It’s a strange invasion, is it okay for me to fight back?

[Summary and Reflections]

今天是2026年5月26日，我看了眼第一章的发布时间，2024年5月6日，两年了呢！

To be honest, it exceeded my expectations. I originally thought I wouldn't be able to stick with it because I was in terrible shape before the book was published. In the end, due to the pressure of life, coupled with the urging of the editor and the encouragement of friends, I was forced to start writing this story.

When designing the character, I quickly decided on Feng Ling's personality traits. I wanted to write about a free person, without KPIs, without burdens, without gloom, always looking forward, always clearly knowing what she wants, not bound by any evaluation system, getting up after falling down. It's not that she can't experience setbacks, but that she has the talent to blunt the pain. Success is of course joyful, and failure is just failure. I wanted to write that her life has an incredibly high tolerance for error, and I wanted to give her countless opportunities to try and fail, so that she could explore this world freely and boldly.

Therefore, you will often see Feng Ling stumble in the plot. Some comments say that the author deliberately made the character less intelligent. First of all, I did not do it on purpose, and secondly, I do not think that stumbling is the same as being less intelligent.

Feng Ling's character is indeed not very intelligent. She has poor academic performance and entered a sports school because of her sports talent. For her, failure is just a life experience. It's like how to run 100 meters in a certain time. If she doesn't, she keeps practicing. Or how many meters to throw the shot put. If she doesn't hit the target, she keeps practicing. That's all. She will never doubt herself because of failure.

I wanted to write her story as a way to give myself a psychological boost—don't be afraid of creating, don't be afraid of bad reviews, don't be influenced by external voices, it's okay if it's not well written, it's normal not to be liked by everyone, imperfection is the norm.

Even if I don't write well, so what? I didn't kill anyone or commit arson!
So creating this book has a very different meaning for me. It is both an expression of my true feelings and a form of self-healing. When I wrote about Feng Ling leaving her body and going to another world at 3 a.m. last night, I was excited for a long time. I was especially happy, happy for Feng Ling and happy for myself.

Let's talk about the ending of the Earth arc.

When I first started writing, I was wondering, does a heroine in a leveling-up story reach the top level and consider it a victory? In a world ruled by game rules, breaking those rules is what leads to ultimate victory, right? But how do I get Feng Ling to break through the game's framework and venture into the invaders' world?
Should we build a spaceship and fly there directly? No, that would turn it into an interstellar story, and the other side's technology is clearly superior to Earth's. If Earthlings can fly there, the other side can definitely fly over.

So the ending is fixed. No matter what, Feng Ling must go to the other world. The only difference is the process. I started laying the groundwork for Meteor's skill when the plot progressed to 40%, just for this final moment.

I also have to admit that this ending design greatly reduces the sense of satisfaction. For many readers, it's very unsatisfying that Feng Ling, who finally stood at the pinnacle of power, suddenly abandons everything to go to an unknown world. It's like a wealthy person suddenly abandoning their status to wander.

However, this is the most suitable solution I can think of with my limited brain capacity. I need her to go to another world to find out the answers about the origin of the game, the ticket system, and the conflict between the city dwellers and the waste.

I'll be taking a break for a while. I plan to release the otherworldly chapter during the summer vacation. It won't be too long, around 10 words. I hope it won't become another bowl of noodles.

The alternate world arc will introduce one or two new characters, including the Taoist priest and Miaomiao. The Taoist priest's storyline will be expanded, but it will still be a one-sided love affair, with the romantic relationship leaning towards camaraderie or family ties.

Speaking of the Taoist priest, I have to tell you about the male protagonist.

I've only recently started thinking about whether a background male lead counts as a male lead. Based on my previous experience writing romance novels, a book always has a female lead and a male lead, because romance novels are about two people falling in love. But if a book's main content is leveling up and fighting monsters, is it still necessary to have a male lead?

I initially set Qingyou as a "background male lead" because his storyline runs throughout the entire story, from Earth to the other world, and he also has a crush on the female lead. Therefore, I thought he was the best candidate for a "background male lead." Later, I came across a video by a content creator, and it was quite enlightening. The creator said that the key to a female lead being a female lead isn't just the word "female," but rather the "lead" – anyone who is the protagonist must face the main conflict, drive the story forward, connect other characters, reveal the story's theme, and determine the narrative direction (I'm borrowing the creator's words here). I thought about it carefully, and did Qingyou accomplish any of these things?

