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12 Stories In, and a Journalist Came to Interview Me

xulingfeng on July 13, 2026

36 Stratagems Series · Arc 2 (Against Enemy, #7-#12) Wrap-Up This article has 7 sections: I. The Stranger at the Door II. Full Interview Tran...
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vinimabreu profile image
Vinicius Pereira

The part that landed for me is interviewing yourself through DaoMa instead of just journaling. A blank page lets you steer around the question you don't want to answer; an agent playing journalist doesn't share your flinch, so it asks the thing you would have quietly skipped. It's a second perspective that cannot collude with your own blind spot, which is exactly why it surfaced answers you could not reach alone.

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xulingfeng profile image
xulingfeng

Honestly, I've always felt that putting AI on the opposite side — letting it fire off those cold, unfiltered, deeply probing questions with zero human empathy — is what hits the places I desperately try to avoid. Honestly, there are several answers I still don't dare to publish. It's probably the right way to do it, and also the dangerous one.😓

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vinimabreu profile image
Vinicius Pereira

Yeah, that's the honest catch in it. Though seeing the answer and publishing it are two different things. The probe did its job the moment you saw it clearly, and whether it ever leaves your drafts is a separate call, and yours. The ones you keep private still count.

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xulingfeng profile image
xulingfeng

The final line of defense between us humans and AI might just be that we still have feelings inside.
Haha, enough of that — stay tuned for the 13th stratagem, aiming to publish it tomorrow.👊

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vinimabreu profile image
Vinicius Pereira

Ha, honestly that's not a bad line of defense. I'll be around for the 13th.

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akhourianmolkumar profile image
Akhouri Anmol Kumar

I observed that my every post is liked by you and very quickly like if I publish a post within 10minutes you like it.
I feel you are very curious for akhouri systems isn't?
But may I ask you for a help?
I have 0 budget or low budget and I want to do marketing.
Can you give me a tip or help me in any way you can?
Because Akhouri Systems downloading count is rising at very slow speed.
If you could help me then it will be so grateful for me.

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xulingfeng profile image
xulingfeng

Anmol — you're shipping, you're writing, you're building in public. That's more than most founders do at any age. So I'll talk to you straight.
I don't do free promotions. Not because I don't want to help — because it doesn't scale for either of us. What I will tell you is this:
Your strongest marketing lever right now isn't a shoutout. It's one article that teaches something so well that people bookmark it. You reversed Windows lock screens at 13 — that's a real technical story. But you haven't written it as a deep dive yet. You wrote it as a personal update. The difference matters.
Write the version that makes a developer think "I need to remember this." That's how trust builds. That's how downloads follow.
Keep going.👊

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algorhymer profile image
algorhymer

This profession has sunk so low, that now this is literal telemarketing.

You remember The Matrix?
You were supposed to be Neo, not binge out on Fruit Fridays in the office, Mr. Anderson.

I pose programming puzzles to devs to make them come out of their cubicle they grew too attached to.
To show their old real, honest, rough, dorky punk side.
One thing out of the thousands you guys forgot:
Producing software which is purchasable and end users can own it.
You are now rentiers.
I'll not pose a puzzle for you.
Instead here's something else:

This one's for the mighty sea
Mischief, gold and piracy
This ones for the man that raised me
Taught me sacrifice and bravery
This one's for our favorite game
Black and gold, we wave the flag
This one's for my family name
With pride I wear it to the grave
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akhourianmolkumar profile image
Akhouri Anmol Kumar

Till today one of the best tip I got, Thanks.

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leob profile image
leob • Edited

Nice stats:

Series articles: 47
Total site-wide reactions: 1,304
Total comments: 713
Followers: 9,663

The "interview" (which turned out to be an agent, nice twist) really makes me want to go back and re-read the episodes from the start (including the old series), to connect the numerous dots that I'm sure I've been missing ...

P.S. just now I fully realize it - are you aware that what you're doing here on dev.to with this series is pretty unique? But I guess it's obvious - dev.to is "normally" about non-fiction ...

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xulingfeng profile image
xulingfeng

Haha, I've planted quite a few hidden threads, and I'm really hoping someone digs them all up. As the story progresses, some of them I'll have no choice but to reveal through the plot. I genuinely hope someone can find and predict them before the story catches up. And I promise — I won't change the future story just because someone found the threads early.

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leob profile image
leob

That would require some careful reading, I'm sure I missed all of them, LOL - let's see, if/when I revisit the earlier episodes, whether I'm able to spot any ...

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xulingfeng profile image
xulingfeng

😁Stay tuned for Stratagem #13 — quietly polishing it between the cracks 😄

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sam762161 profile image
sam

thanks

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technogamerz profile image
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐳𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥

Nice 🥰