Taking a Game System Into the Infinite

Zhou Mian entered an infinite world of horror stories with a game System.

But at the time, he was wearing flimsy PvE gear (equipment meant for fighting monsters). Before he could get his bearings, he was caught in a free-for-all.

PvE gear was practically useless against players, and every attack missed. With his terrible luck, Zhou Mian felt like giving up on life. A newbie with a battle rating of five, he was tossed into the advance squad to scout ahead and die.

The good news: his golden finger was still absurdly powerful. It reduced pain, accurately located red-name players, let him dodge red-glow skills, and identified people by the IDs above their heads. His attacks did impressive damage to ghosts and monsters. The only problem was

Zhou Mian: ...The monsters don't have health bars. How am I supposed to fight them?

As the dungeon story unfolded, the players faced a sealed-off village, tales of possession by evil spirits, and eerie, twisted white figures. One by one, their sanity hit zero, and they came close to breaking down.

The villagers trapped the players in a narrow cave. Their blank faces turned toward them. "You are today's sacrificial offerings."

Malice surged toward them. Evil spirits took over human bodies. As the players neared despair and prepared to die, Zhou Mian's eyes lit up

"Their health bars are showing," Zhou Mian said.

The person beside him hadn't heard clearly. "What?"

"I mean," Zhou Mian said, "we can kill them."

He dodged with incredible agility, struck weak points at lightning speed, and unleashed high-damage area attacks. Zhou Mian stood amid a pool of blood, calmly wiping down his weapon.

His inner thoughts: PvE gear really does high damage against monsters. (Thumbs up.)

Zhou Mian's power seemed so terrifyingly strong that he looked like one of the top-ranked players. The veteran players watching from the sidelines immediately realized they'd provoked a powerhouse who had been hiding his true strength. Their legs trembling, they dropped to their knees and begged him to spare them.

Zhou Mian: "..." No, I just happen to not be wearing PvP gear (equipment meant for fighting players), which makes me seem especially "reasonable."

After discovering he could unlock PvP gear by progressing through dungeons, Zhou Mian quietly took on a few underlings. "Be my shields."

"I don't want to turn into a beast. My last line in the sand is that I won't attack my fellow humans unless I'm driven into a corner." Zhou Mian smiled. "But sometimes, it really is very, very troublesome... I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself."

His mercy and softheartedness are a lie. He's just specialized in fighting monsters, while his attacks miss players.

The others shuddered all over. From then on, they became his dedicated underlings.

*

Zhou Mian had kept his secret well hidden, until a certain major boss discovered it.

Before he had collected all the PvP gear, that person was his greatest threat. Zhou Mian kept secretly plotting to kill the boss, until he discovered that the other man had driven all his underlings away and said he wanted to be Zhou Mian's personal shield.

Theme: A single spark can start a prairie fire.