Launch Message: Reflections from Haki Tea

The day has finally arrived for me to write my launch message, and I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all my esteemed readers for their unwavering support.

It’s already 2025 this year. Every time I see this date, I, Haki Tea, pause in surprise. Has it truly been 2025 already? The 21st century has passed its first quarter?

When I first ventured into writing, Haki Tea was a naive university student, and the future seemed boundless. Back then, we harbored dreams of literature, of love, and of journeys across vast worlds.

Years have since passed, and Haki Tea has transformed into a corporate drone, left to scavenge for faint glimmers of hope within the suffocating cracks of life. Now, when our glasses clink together during late-night drinks, it’s merely the sound of shattered dreams.

Truthfully, the pressure of this release weighs quite heavily on me.

I possess a profound lack of confidence in my writing. My typing speed is not particularly fast, and after drafting, I must revise countless times, meticulously searching for any potential issues.

Yet, even with my incessant revisions, I invariably feel my prose is tainted by a ‘translationese’ quality—riddled with lengthy, complex sentences and bloated descriptions—which severely detracts from the reading experience of my esteemed readers.

My desire to convey the inherent beauty of language often leads me to imitate styles I admire, only to find myself staring at the finished product and wondering, ‘What even is this?’

‘Haki Tea,’ I’d lament, ‘how can you not even manage to write a simple, straightforward story?’

This is why I hold immense admiration for Teacher Jiangnan. His writing, above all else, truly possesses an immersive quality.

However, even Teacher Jiangnan found himself succumbing to melancholy from writing. It truly goes to show that earning a living through writing is no easy feat.

Nonetheless, for your sake, I have continued to deliberate and ponder until this very day.

It is precisely for this reason that I worry I might betray the trust my esteemed readers have placed in Haki Tea.

Having struggled and toiled in society for so many years, there were times when Haki Tea was so destitute that I only had enough money for a single cup of ‘Snow King’ tea.

I understand that every coin in a reader’s hand is hard-earned. Your willingness to spend money on a subscription, without a doubt, stems from your trust in Haki Tea.

This is an incredibly weighty expectation.

I dread seeing the true performance figures, and I fear witnessing readers depart one by one.

Even more, I fear the day I might succumb to the urge to retreat, much like how I, in the past, was unable to conclude my own stories.

And yet, it is precisely because of this fear that I chose to write this story.

The central theme of this narrative explores how we should confront inevitable, ultimate destruction.

Thus, I wished to portray a protagonist who is, in some ways, quite defiant against fate.

His true identity is so ancient and distant that it has been forgotten by all.

He embodies a certain unyielding human obsession that has never truly faded.

He is mad, prejudiced, and somewhat schizophrenic, exceptionally skilled at concealing his true intentions behind a veil of lies.

It is precisely because his goodness is impure and his wickedness incomplete—caught in a perpetual limbo, unable to ascend or descend—that he experiences such profound suffering.

Perhaps readers, too, will find his twisted personality a source of distress.

This character pursues goals he once chased in the past, and in doing so, he is destined to repeat the mistakes he once made.

However, in this, the final cycle of his life, he is no longer alone; he is surrounded by many trustworthy companions.

With the aid of his companions, perhaps he will alter history, transforming from a destined villain into a true savior.

The story of this work unfolds in a dark universe where a golden age has long since passed.

In this universe, people have forgotten the starry paths promised by science and technology, their lost heritage too burdensome to reclaim. They have abandoned the faint yet genuine light of progress and enlightenment, for in this cold, brutal cosmos, the sole truth is eternal war.

The path the protagonist must tread is a journey inherently devoid of salvation.

Yet, the protagonist is an antagonist; he neither requires salvation nor needs to save humanity. He simply needs to forge ahead without hesitation, even if it means never looking back.

This book is projected to span seven volumes, covering a long period, featuring numerous characters, and its total word count remains uncertain.

Even the female lead, Livia, will not appear prominently until later in the plot.

What kind of fated, love-hate relationship will this inherently kind female lead develop with the protagonist? I eagerly anticipate it!

