Writing *Heart of Time* was a marathon... a very long one. And today, we've finally reached the last chapter of Time.

Many readers who have accompanied me through the writing of several books probably know my preference: the technical stream. From *Digital Life* to *Wild Heart*, *Heart of Time*, and *Darkroom*, I've always loaded my novels with various other content. The technical stream is interesting; it makes my writing itself like an exploration, an adventure, constantly searching for various materials and organizing my own ideas. But it also makes my work, whether in the eyes of readers, editors, other authors, or even myself, somewhat incompatible with the most mainstream works. Perhaps, it's just some entanglement, some obsession. A guy who ran out of the traditional writing field, with too much experience writing for print media, probably always has something he can't let go of, hoping to load something other than the entertainment attributes of the novel, hoping readers can see something from it. When some readers can understand the Easter eggs in the book, treat them as their own little secrets, or share them with others, that's a very pleasant feeling. Whether in the past, present, or future, I hope this feeling can continue.

*Heart of Time* started in 2007 and has been going on until now, almost three years. In the middle, there was also a book called *Darkroom*. It's probably a particularly strange writing rotation. *Darkroom* met readers four months earlier than expected, but it disrupted my entire writing rhythm. I also have many dissatisfactions with the book *Darkroom* itself. Although I am still a little proud of the quality of the book, especially the writing and creativity, in the final analysis, this is a slightly hasty book. This time, when I participated in the Qidian author's conference in Wuzhen, someone suggested that I replicate it. This may be a way to satisfy myself, and it is not impossible to consider.

The delay of *Heart of Time* until now cannot be entirely attributed to the various things *Darkroom* sandwiched in between; the main reason is that I am really a lazy person. In the whole process of writing Time, in addition to *Darkroom*, I also had to squeeze in a journalist job and a period of rather crazy online gaming experience… Now when I think about these things, I feel extremely ashamed. *Heart of Time* is still being remembered by many readers, which makes me feel too embarrassed.

*Heart of Time* may not be a successful book in terms of pure results. The highest collection is only 44,000, and the highest subscription seems to be around 10,000. The collection-to-subscription ratio is gratifying, but... compared to the increasingly high achievements of current authors, it is indeed far behind. However, *Heart of Time* still makes me a little proud. This is a dual-transmigration work in a different world. At that time, many people felt that it would definitely be a failure, but it was able to achieve such results, and I feel that it is already worthy of pride. As for the end of the book, with intermittent updates, the subscription numbers are relatively ugly... I am sorry to everyone, and I am also sorry to this book.

The new book will arrive right after *Time*. Different types, same technical stream. Constantly jumping types may also be the reason why I can never accumulate enough die-hard fans and enough popularity. However, can the technical stream that runs through it all be considered a little bit of temptation? The new book is called *Xiu Xian Academy of Sciences*. When writing this, the book has not yet started... Naturally, it seems that there is no way to provide the book number for everyone. I'm sorry for the trouble.

In the new book, will I wait to see everyone?