Chapter 38: Follow me, Big Liu

  When Yang Yun first saw Liu Cixin, she couldn't help but almost burst out laughing.

  This young man wearing glasses, in his early twenties, looks a bit older than he is. He and Li Qing are about the same height and build, with the most distinctive feature being that both of them have a slightly receding hairline on their foreheads, looking like two brothers.

  Three people arrived at a KFC restaurant near the front gate of Beijing, almost squeezed to death by the crowds of customers. This was China's first KFC restaurant, the flagship store in Beijing. All Beijingers with money and foreigners living in Beijing loved to come here to try new things.

  In this era, if a kid from any family says they've eaten KFC, they'll absolutely gain face among their friends! Many parents can't resist their kids' demands and hold birthday parties at KFC, inviting a bunch of good friends to share in the fun - what a glorious thing!

  Yang Yunhua spent money lavishly, one person had a cup of coffee, and a large plate of fried chicken pieces was placed on the table. Several hamburgers were made into the shape of old Beijing pancakes, and French fries were piled up like a small mountain to be eaten openly. This behavior left Liu Cixing and Li Qing in awe.

  Material life was poor, young people had no money, seeing this pile of meat, Liu Cixing and Li Qing pretended to be polite for a while, and then devoured it with relish.

  Yang Yun pursed her lips and said, "Liu..."

  He suddenly stopped.

  What should I call you? Calling you Master Liu seems like feudal superstition, calling you Worker Liu sounds too ordinary, and calling you Teacher Liu doesn't conform to modern social norms. Should I just call you Big Liu?

  Shouted a lifetime of Big Liu, no way, this time we're lucky to be reborn, Yang Yun is ready to change, can't sit on the nickname Big Liu anymore, must change to shout Magnetic King!

  Liu Cixing mumbled with a mouthful of chicken: "Just call me Big Liu!"

  *sigh*...

  Yang Yun was speechless: "Alright, Big Liu, I'll just call you Big Liu...I heard that you have a rich imagination and often write science fiction in your free time. Now, I have something to ask for your help - please create a virtual planet world for me. Don't worry, I will pay for it and won't let you lose out. According to the quality of your work, a contract worth thousands of yuan per thousand words is not just a dream."

  A thousand words for a thousand dollars? You're kidding, right! In this day and age, writers are too cheap. If you can get 10 cents per word for a short story, that's already considered a famous author.

  Both of them stared at Yang Yun as if they were looking at a monster, and Yang Yun suddenly came to his senses. However, the price of 1,000 words for 1,000 yuan was really frightening in 1989. He had only been reborn for a few months and hadn't fully transformed yet.

  Yang Yun smiled and said: "Cough, a thousand words for a thousand yuan is just a joke. Let's go by the market price then, I'll pay you 5 yuan per thousand words?"

  A thousand words for 5 yuan, that was the price of collecting scrap paper in the era when he was reborn. Yang Yun secretly sighed and thought of those lousy web writers, couldn't help but mock them with a sentence.

  Liu Cixin looked at Li Qing with some tension, worried that this Yang Yun was not reliable. After getting Li Qing's affirmative reply, he asked cautiously: "Don't mention the manuscript fee for now. Can you be more specific? What are the requirements for this virtual planet world?"

  Yang Yun took out the rough draft of Saloman Snake he had just drawn and said, "This is a Star Wars scene I drew casually. I call it Saloman Snake. The protagonist of the story is this plane and its two wingmen. Among the three elements of the article, I only limit one specific location, called Patis planet. As for time, characters, and other things, we don't do themed essays, you can freely elaborate. I want grand momentum, vast space, brilliant and stunning, making people dizzy when they see it, best if after reading a few sentences, you can immediately produce an inexplicable sense of awe."

  "What... what does 'not clear and severe' mean?" Liu Cixing and Li Qing were both stunned.

