Order can be off

First world: ancient china, home, funeral : a very good start when you compare this with other infinite flow stories, but when you compare it with the other worlds this author came up with, it's one of the weaker ones? (like third place of from the bottom) Not because it was bad, but it takes the more normal horror approach (ghosts)

Second world: god, beggars, really love Ke Xun's straight forward approach with Mu Yiran in this one

Third world: hotel (again ghosts) (least favorite one. Not much mystery but definitelly enjoyable)

Eh... I don't remember the order of the rest so:

Favourite: Farm world. This one shares first place with novel/black white world (did NOT expect the plot twist/the mechanism in the black/white world. I really would go on my knees for this one: Again, the hints!! The mystery that's possible to solve yourself!! And gosh that scene with the door. This one really did spook the hell out of me.)

*Hisoka Moan*

This story really is terrific and so, so addicting.

Desire world: It may feel a bit more boring/slower but when you're halfway and the MC noticed the strangeness in this story/his own actions you would really be like. Wait what? Hold on. Just let me go back for one second. Like the author sprinkles little hints in all her worlds, but with this one she's really leading the MC and his crew by the nose and also the reader.

Story world: I really liked reading this one but I do think it would be more enjoyable if you were Chinese and had seen al these cartoons.

RPG world; imagination world: eh, I don't know if it's because I needed to study at the time I was reading this and was overridden by my guilt or if Ke Xun really did lose some IQ but I didn't find it as enjoyable as the other worlds? But I do have to admit that I wasn't that far in this arc. Maybe the plot twist and the nerve wrecking scenes had yet to happen (probably this).

Ship world: I did not expect that! This was also a world like the story world where you could have solved the mystery with the hints that were given if you had prior knowledge of the monster/myth/history. Again, I am not Chinese so I didn't grow up with this story.

Painting world: Loved it but I wanted something more from it. Maybe it's because my thoughts of the mechanisms of this world were wrong and I was not yet fully convinced that I was haha.

Human experiment: Also one of my favourites. Gosh, the goosebumps that you will get from this one! And more so because the scary things in this world have happened in real life (like in our history) !!

I think I forgot about a couple of them... but keep in mind that this review is a draft with terrible grammar haha. So please forgive me

In the beginning I thought Ke Xun was the gong. I dislike seme protagonists, but while reading this I was like. Hmmm, if it's Ke Xun, than it is A okay.

Why did I think that Ke Xun was the gong? He was straight forward, was more manly that Mu Yiran the way he was more dependable (Mu Yiran got the brains in a smartass way but Ke Xun really is clever.) He was the puppy kinda gon that had this trustworthy air of a greatness around him while Mu Yiran looked like a tsundere queen.)

I really kept thinking this until they ended up together and my whole world was shattered. To be honest. It still kinda irks me because I was really convinced it was true T-T. Or at least that they would be a switch couple.

It think that they got together before the start of the story world but suddenly Ke Xun became a tiny bit dumber. Normally he is the fliratious one in their relationship, but now it felt that the powerdynamics had shifted and he became a bit more like a dumb and naive shou. (still better and more useful than the average one, but when comparing to my first impression of him - the one and only seme protagonist that I would have accepted in my heart - he kinda dissapointed me.

That's why I hope that it will get better in the future chapters.

if a given character survives for more than 2 paintings/arcs, they're actually (surprise!) part of the eventual main cast and won't actually die. Those who can survive the paintings are literally the /chosen/ ones. AKA. Don't freak out Dr. Qin won't die (saw that in the author's notes a lot of people were throwing knives when it got to this part haha).

Again, regarding our CP, it's very much: melted iceberg/gentle male god Mu Yiran x strong, warm and dependable Ke Xun!

KX falls first (around arc 2, Faith) and then MYR (in arc 6, Human Studies). They also get married in the extras! Strong-strong CP w/ a tacit understanding of each other. To paraphrase from the MTL, there is no other couple in their world who has shared as many (life and death) experiences together. After our CP officially get together (arc 6-7 ish), you aren't really force fed dog food (?). What I mean is their interactions are reserved to a couple lines during paintings (i.e. Shown through body language, like hand-holding/comforting etc.) and in between paintings. You might think that KX might have harassed MYR into giving in, but it's definitely not like that, it's very much reciprocated and I think Arc 9 (the painting on the sea) very much shows this.

Also shout out for my second male lead, Zhu Haowen. This is one good boy.

Heads up though, for the most part, most of the female characters in the first 2/3 of the book are either malicious or irritatingly weak, which might be a turn-off for some of you. However, look forward to Fang Fei's appearance! Very cool, decisive and strong!!

Favourite paintings/arcs probably would be Arc 4 (animal world), Arc 9 (painting on the sea), Arc 10 (photography; inverse/reverse (?) travel) and Arc 11 (Schrodinger's cat). Weakest arc is probably Arc 13 (New Year's paintings), just because the screen time was split between the main cast and I am biased, oops.

May be a complaint for some, but the author doesn't go in detail about the main characters' pasts, which I appreciate. I'm very sick of long dedicated arcs about how tragic so-and-so's past is.

• when the author wants to "kill" some characters off by vilifying them (most became really selfish/greedy for their own survival).
• not gonna lie.. in the second arc when one of the girls I think li ziling? made it obvious that she was going for the ML the MC got really jealous and snarky-like? idk exactly what he said cuz I mtled this part but this bothered me.
• although the MC and the ML are not super OP the ML has outside knowledge? is the only one who is able to solve the mysteries. like... come on.. the ML is a mega prodigy/rich art appraiser/trader but somehow knows a lot about religion/chinese characters etc.
• i really wished that there was a shop/point system in this novel because idk how long they will last without being "lucky" logically.. every time the MC comes close to dying someone else dies.. or something will happen.

