After Writing Four Big Shots into Danmei Novels - Chapter 4

A remote theater of war, 200,000 light-years away from the Federation’s main star.

In the vast expanse of the universe, although the Interstellar Federation and the Empire were equally matched behemoths, there were still planets that had not reached peace with either side. External warfare was constant, mostly driven by conflicts over resource competition.

The news of the supply line being ambushed was unwelcome for the Imperial army.

“We aren’t short on food for now; you can check the inventory list. Tell them not to panic,” a soldier dressed in clerical uniform said gently to a young private. He paused. “However, there isn’t a single canister of cleaning gas left. The earliest the next resupply can arrive is in half a month.”

“Oh, heavens!”

Private Rael wailed. He was a pure human and lacked the ability to switch off his sense of smell. “I really envy my ‘Steel Zerg’ roommate who can stop smelling whenever he wants… I’m the only one who has to endure the scent of the mucus he secretes! This is unfair!”

Rael had only been promoted from the reserves for a year; he was a complete rookie.

The older soldiers were particularly patient with him. One remarked, “The Grand Marshal is out of cleaning gas too. The Dragon race doesn’t have the ability to turn off their sense of smell either. Just imagine—he’s enduring it just like you are.”

At that moment, the conversation in the starship’s corridor came to a sudden halt.

Immediately after, Rael saw the Grand Marshal—the man who came with his own built-in ‘mute’ button.

Military boots clicked sharply against the smooth floor.

The light fell upon his sharp, handsome features beneath golden hair. The shape of his thin lips was nearly sexy in its perfection, tapering down to a jawline as sharp as a blade.

His impossibly long legs moved with incredible speed, his cloak billowing behind him like a dark wave.

The gazes of admiration and worship didn’t dare linger offensively on his face, only venturing to stare a few seconds longer at his broad, sturdy back.

Once the soundproof door of the private quarters clicked shut, the gossip surrounding the Grand Marshal exploded.

“The Marshal is just… too handsome!”

“A man among men. A real guy’s guy, a hardliner. It’s a pity he doesn’t have a partner.”

“He looks like the ‘iron-blooded’ type who wouldn’t understand romance at all. But still—I’m down!”

“Who wouldn’t be?”

The Grand Marshal spent most of his years in the war zones. Love or casual flings within the military weren’t prohibited; it wasn’t rare for soldiers to find a consenting partner of either gender to satisfy physical needs. Yet, Duan Xiuye was so self-disciplined he bordered on asceticism. He was never seen being particularly close to anyone. His closest companion, his adjutant, belonged to a race that reproduced through self-fission, making cross-species intimacy physically impossible.

And while he was the iron-blooded, alpha protector of the Empire, once the Grand Marshal returned to his private cabin, he couldn’t wait to put on his optical brain.

Only after passing nine levels of rigorous identity verification did Duan Xiuye’s consciousness log into [Muse Literature].

Username: Seeking Reverse Scale

Followers: 120 Million

Points: 999,999+

Level: Pinnacle

Personal Signature: One life, one world, one pair. The sword in my hand protects only one person.

This account, with its magnificent white rose background and a library filled with meticulously selected romance novels, belonged to Duan Xiuye. He was a generous patron, bestowing fortunes upon his favorite authors, yet he never joined fan groups. All his comments were strictly about the content of the books—he was a mysterious “tycoon” reader.

Long-time users of Muse Literature knew that “Mr. Reverse Scale” only read 1v1 (monogamous) novels.

Although most novels on Muse focused on pure love, many races in the universe did not practice 1v1 marriage. Polygyny, polyandry, species with only one female/male for the whole population, walking marriages, self-fission, or “hit-it-and-quit-it” types… the list was endless. In the eyes of some races, “Harem/Multi-partner” (NP) was the true form of purity, and 1v1 was a waste of resources.

The political correctness of the interstellar era was to respect racial differences.

The Grand Marshal respected it, but he personally refused it.

So, when he clicked into the bizarrely titled novel 《The Wealthy Old Duke Falls in Love with Me》, Duan Xiuye carefully analyzed the synopsis to see if it was NP or 1v1:

Synopsis:

[Feng Xingzhi decided to celebrate his coming-of-age ceremony with “legal drinking at a KTV.” Unexpectedly, he was mistaken for a KTV manager and dragged into VIP Room 888, where a middle-aged man reeking of alcohol was waiting for him. Feng Xingzhi never imagined his first kiss would taste like hot, choking absinthe. To make matters worse, this man called him “sweet.” Sweet, my foot!

After a night of passion, Feng Xingzhi accepted his bad luck, only to encounter this shameless “Old Man” again at his internship company.

Feng Xingzhi: “Old Man, stay away from me!”

The Empire’s First Duke narrowed his cold eyes. After pinning the reckless “kitten” against the wall for a deep kiss, he looked at the blushing youth and let out a grin tinged with bloodlust: “You aren’t allowed to leave me. I guarantee the position of Duchess will be yours.”

Feng Xingzhi glared: “I don’t want it!”

The ultimate age gap. An undying, desperate entanglement.

No matter how much Feng Xingzhi wants to avoid love, he ultimately cannot escape this cage of love forged in gold!]

Hmm, it looked like a 1v1 love story.

Duan Xiuye began reading.

The prose was elegant and concise. Not a newcomer—the Marshal made a preliminary judgment.

The pace of the writing was incredibly fast. In the very first chapter, the story dove straight into the main theme with an “indescribable” event. The Marshal, maintaining a cold and expressionless face, highlighted and bookmarked the spicy parts.

To his surprise, the protagonist was truly unwilling.

Even though he eventually felt good enough that his “mouth said no but his body was honest,” Feng Xingzhi’s heart always wanted to stop. He didn’t like this strange man.

Muse Literature rarely featured forced methods. Thanks to a perfected basic education system, interstellar people might “force” their way through resource acquisition between planets, but they rarely treated love this way. Spending a lifetime with a consenting soulmate—or a single night of pleasure—was the mainstream.

Duan Xiuye frowned deeply, feeling puzzled.

Could this be an inspirational piece of literature expressing the protagonist’s defiance against power?

He couldn’t help but click the next chapter.

The pace of this novel was truly too fast; every chapter had something new happening, giving the reader no time to think or settle down.

Duan Xiuye frowned, while honestly continuing to read.

When the protagonist suffered an injustice, the Duke stepped in to slap some faces.

Just as the protagonist began to harbor a tiny bit of goodwill toward the Duke, the man would sneer coldly and force another intimate encounter, dropping their relationship back to freezing point.