Quick reminder. A LONG AS HECK REVIEW.

I just completed this novel recently because I couldn't help myself... I MTLed it.

I just adore this story so much. So THE plot basically is a trial or survival to live. It occurs after you die and you will be tested if your are fit to enter the city in earlier chapters.

Yongye city is where everything begins once you pass the survival assessment. You would receive a rating by the system. And be divided into areas of the city; which is respectively Areas... more>> A, B, C, D, E, and F.

Now to our main characters. Tang Cuo our MC is a unique character to novels I have personally read. He is an emotionless ice block and a fresh take on an MC. He knows what he wants and he knows his shortcomings like he knows he is not strong enough at the start but still has a clear understanding of the rules. And I like the little flaws that he has. Like his health at the beginning is low because he has low blood sugar so he consumes chocolate balls (aww). He knows he is illiterate. And doesn't have a wide knowledge of literature. But his strength is high because he trained in the military. He is heroic, noble, and veryy masculine. If I didn't know any better he radiates top energy LOL.

Next meet his charming counterpart, Jin Cheng. He is super op but he is not your typical ml. He is actually stronger than MC is basis of force and combat. But he is playful, leisurely, and just YOLOing it out there. But other players know his strength. He is the one who has a wide knowledge of literature. He also knows how to play instruments, and makeup (LOL). He is also the one who is always talking between them. As he likes to see Tang Cuo's response to his nonsensical and shameless comments haha.

Skip if you want just intros of other characters I think this review was a bit long haha}

Other side characters: Wen Xiaoming is Jin Cheng's teammate. He is extremely talented in making poisons, chemicals and running away XD.

Lin Yandong, a senior player in area a that have lived there for 70 years.

Xiao Tong the warden in Area G, the prison. Extremely strong.

Chi Yan, the boy with the dinosaur hat, self proclaimed Tang Cuo's younger brother. A lucky golden finger.

Zheng Yingying, the little cancer patient girl in the earlier chapters. Holds an important role in the novel.

Lilith, Jin Cheng's teammate. A goth lolita. Ships Jin Cheng x Tang Cuo. Bold and fierce.

And there are others. I honestly like the way the author fleshed out their characters and personalities. They are not just one dimensional but people that also have their own way of thinking and have their own story.

The plot paces on its own and not that fast-paced if there are cons in this I would like if the two would've played more games as I like their style of playing in the games. A bit frustrating as there aren't more survival or a bit more thrilling instance or game.

This is one of the stories that I will extremely remember and will be memorable to me. I was a bit stuck with this also because of their interesting personalities and the connection of the side chatacters stories and how they correspond to the plot.

Sorry if that was a long review just try this novel out, you won't be disappointed.

THANKS TO THE TRANSLATOR√√ <<less

I just want to say, this is probably one of the best infinite flow novels I've read. Disregarding everything else, I just want to say that the dungeons that they go through are really, really well done. The author really fleshes out each of her dungeon arcs, and the conclusions aren't just pulled out of her ass. There is indeed a sort of, well, lack of fear (because the MC is so smart, and he has the ML, so they big brain the levels) but he does get his life... more>> in danger a few times. As well, he doesn't just bulldoze through the dungeons. He has to use reasoning, and piece clues together. The clues that he gets aren't any different from what anyone else would get.

Surviving isn't just "luck of the draw". I know in other books, characters die off because they're simply unlucky, like Russian Roulette. But here, all deaths have a reason behind them (in the dungeons). Not just some random-ass ghost attack. Maybe that's why some readers are disappointed. This novel doesn't even have the horror tag, so I don't understand why people are complaining about there not being enough 'thriller, survival feeling'. Survival is living, and living doesn't always have to be desperate. This isn't that type of novel, and rating it lower because it isn't the type of novel you expected, rather than because of bad plot or so on, is incredibly narrowminded.

Anyways.

