4.69/5!!! [Transmigration, Historical: Ancient China, Romance, Royal Intrigue] I now fully understand why this deserves its rating — and then some! When it comes to... more>> complex characters, this novel has definitely got it. Even the plot is so unique OML despite the common historical setting. Ack. IDK what to say outside of its very worth reading.Summary: As stated in the summary, the MC (Gong, first introduced as Lu Wancheng) transmigrates into a novel as a sickly cannon fodder that didn't have much to do with the plot. He drops into the role on the night of his marriage with the ML (Shou, Lin Qingyu), who really despises the fact that he was forced to marry him. The two start off as adversaries, of a sort. The ML refused to like him, while the MC is just so likeable it's almost painful T_T.Ahhh this novel is hard to describe. It's filled with ups and downs. Even though you're told of the ending of each version of the MC early, after getting to know the characters, you still can't help but care about everything. It's just … really really good at making you care. And well, that's what novels are supposed to do! (BTW, the translation was still unfinished when I read this, but the MTL was 80% readable, so I wasn’t left hanging!) <<less

4.65/5!!! [Second Chance, Apocalypse: Natural Disasters, Mature, Slice of Life] Very different from a lot of the CN Apocalypse Novels out there, but I ended up liking it a lot! Admittedly, it gets a bit boring sometimes. The author has a tendency to dump information, making me tempted to drop the novel several times. BUT, I'm glad I persisted until the end (EXTRAS included, even!) I'm the type of reader that enjoys details, and there's no denying that this author is really good at delivering that. Furthermore, the survival aspect in this novel is really entertaining. The MC and ML have a space, so one can say that they're a bit passive (the cheat is... more>> used more of a convenience rather than tool, which makes the novel less thrilling than it could have been if the space never existed or if the space was revealed). However, looking at it from another perspective, the magical space and the rebirth aspect ensured that the story was not too dark. Without it, the story would have been incredibly tragic and sad. XD

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SUMMARY: The MC, Mu Nan, lived over a year on an Earth suffering from severe natural disasters. Despite having a magical space for hoarding goods, his life during the apocalypse was not very good. And, because of his kind-heartedness, he even ended up getting stabbed, resulting in his life ending early. When he awakens two months before the first natural disaster official hit China, his first thought is to hoard goods and make contact with his non-biological older brother (the ML, Qin Huai), who had been separated from him five years before everything began due to family issues. When the two meet again, not long after the onslaught of the first natural disasters, they hold on tightly to each other and do their best to survive.

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THOUGHTS: As mentioned, this novel can be considered very tragic if the main characters did not have the magical space and rebirth cheats. It's not like the popular Zombie CN Apocalypse novels that are commonly seen in danmei -- where the MCs have special abilities and a direct enemy to fight against. After all, there's no real way of fighting against natural disasters -- no matter how prepared you are, accidents will happen, and there's the element of human nature as well. ANYWAY, despite this rather glum plot, the story is actually pretty lighthearted. You get to see the daily life of the two main characters, who are a bit more selfish than your usual protagonists (they share when necessary, but they keep their secrets hidden tightly till the end.) You also get to see them make friends along the way, some of whom will stay, others will leave.

The author, despite their tendency to info-dump everywhere xD, is pretty good at keeping things interesting. Even the most mundane things are pretty fascinating in my opinion (though that may be because I enjoy novels with survival, infrastructure-building, farming, hoarding, etc. LOL). I also like the fact that the author doesn't forget character development throughout all this. Authors who write in this genre tend to overfocus on the plot and forget about the characters. And, while the character plot here is nothing too impressive or complex, it's still pretty satisfying and realistic. At the very least, the author does a good job establing the characters -- enough that you can stay interested in their future indefinitely.

ALL in all, a good read! The TL is currently incomplete but the MTL is highly comprehensible -- even the names are uniquely good. The author's writing style is very straightforward, so despite the long text, everything is very readable (at least 85-90%).

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RATING: 4.65/5

Worth the read! Highly Recommended! Especially if you enjoy survival stories! I was really hesitant about reading this because it's kind of different XD. I enjoy Zombie Apocalypse novels a lot and got kind of used to them. So, this natural disaster-type apocalypse was really uncomfortable at first. In end, however, I ended up wanting more T.T AHHHH (I vaguely remember a novel that has a similar premise to this, but it was one where there were multiple survival instances to clear, so it wasn't as comprehensive as this novel. Pfft! Let's hope I can find it again later for a reread.) <<less

4.5/5!!! [Second Chance, Supernatural, Psychological Thriller, Infinite Flow] OOF, WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THIS NOVEL T.T I guess, first things first, it's really good if you're into complex characters and whump. By whump, I mean endless abuse on the main characters in question XD It sounds really bad, and usually, I don't enjoy angst either. It's partly why it took me so long to read this infinite flow novel (even though it was one of the first ones that I encountered). However, the mature, psychological aspect is truly this novel's selling point. You can't help but care about the characters, and the more they hurt, the more you want them to be happy. (Of course,... more>> the main thing that kept me going was the promised Happy Ending, otherwise... oof. no way would I have persisted all the way to the end.) Bah. Enough babbling.

Summary: On a seemingly normal day, the MC (Xu Rendong), gets dragged into a separate dimension via an elevator. After realizing that he has no choice but to get in, he does so and finds himself waking up in a different world altogether. Soon, he realizes the fact that he can rewind time (back to the beginning of the instance) after each death. This allows him to survive this strange world despite his otherwise ordinary qualifications. That's right, other than being able to turn back time, he's completely ordinary! It's the ML (Lian Qiao) who has the experience of being a gaming anchor who is able to guide him through the right ending. Just like this, the two of them continue working together to survive until they're able to finish their trials.

The concept of the instance worlds is similar to "Kaladeiscope of Death". If you've read it, you know what I mean. If you haven't, the basic premise is that, the players are actually people who are on the cusp of death. And, they must survive the instances so that they can continue living a normal life. Of course, there's a Final Level, and once they pass this level, they can be said to have passed the qualifications to continue living. However, the problem is that the instance world is unlike other infinite flow novels where the players have access to endless props and abilities. For the most part, they can only survive based on their means. So, surviving is actually extremely difficult.