Not a fan of the MC & ML's dynamic either. I'm sure it'll improve later on, but for the first third, the MC is just the ML's lackey while the ML treats him with disdain lol. I like a shameless protagonist, but so far I'm just cringing chapter after chapter. Not much of a bond between them other than MC is obsessed with ML's good looks and intelligence while ML views him as a useful but pitiful kid.

MC: flirts with ML

ML: ignores MC and looks at him with disgust

MC: keeps doing it for whatever reason

Just zero chemistry.

Between second and third painting, there's a female character named Sha Liu. She's not only the sole female survivor of previous arcs, but is regarded by the main characters as conniving without much merit. They constantly correct her wrongs and the writing generally uses her as a foil to the MC & ML's intelligence. Yet apparently, she's the smartest that womanhood can offer because the other female characters assert that "Sha Liu was the smartest among them (the women) ". Come on lmao. Funnily enough though, she's actually the most complex character in the novel so far and I prefer her over the MC & ML.

Let's face it, Mu Yiran really is a winner in life. Not only has his whole life been smooth sailing (conveniently ignore the paintings) and he has gotten to do something he's loves and make a lot of money doing it, the cutest, self sacrificing, most beloved loyal dog Ke Xun plops down right on his doorstep. Why're some people just so lucky?😭

his parents passed away and he has essentially no ties left in the world

The paintings pick out talented people on purpose because of the paintings powers wants people that will survive to the end. So while he is op, it's not some random selection.

The romance imo was well done for such a heavy plot and such strong horror. Like most of the time you're gagging so theirs not alot of time for making googly eyes. Instead, the two silently admire each others drive and brilliance as the painting goes on. MC falls in love first shockingly and practices flirting while on the run very well lol. ML thaws out and once he does hes the embodiment of gentle and accommodating. Esp in situations when MC shows weakness, ML is there to be his support. They're a very solid couple.

In one painting human beings and animals are reversed, so humans are cooked and eaten and even fattened up by forcibly pumping food into their stomachs. In another, their blood is squeezed out of their bodies slowly until they become like a ball of paper.

Mentioned above, I enjoyed the animals human reversal painting. It was fcked up and made even me uncomfortable, but like the psychology behind it was interesting. I also really enjoyed the laboratory painting, in which they tortured homos*xual people to turn them back to "regular" thinking. One of my favorite scenes is when the MC and ML are plugged up to an electric thing that shocks you until you cant handle anymore, only if you press a button to kill the other person will it stop. Everybody died there except ML and MC, bc till the very end they simply refused to give up on each other. Lastly I enjoyed the faith paintings, the teamwork in that one was impeccable and the reversal of what everyone assumed was the solution slapped me in the face. There were alot of paintings that messed with the characters mind or warped their heads. Stealing their senses, hallucinations, truly a test of human willpower.

I wont go into details but the whole idea is way bigger than some random paintings. It's like very broad and deals with historical context, religion, and witchcraft.

1. Biggest lost opportunity I saw in terms of building tension was the voting thing not being utilized. Theres a thing in the painting where if nobody dies for a day, you have to vote somebody to die the next morning. This was only used like, once? It was mentioned, but was never used again. I was pretty disappointed, especially as the team group, because it would have been interesting to end up in a situation where they would have to vote among precious members, or would team up as majority vote to get rid of someone harmful. In any case, it could've been used!

2. Like someone said before me, death conditions are kinda dubious. But I forgave it because I created my own explanation. The paintings are the will of the painters and painters are people, not machines. That means there is lots of blurry or gray areas. It makes sense that everything doesnt make perfect sense in a painting.

3. Female characters are used and discarded until about half way through. There were some that were super evil and a couple I was sad to see die bc they were brilliant. It was only toward the end we had reoccurring female characters. Before that, whether they were smart or dumb, they died eventually.

hmm, what can metallic chairs and a machine//the room with a screen, a bed with belts and explicit pics do in a macabre looking research institute

Secondly, I somehow missed (or it was mentioned at the very beginning and I forgot because there was a huge time gap between me reading the first and second arcs) why everyone should die after 7 days. No, in some paintings the time frame is specifically mentioned, so I don't question the rule in those cases, but in others.. Kinda, later it was said that the ML was from the first bunch of unlucky people who entered the paintings, so it's even less evident then. Was this rule mentioned in the first painting? But it's illogical, since the paintings themselves aren't notably interconnected so far. Anyway, no one seems to question this rule, which surprises me.

Thirdly, it's also not explicitly stated (?) that the signature/seal should be located in the same place as on the real painting. While reading, I was thinking of it as a metaphorical thing that just appears somewhere after the characters solve the riddle, but at some point the heroes started discussing the corner the signiture might be located, based on the assumption where it's on the real pic.

Oo, my fav point - the characters suspect that there should be a mastermind behind all this (on its own it's pretty logical since it can't have just popped up from nowhere), but they also say that there MUST be an end to all this 'cause 'there's a beginning'. Honestly, I don't get it and I see no reason why it can't continue forever, in theory.

And the last thing: according to the worldbuilding, those who die in the worlds inside the paintings don't die in reality for some time. BUT in one of the arcs a cannon fodder character takes the phone of a deceased character (with their last words) to their parents. Why? They're probbaly not dead yet, won't it be weird?