Dear Chinese Readers: "The people of our two countries have always had an interest in each other's literature. And "Water Margin", the poems of Qu Yuan and Li Bai are familiar to Russian readers, and Chinese readers know Dostoevsky and Kuplin, Chekhov and Pushkin .Books not only enable us to better understand each other, but also enable us to learn good things and avoid bad things. As the great Confucius said: "Threesomes must have my teacher". And from every book I read — that's even more than you can get from one..." These words were written by me when I was translating my first book - "Maze of Phantom" in China three years ago.At that time, I very much hoped that this was not a chance encounter between a Russian writer and a Chinese reader, and that there would be other books after the first book.The day has come—and it’s in your hands.

When I wrote this book, I thought it was a very Russian book.The story takes place in Russia, the characters are overwhelmingly Russian, and despite the absurdity of the plot, the protagonists face complex issues that every Russian feels close to and can understand. Now, with publishing in more and more countries, I firmly believe that we are all alike.Because if the popular book in Russia becomes the favorite book of the English and the Swedes, the Dutch and the Israelis, the Italians and the Germans—it means that our similarities far outweigh our differences.Therefore, I hope that for Chinese readers, it will also become your own night watchman in China.