九翼

This is a book written for gamers. The essence of games is entertainment, but I do not wish to write this book in an overly lighthearted way. Because I want people to know that there still exists such a group of people in the world who have staked their youth and their tomorrow on a single game. For one victory, for that instant of glory, they do not hesitate to spend sweat and money, and can devote countless hours to repetitive, boring practice. They are destined never to be the darlings in the eyes of parents and teachers; they only wish to become stars on the battlefield of games. I once said in the book that wanting to become a professional gamer in China is pure nonsense! The CCTV program "World of Electronic Sports" has been banned again and again; you think you can make a living from this? Stop dreaming! Therefore, inevitably many, many players will bow their heads before reality, helplessly choose life over games, and then deeply hide their past glory and dreams in the softest place within their chests. Only after being battered and scarred all over by life, only after their youthful recklessness has been completely squandered, only after all their sharp edges and unyielding bones have been thoroughly worn smooth, can they, when startled awake at midnight by nightmares, wipe the tears from the corners of their eyes and secretly savor those towering memories once more. Nostalgia. Then, without looking back, they walk toward ordinariness. This is a sorrow, a sorrow that neither you nor I can do anything about. All I can do is, to the best of my ability, record such a life, so that people may know that someone once lived like this. This is the first purpose for which I wrote this book. The second purpose is to weave a dream. Of course, calling it wish-fulfillment would not be wrong either. If China lacks an environment for games, then I will fabricate one; if there are no top-tier gaming experts, then I will create one. Football fans may be fortunate; when they feel depressed in reality, they can find satisfaction in the books of the great Lin Hai Ting Tao. What about us game fans? What I wish to provide is, in fact, just a resting station where we can relax for a moment. The protagonist in my book possesses no superhuman abilities, nor will he encounter enviable fortuitous encounters; before life, he too is merely a failure. But what I write about is not just him alone. What I truly wish to write about is a group of gamers, a group of people striving hard for their respective dreams. The protagonist is simply one among them. My literary skill is insufficient; many of my thoughts about life and about games still cannot be fully expressed through the novel, but I believe there will always be someone who can understand. Because we share the same hobby, the same dream. Let me conclude with a passage from the great Luo Gang: I climbed to the high mountain peak, striving to see the stars familiar to me, but there was only endless darkness. I still wished to whisper to the night, but only the snakes in winter were startled awake in panic, and in the distance an old crow cried mournfully. I no longer wish to wipe the tears mixed with blood from the corners of my eyes, because from now on I can only appear in deserted corners.... I have no regrets; the world gave me a small speaker, and I performed my act at high decibels. Because I know that there are others who, like me, love freedom. To breathe freely, to speak freely, to shout freely! I have no regrets; amidst the surging crowds, my voice was drowned out by noise, yet I still heard applause. Though it was so scarce, I still came to know: I, walking alone in the wilderness, am not lonely. I have no regrets. Truly. Because of you!