Reader A: 🙁 “Can we just fast-forward to the ‘protagonist loves female lead’ arc? Can this wicked woman be spared? Doesn’t the protagonist forgiving his enemies all the time make him a bit too much of a pushover?”

Protagonist: 🤨 “You’re right, if I could defeat her, I’d want to kill her too! But if I actually did, I’d have to face the final boss prematurely! As the saying goes, ‘rather than confront, make her swoon.’ Can’t we just keep her appeased for now?”

Reader B: 😤 “I don’t care! And you’re always talking about yuri, you’re utterly spineless!”

Protagonist: 🙄 “You don’t understand yuri! I dislike both the casual kind and the truly serious kind! Two beautiful girls engaging in intimate contact while having absolutely no romantic feelings for each other—*that*, I believe, is the closest thing to pure yuri!”

Reader C: 😠 “What a madman, yuri fans are disgusting.” [Unfavorited]

Protagonist: 😭 “Guh! How can I ever earn your forgiveness?” [He kneels.] “Then, would it be acceptable if I built a harem?” [He looks to the author.]

Haki Tea: 🤔 “With beautiful girls constantly revolving around you, wouldn’t that already count as a harem?”

Protagonist: 😡👉️ [Pointing at Livia.] “Are you seriously saying that crazy woman, who only wants to kill me, is part of my harem? Does *she* even know about this?”

Haki Tea: 🥵 “Once you’ve successfully ‘conquered’ her and see her blushing shyly for you, wouldn’t you find that incredibly exciting?”

Protagonist: 😓 “I get a stomachache just looking at her! *Excited*? What a joke! Either you arrange for me to kill her later, or for her to kill me. Only death can quell this hatred in my heart!”

Haki Tea: 🤓☝️ “Ah, no problem at all! Consider it arranged!”

Protagonist: 😨 “Oh no! I was just kidding, don’t actually stir up trouble!”

Haki Tea: 😇 “I was just kidding too, haha.”

Protagonist: 😱 “Are you *really* kidding or not?!”

Returning to the main topic, Haki Tea is unsure if my writing prowess can deliver a truly satisfying answer to everyone, but I will certainly strive my hardest.

In any case, the ending will be a Happy End where everyone finds happiness, I’m sure of it!

If this story truly reaches its conclusion, it will be a lifetime without regrets for me. [He cries.] I hope everyone won’t find Haki Tea too tiresome; I wish to accompany you all to the very end.

First and foremost, I wish to thank all my esteemed readers, and a special thank you to my editor, the great Xiaolu! Haki Tea is truly overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness and feels at a loss for how to repay it!

My work has been relatively light these past two months, which allowed Haki Tea to release a burst of updates. With so much I want to write, I’ve never experienced writer’s block; instead, I feel… I can’t cut enough! The plot points I wanted to write earlier are simply too numerous to prune!

Should any esteemed readers notice a sudden drop in Haki Tea’s update speed later on, it’s likely because I’ve been pulled into overtime work… Therefore, I am grateful for everyone’s understanding and patience!

Also, should you ever feel utterly exasperated by Haki Tea and wish to unleash a torrent of criticism, please try to be a little gentle. Seeing negative reviews truly leaves Haki Tea feeling melancholic for half a day.

Haki Tea genuinely relies on passion alone to sustain this writing endeavor. I haven’t even played those various demanding Slavic games in ages.

Earth Online is like a Norvinsk we can never escape, with no capture point D to seize.

But what does it matter? We must always accept this imperfect world, much like when my artist suddenly informed me that they had accidentally deleted all the nearly finished layers of the female lead’s artwork.

Aside from accepting reality, what else can one say? [A subtle resentment lingers.]

Alright, these reflections on the book’s release will conclude here for now.

Wishing everyone a good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. See you tomorrow!

P.S. I’m not really familiar with bonus chapters… How about setting a goal of 100 monthly votes or 10,000 in tips for an extra chapter? Hmm, though as a struggling writer, I genuinely feel that contemplating bonus chapters is perhaps a bit overly optimistic. [A master strategist, indeed.]