The Earth is Online

Description

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Six months ago, tens of thousands of black phantom towers appeared all over the world, floating above the cities. Chemists, physicists, religious people… all of them could do nothing.

Six months later, people became used to the towers and no longer paid them attention.

One day, Tang Mo saw a flying insect crash into it instead of going through it. The next day, a sharp and clear child-like voice issued an announcement to all humans.

“Ding dong! November 15th, 2017. The earth is online.”

The black tower’s three iron-clad rules:

1. Everything is explained by the black tower.

2. 6 o’clock to 18 o’clock is the game time.

3. All players, please strive to attack the tower.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Dìqiú shàngxiàn
EO
TEIO
Địa Cầu Online
ฝ่าวิกฤตพิชิตหอคอยดำ
地球上線
地球上线
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Global Examination (26)
Card Room (25)
Game Loading (18)
The Trial Game of Life (17)
Kaleidoscope of Death (14)
Escape the Infinite Chamber (11)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Chinese Novel and Danmei
  2. The consequence of my BL binge
  3. Greatest Unlimited Flow - BL (long reviews+ratings...
  4. Unlimited Flow BL
  5. Boys Love Worth Reading

Latest Release

Date Group Release
06/22/23 Tea Novel c131
06/18/22 Tea Novel c130
06/17/22 Tea Novel c129
06/16/22 Tea Novel c128
06/15/22 Tea Novel c127
06/14/22 Tea Novel c126
06/13/22 Tea Novel c125
06/13/22 Tea Novel c124
06/12/22 Tea Novel c123
06/12/22 Tea Novel c122
06/11/22 Tea Novel c121
06/11/22 Tea Novel c120
06/10/22 Tea Novel c119
06/10/22 Tea Novel c118
06/09/22 Tea Novel c117
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406 Reviews sorted by


idlehands
idlehands rated it
September 18, 2019
Status: Completed
First of all, the "Yaoi" tag is misleading, there is no graphic s*x, to be more precise, the only s*xual contact is described in a way that some readers might not even realise that they had s*x.
The whole story doesn't focus on their romance, it's very unobtrusive and can be easily overlooked, so for those who don't like gay romance, the story would still be enjoyable.

Survival horror is a classic genre, yet "The Earth is Online" manages to bring a fresh wind into the zombie filled landscape, with a... more>> clever mix of science fiction, horror, tragedy, and mind-wrecking puzzles, all balanced really well.
It felt a bit rushed at the end, this is certainly a personal opinion, I would have liked a bit more information regarding the tower and how humanity will move on from such devastating experiences; all in all I would say it was an objectively satisfying ending that left just the right amount of questions unanswered for the reader to speculate about on their own.

There weren't inconsistencies, at least I didn't notice any, just some core information that I would have liked to know.

Spoiler

The biggest, what or who is "Eve"? What good did "Eve's surprise" do apart from a slight increase in strength? And where did those powers come from, how can someone else have the same ability and why did they become "Eve" but Fu didn't? These are very important questions that can't really be answered by the readers, I got the slight suspicion that it might have been a hint to another novel in the making, sadly it doesn't look like I was right.

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By far the strongest point of this novel are the characters, be it the main ones or side characters, they all are very unique, three-dimensional, believable, and natural, with their own convictions, dreams and hopes.
Even those who were set up as antagonists grew on me as time went on, I was so fond of them that parting ways, either through death or separation, felt like a real loss.
I was surprised to finally have a protagonist who isn't the embodiment of pure white light, Tang Mo is everything but perfect, he's ruthless, brutal, not afraid to leave someone behind to save his own life, that makes him stand out in the mass of apocalyptic heroes who keep their overly righteous attitude even in the face of constant death and destruction – he was realistic and in-tune with the world he lives in.
Compared to other characters, he could even be considered to be on the morally questionable side, which is just another plus in my opinion.
Some of them look overpowered at first, it takes some time to see their ability's limitations, where their weaknesses are, or to see them fail despite their seemingly overwhelming power; their world isn't built on power alone, a good portion is pure luck, so no matter how much power they hold, they can still die a miserable death. As soon as you understand this, they all lose the impression of being OP and you start to worry about them again.

The games were all very elaborate, fun to take part in, and fairly creative, the only downside is, that some of them were set up in a way that made it impossible for the reader to solve them due to crucial information not being revealed before the characters themselves solved it; it's a minor thing based on personal liking, the story doesn't suffer because of it.

Let's talk about the romance.
Slow burn would be an understatement, it takes nearly the whole novel until they are officially together, even then it was never shown off, only subtle changes in how they interact, the frequency of little touches, a smile here and there, growing protective tendencies, unshakable trust, the gradual build-up felt natural and real, the final outcome believable.
I want to highlight that both parties have been gay from the start, there is no straight-bending or sudden realisations, this direct approach was a pleasing surprise, I wish more stories would finally ditch those stereotypical elements.

Spoiler

A nice touch was, that they already knew each other through online games without realising it right away, both felt a connection they couldn't explain, seem to already have feelings for the person they knew online, yet never acted like "knowing" someone over the internet can be considered as knowing the person behind the messages; they had to get to know the other party in real life, and finally fell in love for good.
It wasn't your typical fate setup, more a coincidence, although it's up to the reader to decide how much the tower played a part in how things went, how much of it was pre-designed to happen in exactly this way.

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To close it off, if you like science fiction, intense battles, mystery, found family, outstanding world-building, and believable characters, then you will be very happy with this novel.
On the other hand, if you can't stand a lot of blood and gore, need black and white morals, or hate for characters to die, then you should look for something else. <<less
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tehrealone
tehrealone rated it
February 14, 2019
Status: c172
First of all, I am not a BL lover/fujoshi/etc. However, this novel is just too good, so interesting and intriguing that I was willing to keep reading it even after all the BL scenes.

