[Neolithic]To the End News

Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week's developer's diary.

I am still working on my ceremonial duty and other aftermaths of my mother's passing. Thus, this week does not have many content updates, and this diary will be short.

Some say, such a long period of ceremonial is not for the dead, but for the living, so that the living can slowly get out of the sorrow by going through all those steps while honoring the dead.

It's a spiritual journey.
And on each journey, I acquire new knowledge.

Many people in China think wearing such a black armband is a local tradition.
But, I just learned it's actually from Europe.
Our funerals are now much more alike.

Although I do not smoke, I also learned the motivation behind some of the more than 1 billion people who smoke in the world.

What people smoke is not cigarettes but sorrow.
Maybe people who don't drink alcohol and smoke just because they have not experienced a moment that tears their world apart. Maybe they can stay in such blissful ignorance. But life is not complete if we never endure its pains.

But what's more important is the future.
The living still have a universe to conquer; even one day, we too, will lose it all.
Thus, there is also some new story content.
A story can be viewed from different perspectives.

Some may read it as a light-hearted meme from "Case Closed."

While...

Some may read it as another grim dark tale from "Warhammer 40K."

All those "Stopped Clocks" may one day hold more meaning than they do now.

And that's all for this week.
The game and all its associated updates will start to get back to normal in the following weeks.
The priority will be as follows:
1. Restore the daily update of the main game.
2. Restore the progress of the Beyond End DLC.
3. Restore the progress of all other associated functionalities of the game. Such as the daily Ukrainian news to support the things I believe in in this world, and to enforce a future reality that matches my design.


The full update log of this week:
20250710
English
##########Content################
[The House of the 20th]Added a new NPC who will buy Stopped Clocks from you at a high price. (You can find some "Case Closed" and "Warhammer 40k" references here.)
[Wiki]Updated the quest page.
[Item]New Item: Black Armband
[Shopping]The Funeral Worker now sells Black Armbands
简体中文
##########Content################
【第20号房】加入了一个新的NPC，会从你这里高价收购停滞的钟表。（这里有一些柯南以及战锤40K的梗。）
【维基】更新了任务页面。
【物品】新物品：黑纱
【购物】殡葬工作人员现在也会贩卖黑纱。

20250711
English
##########Content################
[Item]New Item: Pack of Cigarettes
[Item]New Item Tag: Nicotine
[Shopping]Random general good vendors now sell Packs of Cigarettes
[Shopping]Bob's Grocery now sells Packs of Cigarettes
[Shopping]Oasis Teahouse now serves Packs of Cigarettes
[Shopping]Northern Start Tavern now serves Packs of Cigarettes
[Loot]The following enemies may now drop Packs of Cigarettes: Businessmen, Crazed Workers, Crazed Formen, Dark Alley Gangsters, Bandits, Mercenaries, Katan Outlaws, The Possessed, The Homeless, and Crazed Survivors,
简体中文
##########Content################
【物品】新物品：一包烟
【物品】新物品标签：包含尼古丁
【购物】随机的杂货商现在会贩卖烟
【购物】鲍勃的杂货店现在会贩卖烟
【购物】绿洲茶馆现在会贩卖烟
【购物】北极星旅店现在会贩卖烟
【掉落物】以下敌人现在会掉落香烟：商人、发狂的工人、发狂的工头、暗巷帮派成员、强盗、佣兵、卡坦法外狂徒、被附体之人、流浪汉、发狂的幸存者。

English
##########Content################
[The House of the 20th]Added a new NPC who will buy Stopped Clocks from you at a high price. (You can find some "Case Closed" and "Warhammer 40k" references here.)
[Wiki]Updated the quest page.
[Item]New Item: Black Armband
[Shopping]The Funeral Worker now sells Black Armbands
简体中文
##########Content################
【第20号房】加入了一个新的NPC，会从你这里高价收购停滞的钟表。（这里有一些柯南以及战锤40K的梗。）
【维基】更新了任务页面。
【物品】新物品：黑纱
【购物】殡葬工作人员现在也会贩卖黑纱。

This week, it was supposed to be the 21st anniversary of the game.
But my life and the direction of the game's update took a dramatic turn on the morning of July 2nd, 2025. My mother quietly passed away during her sleep, just like she went gently into that good night.

