my status right now: DROPPED

I'm very disappointed. the 1st two arc were really really good. 5 star to both. 3rd arc is getting downhill. too many deux ex machina. so many repeated scenes that were like, "actually this thing happened at previous scene but just wasn't revealed to the reader" and it left a bad taste on my mouth. once or twice are acceptable but it was done several time throughout the arc. 2 star for 3rd arc.

and then come the "reality" interlude titled Dangerous Heresy/Heretic, and it just get off the rail. suddenly there was a parallel time-line hunter that want to capture/kill Bai Liu based on future crimes that Bai Liu apparently destined to commit. the hunter even mol*sted Bai Liu during interrogation (he fingerf*ck Bai Liu's mouth ewww) and Bai Liu just doesn't resist. tf? I'm so mad. I also really HATE the hunter's conceited presumptuous holier-than-thou attitude while being a drunkard and Bai Liu wants to recruit him into his team? tf?!

and don't get me started on the illustrious ML. he is only mentioned on the author note. the actual character barely appeared. but it was indicated that ML is a cthulhu-like entity and hey, "actually" Bai Liu might be one as well. I'm rolling my eyes so hard right now.

in conclusion, only the 1st two arc are actually unlimited flow story. the rest are just nonsense from the left field the author shoe in as cash grab from their gained "angels" aka cash cow.

and I'm super disappointed because arc 1 (siren town) and arc 2 (exploding train) are really good & interesting. unfortunately, all the good things that were inferred there were just tossed aside by arc 3. it all goes, "actually, it was like this so whatever said in arc 1 & 2 are rendered null & void". ugh... so sad & mad. to think I found a good unlimited flow but was left hanging. well, I'm off to find other story to read.

he became one of the MC's teammates, and became one of his found family.

Especially since we know what they were capable of in the other parallel worlds. But then you can't call even them in those worlds truly "bad. The five buildings arc revealed that even when they were doing all of those shitty things, it was not truly according to their will.

His third identity is Spades and he's like simultaneously overpowered killing machine and dense lizardttle boy (it'll make sense later). And it took quite a long time to actually reveal how the this piece of the ML's identity really fits in. Like you think he's just a soulless physical container, but then no it turns out he has a soul and you think it's a different soul from the ML but no turns out they're one and the same. Like even Spades himself thought that he was a different entity from the ML because of the God's lies and he actually fretted about it very hard to the point of wanting to sacrifice himself but IT ALL TURNS OUT OK KIND OF.

Like, the ML kills himself kind of. And then the MC was f*cking devastated but he didn't really show it but the way he didn't really show it made me cry even harder. And then the MC kept telling ML he hated him but then he also kissed him and it's all very complicated and they even got married in a game instance and then Spades (the no-memory unawoken-soul ML) genuinely fell in love with the MC but then the MC was super mean to him because well he killed himself kind of. And then Spades kept trying to get him to accept him without even knowing what love was because he's like not really human. And he even was happy to be a substitute for the ML (even though they're kind athe same person ok ITS COMPLICATED) because he didn't really know what that meant, he just liked the MC too much.

Oh, and also there's some serious memory-wiping during this novel. So when the story first started, the MC didn't remember the ML from his orphanage childhood, or from his high school years at all.

The "game" isn't just a game, there's real-world consequences for each game instance. But then everything turns out to be "a game" in a way anyways. A very long game between an evil God and a prophet, spanning hundreds of timelines. And this world just happens to be the final one.

ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THE ANGST I WAS FEELING WAS FROM THE AUTHOR KILLING EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM OFF LIKE PLEASE. I WAS DEVASTATED AND NOW THEY'RE FINALLY ALIVE AND YOU GIVE THEM LIKE ONE LINE OF DIALOGUE EACH LIKE COME ON.

Even the "non-game" characters as well. MC's "good-guy policeman" best friend Lu Yizhan. And Lu Yizhan's fiance, Fang Dian. None of them are who they seem to be pls. They're so much more important to the MC than what it seemed like in the beginning, and they also played very crucial roles in how everything started and how everything ended. And I love both of them so much. And I wish they got more f*cking time during the ending to reunite with the MC fihda;lfbjdsai;fdsal;fsa ok please I'm still salty over the ending.

And the thing is, he wasn't supposed to be a good character, everything around him has been designed by the Big Bad God to make him evil. He was evil in every single other timeline. He's literally been walking in a tightrope his entire life, and because of the interventions of his best friends, he managed to stay a good guy until 25 and entered the game. And then he met a bunch of people he ended up caring about. And he managed to continue staying a good guy. But yet it's not entirely like he's been dragged and forcefully contained in the good side that he continues to be good. He was already born different from the him of all other timelines. This was evident in how Xie Ta loved him when he was 14. And this was also evident in how Lu Yizhan was willing to trust him, to allow him to entire the game, to believe that even when encountering the most twisted sinful human desires, he would stay good. ugh ugh ugh I love bai liu

He survives an attack from the boss villain by having 0.5 health points or some decimal number. Just plain ridiculous. There's no rhyme or reason.

