There was someone who, if standing in front of Yang Yi, he would definitely punch in the face until even his own mother wouldn't recognize him!
"Damn it, Yang Yi, what exactly did you do wrong?" In the afternoon, while Yang Yi was busy setting up the venue for his daughter's birthday party, Fu Jun, the boss of Sahara Publishing and a man with a wildly imaginative mind, called. He blurted out right away, "The military guys came knocking on my door!"
This scared Yang Yi so much that he almost wanted to pack up, grab his daughter, and go on the run with Murphy!
After all, although Yang Yi's body was that of a discharged soldier, his soul was that of a time-traveling assassin. When military personnel came looking for him, his first reaction was that he was about to be hunted down! Just like in his past life, when he was chased by agencies like the NSA, MI5, FSB, and DGSE—if he hadn't escaped quickly, he would have been dead by now.
But clearly, this was a misunderstanding!
In this life, Yang Yi had kept his nose clean. The only illegal thing he had done was expose Luo Jinrong, and he had covered his tracks thoroughly. No one could trace it back to him, and there was no way the military would come looking for trouble...
"Haha, scared you, didn't I? Relax, relax, just kidding!" Fu Jun, that infuriating guy, exaggerated the facts and lied about the situation, laughing smugly.
"What exactly is it? Spit it out if you've got something to say, and if you've got nothing, shut up!" Yang Yi really wanted to hit someone, but unfortunately, Fu Jun wasn't in front of him!
He could only silently recite a mantra: Be merciful, be merciful; anger is useless, harmful to nature, damaging to liver and kidneys; a gentleman's revenge is never too late; ten years later, I'll put a sack over his head and beat him senseless...
"Military guys really did come to my door! I'm not lying about that," Fu Jun, nearly forty years old, still acted like a young man, trendy and with a jumpy mind. "But it's not bad news—it's good news, huge good news!"
It turned out that high-ranking military officials had sent people, likely getting Sahara's address through Qiyue, to urge the publisher to expedite the layout and release of the physical books.
"They've included both of your books in this year's recommended reading list for all soldiers. It won't be one per person, but the procurement department has already placed a big order—two million copies of each!" Fu Jun finally let his excitement spill out. "Yang Yi, you're famous, you know? You've sold two million copies before they've even been released!"
Two million copies was just a small feat in this world's physical book sales records, since breaking into the top 100 annual Chinese book sales required at least tens of millions in sales!
But having a guaranteed two million copies before release was an unexpected delight!
With such a strong start, Fu Jun was already looking forward to the explosive sales when the books officially launched!
"So, what exactly did you do to get the military to place such a huge order with us?" Fu Jun was dying of curiosity.
But Yang Yi had no idea either!
He looked bewildered and replied helplessly, "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
Could it be that his identity was exposed? Did the name Yang Yi catch the eye of his former military leaders, leading them to give him some compensation?
Of course not.
Let's go back a few days. After Qiu Xiaotong cleared up the misunderstanding about calling "Yang Yi a bastard," she recommended the book *Bright Sword* to her grandfather. The old man couldn't read on a computer, so Qiu Xiaotong had the guard print it out for him.
Although General Qiu Weiguo hadn't participated in the war against the Japanese invaders, he was born in that era of gunfire, and his father and grandfather were soldiers and officers who died in those wars!
The characters and plot in *Bright Sword* were fictional, but they felt incredibly real. Old man Qiu Weiguo was moved to tears and his blood boiled. He couldn't help but pull out his treasured military saber, trembling as he drew it, and roared, "Kill the Japs!"
This roar scared the guards into thinking something serious had happened. After a flurry of activity, they had to call in medical staff to check the old man's blood pressure, worried that his excitement might cause a health issue!
Old man Qiu Weiguo wasn't satisfied with just reading it himself. He excitedly called over his old comrades and some retired generals from the Jiangnan Military Region to read and discuss the plot together. They even escalated to debating how they would command the battle themselves, or whether they would shell the enemy along with their own wives if they were captured...
One *Bright Sword* wasn't enough. Qiu Xiaotong soon recommended *Soldier Assault* to her grandfather.
If *Bright Sword* was mainly about passion, then *Soldier Assault* was primarily about inspiration. Inspiration didn't have much effect on these battle-hardened generals, but they saw the authentic military life and the genuine growth of a common soldier depicted in the book!
"This must have been written by a retired veteran—it's so real!" General Lu Pengju, the younger among the retired generals and still the deputy commander of the Jiangnan Military Region, remarked emotionally. "The opening part gave me chills, reminding me of when I first joined the army."
General Lu Pengju was a classic example of rising from a common soldier to a general. He had also come from a rural background, but after joining the army, he participated in border conflicts, earned repeated merits, and climbed the ranks. Entering peacetime, he moved through various posts until becoming the deputy commander of the Jiangnan Military Region.
Although his experience differed from Xu Sanduo's, General Lu Pengju deeply understood the feelings and thoughts of grassroots troops and frontline soldiers. So, he could immediately see the book's uniqueness—especially with Yang Yi's revisions.
"*Bright Sword* should be promoted throughout the military!" Another retired general, about the same age as Qiu Weiguo, waved his hand and loudly proposed. "Our peacetime soldiers lack the 'bright sword spirit' in this book. No matter how strong the enemy, no matter how good their equipment, no matter how tough the battle, our troops must dare to fight and dare to win!"
"*Soldier Assault* is also good—'Never abandon, never give up!'" Qiu Weiguo chimed in. "This slogan should be written in our soldiers' notebooks and etched into their minds. No matter the time, everyone must pull together. That's how you build an army that can win battles!"
The two retired generals' proposals were met with approval from others, and Deputy Commander Lu Pengju, who had grown increasingly fond of both books, pushed the idea forward, submitting it to the capital. And that led to Fu Jun's earlier shock.
Yang Yi wasn't particularly excited about this news. He was already satisfied that he hadn't punched Fu Jun. After hanging up, he continued decorating his daughter's birthday party venue—to him, that was the real priority!
But Yang Yi's indifference didn't mean others felt the same.
Everyone at Sahara Publishing was now rolling up their sleeves, enthusiastically diving into the physical publication project for Yang Yi's two books, striving for an early release.
"Faster, even faster! Everyone, get moving!" Fu Jun, like a villain cracking a whip, danced excitedly in the conference room, barking out orders.