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Xing Ye entered a strange world full of traps and snares after scanning his ‘deceased’ brother’s QR code to investigate the truth behind his death.
The first world:
System: Novice world, 4 players, PVP mode. Because your luck value is too low, you will be doing a 1v3.
Xing Ye: ……
System: You will not be told the rules or the identities of your opponents. You must discover everything by yourself.
Xing Ye: ……
System: You obtained a task prop: Mirror. It has no special skills and can’t move or talk. It thinks everybody is ugly.
Xing Ye: ……
System: How did you win?
Xing Ye: I just killed them all.
(Source: High Energy QR Code page on Novel Updates)
The first world:
System: Novice world, 4 players, PVP mode. Because your luck value is too low, you will be doing a 1v3.
Xing Ye: ……
System: You will not be told the rules or the identities of your opponents. You must discover everything by yourself.
Xing Ye: ……
System: You obtained a task prop: Mirror. It has no special skills and can’t move or talk. It thinks everybody is ugly.
Xing Ye: ……
System: How did you win?
Xing Ye: I just killed them all.
(Source: High Energy QR Code page on Novel Updates)
Web Novel
Published January 1, 2019
About the author
Cyan Wings
32 books53 followersAssociated Names:
* Cyan Wings (English)
* 青色羽翼 (Chinese)
* ชิงเซ่ออวี่อี้ (Thai)
* Thanh Sắc Vũ Dực (Vietnamese)
* Cyan Wings (English)
* 青色羽翼 (Chinese)
* ชิงเซ่ออวี่อี้ (Thai)
* Thanh Sắc Vũ Dực (Vietnamese)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 27, 2026
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.
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.
August 22, 2021
【4】
不仅是副本精彩，作者的逻辑也在线，以至于解谜和破设定的过程都非常精彩。
男主的金手指是手画二维码（……）只要接受这一点就能很快地看进去，甚至可以说是欲罢不能。
接受了这样的设定之后，会不由自主地欣赏男主这样富有逻辑的思考逻辑！他自己保持的善念也非常可爱啊。
有点羡慕作者的逻辑能力和人际交往能力，如果没有亲身体验肯定很难写出来这种在不知不觉中套话和用逻辑认真思考发现漏洞的角色吧？看的时候很沮丧，觉得我很没用，后面男主鼓励女配的时候其实也鼓励到我了。这个人物塑造真的是很打动我啊。
男配有点傲娇自恋，还好，不算太反感。后面对乐观和圣父心是最戳我的！但是直到看完都没什么印象，还不如主角小队的几个配角和被打败的几个人性格鲜明。两个人的相遇过程未免太儿戏（……）这么说来读的时候确实有几次想「要是无CP就好了」。
两个人的感情线是随着剧情不断发展的， 在一次次战斗和解谜中逐渐建立起信任，又在一次次的危机时刻加深这样的信任，渐渐心意相通，生死相依，无论何时都不放弃对方，好羡慕啊。
不过必须要说，攻受的人设都太假了，like 你知道这是小说世界中很常见的人，但是一放到现实就觉得这也太科幻了吧！！
看完之后对弟弟更好奇了，这么擅长伪装，腹黑但表面温柔的人设，如果好好写应该也是个很有趣的故事吧。
全文十卷，也就是十个副本，我认为最精彩的是：谁拿走了我的头（校园），人面兽心（医院），贪婪游轮（赌场），狩猎三千万（列车）。读完之后立刻二刷了。
《这是哪里？》卷的故事太压抑了，所以单独列出来。开头好几章有那种精神污染、克苏鲁和精神压抑的感觉在，光怪陆离的陌生世界，破局关键是和自己内心的黑暗作斗争。是设计上非常精彩，却对精神影响太大，以至于无法重看的一卷。
但读到这一卷的时候我其实有点想放下了，但是看到作者抛出了对结局的暗示……向天再借五个钟，我能看它到天明！……也确实如此了（。
很多副本和后文有呼应，我一开始还没看出来，要主角提醒我才行！第二次开始有意识的留意伏笔，发现了很多前后呼应的地方，真棒啊！
场景的设置新奇是一方面，男主「不是做任务、与人斗，而是和系统斗」的观念我也非常喜欢。
这么一说其实无限流也是另一种系统文嘛……看的不多，就暂时先这么认为吧。
文笔不错，事情基本讲清楚了，有些句子里的感情很有力量，我还蛮喜欢的。
作者在开头几卷分成几段写某人讲一大段话的时候不好好加引号使我迷茫了好多次！！
值得一提的是，以前我读BL的视角通常是攻and/or受的梦女，这次在前几章感情未定的时候居然出人意料地代入了主角的CP粉，有点神奇。但也有的时候是不想看他们谈恋爱嘛，希望是无CP，搞不懂。
读完上面的评论突然意识到，我对主角的观点和能力的想法其实非常接近我高中第一次读《木兰无长兄》的时候，现在我看它只会觉得作者说教烦人了，因为我变成了更厉害的人。应该是2016年，到烦说教可能是2019-20，不知道四五年之后我再看这本书的时候，会不会有所成长呢？会不会已经学会了男主那些技能，可以非常自如地和人交往，愿意动脑子分析事情了呢？好期待啊。希望我能变成更好的人。
不仅是副本精彩，作者的逻辑也在线，以至于解谜和破设定的过程都非常精彩。
男主的金手指是手画二维码（……）只要接受这一点就能很快地看进去，甚至可以说是欲罢不能。