The purpose of my review is to inform any friends who are having second thoughts about this novel due to its BL nature to read this novel anyway. There are few BL scenes and they don't really last too long. The scenes are easily avoidable by skipping ahead and dont really contribute too much to the plot... more>> (IMO at least).

Now this novel is set out in an apocalyptic world, where people have to fight for survival among themselves and the mysterious entity known as the Black Tower. However, this novel differs from other standard apocalyptic novels in that the characters aren't fighting zombies, monsters, etc. Instead they are transported into random scenarios which they have to solve in order to pass and get stronger. The games played are reminiscent of Thriller Paradise, same with the MC. Both are highly intelligent and use their intelligence to help them advance.

Again if the BL tag is holding you back, I would strongly advise you to ignore it and read this novel anyway. <<less
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Rina00
Rina00 rated it
August 31, 2020
Status: Completed
This is a fantastically written novel that I do not regret binging. It's hard to let go and I'll miss Tang Mo's adventures so much. There are a couple of problems I had with the novel, but the pros far outweigh the cons overall. Definitely worth it to read.

Pros:

    • The relationship between the MC and ML. I love their unwavering trust in each other, especially when they started teaming up. They're both great characters individually and together they're such a power couple.
      Spoiler

      One of the best games where they team up is when they're the bosses Mr. A and Mr. B in the Strange Circus instance. Absolutely loved how they were able to trick like 20+ players.

      [collapse]
        • I will say, though, it's not a good idea to read this *only* for the romance. It takes so many chapters for them to even start meeting up. Something I liked was that they're initially wary of each other and would prioritize their own life over the other's if necessary, which is realistic in a setting like this. This slowly changes as they get to know each other. I personally didn't care much about the s*x scene, but do be aware that it's disappointing how the author wrote it. So honestly, read this novel with plot in mind first and take the romance as a nice appetizer.
    • Incredibly creative worldbuilding. The best aspect of this novel imo. The whole setting is intriguing, especially when we receive revelations that start building on each other. I'm a huge fan of the black tower bosses with their distinct personalities and how their world is set up. It's beautiful how some of the games and bosses interconnect with each other. Consequences for passing a certain instance or receiving certain props/rewards can set up events that happen way later in the novel. And it's so cool when it happens.

        • Also, interesting props and abilities. I don't know how the author creates so many creative props & abilities, with sensible restrictions on them if they're too OP.
    • Great games with lots of thought put into them. Even when there were games I didn't like as much, there was always something refreshing or interesting involved. They really give your brain a work-out, although some of them didn't have satisfactory solutions imo.
    • Reoccuring themes that I adored
      Spoiler

      "Luck is a type of strength" is one that I really appreciated being repeated throughout the story, especially at the end. The basking in the moonlight being passed on from MHX to Shanshan was also touching and beautiful.

      [collapse]
    • Fascinating plot (goes along with the worldbuilding). It's so satisfying that the main mystery was solved and we finally know what the black tower is in the end.
    • Charming, distinct, and memorable side characters. This author really knows how to make characters stick in your mind. I even remember ultimately irrelevant characters from near the beginning.
      Spoiler

      Even when relatively unimportant characters like Li Wen and the huckster died, I always felt a quiet moment of sadness for them. You can imagine how deeply I felt for the more important characters.

      [collapse]
    • The MC and ML are OP, but not too OP. The author strikes a nice balance between the two, which is nice because I feel like other novels don't nearly do that as well as this one does. They don't always one-sidedly crush everyone/everything. I also like they're not senseless mu*derers and largely keep their moral integrity despite the setting.
Cons:

    • Relatively rushed around when they had to attack the 5th floor and so on. The pacing suffered imo, and I didn't like the games nearly as much because of it.
    • Unanswered questions leading to unsatisfying payoff at the end. Major Spoilers:
      Spoiler

      What happened to Eve's Reward? What about becoming Eve? What about Ning Zheng and what Bai Ruoyao had over him? The twin thing? Where do the black tower monsters and bosses go, since they're supposed to be specific to Earth? Do props still work? Does the black tower's comprehensive evaluation mean anything? Is there resurrection or not? Have the humans at the end really evolved? I can make a reasonable guess at these answers, but it makes me upset that the author went through all the work to build this rich narrative and never bothers addressing all these questions at the end. Especially the Eve thing, which sounds super important! It's hard to fully appreciate the plot when a lot of stuff just isn't explained.

      [collapse]
    • Certain games weren't explained or executed very well, but thankfully these were a minority.
      Spoiler

      Specifically talking about the clock game with the matching items, as well as the Peking University instance with Mosaic's grid game. The latter especially would've benefited by using a visual medium to properly explain how it worked.

      [collapse]
    • Confusing demonstration of probability:
      Spoiler

      A minor irritation, but luck always seems to work in the MC's favor at times. I can accept Tang Mo triggering the 50% chance of the non-probability watch since he really only used it twice. But it's unrealistic that Shanshan's 50% accuracy, much less Tang Mo's 10%, on their conjectures works 100% of the time. How are they always right? Unless I'm misinterpreting their ability or something. Also, the characters somehow calculate random probabilities in their head when it's not really explained how they got that number (e.g. "this event has a 70% chance of happening")

      [collapse]
    • Regarding what happens to a certain character: (Major Spoilers + my salty rant)
      Spoiler

      I really, really dislike how Bai Ruoyao died. It ruined that whole game for me. From the perspective of a reader, it was incredibly disappointing to see such an anticlimactic, abrupt death for such a hyped-up character. I will admit that the author explained the circumstances very well regarding why and how he died despite how important he was. Logically, it makes sense. But emotionally, it soured my enjoyment. It really didn't help that I spent the whole rest of that game wondering if he faked his death somehow or if this was his and Tang Mo's scheme (since the author likes to hide Tang Mo's thoughts). Nah, he just died an off-screen pathetic death. I know MC's group is smart enough to get everyone out of that alive considering they seem to have the luck/intelligence/strength in other games, so his death (and subsequently MHX's) seems pointless. HOWEVER, I greatly appreciate how BRY managed to show his thanks to MHX in the end, which wouldn't have been possible without his death. It was such a bittersweet scene.

