If Xiadie is compared to a “quantum butterfly” dancing on a virtual battlefield, its vitality is both lovely and fragile, just like the helpless characters in Qian Zhongshu’s works, which are both funny and profound. Xiadie’s “Mourning, Ripples of the Dead Sea” skill uses her own life to exchange for attack power. This move not only shows her “sacrificial spirit”, but also implies the absurd tragedy of modern virtual personality and real life.
1. “Quantum Sacrifice” as a Symbol of Virtual Personality and a Metaphor of Modern Society
The setting of Xiadie is very ironic: she assists the team at the cost of her own life, which reminds people of the “workers” in the modern workplace, who pay energy and time every day in exchange for “results” in the workplace, but often only get a little reward and a little vanity reward. Just like many characters in Mr. Qian Zhongshu’s “Fortress Besieged”, they are trapped in a cage but think they are happy. Their absurd and self-deprecating tragedy is exactly the same as Xiadie’s “quantum sacrifice”.
Xiadie’s life is both the “probability cloud” of quantum particles and the uncertain fate faced by modern people. Her “death” and “resurrection” are repeated, which is a metaphor for the contemporary people’s shuttle between virtual and reality. Life is cut into several “fragments” by time, and it is essentially difficult to escape the fate of “sacrifice” and “rebirth”.
2. The “consumption” of virtual personality and the “invisible sacrifice” of individuals in reality
The design of Xiadie is essentially a sharp satire on the “consumption” of modern virtual personality. When the player controls her, he is not only the controller of her life, but also the exploiter of her fate. She has become a “sacrifice”, constantly consuming herself to fulfill the glory of others.
This can’t help but remind people of the “invisible victims” in reality: white-collar workers who work overtime until late at night, women who silently undertake housework, and even those grassroots workers who are not taken seriously by society. Like Xiadie, these people are often taken for granted, their contributions are regarded as “obligations”, and their life values are ruthlessly “discounted” in the social structure.
Qian Zhongshu wrote in “Written on the Edge of Life”: “The world is like a chess game, and the universe is unpredictable.” Xiadie’s fate is undoubtedly a piece in the chess game. Only by being manipulated and sacrificed can the so-called “team victory” be achieved. The rise and fall of one and the other seem to be the norm in modern society.
3. Xiadie’s “death” cycle: the absurd theater of the mental state of modern people
Xiadie’s “death” is not the end, but a recurring cycle. Her “rebirth” does not mean regaining freedom, but continuing to play the role of a victim, which reminds people of the endless alienation and cyclical torture in Kafka’s works. Modern people in a fast-paced and high-pressure society often fall into a similar dilemma of “mechanical repetition”, and the self-dissolution of the spirit is like the quantum extinction of Xiadie.
Qian Zhongshu likes to use irony to ridicule the human world. Xiadie’s setting is like a humorous and cruel fable: she is a “puppet” on the stage, letting the thread of fate pull her, but she can only bear it silently. The “reincarnation of life and death” of human beings is infinitely magnified by the pressure of the modern workplace and society, forming an absurd spiritual farce.
IV. Conflict between technology and humanity: the cultural tension and modern enlightenment behind Xiadie
There is a very subtle tension between Xiadie’s sense of technology as a quantum character and the theme of “sacrifice” she carries. While technology makes her powerful, it also makes her more easily exhausted. Modern technological development brings infinite possibilities, but it also makes human individuals more vulnerable and helpless.
Qian Zhongshu emphasizes the importance of “humanistic spirit” in cultural research, and Xiadie’s story reminds us that technological progress cannot ignore the spiritual care of people. Her sacrifice and loneliness are a sharp criticism of the modern society’s eagerness for quick success and lack of warmth. Only by combining humanistic spirit and scientific and technological rationality can we avoid the dual alienation of virtual personality and real individual.
5. Conclusion: From Xiadie to the road of self-salvation in reality
Xiadie’s life trajectory is an elegy of “quantum sacrifice” and a spiritual mirror that reflects modern people. Her tragedy lies in the ruthless manipulation of fate, and the absurdity of reality is the disregard for personal values. If we only regard her as a virtual character, we will miss an important opportunity to understand the people of the times.
Qian Zhongshu once said, “Life is originally happy in drunkenness, and only when you wake up do you know that there is nothing in the dream.” Xiadie’s story reminds us that when we wake up, we need to see the boundary between virtuality and reality, and be alert to the reality of being manipulated and sacrificed. Only by awakening can there be a road to self-salvation, and only by awakening can life get rid of the fate of becoming a “sacrifice” and regain freedom and dignity.