As of now, I was only 100 bookmarks away from 10,000. In other words, less than 24 hours after getting onto Sanjiang, the bookmarks had risen by nearly 2,000! That might be nothing compared to the big shots, but to me, it was already incredibly gratifying.
My previous book, Swordbearer, only reached 13,000 bookmarks after it was finished. Number One Guard got around 25,000, but this book had only just begun—there was still plenty of room to grow. Thank you all for your support. It gave me even more motivation to write better stories for you!
I said before that if I made it onto Sanjiang or got a major recommendation, extra chapters wouldn't be out of the question. Although the book was already nearing 200,000 words, and I might be forced to put it behind a paywall before getting that major recommendation... but screw it, I couldn't ruin my karma. So, three updates today to start with.
Lastly, let me recommend two books I'd been reading.
The first was I, Captain of China, by the great Big Head. He was a veteran football author, and the quality spoke for itself. The protagonist was Zheng Zhi, captain of China's national team, who was reborn in 1998. This book was the final installment of the Big Head Football Trilogy, and it could be considered the culmination of the series. Its popularity was quite good at the moment too—the public's eyes were sharp.
The second was a basketball novel, Basketball Meme King. Its premise was very interesting: the protagonist gained corresponding abilities by stealing other people's "memes." For example, after stealing Kobe's four-a.m. meme, he gained Kobe's defensive ability. It was quite novel. The writing style was also light and easygoing, so it never became tiring no matter how long you read.