To wrap things up. Here are some things of note: This novel is definitely a lot darker than you're average infinite-flow novel. The descriptions are also rather gorey, since the author appears to be a medical student. That's where most of the 'horror' aspect comes from, I suppose. Otherwise, it's more of a suspense or psychological thriller. If you're still interested after knowing this, I highly recommend it! I love the main characters here, and I would have really liked to see more of their story. <<less

4.5/5!!! [Transmigration, Poor-to-Rich, Historical: Ancient China, Slice of Life, Drama] I avoided this novel for the longest time because the MC in the summary sounded very pretentious. Don't be misled though! That's far from the truth. It's true that the MC did care that he had transmigrated into the second wife of a disfigured man with two children. However, that doesn't change the fact that he treated them more kindly than the ML's original family from the very beginning. So, yeah!... more>>

SUMMARY:

The MC of this novel is called Shao Yunan. He transmigrated into a young man who had the same name, and who had just been recently married to the ML (Wang Shijing) -- who had just gotten back from the army with a big scar on his face, a loss of vision of in one eye, and two children behind him as little tails. Of course, the MC is unhappy with the situation. He had been living a happy and contented life in modern times as a wine and tea seller. Now that he was sent to ancient times, and was forced to deal with the ML's unreasonable family, his mood couldn't be worse. Fortunately, he has a magical space to help improve the lives of him and his new family. So, it's impossible for him to lose.

THOUGHTS:

The story is definitely a poor-to-rich kind of story. However, because the author enjoys their worldbuilding, it goes a lot more in-depth than other stories I've read. Here, from the very beginning, the MC's ascension to great heights had been obvious. There was signs pointing to him being unable to stay only as a simple, wealthy farmer, as he wished. One of the reasons I've disliked other similar stories is because the ascension of those protagonists always seemed so unrealistic. Here, the author did a good job of setting things up so that there wouldn't be issues later.

Oof, by the way, I was actually going to write a full review for this novel, since I liked it a lot. However, in the middle of writing it, the page suddenly refreshed and all the progress was lost @.@. Sooooo a normal review it is for now XD. I'll write a full review when I reread it next time. For now, all I can say is that I really like this novel. I'm glad I ended up reading it despite the summary. The characters were very unique, definitely not your typical shou and gong pairing (the shou is a spunky shou who knows that he's a bottom and is proud of it, while the gong is not your typical overbearing man. From the very beginning, he had always felt inferior to the MC, and while he was very jealous because of it, he wasn't unreasonable, and never stopped supporting his man.)

As for the writing, there's a lot of info-dumping in this novel, and the amount of information in the first few chapters almost made me give up tbh XD. But in the end, I persisted and was glad for it. The info-dumping just made the world richer later. Though, I admit that I was still very confused about who was who sometimes. Ah ... what else. TL quality is okay, there are some chapters that were pretty much the same as MTL though. I think because of the lack of editing. And, on the topic of the MTL! It's readable, like 75%, so not bad. At least, the names of the characters were clear, which is the most important.

RATING: 4.5/5

For now, I think this is the best rating. Later, when I reread it, I'll fine-tune it a bit, but I think it would only go a little higher or a little lower. Regardless, what's important is that, even if the story definitely has its flaws, I enjoyed it a lot. Poor-to-rich stories are the most satisfying for me, and this is one treasure that I definitely cannot believe took me so long to find. (Ah, warning for those unaware, this is a Mature Fic, and while the Smut is not the most explicit, it happens on-screen and there are metaphorical descriptions of the characters doing the deed. If I had to rate it, it would be 2.5/5 spicy XD. Oh, and this is not just for the main pair, but also the side pairs.) <<less

4.25/5!!! [SYSTEM, World-Hopping, Time-Travel] This novel is surprisingly... deep? If you've read the author's other works, you'll know what I mean. It's oddly purposeful. The author packs a lot of content in a bite-size novel (in my eyes, at least). Most of it is in explaining the world and the people living in said world. For a world-building addict like myself, this was just perfect XD! In terms of plot and conflicts, this novel can't be said to be very good. At least, it's not very exciting. There isn't much tension either. But the author has a way with their words, making you sink deeper and deeper into their world. Here, there are multiple worlds... more>> explored, which makes it even better. Each instance is very unique. The MC doesn't really have a purpose or BIG goal anywhere. It's more about experiencing the different planes that he travels and growing up as a supermarket boss lolol.

Anyway, that's about all I can say. This is the kind of story that I love but always feel kind of speechless about. Like I can't describe what I like about it. It's just... good? In terms of characters, you can say that they're very simple. But they also feel very real. In terms of romance, I thought it was cute. It's not the focus, and it was never meant to be, but for a shounen ai, there's enough sweetness there for you to chew on. So, yeah! Great read, would read again. My rating for it is 4.25/5! I'm a very picky person, so that's actually a very high rating for me lol.

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SUMMARY: The MC has been obsessed with running his own supermarket for years. When it finally happens, he's thrown off by a sudden plane jump that brings him to a world where people are fleeing from famine. He doesn't really realize this at first. He traveled with his supermarket building and there's a newly installed system in it, but it doesn't tell him what he should do next. It's just there. Anyway, he doesn't know what to expect from this strange situation, and he's not willing to risk his life for the sake of his curiosity.

Fortunately, he's pretty lucky. A mother and daughter pair came knocking on his door, and through them, he was able to find out more about the world. It's also due to them that he figured out what role to play! That is, the BIG BOSS. In a world of chaos, he can only pretend to be a master immortal in order to survive with his weak body and wealth (i.e., the stock in the supermarket). Eventually, he unlocks some new features in the system that tells him what to do next. It's all about figuring things out bit by bit, gathering new people around him, and slowly building up momentum until he finishes what the system wants him to do and is able to travel to the next world.

(As for the ML, his name is Zou Ming, he was hired by the FL from the system database and he helps the MC a lot in the early stage. There's a big mystery around this quiet and loyal ML, but I won't say it because it's more fun to figure it out yourself.) <<less

3.94/5!!! [Second Chance, Zombie Apocalypse, Survival, Clan-Building/Infrastructure-Building] !!! If you like infrastructure/clan-building novels, then you're probably going to like this novel! I happen to like both things, and ended up binge-ing the entire novel directly (the MTL is readable when plugged into Google Translate -- like 85-90%, just make sure that it's on "Chinese (Simplified) to English"~... more>>

Summary: The MC (Wei Xuan) goes back in time after living in a world overrun by zombies for three years. In that life, he had been persecuted and chased by researchers who wanted to study the special ability that made him 'invisible' to zombies. In this life, he awakens on the day the apocalypse began, and he had only one goal in mind: To live in the zombie-infested city with the half-zombie ML (Du Hang).

