Chronicle of Beasts

4.5

Word count: 656.2K words
Chapters: 25

Summary

Chronicle of Beasts is a long online-game novel by the web author Zhiqiu (real name Zeng Daqiu, 1980–2024, a native of Leshan, Sichuan). Serialised on Qidian from October 2007 and completed in 2009, it runs to roughly 650,000 characters. Built around the idea of "life inside the game, games inside life", it follows the professional player Wei Fei (usually called "Old Wei") as he survives on two fronts at once: in the virtual game he trades equipment, calculates deals and deals with all kinds of players, while in reality he still has to face rent, food and romance, the bills that cannot be dodged. The novel deliberately avoids the usual formulas of level-based crushing and showy humiliation of rivals. Its protagonist is no glamorous top-tier master but an old hand skilled in the ways of the world yet scrabbling away at the very bottom: optimistic, open-minded, never forgetting a grudge, hit by one piece of bad luck after another and always able to laugh his way through. In a teasing, colloquial and densely witty style, the book captures the absurd ecology of the player community and the worldly wisdom of ordinary people. It offers black-comic set pieces such as the meat-grabbing scene and the naked sprint, alongside tightly linked and often unexpected turns grounded in reality. Zhiqiu's writing turns jest and invective alike into literature: it looks coarse, but every stroke carries the flavour of life and the bustle of the streets. For that reason readers of online-game fiction regard it as an obscure cult classic, dividing sharply in their opinions yet keeping it in print for years.

Editor's review

在网游文最程式化的年代，知秋写了一本“反网游”的网游小说：主角不是天命之子，而是游戏里那类专门给人添堵、最后往往被主角一炮轰掉的精英小队长。他贪污了公司的虚拟财产，为了销赃不得不删号重练，从此在游戏与现实两头奔波。《猛兽记》的妙处在于把“讨生活”写得比“打怪升级”还惊险：房租、对象、面子、人情，每一样都比副本 BOSS 难缠。知秋的语言是这本书最大的资产——粗话、俚语、冷段子与市井智慧搅拌在一起，几乎每页都能摘出金句，“人生就像吃番薯，不知道什么时候会放什么屁”这类句子读一遍就忘不掉。它的结构也确实野，后期转向略急，口碑两极；但正因为不按套路出牌、人物有血有肉有完整人生，这本书在同类作品里始终被老读者反复提起。若你想看一本笑着笑着忽然被生活击中的网游文，这本冷门仙草值得一试。

Who it's for

A good fit for

看腻了等级碾压、装逼打脸套路的资深网文读者
喜欢市井幽默、俚语冷段子与密集金句的读者
对“职业玩家”这一真实群体好奇、想看游戏之外生活的玩家
欣赏小人物视角、人物群像丰满的作品的读者

Not a good fit for

期待爽文式一路无敌、快速升级打脸的读者
无法接受粗口、俚俗语言与黑色幽默段子的读者
偏好严谨设定、系统数值硬核的网游设定党

Reading tips

把它当成都市生活小说读，游戏是舞台，人情世故才是主线。
遇到大段游戏术语别急着跳过，这些细节正是幽默与讽刺的落点。
可留意作者写在情节里的处世观点，随手记下喜欢的“金句”。
后期节奏与剧情转向较急，读到结尾不必强求圆满，接受戛然而止的味道。

Volume 1 The Saints of Green Fruit Mountain: Chapter 1 An Expert, an Expert, Seemingly an Expert
Chapter 1 (cont.): No Expert in Looks; an Expert Instantly Slain; an Expert Who Turns His Luck Around; an Expert Like a Protagonist from a Wish-Fulfillment Novel
Chapter 7 The Plan to Wipe Out the Experts (Parts 1 and 2)
Chapter 8 The So-Called Duel of Experts
Chapter 10 The Magical Pretty Girl
Chapter 12 The Story I Simply Must Tell About Me and That Bastard
Chapter 14 The Auction That Kills (Parts 1 and 2)
Chapter 16 Boss, the Family Rules (Parts 1 and 2)
Chapter 17 Treading on the Tiger's Tail: I, the Emperor, Find You Not Guilty (Parts 1 and 2)
Chapter 18 The Die-Die Brigade
Chapter 20 Destruction, the Saints of Green Fruit Mountain
Volume 2 The Beast Emerges: Chapter 1 It All Begins with a Forever Brand 28 (Parts 1 and 2)
Chapter 2 The Reincarnated Beast
Chapter 3 Step One: Win Back the Experience Points (Parts 1 and 2)
Chapter 6 The Northwest Heroes' Counterattack (Parts 1, 2, and 3)
Chapter 7 Secrets: The Bird-Man Weapon (Parts 1, 2, and 3)
Chapter 8 The Kind Bald Beauty
Chapter 10 The Ultimate Move (Parts 1 and 2)
Chapter 11 Life Is Like Eating a Sweet Potato
Chapter 12 What a Vicious and Insidious Fart
Chapter 14 Could It Be the Seventh Sense of the Cosmos?
Chapter 16 Snatching Meat
Volume 3 Beastly Ways
The New Volume One The Northwest Assault Team
The New Volume Two On Stage and Off

FAQ

《猛兽记》有没有出版实体书？ISBN 是多少？

据目前可查资料，该书为起点中文网连载的网络小说，2007 年 10 月起连载、2009 年完结，未查到正式出版实体书及 ISBN 信息，网络上流传的多为电子精校版本。

这本书的主角是谁？讲什么故事？

主角是职业玩家魏飞（读者多称“老魏”）。他侵占了公司的虚拟财产，为销赃而删号重练，一边在游戏中重新打拼、倒腾装备，一边应付房租、恋爱等现实压力，故事在游戏内外两条线交织展开。

全书大概多少字？完结了吗？

已完结。不同资料来源统计略有差异，约 65 万至 98 万字（百度百科记为 65.62 万字），以起点连载版本为准。

为什么有人说它是“反套路网游文”？

它不写主角一路碾压称神，而是写一个小人物在游戏与生活间两头腾挪：算计、吃亏、翻车、再爬起来，情节由现实逻辑驱动，充满意外转折，与常见爽文的节奏明显不同。

适合入门网游文的人读吗？

门槛不高。它没有庞大复杂的世界观设定，幽默感与生活气息足以支撑阅读；但若你只想看快节奏升级打怪，可能会觉得它“慢”且“不痛快”。

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About the author

知秋 Author

Zhi Qiu is a Chinese author of technical books, about whom limited public information is available. The only confirmed representative work is Java Programming Methodology: Design and Implementation of Reactive Spring Reactor 3. Judging from this title, the author's writing focuses on Java programming and reactive programming design, centering on Spring Reactor 3 and falling within the category of programming and design. Such content generally requires a solid understanding of Java language features, asynchronous and reactive programming models, and the practical use of related frameworks, as well as the ability to turn abstract concepts into implementable methods. The book's title, combining "methodology" with "design and implementation," suggests a writing style that emphasizes principles and engineering practice rather than a simple listing of APIs. Based on the available information, this is the only known work by Zhi Qiu; details of the author's background, professional experience, and other works are not publicly documented, so readers can know relatively little about the person.