      [collapse]
Despite my complaints, I still love this novel dearly. It has a mindblowing setting and rich worldbuilding. The characters, especially the MC and ML, can be so charming and I'm glad I joined them on their journey. Honestly, this novel helped me appreciate humanity so much more. One of my favorite scenes has to do with that, actually:
Spoiler

The author painted such a visually powerful picture through words alone. The Queen of Hearts, nailed to the New Delhi gate, with a sea of red at her feet. All of those South Asian players sacrificed themselves to take down this boss so that humanity could live on. They made up for their lack of powerful players through numbers. Just... wow.

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Please note that the translation isn't great either since it seems to lack an editor. Lots of typos, pronoun changes, swapped character names. It's not a big deal since you can understand what it's supposed to say most of the time, but it is annoying. I suppose that it's a fair trade-off for a greater update speed though.

Anyway, please give this novel a try if you like the genre.
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lycanpire
lycanpire rated it
July 3, 2020
Status: --
Interesting story-wise, but I dropped it after chapter 36. One of the biggest turn-off was the "authors note" at the end of the chapters, which mentioned ML before he was introduced and brought up their relationship (referring to MC as his wife). Isn't this supposed to be slowburn? It feels very forced since you don't care at all about ML (unless you're only here for the yaoi), and you know nothing about their relationship. It takes away the suspense of "will they get together?" "who is the ML?" etc and... more>> just hits you with "this guy will be the ML and they will get together" at like chapter 9. The authors note even outright spoils you with information that the MC would've (probably) found out later; "in case you haven't figured it out yet
Spoiler

ML is Victor and MC is in love with Victor

[collapse]
, like yes it was obivous that's why you don't have to say it, you're treating your readers as if they can't figure basic stuff like that out themselves. Maybe I'm just not used to chinese novels but this whole authors note really ruined my experience. At least it made me not waste my time, since the whole thing about calling the "weaker" guy the wife is both really sexist and stereotyping and something I really don't like. <<less
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keinnan
keinnan rated it
September 23, 2018
Status: c216
This novel is amazing. It starts a little slow, and the first few games are a bit grotesque, but I'm so glad I didn't stop reading it as the progression of the characters and just the cleverness of so many little details combine together to make this one of the best novels I've ever read. I'm on tenterhooks every day waiting to see what happens in the next chapter, and I haven't been disappointed yet!
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Drunk Moon Resident Scholar
Drunk Moon Resident Scholar rated it
May 12, 2018
Status: c19
Although tagged as yaoi there is no romance at all so far so if anyone's holding back from reading this thinking it's a mostly romance novel I encourage you to give it a try. There'll probably be romance eventually but missing this story just to avoid a little romance would be a crying shame.

A really interesting plot so far with mysteries for the reader to work out what's happening. Overall an amazing, well-written action story so far.
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sapphoherself
sapphoherself rated it
July 17, 2023
Status: --
dropped it. I really wanted to like it after seeing so many good reviews but sadly it's really not that good at least in my honest opinion.

the MC is... one dimensional, is a polite way of saying it. fcking boring also works! I truly do understand cold and detached characters, but only if they are given the space to grow as people and you get to explore them outside of their coldness and that's just me.

and mind you it's not just coldness. MC sees people dying and is like oh... more>> well. anyways. like it takes away the admiration you may feel towards him as the chapters go on as he simply seems to never react to any situation in any way. it becomes repetitive and bores quickly. it also helps you to detach yourself from the story bc if he doesn't care, why should I? same thing with the super intelligence thing like he's got it, I'm not worried about it and that kinda takes the joy of reading.

so all of this? plus all the halo that surrounds the mc?? all I'm saying is that I finally understand what shen quingqiu means when he talks about the autor just doing too much with bingghe. but in the author's defense, this is just a trope I dislike so.

what intrigued me is that I understood this story in a very hunger games way with the games and people being forced to participate... it is not. the games are kinda hard to understand, not because they're difficult, but in the way they're explained. but don't worry, even if you don't understand what's going on, one thing is certain... the MC does! every single time. and he'll save the situation. every. single. time. it's giving sherlock Holmes but with Mr as seasoned as a stick of butter.

another thing I didn't like is, sometimes there are just chunks of paragraphs filled with details that seem to never end... the characters will be discussing the most useless clue for chapters and chapters... kinda repeating whatever the other person is saying just in a "gotcha" tone... other times, a few words are more than enough because again, the mc's got it. he's like "I understand" and then never goes on explaining. and the autor will also be like "he understands, what a great main character." and that's it. no more understanding, especially for the poor reader. meaning me. and y know what I really tried, had to put my glasses on, was following the words with a finger and all of that. didn't work. gave up. I have gone on my private Twitter to rant about it after reading all 20 pages of reviews, but it wasn't enough and I just HAD to try and access the account I had made idk how much long ago just so I could write down the absolute betrayal I feel.

truely happy if you liked it, maybe it's simply not my style? anyway this is my first time doing this so...I don't even know how to end this rant. <<less
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moon-bunnies
moon-bunnies rated it
May 16, 2022
Status: Completed
No way can anyone look me in the eye and say they understand exactly how these puzzles and accompanying solutions work.