接受了这样的设定之后，会不由自主地欣赏男主这样富有逻辑的思考逻辑！他自己保持的善念也非常可爱啊。
有点羡慕作者的逻辑能力和人际交往能力，如果没有亲身体验肯定很难写出来这种在不知不觉中套话和用逻辑认真思考发现漏洞的角色吧？看的时候很沮丧，觉得我很没用，后面男主鼓励女配的时候其实也鼓励到我了。这个人物塑造真的是很打动我啊。
男配有点傲娇自恋，还好，不算太反感。后面对乐观和圣父心是最戳我的！但是直到看完都没什么印象，还不如主角小队的几个配角和被打败的几个人性格鲜明。两个人的相遇过程未免太儿戏（……）这么说来读的时候确实有几次想「要是无CP就好了」。
两个人的感情线是随着剧情不断发展的， 在一次次战斗和解谜中逐渐建立起信任，又在一次次的危机时刻加深这样的信任，渐渐心意相通，生死相依，无论何时都不放弃对方，好羡慕啊。
不过必须要说，攻受的人设都太假了，like 你知道这是小说世界中很常见的人，但是一放到现实就觉得这也太科幻了吧！！
看完之后对弟弟更好奇了，这么擅长伪装，腹黑但表面温柔的人设，如果好好写应该也是个很有趣的故事吧。
全文十卷，也就是十个副本，我认为最精彩的是：谁拿走了我的头（校园），人面兽心（医院），贪婪游轮（赌场），狩猎三千万（列车）。读完之后立刻二刷了。
《这是哪里？》卷的故事太压抑了，所以单独列出来。开头好几章有那种精神污染、克苏鲁和精神压抑的感觉在，光怪陆离的陌生世界，破局关键是和自己内心的黑暗作斗争。是设计上非常精彩，却对精神影响太大，以至于无法重看的一卷。
但读到这一卷的时候我其实有点想放下了，但是看到作者抛出了对结局的暗示……向天再借五个钟，我能看它到天明！……也确实如此了（。
很多副本和后文有呼应，我一开始还没看出来，要主角提醒我才行！第二次开始有意识的留意伏笔，发现了很多前后呼应的地方，真棒啊！
场景的设置新奇是一方面，男主「不是做任务、与人斗，而是和系统斗」的观念我也非常喜欢。
这么一说其实无限流也是另一种系统文嘛……看的不多，就暂时先这么认为吧。
文笔不错，事情基本讲清楚了，有些句子里的感情很有力量，我还蛮喜欢的。
作者在开头几卷分成几段写某人讲一大段话的时候不好好加引号使我迷茫了好多次！！
值得一提的是，以前我读BL的视角通常是攻and/or受的梦女，这次在前几章感情未定的时候居然出人意料地代入了主角的CP粉，有点神奇。但也有的时候是不想看他们谈恋爱嘛，希望是无CP，搞不懂。
读完上面的评论突然意识到，我对主角的观点和能力的想法其实非常接近我高中第一次读《木兰无长兄》的时候，现在我看它只会觉得作者说教烦人了，因为我变成了更厉害的人。应该是2016年，到烦说教可能是2019-20，不知道四五年之后我再看这本书的时候，会不会有所成长呢？会不会已经学会了男主那些技能，可以非常自如地和人交往，愿意动脑子分析事情了呢？好期待啊。希望我能变成更好的人。
August 14, 2026
Wow, this might be my favorite read of the year! And I don't say that lightly. I absolutely loved everything about this novel, even if the MC was so smart that it made me feel dumb at times for not being able to follow along with his logic lol
The premise is that our MC, Xing Ye, is investigating his younger brother Xing Shuo's sudden death. The last time he saw his brother, it seemed like Xing Shuo wanted to tell him something and was holding his phone with a QR code to show him. However, his brother ultimately didn't say anything, and all Xing Ye is left with is the QR code, which he can remember due to his excellent photographic memory.
To kick off his investigation, he draws the QR code from memory and scans it with his phone, only to find himself starting an immersive game called Game of Challenging Fate. Right off the bat, he's faced with a choice to join the Following Fate camp or the Opposing Fate camp. Given all of his experiences, he unhesitatingly choose the Opposing Fate Camp and is brought into his first world.
Most of the story follows Xing Ye as he enters various game worlds and finds the true ending, not the false ending prompted by the system. Along the way, he learns more about what befell his brother and meets a loyal group of friends. Of course, there's some romance as well, though that takes a while to ramp up given the nature of the ML.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
I'll start this section with a quick summary of each world that he goes through. This is where the story really shines, as each world is completely different in its setting and the author did a fantastic job of creating multiple layers so that there's the "easy" ending and the "hard" ending. I was fascinated by how the MC methodologically figures out the true ending each time.