The story is very slow-paced and it goes into detail on the various activities that the MC performs in order to live a relatable stable life in the apocalypse. With his special physique, things are of course a lot easier on him, especially with his toolman zombie boyfriend LMFAO. If you don't like slow-paced stories, this novel may be a bit boring to you after a while, but there's no issue whatsoever with skimming the parts the filler parts, since most of those are excessive details anyway. All in all, I highly recommend this novel! The TL at CG is good and the MTL is also quite good, so there's no reason to hesitate on reading it! <<less

4/5!!! [Interstellar, Romance, Comedy, Multiple Personality Disorder] This novel is far from perfect. But thanks to the likable characters, I was able to read it... more>> through without any regrets~ It's the kind of story with lots of plot holes and questionable decisions but you can't help but like it anyway. Definitely a must-read for those that are looking for a feel-good novel that's high-in-comedy and romance.Note, this novel is unique in that the multiple personalities do not lead to a fusion. But this uniqueness feels right in my eyes. You get a stoic ML that can't be profaned, a tsundere ML that's both bratty and domineering, and a lustful loyal dog ML that is 100% obedient. XD SO, ALL IN ALL, it's a whole package. As for the MC, he's definitely not your typical shou. Externally, he's a bit of a dandy. But his hidden depths make him the perfect match for all of the ML's personalities. So yeh. Lord of fun all around! Don't expect too much of a plot btw. There is some, but plot really isn't the focus here. Nor is it the setting. It's all about the characters in my eyes.__________SUMMARY: The MC, Chu Chen, is an ordinary man from the 21st century. He had briefly glanced at a BL book set in an interstellar world, and then suddenly woke up to find himself occupying the body of the vicious male supporting role in said book. The original owner is also called Chu Chen. He's the eldest son of the Chu family, but after his mother died, his father took in a mistress and completely forgot about him. In this way, the OG owner was raised as a dandy that only knew how to play around. This made him useless as a son, and so the family decided to marry him off to a wealthy family. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. The OG owner was set up on the night of the engagement and ended up giving up on himself and the world.The MC takes over at this point, and the story begins. The MC doesn't really care about the original owner's family or supposed-to-be-fiancé. He intends to get revenge on behalf of the OG owner, but that doesn't stop him from seeking his own satisfaction. He directly asked the Old and Wealthy Li Family's son (AKA, the ML) — who is not only disabled but also suffering from mental disorder — for his hand in marriage. Somehow; it all works out. The two get married and stay together from then on~ <<less

3.8/5!!! [RR: 6/10] Despite the relatively... crazy (??) unique (???) premise, this novel is very down to Earth. I mean, it's basically Slice of Life... more>> with a twist to make things a little more interesting. I enjoyed it quite a bit, the characters were done well and the unique premise made the otherwise, dull, everyday life of the MC feel more interesting. It's just that Slice of Life novels have never been my thing (also why I didn't give it a high rating. It's a personal preference thing, not because I disliked the novel or thought it was of bad quality), so I dropped it in the end XD! If you're looking for a casual read with relatively smooth ups and downs, this is a great story to try. It's very sweet and relaxing. The author also has a way with words, so it's really nice to read the english translation._______SUMMARY -- The MC, Jian Mei, is an ordinary boy from modern-day China. He's suffered from a terminal illness since he was a child, and it's only when he turned 14 that his health started to turn for the better -- allowing him to live a relatively normal life. It's also at this point in his life that he was gifted a cellphone. This cell phone is unique, it seems to operate like your everyday cellphone. But at the same time, it also allows him to connect to a person from billions of light years away. Even more strange, when he makes contact with that person, the phone will give him points that he can use to purchase other apps. As someone who had been lonely for most of his life, Jian Mei became very dependent on this person from far away. And on the other end, a similar phenomenon is happening.The ML is the third prince of the Stan Galaxy. He's always been promising, but because of an accident, he ended up losing his divine powers and becoming disfigured. Just like this, it seems that he has no hope for the throne. Everyone is eager to step on this once arrogant prince. And though the ML is strong, he's also just a teenager -- 14, just like the MC. He cares a lot about what happened and is on the verge of exploding. It's at this point in his life that Jian Mei first makes contact. The ML doesn't really care about it at first, but as he gets to know the person on the other end more and more, he also forms a kind of dependency.(This is the state of the main characters. As for other things, they're mostly just extra. The main plot is the romance development and everything else is a subplot!) <<less

3.75/5!!! [RR: 7/10] [Virtual Game World, Futuristic Setting, Adventure, Slice of Life] Not my favorite. But strictly speaking, it's not a bad read. I thought... more>> the characters where interesting, the game was a little so-so, and the premise was ultimately not used to the fullest extent. But I liked it! The summary made it out to be a romance-centric novel where many guys fight over the MC. Which made me hesitate to read it for a long time. But it's strictly 1V1, and the rest of the supporting characters have their own story to tell and are not completely disregarded. Furthermore, it really isn't about chasing the MC. It's more slice of life. But slice of life in a game LOL. The plot is very casual, with the mainline story being shown as interconnecting webs from each small arc. So yeh. It's a very chill read all in all.(BTW: Part of why I read till the end is because I knew who the ML was thanks to the author's notes. If I hadn't known, perhaps I'd be a liiiitle disappointed cause the supporting male characters have their own charm~ Don't read the summary below if you don't want to be spoiled about the ML's character!!!!)___________SUMMARY — The MC is a recently graduated high school student that decided enough was enough. He had been studying very strictly and had remained offline most of the time. Now that there's a couple of months before college officially began, he wanted to play some games!The first game that catches his attention is a pet-raising game. There's a new pet to be released in said game. An ultimate pet that is more powerful than all other pets in the game thus far. He wanted to get that pet and be the strongest player in the game. Unfortunately, an accident happened whilst he was out shopping for game peripherals. He tested out a game collar and because of his 100% compatibility with the "Human Pet" identity in the game, he was ultimately unable to get his wish. To make matters worse, the collar refuses to come off — he's been locked under the pet identity until it can be removed.He's forced to enter the game as someone that was neither human pet nor regular player. He looked like a human and had stats like a normal player. This in-between identity causes him a lot of trouble. Especially after the automatic alert for "new human pet" was sent out to all the rich, kryptonite players in the game. There are now a bunch of rich benefactors seeking him out to be their own human pet, which is the last thing the MC wanted.(As for the ML~ He's of the same age as the MC. That should give you a good idea LOL. Even before I read the author's note, I had a feeling it was him. So when it was confirmed, I didn't feel too sad about it not being the MC's Shifu or fellow Brother.) <<less

