In the end, I'm sorry.

First of all, I owe an apology to all my readers: for now, this book cannot continue. I’m sorry.

There are two reasons for this.

1. Identity issues.

Since entering university, I have rarely read online novels. I’ve already discussed online fiction in this book—it is an entertainment product, meant to fill leisure time, and there is no inherent hierarchy compared to any other form. However, I truly can no longer bear to read them, whether it's the classic fantasy cultivation genre with monster battles and map changes, or the urban, entertainment, leisurely, or comedic styles with their formulaic plots. I’m largely immune now and can hardly recapture those nights spent reading novels until dawn.

I used to believe I could write a good online novel, but reality has proved otherwise—I was overconfident. The performance of this book has been mediocre, but if I updated ten thousand words daily after its release, it might still sustain me, which was my original plan. Now, the greatest obstacle isn’t the issue of royalties, but the growing lack of identification with what I write. In the end, online novels are products of wish-fulfillment, and this is especially pronounced in urban reality fiction, because it’s so close to real life.

Entertainment stories stand out in this regard. Even though the names are all replaced with homophones, everyone knows who the characters are based on.

To fictionalize a real-life individual and overlay them with the author’s imagined traits—regardless of whether that person is a public figure—is, in many ways, a disrespectful act. I never used to mind this, but now, as I write, it’s become unbearable. Each day, I browse social media, forums, and entertainment gossip sites, then reflect on what I’ve written, and I feel both childish and like a loser, producing something so divorced from reality.

I once wrote in a chapter that as an entertainment product, a fantasy world is merely a tonic for everyday life. People cannot—and should not—immerse themselves in it forever. Yet, for a novelist, he lives entirely in that fantasy, cloistered away, accompanied only by the world he creates.

Now, I truly can no longer stay in this imagined world. It’s too close to reality, yet separated by an unbridgeable gulf. At this point, I am unwilling, even ashamed, to show my novel to classmates or friends, because I do not accept my own work, nor do I identify with the genre of online fiction.

How could I recommend an article I myself cannot bear to read?

2. Family issues.

My parents and relatives have never supported my writing. Yesterday, the day before, a week ago, a month ago... There have been countless arguments over this. The weight of family pressure is always unexpectedly heavy.

In short, it’s hard to explain.

...

Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout. Here, I solemnly apologize.

This book will be paused indefinitely.

To offer some recompense, let me recommend a few books to help fill your reading gap.

First, I highly recommend Misty Rain South. His "Desecration" has always been the top online novel in my mind. Every subsequent work of his stands among the finest in the genre.

Next, the much-discussed "The Three-Body Problem," which is truly the pinnacle of Chinese science fiction, with quality beyond question.

I won’t say more.

I’m sorry.

Feel free to criticize me as you wish.