At this moment, countless readers lurking on the forum chose gossip over literature. After all, if you miss gossip in real time, catching up later just doesn't hit the same.

The original poster claimed to be a veteran enthusiast of Blue Planet literature and said that they had pieced together the relationships between Blue Planet novelists from countless small details.

"There are two novelists who never interact. Even when they're in the same thread congratulating other writers, they won't reply to each other at all; they treat each other as if the other doesn't exist. You might not believe it, but these two are Yongye, the Ender of Murder Cases, and Xunming, the pinnacle of Blue Planet web fiction!"

Xi Yujin jerked several meters back from his optical computer, covering his eyes in refusal at the chunibyo nicknames this reader had given to his aliases.

After a while, he recovered and pretended not to see those cringeworthy nicknames, continuing to read.

The alien readers in the thread were astonished. These two didn't get along? Why? What happened?

Outside the screen, Xi Yujin also wanted to ask: yeah, why? How come even he didn't know?

"To explain this, we have to go back a long time. Back then, this web fiction master hadn't yet gained such widespread recognition, and this detective novelist was still troubled over how to structure his plots. That's when they met. What happened offline is unknown, but online, they became inseparable friends. One of them didn't even update his own work, yet helped the other sort out a romance subplot; the other actually took the advice, and even thanked Xunming warmly in the preface."

Readers from the Pangshi Galaxy were shouting, "Xunming, remember this!" while other alien readers marveled that the two had once been so close, which was hard to imagine now.

"In the end, both novelists were recognized by alien readers through their own strength, becoming pioneers of their respective genres. It should have been a future where they rose to the pinnacle and met there, but something else happened, quietly tearing their relationship apart. Xunming began declaring war across the literary world, not only openly mocking writers of other genres but also claiming that there were barely any worthy opponents on all of Blue Planet. Yongye wasn't spared either."

"Wow, that arrogant? I've seen people mention it before, but I didn't know he was taking shots at the entire Blue Planet literary scene."

"I've only read his works. Xunming's personality is actually pretty interesting, haha."

"Didn't other writers try to stop him?"

"Come on, Xunming was serializing five works at once back then; not something any ordinary writer could do. And he kept getting better and better."

"Maybe they settled it privately at a tea gathering? If Ms. Jung hadn't released those records, we wouldn't even know that Blue Planet writers had small meetups. Blue Planet is always so mysterious."

Time had passed for so long that even those who had witnessed it firsthand spoke of it with a thick filter, sighing dramatically as if it had been a bloody, stormy literary war.

Outside the optical computer, Xi Yujin fell into a silence that was one part bewilderment, one part confusion, and ninety-nine parts guilt.

A reader asked, "Did their relationship sour because of this recent literary duel?"

The poster replied:

"On the surface, it looks that way, but think about it carefully: do these two seem like petty people? Xunming has the courage to open new projects everywhere, and Yongye has countless murder cases under his belt. Would they really part ways over something as trivial as a literary duel? It must be because of something bigger, like a clash of philosophies.

I've studied all their works and found that Xunming has always adhered to the creative philosophy of 'readers don't need to use their brains; I'll just write.' He either drenches readers in dog blood (melodrama) or keeps them hooked with nonstop excitement. The ultimate core is simple: throw away your brain first.

Yongye, on the other hand, operates by 'think more carefully about this; it's best to grow an extra brain.' Every detail hides a chilling truth, and if readers aren't careful, they fall straight into his schemes.

Their philosophies are completely different, so how could they continue together once their styles matured? I believe they must have tried to persuade each other, but over time, they found each other's work increasingly unbearable. And so, on some rainy night, one of them quietly put on a coat, walked out the door, and never looked back.

Now, they never reply to each other's posts. In the most complete 'tea gathering' thread, they even pass each other by without any interaction. When they see each other's work now, do they recall the endless disappointment of their parting, or the carefree joy of plotting out storylines together when they first met?"

Maintaining a rigorous attitude, Xi Yujin went back to check Jung's tea gathering thread. Xunming and Yongye really hadn't spoken. Looking through the other replies, they really didn't interact.

But, but... wasn't it just that he had accidentally missed it? With so many pen names, it's not like he could parade all of them around every time.

And yet, these alien readers had woven a complete story out of these tiny details and believed it wholeheartedly.

Xi Yujin felt an urge to explain, but had no idea where to begin.

Before he knew it, many readers had already finished reading the poster's analysis.

"So that's what happened..."

"I always thought it was strange, and this explanation fits perfectly."

"What a pity. But having different creative philosophies really is painful for writers. I understand."

No, this wasn't part of his plan! Don't spread rumors about Blue Planet writers' relationships; they're all one big happy family!

But given his current identity, he couldn't clarify anything. All he could do was anxiously read on to the poster's next analysis.

The poster continued: "There's one novelist whose private side you'd never guess: none other than the figure whose very name sends chills down spines across all of Blue Planet, Yujin.

