In the evening of early September, the weather gradually turned cooler, and the leaves of the sycamore trees outside the window began to turn slightly yellow. I sat at the table, my fingers lightly touched the screen of my mobile phone, and the game interface flashed on the screen-the 4.0 version of Genshin Impact had just been launched, and the character named Zhongli appeared again. This was the news I had been waiting for for a long time.
Unconsciously, such waiting seemed to have become a habit. Every day after returning from a busy day, I opened the game and entered the card drawing interface, and there seemed to be a small expectation growing quietly in my heart. Zhongli, the guardian of the rock wearing an ancient robe and with a calm demeanor, was very much like the old shop owner on the streets when I was a child, silent and reliable.
The process of drawing cards is long and complicated. The guaranteed mechanism in the game tells me that in theory, I should be able to draw Zhongli in about 80 to 90 draws. But how can there be so many theories in life? In reality, if you draw another five-star character, the probability has to be recalculated, which often requires 150 or even 180 times.
I silently calculated that recharging requires two 6480 yuan Genesis Crystals, and if I am unlucky, it will even be three. Three hundred dollars is neither a small amount nor an unbearable burden in modern life. But behind this expense, there is a silent struggle and expectation in the heart.
The mobile phone screen is on, and different colors are jumping on the interface. Ten draws, twenty draws, thirty draws, every time you press the “draw” button, it is a sense of ritual. It’s like traveling through the cracks of time, chasing a vague shadow.
I think of those years, the streets of my hometown, the wind on summer nights, and the homemade pickles sent by the aunt next door. Life is so trivial, and the expectations brought by the game are like a touch of bright color, gently integrated into it.
Sometimes, the result of the card draw makes me smile slightly; sometimes, it makes me sigh helplessly. That feeling is very much like waiting for someone’s news. Knowing that you may be disappointed, you still can’t help opening your phone again and again.
The recharge process is complicated, and every payment is like another compromise with reality. The three repeated recharges reminded me that games are not just entertainment, but also a secret ritual of modern life. The figure of $300 came to my mind, a little heavy, but real.
I also heard that some players choose a more convenient way to recharge, but that way always carries a bit of shadow, which makes people wary. After all, the edge of life is complicated and unpredictable, and it is better to take the right path than to take risks.
Zhongli, this character is not only a guardian in the game, he is more like a symbol of power in life. That persistence and calmness make people find a trace of tranquility in the hustle and bustle of modern times.
I looked out the window, the night was getting darker, and the street lights stretched the shadows of the fallen leaves long. I thought to myself that the process of drawing cards is just like these leaves that keep falling, light or heavy, but they are all floating gently in time.
Games and life are like two parallel worlds. Here, I look forward to the arrival of the guardian; there, I continue to face the triviality and impermanence of life. Perhaps, it is this interweaving that makes every card draw worthwhile.
This card drawing is like a secret expectation of modern life, flowing quietly through the years.