You may wonder who she was other than being my mother?
I'd like to take this chance to go over her legendary life.

In the early 1960s, there was a fanatic high-ranking officer in China. Loyal to the idea of Communism, dreaming of building a utopia of equality without corruption, he named his son "Red Army"(红军) and his daughter "Red Guard"（红卫）. He strictly raised both of them with army-like discipline. But, deep down, he always has a preference for his son over his daughter, as it's something deep down in traditional Chinese culture. Even if the daughter tried so hard to prove herself, winning second place in a math competition, getting enrolled in the best high school in the district, and earning two bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Accounting, rather than just one. She could just be a "Red Princess" and enjoy her life. But she refused to be anyone less than she could be. Yet, his father never recognized her achievements, just because she was his daughter, not his son.

In the end, the "Red Princess" rebelled. If his father could not treat his son and his daughter equally, how could he always lead the country to a utopia of equality? She married the boy who got first place in that math competition. That boy comes from an ex-landlord's bloodline, which is considered very bad in communist China. But she still chose to fall in love with him. Such a tale can equal the great works like Romeo and Juliet, for the Red Army and the Landlords were enemies in the class struggle. Facing all the difficulties, she managed to achieve a happy ending and made it a fairy tale instead of a tragic love story. Her father reluctantly conceded her freedom of marriage back to her.

Furthermore, she refused her father's help to find her an easy job within the party. She even refused to join the Communist Party which really pissed her father. She went on her own way and became a college teacher, concealing her status as a "Red Princess."

All Chinese Communist Party members must take an oath to serve the people with their full hearts
The high-ranking officer, my grandpa, stayed true to this oath as he truly believed in it. He taught his son and all his subordinates to be incorruptible so that they could build this dream one day.
However, many other people consider joining the party as a means to further their own interests, and forget the oath the moment they take it.
My mother is an honest person. She taught me the important quality of keeping oaths and promises. Thus, you can see this game has been updated for 21 years. But, after all that she had experienced, she decided, instead of serving an ideology, to serve her own idea, her family, her students, her college, and the things she truly believed in. Thus, she never joined the party even when all her fellow teachers in that college joined. In the end, she was never a communist.

She continued to be one of the best teachers in her college. She could teach both programming and accounting, becoming a heroine among her peers.

Yet, the cosmos taught it's too easy for her to be like a Mary Sue in her story. Thus, a tragedy happened. She was diagnosed with Uremia in 2004; neither of her kidneys can function anymore. Many thought she might finally give up. She didn't. A year later, after undergoing a kidney transplant surgery, she was back in the game once again!

Since then, she needed to take a lot of medicine every day, enduring side effects such as high pressure and diabetes. Yet, she always accomplishes her teaching tasks and gets more done. Deeply respected by her colleagues, she was voted to receive the honorary title of "Shanghai Adult Education Outstanding Teacher" in 2013.

What makes things more legendary is that she raised me when all that happened. Her approach to education can be very unconventional, just like she was a rebel red princess. She was never a politically correct person.
Lesson No. 1 BE RICH!
To be rich, you will study really hard. Put great effort into achieving that.
Only when you are rich can you seek a great spiritual journey to find out what is really important in your life other than money. By being rich, you can also always find the strength to stand up even when a cruel world wants to press your head and make you kneel down. By being rich, you can have the dignity to say no to whatever you think is wrong. By being rich, you can be kind and donate your wealth to those in need. By being rich, you can have the power to change the world for the better!
Being rich is the foundation for being kind and civil, for you will never need to commit crimes or morally questionable things just to survive.
Thus, after being rich and securing your position in this world, the following lessons come naturally. To be kind, to be loyal, and to be spiritual.

Today, I honor her with my stock market profit.

She said she was proud of me for this.
Actually, she was proud of me for a lot of things. She always encourages me.
She was proud of me for being the developer of the longest-living RPG in China.
She was proud of me for solving a law case.
She was proud of me for taking care of her during COVID-19.
She was proud of me for moving back to China from the US so that she could see me every day.
She was proud of me for basically everything I did.
So, I have become who I am today.
I am a stock market investor.
I am a lawyer.
I am a developer of this game.