That guy is the future older brother for the MC!!!!!! That's one of the most loyal supporter for the MC in the future chapters damn it QAQ It's f*cking big misunderstanding to say he is an antagonist, and even saying he is wasting two chapters QAQ His flashback is very important to the whole plot in the novel, and also very important towards the MC. The guy himself will become a very important character who stand beside the MC...

skill: poor wanderer

Skill item: empty old wallet

It's a transaction ability. Two parties agree to the transaction with medium as money. Skill, point, items, life, beliefs, even soul can turn to be money and become tool in his hand.

Ability made with someone's deepest desire. Mc's desire is money or low cost effective but high benefits deals. So money and transaction become his ability. But there's also one of side affect. It's if MC buy someone's soul, the person became emotionally depending on the soul owner. Their life, death, choices all in the hand of MC. This also shown mc's secret desire of wanting someone who he could trust and cared, to be his own kind and never betray him.

Xie ta/Taval/Spades

ML is clearly not a human. And he rarely has human feelings until he met with MC. It's like soulless monster meeting another monster, and without even expressing, develop a soul just for each other. That way they are very unique.

He is fallen god without human soul, later the soul born because of falling of MC.

as spades, purely on his instincts.

(clearly the MC without soul)

The MC was portrayed as a rare genius who is very bold and reckless because he loves money more than his life, but other than a few instances where he is rather observant, most of the time it was luck and deus ex machina at work despite his luck supposed to be 0. It is a common tactic that inexperienced writers use, to put a little bit of hint here and there so that the MC could deduce very specific information or situation that is well beyond common sense to make them looks smart because the less information you have the higher your IQ, BIG BRAIN!!! It is a similar mindset to mary sue where the protagonist can do everything and anything on their first try without learning or practice and have no flaws, that means they are strong and likable right?

But that wasn't the worst part, I enjoy misunderstanding and comedy genre where nothing makes sense as long as it is funny and interesting but after the first few chapters the comedy is gone and the tone has been mostly serious so the author expects us to take it seriously which I cannot. But even then it didn't bother me too much, I'm used to reading garbage and the story and world-building are interesting enough that I could continue reading however, the worst part of it all is the goddamn peanut gallery aka backseat gamer that would appear once in a while and more and more often as the story reach its peak, they are the viewer/spectator that is supposed to be the veteran that has at least cleared the first mission and watching the MC for fun or gain information and their comments are pure cringes, it is so painful I have to take a lot of effort to continue reading until at least I finish the first arc/mission because I'm so curious as to why people love this mediocre novel so much. If it was only one or two then it won't be so bad, it makes sense for some people to be spiteful ironically or not but it was ALL of them with one exception and he is supposed to be the voice of reason in this insane asylum.

The dynamic goes like this, the MC does something unorthodox that doesn't seem to make sense so the peanut gallery steps on MC calling him s*upid and leaves his stream but then the MC is actually a genius and actually do really well against the challenge and and and the peanut gallery praise him and his viewer count rise and he gets thumbs up but then MC does something unorthodox and rinse and repeat FOR OVER 10 TIMES IN 20 CHAPTERS goddamn it was beyond annoying. They exist solely to make the mediocre MC seems like a genius because if everyone has a negative IQ then even a normal person seems extraordinary indeed, especially if that normal person has bulletproof plot armor and the blessing of deus ex machina God who is also his boyfriend.

Shonen Ai/Yaoi is nice and all but how the f*ck does this get an 80% 5-star rating?

Bai Lu is a wise-maniac that goes beyond human limits. He's greedy because of money and spends on cheap products because he doesn't want to spend lavishly. He is a keeper to his promises IF he got something in return or the person trusts him in their life.

For example, he is severely injured, to the point that he has one life left, yet, he still wants to court himself to death and lived.

If someone wants him to do something and their price is valuable, he does not fail their expectations.

And you know what is more incredible? He treats the horror game like a JOB. Even I could not believe it.

He also has the worst luck of them all, like goddamn! (And this is just my theory, but I think the reason why his luck is zero is due to our ML. Who is- !)

ML rarely shows up. He mostly shows up at a critical time.

Xie ta/Sheta/Taville is a being that has been put to slumber until MC appeared in the game world. Originally, he's related to MC's past and MC's weakness.

