Chapter 4

After careful consideration, Lin Han began to rapidly sift through his mind. This time, the word count requirement for the submission was relatively low, so they should be looking for short stories.

Creating a sci-fi world with just ten to twenty thousand words was no easy task. Fortunately, Lin Han had read countless magazines before, so he had a wide range of options to choose from in his mind.

First of all, the story had to be outstanding in quality, but not the absolute best, so that he wouldn't lose out too much when the copyrights were taken away. If the quality was too low and it couldn't even pass the submission process, it would be a huge embarrassment.

After much consideration, he finally set his sights on the novel "The Village Teacher". This novel had a small word count, just twenty thousand words, but its structure was extremely rigorous. It was hailed as the best sci-fi short story of 2001.

"The Village Teacher" was one of the representative works of the famous sci-fi writer Liu Cixin. There was no doubt that Liu Cixin was a heavyweight figure in the Chinese sci-fi world. He had received numerous honors, and the Galaxy Award was like his backyard. Before Lin Han transmigrated, he had even won the prestigious Hugo Award from the World Science Fiction Association and was nominated for the Nebula Award. His works were bestsellers both at home and abroad.

Lin Han had read this novel more than once, and every time he read it, it brought tears to his eyes. Apart from its sci-fi content, it was also an article that reflected the reality of education, with the most incredible imagery in the history of Chinese sci-fi.

The gist of the story was that a village teacher devoted his entire life to a small village and, before his death, explained Newton's three laws to his students.

After the interstellar war between carbon-based life forms and silicon-based life forms ended, the carbon-based life forms emerged victorious. The leader of the carbon-based life forms decided to establish a vacuum zone in the universe to prevent the revival of the silicon-based life forms. Before setting up the vacuum zone, the civilization level of planetary life forms needed to be tested, and only low-level civilizations would be cleared.

When these extraterrestrials arrived on Earth, they chose several students from the small village who loudly shouted the laws the teacher had taught them before his death, and they passed the test.

In summary, it was this village teacher and a group of children who saved the Earth. The novel had two storylines, one was about the protagonist Li Baoku, and the other was about the distant interstellar war in the Milky Way.

Li Baoku was a tragic figure. His parents died when he was three years old, and he grew up under the care of another village teacher. Sadly, this village teacher died while protecting him from starving wolves.

After surviving, Li Baoku resolutely returned to the countryside from the outside world, inheriting the position of the village teacher and teaching all subjects to the students.

But suffering from esophageal cancer, Li Baoku could only give the children their final lesson. Lin Han slowly recalled this, and the content of these tens of thousands of words appeared in his mind, horrifyingly clear.

Sitting in front of the computer, Lin Han quickly tapped on the keyboard. Choosing this novel to participate in the writing competition was for the sake of recognition. If even a quality science fiction novel like "The Village Teacher" couldn't be recognized, then he needed to reconsider his positioning.

Many times, writing a good novel, an essay, or a short poem didn't require fancy techniques. It only needed to master one point.

What surprised Lin Han the most about this novel was its structure. The overall structure was very clear, with a lot of contrasting techniques to highlight the key points.

The impoverished dying village teacher became the messenger who saved the Earth, and the rural students who couldn't enjoy educational resources became the heroes who saved the Earth. The insignificance of the village contrasted with the vastness of the Earth, but at the same time, the insignificance of the Earth contrasted with the power of the carbon-based life forms.

In this short story, viewing humanity from beyond the Earth and examining oneself from a high perspective was something that only science fiction could accomplish.

To become famous in the sci-fi world, one must have their own unique memory point. Although there are currently many types of sci-fi novels, they must be eye-catching. "The Village Teacher" had this ability, capable of attracting widespread attention and discussion.

Using this novel as a foundation, Lin Han could completely make a name for himself, achieving remarkable development.

With the complete novel in his mind, he didn't need to modify much while tapping on the keyboard. He also took the opportunity to carefully revise the dialogues of the characters, making them more in line with their respective identities.

Lin Han grew up in a rural area. He attended a village primary school, with slightly more students in his class than in the novel, but the school had been demolished two years after he graduated.

Therefore, he had a deep understanding of this kind of life and could provide dialogues that were in line with the characters' personalities and the surrounding environment.

Of course, punctuation marks were also important. They were the places where the author's rigor and professionalism were reflected. If someone couldn't even use punctuation marks properly, it would be hard for others to believe that they could write good articles.

The sound of the keyboard clacking incessantly filled the air. Lin Han's typing speed wasn't fast, but he didn't need to ponder, so he could write over three thousand words in an hour.

Every two hours, he would stand up and stretch his neck and eyes, then continue typing. He was fully engrossed in it. After about six to seven hours, he finally finished writing the novel.

Saving the document, he carefully reviewed it word by word, checking for any typos. After confirming its accuracy, he opened his email and sent it to the submission email provided by "Science Fiction World" magazine. All Lin Han could do now was wait patiently. Whether it passed or not wouldn't be a matter of a few days.

Now, he was glad that he didn't choose to become an online writer. Otherwise, he would have to write every day, which would be torture. Choosing to be a traditional writer meant that after finishing a book, he could take a long break and only write when inspiration struck. As long as he wasn't pressured by editors to submit quickly.

Drinking coffee, he wrote from afternoon until evening. Lin Han stretched his neck and felt that his life seemed quite rich and colorful. To better understand this world, he turned on his somewhat outdated computer and began searching for his own name.

After all, the original owner was at least a top figure in the entertainment industry, although he no longer looked the part now. But through the media, he could learn about the original owner's experiences, which was a subtle experience.

Formerly, Lin Han was just an ordinary office worker. He went to work on time every day and, in his free time, focused on developing his little hobbies—reading sci-fi novels and discussing and sharing ideas with like-minded friends.

He had never thought that he would wake up in a different life and become a fallen genius director. It was quite uncomfortable to be a celebrity. Would he be asked for autographs on the street?

This was a serious matter, but it was quickly proven that he was thinking too much.

In this new life, he would just be a down-to-earth literary youth.