Farewell, Azeroth!

January 24, 2023, was an ordinary day.

But for Zhou Shen, holed up at home, it was anything but ordinary. A massive online game called World of Warcraft was shutting down its servers that very day.

There were countless games in the world. New ones launched almost every month, and several games also shut down their servers.

But for Zhou Shen and the other Million Lords, World of Warcraft was different. It had been with him for a whole decade. It was a legend in the world of online gaming. To Zhou Shen, it was both a game and a world. He had friends and comrades-in-arms there, along with the memories of his youth.

This world had been born from a group of people who loved games. It had become great thanks to all those who fought in the world of Azeroth. In the end, it was destroyed by a greedy soul!

When news first broke that NetEase and Blizzard had parted ways, Zhou Shen knew this world was about to leave him.

He probably wouldn't return to this world again! Although the recent expansions of World of Warcraft had been full of half-hearted work, the relentless updates had turned the world into fast food and a playground for farming bots. Some even said Warcraft was dead.

The heroes in this world had strayed from their established characters, until people no longer recognized them. Its once-epic story had been altered beyond recognition. If the call to battle in the Northrend campaign had carried it to its peak, then the story of the Shadowlands was the end of the legend.

But now that it really was about to leave him, Zhou Shen still felt deeply sad. It was more than just a game—it was home to the Million Lords.

The little bedroom was dark, lit only by the glow of the monitor. Its faint light, together with the neon glow coming in through the window, seemed to drape the room in a gauzy veil.

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

Before he could get a reply, the server shut down right on time and kicked him back to the login screen. Zhou Shen sighed and left that world with a heart full of regret.

But the memories left in his mind weren't of fancy gear, beautiful mounts and pets, powerful bosses, or grand battles.

They were of the painting and little wooden warhammer from In Dreams; of Varian Wrynn's solitary figure as he faced a horde of demons; of Rheastrasza desperately protecting that Dragon Egg. The mighty Red Dragon had been left with nothing but a charred corpse, using her own child to redeem the last hope.

Yes, that world was gone, but it had kept him company through ten years of youth.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shen closed the client and glanced at Hearthstone, where he got his monthly handouts: Give me back my hard-earned money! It was a spin-off of World of Warcraft! Zhou Shen had put a great deal of time and money into it.

He still remembered the joy of opening a golden Sunkeeper Tarim back then (6 mana, 3/7—not Eadric the Pure. Tarim could attack or defend, making him an all-around card). The line, "Un'Goro belongs to the Titans!" still seemed to ring in his ears!

Sigh, Hearthstone was leaving him too. He'd never again be able to look at some 810975—something—to while away the weekend. Nor would he be able to sit in the Stonehearth Tavern whenever he felt like it.

Actually, he'd been pretty lucky. He'd opened quite a few high-quality golden Legendary cards, like Frost Lich Jaina, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, and N'Zoth. Of course, that didn't include golden Millhouse Manastorm. His one regret now was that he'd never gilded the Paladin class Legendary, Tirion Fordring.

Then Zhou Shen's gaze fell on the icon of a demon: Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. He suddenly perked up again and muttered to himself, "Single-player games really are the best!"

This antique of a game also had a character class called the Paladin. Zhou Shen's love for the Paladin class had started with this game, so he clicked the icon.

He entered the game and stared blankly at the character list, where a Barbarian named susu sat. He created a new character and chose Paladin again, entering the name zhou shen. Then he got ready to begin his trip down memory lane for the night. He still had vacation days left, and since he couldn't go home, he could fight through the night.

Blizzard really was thoughtful. In a very considerate move, they'd changed the Spring Festival event from the originally scheduled date of the twentieth to the twenty-fourth.

Passing through the old portal, Zhou Shen's Paladin fought zombies and spike fiends in the pouring rain. He quickly reached level two, then returned to the Rogue Encampment. He ignored Warriv's quest and went over to open the shared stash. He remembered storing some low-level gear and Town Portal Scrolls in there. As soon as he opened the shared stash, he heard his computer start to get louder.

Ah, I'm getting old, the game's getting old, and now the machine is getting old too. Looks like I'll have to replace it in a couple of days. He paid it no mind.

There were a few pieces of equipment in the shared stash. The first thing he saw was 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

Carrying it in your inventory grants additional benefits

+7 to all skills

100% better chance of getting magic items

He clicked it with the mouse. It was like a coin. If he used it, the game would soon become boring. Just then, the computer let out a shriek, followed by a loud bang!

I'm done for. Should've gotten a new computer sooner. I didn't get to make dumplings with Mom and Dad this year!

Pain! So... painful!

His memories began to fall apart, and agony filled his soul. He felt as if something were pulling his soul away, drawing it into a new space.

Once the excruciating pain in his soul had eased a little, he heard a middle-aged man's anxious voice nearby: "Karandra, what happened to Taelan?"

A woman's voice, choked with tears, replied, "Taelan went to practice riding today and fell off his horse. He hit his head on a rock."

The woman continued, "This is all your fault. You're always teaching our son the ways of a knight! How many years has it been? Have you ever looked after this family? Or our 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 fell silent and said nothing more. Just then, the door opened, followed by a jumble of footsteps. The man from before said, "Alton, thanks for your efforts."

The man called Alton replied, "Sir, Priest Isillien is here."

Then a kind male voice said:

"Tirion, don't worry. I'll heal little Taelan right away."

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

Zhou Shen couldn't help thinking, Did I transmigrate?

Is this Azeroth?

Just as Zhou Shen was getting carried away with excitement, countless tentacles suddenly flashed through his mind, along with a blazing dragon flying across the sky. Wherever it passed, the earth split apart, buildings collapsed, and nations turned into seas of fire.

Azeroth wasn't all that wonderful, really. It was a more terrifying world than Sanctuary from Diablo. On average, it suffered one world-ending disaster every year, and countless monsters lined up to destroy this newborn world. Ordinary people could never be safe.

In the world of Diablo, at least there were Nephalem—also known as Nephalem. No matter how vicious the Prime Evils were or how cunning Belial was, the Nephalem cut them down like vegetables and sent them back to Hell.

Even the mighty Highlord Angel Imperius had to kneel before the Nephalem. In World of Warcraft, humans could never wield that kind of ultimate power. It was a world that produced heroes in droves, but being transmigrated into it wasn't so wonderful.

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

"Welcome to Azeroth! Nephalem Guidance System fully loaded!"

New novel uploaded! There's been a lot of news lately! It suddenly hit me that I'd been away from this world for a whole year! I'd always felt a pang of regret when I looked at those characters in Azeroth, so I decided to write a story to make up for the regrets of the past!

If you have any recommendation tickets, please vote! Thanks!

Happy Spring Festival!