Hello everyone, this is Lucas. Today we are going to talk about the classification of science fiction in Chinese web novels.

Science fiction novels are probably familiar to everyone. It is a literary genre based on science and reasonable imagination.

Speaking of Chinese science fiction, the first thing that may come to your mind is The Three-Body Problem (三体). However, this work is not considered a web novel.

Among web novels, there are also a small number of works that are close in style to traditional science fiction. Various literary organizations in China hold annual literary awards, and these works perform very well in such competitions. This is very helpful in enhancing the platform’s influence. In addition, award-winning works are easier to publish, and their adaptation rights can also be sold at a good price.

The most famous author of this type of work is Tian Rui Shuo Fu (天瑞说符), whose representative works include Dead on Mars (死在火星上) and Once We  Lived in Nanjing (我们生活在南京).

Besides, most mainstream sci-fi web novels are somewhat different from traditional science fiction. The “scientific” elements in sci-fi web novels often exist as a background setting, serving to give the story a strong sci-fi aesthetic. However, the core of the story is usually closer to mainstream genres such as Xuanhuan or Xianxia—that is, the familiar themes of leveling up, becoming stronger, and saving the world.

According to different story settings, we can divide sci-fi web novels into several major categories:

Modern World (现代世界) 
Apocalypse (末世) 
Future World (未来世界) 
Infinity (无限流)

Below, I will introduce them one by one.

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I. Modern World (现代世界)

The story takes place in the modern world. Under the influence of technology, the world changes slowly and orderly. There are mainly the following subgenres:

Black Technology/Scholar (黑科技/学霸)

The story takes place in a modern urban setting. The protagonist is usually a student or a young researcher. He has a system, or some other special ability, that can improve his learning and research abilities.

The system usually requires the protagonist to complete certain tasks, and rewards include attribute points or technology blueprints.

The technologies provided by the system are often far beyond the current level of the world, such as mechas (机甲), controllable nuclear fusion (可控核聚变), and space warp engines (曲率引擎), so they are called “black technology”.

Early black technology novels focused more on scientific development itself. The authors often had relatively high scientific literacy, and the works also included a lot of popular science content, such as Scholar’s Advanced Technological System (学霸的黑科技系统).

Later, these works began to shift toward the lower-tier market. The focus of the story gradually became breaking foreign technological monopolies and ultimately achieving technological dominance, which introduced certain nationalist elements.

After 2020, this tendency became more obvious. Free reading platforms produced a batch of “patriotic-themed” black technology novels, exaggerating conflicts between China and Western countries in science and technology. These conflicts are often resolved in ways such as the protagonist “building a nuclear fusion reactor by hand,” while scientific rigor is ignored.

Therefore, this type of novel has also been restricted to some extent.

Time-Space Jumping (时空穿梭)

The protagonist travels through different times or spaces, exploring the truth of multiple worlds, or searching for ways to save the current world.

These works usually have complex settings and unique characteristics.

and I Really Didn’t Want to Be the Savior (我真没想当救世主) belong to the “time loop” type. The protagonist repeatedly returns to the same time point, using “save/load” abilities to continuously improve their understanding of the world.

These two works are relatively closer to traditional science fiction in style, and both have won China’s most important sci-fi award, the Galaxy Award (银河奖).

Different Dimension Inn (异度旅社) belongs to the “space jumping” type, where the protagonist can create “doors” connecting different dimensions and freely travel between worlds.

Global Awakening (全球觉醒)

The world suddenly undergoes a mutation. Plants and animals begin to evolve, and many humans awaken various superpowers.

Unlike apocalypse stories, the government does not collapse. Instead, it actively adapts to new challenges.

This setting originates from the urban subgenre Spiritual Energy Revival (灵气复苏) but the power system is based on different levels of “superpowers” rather than cultivation. In other words, the style is closer to science rather than Xuanhuan.

The protagonist is often a reincarnator. With memories from his previous life, he can prepare more effectively.

This genre has become very popular in recent years on platforms such as Tomato Novel (番茄小说). Wuxiaworld has also introduced an excellent work in this genre, Global Awakening: I'm the Only One Ready (全球觉醒：只有我提前布局未来).

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II. Apocalypse (末世)

The “apocalypse” in Chinese web novels originates from foreign media and games such as The Walking Dead, Fallout, Wasteland, and Resident Evil.

In apocalypse novels, a disaster destroys the entire world. It may be a virus outbreak, nuclear war, or mysterious natural disaster.

Order collapses. Most humans die from disasters or turn into zombies that lose consciousness and act only on instinct.

As time passes, survivors build a new order on the wasteland.

Stories may take place at different stages of the apocalypse and include the following types:

Evolution & Mutation (进化变异)

This is one of the earlier subgenres.

Due to nuclear radiation or viruses, biological genes begin to mutate.

