Raising Little Monsters

[The new story next door, "Infinite Survival, With the Nation at My Back", is out. Give it a look if you’re interested] [This novel is under contract for print publication. Progress updates are posted on Weibo, account: Lion Galaxy on Dayan JJ]

Tang Xiao is a hardcore gamer. He majored in biology at university, a notoriously useless field, so he was determined to find another path and become a professional gamer.

A gaming prodigy and hardcore player, there was no level he couldn’t clear. One day, his roommate recommended a full-dive game, supposedly the hardest ever made. Countless professional gamers had failed at it, but anyone who cleared it would become an overnight sensation.

Tang Xiao confidently jumped in, only to get countless bad endings.

The opening was always as a lab goon, and the ending was always being devoured by the monster he had raised.

Tang Xiao: ? This is kind of interesting.

After countless rounds of fighting it out with the monster, Tang Xiao went from a lab goon to a research assistant, then from research assistant to full researcher. He even managed to get into graduate school for biology in real life.

Tang Xiao: ...Wait, what was I playing this game for again? (Totally hooked) (Not thinking straight)

Whatever. Just keep grinding!

In the final round, he looked at the little monster he had raised. It was covered in blood-red growths, looking like something between a mushroom and an animal, with an appearance that made your sanity points plummet.

The monster had somehow learned to disguise itself as a human. It pressed against him like a dog, no longer cold and cruel like in the previous rounds. Its tendrils, like fungal hyphae, wrapped around Tang Xiao’s ankle as it rasped, “You promised. One tube of blood in exchange for one kiss.”

Species: King of Fungi (higher-dimensional life form)

Threat level: ???

Tang Xiao sneered. During a main quest, he decisively faked his death and uninstalled the game!

Stupid game, you’ve wasted my youth! I’m done playing. Keep this up and I’ll have a PhD before I know it!

Tang Xiao’s eldest brother worked in the upper echelons. One day, he learned a secret.

A full-dive game called "Fungal Era" had swept the globe. But it wasn’t just a game: its world was a parallel world that really existed. For various reasons, the two worlds were about to merge, and when they did, things would go badly.

One day, a special department suddenly issued an urgent internal wanted notice for a mysterious Dr. Tang.

The monster he had raised had gone berserk. Spores and hyphae were spreading around the world. When the two worlds merged, it would ascend the throne. That would be a disaster, because someone had gone missing, leaving the monster in an uncontrollably violent state.

Tang Xiao’s eldest brother looked at the description of Dr. Tang on the wanted notice, then at his own brother, who was kicking back with his legs crossed, playing games without a care in the world.

Should he put family loyalty aside for the greater good? Or put family loyalty aside for the greater good?

Reading notes:

1. The love interest is nonhuman. At first, he looks pretty sanity-destroying. If you’re interested, check out my Weibo, Lion Galaxy on Dayan JJ. He’ll take on a human form later.

2. This isn’t purely romance-focused; there’s also a career plotline.

3. The research is complete nonsense. The author knows next to nothing about research, and to keep the plot moving, there will be some bugs, including but not limited to experiments being conducted very quickly and papers being published fast. Following reality would make the timeline drag on too long. This is just an ordinary wish-fulfillment story, so don’t overthink it. You can point out obvious factual errors and I’ll fix what I can, but some things can’t be changed because of the later plot. If you can’t accept that, click X and drop the story without telling me.

4. Please don’t post spoilers in the comments.

Check out my wife Yue Du Hantang’s novel: "Rule-Based Horror Scenarios: A Guide [Infinite]": How to explore an unknown space

It’s already two million words long, so you can binge it!

Check out my pre-release, "Infinite Survival, With the Nation at My Back"

In the grand arena of Infinite Survival,

some people can fight their way through with sheer strength, some can carry the whole team with their brains, some can talk their way past NPCs, and some can charm their way through with their looks.

But Tang Mobai couldn’t. After barely making it through a beginner scenario and nearly dying in the process, he accepted the fact that he was just an ordinary, clueless college student and decided...

to turn himself over to the nation.

Tang Mobai: Waaaah, dear nation, I’m useless. Please save me.

Mysterious disappearances had become increasingly common in the country, but a special task force had made no progress. Just as experts from across the nation were meeting to discuss the matter, one phone call revealed the true nature of the mysterious spaces.

The nation mass-produced talismans from a supernatural world.

It used cyberpunk technology to rapidly advance its artificial intelligence.

And the causality-defying items from the rule-based world secured its position as a world power.

While other countries around the world were still locked in a struggle over existing resources, one great nation quietly raised its capabilities in every field to a level no other country could hope to match.

What’s it like to have a nation as your golden finger?

Tang Mobai had a friendly answer: At first, he really wanted to die. His entire two-week stay was spent training like crazy: fighting, acting, rhetoric, stealth. Criminal masterminds and specialists of every kind were brought in to train him. Once they tested what personal items he could bring along, they nearly armed him to the teeth.

But it was reassuring, too, because the strongest state apparatus in the world stood behind him.

They would always be waiting for him to come home.

In a terrifying world of infinite survival, everyone wanders alone through scenarios they enter without any guarantee of coming back. They don’t know what lies ahead, trust no one, and have nowhere to turn for help.

One day, a reckless newcomer broke that ironclad rule.

“Why did you save me?”

“Would you still choose Donghua in your next life?”

The other person hesitated. “...I’d still be a child of Huaxia in my next life.”

After confirming that they were compatriots, Tang Mobai grinned. “Brother, do you believe in the nation?”

As long as you believe, the nation will never abandon any of its citizens. My dear...

#Cross-world rescue: late, but never absent#

#The-nation-saves-my-life-series#

The former top-ranked player on the strategy leaderboard had become a madman teetering on the edge of hell. One day, he witnessed the brilliance of the sun.

He roused the reason that had fallen into the abyss. From then on, the deranged Sequence One developed a new obsession:

He wanted to hold the sun in his arms.

A sunny, growing bottom × a deranged, obsessive top who was once the leaderboard champion

Theme: Never stop thinking when trapped in a difficult situation. Persistence leads to success