World #1: Magic Mirror, Magic Mirror, Look at Me
The novice world is a medieval world where the MC wakes up as Claire, a commoner who comes across a magic mirror in the river. The MC's goal is to create an ending that isn't one of the pre-set endings set by his 3 opponents. He does so by turning the nobles against the wicked queen and revealing the queen's evil deeds to the world. This was the simplest world that allowed the MC to figure out some things about how the game works, such as the fact that opposing fate players have terrible luck lol
World #2: “Who Took My Head”
School setting where the players have to find all 7 items required by the mission and deliver them to the designated NPC. Xing Ye uncovers the truth behind some student deaths that happened before. What looked like a simple case of bullying was actually done by a 3rd person manipulating things behind the scenes.
In this arc, we see how OP the MC's starting abilities are. With Redrawing Pen, he can reproduce any QR code he's seen with half the effect. Even though his team doesn't have a lot of QR codes, but I'll never forget the scene where he's dropping grand piano after grand piano to pin down his opponent because he doesn't have a better attack QR code lol
We also learn the mirror's true identity is Lu Mingze, a youth that the MC once schemed to harm and then saved later when he was younger. He reveals to the MC that following fate players become items once they beat the game, which is what happened to him.
World #3: “There Are No Lies in Puppet City”
The players are all puppets in a world built by Benedict. He gave the puppets human emotions but then became disillusioned by the world he built as the puppets started learning not just the good side of humanity but also the negative side. The players need to find the one puppet who can only speak the truth and help make his wish come true.
The surface ending is for the players to find Benedict's son, whose soul was put into a puppet, and return him to Benedict, but the true ending is to find a way for both sides to make peace and live together in harmony.
Along the way, Xing Ye gets more clues about the fate that could've befallen his brother, when he witnesses another following fate player get turned into an item in front of his eyes by another player with the help of a special item.
This was a fun world! I loved the author's creativity in coming up with the world building and characters. For example:
The world outside stunned Xing Ye and the big mirror. It was actually a very busy little city.
“Engine oil, engine oil, come top up on your engine oil! We have a sale right now, buy one get one free! Top up one puppet and another puppet gets topped up free!” Not far away, a wooden puppet shouted.
There was also a coil spring shop next to the engine oil shop. The banner advertisement read: Master Benedict’s specially made coil spring puppets will personally help you set up your coil and winder. Enjoy the treatment of a master- guaranteed to be tighter than if you did it yourself!
A bit further away was a clothing shop. The banner outside read: Are you still running around naked? You still don’t even have a scrap of clothing? In our puppet clothing shop, we make tailor-made clothing for your best fit. Wear civilized clothing, be a civilized puppet.
Xing Ye: “...”
The big mirror: “...”
They looked at their bare selves and suddenly felt very ashamed of their nakedness.
World #4: Stories from the Hospital
This world is a hospital setting, and the players have to find the existence(s) with a human face and beast's heart. On top of that, the game tells them there are parasitic monsters going around the hospital and that the number of infected will increase every day. They eventually find that one of the hospital's department heads is conducting experiments using two alien creatures he found to fuse their cells with human cells, transforming some of the hospital staff into mutant creatures.
To get more points, the MC challenges this world on hard mode, which means: his character crossdresses as a beautiful girl (making it harder for his teammates to find him), he has amnesia and forgets everything that happened the whole day at midnight, and he has irregular fits of madness where he tries to chop off his male parts with a knife.
I wasn't a huge fan of this world, but I am super impressed by how the MC dealt with his amnesia by predicting exactly how his amnesiac self thinks and suppressing those doubts without giving his future self much time to think lol
"Remember: you must let tomorrow's me go through some dangerous and stressful, but not harmful situations. That way, I can suspend my doubts and choose to accept what you say. After my future self resolves the crisis according to my plan, you can explain what happened the day before. My future self will quickly absorb and digest the information, then take action."
At that moment, the three all had the same thought: Xing Ye was too ruthless. He didn't just plot against the department head and parasitic monsters. He was even more calculating toward himself, going to this extent to scheme against his future self.
World #5: "Self-Redemption"
The MC's final chaos world before he gets to the higher stages! They're in the mental landscape of a person with depression who successfully overcame it. They trigger the false ending by jumping off one of the top floors, but rather than clearing the level, they end up in a mansion that serves as a cemetary of sorts for all the players that have died playing the game. Xing Ye guesses this might be due to a bug from the system. There are three levels, and the first and second floors represent the graves of the losers, while the third floor is the throne of the winners.
On the second floor, there's a door dedicated to his younger brother. As soon as he sees it, Xing Ye knows he needs to go through this door to possibly get more clues about what happened to his brother in the game. It feels like a sliver of his brother's consciousness was present inside and presents him with the powerful ability - Kua Fu Chasing the Sun - which lets the MC stop time for 1 minute per world.
World #6: High-Stakes Gambling Cruise
This is the MC's first advanced world, where it's a PvP set up and players are split into teams and have to win against the other team. Here, the team with the most number of chips by the end of 7 days wins.
