/

Chapter 32




Maintenance always came so suddenly.
However, this maintenance not only didn’t kick Li Shuoxing offline, but also happened to add a function Li Shuoxing liked.
After a momentary lapse, Li Shuoxing’s heart burst with joy, and he almost instantly forgave the patched system he’d only wanted to beat before.
He said cheerfully, “Cub, our contact device will be undergoing maintenance tonight to open the voice function. When I come tomorrow, we’ll be able to voice chat. Okay, it’s about time. I’ll get off first. Chicken soup…”
Only then did Su Mingqian notice the bowl of chicken soup.
He asked, “Sell it?”
Li Shuoxing: “No, you drink it and see how it tastes. If it tastes good, we’ll start creating our own dishes from now on! You can eat them and sell them for money, killing two birds with one stone.”
After he sent that, he went offline.
He’d been playing all morning today and his game time exceeded the limit. He had to eat lunch and start working.
Li Shuoxing made a decision.
He opened the takeout app, picked and chose, bought himself lunch, then sat down at his computer, intending to open the document and write while waiting for the takeout to arrive.
Today’s ideas weren’t bad.
After writing for half an hour, before the takeout came, Li Shuoxing had finished one 1500.
He decided to take a break. He checked the group and saw…
Terminal Food Group.
Ten Zero Ling: “The performance of Ximu’s book is really good. Now it has rushed to weekly recommendations and weekly clicks.”
Calm Egg: “It’s biting tightly with Silent Stream in the weekly recommendations. Just tens of thousands of votes short.”
Interfinger Storm: “Tens of thousands is still a bit of a gap.”
Calm Egg: “I’ve noticed that from midnight yesterday to noon today, his recommendation votes have gone up by 70,000. It isn’t even prime time and the rise is very strong. If Silent Stream doesn’t make an effort, maybe he’ll be temporarily overtaken by Eunuch in recommendation votes. However, the click list has little to hope for at present. After all, Eunuch’s novel is still short, less than 60,000 words. It’s already good that his clicks can touch the tail of the home page.”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
He sent out his usual ellipses.
What are you talking about? Why can’t I understand it?
Ten Zero Ling: “Ximu is here.”
Calm Egg: “How many updates is Eunuch planning today? How about posting more? You have a hope of overtaking Silent Stream today.”
Interfinger Storm agreed. “It’s a good opportunity to try to overtake.”
Li Shuoxing: “…What opportunity?”
Silence in the group.
A moment of silence.
Interfinger Storm: “Opening screen recommendation opportunity.”
Calm Egg: “Who said that Eunuch probably didn’t remember this?”
Soren: “Me.”
Calm Egg lamented, “ Ah So, you really are a roundworm in Eunuch’s stomach.”
Soren: “Get out!”
After swiping up row after row of chat records in the group, Li Shuoxing finally figured out what they were talking about.
Given these guys’ criminal records, he didn’t dare to believe them directly, but opened the Terminal app and took a glance.
Emmm…
It’s true.
The people in the group actually didn’t cheat me.
On second thought, it seems Calamus did tell me about it two days ago.
Then.
I forgot about it.
Having nothing to say, he looked at the group again and found that Calm Egg was discussing his novel with the others.
“Say, do you find the male lead in Eunuch’s book a little strange?”
Li Shuoxing was surprised. “Egg, you’ve read it?”
Calm Egg sighed. “I’ve read it, too early. When I think about your update speed, I feel that the future isn’t bright.” He lightly said these words and continued, “The rest of the content is your usual style, but I always feel something off about the male lead.”
Li Shuoxing wondered, “How?”
Before Calm Egg could speak, Interfinger Storm picked up; it was obvious he was watching too. “There’s a feeling that can’t be expressed in words.”
Calm Egg was a little worried and spoke his feelings. “Although I can guess that he’ll be very strong in the future, when will he be really strong enough for people to call and shout 666 <sup>1</sup> 666 is Chinese internet slang commonly used to describe someone or something very powerful and impressive. ? Otherwise, I’ll always want to bully him, yet want to love him, which is getting perverted unknowingly…”
Interfinger Storm commented, “I think it’s the effect of the ‘Sister Qian’ impression in the character column.”
