This was pretty interesting. I enjoyed the worlds and Xing Ye’s thought process. He was a very intelligent and logical person, I liked that. I must say though, if you start reading this for the romance then you will probably be disappointed. There is romance of course, it is very very slow and not the point of the novel really, so if you are reading this looking for that specifically, then maybe this is not for you. Other than that, it was entertaining.
Now, I did not enjoy the ending. I hate when novels do this, actually. Xing Ye went through all of the very difficult and challenging worlds just to defeat the system and then they dare to erase Lu Mingze’s memories of him… like what the hell. At the very end. Not just Lu Mingze’s memories, all of his teammates memories. He won the game, but the cost was too high, imo. I hated that they did this at the very end and then the extras fixed it. I would’ve rather all of that being part of the main story than it occupying 18 extra chapters, honestly. Like what’s the point of that. For me, extras are supposed to be little glimpses or short stories of what happened before or after the novel, giving more insight on some characters or some storylines. Not to really continue the story, specially like this. I really, really disliked this in this novel particularly.
Anyways, besides the bitter feeling that ending left me, I enjoyed this. I liked Lu Mingze and Xing Ye’s relationship, how theg had clear boundaries and respect for each other, besides love of course. Specially in the situation they were in. They were very sweet. I also loved, loooved the side characters. They were great! I loved how notorious their development and growth is at the end of the novel. That’s one thing I did enjoy from the extras, we get to see how Xing Ye’s influence truly helped them overcome their insecurities and self-doubts. He was a great friend and a great person, overall.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
5! Amo a esta autora, cada uno de sus libros hacen que me sienta tan bien como persona. Cuánta imaginación para grandes aventuras y especiales interacciones entre personajes. Aunque no soy muy buena soportando ciertos personajes egocéntricos, el final me dejó con más de él. Un principito, veo la gran obra de Oscar Wilde en ese punto final. La pareja principal tiene tanto parecido como ciertas particularidades con respecto a las otras parejas creadas por la autora, no me suele gustar mucho esto pero leerlos aún así me hacía sentir tan bien, comiendo dulces hasta vomitar. Seguramente en unos cuantos meses lo estaré releyendo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
danmei but the plot grossly overpowers the romance. centered around the "system" concept, but paced and crafted so neatly.
the writing rekindled my belief that hope and optimism and humanity, rationality and empathy can truly triumph a system designed to eliminate these traits.
it so happened that i was looking for an escape when i read this. i needed that mindset shift.
This book offers a well-rounded experience, from the plot and characters to the ending. The ten games the main character takes part in are described in great detail and make perfect sense in terms of the storyline.”
'Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know' is probably my favourite danmei of all time. I really loved 'Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life' too. Ms. Cyan Wings can really write a book and has fast become my favourite danmei author. And after reading these two I have been waiting and waiting to read this for over two years and when the fan translation finally finished for this I dove right in and completed it so quick. And I really really liked this. I did notice some inconsistencies and plot holes, more towards the end but I'll forgive Ms. Wings this time. Xing Ye was such a cool and smart protagonist, do kind of wish we saw some worlds where he struggled and maybe failed a world. And I did find Mr. Mirror a little childish and annoying and definitely preferred the plot over the romance, but I'll forgive these little problems as I will gobble anything Ms. Wings can come up with. I need more translated novels from her ASAP.
I can't possibly explain everything I feel about this book but I'm extremely satisfied with the ending. I think what I'm feeling right now is what sports fans feel when their team wins. Or something similar to that.
If you like smart, sort of over-powered and principled protagonists and if you like seeing them fight against an immense overwhelming force by using sheer determination and humanity, yes, then this book is for you. If you want to have faith and hope in humanity, yes, this book is for you. If you are tired of cynicism and all those grimdark takes on systems, yes, this book is for you.
I'm very impressed with the way Qing Se Yu Yi (the author, also known as Cyan Wings) deals with system tropes. Almost all unlimited flow and system fictions I've read always left me disappointed because they never properly deal with the system. And by that, I mean the main characters might "win" the game, and the system might be explained but even then, they don't revolt against the system. There's no fight against the machine. This seems to be the case, except for QSYY's system books such as Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life and this one, High Energy QR Code.
The main protagonists are flawed but extremely likable, and the side characters are also well-developed. The worlds and the stories make sense. You get immediately thrown into the plot, so don't worry about having to "warm up" to anything. Just jump right in.
There are ten arcs in total, with the original Chinese book having 1700 pages. If translated into English, I reckon this book will have about 3000 pages. It took me three full days to finish this, half in English and half in Chinese. But I promise it's all worth it.
I have some minor gripes with this story, namely transphobia and misgendering. But that's a mixed bag because the characters are very respectful, just a little misguided.