This is probably the world that I had trouble following the most. The MC's smarts were fully in play here, as he played mind games with the other team to trick the formidable player on the opposing team, Shao Lin. This guy is ruthless and doesn't hesitate to harm even his own teammates, so the MC decides to deal with him ruthlessly. At one point, the MC feeds false information about his own starting abilities to the other team, uses his projector QR code to spy on them, and wins their chips in a really satisfying manner.
Instead of following the system prompt to win against the other team, Xing Ye focuses his efforts on beating the system. In his words: “The game has long reminded us — money from passengers is the easiest to earn. And the casino allows side betting. So why would I focus on fighting other players for a few meagre chips, instead of earning the passengers’ trust and flipping the entire casino?” And he does so very successfully, by winning an astounding 30 million points in his final gamble.
World #7: Village of the Mountain God
The worlds are getting increasingly complex. For this world, the system doesn't even bother telling players the victory condition and tell them to discover it on their own lol
Again, the 10 players are split into two teams: one team consists of the children that are to be offered as sacrifices to the Mountain God, and the other team consists of the village guards who were once children offered as sacrifices but not chosen. Instead of taking the simple route, which would have been to kill the paper men and the guards on the opposing team, Xing Ye again focuses on defeating the system. He does so by freeing the village from the Mountain God and allowing the remaining villagers to see the outside world again.
World #8: Hunting Thirty Million
This might've been my favorite world! Essentially the system is desperate to make the MC lose, so it throws him on a train for 10 hours along with 19 other players and has the rest of the players hunting him. All the other players can team up, but Xing Ye can't form teams. And to really motivate the other players, the system tells them that whoever kills the MC will receive 30 million points himself.
This world was super fun to read. The MC comes prepared with lots of different disguises before going into the world, so he's well prepared to switch his appearance easily with various outfits and wigs and other props. Not only that, but he makes generous use of the game rules. For example, the players can't do anything illegal on the train, so one time he makes other players attack him and then calls for help from the train police to eliminate them XP
The system really tries to dig a hole for the MC in this world. Not only does he have to survive the attacks of all the other players, but he has to figure out and solve for an avalanche that will impact this train in the future. If the MC didn't accidentally learn about this future avalanche, then even if he survives all the attacks, the train still would never make it to the final destination. The system is so sneaky!
World #9: Final Stage
Finally it's time for Xing Ye to challenge the final stage! He wakes up as a homeless man sleeping on a park bench and realizes he's in a world where his parents and younger brother are still alive. Turns out there's another Xing Ye in this world as well, so the opponent that the system arranged for him in this final game is... himself lol It's uncanny how similarly they think, like so:
“After I learned of your existence, I’ve wanted to meet you,” the other Xing Ye said. “I was just keeping my guard up. I didn’t know what scheme the system might be plotting, so I needed more intelligence before making a decision.”
“After I learned of your existence, I’ve wanted to meet you all along; I was just keeping my guard up. I didn’t know what kind of scheme the system might be plotting, so I needed more intelligence before making a decision.”
Two identical voices sounded at the same time.
Xing Ye: “……”
“Xing Ye”: “……”
“Let’s take turns, one sentence each.”
“Let’s take turns, one sentence each.”
Once again, they spoke in unison.
But the one thing they can agree on is that the system is their ultimate enemy, not each other. They stage a seamless play without exchanging any words (okay here I had to roll my eyes a bit) and cooperate to fool the system into thinking that the real Xing Ye was destroyed, hence winning the game.
The game worlds and the MC's logical problem solving are where the story really shines for me, but I enjoyed the whole cast of side characters and the romance as well. By the train world, Xing Ye has a solid team of helpers who are loyal to him and wouldn't betray him for the 30 million point prize. My favorite is Cao Qian, who goes from a brute force fighter to a girl who has both brains and brawn under the MC's tutelage.
The romance takes a while to start, since 1) the MC doesn't easily trust others and it takes him a while to open up to the ML, and 2) the ML only exists in the game worlds in his mirror form for the first couple worlds, until the MC gets a QR code prize that lets him bring out Lu Mingze into the real world. However, once the ball gets rolling, it's pretty cute and there are actually some really funny moments as well.
I didn't mind the ending either, especially because there were the fun extra chapters where all the characters except the MC reunite for one last game to regain their memories.
I'll end my review with some amusing excerpts:
"You probably don’t need me to help you find a QR code, right?” The mirror said unhappily, “I’m just a tool you can use, so I’m probably also considered an opposing fate player now. I might not have my luck anymore.”
”No, I believe in your luck.” Xing Ye said confidently, “The fact that you met me in the previous world is already a testament to your amazing luck.”
Mirror: “...Aren’t you too shameless?!”
Who knew that somebody could actually be shameless to such a degree! It was simply too infuriating.
---
Xing Ye remained silent for a moment before saying, "You wouldn't be one of those people who, as soon as you start to like someone a little, immediately find out you're a thousand times better-looking than them and lose all interest, right?"
"How did you know?" In the mirror, Lu Mingze covered his face with his hands. "I know it's a bit narcissistic, but if people could control what they feel, there wouldn't be people suffering from depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses."
"You're pretty open about being a narcissist." Xing Ye said.
"I have no choice. Who made me look like this?" The small mirror touched his own face. "You don't have to feel embarrassed about kissing me in the game. My mom still can't help but kiss my face sometimes. I'm too good-looking. It's not something anyone can control."