As a couple of other reviews mentioned, there's nothing big-brained about this story. Arbitrary statistics and impulsive assumptions are thrown around then clumsily stitched together to form a poor excuse of a resolution. Semantics, if anything, form the bulk of the protagonist's theories. Combined with the translation's frequent grammar mistakes and spelling errors, I had to re-read the same paragraph two or three times to understand the gist of it.

Examples... more>> of flawed logic within first 50 chapters:

Spoiler
  • MC immediately stated that out of the 400+ million players, approximately less than 10 million are stowaways. (Why or how? Who knows, who cares.)
  • MC heard a static noise in the background, and determined that there's an 80% chance the noise is from a black and white TV. (What 23 year old knows what a black and white tv sounds like? Where'd the 80% come from?)
  • During monopoly game, MC calculated that 20% of the 150 squares are jump squares, thus there must be 20 jump squares. (I hope this is a typo by either translator or author, or it's actually too sad).
  • Somehow within 4 days, an organization of 11~19 people managed to comb through about a thousand corpses, and made detailed reports over a large stretch of distance, while participating in various instances (I guess there must be 48 hours in a day.)
  • Golden hamster arc did not explain why "prioritization of abilities" is a thing. (Author needs to shoot the author of Mist a message to get a proper idea of how a time loop should be written
    [collapse]
And side note here, why were South America & Africa completely disregarded from global rankings? Just cause countries from these continents aren't economic superpowers doesn't mean they can't have strong players lol.

The story also leans on overt nationalism, which like okay, that's my motherland too, but some details are absurd:

Spoiler
    • MC repeatedly stated that he respected how China has such a great handle on societal stability. Even as he walked past actual protests and riots, he thought 'love China, most socially stable place in the world, especially compared to poorer and weaker countries'
    • This quote: "Most people in China are right-handers" ?? ?? I'm crying, what does that have to do with anything? The entire world is mostly right-handed.
    • Fu Wenduo is literally named after his grandfather's desire to reclaim Taiwan
      [collapse]
Character problems:

Spoiler

In a lazy attempt to bypass giving characters depth, the story decided to emotionally stonewall the protagonist and make him unable to feel most emotions. When he killed a man, he just looked on coldly. When he found out one of his closest friends died, he just nodded and moved on.

Emotional vulnerability doesn't undermine a story. Rather, high emotional stakes add suspense and character complexity. To neglect this element would greatly reduce effective storytelling.

In turn, if anyone has to describe what the personality of the protagonist is like, they'll struggle to come up with any qualities except "smart" or "sarcastic". He's blander than boiled, unseasoned chicken. The only time he reacted strongly was if the Tower trolled him. Kinda weird he cared more about that than his own friends' deaths.

Tang Mo & Fu Wenduo's relationship is lackluster as well. Nevermind their one god-awful s*x scene that was depicted through a 3 line euphemism about "shooting" a loaded gun, the two characters hardly interact other than reading each other's gaze during games. While you can argue that the story's simply dedicating itself to its world-building and plot, one only needs to think of novels like Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint or Kaleidoscope of Death to know that character relationships can be explored in depth along with plot.

[collapse]

Major unresolved questions at the end:

Spoiler
  1. What did Mu Huixue's ability actually do? And what was the effect of Tang Mo using it?
  2. What's the significance of Eve or Eve candidates?
  3. What's going on with Ning Zheng? Who was he trying to find? Story teased out so many mysteries with him.
  4. What was even the significance of Tang Mo obtaining Eve's reward if he was just gonna forget it all? And it never got brought up again?
    [collapse]
Despite all my critiques, why'd I finish reading this? The sole reason being that The Earth is Online is actually quite fair to its female characters, which is always pleasant in the misogynistic realm of danmei, and especially the unlimited flow genre. I'm a huge fan of Mu Huixue's character. The premise of each puzzle is very interesting as well, so it's still enjoyable. <<less
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just here to buy some soysauce
just here to buy some soysauce rated it
March 30, 2022
Status: Completed
I started for the love story but stayed there for the action. You can feel the chemistry between the two main characters, they do love each other but I think that a relationship is not the priority when you're life is at stake. The MC is not overpowered and mary sue, he is collected, calm and smart, not heartless or s*upid. The ML is also not overpowered, they both have their specialities and they complete each other.

The plot is really well written, usually I'll drop those type of novel, were... more>> everyone fight for survival and they either are in a dungeon or tower... Because it quickly become repetitive and boring, but it's not the case in this novel, you can feel the tension and it don't become "to easy" for the characters after the power up. You're always waiting for the next move, the next instance. There was never a moment in the novel were I felt that is was boring or pointless filler like in a lot of novels

The love story is really subtle, honestly even if you're not into bl you can read it without problem. <<less
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secondthots
secondthots rated it
January 22, 2021
Status: Completed
The novel you go to for actual plot...

I've seen this novel recommended everywhere & the only reason why I held off from it for so long is because I knew that I was going to have to use my brain throughout all 240 chapters. Is it worth it? My god, yes.

All hell breaks loose when the mysterious black phantom towers all around the world suddenly switched on & spurred humanity to compete for their lives. Mystery, action, & a main CP that has you begging for dog food- Earth Online dishes out a riveting survival tale that'll keep you at the edge of your seat. A big shoutout & thank you for the TL because I would never MTL this even if you held me at gunpoint!