The answer is no.

Therefore, his correct identity should be "a relatively important male supporting character".

Having written for so many years, I rarely take definitions too seriously. If I think a word or label is fashionable or appropriate, I use it without thinking. But in the last two years, the trend has changed. Using the wrong label can cause unnecessary controversy, and explaining it is very mentally taxing.

As you all know, I've been very tired from writing these past few years. I'm exhausted, and I don't want to keep explaining whether this book has a male lead, whether it's a no-romance book, whether Feng Ling is a female-centric story, whether the author is misogynistic, and so on. I don't want to and am unwilling to endlessly prove myself. So, if any controversial book reviews appear in the future, I will no longer respond.

For me, the biggest gain is that I have completed this story (there is still another world chapter for me to write), I have fulfilled my own expression, and the rest will take its natural course.

Finally, I would like to thank two readers individually.

One of them is "I Left in Autumn." I remember when I first published the book, not many people read it. When it was only a few hundred thousand words, the book review section was empty. You suddenly appeared and broke the silence. Perhaps worried that I wouldn't be able to continue writing if there were few readers, you left messages to encourage me almost every day. For a while, the bookstore promoted my book to the male-oriented section, which attracted some negative reviews. You were the first to rush up and argue with the other party. Later, as the number of readers and reviews gradually increased, you reduced the number of comments. You were like a female knight-errant, with a kind of graceful retirement after achieving success and keeping your achievements hidden! I also remember once when there was a bug in my plot. I was very frustrated and emotionally drained. In the author's notes, I said that my writing was a failure. You told me to correct it, not that it was a failure, but that it wasn't successful enough. I was very touched at that time. I felt the kindness you conveyed to me from the other side of the internet. You protected my self-esteem with the gentlest words. Thank you so much for your support (can you believe my eyes are getting a little wet as I write this?).

The other is "A Lifetime of Tears." I want to call you Chief Inspector. My update schedule is incredibly inconsistent, but no matter what time I post a chapter, you're always the first to spot typos! (laughs~) Sometimes I really wonder if your main job is editing, otherwise why are you so sensitive to typos? Haha, I want to thank you, but it has nothing to do with finding typos. Actually, I've always wanted to sincerely thank you for your continued support and honest feedback during the serialization. I haven't met a reader like you in many years. For many people, novels are just for entertainment. It's normal to curse and criticize when you see a plot you don't like, but you're different. You analyze the plot by considering the characters' personalities and perspectives. You seriously tell me which parts of the plot are wrong. Your criticism is always rational, never escalating to emotions, and never attacking me, the author. You make me feel that this story wasn't written in vain, that every character I created was seen and respected. For a creator, meeting a reader like you is an immense blessing.

Sometimes I think fate is really strange. Why did I meet these two readers during my low period? They seem like a strict father and a kind mother couple, one responsible for supervising and the other for encouraging. It's quite interesting.

There are many readers I need to thank, but the two mentioned above are particularly special, so I'll thank them separately, haha~
I also want to thank "Lyn, R", my top reader. As the saying goes, where there's money, there's love. Whenever I'm feeling down, your donation always makes me feel invigorated again. Thank you!

"Why are there illegal characters in my nickname?" Thank you for your generous support! I'll definitely let you know if I make any fun merchandise next time!
"Lan Bingning" is an old friend of mine who has known me for many years. I haven't been doing well these past few years, and Sister Lan has been very busy, but as soon as she heard that I had started a new book, she immediately came back to support me with real money!
Little Chestnut and Sheep, my two operations officers, are beautiful and kind-hearted. Thank you for taking the time out of your work to help me manage the book club!
Thanks to Fengling's story, I've met so many lovely people.

I'm grateful to myself for never giving up on myself.

I've written quite a long piece without realizing it, so let's put it down for now.

This is not the end, but a temporary pause.

See you next summer vacation!
(Now it's time for readers to ask questions, I'll try my best to answer them.)
(End of this chapter)