I can say that he's not an overbearing character from the way he interacts with MC. He's an aloof person with an aura that could make anyone think differently, blaming him. I think he likes poetry or philosophy due to his words.

In the game, he subtly helps MC. However, he has limits to doing so.

Interactions from Ch. 215

(My Favorite Part from the Rose Factory Arc)

But he is literally the beginning and end of it all. Him and Bai Liu's story is gut wrenching. It's about sacrifice, pain, and longing that can't really be described. The arc where Xie Ta was revealed to have sold his soul to the evil god Bai Six for Bai Liu to not be alone absolutely crushed me. Bai Liu might not seem like the romantic type but his misery is just under a thin ice of hazy memories.

He's powerful, cunning, and knows how to manipulate people. But he's also emotional, loving, and does care for the people around him. He proves himself to be more than just an evil god derivative through his interactions with his found family. Him sparing Lu Yizhan during a playoffs battle. His emotional breakdown after watching all the members of his team die or be fatally injured. That's something the evil god Bai Six, without a soul couldn't comprehend. How far someone will go for the people they love. He's petty in an endearing way. He goes tit for tat for things done to him like making Xie Ta wait for him for 10 years as pay back for the pain he felt. All in all my favorite horror danmei lead

Originally thought he was just a cold pretty boy who would just be the MCs OP killing machine. But no! MC and ML don't even get put on the same team in the entire novel. Spades/Xie Ta is an interesting exploration of what it means to love someone. Is it for their past soul? The one that lives you now? Does it mean blind sacrifice in the name of your lover? This man literally rips out part of spine as a gift to Xie Ta. Is willing to allow a shell of himself accompany his lover while he is in agony day in and day out just to make his lover happy. It's beautiful. It's sad. Sometimes you question if he and Bai Liu will end up happy together. But they do, and the times where they can just be together are amazing

At first, Tang Erda seems just like a villain of the week psychopath after Bai Liu's life with an unrelenting viciousness. We, the readers, are so used to rooting for Bai Liu that we immediately reject this man who wants to tear the team down. But after his arc and most of the other arcs, you'll probably end up thinking he was 100% justified in his actions and shocked he would even join Bai Liu's team. This is a man who has been tortured over and over and over again by Bai Liu's evil God counterpart from another world line. He's watched his teammates, his crush, his world be tortured and destroyed so many times by this man. How could he not hate him? If it weren't for his own empathy on Bai Lius situation, I couldn't imagine a world where he could move on from his past. He becomes a pillar of support in the team and chills out a lot after his arc.

Thank this man. No really. We wouldn't have a novel without him. If Tang Erda is a strong man for forgiving Bai Liu, then Liu Yizhan is the saint reborn. I'd argue he's more important in Bai Lius overall growth as a character than the ML because where Xie Ta dragged Bai Liu deeper into the pits of despair, Li Yizhan brought him into the light. Despite Bai Six torturing him just as much as Tang Erda in their f*cked up little game, he stubbornly believes in the good potential of Bai Liu and never gives up on him. Bai Liu, for all his past worldlines crimes, is innocent till proven guilty for him. He provides him with warmth and family and companionship that Bai Liu didn't have before. He led Bai Liu into caring even slightly more for other people over his own desires (money) and opened the floodgates for other relationships to grow. Li Yizhan has no obligation to be remotely nice to Bai Liu, but he chooses to. That makes him the strongest player in the game imo. If he had given up any time in last world line and abandoned Bai Liu, Bai Liu would've lost the core of his trust in the world and became the evil god Bai Six wanted him to be. But Lu Yizhan always bets on Bai Liu. And in the end his bet won

Oh my sweet sweet Jiayi. Liu Jiayi is a deeply traumatized child going against every standard of what an "ideal victim" should be but that doesn't matter. Because we still love her at the end of the day. To go through so much ab*se and betrayal by her family at such a young age to the point of hating her loving her brother, it's no wonder she tried to manipulate him into a cage that she could control. She was made to be this way. Her ab*sers and their enablers made her lash out and unstable. Bai Liu coming into her life doesn't "fix" her but he shows her what trust and love feel like without the torment and pain she's been through. Sure, Bai Liu does use her at times for his own gain, but he's very clear about this to her and she in turn accepts the bargain. Liu Jiayi is almost afraid of herself not wanting to put her burden on other people, but when Bai Liu accepts her into his made "family" it makes her whole again.