In one of the levels (with the killer woodchopper), there is even a side character who's also pretty big-brained. Other characters aren't dumbed down just to make the MC seem smart. My biggest beef with infinite flows is that in other novels, it always seems as though no one other than the MC would be able to solve the dungeon. Many MCs of other books always seem to have some cheat or some sort of plot-armour and pure luck that lets them go through levels (ex. The MC of I Wasn't Born Lucky's ghost followers). Here, it's pure reasoning skills--where other people could've done what the MC did (although probably they would've had a harder time doing so, but nevertheless)

There is also a bigger, overarching plot that actually leaves you interested. Some intrigue here and there--but they're not at the forefront. This novel isn't heavily focused on politics, it just has a good amount of it. It's not like politics are involved in the dungeon rooms.

The dungeons themselves are: So. Well. Written. Especially in the later chapters (the Hidden Moon Kingdom, the Mansion with the movements; if you read, you'll know what I'm talking about), there are so many fleshed-out details, and everything makes sense. They are really, really, really enjoyable to read.

Note, though, like I already mentioned some of above, this isn't exactly a "thriller, survival, horror" type novel. In this novel, most of the side characters are reasonable people (i.e. Not everyone is out to get the MC). The dungeons are mostly of the deductive-reasoning type, where the MC has to put together clues to solve the dungeon. The nice part is, and why I say it 'all makes sense' is because even the reader (me) is able to get a vague idea of the conclusion. It doesn't just appear out of thin air; from the beginning, everything is logical and not random clues here and there. This novel is like Card Room. I may be biased, but I love reading MCs solving mysteries. <<less

It's only a few months, but when they thinks back, it feels like it's been a lifetime instead.

This is a very good novel. The pacing is good, the characters is not one dimensional, there's not only shounen ai or cp between the main characters, but also friendship between two male characters namely ... more>>

Spoiler

Rong Yi and Leng Miao, Lin YanDong and Xiao Tong

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that's not just pairing them, which is beautiful.

The MC is smart, like really really smart. He's not like the MC of other novels whom the author is saying smart, but likes to make s*upid decisions instead. He's a pretty good decisions maker, a good strategist (the best one honestly), and a good detective. It's always a pleasure seeing his way of thoughts because of how organized it is. If I want to make a comparison, he's like detective Conan in a sense.

The ML is shameless. He's strong but also shameless to the point of no return. It's really funny because some threatens to expose his relationship to the public and he went: go on, let everyone knows I have a boyfriend. Say it out loud in every district. He's also smart albeit not as smart as the MC. The mutual instinctive understanding between him and the MC is really cute.

I love how other characters is not just hit and run. I love how it's not just show up once, be killed by MC or ML and be done. Each one of them have their own beliefs, and have their own arcs which make you wanted to see more and more, even when their arc is done.

There's politics and mystery underneath the

Spoiler

Everlasting City or Evernight City (mtl ain't really telling me anything)

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. You can see how intriguing it was when you read it.

There's some unanswered question like

Spoiler

where do people who cleared and succeed in Human Trial Game of Life went? Or how do they assess Human Trial Game of Life

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but it won't disturb your enjoyment as the question itself is not really important to the story.

If I have to rate this, 5/5 a good story. <<less

I never review a book before I'm done with it, or have read most of it to have a final opinion, but this novel is really groundbreaking (to me).

The MC and ML are OP, but it's not their only trait. They are not written to just be invincible no matter what, they have background to explain why and they have to adapt to new situation or train and learn more. What is amazing is that characters truly feel like they are living people. Main characters are very memorable and I... more>> often think back to my favourite scenes in the arcs (Moon Kingdom storyline especially).

A great read! Closest to perfect in all the books I've read. The games never feel like it was made specially for them or to move the plot along. Very organic flow. The overall premise is very interesting, and the smaller conflicts are set up well too. I always look forward to the progress of their adventure.

It's very easy for escape games novel to be nihilistic and depressing, but this novel has beauty and elegance to it that is very inviting. I think life itself can be cruel but the moments we live in are still beautiful. Life feels like that in this novel.

I can't think of a disadvantage at the moment. It doesn't feel too draggy too.

I just had a mini scare when I noticed the TL likes baity novels and MC-ML seem to strictly Bro around for some time... I thought I had fallen to a baity pit! Checked the tag here and in other places SERIOUSLY before I can calm down hahahaha <<less

So obviously it’s real early to be leaving a review but then, when has that ever stopped me?

first off the translations good, no worries there.

