former space pirate!?”
The room fell silent for several minutes before the editors that had gathered around began exclaiming in disbelief.
No wonder such a wild gift could be sent.
Turns out, it came from a space pirate fan!
Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ readership now extended to such a unique group…
“Hiss, it’s touching, but this is such a huge misunderstanding,” Shax muttered, sweating profusely as he clutched the note.
No matter how he tried, he couldn’t reconcile the image of Fish Soup Noodles, whom he’d seen with his own eyes, with that of a muscular macho guy.
Who told this reader that Fish Soup Noodles was a muscular and macho man?
Speaking of which, wasn’t this just a huge misunderstanding caused by a lack of information?
After all, these readers had only read “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”.
The vivid, realistic descriptions of mercenary life and the clever use of jargon probably led them to believe the author was a veteran interstellar wanderer who lived on the edge of a knife, turning personal experiences into a passionate story.
Now, as Shax held the note and looked at the giant beast sleeping soundly in the cage, he had no idea how to break the news to Fish Soup Noodles.
—
[Fish: Huh? This is to urge me for updates?]
When Yu Mian saw the photo Shax sent, he was stunned.
It seemed like his various readership groups had vastly different styles…
Although the first volume of “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” did mention that the protagonist Lin Mu had indeed stumbled upon a star beast while treasure hunting.
However, he had based his description purely on Earth’s big lions and hadn’t considered any interstellar prototype.
Who would’ve thought this space pirate reader would take it so seriously and actually manage to catch a star lion that matched the book’s description, then send it over as a gift?
Was this an urge for updates or a thinly veiled threat?
It almost felt like the kind of exaggerated scenario where refusal to update might result in being eaten. Orz.
The sleeping lion in the cage seemed innocent, too, having been inexplicably dragged into this as a gift.
[Crispy Shark: So, uh, what should we do? And are you going to reply? The courier is still waiting.]
Shax was also at his wit’s end. The enormous cage placed at the entrance of Huanyu Tower was attracting too much attention.
What fierce beast for a tough macho guy? Just media inquiries like this had come in waves. It was really impossible to keep this hidden.
And once this incident reached the readers, it would definitely become a wild new hot search.
[Fish: Uh… I need to think about it. Can’t we return it?]
For a moment, Yu Mian genuinely didn’t know how to respond to this outpouring love from his Garbage Star readers.
“What am I supposed to do with this…?”
Yu Mian had been in a good mood just yesterday. A construction team had unexpectedly shown up to renovate the study overnight and replaced an entire wall with a spectacular deep-blue aquarium.
Now, not only could he fully submerge himself, but he could even swim freely.
His tail felt much better, and he was thrilled.
However, after frowning in thought for a long time, Yu Mian finally decided to reply to the reader with a letter.
In essence, he expressed deep gratitude for the gift but explained that he didn’t have enough space to care for such a large lion. Furthermore, he clarified that he was not the mercenary they imagined but simply someone who had heard many legendary stories about mercenaries, which inspired the book. He also encouraged the reader to embark on a new chapter in life, just like Lin Mu.
To ensure the reader understood, the Huanyu staff even recorded an audio version of the letter and sent it along.
Not long after, they received a reply.
“He said he understands. It’s fine, there’s no need to return the gift. You can handle it however you like. He just hopes to see the second volume as soon as possible.”
The courier delivering this message seemed just as perplexed.
[Crispy Shark: So what now? If we keep it, something’s bound to go wrong.]
[Fish: Uh, could we arrange for it to stay at a zoo? I’ll cover all the food and care expenses.]
After thinking about Shax’s question, Yu Mian decided this might be the best solution.
It would respect the reader’s gesture while giving the innocent beast a proper home.
[Crispy Shark: Huh, that could actually work.]
Shax suddenly found the idea rather clever.
It might even become a check in point for readers in the future.
After all, the story behind it was too intriguing.
So when news broke out that the big lion had been sent to the Central Star Zoo, it caused a sensation among book fans in the Central Star City area.
[I’m in shock! An alien boss fan of Fish Soup Noodles personally caught a beast to urge more updates! Isn’t this too cool? A beast paired with a macho man?]
[So, is Fish Soup Noodles really a muscular macho man? But still, this way of urging for updates by the readers from outer star systems.. why didn’t we think of that!]
[Anyone going to the grand opening tomorrow? There are discounts for group purchases!]
However, just as book fans were planning a group trip to see the ferocious star beast sent to Fish Soup Noodles as a gift to urge for updates, news broke the next day;
The mighty lion woke up that night and escaped…
“Ah! It ran away! I really can’t do anything about this!”
Upon hearing the news, Yu Mian was left scratching his head in frustration.
After all, he had been busy these days fighting with that guy, Huo Ting through their notes.
—I really can’t eat anymore! Don’t let Qiao Ni send anything anymore! [Crying]
Recently, Huo Ting had been acting strange, constantly asking Qiao Ni to deliver piles of fruit to the study.
The problem was, no matter how Yu Mian looked at it, the so-called nutrient-rich, rare Interstellar “fruit” was just broccoli from Earth.
And heaven knows, broccoli was his least favorite food!
