In this world, everyone is destined to pay a price, whether for faith or for survival. What I am going to tell you now is not the story of a person, but a character – she is called “Trigger”. In the game “Zero”, she is not a hero or a martyr, but her growth process is the same as the struggle of our youth, she must go through suffering and burn out hope.
I watched her climb from the initial level to the full level step by step. Every drop of resources, every chip, and every material in the middle is a brick, a drop of blood, and an old wound on her body.
If you want to train her, you must first come up with a lot of materials. 25 basic electric shock chips, 75 advanced electric shock chips, and 250 specialized electric shock chips. You must struggle in battle simulations again and again, constantly fail, and keep starting over. I have seen countless young people say that these chips are difficult to brush, the probability is very low, and the time is very long. But I thought that in order to write an article, the information I turned over, the letters I read, and the nights I stayed up were not easier than these materials.
Her breakthrough requires more sacrifices. 4 primary break cognitions, 32 advanced break cognitions, and 30 breakers certification badges. They did not fall from the sky, but you accumulated them bit by bit in the map again and again. If you want to grow, you have to endure hardships. The same is true for her. From level 10 to 50, each breakthrough costs Dini – 24,000, 56,000, 120,000, 200,000, and then the last 400,000. A total of 800,000 Dini.
If you ask me what Dini is, I can tell you – it is the currency in the game, the reward after your mission, and the embodiment of your time. But I prefer to say that it is the real equivalent you exchanged for a part of your life. Just like when we were young, we ran for three days and three nights and knocked on dozens of doors for a chance to speak in a newspaper. That newspaper is our Dini.
She also has a weapon called exclusive sound engine. To upgrade it from level 0 to level 60, you need 4 break components, 32 enhanced break components, 30 specialized break components, and 200 sound engine energy modules. Plus 400,000 dini. You have to enter the virtual combat room again and again to fight against the enemy to get these components. Just like a soldier, he falls and bleeds again and again in the training ground to get the qualification to go into battle.
Some people say that this is just a game, what is so heavy about it. But I want to ask, are the characters in those games really not your shadow? Every upgrade and breakthrough is just like the process of chasing dreams, enduring loneliness, and enduring misunderstandings in our real life?
You also have to give her skills. Her skills cannot be improved by just clicking buttons. You need to prepare:
9 Bloody Grips (can only be obtained by defeating “Dead Road Butcher”)
High-dimensional data: 60 Deadly Cuts (obtained after completing special challenges)
5 Hamster Cage Accessories (can only be obtained after unlocking a specific fund level)
2.9 million Dinis
The upgrade path for skills from A to F is clearly written:
In the early stage, 2, 4, and 9 Deadly Cuts are required
In the later stage, 3, 4, or even more Bloody Grips are required
Each step requires a lot of Dinis support – ranging from 12,000 to 200,000
The growth of a character requires resources, while the growth of a person requires will.
We were young, wanted to become stronger, and longed to be seen by the world. But in reality, there is no “material drop”, only “dedication” and “persistence”. We can’t succeed by clicking “upgrade”. We have to experience failure, criticism, abandonment, and forgetting, and then work hard to stand up.
Trigger will not complain. She won’t say thank you. She just stands silently on the battlefield, and after each upgrade, she re-equips herself like a soldier. This makes me admire her. Because I see the shadow of our youth.
I don’t think she is a tool designed by the game company. I think she is the epitome of this era – eager to become stronger, constrained by resources, but still moving forward firmly. She needs the support of players, but she is also telling us with her actions: “As long as you don’t give up on me, I won’t fall.”
Today’s children may no longer read our letters back then, and no longer pursue those idealistic doctrines. But they also have their own way of fighting, in the game world, in the virtual battlefield, to achieve one trigger-like character after another. I respect them, just like I respect the young people who wrote, thought, and fought with me back then.
Finally, I want to say:
We are all cultivating our own “triggers”. Some are in the game, and some are in reality. They need materials, resources, beliefs, and more importantly, the company of never leaving. As long as you are willing to invest, she can give you hope.
The next article will be written in Bei Dao’s style, so stay tuned.