Next, 8 chapters isn’t a lot but it’s been real fun and it’s showing a lot of promise. MC so far seems like the kind of person who is just perpetually in need of a nap but rarely gets one. The game system has quantified his will to live as -5 so that’s... honestly a mood. He’s a smart, perceptive detective and terrifying with a meat... more>> cleaver.

mls a leader board staple whos current motivations in life seem to be 80% for the LOLs/ 20% undisclosed and I haven’t seen enough of him to decide if he’s good or not. I like him so far though.

it seems to genuinely have a lot of promise, and I look forward to reading more. <<less

One of the best novels I've ever read. The romance is good and the plot is immersive. Its world building is 10/10 and even the stories in each instance feels like a complete book itself.

After catching up with the latest translated chapters, I just knew I had to mtl the rest! Dw, the book is relatively easy to mtl~

Honestly though, 307 chapters is not enough for this masterpiece

not enough horror and survival focus in this survival game horror story.

the writing is good, the translation is good, the MC and ML are smart and interesting, and the other characters are fleshed out. This story is, however, less about going through each game scenario and more about the politics of the city that they live in when not participating. The survival games are far less important overall when compared to the multiple layered schemes and intrigues happening within the various city zones, factions, gangs, guilds, psychos, etc. I decided... more>> to wait and let the translation catch up and try again later. <<less

Pros :

The characters are well written. The side characters are interesting and have their own uniqueness. The MC is such a badass, I'm still wondering what sin he committed while he was alive to have his book that thicc. Another thing about MC is taht he's not too op, I thought MC will shot up in the rankings of the players but no, there's still quite a lot of players who are more powerful than him.

The twist about the villain being the intel person is such a good one.

... more>> Cons :

The later arcs got boring. I skimmed through the western arc. I wish we got to know more about MC during his life. <<less

It's been great so far. The world building inside the current mission they're doing is amazing. It strongly reminds me of The Earth is Online with the serial missions and interconnected plotlines, and Game Loading since they have a base camp and accept missions and go into different worlds to solve problems. Game Loading also has serial missions as well. I love the dynamic between MC and ML. Right now there's zero romance between them (though ML seems to be falling, he got so happy just from the sight of... more>> MC eating the food he bought for him after a nap) and their relationship can be summed up in one sentence ML thought about MC, "This was his disciple, the one that he had to take care of." ML is such a mother hen and it's great. Someone said that there wasn't enough horror, but that isn't a genre that is included in the tags. It isn't in the tags because it's not what the story is about, nor are there many of the typical tags associated with horror. It's mystery, supernatural, drama, and fantasy. That's why it seems like there is or should be horror. But not quite. Anyways, I'm stuck between dropping it because dry humor just isn't my thing and the romance is currently non-existent, and staying because the world building is phenomenal, also I want to know how MC died. I had the same problem with Earth is Online and that ended up being one of my favorites, so I'll stay for now. <<less

Rating: 3.5 (may change if I continue later)

Currently at 62. Decent, but not keeping my attention.

The story falls into the same issues that make me want to drop most others of its ilk.

1.) Lack of a true threat. At first, the story is interesting because I don't understand the new system of the world and feel as though the MC is in danger of losing his life (aka SURVIVAL game). The MC's HP is very low at the start... often he will be teetering near death for the first... more>> arc or two, but as the MC learns about the world and remedies this issue he quickly gets a handle on things in a way that makes me lose that sense of tension. My enjoyment also spikes and drops based a lot on whichever 'game' he enters. One with weird-looking and talkative demons will seem more like a comedy show than a survival game, especially compared to one that is literally about exposing the murderer in a group before he kills everyone (both are arcs that have occurred by ch 62). But even if there are murders on the loose, how am I supposed to feel tension when the characters can gulp down healing potions and recover from horrible wounds? I don't. The tension just kind of falls off, then the ML is also there, and since he's buffed out OP, I feel even less like the MC's survival is at stake in any way.

