The moonlight is like water, falling on the streets of New Eridu. This city has a bizarre sense of the future, but it also hides the stories of countless people. She, Pokona, is the most quiet note among them, like a low-pitched poem, slowly flowing in the night of this city.
Everyone has a city in their heart and a dream to protect. For me, Pokona is the embodiment of that dream. She is not as sharp as other agents, and she does not have a dazzling halo on her body. She is more of a calm temperament. Her breakthrough and growth seem to be whispering a story of a long-lasting flow.
In the world of “Zero”, cultivating a character is far from a matter of a day or a night. Pokona’s growth trajectory is long and full of persistence. Her breakthrough materials, the initial breaking cognition, the breaker certification seal, and those seemingly boring chips and data, each of which requires players to spend time and patience, and even countless late nights to challenge the simulated battle repeatedly.
I have stared at the screen countless times in front of the keyboard, counting the materials I have accumulated, and I have an indescribable sense of satisfaction in my heart. It is not because of how huge these numbers are, but because every time I obtain materials, it is like a seal, proving my dedication and persistence to her.
Her skill level has increased from the initial level 1 to the full level, like a quietly flowing stream, slowly merging into the river and the sea. Every upgrade requires basic physical chips, advanced physical chips, specialized physical chips, and the mysterious scarlet engine and high-dimensional data. Her exclusive sound engine is even more ingenious, breaking components and sound engine energy modules, like her inner pulse, beating to her own rhythm.
And Dingni, the currency of this world, has become particularly precious in my hands. Millions of Dingni, spent for her, prepared for her, as if all the numbers are telling me: This effort is worth it.
In the dead of night, I will practice repeatedly in the battle simulation, just to make her combo smoother, so that every attack of hers can be accurate and deadly. It was a sense of ritual, and also a silent conversation between me and her.
The image of Pokona gradually became fuller in my mind. She was no longer cold code and data, she had her own soul and temperature. Her movements were no longer mechanical arrangements, but dances with stories, and every skill she cast seemed to be telling her experience and desire.
I know that in the days to come, no matter how the game changes, no matter how the version changes, she will be the character who accompanies me the longest. Just like that night, the moonlight filled the streets, and she stood there quietly, like a poem without an ending, waiting for me to continue writing.
Sometimes, I even fantasized that she could walk out of the game and become someone in reality, with that calmness and tenacity, to accompany me through the ups and downs of life. But reality is always cruel, and she can only exist in this virtual world.
However, this does not prevent me from cherishing her. Just like those poems written for the night, they can warm my heart without being heard. Pokona is my secret in New Eridu and the melody I guard in countless dark nights.
This companionship has no fancy words, no fierce battles, only tranquility and persistence. Perhaps it is this ordinary beauty that is most touching.
And I am willing to witness her growth bit by bit in this world and watch her bloom with her own light.