After the busyness of Xixi's birthday, Yang Yi finally had some free time and could start preparing his new book.
Qiangzi, having received a positive response, was so emotional that tears and snot streamed down his face. He couldn't wait to apply to the higher-ups.
Since Yang Yi was switching genres and the content was still unknown, the Qiyue editorial department decided to promote it on a small scale first—for example, by placing ads on the pages of *Soldier Assault* and *Drawing Sword*.
"On July 20th, Yang Yi returns with his new book *Yu Zui* to accompany you through this scorching summer!"
Yang Yi's new book was coming?
Fans of the two books had been eagerly waiting. After *Drawing Sword* ended, they kept asking for news about a new book, only to be repeatedly disappointed. A week later, the review sections had gradually quieted down, no longer bustling with the lively discussions of before.
But loyal fans like Mu Yucheng still refused to leave. They checked in every day to see if Yang Yi had started a new book.
Finally, they got the news!
Instantly, the review sections of *Drawing Sword* and *Soldier Assault* became lively again. Through word of mouth among fans, many readers gathered back to discuss Yang Yi's new book.
"*Yu Zui*? That title sounds really strange. And there's not even a synopsis. Is Big Yang still writing military literature?"
"Probably! What else could Yang Yi write besides military literature?"
"But the title doesn't sound like military literature. *Yu Zui* means 'remaining sins' or 'leftover guilt'—it seems pretty dark."
"Come on, *Drawing Sword* didn't sound like military literature either. I thought it was a wuxia novel at first, haha!"
"That's true. Big Yang's train of thought is hard for ordinary people to understand."
"Anyway, I'm looking forward to it!"
"Looking forward +1!"
"Looking forward +10076!"
Mu Yucheng saw the news while bored at work. His fingers itched, so he went to the restroom, sat on the toilet, and wrote a long review.
"Big Yang, no matter what you write, please be kind to the protagonist this time, okay?
In *Soldier Assault*, Xu Sanduo fell off a bridge at the start, and we all thought he was going to die. Luckily, even though he broke his leg in the end, he survived.
But in *Drawing Sword*, Li Yunlong was such a great guy! And in the end, you had him die? It broke our readers' hearts! Do you have to be so cruel?
Please, Big Yang, no matter what kind of novel you write, I'll support you. But really, please be kind to your protagonist, and be kind to your readers!"
Mu Yucheng's reviews often hit the mark and were quite famous in the fan community. His post quickly got a lot of upvotes.
"Give Old Mu a thumbs up. Same request to Big Yang: don't torture the protagonist, don't torture the female lead, and don't even torture the side characters, okay? *Drawing Sword* made me cry until my tears ran dry."
"+1!"
"+10076!"
...
The copyright department of Qiyue had actually been in contact with Sahara Publishing House all along, securing the release dates and news for the physical copies of *Soldier Assault* and *Drawing Sword* early on. Now that the buzz was picking up again, they followed up with promotional arrangements.
And the copyright department's power was no less than the editorial department's. They directly posted a pinned announcement on the homepage: "Pre-sale of *Soldier Assault* and *Drawing Sword* physical books."
After the editors at Sahara Publishing House worked overtime on layout and proofreading, the two books had been sent to the printing press for production. They were scheduled to officially go on sale on August 1st!
However, distribution through offline channels was a bit tricky. Sahara's influence was limited, and breaking into the alliances of larger publishing houses was nearly impossible. That's why Deputy Manager Huang had advised Yang Yi to think it over carefully!
Currently, Sahara only had sales channels through state-owned large bookstores and some small independent shops. The more widespread and higher-volume chain bookstores like "Love Read," "Book Bar," and "Book Fragrance Pavilion" looked down on Sahara's small publishing house, especially for web novels.
Of course, Sahara's efforts weren't entirely wasted. State-owned large bookstores were still the biggest chain in the country, with locations in every city—so that channel was the largest available. But the problem was that because they were state-owned, their book prices were often 10% higher than other channels, leading many readers to choose more affordable chains like "Love Read," "Book Bar," or "Book Fragrance Pavilion."
But Qiyue's ad gave readers something new to consider.
"Pre-sale? What does that mean?"
"Didn't they say the in-store sale starts on August 1st? Why is there a pre-sale?"
After clicking on the ad, Qiyue revealed two sales channels provided by Sahara Publishing House. The first was to go to state-owned large bookstores or the listed bookstores on August 1st to buy them.
The second was the so-called pre-sale!
Fans who had been eagerly waiting to buy the two physical books had already resigned themselves to gritting their teeth and paying a bit more at the state-owned stores.
But now, the pre-sale channel gave them new hope!
They could buy online, and the price was so much cheaper?
Plus, the online pre-sale would ship two days earlier?
Really? If it weren't an official ad, fans would have thought they were being scammed!
But the copyright association certification tag on Sahara's online bookstore couldn't be faked! Curious, the fans started looking into it.
Following Yang Yi's advice, Fu Jun had someone beautify the interface of Sahara's online bookstore, making it more user-friendly while simplifying the registration and purchasing process.
In the past, buying books was a hassle—you had to mail a money order via registered letter to the online bookstore, then call to specify which books you wanted, and confirm everything multiple times...
After seeing the ad, Mu Yucheng excitedly decided to be one of the first to try it!
After all, an official ad was unlikely to be a scam. Even if it were, Mu Yucheng figured his loss wouldn't be too great. And if it worked, he might even get the books earlier than fans buying from physical stores!
Mu Yucheng clicked in excitedly and found that he could browse and select books without registering, even adding them to a shopping cart as a guest.
Only when placing an order did he need to register or log in with an existing account, then fill in his personal info, shipping address, and payment details.
But Mu Yucheng noticed that once he filled in this info, it would be saved for next time, cutting down on the tedious process of re-entering it!
"Impressive!" Mu Yucheng, who worked in IT, quickly recognized the convenience of the site.
Of course, payment was still a bit troublesome. Mu Yucheng had to make a special trip to the bank.
Online payment hadn't been developed in this world yet, and there was no logistics support for cash on delivery. Sahara's online bookstore still used bank transfers for payment. After placing an order, the bookstore would match the received payment and confirm the completed orders.
Mu Yucheng took screenshots of the entire process, blurred out his personal info, and posted a thread in the review sections of the two books.
"Highly recommend buying online. Old Mu here is already waiting at home for the two books to be delivered! The website estimates delivery on July 31st. In Yangcheng, it's fast, hehe!"
This smugness earned Mu Yucheng a lot of criticism from fans, but it also inspired more people to flock to Sahara's online bookstore.
More people became the first to try it!
...
But there were other stirrings online too!
The Iron Military Network, which had been keeping an eye on things, sprang into action almost immediately. The next day, they posted an announcement declaring that one of their top authors, "Scar Wound," would upload a new book on July 20th. Starting August 1st, he would hold book signings in eight major cities across the country, directly challenging Yang Yi's *Yu Zui* and the two published physical books!
"Scar Wound" was a veteran military literature writer and the pioneer of the "super soldier" genre. His three completed novels had achieved impressive results, with physical book sales for his third novel nearly reaching ten million—a record for military literature published on the Iron Military Network!
Clearly, "Scar Wound" was a formidable opponent not to be underestimated, and Yang Yi's fans began to worry for him.
But after seeing Iron Military Network's provocation, Qiyue remained strangely silent. No, the editorial staff were all smirking eerily: "This is going to get interesting!"