The plot eerily... more>> reminded me of Kamisama no Iutoori, a survival game that utilizes death-games to seek out the next potential "god". It's gory, intense, & cutthroat- many of the same qualities that I got from Earth Online. I WAS HOOKED. The novel is filled to the brim with puzzles & action, making me quick to realize that I would probably die first if this ever transpired in real life. I'm no cunning, witty shou nor am I even close to our infamous 8-pack weilding gong. I'M A LOSER & THIS NOVEL EMPHASIZED IT.

Aside from the thrilling instances & world-building, I really must give props to the cast. The characters, in spite of their size, are all quite memorable. I'm pleased to see that each have their own flair & quirk; it makes it worthwhile to remember them. As for the antagonists- GOD, they are my favorite! Each tower boss has their own unique charm & I'm pleasantly surprised to actually see characterization. It's rare in the case of instance bosses because usually you only see them once & it's over. However, I was completely fascinated with the ones here & I couldn't help but wanting more lines from them!

My favorite character PERIOD:

Spoiler

Bai Ruoyao. Something about this adorable psycho reminds me a bit of Xue Yang (MDZS) & I couldn't help but picture his appearance. He's for sure a box of surprises & I enjoy the thrill.

[collapse]

Some cons: Perhaps it's just my pea-sized brain feeling bitter from being bullied by this novel, but I personally think that some of the instances are lacking in comparison to others. Whether it's the logic behind the rules, or justifying decisions & overall gameplay- some don't sit right with me. It doesn't alter the general feelings of excitement from it though. Also, you're gonna tell me that Rebirth of a Supermodel is written by the same author? I'm flabbergasted. Sure, censorship can be a reason, BUT c'mon- I was starving for dog food. Don't play me like that, Mo Chen Huan.

Speaking of CP, let's dive in. A pair that exchanges blows as a form of greeting deserves a gold star. It's hot, there's s*xual tension, & I'm all for it. I'm disappointed in the lack of smut considering the amount that the author has written for in other works, but I can suppress my sorrow by focusing on the actual plot. Believe me, it'll distract you. I've read comments about how this novel includes very subtle romance & I didn't take it seriously until I experienced it for myself. LIKE EVEN LITTLE MUSHROOM HAD MORE TO OFFER! But if you've read a lot of danmei, I'm sure your gaydar is switched onto high. It was easy to pinpoint the main leads & even faster to understand the hidden feelings between the two. It just took so long for the reveal, but I suppose dating is your last priority when you're partaking in survival death-matches LMAO

Not lying when I say I went straight to Ao3 to get my fix of Earth Online smut

Favorite (& BEST) moment:

Spoiler

MC verifying ML's ability (c109) - YOU GUYS CANNOT WRONG ME ON THIS BECAUSE IT IS THE TRUTH

[collapse]

TL;DR you like action? heck yeah read this <<less
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NovelFun
NovelFun rated it
March 23, 2020
Status: c19
Too many positive ratings are definitely misleading. The MC and other characters (even children) are unnaturally cold-blooded, not life-like at all. MC's logic also is doubtful and seems farfetched too many times. I'm disappointed a little.
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puffiness123
puffiness123 rated it
June 9, 2018
Status: c25
Such an interesting and beautiful story! :) The concepts are new and interesting. I like the world building and the characterization.
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miso c
miso c rated it
November 12, 2022
Status: Completed
Status: Completed | Overall score: 3/5

I'd created NU account just because I wanted to write this review, but then again I've spent almost 3 weeks reading TEIO so I want to sum up this experience somehow.

Forgive all of the misspellings or grammatical errors - Chinese is not my native language and neither is English and I don't feel like looking up all of the names in the book.

... more>> PROS:

I feel like most of the good sides of this story have already been pointed out in other reviews, so I'm not gonna go over all of the obvious ones. This is a true unlimited flow story, packed with action, games and mystery. If you're looking for something unexpected happening on almost every "page", variety of characters with mostly well-written backgrounds and motivations this is a story for you. There is certainly A LOT of blood, gore, fighting, talking about eating f*esh mixed with (often) extremely complicated puzzles that will only make you go "Hm, I think I might be too st*pid for that". If you like this kind of intense stories that go on for 240+ chapters this is your guy. The "game" side of story is very steady - there are countless well-designed games that the characters have to take part in throughout the novel, I never had a feeling that some of them are less interesting than others, I'd say the first and last game were equally "entertaining" although the characters' level of abilities and difficulty of the games were obviously incomparable.

Another enjoyable thing that stood out to me were the side characters. Although I found some of them (especially the young ones) quite annoying, the majority was surprisingly well-written and had depth to them. Even more surprising, there were various female side characters that were both strong and interesting. That being said the book still tends to be misogynistic, generally treating women as weaker both physically and mentally. But I digress.

Spoiler

Honorable mention to:

Ruan WangShu - for some reason I had a lot of respect for this character. He was only a teenager but somehow managed to become a leader of the most powerful organization in Beijing and despite having quite an impressive ability he wasn't arrogant and knew his limits. Out of all the organizations I felt like Tian Xuan was THE organization - they had power, were feared but were not reckless. It didn't feel like Ruan Wangshu was out of place there.

Mu HuiXue - mad respect here. Seriously she turned out to be one of my favourite female characters of my bl/danmei experience, she's sharp, she's unpredictable, she's human. Those human-like traits were surprisingly rare is the story so I wanna emphasize it - it really did feel like her actions were motivated by human feelings - love, fear, resignation, longing... Maybe out of all the characters she was one of the few that actually behaved like actual humans would behave in this terrible situation. She had to constantly fight at first, but she used her power to resurrect younger sister whom she loved, then got betrayed, had to live with her decisions and in the end made her way to the Earth to find death. The only thing left for her was the moon. Also, her death is the perfect ending, her and the next character's death were the two things that really moved me while reading.

