Phase Summary and Recent Status Report

[Would you hit me if I said I graded the papers wrong? This should be a free chapter! But... damn it! I forgot to put the chapter notes! This isn't the first time!]

I want to die... I made too many mistakes today...

To date, "Best Friends" has a total of 990,000 words and 441 chapters.

The First Rank of the story is finished today.

I made some summaries and exercised restraint in the last two chapters, which may be a bit dry, but I am quite satisfied with them.

I've been reflecting and summarizing lately, and I've realized that the content after chapter 400 has deviated somewhat from the baseline. Many readers have told me about this, and Duo Duo Meng even talked to me about it for a long time.

Yeah, I got a little carried away writing.

Therefore, summarizing each stage is indeed very necessary.

In the First Rank of the story, the first half, even up to chapter 380, I felt it was alright. At least it was passable and conveyed what it wanted to express.

Later on, when it began to participate in the struggle between world powers, the writing became somewhat weaker.

This is partly because I'm better at everyday interactions between characters, and not so good at this kind of scheming and intrigue.

I'm such a naive person...

On the other hand, it's also because the struggle between world powers is inherently unpredictable, and since it's set in the realm of supernatural beings, it's easy to lose the sense of familiarity, or what's commonly known as immersion.

So, Duo Duo Meng said, "Why did the later parts float? I don't understand?" That's definitely my fault.

But I can't leave this out... There might be a better solution, but my abilities are limited, and I haven't found a way or method yet.

So, it turned out like this.

After this experience, I realized that while it's often said that writing online novels requires boundless imagination, the more I write, the more I realize that my writing should be grounded in reality, solid, steady, and focused on the core, while trying my best to restrain my wandering thoughts.

I will try to remain as restrained as possible in the following writing.

We will strive to develop more interesting stories around the core themes.

Hmm, I've got a clue.

So everyone, don't panic, hold on tight to me! Then...

Let me tell you about the recent situation—it's terrible.

This includes personal life and family aspects.

I mentioned this in the V Group, and I really felt like I was about to break down at the time, but I've pulled through now.

I won't go into details about my personal life.

The main problem is that my mom fell and fractured her leg... The X-ray film showed that the bones were broken and misaligned by at least a centimeter... It made my legs hurt just looking at it.

I feel so sorry for her, and I'm devastated.

I used to be carefree and thought everything was pretty good.

But in reality, what kind of easy and carefree life is there? It's just that someone else is carrying the burden for you... I've lived for so long, and I still haven't figured it out. I'm such a dog.

It was today that I truly understood the meaning of the saying, "While parents are alive, one should not travel far."

Over the years, in order to make a living, because of some sudden ideas, and because of some ups and downs in life, I have traveled to many places, met many people, and experienced many things. I have probably experienced more than most people my age.

It was really tiring.

So, go home.

Go take care of my family, go back to the place where I was born and raised.

This society is quite bizarre. The sharp contradiction between rapid economic development and lagging individual productivity, coupled with ever-increasing individual demands, has amplified societal anxiety.

We're finding it harder and harder to be ourselves.

I've even started to lose the ability to distinguish between what's right and what's wrong.

very tired.

Making more money is definitely the right thing to do, but how to make it and how to spend it is the question.

I don't have the answer.

I can only do what comes to mind.

Another thing that happened after my mother got injured made me realize something... For an average family, something like this can be devastating. Time, labor, expenses... these can wipe out two or three months' worth of income for an average family.

Fortunately, my job is relatively flexible, and I don't have any messy debts like a mortgage.

If someone is suddenly without income for two or three months, how will they survive? Then I think about those who have emptied the wallets of six family members, taken out mortgages and car loans, and are burdened with millions or even tens of millions in debt. What if something happens to their family? Who can guarantee that their income will always be growing?

Who can guarantee that an accident won't happen to them?

When an accident happens, who will you rely on?

certainly,

This is just my own ignorant and narrow-minded thought... After all, I've been very busy lately, and even the title of Chapter 441 got the word order mixed up. However, research shows that the order of Chinese characters does not affect reading.

I don't know if it's true or not.

In short,

That's all for now, just a quick update!

I hope you enjoy watching! I wish you all a peaceful and joyful life, and all your wishes come true! — This last sentence is the most important.

Let's use this chapter as the volume marker, it'll be fine. (I've been assigned to the VIP volume again... shit!)