  Yang Yun smiled and said, "Although I don't understand it, I think it's very powerful. Not understanding is just that... Okay, Big Liu, freely exert your imagination, write a brilliant story, and strive to design a series, writing a Salamander Star Wars trilogy!"

  "Wow! So fierce!" Li Qing couldn't help but exclaim.

  Liu Cixin was already excited, as a science and engineering student, his favorite pastime was daydreaming, and his idol was Asimov, who formulated the Three Laws of Robotics.

  In recent years, he has also tried to write many science fiction articles, but the cruel reality has repeatedly hit a wall, with full enthusiasm and rich ideas, but unfortunately unable to show them to the world for appreciation, and no one appreciates him.

  Yang Yun gave him such an opportunity, he was very grateful, but he still had some hesitation, after all, the inner world of literati is quite fragile and lonely, sensitive, he just knew Li Qing superficially, let alone Yang Yun.

  Liu Cixin asked, "Mr. Yang, you should know that science fiction in China is an unconventional and unprofitable pursuit. It's not easy to get published, even articles as bland as tofu are hard to publish, and Science Fiction World, the largest science fiction magazine in China, almost went bankrupt. Why do you still insist on it?"

  "Scientific Literature and Art"? Yang Yun had never heard of it, he only knew "Science Fiction World", but soon reacted that this should be the same magazine, formerly known as Scientific Literature and Art, renamed Science Fiction World after revision.

  Yang Yun said sincerely: "Big Liu, I don't know if you've heard of a sentence, what would the world be like if humans lost their imagination? Science fiction is not just a fantasy in the eyes of those rigid old men, nor has it anything to do with political struggle. Firstly, science fiction should be a sub-literature under a certain theme, which has scientificity, frontier, extensibility and fantasy. It has a positive driving effect on readers' love for science, reflection on science, exploration of the unknown and pursuit of truth."

  What would happen if humans lost their imagination?

  This sentence made Liu Cixing's eyes moist, although he was not clear what specific work the person in front of him did, but Yang Yun's words struck a chord in his heart, making him suddenly feel a sense of resonance.

  Yang Yun continued: "Big Liu, don't say much more, anyway I dare to assert that in the future science fiction will definitely become an extremely important branch of human literature. In the future society there will absolutely be robot movies that follow Asimov's Three Laws, and depictions of alien invasions of Earth will frequently appear on screen. You must persist, persist in taking this path, and you will absolutely shine brightly in the future. I guarantee it, you will be China's, and even the world's greatest science fiction writer!"

  Onlookers are clear, Li Qingyue listened more and felt that it was off the charts. However, he found that Liu Cixin seemed to be in a state of infatuation, being thoroughly attracted by Yang Yun's grand ambitions. He hastily reminded: "Hey Yang! You just said you would follow scientific principles, how come now you're painting a beautiful picture of the future? We don't believe in fortune-telling and superstition!"

  Liu Cixin suddenly came to his senses, feeling a bit embarrassed. He was indeed too infatuated with science fiction: "Mr. Yang, what you just said is the ultimate goal of us sci-fi enthusiasts. Who isn't looking forward to that day? But do you really have confidence in this? Do you have theoretical basis to support this claim?"

  Yang Yun smiled slyly: "I don't have any theoretical basis, but I'm absolutely confident. Let's just wait and see. However, if you want to become the greatest science fiction writer in China, that's easy as pie. Even if you're struggling alone on the path of literary creation, you'll still achieve something great. But if you want to become a world-renowned, hall-of-fame science fiction author, leaving your mark on the history of human science fiction, then you must agree to one condition from me, and I can help you make it happen."

  "What conditions?" Liu Cixing asked dazedly.

  Yang Yun smiled, looking at him like a fresh and tender little white sheep, saying: "Join my Longteng Entertainment Game Company, become my exclusive science fiction writer. I will provide you with the best platform in the world, let your Salomon Snake spread all over the world, and in the future, I will also let you write StarCraft trilogy, Warcraft trilogy, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Avatar, and make the whole world crazy for your words!"