---
Today, the boss walked into his office and put his travel razor kit on his desk. From time to time, he would look at his own reflection in the kit's little mirror with eyes filled with affection. The boss was only 29. He was wealthy, single, and led a clean private life. Despite that, he never engaged in blind dates or interacted with women in private. He was simply the epitome of a top-tier bachelor.
Assistant Qi used to think if the boss ever got married, he might not have deep feelings for his spouse, but he would definitely be responsible for his family. He would fulfill all the duties expected of him and live a peaceful, loyal life.
But now, the boss seemed to have fallen in love with his own reflection...
The assistant was scared at his own imagination, raising a row of goosebumps.
---
"Now that you’ve discovered it, I don’t want to hide it anymore. I like Xiao Ze, and I like him as a romantic partner. In fact, I haven’t pursued him yet; it’s just my own feelings, and I lack confidence in myself.”
“Auntie, you know that Xiao Ze’s favourite person is definitely himself. I don’t expect to surpass his self-love; I only hope he can share a little bit of his feelings with me. By using this phone case and acting in strange ways, I also want to understand him and appeal to his preferences. If one day he wakes up, I hope to establish some common ground with him through this.”
Lu Mingze’s laughter in the mirror abruptly stopped, and he stared at Xing Ye, dumbfounded.
Had he just been confessed to by Xing Ye? And it wasn’t even directly to him, but to his parents?
---
Mirror Lu Mingze stomped his feet anxiously—he wanted to see!
Even though he trusted Xing Ye wouldn’t do anything inappropriate, still—he wasn’t in his body! If Xing Ye kissed his cheek or something, he’d get jealous of his own body!
No—that’s not right. He’d be jealous of Xing Ye. After all, he loved his own face so much!
Oh my god, who on earth was he supposed to be jealous of?
Why did a relationship between two people feel like it had become a three-person mess?
---
omg this is the best ability XP
Cao Qian replied: "I just used it. I merged “Self-Deception” with “Agility,” hoping to keep the deception function and let it make me move faster—but unexpectedly, I got a completely unrelated ability."
Curious, Xing Ye asked: "What ability?"
Cao Qian: "It’s called “Transformation Girl.” It lets me transform into a sailor-uniformed magical girl, enhancing speed, strength, reflexes, and self-healing, while slightly increasing luck."
The skill “Self-Deception” already contained elements of concealment and transformation—very much like the transformation powers of many magical girls. Moreover, after merging with “Agility,” the ability had evolved: not only retaining its original speed and nimbleness, but also gaining luck and healing power, greatly enhancing Cao Qian’s combat ability. Overall, it was a good result.
But…
Cao Qian glanced at her phone.
The skill description listed side effects: she might unconsciously blurt out phrases like “For justice, I will defeat you!”—embarrassing if said in reality; she might develop delusions like “I must charge into the most dangerous place!”; a “recognition filter” could appear—though she looked exactly the same, her teammates would somehow fail to recognize her.
The premise is that our MC, Xing Ye, is investigating his younger brother Xing Shuo's sudden death. The last time he saw his brother, it seemed like Xing Shuo wanted to tell him something and was holding his phone with a QR code to show him. However, his brother ultimately didn't say anything, and all Xing Ye is left with is the QR code, which he can remember due to his excellent photographic memory.
To kick off his investigation, he draws the QR code from memory and scans it with his phone, only to find himself starting an immersive game called Game of Challenging Fate. Right off the bat, he's faced with a choice to join the Following Fate camp or the Opposing Fate camp. Given all of his experiences, he unhesitatingly choose the Opposing Fate Camp and is brought into his first world.
Most of the story follows Xing Ye as he enters various game worlds and finds the true ending, not the false ending prompted by the system. Along the way, he learns more about what befell his brother and meets a loyal group of friends. Of course, there's some romance as well, though that takes a while to ramp up given the nature of the ML.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
I'll start this section with a quick summary of each world that he goes through. This is where the story really shines, as each world is completely different in its setting and the author did a fantastic job of creating multiple layers so that there's the "easy" ending and the "hard" ending. I was fascinated by how the MC methodologically figures out the true ending each time.
World #1: Magic Mirror, Magic Mirror, Look at Me
The novice world is a medieval world where the MC wakes up as Claire, a commoner who comes across a magic mirror in the river. The MC's goal is to create an ending that isn't one of the pre-set endings set by his 3 opponents. He does so by turning the nobles against the wicked queen and revealing the queen's evil deeds to the world. This was the simplest world that allowed the MC to figure out some things about how the game works, such as the fact that opposing fate players have terrible luck lol
World #2: “Who Took My Head”
School setting where the players have to find all 7 items required by the mission and deliver them to the designated NPC. Xing Ye uncovers the truth behind some student deaths that happened before. What looked like a simple case of bullying was actually done by a 3rd person manipulating things behind the scenes.
