Mm, it's finally concluded.
From September 2023 to April 2026, two and a half years of serialization have finally reached the day of conclusion. If I had to describe how I feel... it would probably be a state of dazed surrealism.
Looking back now, when "Play God" was first published, it feels like sothing from a past life.
At that ti, "Slaying God" had just been concluded for a little over three months. With an uneasy and even extrely nervous state of mind, I wrote the beginning of "I Am Not the Theatre God"... That was probably the most stressful ti of my life, second only to the college entrance exams.
Back then, "Slaying God" was indeed very popular, but precisely because of this, the unprecedented pressure made it a bit hard for to breathe. People are always arrogant. When a new thing first erges, people will always view its existence with the most critical and judgntal gaze. Free-to-read was that new thing, and many looked toward it with a sense of superiority and arrogance. And I just so happened to be standing at the crest of the wave.
When I first started writing "Slaying God," I was nothing more than a newcor who had only been writing for ten months.
After "Slaying God" concluded, all sorts of voices appeared: "It's just one book blowing up, pure luck," "No one on Tomato has ever had two consecutive hits," "A pig standing in the wind," "A lucky guy boosted by traffic," "Free-to-read platforms can't establish authors or build a pen na; no one will rember who wrote this story"...
So of what they said was right. I was indeed a pig standing in the wind of free-to-read, blown up to a height that didn't belong to . But I wasn't content with just being a pig. I wanted to grow my own wings.
The external doubts, sneers, mockery, and schadenfreude enveloped like a quagmire. They were all watching , wanting to see fall from where I stood and fade into diocrity.
The period before starting the new book, I sat in front of a blank computer screen like a dying person stuck in a foul, stinking swamp, desperately trying to grow flesh and blood. I wanted to break free from all of it and walk beneath that blue sky.
Thus, I wrote Chen Ling.
Malicious Audiences were gradually replaced by benevolent ones. The Thespian On Stage walked step by step to this day, taking an elegant curtain call under the watchful eyes of the masses. This is not just Chen Ling's story.
Thank you to every reader who has read up to here. Thank you to everyone who likes Chen Ling, likes "Play God," and likes .
Thank you.
Many people have asked why I used the setting of Thespians On Stage and The Audience. I have said many things—that we shouldn't be burdened by the gazes and words of others, that we need to realize "who I am," and that we must walk our own path. Life is a performance that only happens once, and the only ones truly responsible for this performance are ourselves, and so on...
Chen Ling is exactly the sa. "The maddened villain walks onto the throne alone"—this was the ending I originally designed for Chen Ling. But thinking about it carefully, if Chen Ling's final ending was truly as I had designed it, then what did his journey amount to? He ultimately still wouldn't have escaped his predetermined fate, and he wouldn't have escaped the ending arranged for him by others.
Therefore, Chen Ling's final ga with "," breaking free from the shackles of text to say the line "I am no Theatre God... I am Chen Ling," is what this book truly wanted to express.
People's perception of ti is not uniform. Ti passes the slowest during one's youth, but as one grows older, they feel that ti slips away faster and faster. In the end, a decade passes by in a flash... Looking at the long river of life with its uneven scale of ti, there aren't actually many three-year periods that leave a truly profound impression. I believe that during these nearly three years of serialization, many readers have progressed from middle school to high school, from high school to college, and from college into society...
For "Play God" to have had the opportunity to accompany you through this ti—which is more precious than gold—Sanjiu is deeply honored.
After "Play God" concludes, Sanjiu will rest for a while. As I said when "Slaying God" concluded, it's to go "level up." However, the "leveling up" process might take a bit longer this ti. I'll probably wait until after the new year to start a new book.
But during this period of rest, Sanjiu might write a standalone book of a hundred thousand words or so and release it, or perhaps publish it. Maybe a story featuring the Masked Squad as the protagonists? Or a story focused on Zhou Ping and Zhao Kongcheng... It could also be a story about the era before the Great Cataclysm in "Play God." As for what exactly I'll write, I haven't decided yet.
However, this is just a "possibility." I'm just putting the idea out there first; I can't guarantee whether it will happen or not, haha~ You can keep an eye on Sanjiu's TikTok or Weibo. I'll notify everyone simultaneously if there's any news, and I'll also do so occasional live streams.
The story of "Play God" isn't over, and Chen Ling's journey has only just begun. The worldviews and characters of "Slaying God" and "Play God" will gradually forge tighter connections. Perhaps An Qingyu and Li Leider will et at the Star Observation Bureau? Perhaps the 6-series generation and the Night Watch Squad will produce so magical chemistry... There's still so much left to write in the "Slaying God Universe," so please look forward to it, everyone.
Anyway, the main story concludes here. There might be so side stories or sequels updated later, but the schedule will be irregular.
Thank you again to every reader who has read up to here. We'll et again later~
The author, Sanjiu Yinyu,
signing off.
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