Zhang Yi

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhang Yi (张义)
Alias(es)	Old Zhang
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Occupation/Role	Gamer; frequent player of Nebula Games titles
First Appearance	83

Background / History

Zhang Yi regularly plays games with Wang Han, Song Ren, Wang Yifan, and Qiao Yi. At an exhibition demo for Sanguosha, he is assigned the Lord role and selects Liu Bei, favoring the familiar general’s straightforward card-giving and healing ability. He initially plays cautiously while trying to identify the hidden roles around the table 85.

His early Dark Souls experience becomes a prolonged lesson in failure and adaptation. After creating the deliberately bizarre character “123,” he is repeatedly overwhelmed by the Crystal Lizard, Ashen Knight Gundyr, ambushes on Lothric High Wall, and a Mimic. He gradually learns enemy patterns, stamina management, bonfire mechanics, and parrying before finally defeating Gundyr 112 114 116 119 121.

Zhang Yi continues to experience nearly every major Nebula Games release, usually approaching new systems with immediate curiosity, confidence, and a tendency to draw conclusions before he has all the information. His gaming history includes Monster Hunter: World, Warcraft, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, DOTA, Silent Hill, Persona, Amazing Cultivation Simulator, and Grand Theft Auto 247 277 329 417 688 718 760 884 890 898.

Personality

Zhang Yi is outspoken, competitive, and prone to dramatic declarations. He dismisses defensive play when choosing the Greatsword, insists on trying Call of Duty’s Veteran difficulty, and often measures his progress against Song Ren’s. When losing, he is willing to exaggerate an opponent’s strength rather than concede embarrassment 247 329 698.

He is persistent when a game challenges him. Although Dark Souls repeatedly kills him, he studies patterns and keeps advancing; in Sekiro, he converts repeated defeats into an increasingly direct, deflection-focused style. His confidence can quickly be checked by unfamiliar enemies or mechanics, but he continues experimenting rather than giving up 121 692 699.

He enjoys detailed character creation and deliberately absurd aesthetics. His Dark Souls character is an elderly, silver-twin-tailed, bearded creation named “123,” while his Monster Hunter: World hunter is designed as a dignified middle-aged man with playful hair 112 245.

Horror games expose a more anxious side. Zhang Yi carefully walks rather than runs through Silent Hill to avoid making noise, becomes deeply unsettled by Pyramid Head, and ultimately needs to step away after the game’s oppressive atmosphere overwhelms him 761 762.

Gaming Skills

Adaptive Combat

Zhang Yi learns through repeated attempts and gradually adjusts his tactics to a game’s systems.

• In Dark Souls, he realizes that stamina, invincibility frames, enemy revival at bonfires, and parrying are central to survival 114 116.
• In Monster Hunter: World, he tests the Greatsword’s charged attacks against the Great Rathian, recognizing both the power of True Charged Slash and the weapon’s difficulty against mobile targets 252.
• In Sekiro, he learns to exploit posture damage, perfect deflections, Mikiri Counters, jumping over sweeps, and Lightning Reversal 692 696 698.

Tactical Problem-Solving

Zhang Yi often looks for unconventional ways around obstacles rather than relying solely on direct combat.

• He bypasses Sekiro’s early mini-boss Shigenori Yamauchi through environmental positioning, then later uses the Flame Vent against the Red Demon and hides in a palanquin to evade the giant snake 688 694.
• After defeating Genichiro Ashina, he shifts away from relying on stealth kills and prosthetic tools, instead favoring direct sword clashes and counters 699.
• In Amazing Cultivation Simulator, he quickly understands the deduction system, connects clues about Manichaeism and the mountain bandits, and enjoys exposing contradictions in testimony 891.

Game-System Analysis

Zhang Yi rapidly forms theories about unfamiliar systems, though his conclusions are not always correct.