Bai RueYao - honestly a masterpiece of a character. Possibly the most interesting out of all of them. He really made you feel something (mostly irritation) but at least you knew something is going to happen whenever Fu WenDuo found him hiding behind a tree. I'm not gonna write an essay on him here but his death really made me stop reading and "mourn", only then did I realize how important he was.

NingNing - she didn't have much screen-time but I feel like, next to Mu HuiXue, she made the female characters look really good in this novel. I like this melancholic-but-strong touch, I wish there was some more.

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Another thing that made me keep going was the mystery of the tower. I found this topic quite unique, not because "alien creations" are uncommon in unlimited flow novels (of course) but because the purpose of the tower itself was revealed so slowly that I had a lot lot time for speculations and with all the clues I got I could really come up with something. I didn't like the final explanation in the book but that's another thing.

CONS:

Alright, that's why I'm here so let's get into that.

I'll start with the biggest flaw and that is the romance. I generally like a good ol' romance with some smut and tension but I wont expect that from a danmei novel (esp the smut part). It's ok, a slowburn will do. BUT. There is no slowburn here. I'd say the MC and ML have a pretty good flow for the first 110 or so chapters. The growth is steady, there is some tension, it is really slow but hey, we're here, we're not expecting them to jump into bed in the first 10 chapters. THEN we are hit with this one unexpectedly spicy scene somewhere after 100th chapter and our hopes are up - you're thinking ok, now it's only going to get better. But boy oh boy, it doesn't. Now I'll allow myself for some spoilers so if you're like me and you like to know what to expect (e.g. in which chapter there's a first kiss) you can only read the first Spoiler, but not the other.

Spoiler

There is not much happening in the beginning except for some vague clues that somebody has feelings for the other person. There is one scene of "taking care of eo's wounds" around 50th chapter ig, but there's not much to it.

There is an out of place spicy scene in chapter 108, but there is only touching, nothing more.

The first kiss in in chapter 207 (!), but honestly don't get your hopes up, this is such a casual scene that you won't be satisfied with it.

A singular, impossibly censored s*x scene is in chapter 210, but it's really bad, I'm so sorry.

There are two small kisses after that, lol.

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Spoiler

Alright, I need to vent. I don't mind a good slowburn if there's a steady progression and the reader get "rewards" from time to time. It doesn't matter if it's 20 or 500 chapters, if we're reading this type of story we can probably handle that. BUT. Honestly there is not much romance between them. After this one random spicy scene we get nothing. The kiss scenes, esp the first one THAT WE WERE WAITING FOR FOR 200+ CHAPTERS is so anticlimactic I had to reread it five times before it sank in that it was it. The s*x scene is even worse, I was literally laughing bc of how silly the "shooting" analogy was. C'mon, spare me. It feels like in the middle the author got confused and didn't know what to do with their relation. The whole time I was saying to the book "Please feed me with anything" and well, I wasn't fed at all.

The main plot is very steady while the romance part is extremely uneven.

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Another problem I had was already mentioned lack of MC's personality and human reactions. Except for being almost genius and really calm he had basically no personality. I found it almost unsettling that in face of traumatic experiences he reacted with a blank expression at best. And while I can kinda understand this type of behavior if it comes from Fu WenDuo (bc of his profession), Tang Mo has no right to react this way.

Generally, the whole super-inteligent-people-saving-the-world vibe was a bit of a stretch, I get it that in order to clear the games they had to be like that but, as mentioned in other reviews, their estimations were often based on nothing (30% probability? 80%? How are they determining it, and it's not even just one character, it's most of them).

Spoiler

What I didn't really see mentioned in other reviews was the theme of the games. I still don't really get why it had to be so infantile and always related to childhood stories. I don't feel like the theatricality of the characters and games added anything to the plot. Grandma Wolf in pink dress and white panties? Stinky Mario? What for, honestly? I know it was supposed to be something that all players recognized but honestly, why.

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A few more general questions:

Spoiler
  • TF happened to the whole Eve's game, I felt like I missed something but I see the same question in other comments. They made it a huge part of the plot and it resulted in... absolutely nothing. I was expecting Tang Mo to have some enlightenment about the Tower? What was the week long blackout even about?
  • I'm still not sure where'd they get the inherited abilities from (all of the people who had increased heart rate in the beginning). Was it like - there was another wipeout millions years ago and there were some people who survived all 7 Tower levels and then passed their abilities to Tang Mo, Fu WenDuo etc? But by the end the Tower (or the matches) said that this is a one time event and will never happen again on Earth. So did they get it from some other planet?
  • I find it kinda funny that they cleared the whole Tower using some random prop they got in an accidentally encountered game (I'm talking about the matches).
  • I feel like the story could use a bit longer explanation for the purpose of the Tower, not 2 paragraphs.
  • How did Lena Jokel die? It is said she committed su*cide (which, if she was also a regular player, is obviously unfair and against Tower's internal rules) but it was also said she drowned and was struggling for an hour. After that she was found inside the castle, de*d. Did she drown herself (?) and then teleported to the castle? This question annoys the hell out of me esp because they based the whole 6th level solution on the fact that it was a su*cide.
  • How did the main couple develop any "tacit understanding" if they literally knew nothing about each other basically for the whole book? I can imagine you have to have a DEEP understanding of someone's logic, emotions and mechanisms that dictate their actions to be able to assume you know what they're thinking. But this couple not only didn't talk about their personal lives, they talked about their emotions even less.
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Honorable mention to the convenient cliche of somebody (usually a child) interrupting the main couple whenever something potentially spicy could have happened. One time is ok, two is acceptable, but later on whenever there was a more intimate scene I was like "Ok, who's going to walk on them now".

