Shadow Empire

September summary
The rewards for September are 1680.59. I saved 56.7 last month, and added 5 more chapters due to the rewards, so the remaining 72.29 will be saved for next month.

I took a guided tour in September, the results were pretty good, and I finally passed the boutique line.

I've been writing too fast recently and encountered a small problem. In fact, I encounter this problem every time I update. That is, after the rapid update, I can't grasp the main point in tone and I don't have much time to think.

I am definitely not looking for an excuse for less updates. I think this is one of my weaknesses and I should do a better job of plot planning in the future.

There aren't too many issues in the August summary, they all revolve around some of my personal issues, such as depression.

I recently summarized that the onset of depression actually follows a sequence. Anxiety disorder appears first. You will feel uneasy about everything, even if your family is out of your sight. Some things you capture from the vast amount of external information will make you uneasy.

For example, when my child goes out to play, I will worry about whether he will be hit by a car, fight with other children of the same age, fall down, or hurt himself.

For example, when my wife is cooking in the kitchen, I worry that she might cut her hand. So every time I sharpen the knife, I try not to make it too sharp, so that even if she cuts, it won’t be too deep, after all, the knife is blunt.

I also worry about myself, my health, income, various situations, the health of my family, the age of my grandparents and the problems they are facing.

Anxiety is terrible.

Anxiety brings serious somatic symptoms. To put it simply, you are not sick, but you think you are sick because you feel uncomfortable all over.

The most common symptoms are back pain, foreign body sensation in the throat, chest tightness, palpitations, shortness of breath, and body aches.

I went to the hospital for a check-up and everything was fine, but the pain and suffering continued to bother me and made me even more anxious.

Am I sick?

As anxiety and somatization continue to worsen, depression begins to develop.

Because every moment, I was in a state of serious illness. Even if I looked normal, I actually had to endure severe back pain, chest tightness, and tingling in various parts of my body.

This kind of pain makes people feel desperate. I used to wonder how could illness torture people to the point of wanting to die?

But I understand it now, because sometimes I really can’t bear it.

I try not to use drugs because the side effects are so severe that they affect my writing.

Some people have said that you should pay attention to your health and not ignore these issues in order to write a book.

But life must go on. I am in a very awkward period of time. My parents are losing their ability to work, I have children to support, and we have ourselves in between.

It would be easy to stop, but life doesn’t stop, the bills don’t stop, so just keep going.

Fortunately, I also have some ways to alleviate somatic symptoms and depression, such as playing cards, socializing to a certain extent, and playing games.

When I immerse myself in these activities, I don’t feel the pain of somatization, my depression disappears, and my anxiety is gone!

But it’s impossible for me to play cards with others every day, nor can I drag others to socialize every day. Everyone has their own life and work.

So, playing games became the only way for me to relieve these problems.

Of course I'm not making excuses. I sincerely advise everyone to maintain their mental health because it is indeed painful.

==
Let me talk about a question that many readers have raised.

Are the police too weak, and why are governments at all levels of the federal government involved with gangs?

Many people think that my description of this era is not very realistic. In fact, I can give many examples, but you may not know the source of some of them. So I thought about it and thought of a person who was very famous in the past few years and even now, Al Capone. During Al Capone's heyday, the mayor's election had to consult his opinion first. Only when he thought you could elect the mayor could the election proceed normally.

The police work for him, and if someone reports him, they will tell him the reporter's information.

In just a few years, he amassed a fortune through criminal means, which can be calculated to be approximately 60 to 80 million.

This does not include the uncounted benefits.

Sometimes when I discuss that period of history with people, I come across some people who think Al Capone is the pinnacle of the mafia.

But in reality, he might only be at a level of 60 out of 100.

Because behind this are some families that are constantly breaking records with criminal income of hundreds of millions, billions, or even billions of dollars per year!

They control the entire underground world and continue to radiate to the above-ground world. There is quite a lot of documentation on this.

So it’s not that I wrote something exaggerated, but this world is just so magical!

The five major families of a certain country, the five major families of the Federation, are still active until now.

Think about it, why are they still active?

Think about it, so many people were fine some time ago, but a few people drowned.

In fact, they have always been there, and there are still many people who still need them!
Of course, in terms of the content of the story, they have not yet reached their peak, but they will also experience lows.

The story takes place in 1023-1024, and it is still developing. This story still has a long way to go, and everyone will experience a lot and usher in the final ending.

In fact, I don’t know what the ending is. Lance, Du Lin and Lynch are like each other. They possess my body through brain waves. They are borrowing my body to write their stories.

=
Another issue is the price issue. In fact, in the capitalist camp, prices are linked to mysticism.

When the per capita income was only a few dollars, they had billionaires.

When the per capita income was only a dozen yuan, earning hundreds of millions of yuan a year was like playing for some people.

In the book, we need to correctly view the comparison of prices, which is the income and living expenses of the poor, not the rich.

Just like now, an ordinary person earns four or five thousand a month, but a rich person's car costs tens of millions.

In the book, fifteen cents can buy a pound of bread. A family of three only needs one pound of bread and some other food a day, and the cost price is about fifty to sixty cents.

A better meal costs one dollar, but no one would eat a one dollar meal every day. It is just an improvement occasionally.

A cigarette cost five cents or even two cents, and a large beer cost fifteen cents before the price hike...

Of course I will try my best to control it so that it doesn't appear outrageous.

=
That's basically it.

If you have any questions, please leave a message or q me directly, and I will give you a unified reply in the monthly summary next month.

that's it

(End of this chapter)