3.75/5!!! [Second Chance, Historical: Ancient Times, Poor-to-Rich, Business Management, Slice-of-Life] Although it is definitely not as exciting as other farming/slice-of-life novels set in Ancient times, this novel is still quite good! In fact, I think it's a nice read for when you're getting a bit tired from the usual 'golden finger = quick success' and 'unrealistic cannon fodder = face-slapping.' This novel does indeed have both of these things, but it's done in a relatively mild manner. So things feel a lot more chill, and there's less of a reason for suspension of disbelief.... more>>

SUMMARY:

The MC (Gong, Zhang Fangyuan) had lived his first life as a waste that died old and alone inside of a home long-abandoned in the village. After dying, he woke up to find out that he had gone back several decades in time. Specifically, when he was young and hearty still, his reputation was a little ruined, but if he worked hard, the world was his oyster. Of course, as someone who had died alone previously, his first move is to get a wife/husband for himself. It's just that he ran into some bumps in the road.

Fortunately, there's the ML (Shou, Xu He), a promising Ger who was unappreciated in his family. The two of them begin their slow but steady development; having children, developing businesses, making connections, etc. They're not the most ambitious people, but wanting to make sure that their family remains prosperous, they continue to work hard until the very end -- all the while, making sure that they do not forget their roots.

THOUGHTS:

Because what I read was mostly in MTL (readable MTL, mind! It was at least 75-80% comprehensible), I won't be doing a full review. But, I can still share some of my thoughts. For example, I thought that the characters of this novel are really interesting. There are lots of layers to them. The person you think would remain cannon fodder till the very end manages to climb up out of the pit through hard work (rather than being buried there forever because of the MC and ML's aura lol). In this way, the novel can be seen as a lot higher in quality when compared to other novels of the same kind.

The romance development was also quite good. And the setting was very realistic (at least, based on what I've read from other CN novels, and researched along the way) and well-established. I guess, if there's anything to complain about, it is honestly a bit dull sometimes. There were several points were I was tempted to stop reading, but I continued because I figured it was close enough to finishing XD. And this is me, who loves these kinds of slow, poor-to-rich, slice-of-life novels. So, IDK how it might be for those who lack the same interest.

RATING: 3.75/5

If I were to rate this novel based on my usual criteria it would be ... Characters - 9.5/10; Romance - 7.5/10; Setting - 8/10; Plot = 5/10. Hence, why I gave the following rating! It really is pretty good, and I think it deserves a read. I will definitely come back to it when the TL is completed one day, else, IDK what I might have missed with the MTL. <<less

3.75/5!!! [Transmigration, Poor-to-Rich, Childcare] (Updated: 2nd Reread - 02/26/2023) Childcare and Poor-to-Rich Slice of Life novel! This is my second time reading it and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time I read it. Back then, I read it till the end and gave it a 3.6/5 rating. My impression is still the same now (though I raised the rating to 3.75/5. I think this novel is a very good, short and fluffy novel. It's quite simple and some parts are handled kind of clumsily, but it hit all the important points and delivers some pretty good feels.... more>>

___________SUMMARY: MC (Xu Zhao) transmigrates into the 1980s as a young single father with a 2yo son. He finds himself in pretty dire straights: having recently dropped out of school, a too-thin baby, unsupportive older brothers, and no money in sight. But, soon enough, he finds some use of his modern sensibilities in order to make a name for himself and improve his and his son's livelihoods. The ML (Cui Dingchen) comes into the picture pretty early as the mysterious youngest uncle of the schoolmate that first helps MC off of his feet.

___________THOUGHTS: The main focus of the novel is the poor-to-rich and childcare aspect. MC has to raise his new 2yo son while striving to make some money. Fortunately, the 80s is rich with opportunities! The novel is pretty chill and down-to-earth. Perhaps not the most exciting nor the most realistic. The author admits to some questionable choices as well in terms of character development and set-up. But, if you're looking for a fun, casual read with not to many ups and downs, then this is a good one to consider! [NOTE: The TL is not finished but the MTL is readable. The author writes very simply, and it shows in the MTL, which is more coherent than most. I'd say that it is about... 75% readable, whereas most MTL is around the 60% range.] <<less

3.6/5!!! [Second Chance, Slice of Life, Zombie Apocalypse, Magical Space] Gave up just before the end! It's not as bad as I was expecting, perhaps the reviews I read before lessened the blow a bit and made it seem less annoying XD but yeah! I consider it an okay read overall (oh, and the MTL, when the raw is plugged into Google Translate, is incredibly comprehensible = 85-90%, so there are no issues caused by the incomplete translation.)... more>>

Summary: The premise of the novel is that the MC (Tang Miao) died and woke up back in time. At least, that what it appears like at first. He goes back to the age of 16 and wanted to improve his relationship with his father, who had sacrificed for him in his previous life. Only, things keep going wrong after his rebirth. First, he discovered that he had a large magical space where one can plant and store living things. Second, he began to have dreams of an upcoming apocalypse -- a zombie apocalypse. He stubbornly tried to deal with things himself at first, but soon enough, he had to borrow the strength of his father (who is the ML, BTW! Called, Tang Sihuang) to start preparing for the upcoming calamity.

The rest of the story that follows is survival-based. There isn't really any over-arching goal here, so it reads more like a slice of life novel. You know, the day to day life of a father-and-son pair in the apocalypse. That kind of thing. Their style is powerful but low-key, so their movements are very restrained most of the time, which makes the focus of the story sometimes stray from survival to cooking and hoarding materials lol. <<less

3.6/5!! [Interstellar, Fantasy, Comedy] Simple and cute, not anything special, but not bad for a short and casual kind of read. Disclaimer, I read this after getting my wisdom teeth extracted, so I can't be sure if my opinion is completely accurate (XD the first day is extremely painful) but I enjoyed it well enough.... more>>

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SUMMARY: This story starts pretty much like any interstellar beastman CN novel XD. The MC, Jin Wowo, is a golden snail that had cultivated to the point of transforming into human. However, something went wrong and he found himself being transported into a completely different place altogether. Said place was completely deserted, but after a while, he has a surprise encounter with a beastman (the ML, Marshall Raymond) whose energy core was broken and was being chased by bad guys. The two become entangled after a series of misunderstandings and coincidences xD. The focus of the novel aren't the characters themselves, however. It's more plot-driven. Obviously, someone is out to get the ML, and the MC was involved by virtue of his coincidental saving of the ML. Luckily for them, the MC has a lot of cheats that will allow them to easily get out of trouble.