There are probably more issues but this is already too long so I'll stop myself here. All in all I did finish the book and it was quite enjoyable but the issue is that it would probably be even better if it was more condensed (shorter), less complicated and had a more steady romantic plot, if we're doing it at all. Cause I feel like neither fujoshis nor people avoiding bl are satisfied now.

Thank you for reading, have the best day! <<less
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trash_generalist
trash_generalist rated it
September 3, 2022
Status: Completed
I stayed away from this novel for the longest time, mainly because of the high rating LOLOL. I was worried that I'd be disappointed because of high expectations. But, well—anyway! First of all... The main plot! All humans gets pulled into a world-wide survival game where they have to attack the "Black Tower." The premise, just from this, may sound similar to most horror survival game novels, but this novel is far from scary. It's deadly though. Survival rate is very low, but the MC and ML slowly grow their... more>> strength to challenge all the different instances they encounter.

This novel is hard to rate with my usual criteria. Especially the romance criteria, since this novel isn't really focus on romance. But! Regardless, I admit defeat to the high rating. It's well deserved! I see now why the novel is well-liked and so highly recommended. After finishing the novel, I can safely say that I share the sentiments of most readers. So, if you're like me and you're currently hesitating on reading this novel for one reason or another.. fear not! It's not what you probably expect, certain aspects are more whimsical than the grimness of the "low survival rate" description implies, but it's this whimsy that makes the novel... easy to read? Idk how to describe it, but yeh! Definitely read it!

CHARACTERS: 10/10

The characters don't undergo much development cause they're already pretty self-aware and just overall more well-adjusted than your average web novel characters. However, the author still did a great job at showing depth and complexity, which made up for the lack of visible growth. No matter what, all the characters were memorable in their own unique ways.

Tang Mo (MC)

A librarian! He's intelligent, and is appropriately wary about everything and everyone. He's not particularly strong (physically) but he awakens a god-level ability that allows him to copy the ability of others.

Fu Wenduo (ML)

The mysterious "stowaway" that earns the ire of all Chinese Players for triggering the first level of the Black Tower Attack Game. His strength is god-level from the get-go! It takes him a while to make his way to the MC.

ROMANCE: 8.5/10

As mentioned, I feel weird about eating this novel as per usual cause romance isn't the focus, but because it's there, I still have it a score in the end... Uh... let's see... The romance was good for me because I liked the characters and their tacit agreement was great for the survival game theme. However, the development was lacking since it existed mostly in subtext (neither of the main characters are very showy of their feelings).

SETTING: 10/10

The setting was particularly well set-up. Everything connected with each other, which was particularly satisfying. There were absolutely no loose ends (from what I could see from the first read). And even if there, enough was done to make sure that there is a seamless fit with all the important events mentioned.

PLOT: 9.5/10

Though there were parts that dragged a bit, those parts were very few in number. I found all the instances very interesting. There was always something good happening. Like, I never seriously considered dropping the novel. Usually, with novels over 150 chapters in length, I consider it at least once, but this novel, the thought would come up and then disappear~ So my interest remained at peak level almost the entire time. The pacing and overall length was just right, I think. It's not as long as some survival game novels but it seems just right like this.

RATING: 4.75/5

I'm already eagerly waiting for the chance to reread this novel in the future! Definitely highly recommended, I can't say that enough~ <<less
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Jyuuuuuyu
Jyuuuuuyu rated it
July 28, 2022
Status: Completed
If you like infinite flow and prefer characters that aren't invincible, i'd recommend this one. MC is smart and uses his abilities to figure out the instances, and he's above alota people regarding in strength. ML is on the stronger side, but still very smart nonetheless as ... more>>
Spoiler

he was a high ranking position in something before the tower came and gave him his abilities.

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TEIOs romance is a bit (alot) of a slow burn as they don't really get together or express heavy feelings until like 3/4 of the way.

I've reread this novel a good few times and are one of my favourites, it has a bit of humour here and there.

I postponed reading this for a few days when I first found it, but ended up reading it and couldn't stop. I stayed up late and ended up tired in mornings because I got too into it and didn't realise the time but I really enjoyed it..

MC and ML and both extremely strong but not enough to defeat the stronger tower bosses and win much less survive or do so without injuries.

I like how the author adds some extras where it shows what would've happened if the tower never appeared, it was nice. Really recommend you read it <<less
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Ritsuka
Ritsuka rated it
December 25, 2020
Status: Completed
I don't really think that this needs my review because a lot of people have already described how good this novel is yet I still think this needs more recognition!

To be honest, I was one of the people who thought this novel would be bad and avoided reading it for literally 3 years before I finally gave in and tried it with the mind set of "gonna drop it as soon as one thing pisses me off" yet I ended up binge reading it in only 5 days. Before reading... more>> it, I had read the reviews and I had the mindset of "how is this gonna be even good as slow burn romance and definitely the survival action aspect will be bad"I thought if I really want to read good survival setting I could read a lot of other top rated novels why should I waste my time on this if even if its setting is supposedly good?As a yaoi, it should have more BL but it doesn't have much so whats even the point even if it has good action and plot? But I literally ended up changing my mind set and surprised after reading only 10-20 chapters. It was EXTRAORDINARYILY GOOD!

Besides BLs, I read a lot action/survival setting novels like omniscient reader and tuturial is too hard which are like one of the bests in this category and even tho EO can't compare to them. As a veteran reader, I would certainly put it in the "good novel" section of this category just based on the plot, world building, character development and how it all played out. It isn't the best but its certainly good. But guys listen that is only the case if I consider its action survival genre. If I take in the BL genre in too then i really hope you'll believe me when I say its the best BL action survival novel!

