The Disaster Containment Facility has finally reached two million characters. Let’s set off fireworks, firecrackers, blanks, bombs, fuel-air bombs, nuclear bombs, and the second-grade inertia field. Basically, anything awesome, just fire it off.
If this book has achieved even the slightest success, it's all thanks to…
Myself!
Ahem, just kidding.
Actually, I want to thank my editor, Brother Blu-ray. He doesn't say much, but he's very reliable, which puts my mind at ease.
I also want to thank all you readers for your support. I absolutely wouldn't have reached two million characters without you. I might have finished a million and then moved on to a new book.
This book, reaching this point, hasn't been easy, though it hasn't been overwhelmingly difficult either.
Although I've had a day or two of missed updates due to certain circumstances, or my own laziness, and ten days of reduced updates, since serialization began on March 28th of last year, a total of 446 days have passed. The average daily word count is 4484, roughly forty-five hundred words per day. Calculated, that’s a little over two chapters per day.
At the very beginning, the first day's subscription was 210, and the average subscription was 168. How much money was that? With the full attendance bonus, I barely made a thousand a month… I was quite pathetic back then, haha.
Later, with the readers' support and persistence, I've managed to achieve this little bit of success.
Of course, the current success isn't exactly great. To the masters out there, I'm still a flop.
After all, my read-through numbers aren't high. Those who can see this message today are probably only about a hundred people.
If you don't believe me, let's do a headcount!
But to have persevered to two million characters, to be able to support myself by writing, and to go from a level 1 newbie to a level 4 intermediate newbie, I do feel a little bit proud.
Even though this achievement might be worthless in the eyes of many, or even scorned.
But my dream, in a way, has been realized a little bit.
I've always felt that reality is important, and "dream" is a rather sentimental word, so I rarely say that writing novels is my dream.
Before, when I wrote single chapters to elicit sympathy, it was mostly about subscription issues, about making a living, not about dreams.
But thinking carefully, from when I was sensible until I actually started writing novels, I had countless times where I thought about making a living by writing novels, far more than any other job I ever fantasized about.
If I have to have a dream, besides unrealistic thoughts like becoming Superman, writing novels is my dream!
I'm in my twenties now, and perhaps passively or actively, I might have missed many opportunities.
But I'm very fortunate to have chosen this path, even though this path lacks "dignity," "stability," and "health." Perhaps my next book will flop and I won't even be able to afford food.
Perhaps I won't even have a wife… cough, scratch that.
But I have never regretted it!
Even when I only made a thousand yuan a month, hiding in my rented room, having to think before buying an ice cream, and feeling like throwing up from staying up late, I never regretted it.
Perhaps the only benefit of deciding to pursue a dream is not having regrets.
So, I sincerely thank all my readers for their support. Without you, I absolutely wouldn't have made it this far. Thank you for allowing me to embark on the path to realizing my dream.
Ahem, writing this is giving me goosebumps. I should save this kind of sentiment for when I actually achieve something.
What’s a dead flop like me doing being so sentimental.
Also, let’s talk about the novel. Firstly, typos. That's entirely my fault, and I'm very ashamed.
When I write a book, I usually first create a small outline, then write a draft according to the outline, then revise it, and finally check it over.
The frustrating thing is, even with this process, the quality is still not as good as the masters, but with limited skill, I can only improve bit by bit. Fortunately, I can see my own progress.
Just looking at it, this process is very time-consuming. The number of words I delete each day is about the same as the number of words I publish, so sometimes when time is tight, there are inevitably oversights during the check.
Sometimes I read it word by word, and there are still typos. I even spent 180 yuan to buy a six-month membership for a typo-checking software, but the result… well, it's still the same.
Also, about the plot. Some people think my section-by-section plot mode is too dragging and the main storyline isn't clear…
This was a problem with the initial planning. I intended to write in an episodic mode, one section after another, with little impact between each plot. But now, it seems the effect isn't very good.
Some people also think my writing is not good. Well, I admit this. My ability is average, my skill is limited, haha.
Also, some readers have suggested increasing the plotlines for supporting characters, saying they don't want to see the protagonist going through challenges and fighting monsters alone.
Regarding this, I've also made attempts. That's why I wrote the Mirror Maze trial earlier, and the recent plot where the entire Containment Facility圍剿s the Abyss Eye stronghold.
However, this is just an attempt. I will definitely focus on the protagonist in the future. Otherwise, why call them the protagonist? If it were all supporting character plots, people might say I'm padding the story…
Also, some people say my progress is slow, while others say it's fast, and that certain content could be expanded upon…
In fact, when I receive some opinions, I'm very conflicted.
If you divide readers' views on a certain matter into two extremes, left and right, there might be countless opinions of varying degrees in between.
For example, regarding people from a certain region, some hate them to the bone, some hate them generally, some view them neutrally, some like them, and some fawn over them.
And as an author, no matter how rational I consider myself, I will be biased towards readers holding different views. This creates "toxic points."
Most authors don't have it easy, so I hope that when you read books, you'll offer less criticism and more understanding. This applies not only to my book but to other books as well.
I personally believe that reading a novel is a process of mutual selection between the reader and the author. If you can accept minor flaws, try to accept them. If your values don't align, move on to the next book. There's no need to argue about right or wrong; seek common ground while reserving differences.
Perhaps the toxic point you dislike is precisely the reason why more readers stay.
When readers find something they don't like, they might just casually blast it and forget about it. But authors, after seeing it, will remember it for a very, very, very long time.
The taste of this is something only the author community truly understands.
Ahem, there's quite a bit of content in this author's note, almost as much as a chapter. It's already past one in the morning.
I originally wanted to write it in a more cheerful tone, but it ended up being about dreams and toxic points.
Finally, about the progress. Many novels are nearing completion by the two-million-character mark, but I have no plans to finish it yet. There are many foreshadowed plots yet to be revealed, and many stories yet to be told. So, this novel will accompany you for some time.
You don't need to worry about me suddenly losing the will to write and abruptly ending the book. I should have some integrity in this regard.
Unless I suddenly pass away, then there's nothing I can do.
I hope you will accompany me to the end. Thank you all.