In this era of information explosion and endless virtual games, the game “Mingchao” has attracted countless players with its unique world view and character settings. Xiakong, the newly-launched five-star resonator, is like a coral in the deep sea, brilliant and mysterious. However, to cultivate her from zero to the peak, it is necessary to collect countless materials and pave a thorny growth path.
The list of materials on this road is staggering, including low-frequency tidal erosion sail core, medium-frequency tidal erosion sail core, high-frequency tidal erosion sail core, full-frequency tidal erosion sail core, as well as burning phosphorus bones, crystallized phlogiston, and the day when irises bloom… These names sound like legendary fragments blown away by the wind in an ancient village, and also like ancient sacrificial utensils, exuding a mysterious atmosphere. However, when these materials are piled up one by one to form a long table, the players suddenly realize that this is just another form of labor, a field that is repeatedly cultivated in the virtual world.
I thought of the land in my hometown, where wheat grows one after another in the fields, and hard work brings the golden autumn and food in my pocket. Today’s young people have to wave their mouse and handle in front of the screen to collect these unattainable materials, fight monsters, and brush dungeons, spending as much time and energy as farm work on that hot land. It’s just that this labor does not have the fragrance of sweat, but is replaced by the coldness of virtual numbers and the exhaustion of endless cycles.
Especially those “burning phosphorus bones”, which are said to be obtained by defeating the ancient dragon of sighing. I always feel that this name is like a dangerous story circulated in the ancient village, which makes people feel awe. The players in the game are like hunters in the ancient village, hunting mysterious monsters and looking for treasures that can be exchanged for growth. Behind this is the desire of modern people for achievement and the recognition of self-worth in the virtual world. The complexity and pressure of real life make many people more willing to devote themselves to this virtual hunt to fight those monsters that are more cruel than life.
What is even more impressive is that these materials are classified into different categories, with different levels and an astonishing number. Forty-six Burning Phosphorus Bones, sixty Golden Flees, dozens or even hundreds of Crystallized Phlogists… This reminds me of the food reserves for the New Year in my hometown, which were prepared to deal with wind, frost, snow and rain. And these materials of the players are to withstand the layers of difficulties and challenges in the game, and are their “New Year’s goods” to become powerful and glorious.
I also thought of the “stuffed meat tofu” used to improve efficiency in that game, which can increase the material drop rate by 50% for half an hour. This setting is like the bacon buns made by the village aunt, which can make you full of energy after eating, and work twice as hard with half the effort. Although it cannot solve the fundamental problem, it can temporarily relieve the hardship and anxiety. Aren’t young people in modern society also relying on similar “quick-acting chicken soup” and “fast food culture” to support running between reality and virtuality?
Behind these cultivation materials, there are too many reflections of reality. Players pay such a huge price for the growth of a virtual character, just as modern people keep working hard for some halos of life, even at the cost of their lives. This kind of “cultivation” in the digital world is a new form of labor, and also an escape and compensation for the powerlessness of reality.
However, in this virtual ocean of Mingchao, there is still a strong sense of homesickness. It is not only a remembrance of the land of my hometown, but also a desire for a simple and beautiful time. In the materials of Xiakong, there is “The Day When Iris Blooms”, a poetic name, like a wisp of country wind, blowing the tired hearts of players. It reminds people of the blooming sea of flowers in the fields during childhood, pure and short, but enough to become a lifetime memory.
The prosperity and hustle and bustle of the virtual world do not seem to make people forget the pursuit of the true nature of life. Players work hard in the vast sea of materials, both for the desire to win the game and for the exploration of the meaning of life. Perhaps it is this pursuit that gives them the motivation to paddle forward in the virtual ocean.
In summary, the complicated list of materials for Mingchao Xiakong’s cultivation is not just a string of cold numbers in the game, but also a metaphor for the mental state of modern people. It carries desire, labor, anxiety, and also places deep expectations on beauty and meaning. In the virtual world, the shadow of reality is everywhere, and in this shadow, nostalgia and hope are still endless.