4.5/5

Really really great read.

Let's start with the MC. A crazy but charismatic guy who is not OP but just really intelligent. There are so many times he nearly went absolutely crazy but ML manages to contain his insanity everytime. So overall, a fun and new character.

I don't have much to say about the ML. Honestly because I never really got to understand ML or see the world from his point of view. All you need to know is he is really good to MC (unlike a recent BL I read... more>> with ML basically trapping MC and forcing him. Man, hate those MLs the most, they are more infuriating than villains I tell you. Didn't finish it because my blood pressure was spiking due to ML's actions.)

What stood out to me the most is the villains of this book. They ain't second rate villains that MC can flick away in a few chapters, I can tell you that. They are a real threat in the novel. From page one. In some novels, some recurring villains just get annoying after a while. Like why hasn't MC solved them already? But in this novel they managed to make the villains scary but not irritating. Special kudos for that.

If you ask me why I didn't give the full 5 stars is that when the novel finally ended I was relieved. It was a good novel, great even, but it didn't make me feel like oh my god I wish this had more chapters or anything. However I definitely recommend this novel to those who like smart MCs who are not OP but not weak either. <<less

Honestly I was a bit confused why I didn’t enjoy reading it, while it seemed to have everything I like to read about.
I just didn’t get hooked? You know...

It is horror, thriller, unlimited flow survival game with pretty much insane MC, but it felt like slice of life? It just didn’t have tension? I wasn’t interested in what MC was going to do or how he will get out of sticky situations.

It is the writing, I dunno whether it is the fault of author or translator.

Plot scenes, side characters all seem pretty interesting, but the way it is presented is kinda lacklustre.

Maybe this novel is just not for me. Maybe I am the problem... it is honestly not bad.

I usually don’t review only after couple of chapters but I won’t continue reading it, so wanted to say my two cents.

So! I have read all the available chapters! &Gt;^< Here are my thoughts:

There is a 'trigger warning' for child abuse, su*cide and mu*der. ^^

Usually I don’t review at all and when I do it’s of the finished novel, but not this time. This story is amazing, the translation is so easy to read!

Zhou Qian is very cold to those around him and often says that he’s a bad person, I think it’s too early in the story for me to be able to tell whether he’s truthful or not. The ML isn’t the sponsee as the other review had said, but it was easy to mistake it because the childhood ‘rival’ wasn’t introduced... more>> yet.

I’ll add more to this if my mind changes as the story progresses! <<less

I am currently reading this and haven’t finished yet but I just want to tell anyone who see this novel esp this review that the one in the cover is ML (pls got artbaited).

It is not a spoiler since the author put the clue in the synopsis directly (jjwxc). I just want to share it for now bc I thought it was the MC at first so I always thought the MC will transform or something hehehe.

I've tried really hard to like it and continue reading, but it's just impossible to me. It's glaringly obvious the author had no contact with a psychiatric hospital (honestly, good for them, but at least do some research) and it's way too jarring for me to ignore. Aside from that, it just... doesn't seem interesting? Like, technically there's nothing wrong with the plot aside from the hospital issues, it should be interesting, the translation is alright, the characters are not awfully bad, but it just feels like somehow it's wrong,... more>> as in lacking something.

If you don't care about the realism, it should be fine to read I guess, but it's definitely not for me. <<less