Calm Egg retorted, “That’s not it either. There’s similar teasing in other novels, but no such strange feeling.”
Soren lurked and watched the conversation. At this moment, he finally couldn’t help but bubble up and say, “It’s the difference between a top and a bottom. In the past, Eunuch wrote tops, but now, Eunuch is writing a bottom!”
The discussion within the group came to a screeching halt.
Only Soren’s words, in black letters on a white background, hung brightly in the QQ group chat box.
A long time.
Deer Over Fragrant Grass emerged and said with admiration, “ Ah So, you know so much.”
Soren: “…”
13:11, Soren has left the group.
Three seconds after Soren left the group.
The group burst into laughter, the biggest laughs coming from Interfinger Storm and Calm Egg.
Li Shuoxing sympathised with Soren for a second, then opened Soren’s QQ and sent him screenshots of everything in the group.
After sending just three screenshots, he couldn’t send them out anymore.
He was blacklisted by Soren again.
Haha.
Actually saying I’m writing a bottom.
Who let you baselessly sully someone’s innocence.
Serves you right.
Li Shuoxing calmly closed the dialogue box. Before he could move his mouse to open the document and continue writing, another dialogue box popped up. This time it was Calamus looking for him.
Calamus: “Ximu, today is the opening screen recommendation. Remember to add extra updates! Silent Stream’s two opening screens both burst out five updates. You can’t lose to him!”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
Li Shuoxing said truthfully, “In terms of bursting out updates, I’ve never beaten him.”
Calamus: “…”
She understood that she was asking too much of Li Shuoxing. “Even if you can’t get up to Silent Stream’s five updates, there has to be more than usual today, at least three updates. You can lose in word count, but not in momentum!”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
Calamus suddenly worried. “Wait, Ximu. You haven’t already run out of stock, have you?”
Li Shuoxing had stock.
It was just that the stock wasn’t abundant enough to casually use. Good steel should be used on the knife’s edge <sup>2</sup> 好钢用在刀刃上 means to use the best resources in the most important areas. … But then again, if the editor asked for extra updates, you couldn’t refuse them directly.
Li Shuoxing crossed his arms and stared at the document for a moment. Suddenly, an idea for the best of both worlds came into his mind.
He went ahead and did it.
He copied the update into the backend, published the two new chapters directly, posted a promo chapter asking for recommendations and comments, and finally sent a screenshot of the chapter list to Calamus.
Li Shuoxing: “Three chapters of the main story and a promo chapter asking for votes. Although it’s still one less chapter than Silent Stream, I believe the momentum isn’t too far off.”
Calamus took a look and was greatly satisfied. She sent a loving kiss and typed, “Ximu, your performance is great. Keep up the good work. I believe you’ll have absolutely no problem with this book!”
Li Shuoxing: “[ok]”
It was midday. Calamus didn’t say too much to Li Shuoxing.
She turned off the screen, hugged her nap pillow, yawned, and slept on her desk for an hour. When it was nearly two and the afternoon work was about to start, she lazily got up, turned on her phone, and read the newly updated chapters of Nine Crossings to wake herself up.
The new chapters were still wonderful and beautiful, and the hook at the end tickled the heart, refreshing the mind.
Calamus put down her phone and tidied up the desk, wanting more and thinking:
Alas, Eunuch’s writing is good. It’s just a little too good. Every time I finish reading, it’s like I haven’t read anything yet. Today’s two chapters too. Even though there’s an extra chapter, it took only three minutes to read, just like a usual chapter. The excitement is really too short…
…
Hmm?
Calamus suddenly felt something off.
She recalled that although today was two chapters in volume, it seemed like she hadn’t turned the page much at all, and the two chapters were over.
She began to feel something off, so she turned on her computer, got onto the webpage, opened the interface of Nine Crossings , and looked at the word counts of the three chapters updated today.