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THOUGHTS: Not bad, not bad. I don't think it deserves a 4.4/5 rating, but I admit that it's a pretty fun read despite not having much substance. Usually, for BL novels, I write a more in-depth review than this, but because I wasn't completely conscious while reading this novel, I decided to keep it short and rewrite it later after I reread. For now though, I'm giving it a preliminary rating of 3.6/5! <<less

3.5/5!!! [Transmigration, Farming, Poor-to-Rich, Golden Finger] Ahh, this type of novel is really relaxing! The main characters are active, but not overly ambitious or greedy.... more>> So you can fully enjoy the chill farming/poor-to-rich development. Of course, if you're not the type to enjoy such stories, this novel may be a bit boring for you, but if you're interested in such novels, I guarantee that its worth the read. Just, be aware, it's a bit difficult to understand at times (IDK if it's because of the author's writing style or the translation), but yeah, some things are really a bit clumsy. I ended up just ignoring it, but the frustration still left an impression.SUMMARY:This is your typical case of someone from modern times transmigrating to the past with a golden finger in order to get rich XD. The MC, Miao He, awakens as a recently married Ger with a horrible reputation. He falls into the category of 'soft-kneed and soft-hearted shou', so unlike most MC's that you see falling into this kind of 'family drama' situation, his first instinct is to get along with people (rather than break relationships). This ends up working just right for him. After all, his current husband (the ML, Yang Dalang) is very responsible and hard-working. To spice things up, the MC transmigrated with a golden finger (living soil = a ball of soil that can nourish the land and increase rate of growth of plants by x100 times) and there is another transmigrator around (though he ends up not playing all that big a role, he just provides contrast to the MC.)THOUGHTS:Because most of what I read was in MTL, I won't be doing a full review this time. All I can say is, that while the novel is far from perfect, it just so happened to hit all the right spots for me. I love farming novels like this, I find it really satisfying and relaxing. The reason I didn't end up reading this before was because I was afraid of the MTL, but it turned out that the quality of the MTL is not all that different from the TL available. Seriously! IDK how the author did it, but the MTL is very good! Outside of a couple of terms not being translated (e.g., yuanshen = i think it's original owner, xiyang = the cheat) that I could only guess from context, the reading experience was not bad. At least, 80-85% comprehensible. SO, if you're hesitating to read it because of the TL matters, there's no reason to not try.RATING: 3.5/5Although the rating for this novel should have probably been lower if I based it on my usual criteria, I just happened to really enjoyed reading it for one reason or another (I can't be sure why rn XD). So, I've decided to give it a relatively higher rating than I would normally. <<less

3.55/5!!! [Transmigration, Poor-to-Rich, Farming, Magical Space] Not a bad read for someone who enjoys farming stories! I originally hesitated to read this because the TL was unfinished, and it was only now that I remembered to get back to it. Have to say, I really shouldn't have hesitated XD Although some of the terms are confusing in MTL (e.g., mother = grandma, get = little brother, etc. etc.) once you get a handle of it, the MTL is at least 75% readable (better than most, at least. So, if you're hesitating because of the same reason as me, I say give it a shot!... more>>

SUMMARY:

This novel plays out very much like your typical 'transmigrating to ancient times to farm and make money' CN novels. But it's also unique in some areas. For example, whilst the transmigrating MC, Tang Chunming, comes back with a space golden finger on his person, the original owner of the body had not only been previously married, but also had a young child and an unborn baby in his stomach. XD I mean, one can say that doesn't matter, but in those times, it mattered quite a bit! In most other novels, the story starts with the MC being forced into marriage. Here, the MC is just recently widowed, which changes things a bit. Thankfully, the MC is not your typical 'soft-shou-MC'. He's very strong-willed and he knows how to fight for a peaceful life. And so, not only does he manage to protect the original owner's children, but he also finds himself a second husband -- the ML, who is a general that just came back from the war.

THOUGHTS:

Because most of what I read was in MTL, I don't dare to write my usual in-depth review. However, when it comes to the usual criteria, I can still share a bit. For example, I thought that the characters of this novel were pretty good. You still had your typical cannon fodders that were completely unrealistic to provide good face-slapping segments. But, aside from them, the side characters were very simple and easy to like. The main characters also were not your usual MC and ML, which was interesting.

As for the setting, this novel is set in a world where there is no such thing as women, only Gers. Gers, that can give birth to children but had the same body (externally) as a man. The main characters don't touch the more complicated matters in the capital all that much, so the focus is on the simple rural life. The MC doesn't hesitate to improve his family's living conditions by making money, but he's not ambitious or greedy, so he shares blessings with everyone. ALL in all, if you enjoy poor-to-rich developments and farming novels (which I happen to do), this is definitely not a bad one to invest some time in.

RATING: 3.55/5

Although you can't say that this novel is top-quality goods, I think it's a lot better than some of the other similar novels out there. Mostly because it's a lot more chill (though there's still lots of irrelevant drama that you can skip if you want.) It's a very simple kind of read, great if you're looking for something casual on the side. <<less

3.5/5!!! [Rebirth, Second Chance, Poor-to-Rich, Historical: China - 1990s] Not bad! Got kind of boring in the end, so I didn't complete it. But the overall premise was very inspiring and I liked the details. It's pretty easy to read in MTL too, so if you want to give it a try, there's no problem with the unfinished translation.... more>>

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SUMMARY: The MC, (Gong, Shi Zen), had lived a somewhat fulfilling life as a big boss during the economic boom during the 1990s. From a young man who knew nothing and came from a rural mountain village, he built himself up, going through countless ups and downs to reach the pinnacle of life. Unfortunately, he lost a lot of important things along the way. Including his true love, the ML (Shou, Guan Baiyu). When he gets a second chance at life, coming back to his 18yo self, just fresh out into the outside world, he decides to things differently. This time, he's very careful about what he does and builds his success little by little. Of course, in the meantime, he has to dote on his beloved, who picks up early.