• He selects the Greatsword because its charged attacks seem simpler to execute than the Longsword or Charge Blade’s more elaborate techniques 247.
• He recognizes DOTA’s broad Core/Support classifications and attempts to advise an Invoker player based on attribute scaling and skill descriptions 716 718.
• He identifies Persona as a traditional RPG built around dungeon exploration, elemental weaknesses, turn-based combat, Persona development, and fusion 884 885.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Greatsword — Zhang Yi’s chosen starting weapon in Monster Hunter: World; he values its straightforward, high-damage charged attacks 247.
• Kusabimaru — Kuro’s sword, received while playing as the Wolf in Sekiro 688.
• Healing Gourd — Sekiro healing item received from Kuro; its reusable nature immediately reminds Zhang Yi of Soulslike mechanics 688.
• Prosthetic Arm Grappling Hook — Gives him fast aerial traversal in Sekiro, which he enthusiastically compares favorably with earlier Soulslike games 690.
• Dragon Knight — His first documented DOTA hero; he uses Ancient Dragon Form and later combines Black King Bar with Wang Han’s Bloodlust 720 721.

Relationships

• Wang Han — His girlfriend during the Dark Souls period and later his wife. They frequently play together, tease one another, and approach games differently; she often offers advice while also calling out his overconfidence 83 116 417 890.
• Song Ren — Close friend and competitive gaming partner. Their friendship is defined by mutual teasing, progress comparisons, cooperative play, and friendly duels 86 698 873.
• Wang Yifan — Member of Zhang Yi’s regular gaming circle; they play Sanguosha, Minecraft, and other multiplayer titles with Wang Han, Song Ren, and Qiao Yi 85 223 541.
• Qiao Yi — Member of his gaming group. They participate in exhibition matches and later join group sessions in Minecraft and Human: Fall Flat 85 223 542.

Story Role / Major Arcs

*Dark Souls*

Zhang Yi’s first major Soulslike journey begins with misplaced confidence and repeated deaths. He eventually defeats Ashen Knight Gundyr, enters the Ember state, and becomes increasingly capable of reading enemies and surviving hostile environments 113 119 121.

*Monster Hunter: World*

As a new hunter, Zhang Yi chooses the Greatsword over more complex weapons and learns its limitations through the Great Rathian hunt. He expects the Fifth Fleet’s NPC hunters to become active allies, only to find that his dependable companion is primarily his Palico 247 251 252.

*Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice*

Zhang Yi begins Sekiro confident that Soulslike experience will carry him through. After initial successes with traps and early bosses, the Samurai General, Ashina Samurai, and Genichiro force him to master deflection timing and posture mechanics. Defeating Genichiro and successfully using Lightning Reversal marks his greatest documented improvement in the game 689 696 698.

*Silent Hill*

Zhang Yi enters Silent Hill expecting familiar horror-game scares but is destabilized by its fog, silence, slow pacing, distorted creatures, and Pyramid Head. He initially continues for Song Ren’s birthday, but the game’s psychological pressure eventually drives him to stop and recover 760 762 768.

*Amazing Cultivation Simulator*

As Zhuge Yu, Zhang Yi embraces the game’s retro wuxia presentation, real-time martial-arts combat, and investigation mechanics. He is especially enthusiastic about deductions based on evidence and logical contradictions, while remaining suspicious of Inspector Chen’s motives 890 891.

*Grand Theft Auto*

Zhang Yi initially follows Carl Johnson’s main story rather than immediately exploring the open world. He becomes absorbed by the gang conflict, mission variety, and the game’s broader blend of crime, satire, character progression, and side activities 898 899.

Notable Quotes

“One Greatsword, one legend!” 247

“Cold-resistant gear? A true warrior doesn't need that kind of thing!” 417

“Could it be that I've evolved!?” 698

Trivia

• Zhang Yi’s Dark Souls character is named 123 and is designed to look intentionally absurd 112.
• He names his Monster Hunter: World Palico 123 as well 251.
• He prefers quiet, personal exploration in crowded online spaces and turns off player IDs and voice chat when the noise becomes distracting 224.
• His Super Smash Bros. rivalry with Song Ren has a recorded 53%–47% win-rate split in Zhang Yi’s favor 872.