Author's Note upon Conclusion

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 something from a past life.

At that time, "Slaying God" had just been concluded for a little over three months. With an uneasy and even extremely nervous state of mind, I wrote the beginning of "I Am Not the Theatre God"... That was probably the most stressful time 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 me to breathe. People are always arrogant. When a new thing first emerges, people will always view its existence with the most critical and judgmental 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 newcomer 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 name; no one will remember who wrote this story"...

Some 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 me. 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 me like a quagmire. They were all watching me, wanting to see me fall from where I stood and fade into mediocrity.

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 me.

Thank you.

Many people have asked me 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 same. "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 game with "me," 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 time is not uniform. Time passes the slowest during one's youth, but as one grows older, they feel that time 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 time, 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 time—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 time. 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 some 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 meet at the Star Observation Bureau? Perhaps the 6-series generation and the Night Watch Squad will produce some 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 some 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 meet again later~

The author, Sanjiu Yinyu,

signing off.