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THOUGHTS: You don't usually get a lot of novels of this time. Wait no, BL novels tend to be more popular during the 1980-2000, opposite to BG novels, which seemed to be mostly popular with the 1960-1970s era XD. So this novel falls in the expected range, and is similar to a lot of the same-era stories out there. That is, it's pretty serious! The Gong is the main character, and he drives most of the story as the reborn person, so things are very buttoned up in terms of development. In fact, it's pretty satisfying this way too, but it does mean that things are also a little less romantic (just some silly and cute side romance, you know, nothing too complicated). If you enjoy poor-to-rich development and business management novels, I don't think you can go wrong with this one. It's not the best, but it's still interesting to read. Mainly because most of the Gong rebirth novels usually start with the Gong having very big advantages. Whereas, here, the Gong starts off very very small at first. So small it's almost inconceivable how big he gets. In this way though, things are a lot more satisfying!

ANYWAY, as for the rating, I'm giving the novel a 3.5/5!!! Not bad. Could be better. It's enough to round up to stars, but just barely. I was very tempted to give this a 3.45/5 LOL. But I decided to be nice this time, and adjust it as needed the second time I read it. <<less

3.5/5!!! [Second Chance, Zombie Apocalypse, Infrastructure, Hoarding] This is a short and straightforward infrastructure/zombie-apocalypse-survival novel that just so happened to hit all the right spots for me. I admit that it's very flawed, especially in terms of character development. But as a plot-driven work, it worked out just fine. All I can say is ... don't expect too much from the characters XD. This is best described as a novel for those who enjoy farming/hoarding/management. Even the zombies and abilities are secondary. They're there mostly to give the MC a platform to build infrastructure freely LMFAO.... more>>

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SUMMARY: The initial premise of this novel is similar to "Back to the Apocalypse". The MC is reborn a couple of months prior to the apocalypse to collect supplies and partner up with the ML. After which, there's a bit of adventuring as they gather comrades and move towards their chosen safe base. Then, it's all infrastructure! As for detailed plot, although the MC does suffer quite a lot in his first life, outside of mentioning it a couple of times, there's no real progress there. It's just there. So, don't expect any face-slapping or revenge plots XD. No healing either.

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THOUGHTS: I would be lying if I said that this is a good work lolol. The reason why I have a high impression on it is purely based on personal preferences. That is ... if I were to rate this with my usual criteria (characters, romance, setting, and plot-development), it wouldn't be able to measure up at all XD. That being the case, I decided to avoid doing a detailed review for the time being. All I can say for now is that if you like infrastructure novels, then you'll like it. If you don't, then you won't. XD The MC of this novel can be said to be very Gary Stue, whilst the ML is non-existent (I had high expectations based on his first few appearances, but ..... he slowly began to be more and more superfluous. I mean, if he and the MC actually, I dunno, communicated, maybe there would be no reason for me to rate it so lowly XD. All they do in the story is cuddle. I don't think they have chemistry at all. And it really doesn't make sense that the ML is the leader when most of the time, all he does is act as the MC's vehicle (you'll know what I mean when you read it XD).

ANYWAY ... so yeah, my impression of the characters and romantic plot is definitely not high. I'm saying it now so that you don't have any high expectations hehh. As for the MTL (I read this after translating the raws through Google Translate), it's pretty good! Some names are messed up (most prominently: Han Ya, who is translated as Hana or Asiana XD There's also Wen Le, who is referred to as Young Master or Wen Shao), gender pronouns are also messed up (as per usual), but altogether not bad. The author's writing style is relatively straightforward. So the readability is high (around 80-85%, which is very good for MTL). For the time being, I've decided to give this novel a 3.5/5 rating. Again, if it were based on my usual criteria, this would be A LOT lower. But, adding 'personal enjoyment' to my score, this is what I got hehe.  <<less

3.5/5!!! [Cultivation, Modern Times, Alchemy, Slice of Life] SUMMARY: The MC is a young man from modern times that ended up falling off a cliff... more>> and transmigration into a world of cultivation .... BUT, the story isn't about his journey in the cultivation world. He exploded himself in that world after being chased for his treasures, resulting in him wearing it back to modern times. Only, rather than go back to the time when he transmigrated (after falling off the cliff), he went back ten years into the past. He's 18 years old, and just about to graduate from highschool. His only family had died just a month ago, leaving him alone.If he followed his previous path, he would have self-destructed because of depression and never been able to stand up in this life. Things are different this time around. Not only does he still have his golden finger (a space with rare elixir and some things from the cultivation world), but he also has cultivation knowledge that the cultivators of modern times can only dream of having. With this advantage, he becomes a complete winner in this life. (As for the ML, he's the MC's male god from his first life. Too far away to touch. This time around, they coincidentally meet when the ML had been seriously injured. Having elixir and alchemy skills in hand, the MC takes care of him and the two become entangled from then on.)______________RATING: 3.5/5This novel is both too short and too long. It's too short because it feels like there's always something missing. Like, the novel has loads of potential, but since the author focused on slice of life -- mostly casual stuff, very little tension -- it feels like the story never really goes anywhere. As for why I think it's too long, well, that's because the author is VERY wordy. They like to go on tangents, which is amusing at first and makes the reader feel very close to the story ... BUT, then it went overboard and just kept going. Like, there is SO much info dumping in this story that it's a bit maddening. What's worse is that those tangents don't really change the story much. Instead, when the author SHOULD go into tangents -- like why the ML never says anything about his feelings, for example -- they keep it tucked away like sharing it will cause some kind of calamity. LOL.ANYWAY, to keep a long story short. This novel is not bad. Nothing too special either. I had high expectations -- which both kept me reading for so long AND forced me to stop after the dullness became too much -- but unfortunately most of them were not met. If you want to read a casual story about a cultivator in modern times picking up leaks and so on. It's not bad. Just don't expect too much excitement. The tone of the story is very casual. Again, very suitable for slice of life feels. <<less

3.44/5!!! [Second Chance, Fantasy, Game Elements, Apocalypse: Zombies] This novel is quite good if you like apocalypse novels and infrastructure novels. This focuses more on the latter, you know, slowly building up a city that can fight against the apocalypse. BUT!!! Not in the usual way. It’s truly a mysterious, black-box system that works very similarly to those popular infrastructure games XD. The quality of the story itself can only be said to be subpar, the characters aren’t all that interesting and the drama is petty at best. However, if the infrastructure is to your taste, this should be pretty normal for you!... more>>

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SUMMARY: The MC of this story, Song Xingcheng, wakes up on the day of the apocalypse with a head full of novel content. According to this novel content, he was bound to be used and abandoned by the guy that he had a crush on. Of course, he wants nothing to do with any of it. He decides to adjust himself based on the mistakes he made in his dream. Which starts with exploring his cheat first (a game panel that enables him to slowly build and upgrade a city) and then teams up with the ML (He Qiashen), who incidentally also woke up with a cheat and novel content on the first day of the apocalypse. Working together, the two slowly build a city that can act as a reprieve for the people of their country.

