I'd Rather Pick Up Trash in a Game

[Originally titled "Why Aren't You Dead Yet?" Only the title and synopsis have changed; the core premise is the same.]

This is the best of times, and the most dangerous.

This is a new world brimming with miracles. The "Gods' Game" exists beyond the dimensions of reality, and all kinds of mythical races coexist with humanity.

But whenever the "Blood Tide" descends, it brings echoes from an unknown world.

Awakened people who enter it have only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of survival. For ordinary people who encounter the Blood Tide, death is the only outcome.

But He Yi says: Sorry, that road to death is closed.

The only ordinary person ever to return safely from the Blood Tide, he not only survived, but brought back quite a few... local specialties?

·

He Yi has a pair of relentlessly ambitious parents. After being pushed to excel from childhood and suffering the emotional scars to prove it, he finally hits his delayed rebellious phase at twenty-three and decides he's done! He'll slack off as soon as he graduates!

He hasn't even had a few days to laze around before his parents line up internships, certifications, and blind dates for him.

He Yi turns and runs. By a twist of fate, he ends up in the legendary "Gods' Game."

On his first trip into the game, he has nothing to his name and can't even afford food, let alone buy gear for a dungeon. To survive, he has no choice but to become an honorable... scavenger.

He Yi: You've got to be kidding me. I'd rather scavenge in a game than get a job! I don't want to study! I don't want blind dates!

But later...

-- How did scavenging become my job?

-- Why does scavenging require expertise in the occult? What do you mean, the things I pick up aren't trash, but invasive entities? No, no. If I say it's trash, then it's trash!

-- How did I manage to scavenge a whole person... Oh, he's my boyfriend. Never mind.

·

Investigator One (gossiping): I heard Captain Zhan of the Prism Squad is really cold. He only listens when his partner speaks.

Investigator Two (scoffing): That's because his partner is his boss.

Investigator Three (serious): No, if you knew he calls Tier Three invasive entities junk, and those "echoes" give him a wide berth, you'd listen to him too...

Investigator Three again (seeing all): And what if his partner isn't just his boss, but also his wife? Would he dare not listen to his wife?

·

1. The setting is the new world after the reboot in After Work, I Became the Boss of an Infinite Dungeon. You don't need to read the previous work to enjoy this one. (I thought the new world was pretty interesting while writing the After Work bonus chapter, so I decided to show it to you. jpg.)

2. Half plot and half romance, with dungeons still taking up only a small portion.

CP: A lazy fish who wants to slack off but gets dragged into being passionate and inspirational (bottom) X You think he's cold? Not a chance. He's actually a dark, scheming green tea (top).

Note: The descriptions of Captain Zhan above come from Investigator Three.

3. The title comes from my best friend's classic line: "I'd rather scavenge in a game than sit down and write."

Theme: The undying