Kevin Cazad, a software programmer, resorted to drugs to alleviate his pain after breaking up with his girlfriend. Severe drug addiction caused him physical and mental pain, even threatening his life at times. But things changed in 2014, when Cazad first came across online Chinese literature.
凯文•卡扎德是一名软件工程师，和女友分手后他开始靠吸毒缓解苦闷。巨大的毒瘾带给他生理和心理上的痛苦，甚至数度危及生命。但事情在2014年发生变化，那一年卡扎德第一次遇见了中国网络文学。
2015年，卡扎德在翻译连载中国网络文学的“武侠世界”（wuxiaworld.com）里留言讲述了自己的故事：
I'll try to be brief, in 2014 I had a breakup with a woman I was with for 2 years. After that I had a bit of a...problem, I got into drugs, I got addicted to Coke.
长话短说，我2014年和处了2年的女友分手，然后我就出了点问题，我开始吸毒了，染上了可卡因的瘾。
In February of this year I had did my last line and all of a sudden my heart started beating uncontrollably and I felt a deep pressure appear on the left side of my body all the way down. I thought I was having a heart attack. From that day on I felt that pressure every day, sometimes the pressure would build up and as it did I would actually have a hard time thinking clearly and get lightheaded.
2015年2月我吸完最后一道白粉，突然心脏开始不受控制地狂跳，左半边身体感受到一种强大的压迫。我以为我心脏病发作了。从那天起，我每天都能感到这种压力，有时候压力陡增，使我无法清醒思考、头昏眼花。
And one day I was introduced to Coiling Dragon, immediately I fell in love. Once I got caught up with that I moved on to MGA, ATG and ISSTH etc... Basically Wuxiaworld took up all my time and I was able to forget about wanting any drugs...
然后有一天，有人介绍我看《盘龙》，我立刻爱上这部小说。我追完那部又接着去看了《修罗武神》、《逆天邪神》、《我欲封天》……基本上“武侠世界”占据了我所有的时间，我甚至忘记了对毒品的欲望……
About a month ago I noticed the pressure started to dissipate, and as it did my vision and thoughts have also started to clear up and also sometimes I can hear a sound in my head like water being slowly drained through a straw...
大约一个月前，我发现那种压力开始消退了，视力和头脑也变得清晰了，有时，我还能听见脑袋里有一种水被吸管吸走的声音……
What would have happened if I never found wuxiaworld and been able to stave off my addiction? I really want to say I feel your novels have probably saved my life so thank you... really.
如果我从未发现“武侠世界”、戒除毒瘾，后果又将会怎样？我真的想说，你们的小说救了我一命。所以真心感谢。
"In the past, whenever I went home, all my attention was on drugs. But when I go home now, the only thing that occupies my mind is Chinese web novels. Like drugs, they can also become an addiction, but the difference is that they can't harm your health," Cazad told the Southern Weekly during an interview, adding that he used to finish five volumes of a popular Chinese web novel named "Coiling Dragon" in a single day.
卡扎德接受《南方周末》采访时说：“过去，我一回到家就将全部的心思放在毒品上。但是现在我回家后脑袋里一心只想着中国网络小说。和毒品一样，这些小说也会让人上瘾，不过区别是它们对健康无害。”卡扎德还表示，他曾在一天内一连读了五章《盘龙》。这是一部中国人气网络小说。
Cazad's story shocked "I eat tomatoes", the author of the book, who told the Southern Weekly that he never expected so much enthusiasm from a foreign reader.
卡扎德的故事让《盘龙》的作者“我吃西红柿”非常吃惊，他告诉《南方周末》，自己从未想过一个外国读者会有如此的热情。
“Many readers have written letters to me, saying that my web novel reshaped their understanding of life. Some even attribute their achievements to inspiration they got from my books. It was like, are you guys kidding me?”
“也有好些读者说，看了小说对生活有了新的认知，还有努力奋斗成就一番事业的，我觉得是不是在忽悠我啊。”
其实像卡扎德这样痴迷于中国玄幻小说的外国粉丝还真不少……