Next-to-last monthly forecast... probably. Or maybe the last, depending on my writing progress this month.

There isn't much more to say about the plot; the s3 arc is already over.

Yes, you read that right, it's over.

Not counting the previous foreshadowing, the s3 tournament arc started in late July and has taken me more than three months to write, reaching 200,000 words.

As you've all seen, the content is almost entirely combat scenes.

I think it's quite fitting that Feng Bujue and Gui Xiao's battle serves as the final fight "in the game." I've written enough combat, haven't I?

Too much repetition only becomes more boring.

If I were to write every round, every match, every person in detail, this s3 arc alone could reach 800,000 words. Then *Thriller Paradise* would truly become an online game competition novel. Hmm... I guess that doesn't sound so wrong.

Let's stop talking about the plot here and move on to something else.

Although *Thriller Paradise* has been relatively successful commercially, my stubbornness as a writer and my less-than-mainstream writing speed have ultimately hindered my path to wealth.

I don't want to defend my style as a writer anymore. I have always believed that writers should not, and do not need to, bow their heads to anyone for "writing slowly."

Bowing one's head to anyone is, in the end, bowing one's head to money.

If I wanted to earn money on my knees, I wouldn't be in this profession. When it really comes down to bowing to money, I'd rather be a bricklayer supporting my family with my back straight.

I digress... In short, *Thriller Paradise* has brought me good income, but it's far from enough to let me retire early.

Although I could write this book for another year or even longer, I really don't want to drag a story on just for the sake of a stable income.

Sacrificing the quality of the work to allow the author to eat a comfortable meal is putting the cart before the horse.

Even if someone who could predict the future told me that my next book's income would be very poor and would lead to a very difficult life, I would still write it, and write it with all my heart.

Of course, the first thing I need to do now is to finish *Thriller Paradise* well.

I just recently clarified the specific details of the book's ending in my mind, but it's hard to estimate how many words it will take to write. What I can say for sure is... it won't exceed 100,000 words at most, so sooner this month, later next month, *Thriller Paradise* will come to its grand finale.

I'll save more of my thoughts for the afterword.