If you ask me what the "weighty glimpse" belonging to the "Danqing Du" version of "Arknights: Endfield" is, I would tell you without hesitation that it is the conversation between the Administrator and Perlica at the bow of the Dijiang ship at the end of the core chapter plot, and the future goal revealed by this conversation—Rhodes Island.
Yes, I know that the tsundere Xiao Cong in the "Danqing Du" version is quite cute, and the handsome Minghe has plenty of unrevealed contrasts, but when the Rhodes Island LOGO descended from the sky accompanied by Dark Glitch Hop music (seemingly mixed with some Synthwave) that fits the characteristics of "Arknights: Endfield" and evokes memories of "Arknights," I was instantly shocked into sitting down, as if I had witnessed an atomic bomb explosion.
It's back, Everythinggj is back.
Of course, this is after all a展望 (outlook) on the distant future, so discussing it now is premature. Moreover, this sense of the unknown, formed by various intertwined aspects and feeling incredibly familiar, has already been revealed in many details previously shown in "Arknights: Endfield," including in this "Danqing Du" version.
And regarding this sense of "unknown," or different perspectives on "possibility," opinions naturally vary. Whether it's history that has already occurred or endings yet to be revealed, there will always be people trying to piece together their own understanding from scattered information. In other words—we Terrans just love concocting unofficial history.
What is unofficial history? Official history isn't necessarily correct, but unofficial history must be wild. When certain historical periods are ambiguous and unclear, people will inevitably try to fill in the blanks with details based on their own understanding, whether strange or bizarre. For example, in "Arknights: Endfield," the biggest manifestation is the numerous great achievements accomplished by the Administrator—whether it's Loxi or Tiflos, each can recount a different version of the Administrator's star-destroying anecdotes, fully displaying solar flair.
Outside the game, when key information and foreshadowing in the plot remain unrevealed, various discussions emerge within the player community, attempting to speculate on the story—sometimes resulting in "pie theories" (speculations about future content), and other times pure unofficial history, equally rich in personal emotion.
Of course, these unofficial histories also have their limitations. The former is just a pre-arranged segment in the game; while it certainly has considerable appeal in terms of presentation, players can only act as spectators. The latter is more akin to a community culture; although imagination runs wild, the direction of the story remains in the hands of the creators. In short, they both symbolize a certain "possibility," and regarding this possibility, players are merely bystanders.
But in this "Danqing Du" version, there is a side quest that left a deep impression on me. It successfully allows players to participate, bringing a story full of possibilities to a conclusion, and writing an ending that belongs to the players themselves.
This story is called "Lingchuan Xia Yin Lu."
This is a serialized wuxia novel. According to Tangtang, the head of Qingbo Village, this storybook is popular not only in Wuling City but also within the village.
There are two protagonists in the story—Jiang Ziliu and Yan Mingfei. According to the storybook, the two were originally close friends like brothers, but after Yan Mingfei took away Jiang Ziliu's life-and-death confidant, Qingyu, Jiang Ziliu's personality changed drastically. He turned dark, broke ties with the two, and fell into the Demonic Cult... In short, it's a traditional wuxia story to the core.
But the problem is, this storybook hasn't written an ending. Although the two have chosen to fight to the death at Hidden Dragon Ravine, the story stalls at the line "Success or failure depends on today!" leaving fans itching with anticipation, and Tangtang and Chen Qianyu, as fans of "Lingchuan Xia Yin Lu," are no exception.
Coincidentally, at this time, the Administrator and Si had already undergone an adventure, and the painted realm was opened to the Endfield Operators. Accompanied by Tangtang and Chen Qianyu searching for the [Hidden Dragon Ravine] in the story, they decided to personally "find the ending"—of course, doing such things requires bringing the Administrator along, after all, this is the territory of the Behemoth Agent, and wandering around freely definitely requires someone with extensive connections to cover for them.
The group arrived at Hidden Dragon Ravine and learned from Hao Tongku and Xie Buchu, both fans of "Lingchuan Xia Yin Lu," that the author of this storybook is none other than Miss Si. Moreover, because Miss Si wrote up to the final battle but couldn't figure out the ending, she stopped writing, leaving "Lingchuan Xia Yin Lu" with no continuation, which was indeed painful—she simply couldn't write anymore.
But... three cobblers equal one Zhuge Liang; here we have five people, which makes one and two-thirds of a Zhuge Liang. Even if the story has no ending, a few idea generators can just conspire casually and come up with a way to continue the final battle ending for Miss Si—by writing it themselves.
They divided the labor: Tangtang plays the Demonic Cult Leader Jiang Ziliu, Chen Qianyu plays the righteous hero Yan Mingfei, the Administrator plays Qingyu who makes the key decisions, while Hao Tongku and Xie Buchu are responsible for recording these role-playing sessions. It looks somewhat like a rudimentary tabletop RPG, but the difference is that here, players are more like directors selecting their favorite parts from different plots and piecing them together. It is precisely in this process that players truly begin to intervene in the choice of the ending.
A tribute to Director Nian as well.
For example, although they found different locations for the final battle at Hidden Dragon Ravine, and Hao Tongku and Xie Buchu recorded all the content, the final choice requires the player to make their own selection, filling in this part of the plot.
Bamboo forest, or rooftop?
