A song called "The You of the Past" has prompted the entire internet to beg me not to leav

In the headquarters of the China Music Association in Beijing, inside the president's office, which is decorated in an antique style.

Li Mingchang was wearing reading glasses, drinking Da Hong Pao tea, and flipping through the list of artists to be given priority support in the second half of the year.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

Upon seeing that the caller ID showed Lin Yan, Old Li immediately put down his teacup and answered the call.

"Young Lin, have you thought it through? When are you planning to come to Beijing to sign the contract?" Old Li's tone was full of relief.

"Mr. Li, there's no rush to go to the capital." Lin Yan leaned back in his gaming chair, his tone languid. "I have a small favor to ask of you."

Old Li raised an eyebrow.

"A small favor? Tell me about it. As long as it doesn't break the law, I can still keep an eye on things in the Chinese entertainment industry."

Lin Yan cleared his throat: "I want to publish a book. But I don't want to reveal my true identity. I'd like to ask you to help me find a reliable publishing house. You can sign the contract on my behalf, and the royalties will go directly into Qingqiu Studio's corporate account."

The other end of the phone went silent instantly.

Publish a book?

"You've given up a promising career to write a book?" Old Li laughed in exasperation. "What did you write? An autobiography? Or a music theory textbook? That's easy, I'll just put in a word with the Beijing Literature and Art Publishing House..."

"Neither," Lin Yan interrupted him directly. "I wrote a web novel called 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles.' It's a suspenseful thriller."

"puff......"

Old Li sprayed the mouthful of Da Hong Pao tea he had just drunk precisely onto the solid wood desk.

"Online novels?! Tomb raiding?!"

Even Old Li's voice changed tone.

"You, a musical prodigy who specializes in pure art and can casually compose songs like 'Sorrow' and 'The Ordinary Road,' have gone to write online novels?!"

In Mr. Li's preconceived notion, online articles were nothing more than trivial reading material to pass the time, hardly worthy of serious consideration.

This is such a waste!

"Mr. Li, please don't rush to scold me," Lin Yan said calmly. "Go to Qihang Chinese website and search for a few chapters. If you find them offensive, then pretend I didn't mention it."

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Hearing the busy tone on his phone, Mr. Li took several deep breaths to calm down.

But he was eager to learn, and despite finding it absurd, he put on his reading glasses, opened his tablet, and searched for the book "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles".

After half an hour.

The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with only slightly heavy breathing as the only sound.

Old Li took off his reading glasses, rubbed his aching brow, and noticed a thin layer of sweat on his back.

The descriptions of "Seven Star Coffins" and "Dragon Seeking Technique" in the book are straightforward and concise, with a chilling sense of realism between the lines.

The extremely solid knowledge of ancient tomb structures is something that ordinary online writers simply cannot fabricate by typing on a keyboard!

This is hardly an online novel.

This is simply a remarkable book on the underground research of Chinese folklore disguised as an online novel!

"Good lad... just how much is going on in his head?"

Old Li let out a long sigh of relief. He finally understood why Lin Yan had asked him to keep it a secret.

This book is so hardcore that if it weren't kept secret, it would be practically "tortureable" and you could be taken away by the police at any time to have your water meter checked!

Without any hesitation, Old Li picked up the red phone on the table and dialed a number.

"Hey, Lao Zhou. This is Lao Li. Is your Beijing Forbidden City Publishing House looking for big IP lately?"

On the other end of the phone was Zhou Deming, editor-in-chief of a top state-owned publishing house in China: "Yes, Mr. Li, what's up? Do you have any connections to recommend?"

"I'll send you a link. The book is called 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles.'" Old Li's tone left no room for argument. "Get the physical book typeset tonight. The author's identity is top secret, and all contracts will go through the special channels of the China Musicians Association."

Zhou Deming was completely confused, but since the big boss had spoken, he had no choice but to accept it.

three days later.

Beijing Forbidden City Publishing House.

Zhou Deming looked at the newly delivered typesetting proof and his face lit up with excitement.

He personally stayed up all night reading the first three volumes of "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles" twice. As a seasoned publisher, he intuitively sensed that it was going to be a blockbuster.

"Editor-in-chief, what's the initial print run for the first volume of 'The Seven Star Lu Palace'?" the head of the distribution department asked cautiously. "According to the usual rules for converting online novels to print, an initial print run of 50,000 copies is already the maximum."

"Snapped!"

Zhou Deming slammed his hand on the table: "Fifty thousand? Who do you think you are! The first print run is one million copies!"

He waved his hand dismissively: "Immediately notify all Xinhua bookstores and online channels nationwide to stock and sell the product this Friday!"

The supervisor was completely terrified.

"One million?! Editor-in-chief, this is an online novel! If it flops, our inventory will bankrupt us!"

"Think long-term!" Zhou Deming's eyes were red. "You won't lose out! I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Just do as I say!"

Thursday night.

On the homepage of Qihang Chinese website, a striking website-wide banner announcement was displayed.

[The phenomenal suspense masterpiece "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles," Volume 1, "The Seven Star Lu Palace," will be released online and in print tomorrow at midnight! A masterpiece from the Forbidden City Press, unraveling a thousand-year-old underground mystery!]

The announcement sent shockwaves across the internet.

The comments section immediately erupted; readers were in an uproar.

[Holy crap? The Forbidden City Publishing House?! Isn't that the top-tier national publishing house that specializes in publishing national treasure-level documents? They're publishing online novels?!]

[The national team getting involved in online literature? Absolutely incredible!]

[The tomb raider's charisma is off the charts!]

No matter the price, I'll stay up all night to grab a first-print copy!

……

at the same time.

Professor Sun Changgeng, who was at the Beijing Institute of Archaeology, frowned as he looked at the trending topic announcement.

"What a clever escape! By switching to physical publication, the contract must have been concealed through special channels."

Professor Sun scoffed, "As long as you dare to sell the book, we'll eventually find out what you're up to! Notify the technical department to buy a physical copy and analyze it word for word!"

Friday at midnight.

The pages of major online platforms simultaneously refreshed with purchase links for "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles".

Priced at 39.8 yuan.

In the first second after the link appears.

On the large screen of the back-end data monitoring center, the number of orders soared vertically as if it were on a rocket.

Ten thousand copies.

100,000 copies.

500,000 copies.

It was only 12:15 AM.

One million copies of the initial print run were simultaneously displayed in gray across all channels as "Sold Out/Out of Stock".

"Editor-in-Chief..."

The head of the distribution department stared at the screen, his voice trembling. "Gone! One million copies, sold out in fifteen minutes! The server even crashed for three minutes!"

Zhou Deming plopped down in the chair and excitedly loosened his tie.

"We've struck gold! This data is absolutely phenomenal!" He jumped to his feet. "Print another copy! Contact the printing press tonight and print an additional two million copies! We've struck gold!"

The entire publishing industry was completely turned upside down that night.

A web novel published as a physical book has broken nearly a decade's worth of sales records without any justification.

Meanwhile, in a villa in Xinghai City.

Lin Yan looked at the screenshot of the sales commission report sent by Mr. Li from the Qihang Chinese website backend.

Looking at the long, tempting string of zeros above, he yawned contentedly.

"Great, now we have the money to buy a big villa by the sea."