Goodbye, Azeroth!

January 24, 2023, an ordinary day.

But for Zhou Shen, huddled in his room, this was an extraordinary day. Because a massive online game called World of Warcraft was shutting down its servers today.

There are countless games in this world; almost every month, new games begin operation, and just as many shut down.

But for the "Million Lords" like Zhou Shen, World of Warcraft was different. It had accompanied him for ten whole years. It is a legend in the world of online gaming. To Zhou Shen, it was not just a game, but a world. Here, he had friends, comrades-in-arms, and his youth.

This world was born because of a group of people who loved games. It became great because of those who fought in the world of Azeroth. Yet, in the end, it was destroyed by a greedy soul!

When the news first broke that NetEase and Blizzard were parting ways, Zhou Shen knew this world was about to leave him behind.

He likely wouldn't return to this world again! Although the recent expansions of World of Warcraft had been filled with perfunctoriness, and continuous updates had turned this world into a fast-food joint and a backyard for gold-farming studios. Some even said that Warcraft was dead.

The heroes in this world had deviated from their established personas, making them unrecognizable. Its originally epic storyline had been altered beyond recognition. If the horn of the expedition to Northrend had led it to its peak, then the story of the Shadowlands was the curtain call for this legend.

But when it was truly about to leave him, Zhou Shen still felt a deep sadness in his heart. It wasn't just a game; it was the home of the Million Lords.

The small bedroom was dark, lit only by the fluorescent glow of the monitor. The faint light, mixed with the neon colors seeping in from outside the window, seemed to drape a thin, illusory veil over the small room.

Zhou Shen parked his only character in the Classic version: a human Paladin, in the Valley of Heroes in Stormwind. He stared blankly at the statues of the five expeditionary heroes as seconds ticked by. He pulled up his friends list and sent a private message to his last old buddy, Dong Ge: "Goodbye!"

Before he could wait for a reply, the server shut down right on time. Kicked back to the login screen, Zhou Shen sighed, leaving that world behind with a heart full of regret.

However, the memories left in his mind were not of flashy gear, beautiful mounts, or pets, nor were they of those powerful bosses and grand, epic campaigns.

Instead, they were the painting and the small wooden warhammer from In Dreams; the lonely silhouette of Varian Wrynn facing a swarm of demons alone; and Rheastrasza desperately protecting that dragon egg. The powerful red dragon left behind only a charred corpse, using her own child to redeem the final hope.

Yes, this world was gone, but it had accompanied him through ten years of his prime.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shen closed the client and took a look at Hearthstone, which he played for the monthly rewards: "Give me back my hard-earned money! This is a spin-off of World of Warcraft!" Zhou Shen had invested a lot of time and money into it.

He still remembered the joy of pulling a golden legendary (Sunkeeper Tarim, 6-cost 3/7, not Eadric the Pure. Tarim is versatile, capable of both offense and defense). That line: "Un'Goro belongs to the Titans!" still seemed to ring in his ears!

Sigh, Hearthstone was leaving him too. He could no longer watch streamers play to pass the weekend, nor could he sit casually in the Stonehearth Tavern.

Actually, his luck hadn't been bad. He had pulled quite a few high-quality golden legendaries, such as Frost Lich Jaina, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, and N'Zoth—though, of course, excluding the golden Millhouse Manastorm. His only regret now was perhaps not having gilded Tirion Fordring, the Paladin class legendary.

Then, Zhou Shen's gaze fell upon a demonic icon: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. He suddenly perked up and muttered to himself, "Single-player is better after all!"

In this antique-level game, there was also a character class called Paladin. And it was from this game that Zhou Shen had started his love for the Paladin class. So, he clicked the game icon.

He entered the game and stared blankly at a Barbarian named susu in the character list. He created a new character, choosing the Paladin again, entered the name: zhou shen, and prepared to start his nostalgic journey for the night. Since he still had annual leave remaining, he, who couldn't go home for the holidays, could battle for the entire night.

One had to say, Blizzard was truly thoughtful; they humanely changed the originally scheduled Spring Festival event from the 20th to the 24th.

Entering the old portal, Zhou Shen's Paladin braved the heavy rain, slaughtering zombies and Fallen. He quickly reached level two and walked back to the Rogue Encampment. Ignoring Warriv's quest, he walked over and opened the shared stash. He remembered storing some low-level gear and Town Portal scrolls inside. Just as he clicked on the shared stash, he heard the computer tower's fan grow louder.

Sigh, people get old, games get old, and this machine is old too. Looks like I'll need to replace it in a couple of days. He ignored it.

There were a few pieces of gear in the shared stash. He first saw a shield—hmm, this Crescent Moon would do. Then, his mouse hovered over a Small Charm next to the shield:

Small Charm of Destruction and Breaking

Kept in inventory for significant additional benefits

+7 to all skills

100% better chance of getting magic items

He clicked it with his mouse; it looked like a coin. As long as he used it, this game would quickly become boring. Just then, the computer tower let out a screech, followed by a loud "BOOM!"

Damn it, I should have replaced the computer sooner. I didn't even get to make dumplings with Mom and Dad this year!

Pain! So... painful!

His memories began to shatter, and agony flooded his soul. He felt as if his soul were being pulled away by something, entering a new space.

When the immense pain in his soul subsided slightly, a middle-aged man's anxious shout reached his ears: "Karandra, what happened to Taelan?"

A female voice, thick with tears, replied: "Taelan went to practice riding today and fell off the horse. He hit his head on a rock."

The woman continued: "It's all your fault, always teaching our son about the 'way of the knight'! How many years has it been? Have you ever cared for this home? Have you ever cared for your son? He's eight years old, and the time he's spent with you... does it even add up to a year?"

The middle-aged man seemed to fall silent, saying nothing more. Just then, the door was pushed open, followed by a flurry of footsteps. The man from before said: "Alton, thank you for your hard work."

The man called Alton said: "Commander, Priest Isillien is here."

Then, a gentle male voice spoke:

"Tirion, don't worry. I will heal little Taelan right now."

"Tirion? Taelan?" Is this World of Warcraft?

Zhou Shen couldn't help but think: "Did I transmigrate?"

"Is this Azeroth?"

As Zhou Shen was blindly happy, countless tentacles flashed through his mind, along with a giant dragon wreathed in flames flying across the sky. Wherever it passed, the earth cracked, houses collapsed, and nations turned into seas of fire.

In truth, Azeroth wasn't that beautiful; it was a world even more terrifying than the Sanctuary of Diablo. Here, there was a world-ending catastrophe on average once a year, with countless monsters lining up to destroy this newborn world. And mortals could never be safe.

In the world of Diablo, at least there were Nephalem. No matter how vicious the Prime Evils were, or how insidious and cunning Belial was, they were all sent back to hell by the Nephalem like chopping vegetables.

Even the powerful high-ranking angel Imperius could only kneel before the Nephalem. But in World of Warcraft, humans could never master that kind of ultimate power. This was a world where heroes emerged in droves, but when you transmigrated here, it wasn't so wonderful.

Just then, a sweet voice rang in Zhou Shen's ears:

"Welcome to Azeroth! Nephalem Guidance System loading complete!"

New book uploaded! Recently, a lot of news has been coming out! I suddenly remembered that it's already been a whole year since I left this world! Looking back at those characters in Azeroth, I couldn't help but feel regret, so I started writing a story! To make up for the regrets of those years!

If you have recommendation tickets, please cast them! Thank you!

Wishing you a Happy Spring Festival!