In this arc, we see how OP the MC's starting abilities are. With Redrawing Pen, he can reproduce any QR code he's seen with half the effect. Even though his team doesn't have a lot of QR codes, but I'll never forget the scene where he's dropping grand piano after grand piano to pin down his opponent because he doesn't have a better attack QR code lol
We also learn the mirror's true identity is Lu Mingze, a youth that the MC once schemed to harm and then saved later when he was younger. He reveals to the MC that following fate players become items once they beat the game, which is what happened to him.
World #3: “There Are No Lies in Puppet City”
The players are all puppets in a world built by Benedict. He gave the puppets human emotions but then became disillusioned by the world he built as the puppets started learning not just the good side of humanity but also the negative side. The players need to find the one puppet who can only speak the truth and help make his wish come true.
The surface ending is for the players to find Benedict's son, whose soul was put into a puppet, and return him to Benedict, but the true ending is to find a way for both sides to make peace and live together in harmony.
Along the way, Xing Ye gets more clues about the fate that could've befallen his brother, when he witnesses another following fate player get turned into an item in front of his eyes by another player with the help of a special item.
This was a fun world! I loved the author's creativity in coming up with the world building and characters. For example:
The world outside stunned Xing Ye and the big mirror. It was actually a very busy little city.
“Engine oil, engine oil, come top up on your engine oil! We have a sale right now, buy one get one free! Top up one puppet and another puppet gets topped up free!” Not far away, a wooden puppet shouted.
There was also a coil spring shop next to the engine oil shop. The banner advertisement read: Master Benedict’s specially made coil spring puppets will personally help you set up your coil and winder. Enjoy the treatment of a master- guaranteed to be tighter than if you did it yourself!
A bit further away was a clothing shop. The banner outside read: Are you still running around naked? You still don’t even have a scrap of clothing? In our puppet clothing shop, we make tailor-made clothing for your best fit. Wear civilized clothing, be a civilized puppet.
Xing Ye: “...”
The big mirror: “...”
They looked at their bare selves and suddenly felt very ashamed of their nakedness.
World #4: Stories from the Hospital
This world is a hospital setting, and the players have to find the existence(s) with a human face and beast's heart. On top of that, the game tells them there are parasitic monsters going around the hospital and that the number of infected will increase every day. They eventually find that one of the hospital's department heads is conducting experiments using two alien creatures he found to fuse their cells with human cells, transforming some of the hospital staff into mutant creatures.
To get more points, the MC challenges this world on hard mode, which means: his character crossdresses as a beautiful girl (making it harder for his teammates to find him), he has amnesia and forgets everything that happened the whole day at midnight, and he has irregular fits of madness where he tries to chop off his male parts with a knife.
I wasn't a huge fan of this world, but I am super impressed by how the MC dealt with his amnesia by predicting exactly how his amnesiac self thinks and suppressing those doubts without giving his future self much time to think lol
"Remember: you must let tomorrow's me go through some dangerous and stressful, but not harmful situations. That way, I can suspend my doubts and choose to accept what you say. After my future self resolves the crisis according to my plan, you can explain what happened the day before. My future self will quickly absorb and digest the information, then take action."
At that moment, the three all had the same thought: Xing Ye was too ruthless. He didn't just plot against the department head and parasitic monsters. He was even more calculating toward himself, going to this extent to scheme against his future self.
World #5: "Self-Redemption"
The MC's final chaos world before he gets to the higher stages! They're in the mental landscape of a person with depression who successfully overcame it. They trigger the false ending by jumping off one of the top floors, but rather than clearing the level, they end up in a mansion that serves as a cemetary of sorts for all the players that have died playing the game. Xing Ye guesses this might be due to a bug from the system. There are three levels, and the first and second floors represent the graves of the losers, while the third floor is the throne of the winners.
On the second floor, there's a door dedicated to his younger brother. As soon as he sees it, Xing Ye knows he needs to go through this door to possibly get more clues about what happened to his brother in the game. It feels like a sliver of his brother's consciousness was present inside and presents him with the powerful ability - Kua Fu Chasing the Sun - which lets the MC stop time for 1 minute per world.
World #6: High-Stakes Gambling Cruise
This is the MC's first advanced world, where it's a PvP set up and players are split into teams and have to win against the other team. Here, the team with the most number of chips by the end of 7 days wins.
This is probably the world that I had trouble following the most. The MC's smarts were fully in play here, as he played mind games with the other team to trick the formidable player on the opposing team, Shao Lin. This guy is ruthless and doesn't hesitate to harm even his own teammates, so the MC decides to deal with him ruthlessly. At one point, the MC feeds false information about his own starting abilities to the other team, uses his projector QR code to spy on them, and wins their chips in a really satisfying manner.
Instead of following the system prompt to win against the other team, Xing Ye focuses his efforts on beating the system. In his words: “The game has long reminded us — money from passengers is the easiest to earn. And the casino allows side betting. So why would I focus on fighting other players for a few meagre chips, instead of earning the passengers’ trust and flipping the entire casino?” And he does so very successfully, by winning an astounding 30 million points in his final gamble.
World #7: Village of the Mountain God
The worlds are getting increasingly complex. For this world, the system doesn't even bother telling players the victory condition and tell them to discover it on their own lol
Again, the 10 players are split into two teams: one team consists of the children that are to be offered as sacrifices to the Mountain God, and the other team consists of the village guards who were once children offered as sacrifices but not chosen. Instead of taking the simple route, which would have been to kill the paper men and the guards on the opposing team, Xing Ye again focuses on defeating the system. He does so by freeing the village from the Mountain God and allowing the remaining villagers to see the outside world again.