He is the most special person in the Blue Planet civilization, holding multiple roles and privileges. He can not only approve his own leave requests, but also make his subordinates repost inspirational quotes for him. The reason Yujin writes those short inspirational pieces is actually that he cannot freely go all out, so he can only publish magazine articles as a form of consolation. But making other novelists write ten-thousand-word reviews of these short pieces? You can't say that it isn't a twisted hobby.

However, even a novelist with the most twisted tastes will change when they meet true love. This story begins with a translation job posting on Blue Planet's official website..."

Xi Yujin read this section with his heart in his throat, only to find it was just gossip about him and Gano supposedly using official duties as an excuse to date. He feared something far worse.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he skipped a large chunk of reader replies and continued reading.

The third section of the post analyzed two factions in Blue Planet literature: freelance novelists and official novelists. This was actually the pen-name script Xi Yujin had carefully set up, but the poster treated it as merely a side note.

"Official Blue Planet novelists have to pass exams and study ancient culture in depth. They don't produce many works, but every time they do, it shakes the literary world. Naturally, the freelance novelists want to challenge them, so the two factions have a subtle undercurrent of rivalry. However, there's no strict divide: people like Yongye and Jung, Mingxing and Xunming still get along quite well."

A reader casually chimed in, saying they had learned a little more about Blue Planet, thanked the poster for sharing, and moved on to chat about other gossip.

"My entire script got brushed aside in just a few sentences, yet readers are obsessing over accidental coincidences and even making up their own explanations. This isn't writing fiction; I can't fully control what other beings think."

He hesitated several times in front of his optical computer, then ultimately decided to pretend he had never seen any of it.

Better to focus on researching longevity literature than to bother with alien readers' speculation.

Xi Yujin clicked into posts by long-lived species authors. Their novels were noticeably massive. One could rival three of Xunming's books combined, and they were rarely broken into sections, appearing as dense, unbroken walls of text.

After reading for a while, Xi Yujin noticed that these long-lived beings wrote across a wide range of genres, from realistic memoirs to fantasy literature. What grouped them together was their authors' shared attitude toward death. Long-lived species always explored all kinds of death in depth: how the protagonists face it and come to understand it. At first, characters would lose control entirely, unable to help themselves. Later, they would accept death calmly. By the end, death had become something light, like a passing breeze.

Only long-lived species could write this kind of literature convincingly. Combined with their unique quality of nostalgic retrospection, it became a highly sought-after literary genre across the universe and a literary brand with a certain standing on the forum.

There was even a theory circulating on the forum that longevity literature was favored by the Intelligent Machines, which gave it many advantages.

Whether true or not, readers viewed it through a thick filter of admiration.

"Longevity literature, and yet it's all about death." Leaning back on the soft sofa, Xi Yujin searched the Earth Archive for related works, then suddenly recalled the spacecraft explosion from before, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

Tidal Peace suddenly sounded a malfunction alert: the warehouse temperature regulator had failed. Xi Yujin went to check and found that the small Rust Clan creature had grown larger and accidentally corroded a pipe. It drooped its soft, bristly appendages, seemingly aware that it had caused trouble.

Xi Yujin gave it a pat and told it to be careful not to touch the pipes in the future. He then discussed with Gano: "Wouldn't it be better if we refitted Tidal Peace?"

He had been thinking about it for a while, especially after seeing other races' flashy ships. Tidal Peace had ample carrying capacity, but its appearance lacked the futuristic feel that Xi Yujin longed for. It would be even better if it could fly faster.

Who wouldn't want to upgrade their own ship? Thinking of his electronic currency account balance, Xi Yujin couldn't resist the temptation and looked toward Gano.

Gano understood immediately. "Please allow me to check the species of the repair contractors."

Refitting Tidal Peace was best done on the ground. After confirming that the repair company's base contained absolutely no Intelligent Machines, Xi Yujin allowed the ship to glide down through the atmosphere to the surface.

They arrived at a structure resembling the Sydney Opera House, where one-eyed creatures were busily modifying spacecraft.

Xi Yujin selected services from the menu: "Hull repair," "Exterior wall refurbishment," "Engine upgrade," and "Recommended hardware installation." The one-eyed race guaranteed they could complete the renovation without disturbing anything inside the ship. Confidentiality, after all, was a core professional ethic for repair workers.

Reassured, Xi Yujin sat at the edge of the building with Gano, watching the artificial scenery of the Intelligent Machine planet.

Suddenly, a creature came running quickly from afar.

Its upper body resembled a human woman, with flowing long hair, while its lower body was like a spider: eight thick, furry legs rapidly traversing rugged terrain.

Holding a lunchbox, it stopped outside the building, waited for a one-eyed repair worker, handed over the food, and chatted shyly, its manner as natural as if it were truly a creature experiencing first love. But Xi Yujin already knew how to identify Intelligent Machine terminals and determined that it was a mechanical lifeform.

His gaze darted between the repair worker and the terminal before he finally asked another worker who came out for some fresh air nearby:

"Why can you talk to terminals so naturally?"

The worker replied, "Terminal? Its name is Taiya. It's a real, living being, sir."