"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a very interesting science fiction comedy. The story tells of an ordinary man on Earth named Xiao Shuai who is facing a demolition accident. A construction team wants to demolish his house, which is blocking a highway, but Xiao Shuai refuses to leave.
Despite his resistance, the holdout Xiao Shuai's house was finally destroyed by the construction crew, but not long afterward, Earth was also destroyed by alien demolition workers because they needed to build a hyperspace express route where it stood.
The protagonist Xiao Shuai survived because he had a friend named Old Black.
On the surface, this friend appeared to be an unemployed actor. In fact, he was an alien from the cosmos, sent to Earth as a researcher for the celebrated work "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." To repay Xiao Shuai for saving his life, he hitched a ride with Xiao Shuai on the demolition workers' spaceship.
The two of them went through a complicated and amazing journey, eventually meeting the Galactic President with two heads, his former sweetheart Xiao Mei, and the Jade robot A-Wen.
Together, they boarded the starship Heart of Gold, embarking on a great adventure across the galaxy, in search of a mysterious planet to uncover the ultimate answer to the universe.
This classic work of science fiction is considered a must-read with five parts, the most well-known of which is the first one. This work has also been converted into various games, comics, and a movie series.
The story is filled with absurd plots, non-logical technological inventions (such as the improbability drive), and humor that imparts cosmic significance to everyday objects (like towels). Its boundless imagination has left an indelible mark on everyone's heart, becoming a classic that no science fiction fan should miss.
Because Fang You had seen the movie in his past life, he still had some vague memories of the plot. Revisiting the novel, he still felt that the author's imagination was indeed ahead of its time and extraordinary. Absurd as some scenarios were, they didn't feel out of place at all, and reading them was instead quite enjoyable.
However, Fang You often had this thought when reading science fiction:
If the science fiction author describes a future within the next few decades, it's easy to feel a disconnect due to the large gap between the actual situation in modern society and the work; but if it's the development over hundreds or thousands of years, even seemingly outrageous settings become acceptable.
A clear example is Warhammer 40K, set nearly forty thousand years in the future.
In this world, the story combines highly advanced science fiction elements with brutal medieval melee combat, creating a world that is both contradictory and fascinating, where everything is built and rationalized.
For instance, in the Warhammer world, the absence of artificial intelligence is due to a rebellion by the Iron Men, and the war with AI explains the decline of human civilization; many of the great technological creations of the Golden Age have become lost treasures, leaving scientific progress almost at a standstill.
Melee weapons used in combat (like power swords, chain swords, spears, etc.) are not just practical arms, they are also part of religious ceremonies and spiritual symbols. These weapons are often sanctified and linked to the wielder's spiritual power, beliefs, and even spiritual energy.
Although it's all for the sake of setting, the perfect packaging always gives Fang You the feeling that the 40K world is supposed to be this way...
Ah, this thought has gone too far.
But that's alright.
After all, Fang You can "multitask," reading "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and reflecting on his insights into science fiction without issue!
Fang You and Xia Nuo spent the afternoon together and finished the book.
Coming out of the library, Xia Nuo was still immersed in awe of the vast universe constructed by the author:
"The universe written by the author is really interesting! Our Blue Planet is actually a laboratory for verification, planets are built, dolphins are smarter than humans, and the strongest weapon in the universe is the 'Empathy Gun' that makes people think from another's perspective—A-Wen's final desperate counterattack was just classic!"
Xia Nuo kept talking incessantly beside Fang You.
Though Fang You didn't give any feedback.
But no feedback didn't mean he wasn't interested.
Fang You also liked to watch some science fiction works, but he didn't seem to immerse himself deeply in any particular thing.
It was this way in his past life, and it hadn't changed in this one.
Still, Xia Nuo liked to share all her thoughts with Fang You, unreservedly, which also made Fang You feel at ease, and he would chime in when he came across an interesting topic.
Xia Nuo and Fang You truly were exceptions, the sight of two children holding hands openly was hard not to draw attention.
"You You, it's already the summer vacation of the second grade, other than reading books, do you have any other plans before school starts?"
"Not currently."
Fang You thought for a moment, "Have you thought of some mischief again and want me to join you?"
"Ah, you really are a clever baby!"
Xia Nuo smiled warmly as she patted Fang You's head, then gazed at him full of cheer:
"I think, our classmate You You, must have also seen the news about the moon rocket launch in Qiankun City!"
Xia Nuo excitedly said, "This is the closest we've been to the moon, I want to go to Qiankun City to see it..."
Fang You frowned slightly, "You're not thinking of going to the moon now, are you?"
"I haven't become an astronaut yet! That's still early!"
Xia Nuo said, "But I really want to see it, will you accompany me at the end of the month? Will you accompany me? If you go with me, I will agree to anything you want."
"Sure, but Qiankun City is so far away, our parents might not agree to us going..."
"Don't worry about that, the clever Nuo Nuo will think of a way!"
Seeing Xia Nuo's confident demeanor, Fang You didn't dwell on it any further.
Action-oriented Nuo Nuo had her own cunning tricks; interfering too much would just hinder her own creativity and imagination.
The summer vacation of the second grade, huh.
With six years of winter and summer vacations in elementary school, that adds up to three months a year spent playing during vacations.
But do you remember what you did every summer vacation?
Discounting the time at cram school and watching cartoons, it always feels like nothing of profound significance was left behind.
However, looking back, all the memories are very joyful, even just wandering on the streets felt like an adventure.
During this lifetime, Fang You's summer vacations in kindergarten and first grade were spent reading books.
The last book Fang You read to complete the 100 million words reading goal was "The Genius Kid's Summer," telling the story of how an 11-year-old outcast genius, Xia Erdun, met some odd friends and spent his mundane summer unable to go to school or participate in experiments.
[Congratulations, your reading word count has reached 100 million words. This is a small step for your personal reading career, but a giant leap for the evolutionary history of mankind!]
[You have unlocked the Talent: Path Through the Book Mountain]
[Path Through the Book Mountain: The ocean of knowledge is endless, and curiosity is also the cornerstone of human growth and evolution. You now have a powerful learning ability, allowing you to capture knowledge more easily and gather knowledge energy by exploring and understanding new things.
There is also a certain chance of obtaining random tasks when encountering new things, completion of which grants generous rewards and special Talents.]
[Knowledge Energy: A new form of energy that can be obtained through learning and encountering new things, essential for leveling up your growth level, necessary energy for raising your growth level to LV8. Knowledge is power, brother!]
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