Chapter 100: The Grand Finale

Mass update!

Continuing the mass update!

After dinner, Jiang Zheng continued his frenzied updating spree.

The word count surpassed three hundred thousand, then four hundred thousand—it was madness once again.

His readers only knew that Jiang Zheng's mass updates would be substantial, but never expected this much. It had already exceeded the record Jiang Zheng himself had set before.

"At this terrifying pace, is he going to finish the book today?" a reader commented.

Immediately, someone countered, "No way, I haven't had my fill yet. How can it end?"

"I think it's quite possible. The story seems to be heading toward a conclusion."

...

Jiang Zheng typed the final character, then clicked publish.

Suddenly, a wave of emptiness and relief washed over him. Three months—he had finally finished writing this novel.

Yet it felt as though a piece of his heart had been carved out.

Especially during these past two months, writing had consumed more of his time than anything else.

It was like an old friend he had spent years with suddenly leaving—there was reluctance in his heart.

And because writing had taken up so much of Jiang Zheng's time, leaving him almost no room for anything else, a sense of relief also accompanied the completion.

By the time he finished, his energy was nearly spent. He had been exhausted all day—up since morning, typing away, only now finally able to rest.

The toll on his stamina was immense.

After updating, Jiang Zheng collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

What he didn't know was that the moment that final chapter went out, the review section exploded.

Everyone was still basking in the joy of Jiang Zheng's mass updates when the final chapter was suddenly dropped. They were all stunned.

What do you mean, it's the finale?

How many chapters was that? How many words? How could it be over?

For the number one book on the monthly ticket rankings, no one had ever seen one finish this quickly.

Meanwhile, messages kept pouring into Jiang Zheng's phone, but he was already fast asleep.

Let the outside world rage on; he slept peacefully.

The next day, when Jiang Zheng woke up and opened his phone, it was packed with messages.

He read through them one by one. The vast majority were asking why he had ended the book so soon.

Among the senders were readers, his moderators, and even his editor.

Jiang Zheng paid special attention to the editor's message.

After thinking it over, he sent a reply to the editor.

Before long, the editor messaged back: "You finally responded."

"Sorry, I was too tired yesterday. I fell asleep and didn't see the messages," Jiang Zheng replied.

"By the way, why did your book end so quickly?" the editor asked.

"It ended because I finished writing it," Jiang Zheng replied.

"That's way too fast. With your current results, ending now is a real waste. You could write a few million more words," the editor urged.

Jiang Zheng naturally understood that writing a few million more words would earn him a lot more money, but he had his own thoughts.

"I feel that when a story reaches the point where it should end, it should end properly. There's no need to force a continuation," Jiang Zheng replied.

"That may be true, but as long as you write it, readers will buy it. If you start a new book, there's no guarantee it'll perform as well as this one," the editor said.

"I know readers will buy it, but a story forced into continuation isn't what I truly want to write," Jiang Zheng replied.

Seeing this message, the editor got a headache. These people and their literary pretensions! Who cares whether you want to write it or not? With a book performing this well, finishing it this fast is a huge loss.

A few million more words—think of how much more money that would be!

"Alright then, congratulations on completing the book! When do you plan to start the next one?" the editor asked.

"I'll think about it later. I want to rest for a while," Jiang Zheng replied.

He didn't say he was quitting the profession entirely. His mind wasn't settled yet—he didn't plan to continue for now, but that might change in the future. So he left himself an out.

The editor's heart stirred at this. He had an inexplicable feeling that Jiang Zheng's "rest" might last a very long time.

"Dian Niang is preparing your Grand Master contract on their end," the editor dropped the news.

He hadn't intended to reveal it so soon, but to give Jiang Zheng a little encouragement, he decided to mention it.

Grand Master contract?

Jiang Zheng stared at those three words.

Once he signed the Grand Master contract, his author rank would jump directly from Level Five to Grand Master.

This truly was—one book, and he became a legend!

A Grand Master contract was a good thing. While it was a constraint to some, for the vast majority of authors, it was a blessing.

Unfortunately, Jiang Zheng had no interest in it.

The Grand Master contract was nice, but signing it would inevitably mean he had to keep writing in the future.

Right now, Jiang Zheng had no intention of writing.

So no matter how good the Grand Master contract was, to him, it was useless.

He replied with a somewhat perfunctory tone.

The editor found it odd. People who learned they were about to sign a Grand Master contract—shouldn't they be excited?

The two chatted a bit more, then stopped.

Jiang Zheng stared at the explosive review section, lost in thought.

Even now, there were still people in the review section who refused to believe the book had really ended.

To them, this was a rare gem. Great plot, excellent prose, and an immense update volume.

For it to end so suddenly—they found it hard to accept.

Jiang Zheng thought he should probably post a completion note.

He had been too tired last night; after finishing the final chapter, he hadn't felt like writing anything and just went to sleep.

When a book concludes, a completion note is still proper.

After thinking it over, Jiang Zheng began writing his completion note.

The moment he put pen to paper, he felt a deep discomfort.

In the past, when he wrote, words flowed effortlessly—inspiration and ideas surged forth like a tide.

But now, staring at the screen, he had so much to say in his heart, yet couldn't write a single word.

Those words swirled in his throat, unable to find expression. It was an agonizing feeling.

Sitting before the computer, Jiang Zheng gazed blankly ahead, letting his emotions churn within him.

A long while later, he finally typed out a completion note.

The beginning was mostly words of thanks, nothing out of the ordinary. This book's journey and the results it had achieved truly couldn't have happened without everyone's support.

The gratitude in the completion note was genuine and heartfelt.

In the final line, Jiang Zheng wrote: "And so I bid you all farewell for now; may we meet again on the rivers and lakes of the days to come."

Once the completion note was posted, it stirred up an uproar.

What grieved many fans was that the book had truly come to an end, even though they hadn't had their fill.

As for Jiang Zheng's last line, everyone took it as a brief goodbye.

No one could have imagined just how long that "brief farewell" would be.

After handling all of that, Jiang Zheng finally turned his attention to the task he had completed.

When yesterday's update had ended, the system had notified him that the task was complete.

At the time, Jiang Zheng had been too sleepy to claim the reward.

Now, he decided to claim the reward for this three-month-long task.