April 2, early morning.
A hazy fog spread throughout Happiness Community, occasionally pierced by a few early birds fluttering amongst the old city’s branches, chirping crisp calls that shattered the morning silence.
In the narrow alleyway, puddles from last night’s rain lingered on the cobblestone path, reflecting the feeble morning light and, with the breath of the breeze, revealed flecks of light and shadow.
Today was a day for everything to go well.
Lin Chuan awoke early.
Not because of an alarm clock, but because of Youyou.
“Darling~”
“Time to get up!”
“Today is the day to release the new book.”
These past few days, Youyou had been sending messages to Lin Chuan punctually, even more reliable than an alarm clock, leaving Lin Chuan slightly stupefied.
The feeling of being woken up by someone was indeed long-missed.
As a child, it was his mother.
In boarding school, it was the teachers.
In college, it was his stomach.
After graduation, it was poverty.
Who would have thought that now, as a writer, the one to wake him would be his editor? He had no idea what was up with Youyou.
“I’m up, I’m up.”
Lin Chuan moved his fingers and sent such a message back to Youyou.
Then, he rolled out of bed and washed up.
Immediately after, he turned on the computer and published the new book.
This time.
The waiting time for the security review wasn’t long, because editor Youyou had given the reviewers a heads up in advance, slightly bending the rules.
This was the small privilege of holding two top-quality books under one’s name.
After all, Lin Chuan was now Youyou’s most capable warrior, and he certainly deserved some ‘special treatment’.
Additionally.
With Youyou’s strong promotion, Mingyue also arranged a ‘Chief Editor’s Recommendation’ for Lin Chuan’s new book to ensure it received ample exposure.
As for the results, well, that was beyond Youyou’s control.
New book “Hacker Kingdom” is released!
Lin Chuan slumped back, hands cushioning his head, as a virtual panel appeared before his eyes.
[Work: “Hacker Kingdom”.]
[Current status: Published.]
[Popularity Value (Average Subscription): 0/6000.]
“Six thousand average subscriptions is a bit of a stretch, better send a notification to my diehard fans first,” mumbled Lin Chuan.
Then, he opened the QQ reader group.
A few days earlier, this QQ group had reached full capacity.
2000 members, very active.
Because there were people who peppered the group daily with saucy images.
Some also shared ‘a little jail knowledge every day’ and ‘what to pay attention to when serving a sentence’.
‘Fastest tutorial to pick a super B-class lock core!’
‘How should you respond to Shu Li’s interrogation when you encounter a sweeping crackdown?’
‘Warm reminder from Zhang San, using ghost money for payment online doesn’t constitute a crime.’
‘What should you learn when you first enter prison?’
‘Sentenced to life without parole, what methods can lead to a re-sentencing to a fixed term?’
‘Don’t use soap to bathe, don’t pick it up if it drops!’
In the group.
Everyone was talent in their own right, scaring Lin Chuan into hurriedly renaming the QQ group ‘Abide by the Law, Everyone’s Responsibility’ and making a public announcement to correct the tone.
However, the effect was minimal.
And here we go!
As soon as Lin Chuan opened the ‘Abide by the Law, Everyone’s Responsibility’ QQ group, he saw a stream of racy images and a flood of messages from readers.
‘Heaven above, I share no common ground with gambling and drugs!’
‘I type with both hands to prove my innocence!’
‘Three days into the group, I saw half the people posting these kinds of images, I was furious. What about the other half, are they not sharing?’
Lin Chuan took only a brief glance and two dark lines appeared on his forehead.
Because he critically stared at several images with widened eyes.
Cough!
“This group is bound to be ruined by this bunch of talents, no, it’s already been ruined,” Lin Chuan said helplessly, his mouth twisting into a wry smile as he muttered to himself.
But what could he do about it?
Well, let it be.
After reviewing the image, Lin Chuan tagged all members and sent a message, “Brothers, stop what you’re doing, my new book has been released!”
The readers in the group, being the true fans they are, were more excited to see Lin Chuan bubble up than seeing racy images.
‘@Mr. Lin, the author, how did you know I was up to something with my hands?’
‘Mr. Lin, are you out of the jail already?’
‘The suspect has appeared, are the bounty hunters in position?’
‘Damn! Mr. Lin, you’ve written a new book while squatting in jail, shocking me for a century!’
‘Mr. Lin, I just finished ‘This Assassin Is Too Professional’, and I’m itching to slash a few groups for a try, what should I do?’
‘Everyone be serious, author, please share your experiences in jail so that the group members can be mentally prepared.’
Uh.
With one hand on his forehead, Lin Chuan used another finger to painstakingly type on the keyboard, “Brothers, doesn’t anyone care about my new book?”
‘New book? Mr. Lin, are you sure what you wrote qualifies as a new book?’ one of the readers replied to Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan was completely baffled, “If it’s not a new book, what is it then?”
Immediately, a large number of readers in the group offered explanations.
‘You call a criminal record a new book?’
‘Suspected autobiography leak, everyone be alert!’
Lin Chuan’s mouth twitched slightly, “I hereby solemnly declare, all content in novels under the author’s name is purely fictional, absolutely not the author’s real experiences, do not believe nor spread rumors.”
‘I understand the rules of the Martial World /evil smile.jpg.’
‘/evil smile.jpg.’
‘+1’
‘+1’
‘Cut the jokes, author, go on, what kind of criminal record is it?’
‘After ‘This Assassin Is Too Professional’, I was too chicken to learn the tricks, but this time, I must pick up some skills.’
‘Go ahead and learn, once you’re in prison, you could also pick up sewing machine skills, umbrella manufacturing, and even get an early look at the college entrance examination questions.’
‘Study with no worries, it’s definitely criminal grade!’
The group was buzzing with comments,
knowing that he was no match, Lin Chuan’s attempt to clear his name ended in failure once again.
Without further ado, he activated a one-minute mute for all members and posted the book link.
‘My new book “Hacker Kingdom” has been released!’
‘Who says only those standing in the light can be heroes!’
In Anling City, Qingxiu District.
A young man with a buzz cut, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, with a backpack slung over his shoulders, sat despondently next to the flowerbed under the building of Jintang Network Security Company.
His name was Li Qing.
A few days ago, he passed Jintang Network Security Company’s written exam, and today, he came for the interview at Jintang.
However,
Just moments ago, the interviewer didn’t even offer him the token ‘we will consider it’ or ‘wait for the results at home’ usually extended, bluntly stating that his interview was unsuccessful.
“Sigh...”
Li Qing’s mouth drooped slightly as he let out a sigh.
The overall environment was bleak, jobs were hard to come by, and many companies were laying off employees, making it even harder to enter big firms.
But what could an ordinary person do in the face of all this?
Nothing more than to watch videos, read novels, look at a couple of pleasing images for temporary joy.
Then, continue struggling.
Li Qing was doing precisely that now.
After distributing his résumé to a few other companies, he listlessly scrolled through pages on QQ, WeChat, Kuaishou, and other platforms.
Somehow,
He clicked on a reader group he’d joined a few days ago.
The group’s name: Obey the Law, It’s Everyone’s Responsibility.
Messages: 99+
Li Qing let out a snort of laughter.
He had joined this reader group a few days earlier.
He remembered that the author of this group had helped the police solve a few major cases not long ago, even trending on Kuaishou for a day.
Li Qing smiled, then tapped into the group.

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