World #8: Hunting Thirty Million
This might've been my favorite world! Essentially the system is desperate to make the MC lose, so it throws him on a train for 10 hours along with 19 other players and has the rest of the players hunting him. All the other players can team up, but Xing Ye can't form teams. And to really motivate the other players, the system tells them that whoever kills the MC will receive 30 million points himself.
This world was super fun to read. The MC comes prepared with lots of different disguises before going into the world, so he's well prepared to switch his appearance easily with various outfits and wigs and other props. Not only that, but he makes generous use of the game rules. For example, the players can't do anything illegal on the train, so one time he makes other players attack him and then calls for help from the train police to eliminate them XP
The system really tries to dig a hole for the MC in this world. Not only does he have to survive the attacks of all the other players, but he has to figure out and solve for an avalanche that will impact this train in the future. If the MC didn't accidentally learn about this future avalanche, then even if he survives all the attacks, the train still would never make it to the final destination. The system is so sneaky!
World #9: Final Stage
Finally it's time for Xing Ye to challenge the final stage! He wakes up as a homeless man sleeping on a park bench and realizes he's in a world where his parents and younger brother are still alive. Turns out there's another Xing Ye in this world as well, so the opponent that the system arranged for him in this final game is... himself lol It's uncanny how similarly they think, like so:
“After I learned of your existence, I’ve wanted to meet you,” the other Xing Ye said. “I was just keeping my guard up. I didn’t know what scheme the system might be plotting, so I needed more intelligence before making a decision.”
“After I learned of your existence, I’ve wanted to meet you all along; I was just keeping my guard up. I didn’t know what kind of scheme the system might be plotting, so I needed more intelligence before making a decision.”
Two identical voices sounded at the same time.
Xing Ye: “……”
“Xing Ye”: “……”
“Let’s take turns, one sentence each.”
“Let’s take turns, one sentence each.”
Once again, they spoke in unison.
But the one thing they can agree on is that the system is their ultimate enemy, not each other. They stage a seamless play without exchanging any words (okay here I had to roll my eyes a bit) and cooperate to fool the system into thinking that the real Xing Ye was destroyed, hence winning the game.
The game worlds and the MC's logical problem solving are where the story really shines for me, but I enjoyed the whole cast of side characters and the romance as well. By the train world, Xing Ye has a solid team of helpers who are loyal to him and wouldn't betray him for the 30 million point prize. My favorite is Cao Qian, who goes from a brute force fighter to a girl who has both brains and brawn under the MC's tutelage.
The romance takes a while to start, since 1) the MC doesn't easily trust others and it takes him a while to open up to the ML, and 2) the ML only exists in the game worlds in his mirror form for the first couple worlds, until the MC gets a QR code prize that lets him bring out Lu Mingze into the real world. However, once the ball gets rolling, it's pretty cute and there are actually some really funny moments as well.
I didn't mind the ending either, especially because there were the fun extra chapters where all the characters except the MC reunite for one last game to regain their memories.
I'll end my review with some amusing excerpts:
"You probably don’t need me to help you find a QR code, right?” The mirror said unhappily, “I’m just a tool you can use, so I’m probably also considered an opposing fate player now. I might not have my luck anymore.”
”No, I believe in your luck.” Xing Ye said confidently, “The fact that you met me in the previous world is already a testament to your amazing luck.”
Mirror: “...Aren’t you too shameless?!”
Who knew that somebody could actually be shameless to such a degree! It was simply too infuriating.
---
Xing Ye remained silent for a moment before saying, "You wouldn't be one of those people who, as soon as you start to like someone a little, immediately find out you're a thousand times better-looking than them and lose all interest, right?"
"How did you know?" In the mirror, Lu Mingze covered his face with his hands. "I know it's a bit narcissistic, but if people could control what they feel, there wouldn't be people suffering from depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses."
"You're pretty open about being a narcissist." Xing Ye said.
"I have no choice. Who made me look like this?" The small mirror touched his own face. "You don't have to feel embarrassed about kissing me in the game. My mom still can't help but kiss my face sometimes. I'm too good-looking. It's not something anyone can control."
---
Today, the boss walked into his office and put his travel razor kit on his desk. From time to time, he would look at his own reflection in the kit's little mirror with eyes filled with affection. The boss was only 29. He was wealthy, single, and led a clean private life. Despite that, he never engaged in blind dates or interacted with women in private. He was simply the epitome of a top-tier bachelor.
Assistant Qi used to think if the boss ever got married, he might not have deep feelings for his spouse, but he would definitely be responsible for his family. He would fulfill all the duties expected of him and live a peaceful, loyal life.
But now, the boss seemed to have fallen in love with his own reflection...
The assistant was scared at his own imagination, raising a row of goosebumps.
---
"Now that you’ve discovered it, I don’t want to hide it anymore. I like Xiao Ze, and I like him as a romantic partner. In fact, I haven’t pursued him yet; it’s just my own feelings, and I lack confidence in myself.”