The first chapter, 2500 words, normal.
The second chapter, 1400 words…
The third chapter, 1500 words…
Three chapters in total, 5400.
Calamus silently looked at these numbers. She got out her phone again, opened Nine Crossings’s latest promo chapter asking for votes, and clicked into the chapter’s comments to see the most liked ones inside…
The chapter’s comments:
“Author, you’re the best of the short update dogs in Terminal’s training class, aren’t you?”
“The stove is added and the fire is stoked. Ximu, how many cuts do you think are needed on the shells of fried chestnuts? Is it better to put salt or sugar inside?”
“Cutting the weight of one chapter into two chapters to publish, then tricking us that there’s an extra update, and then posting a promo chapter asking for votes. Heh, man…”
At this moment, Li Shuoxing had just finished his late lunch.
He didn’t know what had happened to today’s takeout. The usual half-hour delivery was delayed to an hour and a half.
He ordered the takeout at 12:30, but it didn’t arrive until nearly two.
By the time it was delivered, the food was cold, and he had to take it to the kitchen to warm it up himself. But if he had to move the pots and bowls himself, what was the point of ordering takeout?
Li Shuoxing’s frustration remained until he finished lunch.
After lunch, as he was standing for a rest, Li Shuoxing opened the app to catch up on an update.
He didn’t open his own novel.
He was well aware of today’s update and made up his mind to not abuse himself.
But…
The moment he entered the app, a silver treasure chest flew across above the bookshelf, with a banner that read:
“Book friend Lotus Leaf Blade has rewarded Nine Crossings with 1000000 Terminal coins.”
The treasure chest system was also a feature of Terminal.
Whenever a book friend rewarded a novel with a million coins or ten million coins, a silver treasure chest or a gold treasure chest would be generated.
These two treasure chests would cross the top of the user’s app bookshelf in the form of a banner. Other users could click on the treasure chest, and by adding the novel rewarded by the book friend to their bookshelf, they could grab the treasure chest. There were many prizes in the treasure chest, such as Terminal coins, experience value and so on.
Li Shuoxing: “…”
An ominous premonition arose in his mind.
This ominous premonition impelled him to open the treasure chest with his bad hands <sup>3</sup> 手贱 [shǒu jiàn] means to do something that would obviously result in bad consequences. , and he saw a line of white words racing across the black background of the message area on the treasure chest page.
“I am Lotus Leaf Blade. Attention to those coming in and grabbing the treasure chest, first join me in cursing: Ximu you’re great! One chapter cut into two, 2900 in two chapters, and you still want to cheat recommendations! There are really no recommendations, only a knife! You cut a chapter into two, short no dick. I’ll cut you three times and break off your dick!”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
Shit…
When he came in, there was only this one message.
But in just a moment, there were more messages in the message area. They scrolled across the screen.
“666666 Not only is the boss rich, he can recite poetry, and he’s a good poet too! Ximu, you’re so short your dick’s been cut off!”
“Evil God 199 has come to visit with Heaven-Defying Evil God <sup>4</sup> 逆天邪神 is an actual novel name. It can be found on Novel Updates . . Thanks boss. Ximu cuts two chapters, three knives cut Ximu.”
“I’m dying from laughter. This will do. Hahahahaha. Ximu is short and weak. The dick breaking boss has come to the door.”
Among this, countless fellow friends who recited a good poem swept by.
Finally.
The silver alliance master came out again.
“I’m Lotus Leaf Blade. I regret it. Don’t call me root breaking boss. Thank you.”
Li Shuoxing went black before his eyes.
What the hell’s going on with these readers.
Too much money to spend?
Even willing to spend 10,000 yuan for the whole site to curse me?
How much hatred and resentment is there?
1
666 is Chinese internet slang commonly used to describe someone or something very powerful and impressive. 2
好钢用在刀刃上 means to use the best resources in the most important areas. 3
手贱 [shǒu jiàn] means to do something that would obviously result in bad consequences. 4
逆天邪神 is an actual novel name. It can be found on Novel Updates .