Spoiler

To make this even worse, in the main world city where all characters hang out until they go on a game mission (and where like two arcs have happened already)... you can't even permanently die there, you just get 'sent to jail' for a bit. A lot of conflicts happen in this city area, and literally...I don't worry at all. There's nothing at stake.

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2.) Constant praising of the MC and ML by other side characters. I've read this so many times in C-novels that it has become unbearable for me when it's too frequent in a story. 'WOW MC shouldn't be in F zone when he's actually so smart and OP!' and 'WOW that bigshot ML just outsmarted like the other top 10 rated ppl in this world!' I, the reader, just finished reading the scene where the ML kicks the most butt and the MC outsmarted all the other side characters... so why are the side characters taking extra lines afterwards to repeat that and say 'wow we are no match in intelligence to the MC, because look at what he just did, that you just read about!'. Just like right now. I am repeating my point. Do you remember it yet? My point is that by the time I finish this 300 ch novel, I bet I could cut out at least 40 chapters worth of MC and ML praising.

3.) Introduction of a billion characters with no depth. For characters, right now I can name uhhh, dinosuar hat, that one guy who invents all this useful sh*t with pink hair, goth girl, and that one cancer girl. Of them... absolutely none have been too involved in a 'game' or arc so far. They and other side characters basically exist for the ML and MC to order around to run errands. The story keeps dumping more names of characters that we briefly meet in arcs. Sometimes, like for pink hair and dinosaur hat, we know 'oh this one can invent things', 'this one is good at public speaking'... but it never feels like we ever stick around with them long enough to care. There has even been an incident around ch 40-ish where a bunch of the 'big wigs' from zone A in the story appeared all at once to fall into a trap set by the ML, but it all just felt so bland because we only got a couple of lines of introduction for each of them. They don't even feel like the 'big dogs' of this world because of their poor introduction. I'm not even keeping all their names in order. Uh, assassin dude, mage dude...?

It would have been much better if the main cast of side characters, introduced at the starting chapters, would have already joined the MC in the following game worlds (so they'd have much more screen time), then introduce more new characters after that...

What I did enjoy:

MC and ML are pretty entertaining interaction-wise. ML is playful and shameless towards MC, but sly, while the MC is sterner (pretty much doesn't smile unless it's a fake one), but very level-headed and blunt in a funny way. I think my main reason for even wanting to continue the story is just to learn more about how each of them died. I am also a bit curious about the world's system and Mr. Crow.

But all the other points I listed above bog that down. Personally, I've just never been a huge fan of QT or game-like settings, but I do enjoy survival, mystery, and action. I was hoping this story would go in a darker direction, that each 'game' had a lot more at stake, and that it was much harder to recover from mistakes (ie no potions/stat system that makes higher zone players unbeatable). It kind of just seems like this is going to get more ridiculous as the MC gets more OP, more like a video game than a survival game.

I think for a person who does like more of the popcorn game-show, quick transmigration-ish settings, you could enjoy this one a lot. The game settings are diverse and the action scenes have a good flow. <<less

FIVE STARS! THUMBS UP!!

I really love this novel, I love the plot, the characters, the character's growth, and everything about this novel!! *Love* *love*

I really recomended you to read it! You won't regret! WHOAAA??

Novel is brilliant and all. Good translation. Interaction between MC and ML are ok. But I'm not into it since it seems like MC always gets suported by the ML. There's no thrill in it since I know or can predict that the ML will the there to help the MC whenever he got stuck in a crisis.

Strictly bromance 😅

I must say that considering my addiction to danmei, bromance should not exists in this universe (~￣³￣) ~ just turn it to full fledge Yaoi

(◍•ᴗ•◍) ❤

I rate it 3.5. The story is good, not bad nor excellent just in the middle. The chapters are long, some chapters are interesting and some are boring that it's somewhat dragging just to finish it. Sometimes the author spend too much description on some plots that are not really important, while some scenes that should be more interesting and engaging were lacking in narration and just ended abruptly.

The MC and ML were portrayed smart and intelligent, while some characters were portrayed intelligent from earlier chapters and then acted differently... more>> in later chapters without any sense or explanation.

Author's idea/premise is good, just that the world building was somewhat still lacking. However, the translation is good. <<less