So, I am doing what a game developer does.
Just like how I brought Murin back.
I shall bring my mother back in the same form.
I have the technology. I have the game. And one day, maybe I can even have an AI powerful enough to emulate all those I have lost in my life.
Thus,
I created a game character in her memory.
I want her to say she is proud of me more.
I want her to teach more.
I want her to remind me of things that I often ignore.

She was never a beautiful woman, as she spent her life making her points instead of looking good. She was my mother who always cared for me.
This character of hers will remind me of those things, as all her dialogues were based on the messages she once sent to me.

But, deep down, I know that's not her. Just another memento, just like this game is about memory, yet I can never relive all those memories, just like I may only truly see her again once I, myself, go to the other side.

Goodbye, Red Princess.
Goodbye, Juliet, with a good ending.
Goodbye, Mary Sue of her fantasy.
Goodbye, Outstanding Teacher.
Goodbye, Queen of her own fate.
Goodbye, Mother.
See you on the other side, one day.

Knowing she will be waiting out there just like she used to pick me up after school when I was a child, brings me courage.

Her life was a testament, and she loyally adhered to it to the end.
Such a testament and such loyalty brought her great respect.
Today, at her funeral, representatives of her students attended.
Today, at her funeral, representatives of her college attended.
Today, at her funeral, representatives of her classmates attended.
She was well loved...
...even among those who hated her defiance.
Today, at her funeral, representatives of the Army attended.
Today, at her funeral, representatives from the police force attended.
Today, at her funeral, representatives from the National Security attended.
Today, at her funeral, representatives from various government departments and the party attended.

This is the 21st anniversary, and this is a diary about her life.
From now on, every anniversary of this game will also be her death anniversary.
The cosmos certainly has a dark sense of humor.
Life is simply unfair.
But we shall fight on.
Loyalty to the end!


There are, of course, some other updates this week. But compared to her, they are not so important. Such things are:
The store page of the next DLC is live:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2611830/NeolithicBeyond_the_End
You can now burn ghost money for your loved ones on the other side to honor their memories.

The story on the Jiru Island continued a bit before my mother passed away.


So, here we are, at the end of this diary.
Tomorrow is a hope, never a promise. I may take a break after this diary.
But for as long as I stand, I shall stay loyal to what I believe in.
Loyalty to the end!
That's her legacy.

The full update log of this week:
20250628
English
##########Content################
[Pet]You can now reprogram Corrupted Bots.
[Pet]You can now reprogram Cleaning Bots.
[Enemy]Cleaning Bots now have a special attribute that reduces their cleansing skill cost by 350. It's inherited if you turn them into pets.
[Pet]You can now reprogram Assaulter M.K.IV. (Very hard.)
##########DEBUG#################
[Pet]Fixed a bug that causes issue of reprogramming machines if the battle is initialized by a corrupted bot.
简体中文
##########Content################
【宠物】你现在可以重新编程被腐化的机器人。
【宠物】你现在可以重新编程扫地机器人。
【敌人】扫地机器人现在自带一个减少净化技能的消耗350的属性。会在变成你的宠物的时候继承。
【宠物】你现在可以重新编程突击者肆型 （非常困难）
##########DEBUG#################
【宠物】修复了一个在被腐化的机器人触发战斗时无法对机械敌人重新编程的BUG。

20250629
English
##########Content################
[Relationship]Erysea will now appear on your relationship menu after you meet her.
[Relationship]Raerson will now appear on your relationship menu after you meet her.
[Lost & Found]If you somehow lost the reprogramming hack tool from Raerson, you can now purchase it again from Lost & Found vendors. (As usual, price will be extremely high.)
简体中文
##########Content################
【关系】哀瑞希现在会在你首次见到她后出现在关系界面。
【关系】拉尔松现在会在你首次见到他后出现在关系界面。
【失物贩卖】如果你弄丢了拉尔松给你的重新编程黑客工具，你现在可以从失物贩卖商人那里重新找回来。（和往常一样，价格高到离谱。）