A tower appearing and instances clearing in action survival novel are normal but what intrigued me was the "earth is online" concept and the use of different fairytales and popular game characters in the instance. Even tho the author could have used better settings if she was going to use these characters but still just the appearance of them in the novel was intriguing! Action aspect and game solving was good with author describing everything is detail and such. The most important aspect, the BL part was extremely good and it surprised me! Even tho it was slow burn, You could literally feel and see the tension, trust and the companionship between our MC and ML. Through out the novel, we got extremely cute moments between them and sometimes the sparkful attraction between them and whenever they happened I would literally blush like a tomato (Don't get me wrong guys I'm a veteran yaoi reader I have read a lot of smut yet this made me feel so ticklish and pure). Buttttt despite all that when they finally get together don't expect any great vague smut snippets or some hot kisses (i swear I was so heartbroken when I got nothing.i felt so cheated on by the author). They didn't fall in love soon (i thought I might dislike that but I loved it) they both were wary of each other at first, didn't trust each other and had not much concern for the other and treated each other as acquaintances but they slowly opened up, becoming teammates and their trust grew finally resulting in their relationship evolving. The author did it just right!

The MC is a normal dude (not like most BL MCs who are extremely good looking and all slender and soft) yet still good looking. Even tho his ability seem really OP its not and I can guarantee he's not typical OP action protagonist. He's intelligent but not the genius one who knows everything but one who has knowledge and wits due to being a librarian. His complains in is heart were extremely funny throughout the novel xD. ML too is not some really cold good looking dude (like those other MLs for whom women go crazy left or right) but a normal upright good looking guy who doesn't know how to make jokes xDDD and makes cold jokes. Even tho he is strong due to being a soldier. He too is not OP. The one thing I like about this novel is that both MC and ML are not OP, they are literally each others equals (even the ML admitted that he didn't know if he would win if he fought MC) and they are not some invincible OP couple who can defeat everyone in the world but through out the novel there were a lot of people who could overpower them both.

In terms of side characters, idk what to say but this novel was a somber setting one rather than the magical setting with 'every side character related to MC' will survive. The deaths happened and the deaths weren't feely one but rather sudden and cruel ones without much closure making it more real and making you realise 'this feels real and oh thats why its survival setting'.
Spoiler

I never expected and wanted my baby Li Wen to die just like that! I still am sad about his death. The way the huckster gradually lost his body. The way Bai Ruyao just died and paid the favour before dieing. Mu huixue had to die just after she admitted she didn't want to die.

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The more important side characters weren't just mere sidekicks or subordinates there just to admire the main couple but they were strong and intelligent people. Xiao Fu our lil baby brother. Chen shanshan our brain!

Japanese yaoi doesn't really mix another genre with the yaoi while China makes really interesting BL novels with action/survival/mystery settings. Japan really gotta step up its game. But even in those Chinese Novels, only a few manage to balance the romance with the plot and action. This novel had both great action/survival plot and great romance but the way the author balanced the two really made the novel freakin EXTRAORDINARY!

The ending with all the truth revealed was well done!! And the scene where both the MC and ML reintroduced themselves made me feel so emotional! The extras with the alternative universe added to the feels and the extras telling the future events made my heart warm.

Guys!If you are really picky about your novels like me, then please trust me and just give only a few chapters a try. This novel won't disappoint!I can guarantee you'll love it just like me! <<less
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McCamy
McCamy rated it
July 21, 2020
Status: --
This was amazing! Such an imaginative "It's the End of the World as We Know It" plot. Not just your same old zombie apocalypse. A real page turner. Some great characters too. Not much in the way of romance, but who has time for romance at the end of the world?
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Xoisherpa
Xoisherpa rated it
April 28, 2020
Status: Completed
This is first time I am giving review. I complet this novel in 7 days. This novel is really best, it is my 2nd favourite after QOD

I just feel empty after completing it. There is not other novel like this. ????? Mo tang , Victor, crazy bai, Shansan (I love you guys)
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Notatumor
Notatumor rated it
December 19, 2018
Status: --
It gets a bit tedious at times and the system is not well defined, but generally it's good if you can get past the tedious parts. I have a bit of a problem with the MCs crazy intelligence levels and he never really feels like he's in danger. Also, every single challenge the MC does has a twist, nothing is ever normal, time loops, name games, super mario bullshit, it's all kind of annoying
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Krudy7kk
Krudy7kk rated it
May 10, 2023
Status: Completed
Something that most other review mentions about this story is how racist this story can get:

... more>>
Spoiler

Aside from the fact that this story is littered with stereotypes regarding Europeans and the story seemed to fully ignore the existence of the whole continent of Africa and Latin america, the author also seems to have some sort of weird resentment towards South Asians...
Without going into heavy spoiler territory but the whole population of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc) are heavily implied in the story to be inferior to the rest of the world. Theres a scene where the author describes explicitly a large population of people in India being massacred for a very random reason that didn’t really even make sense.
The only black person mentioned in this story was also written to be a monster, which honesty could’ve just been a coincidence, but was definitely kind of weird considering the authors treatment of other races besides East Asian and white.

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The racism in this story doesn’t become really apparent until chapter 200+ of the story when
Spoiler

the scale of the story becomes more global, rather than just based in China.

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so if that doesn’t bother you, you should totally give this story a go! I don’t have much morals so I kept reading.

This story is a plot focused story first and foremost, a solid 70% of the story is spent inside mini games and instances. Some of the games and instances are kinda confusing to wrap your head around but most have very clever and fun to read twists.

If you’re looking for romance, this is not the story for you.
The romance is very slow burn and more of a sideline than the main focus. The yaoi tag is also a mistag since there’s no explicit scenes, theres really only 2 implied scenes. Despite this though, the romance does feel very real and the interactions between the MC and ML are very cute. <<less
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