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THOUGHTS: Although fun, the story is quite flawed. The MC’s cheat was too cheat-y. To the point that it restricted the future of humans rather than helped it. I thought it was cool at first, but more and more, it became evident that it blocked the progress of humans. (Actually, this reminds me of another novel, a BG one called “Apocalypse Lord”, that one had the MC as a City Lord as well. I prefer that one though because the setting made more sense. It was an actual game in the end, so the city that was built without sustainability in mind was logical. As for here, I had to work hard to ignore it so that I can enjoy infrastructure T.T.) My recommendation, if you’re going to read this, try to not to have expectations XD. Just go into it believing it’s all a game. That way, the process may be a little smoother.

BUT OK. Enough about the cheat, there are the characters as well. TBH, I don’t like the MC that much. The ML was fine, but he was also a bit boring. Their romance was also a bit bland since the ML was pretty much all in from the beginning. So yah. Don’t read this thinking that the characters or the romance will make up for the world settings being flawed LOLOL. By saying all this, I make the story sound like it’s very bad. But the truth of the matter is, I enjoyed it quite a bit! I looooove infrastructure stories. And no matter how flawed they get, I can’t help but feel satisfied reading them. If you’re the same, then there should be no problem with trying out this story. If not, then I suggest you stay far away pfft! As for my rating, the TL is currently unfinished and I read it mostly in MTL. Usually, I won’t give a rating but this time, the MTL was surprisingly readable (80-85%). So my official rating is …. 3.44/5!!! Looks low. That’s because, content-wise, this is really a problematic story XD. Most of the points are based on personal enjoyment. <<less

3.3/5!!! [Transmigration, Historical: Ancient China, Face-slapping] A pretty solid plot-driven book. Of course, I'm not saying that it's good, but if you like fast-food-level entertainment, it certainly works out! jflskfjlafj i sound like I'm being sarcastic when I put it that way but I really mean it XD. I read this till the end, which proves that I liked it well enough (well, I skimmed the extras, so its technically not till the very end, BUT yeah). Just keep in mind that this novel is quite flawed. You'll have to suspend disbelief quite a bit, and tolerate a very OP MC with extremely convenient abilities (as in, abilities that are super powerful that only come... more>> up once before being forgotten about LMFAO) ... BUT, if you like face-slapping and royal family drama, it should be enough to spend your time on.

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SUMMARY: The MC of this novel, Jiang Lin, is a modern transmigrator. He's not your typical one, however. He came from an apocalyptic time -- one with zombies and magical space abilities. After transmigration, he makes use of his cheat and his various skills to face-slap his opponents one by one. All while flirting with his new husband, the ML, Wei Yunzhao, who was poisoned by malicious people. The general plot is a bit hard to summarize in a few sentences. It's complicated xD. The development is all based on a book where the original owner of the MC's body and the ML are both cannon fodders that were meant to die and give the heroine and protagonist a chance to thrive and rule the country. The original heroine has a SYSTEM in her head driving her to become the empress, and she'll do everything she can to achieve this. Aside from her, various troublemakers will come knocking down the MC and ML's door again and again.

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THOUGHTS: As mentioned, if you like face-slapping and drama, this is not bad. The story is primarily plot-driven, so the pacing is quite fast and the characters are there mostly for amus**ent and entertainment than anything else (that is, they serve whatever roles the author's set for them and don't do much else -- this is the case for the MC and ML as well). As someone who primarily enjoys character-driven works, it's natural that my impression of the novel is not the best. It's just fine. I thought it was fun. Nothing too impressive, but still entertaining. For this reason, I read till the end. AND, I think it's worth a 3.3/5 rating. I kept it to that amount because I don't think this novel deserves a 4 star rating. At most, it would be closer to 3.49. But never enough to round up to 4 stars. <<less

3.08/5!!! [Transmigration, Supernatural, Romance, Zombie Apocalypse] Ahhh this story was pretty good! But I couldn't get myself to keep reading it. Might just be a mood thing. The novel is pretty long after all (kind of dragged a bit ig??) I'll try and reread it again later though. For now, the tentative rating for me is 3-4 stars.... more>>

(Updated: 2nd Reread - 03/22/2023) Reread it, and can now confirm that it is not a mood thing. The reason why I can't get myself to continue reading this novel is that it's a bit of a mess. The world is set in the zombie apocalypse but the zombies are not really zombies (most of the ones we see on screen are conscious) and there are plotholes everywhere. Anyway, no amount of ranting will truly get my point across, so let me just say this --- it's an okay novel, but the plot was clumsily executed and the MC and ML were not strong enough as protagonists to hold up the failing plot (I hope that makes sense XD).

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SUMMARY: The MC, Mu Yifan, is an author that transmigrates into his own zombie apocalypse novel. He takes on the role of Mu Yifan, the Zombie King that was directly at odds with the protagonist (AKA, the ML Zhan Betia). He fully expects that the protagonist will kill him after he regains his memories of the previous timeline (wherein the protagonist dies at the hand of OG!MYF). MC thus decides it would be best to kill the protagonist off so that he could go back to his own world. Unfortunately, he's trumped again and again by the fact that the protagonist looks like his best friend in real life (also named Zhan Beitian). So, instead of successfully finishing off the protagonist, he ends up magically pregnant with the ML's baby lolol.