He's a goofball in the beginning but Jesus does his backstory pack a punch. Every skill in this game is born out of a players desire. Mu Sichengs is born out of guilt and a desperate need to pay for what he's done. He blames himself for an accident in the past that really was not his fault, but he indirectly caused. He can't move on from this point it's like a shackle tying him down. But he also has the ability to uplift others aka. Armand in their little world line flashback (doomed but not quite yaoi cough cough). He goes from wanting to betray Bai Liu by stealing his mermaid amulet to laying down his life for him, being first to take the soul shattering bullet from Daniel. Him learning to live with himself and his team is absolutely great

Starts off as a whiny second generation kid to kind of a badass, responsible, and dare I say a little possessive man with a twinge of angst. Mu Ke can also be thanked for the start of this story. If it were not for his shenanigans getting Bai Liu laid off, my guy would not even be in the game. He proves his worth in Bai Lius team, grows a very shiny spine by proving himself to be a useful asset in around the third or fourth arc, becomes a core attack piece with his assassins skill that he inherited, and even starts to become a bit worrisome with his obsession to please Bai Liu (if never gets out of control don't worry). His little bit about being replaced by his healthier younger brother made me cry a little. Mu Ke might seem to have everything in the world, but his health makes him replaceable. His belongings in Bai Lius team changes that as he becomes a core member

I'm dropping the Shakespeare melodramatics for this one, please excuse my language. Bai Six is a piece of sh*t stain out of the wells of hell motherf*cking son of a bit*h f*cking rat in a sewer as*hole that God wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. That's all I have to say. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. But seriously Bai Six embodies what it means to not be human. To be completely without care and emotion for others and to manipulate their lives without a single f*ck given to anyone.

MC's background is full of real-world horror. He's unlikable and scares other people, even without meaning to. ML is the first person he connects to as a kid (they're both kids at the time, for the record)... and then, of course, ML dies horrifically. MC forgets about him, and it's only once he remembers his true childhood that the story really begins to kick off.

Literally anything. There's a strong implication that he sold his body as a kid to try and get him and ML out of the orphanage. He drives people insane with their own desires. He mu*ders, steals, deceives, and forces cruel choices that make people wish they were dead.

This purity is described as 'monstrous' in both their cases, and it's truly an appropriate descriptor. MC is not human, and despite his final choice, he arguably remains so for the duration of the story. Humans have fickle desires and those desires change based on context and situation; the same isn't true for MC and ML.

Even the morally good characters are shown to struggle with this because they're human. The few times MC comes close, he's almost immediately removed from the situation (death, isolation, etc). There's a reason for this, but it keeps him as 'monster with a tinge of humanity' rather than 'human with monstrous characteristics.' Same for ML, although he's not quite as violently set apart.

See also: their first arc together. They get married; they also both almost kill each other and the entire world line.

It's the side characters, not the ML, who bring out the MC's tinge of humanity. It's shown, though, that both they and the ML have to be present for MC to make human choices. If either is missing, MC becomes the evil god. MC is so naturally predisposed to becoming an evil god that it's happened in literally every other world line. It's a very delicate balance that has to be pulled off to perfection to work, and it almost doesn't.

The rose factory arc is key to the development of the plot, as Tang Erda appears. I understand those who didn't like him in the beginning, but I will never understand those who hate him even after we are told about his story. his lover was killed by Bai 6, his world was destroyed by Bai 6, his mind was almost destroyed by Bai 6. and after that you continue to dislike him? what the f*ck. especially after Tang Erda realizes that our Bai Liu is not the same Bai 6.

s I already said, the emphasis is shifting. The following are my subjective thoughts.

in the first part we see the calculating Bai Liu. the way Bai 6 would like him to be, cool-headed and always thinking about solving the next case.

however, the second part is the embodiment of his experiences and mental anguish. Sensitive readers are able to understand that Bai Liu is in turmoil, he is trying to resist Bai 6's control and create his own destiny. This is, first of all, a story about how even the most insensitive person can find a soul and begin to love.

This is a story about the love of two monsters, whose feelings defeated evil.

copies began to reveal characters, whether old or new. and as for me, this is much better than a simple, exciting solution to the instance. Of course, this can be combined. but regardless, I think the focus on characters and social issues is much better. since Bai Liu himself was not in a state where he could decide everything perfectly, clearly and without hesitation. And for what? For Bai 6 to give him things that would only harm Bai Liu further?

Bai Liu is neither an omnipotent deity nor a cold-blooded monster. He is a man with his own feelings, even if he is not used to expressing them.

This is what the novel primarily tried to convey to us.

The story of this character raises the important issue of s*xual violence, hatred of one's body. Zhao Muchi's instance is second in my top instances.

It makes me laugh that the game world is designed to trick Bai Liu, but in the end the readers themselves are hooked.

of course, this suggests that the author wrote everything so carefully that he easily manages to lead readers by the nose throughout the first part of the novel.