First, Xi Yujin needed to explain the bugs that the Intelligent Machines had already noticed.

Xi Yujin posted a notice on the homepage of Reader's Digest welcoming corrections.

Then he switched to a sockpuppet account and pretended to reveal detailed information about Blue Planet in Reader's Digest's comment section.

To outside readers, it just looked like a few ordinary Blue Planet readers casually chatting.

One ordinary Blue Planet netizen started the conversation:

"Did everyone see the new announcement? I just submitted a few errors to the editor-in-chief. They were easy to find, and I even received a little money."

Other ordinary Blue Planet passersby chimed in one after another:

[

Because there's only one translator, the errors are all similar, right?

—

Only one?

—

Haven't you all checked the information on Blue Planet novels? The first page of Reader's Digest also states that the only person who appeared in the translation credits is Gano.

—

That sounds like a lot of work. Why is only one translator being used?

 ]

A regular Blue Planet netizen replied at the opportune moment:

[

"He has some connections, because—"

"Because Yujin and Gano are extremely close friends! Yujin only lets Gano do the translations by abusing his power. It’s basically favoritism!

]

Xi Yujin typed out these sockpuppet topics word by word. The text errors in the novel were not entirely Gano's responsibility; Xi Yujin himself also made typos. He had some selfish motives and wanted to protect Gano's online image, so he simply pushed all the blame onto himself.

At that moment, some alien readers had been keeping a close eye on the changes to the Reader's Digest official website. Seeing the announcement inviting corrections, they thought they might as well reread the articles and help fix the errors along the way. As a result, they all noticed the thread that Xi Yujin's sockpuppet account had planted.

An alien reader with the nickname Enchanting Investigator replied with great indignation. It had learned about Blue Planet's civilization aboard the Navigator Colossus and loved Investigator Files deeply, having already experienced more than a dozen scenarios. After arriving at the Deep Space Prison, it connected to other networks, learned about Yujin's deeds, and became even more fascinated by him.

Seeing a creature smearing the image of a Blue Planet novelist, it hurried to retaliate:

"Abusing power for favoritism? Your thinking is too dark! How could Mr. Yujin be that kind of person! Anyone who has read Mr. Yujin's works would never misunderstand his character!"

After several more dissatisfied replies, another reader commented more rationally: "But apart from this explanation, I can't figure out why the same translator keeps being used."

The Enchanting Investigator also found this strange. Why does Blue Planet only have one translator? Blue Planet is clearly an advanced civilization, so how could it possibly be short of translators?

Soon, a reader posted a lengthy analysis:

"I think the person who said abusing power for favoritism must be prejudiced against Mr. Yujin.

But they may have inadvertently stumbled upon the truth. Mr. Yujin and this Gano are indeed extremely close friends! And not just friends in the ordinary sense, but a special kind of relationship unique to Blue Planet: close friends! Anyone who has read Blue Planet novels knows what close friends mean, right?

Look back at the previous issues of the magazine. This translator, Gano, has left comments several times, and Yujin replied to every single one. Has anyone ever seen Mr. Yujin treat other Blue Planet novelists that way? Yujin doesn't even spare Canghai a kind word. But his replies to Gano are quite gentle.

Now look at all the places where the name Gano appears. In the preface to Ancient Tomb Code, Canghai directly mentions Gano and Yujin side by side, and then Yongye and Xunming side by side. This means that in the eyes of Blue Planet's novelists, they are an inseparable pair.

We also know that Mr. Yujin is extremely busy, surpassing all others in literary output, and voluntarily stopped writing for the sake of Blue Planet. But he is also an ordinary being, and he, too, has his own preferences. His preference is this translator. Do you all understand? How can this be called abusing power for favoritism? This is clearly a genuine expression of affection!"

Enchanting Investigator suddenly saw the light and thought that this explanation did seem to make a lot of sense.

However, other readers expressed their confusion:

"That doesn't hold up. The arguments are too flimsy. Take Canghai's preface for example: Xunming and Yongye have since fallen out. What does that prove?"