20250630
English
##########Content################
[Asmaru Mine]Added some initial story content at the bridge entry. (You cannot progress past this point yet.)
[Asmaru Mine]Added some snakes near the entrance.
[Fjordr Command Center] The location is no longer marked as 'WIP.'
[Firearm]New Firearm: Samurai Edge T.24 (To be given as a quest reward.)
简体中文
##########Content################
【阿斯玛鲁矿山】在吊桥入口加入了一些剧情。（你当前还无法通过这个区域。）
【阿斯玛鲁矿山】在入口附近加入了一些蛇。
【福尔德指挥中心】区域不再被标记为施工中。
【枪械】新枪械：武士之刃 T.24 （将会作为之后的任务奖励。）

20250701
English
##########Content################
[Mission: Improbable]The story continues, you can now get a Samurai Edge T.24. The mission is now waiting for the content on the Dana side to continue.
[Wiki]Updated the page of Mission: Improbable
简体中文
##########Content################
【行动代号：不靠谱】剧情继续，你现在可以获得武士之刃 T.24，该任务现在开始等待达那一侧的内容完工后继续。
【维基】更新了【行动代号：不靠谱】的页面。

20250702
English
##########Content################
[Credit]Added my mother to the credit, in the "In Memory of..." section.
[Art Assets]Added art assets for a character based on my mother's younger self.
简体中文
##########Content################
【制作名单】把我妈加入了制作名单，在【纪念逝者】那一栏。
【美术资源】加入了一个基于我妈年轻时候的样子的角色的美术资源。

20250703
English
##########Content################
[Liu]A new NPC that is named "mother" will now randomly appear in three locations: the bookstore, the hospital, and the restaurant. The exact location is decided each time when the game enters the title screen.
[Liu]Mother has 39 lines of dialogs based on the wechat message she sent me over the past years, including 2 of them that trigger if the current time is my birthday.
简体中文
##########Content################
【疁城】一个名称为【妈】的NPC现在会随机出现在疁城的书店、医院、或餐馆。具体的地点是每次在进入游戏标题画面时决定的。
【疁城】这个NPC有39句基于我妈给我以前发的微信聊天记录的台词，包括两句在我生日时触发的台词。

20250704
English
##########Content################
[Liu]Near that Ancient Stone Bridge, there is now a special area that has a burning fire and a funeral worker.
[Liu]You can use the fire to burn ghost money for your loved one on the other side.
[Liu]You can purchase ghost money from the funeral worker.
简体中文
##########Content################
【疁城】在那座远古的石桥附近，现在有一个特别的区域，有一团火焰，和一个殡葬工作人员。
【疁城】你可以用那团火为在彼岸的亲人烧纸钱。
【疁城】你可以从殡葬工作人员那里购买纸钱。

English
##########Content################
[Liu]A new NPC that is named "mother" will now randomly appear in three locations: the bookstore, the hospital, and the restaurant. The exact location is decided each time when the game enters the title screen.
[Liu]Mother has 39 lines of dialogs based on the wechat message she sent me over the past years, including 2 of them that trigger if the current time is my birthday.
简体中文
##########Content################
【疁城】一个名称为【妈】的NPC现在会随机出现在疁城的书店、医院、或餐馆。具体的地点是每次在进入游戏标题画面时决定的。
【疁城】这个NPC有39句基于我妈给我以前发的微信聊天记录的台词，包括两句在我生日时触发的台词。

English
##########Content################
[Credit]Added my mother to the credit, in the "In Memory of..." section.
[Art Assets]Added art assets for a character based on my mother's younger self.
简体中文
##########Content################
【制作名单】把我妈加入了制作名单，在【纪念逝者】那一栏。
【美术资源】加入了一个基于我妈年轻时候的样子的角色的美术资源。


The funeral will be held on July 4th, the day of our 21st anniversary.
All are welcome to join; no gifts are required.
She once said that she would be happy just to have people join her funeral if that day came.
Nobody expected that day to come so soon.

葬礼会在7月4日，也就是游戏的21周年当天举行。
欢迎所有人参加；不需要慰问的礼物。
她曾经说过，只要有人在她葬礼的那天来为她送行，她就很开心了。
没想到那天来得这么快。




Latest news from Ukraine/乌克兰小剧场
https://controlc.com/c52a1db9
https://pastelink.net/czwvd1lp

This will be the last Ukrainian news before my ceremonial duty is done.
这将是我履行完毕葬礼仪式等相关职责之前最后一次乌克兰新闻更新。