“Auntie, you know that Xiao Ze’s favourite person is definitely himself. I don’t expect to surpass his self-love; I only hope he can share a little bit of his feelings with me. By using this phone case and acting in strange ways, I also want to understand him and appeal to his preferences. If one day he wakes up, I hope to establish some common ground with him through this.”
Lu Mingze’s laughter in the mirror abruptly stopped, and he stared at Xing Ye, dumbfounded.
Had he just been confessed to by Xing Ye? And it wasn’t even directly to him, but to his parents?
---
Mirror Lu Mingze stomped his feet anxiously—he wanted to see!
Even though he trusted Xing Ye wouldn’t do anything inappropriate, still—he wasn’t in his body! If Xing Ye kissed his cheek or something, he’d get jealous of his own body!
No—that’s not right. He’d be jealous of Xing Ye. After all, he loved his own face so much!
Oh my god, who on earth was he supposed to be jealous of?
Why did a relationship between two people feel like it had become a three-person mess?
---
omg this is the best ability XP
Cao Qian replied: "I just used it. I merged “Self-Deception” with “Agility,” hoping to keep the deception function and let it make me move faster—but unexpectedly, I got a completely unrelated ability."
Curious, Xing Ye asked: "What ability?"
Cao Qian: "It’s called “Transformation Girl.” It lets me transform into a sailor-uniformed magical girl, enhancing speed, strength, reflexes, and self-healing, while slightly increasing luck."
The skill “Self-Deception” already contained elements of concealment and transformation—very much like the transformation powers of many magical girls. Moreover, after merging with “Agility,” the ability had evolved: not only retaining its original speed and nimbleness, but also gaining luck and healing power, greatly enhancing Cao Qian’s combat ability. Overall, it was a good result.
But…
Cao Qian glanced at her phone.
The skill description listed side effects: she might unconsciously blurt out phrases like “For justice, I will defeat you!”—embarrassing if said in reality; she might develop delusions like “I must charge into the most dangerous place!”; a “recognition filter” could appear—though she looked exactly the same, her teammates would somehow fail to recognize her.
June 30, 2021
虽然是爽文，但可读性还可以诶，金手指真开心…………
April 13, 2022
看完了，副本都很有意思，而且每个副本都很复杂但是逻辑巨清晰，既有趣又保证能看懂（这好像是唯一一本我全程逻辑能跟下来的无限流。）心理博弈的部分也很棒（拜托吊打系统真的超酷的诶）本来不怎么看主攻文但是这本让我改观了，主角和配角真的都好棒，喜欢这种群像。老好看了！！！
May 16, 2026
This may contain spoilers later.
High Energy QR Code is an Unlimited flow written by none other than Cyan Wings, whom you may know from their most popular work Devil venerable also wants to know.
Honestly this one I picked randomly because I was frustrated that I didn't know what to read...and it surprised me. It was so good!
I'll say this:
- If you like more romance focused novels - this isn't for you
- If don't like OP MCs - this isn't for you
- If you don't like gong MCs - this isn't for you
- If you don't like linear stories - this isn't for you
HOWEVER
- If you like fleshed out and memorable side characters - this IS for you
- If you like stories focused on the main character's growth - this is for you
If I had to nickpick... It was probably the length. Yes, the games were very interesting, the fact that was a surprise for me (pleasant most of the time), the concept itself was so fresh, so new, but the novel itself is very long and the more you advance, the more you start to see a pattern and it gets old by the end of it.
All in all, I do recommend it. It's very underrated - Xing Ye and the ML are cute, their teammates are very likable, you won't regret picking it up.
* I should mention that I didn't really like the ending - I just hate when authors fix something they messed up in the extras. I don't usually read the extras so it was quite annoying for me.
High Energy QR Code is an Unlimited flow written by none other than Cyan Wings, whom you may know from their most popular work Devil venerable also wants to know.
Honestly this one I picked randomly because I was frustrated that I didn't know what to read...and it surprised me. It was so good!
I'll say this:
- If you like more romance focused novels - this isn't for you
- If don't like OP MCs - this isn't for you
- If you don't like gong MCs - this isn't for you
- If you don't like linear stories - this isn't for you
HOWEVER
- If you like fleshed out and memorable side characters - this IS for you
- If you like stories focused on the main character's growth - this is for you
If I had to nickpick... It was probably the length. Yes, the games were very interesting, the fact that was a surprise for me (pleasant most of the time), the concept itself was so fresh, so new, but the novel itself is very long and the more you advance, the more you start to see a pattern and it gets old by the end of it.
All in all, I do recommend it. It's very underrated - Xing Ye and the ML are cute, their teammates are very likable, you won't regret picking it up.
* I should mention that I didn't really like the ending - I just hate when authors fix something they messed up in the extras. I don't usually read the extras so it was quite annoying for me.
February 6, 2026
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.
June 28, 2025
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.
so yes, i want to read it again.
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.
so yes, i want to read it again.
October 13, 2025
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.”
The ten games the main character takes part in are described in great detail and make perfect sense in terms of the storyline.”
March 27, 2026
4 stars.
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.
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.
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