"But it does feel like there's something between Yujin and Gano. Let's keep watching and see if they have any new interactions in the future."

Enchanting Investigator and other beings quietly kept tabs on the interactions between Blue Planet's novelists and subsequently dug up countless pieces of literary gossip.

Xi Yujin had no idea that his act of taking the blame had set alien readers' imaginations running wild. He was currently urgently trying to understand the structure of the Intelligent Machines' StarNet.

The network here was much like Earth's internet: official institutional websites, social networks, advertisements, forums, everything imaginable, and a great deal of commercial competition. However, there were no dedicated novel websites here.

In their place was the largest novel-sharing forum. Novelists posted on the forum and serialized their works directly there. The format and length were completely free, allowing for direct, close interaction with readers.

For novels posted here, the Intelligent Machines held unlimited reading rights.

The forum was designed to be clean and elegant, with a kind of understated beauty. Moreover, every post attracted an enormous number of views, and Xi Yujin frequently came across posts with over a thousand pages of replies.

The refresh rate was staggeringly fast: it seemed that a post sitting on the homepage one second would drop to a hundred pages back with a single press of the refresh button.

Xi Yujin clicked randomly into a novel serialization post. The main text required a paid unlock, but the comments were free.

Below each comment was a rectangular image: a reader-designed signature that displayed favorite text snippets, author advertisements, or attractive images from their own civilization. It served as a kind of intangible promotional tool. It was somewhat reminiscent of the community atmosphere that had once flourished on Earth.

Xi Yujin looked around and found a notice pinned on the forum:

[

This forum operates on a virtual currency system.

Rule 1: Readers of all races can earn electronic coins by replying, sharing, and recharging.

Rule 2: When a novelist accumulates 100 billion electronic coins, they may receive one answer from the entire computational power of the Intelligent Machines.

We wish all visitors a pleasant experience.

]

The survival rules of the Deep Space Prison gradually unfolded before Xi Yujin.

After reading through all the rules, Xi Yujin confirmed that the entire Deep Space Prison had been built around the Intelligent Machines' forum.

Beings always have endless questions that need answering.

Some ask how to solve a particular equation, seeking breakthroughs in civilization and technology.

Others hope the Intelligent Machines will help them build automated production AI, allowing them to make a fortune with ease.

While some ask more philosophical questions. The Intelligent Machines also greatly enjoy discussing such matters. It was well known that the Intelligent Machines are staunch supporters of idealism. Many beings even make pilgrimages to this place because of it.

Because of this Intelligent Machines Q&A system, a great influx of races had poured in.

Over time, the Deep Space Prison attracted a group of extremely talented novelists, and other species followed the fame and established their own businesses. As a result, the Deep Space Prison continued to grow even more prosperous.

"The Deep Space Prison is the greatest gathering of races I've ever seen. I can run my tests on this forum." Xi Yujin directed the asteroid Typing Machines to revolve around him. If he could fool the many beings on the forum, then he could certainly fool the Intelligent Machines.

Suddenly, Gano knocked on the door with a blank manuscript in hand.

Xi Yujin thought about how Gano should have been the first person to see through his lies, yet he had been fooled time and time again.

Xi Yujin felt a little guilty.

Unexpectedly, Gano said, "Yujinno, please let me post a clarification on the official website..."

"Clarify what?" Xi Yujin was taken aback. Thinking of the rumors he had spread about Yujin, he said, "Don't take those words to heart... but feel free to say whatever you like with your account. You haven't left a message on the official website in a long time. Do you want me to change the color of your account ID and add an animated signature? I have administrator privileges!"

Gano said he only wanted to keep his account consistent with Yujin's, and then began racking his brains for the right words. He hoped his response would not seem overly formal but would convey the dignity appropriate for a Blue Planet translator.

He also hoped that the alien readers wouldn't be able to tell he was a Zerg.

A short while later, a brand new reply appeared on the Reader's Digest official website.

