Late Ming: I Turned the Tables with a Million Players

In the final years of the Chongzhen reign, flames of war spread across the land. Zhu Mingchen’s soul travels through time into the body of the most obscure branch of the Ming imperial clan: he has neither the prestige of a royal relative nor a network of powerful connections. A single order sends him to the frontier of Xuanda, where he serves as a border garrison captain with only a few dozen elderly and battle-worn soldiers under his command.

Mongol cavalry threatens the passes in the north, while bands of refugees wreak havoc in the south. Factional strife rages at court, and military pay and provisions have long since run out. Standing atop the city wall in the bitter wind, gazing at the smoke spreading in the distance and the starving, freezing soldiers below, Zhu Chen is filled with despair. In this chaotic age, a powerless imperial castoff with no influence or foundation is nothing but cannon fodder, destined to be buried in the frontier wilderness.

Just as he loses all hope, the [Myriad Worlds Player Summoning System] suddenly awakens! The System’s cold notification cuts through the silence: “The Host may distribute virtual helmets to Earth and recruit Earth players to the late Ming frontier. All player actions will be converted into real combat power.”

When the first batch of virtual helmets, labeled “Hardcore Historical Survival Game,” appears in gaming hotels, university dorms, and workplace cubicles across Earth, countless thrill-seeking players rush in. They think it’s an immersive full-dive online game, unaware that the flashing blades and fields of corpses before them are real. They complain, “This game is way too hardcore...”