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RATING: 3.08/5

I enjoyed what I read. But I really couldn't get myself to continue reading it after a while. Part of it may just be because certain parts felt like they were dragging along and going nowhere. And it could also because the author fails so hard when it comes to setting up the world. IDK. It's not for me, but I'm glad I picked it up anyway, since it was a good way to waste time for a while. Oh, btw, the first time I read this, I only read up to 117 and my rating was vaguely 3 stars. This time, I made it a little further (C163) and the final rating is 3.08! (As a final note, the TLs for this novel are all over the place. I recommend reading the first few from the original translator and going straight to MTL-ing it on Google Translate.) <<less

2.5/5!!!! [Modern Day, Entertainment, Romance] This novel is a bit dry. Idk if it’s the writing style or what, but there’s a lack of emotions in it. Also, the entertainment factor is very plain with nothing to looking forward to. All you’ve got left is the romance. But the fake marriage aspect is also very genetically played…. XD SOOO in conclusion? It’s kind of boring. Nothing too bad, but nothing too good either. If what you’re looking for is a casual read about a hot ML and a perfect MC living a sweet and sweet life. It might not be a bad read for you. The TL is very good, and that alone makes it... more>> worth reading. But yeh. It’s really not my thing.

_____________SUMMARY: The MC of this novel, Bai Qi, had a boyfriend for two years. This boyfriend ended up getting engaged without telling him, and didn’t even bother to explain anything after sending an invitation. In his anger, he posted a help request on the internet and was advised to take a hotter, richer, and overall better man to the wedding.

Fate somehow worked out to give him what he needs. The elder “brother” of his ex came to him and asked for a marriage. He agreed after being given fifty million and ended up joining his husband in the entertainment world thereafter. Assumedly, everyone fell in love with him after seeing how sweet and sweet he is. <<less

???/5!!! [Transmigration, Poor-to-Rich, Mecha] What can I say? This novel ... it's not bad! I ended up dropping it because it got a bit repetitive.... more>> I think it would have been fine if I was reading the full translation, but the further you go, the more confusing and senseless the descriptions of the stone gambling becomes when read in MTL XD. This story mainly focuses on that aspect, but it explores quite a few facets of it. The MC (Bai Jing) came from an apocalyptic world and due to his special ability, he was able to make a name for himself in this world where jadeites are a necessity of life. Not just in gambling, but also in converting energy and such. He's definitely your 'Gary Stu' kind with lots of abilities and very little shortcomings. The ML is also your typical toolman. Both of these are not necessarily bad, but it does mean that the character development is a bit meh. Just okay?If you like poor-to-rich development, then you should like this novel just about as much as I did! I really did enjoy those aspects, and the way the stone gambling interacted with the sci-fi environment was also interesting. I wasn't all that into the mecha parts. They kinda felt forced in, and there was no real purpose for them. So I skipped most of those parts and can't comment much on it LOLAll in all, an okay read. Not too bad. I won't be giving it a rating because the MTL was not the best in quality and I'm not sure if my impression of the novel was critically impacted because of it. But, at the moment, I can say that, based on this very biased experience, it would have probably been about 3 stars. The lower end. Not surpassing 3.3. <<less

???/5!!! [Survival, Infinite Flow, Horror, Comedy] Wowwee! This novel kind of reminds me of another infinite flow survival novel, but based on my foggy memories,... more>> it seems that this novel has more detail. And thus, is more likable! Of course, because I read mostly MTL, there's no telling how off my actual initial impression is. However, there's no doubt that I enjoyed the novel quite a bit, and I'm looking forward to rereading it in the future (hopefully with the TL further along QAQ).Summary: The MC (Wen Juanyan) is a fraudster that ended up being dragged into "Nightmare Live." Nightmare Live is a organization that captures souls from reality and forces them to survive through various inhumane, horror/survival instances for the sake of the audience's entertainment. As a fraudster, the MC stands out by beating everyone back with lies. However, it soon becomes very clear that fate is not very kind to him — not only is he being constantly dragged into doing the most extreme mission tasks, there's also a mysterious evil entity following him every step of the way ;)Things to watch out for! This is a slow romance, so don't expect any progress any time soon. The author teases a bit with some big moves right away, but in reality, all the MC wants is the ML death LOL And this goes on for a loooong time. This is also not a team-building kind of infinite flow project. The MC shines as an individual, and the people around him are often just tools to make certain things more convenient (although he does care more than he admits). I like that the author switches things up rather than constantly drawing on the "fraudster" trick. There's always something new and exciting within the instances, and each one is their own detailed world (like seriously, these instances can go on forever sometimes!).All in all, definitely worth the read! The MTL is also not bad if you plug the raw directly into GT. Though you will have to purchase the rights to all the available chapters to read the story without disruptions (the author puts up a lot of false chapters to prevent pirating.) I won't be giving it an official rating for now, because I most of what I read is in MTL XD and idk how long this text will actually be. But based on what I've read. This already a fave for me. Probably 4.5+! So 5 stars in all~ <<less

???/5!!! [Survival, Infinite Flow, Supernatural] This is indeed a great read, and it has a relatively low threshold of acceptance too! I mean, a lot... more>> of unlimited flow novels have horror or suspense themes. And it might be a bit too hair-raising for the less brave (LIKE ME xD). With his novel, the horror themes are kept at a minimum (only the first arc truly had ghosts and the like, though there were also some instances that were a little creepy later.) Summary: The MC (Xing Ye) discovered that his brother had died unnaturally. And, while he was investigating the cause of his death, he ended up being dragged into a separate space through a QR code. This separate space is a virtual game world (the person's consciousness is dragged in but their body stays outside and no time passes in between), and the task of all players is to find the true endings of all the different instances and make it to the Final Level. During the MC's very first instance, he meets a cute and mysterious Mirror (the ML) that he takes with him along the way. When it comes to the characters, I think the author did the best! Not only is the cast varied, but they also all have their complexities without dragging down the plot. The romance is a little strange because one is considered a prop while the other is a player, but the author does it pretty well and builds the relationship slowly. As for the setting, I thought it was quite unique! Of course, there are a lot of similar unlimited flow novels out there, but there are several key elements in this one that I don't see often in other novels. As always, because I read most of this novel through MTL (which is abut 70% readable -- it gets a bit miserable because the MC's strategic analysis doesn't translate all that well, but I bore through it T.T) I won't be giving this a full review despite having finished it. I will give it a star rating though! In my eyes, this novel will undoubtedly be worth 4.50-5 stars. After all, I read it all the way through despite the messy MTL. If you're interested, I suggest trying it out now! It's really only certain parts of the MTL that are not comprehensible. And, if you have a good enough understanding of the plot and instances, it's not too difficult to make sense of those parts. OH, btw. The first two or three chapters of this novel are really awkward. LMFAO I almost quit because of that, but luckily I persisted!  <<less