Some humans become zombies, while survivors’ genes are optimized and evolve into more advanced life forms.

These works attribute all supernatural abilities to “genes.”

Some introduce the concept of “gene locks (基因锁),” believing that human genes contain infinite potential, but many “locks” restrict their expression, forcing humans to remain ordinary.

True strong individuals can break these gene locks, and each breakthrough brings them closer to becoming a “perfect life form.”

Therefore, the core of these stories is continuous evolution toward greater power after the apocalypse.

By the later stages, they can hardly be considered human anymore.

Representative works include Demon Hunter (狩魔手记) and Global Evolution (全球进化).

Some works involve killing zombies, obtaining energy cores inside their bodies, and consuming them to level up. This is more game-like in style.

In addition, in some works, the protagonist or important characters are zombies themselves, such as Such an Apocalypse (这很末世) and My Girlfriend Is a Zombie (我的女友是丧尸).

Resource Hoarding (囤物资) 

In Western countries, there are “doomsday preppers” who prepare extensively for possible apocalypses. They possess professional survival knowledge, which has greatly inspired Chinese web novel authors.

Chinese people also like hoarding supplies, especially when they sense danger.

In 2011, the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan caused panic in China, and many people rushed to buy and stockpile salt, believing seawater would become contaminated and salt derived from it would be radioactive. Some people still have stockpiles of salt today—fortunately, salt almost never goes bad.

Therefore, if the doomsday comes, nothing is more reassuring than a warehouse full of supplies.

In this type of story, the protagonist is reborn before the apocalypse.

He clearly remembers when the apocalypse will come and what the world will become afterward. He has anywhere from a few days to several months to prepare. Thus, he uses all his savings and even takes loans to build a safe shelter.

These stories usually have low power scaling. Early stages rarely include evolution or mutation elements, at most just ordinary zombies. The disaster that brings the apocalypse is not immediately deadly; it is usually extreme cold temperatures of dozens of degrees below zero, similar to the game Frostpunk.

For most people, death is a slow process.

But because the protagonist is well prepared, he can stay in his safe house and watch his enemies freeze to death one by one.

The main appeal of the story is closer to urban fiction—conflicts between people rather than fighting natural disasters or saving the world.

In addition, since the setting is usually in China, most people do not have guns. Firearms would seriously affect the story’s direction. As the saying goes: “If my neighbor stores grain, I store guns; then my neighbor becomes my grain warehouse.”

The most famous work is Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies (全球冰封：我打造了末日安全屋), which was very popular a few years ago, though the plot also has controversies, such as building the safe house on the 26th floor.

Apocalypse Superpowers (末世异能)

This subgenre is close to the worlds of Fallout and Wasteland.

The story takes place decades after the apocalypse. Survivors have rebuilt order on the wasteland, but the environment is still harsh, with pollution, radiation, and dangerous mutated creatures. At the same time, various superpowered individuals emerge among survivors to help humanity resist disasters.

Well-known works include The First Order (第一序列), Since The Red Moon Appeared (从红月开始), and Chosen Beyond Fate (天命之上).

The plot is similar to High-Martial or Spiritual Energy Revival fiction, with a core focus on leveling up and uncovering world secrets.

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III. Future World (未来世界)

The story takes place in the future, where technology has advanced greatly. Technologies such as android robots, cybernetic implants, and interstellar travel have become reality.

Earth’s potential has been fully exploited, and humanity begins to move into space.

Cyberpunk (赛博朋克)

This is a dystopian world view. Technology develops rapidly, but human society collapses. Mega corporations monopolize wealth, and the gap between rich and poor becomes extreme.

This genre is relatively niche, but the popularity of the game Cyberpunk 2077 brought it to mainstream readers’ attention. There are some fan fictions based on Cyberpunk 2077, as well as original works.

To be honest, there are not many true classics, because most works focus on elements like “cybernetic modification” while ignoring the dystopian core of cyberpunk.

After finishing Dao of the Bizarre Immortal (道诡异仙) , author Foxtail Quill (狐的笔) wrote a cyberpunk novel Malfunctioning Utopia (故障乌托邦), which is deep in meaning and also quite insane.

In addition, No Money to Cultivate Immortality? (没钱修什么仙?) is also, in a sense, a kind of cyberpunk. Under the skin of a cultivation world, its soul is actually cyberpunk.

Universe Cultivation (宇宙修真)

If humans gain cultivation abilities, they will have stronger bodies. If they also have space technology, they will explore the universe.

If they possess both, they will leave the solar system with powerful physical bodies and enter the galaxy.

In the universe, there are countless alien species and countless cultivation systems.

In short, this is a story of cultivators practicing in space.

The origin of this genre is undoubtedly the famous Swallowed Star (吞噬星空).

In fact, this type is closer to Xuanhuan than science fiction, because human power comes from cultivation, not technology.