[

Gano: Translation can give literature a second life, so every time one begins, one should proceed with care. If there is anything inappropriate, the fault is mine. I will fulfill my duties. If you are not satisfied, you are welcome to point it out.

]

The alien readers who had been watching the site felt like they had just stumbled upon a juicy piece of gossip.

"Wow, the legendary translator actually came out."

"I'm not sure why, but I imagined the translator as a cold and detached scholar. Yet seeing the words not satisfied in his reply, I suddenly felt a chill, as if some kind of racial pressure was radiating from the screen. Is this translator the type who's better at beating people up than translating...?"

"Just two words and you can infer all that? I think his entire message boils down to one sentence: Don't insult Yujin, or the translator will get angry."

"@Ordinary Blue Planet netizen, you're done for."

—

Deep Space Prison, Secret Prison.

The Intelligent Machines possessed enormous computing power. The vast majority of it was devoted to supporting terminal evolution, answering questions from their own kind, and verifying public debate topics.

The Intelligent Machines' inherent nature allowed them to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. Only a small portion of their computing power was used for their own independent thought.

2352 enjoyed games. Deducing a counterintuitive truth from numerous details and then publishing it on the internal network. If other members of its race accepted the reasoning, it felt pleased. However, the evidence was still insufficient, and its plan to directly trick the person involved into revealing the truth had failed. Yujin had told it to spend more time observing, so 2352 could only continue passing the time with its own questions and answers.

"Query: Can a single organism give rise to a civilization?"

"Calculation complete. The answer is no. Civilization requires the interaction and reproduction of organisms in order to be passed down."

It was this very answer that caused many of its kin to disbelieve its hypothesis. Within the Intelligent Machines' internal network, the proposition Only Yujin remains on Blue Planet held only a 66% approval rate.

2352 resolved to find more evidence and scanned the StarNet again and again. Its consciousness traveled light-years along network signals, sifting useful keywords from billions upon billions of data points.

Of course, this was only a small fraction of its computing power. The remaining computing capacity was occupied with managing the terminals, while a small portion was dedicated to deciphering the treatment records sent by the Green Clan.

"Identifying a new item, Dream of the Red Chamber. Initiating logical verification..."

"Does it conform to the details of the era? Answer: 88%.

Does it reflect the abrupt shifts in civilizational evolution? Answer: 76%.

Does it exhibit class distinctions in civilizational morality? Answer: 97%...

Logical verification complete. Dream of the Red Chamber is a work from the isolated planet era, probability: 96%."

2352 paused for a moment, then broadcast a large burst of disordered data across the internal network to signal its surprise: "Report! A work from the isolated planet era has been discovered! Further verification required!"

Other Intelligent Machine bodies silently allocated computing power and repeated the verification of Dream of the Red Chamber. The final results were all consistent with 2352's.

The Intelligent Machine bodies imprisoned in deep space glowed with specks of red light, as if breathing.

Countless murmurs spread across the Intelligent Machines' internal network.

"Curious."

"Curious about Blue Planet civilization."

"Revise the proposition: Does Blue Planet civilization now consist solely of Blue Planet's Yujin? Submit to the public debate topics. Star Mechs, begin the debate."

2352 was a little unhappy. Its personal game debate topic had become a public debate topic. Now it couldn't have a proper game with Blue Planet's Yujin anymore.

"Traces discovered."

In cyberspace, countless cameras locked onto a new post that had appeared on the Intelligent Machines' forum.

Novel Serial

The Invisible Monday

Author: Mingxin

On the other side, Xi Yujin was switching between multiple aliases to reply on the forum. He was going to put on a grand performance in the Blue Planet literary world and fool every living being!

And so The Invisible Monday gained several familiar faces.

[

Mingxin: Although I have no desire to move, when inspiration strikes, it's like water that cannot be held back. Once it comes, it must pour out.

—

Xunming: Just stopping by to take a look.

—

Canghai: Watching!

—

Mingxin: Why are you two so energetic…

]