Full transparency: I stopped reading for the main characters about halfway through or so. Tang Mo, our MC, is kind of fun in a very specific way-- he's just a guy with a strong sense of self and an increasingly weary acceptance of all the bullsh*t surrounding him. More on him later. HOWEVER. The others were just so much more compelling to me. I loved instance boss Cinderella (Wang Xiaotian) and her ridiculous game show setup. I loved the kids who, despite everything, were still kids. Fu Wensheng, who despite being clever, was still silly and naive. The 'little fatty ' from the middle school as well. But the spies, Mu Huixue and Bai Ruoyao, took the f*cking cake. There was something especially raw about them-- a humanity, a lack of humanity, and pure desperation under all that to /live/... they're exactly the kinds of characters that make a survival novel shine.

Alright, now we're onto the fun part. Tang Mo is a fun guy with a fun ability and an IQ that is somehow perfectly suited for the world they now live in. All is well and good. There's a lovely balance in power between him and the ML, Fu Wenduo. Again, wonderful. However, he had not one, not two, but three OP life saving props. A gold coin that could basically opt him out of disaster once, a teardrop prop that could heal fatal wounds, and most egregiously, a portable walkie talkie checkpoint. Co-parented by the other most OP bastard in the country. Which, on its own, is pretty standard. However, the urgency that MC was supposed to have is all gone. Why would he be nervous, after all? Although they have restrictions, he had multiple cheats to use at any given time. Death is no severe threat to him at any point. A character who treats a dangerous circumstance like a game or a puzzle would be extremely fun, but combined with the MC's more conservative, serious personality, my anxiety levels while reading through his scenarios are similar to those while watching my uncle play sudoku. I know he'll get there eventually, it's just a matter of how. That on its own isn't too much of a problem, because many stories are like that-- the MC hardly ever dies or suffers some permanent loss. However, there's normally some other source of tension that has to exist: romantic, for example, or some stakes regarding loved ones. Some ambition left unrealized. Something. Tang Mo doesn't really have any. All his loved ones pre-apocalypse die before we learn anything about them. He's never in any real fear over his teammates' well being. Even the lofty moral goal of saving humanity seems very secondary to him. Altogether, his story feels like a game of chess. Interesting, but not emotionally gripping.

He is so boring to me. Y'all may disagree, I don't give a shit, but his ability fits him to a T: an invulnerable tool for the MC. This guy is a walking, talking plot device and while that is true of every character ever, he doesn't even try to hide it. His main romance with MC lies in their fundamental understanding of each other, often called 'tacit', and his excellence in combat which Tang Mo often used as a gotcha! against other strong characters. I love a good slow burn, and while they do have a nice cooperative relationship, this guy has so little agency despite being a Liutenant Marshal something something. He is generally soft despite his mild antagonisms towards loved ones (limited to around 2.5 people). He is good at fighting. He is also good at bridge. He has compatible mental circuits with Tang Mo. None of the compelling mystery around his ability really gets resolved, and he's largely defined either by his job or by his connection to MC. Stale as f*ck. He's a considerate lover, I'll give him that, but where is the flavor??

Chen Shanshan is a great character but no way she's fifteen, ability or not. I don't believe that girl doesn't have a fully developed prefrontal cortex.

Ning Zheng: deserved more screentime. What a guy. Love him.

Grandma Wolf: how the f*ck do you have her claim Mario!Tang Mo as a granddaughter and not include shenanigans the next time they meet??

Eve: Just. Explain. Is it not snow white? How do genes, aliens, metal anatomy and biblical allusion come together? It sounds so cool and yet!

kiss and do the deed from Chapter 209 onwards.

the monsters/characters they meet during the games are a part of the tower and part of the "villain" in the story. You come to like and despise the characters that the MC meets in instances and games, and also come to love or hate certain characters on "Earth" that the MC + ML meets.