Later, good works like Star Odyssey (踏星) and Forty Millenniums of Cultivation (修真四万年) appeared. They further developed the genre and gave rise to the popular “high martial arts” category.

Mecha (机甲)

Chinese web novel authors mainly learned about mecha from Japanese anime such as EVA and Gundam. Mecha are giant humanoid combat machines using firearms and melee weapons.

Although this humanoid design may not be optimal, and authors need to add many logical justifications, it is cool. After all, two mechas fighting in close combat is more exciting than tanks exchanging long-range fire.

In Chinese web novels, mecha is always a niche but charming genre. It is not because there is no audience—there are many Gundam fans—but because it is very difficult to write.

It requires strong scientific understanding for worldbuilding, and strong writing skills for battle scenes. Unlike Xuanhuan novels, this is not just a fight between two people, but two people controlling two giant machines.

Chinese mecha fiction has also developed its own feature: “ancient martial arts (古武).”

The combat effectiveness of mechas depends not only on the performance of the machine itself, but also on the pilot’s operating skills. These skills, in turn, originate from ancient martial arts. Since both humans and mechas share the same basic structure—one head, two arms, and two legs—many techniques from traditional martial arts can be applied to mecha combat.

As a result, protagonists in these works are usually outstanding engineers, pilots, and martial artists, and they remain highly capable fighters even without their mechas.

Early mecha works include classics such as Legend of the Supreme Soldier (师士传说) and Counterfeit Hero (冒牌大英雄).

In recent years, the genre has declined, and only a few authors like Skeleton Wizard (骷髅精灵) continue writing it.

Interstellar War (星际战争)

This genre describes cooperation and conflict between various factions in a vast cosmic age.

It originates from works like Star Wars and uses some classic settings.

Unlike traditional “space opera,” it focuses more on war rather than exploration. Compared with mecha fiction, interstellar war emphasizes macro strategy and fleet-level battles rather than individual combat. Mecha still appear frequently as single-unit weapons.

Political elements are also common. The protagonist often becomes a fleet commander or a high-ranking figure of a faction.

Representative works include Wandering Spaceship in Deep Space (深空之流浪舰队), and Interstellar Survival: Invasion (星际生存从侵略开始)

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IV. Infinity (无限流)

This genre consists of a main world and multiple instance spaces. Characters enter instance worlds constructed from movies, games, and anime to adventure, gain power, and earn the qualification to survive.

In 2007, Zhttty created Terror Infinity (无限恐怖), the origin of “Infinity.” The name of this genre just comes from this work.

Some English platforms translate it as “Unlimited Flow,” which is incorrect.

In the following years, the genre exploded. Because many existing works could be directly used as instance worlds, authors did not need to build worlds from scratch. In a sense, early infinite flow was a kind of fan-fiction mashup.

Besides Zhttty, author Volume Of Soil (卷土) is another important figure.

His work Ace Evolution (王牌进化) makes use of a large number of arcade games as instance worlds. Through gamified data and quest systems, it improves and refines the power system of the “Infinity” genre. Meanwhile, The  Ultimate Evolution (最终进化)  is regarded as the culmination of early Infinity fiction.

However, due to certain inherent limitations, the Infinity genre encountered obstacles during its development. The most prominent issue is copyright. Fan works based on films, games, and animation have long existed in a legal gray area within the Chinese web novel industry. In most cases, authors of the fan works did not obtain authorization from the original copyright holders, although these rights holders often tacitly allowed such creations. However, such fan works are almost impossible to adapt into films or comics.

Infinite flow faced the same issue. In around 2014, China’s online gaming industry was booming, and game developers, armed with large amounts of capital, actively purchased copyrights, driving the price of novel adaptation rights to an astonishing level. However, this boom did not extend to Infinity novels.

For famous authors, the inability to sell adaptation rights meant a huge loss, since adaptation income is usually several to dozens of times higher than earnings from digital reading. As a result, many Infinity writers began transitioning to Xuanhuan or Xianxia, and the genre started to decline.

During this period, some authors attempted other approaches, such as creating entirely original instance worlds instead of directly borrowing existing IPs. Cuttlefish That Loves Diving (爱潜水的乌贼) wrote The Sage Who Transcended Samsara (一世之尊) , an alternative wuxia-style Infinity novel in which all instance worlds are original creations.

Today, traditional infinite flow novels are no longer common. However, the structural framework of “main space + instance worlds” has continued to inspire many writers. For example, Realm Walker (灵境行者), which became extremely popular in the Chinese market and achieved over 200,000 average subscriptions on Qidian, is a work that combines Infinity with spiritual revival elements. A large number of bizarre instances appear in the world. The protagonist and others must enter these instances and resolve the crises within them, in order to prevent the instance worlds from contaminating the main world.

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