It's not just about distinguishing scenes; in some key plot points, players also need to carefully choose. For example, when Jiang Ziliu and Yan Mingfei meet in the cave, who will Qingyu choose? Will she uphold the light of righteousness and accept Yan Mingfei? Or will she wander the world and support Jiang Ziliu? Perhaps such choices are quite difficult, but to reach the ending, one must choose.
"What if my conscience is guilty?"
In the end, this story reaches a binary opposing ending—war or peace, all depending on the player's whim. And once the player makes their choice, this storybook, which Tangtang, Chen Qianyu, Hao Tongku, Xie Buchu, and countless Wuling readers have been longing for, finally gets a result—an ending that even the original author annotated as "not bad" under the Administrator's gracious invitation.
But honestly, I don't think the ending itself is that important—after all, this wuxia story is cliché upon cliché. No matter which ending you pick, it feels stale. Even Miss Si herself said she originally wanted a meteor to fall from the sky and wipe out all those martial arts feuds, which sounds even more outrageous than unofficial history.
When you can't write, it's understandable.
Looking at it this way, what truly matters is the process, specifically the process of "choosing" the ending—of course, I'm not saying that "Arknights: Endfield" truly grants players the power to freely write the plot, after all, most of the choices mentioned above are simple binary options, and the content has already been written by the screenwriters. No matter how you choose, you can't escape the creators' "clutches." But I believe this doesn't prevent the experience of "Lingchuan Xia Yin Lu," or creating an ending for it, from becoming an interesting story.
Firstly, because it truly gives players the opportunity to participate in the story, allowing them to step into the narrative and add the final stroke—just like using authority to draw a path within Si's painting during the plot progression. On the other hand, even if the content has been written by the screenwriters, players can still derive a "sense of choice" from it, because players can participate in the story through the process of "choosing." This might be the biggest difference between video games and other media—even if these choices are within a preset range, they still change the relationship between the player and the story.
And there's also Little Chen and Tangtang cosplaying their favorite characters.
Just like in this main storyline, when the Administrator was taken by Miss Si to the second floor of the inn for forced rest, players could walk around and make intriguing choices amidst the familiar literary style, such as tasting the pastries on the table or falling into deep thought, finally savoring the bizarre and colorful text—but you could actually choose the first option and then go back to choose the second. It doesn't change the plot direction, but it leaves a deep impression on players, whether it's shaping the environment of Yuanyuan Manor, portraying Miss Si's character, or letting players experience Everythinggj as the Administrator.
Furthermore, in "Arknights: Endfield," the most obvious manifestation of this relationship is the portrayal of the Operators and their bonds with the Administrator.
Throughout the process of searching for the ending, you can clearly see Tangtang and Chen Qianyu's different views on the story's development, which distinctly showcases their personality traits—the head of Qingbo Village naturally chooses the Demonic Cult Leader, while Chen Qianyu, who yearns to act chivalrously, naturally favors the righteous hero. This is the greatest benefit of the previously well-developed character portrayals, and these choices that align with the characters' personalities further reinforce players' impressions of the Operators, creating a sense of momentum that makes the characters feel alive through the accumulation of plot.
Additionally, throughout this process of continuing the story, players gain a deeper understanding of Miss Si. This understanding goes beyond her portrayal in the main storyline and is more intuitive than the purely textual archive entries. For instance, she, who seems to spend all day painting, can actually write novels? As an agent of a transcendent behemoth, she faces creative struggles like any other creator? She even considers going completely mad and summoning a meteor strike to flip the table when writer's block hits... All of this adds richness, depth, and a touch of tsundere charm to her character.
Finally, when the decision-making power converges on the Administrator, these limited options first allow players to further grasp the Administrator's personality, and then the process of choosing further reflects onto the diverse player base—at this point, players naturally project their own understanding into the story, providing their own answers.
Therefore, the story of "Lingchuan Xia Yin Lu" is both the story of Jiang Ziliu and Yan Mingfei within the novel, and the story of Tangtang, Chen Qianyu, Hao Tongku, Xie Buchu, and Miss Si outside the novel; it is both the story of the Administrator and Operators "searching for the ending" within the game, and the story of players "completing the ending" outside the game.
What's even more interesting is that both "searching for the ending" and "completing the ending" are linked by the same item—after completing the ending of "Lingchuan Xia Yin Lu," the player's choices are fully recorded and placed on a table in Yuanyuan Manor, becoming a piece of text preserved within the game.
(Who would have thought this was the storyline where Qingyu chose Yan Mingfei?)
Perhaps for the grand overall narrative of "Arknights: Endfield," this is just a small, inconsequential part, and the specific ending doesn't matter much. But for those involved—whether it's Si as the creator, the Operators and readers as co-creators, or the Administrator and players as the final decision-makers—this is an ending that has been completed and ultimately recorded.
And this, perhaps, is the part of the "Arknights: Endfield" "Danqing Du" version that left the deepest impression on me. Before this, I was mostly relying on base-building, leaving my mark on Talos-II through the transformation and reconstruction of integrated industry; but this side quest showed another possibility from a narrative perspective—it allowed me to leave proof of my existence on this land through simple choices.
So... still unofficial history? This is official history. It is a story belonging to the characters within the play, a story belonging to the Operators, and even more so, a story belonging to the players themselves—friends, I love constructing history.
