The Alluring, Hated General Tries to Become the Game's Most Popular Character

[My next novel has a male protagonist and no romance: The Cannon-Fodder Villain Chooses to Join the Main Cast. Similar no-romance, ensemble-cast, hurt/comfort story. A young villainous cannon-fodder character awakens to his fate and chooses to take over the story threads of his mentor, his unexpected-death white moonlight, becoming a morally ambiguous member of the main cast. A passionate shonen story about spirited young people, with true Sentinel-Guide dynamics.] An unconventional secret identity story, with live-streamed game updates and a popularity system. Build fame to become a beloved character. Misunderstood as a villain early on, genuinely powerful later; hated by the group who becomes their favorite. A leading character who is a light in the cold night, guiding all to salvation. Real and fake character deaths alike, an ensemble cast!!! A highly complex mix of elements, but at heart it's all about my personal tastes. Updates around nine every evening, though the exact time varies. Spring Returns to the Splendor of Life is a hugely popular full-dive apocalyptic game. The sects of Dongzhou are stationed across the land, their mortise-and-tenon technology reaching to the skies as they defend Dongzhou against the Living Celestial Venerables. The game offers immense freedom, a passionate and carefree story, and a rich variety of gameplay. It took the entire country of A by storm as soon as it launched. The game's creator, who calls himself Xijun, came to make a deal with Linyue, a player who had unexpectedly died. If Linyue wants to survive alongside his friends, he must enter the game world and become its most famous and popular character. But Xijun is a prankster through and through. As his business partner, Linyue is saddled with the group-hated debuff and thrown into the full-dive game as the notorious demon general NPC of Yumen Pass. Surrounded by enemies from the moment he arrives, threatened with assassination every day, and saddled with the group-hated debuff [Despised by All], his situation can only be described as miserable. Fortunately, he's not the only one in the same boat. He can just about get by thanks to the daily madness of his friends, who are dealing with the same predicament. The healer sect's little girl, who spends every day cursing the dead for running around with their health bars flashing, has only just transmigrated when she complains in their group chat: [Qihuang Sect's Miracle Healer and Telegram Operator: ***Some shameless quack's started another malpractice dispute at the Qihuang Sect****I*****can't*****believe I'm still dealing with this after transmigrating into the game***But live! All of you, stay alive!] The assassin of the Danxing Pavilion, who offers a complete package of infiltration, assassination, and burial under a hundred different secret identities, can't hold back his crazed ranting either: [Danxing Pavilion's Killer Assassin: PVP!!! PVE!!! I'm chomping away, slaughtering them all! Hahaha, none of you are getting away! Come pad my stats!] The demon monk and construction worker, ecstatic over the otherworldly civil engineering technology, laughs the loudest and starts his life in construction: [Juefa Temple's Construction Demon Monk: Ha! You demonic construction project! Take this, a physical repair with my staff! Build those walls, build them! No casualties! I'm mixing engineering-tech concrete, don't bother me!] Linyue, who thought he'd be homesick and struggle to adapt after transmigrating, wonders: It feels... like... not much has changed from before I transmigrated? From Xiao Ran's point of view: Xiao Ran is one of the main characters in the full-dive game Spring Returns to the Splendor of Life. He carries a deep grudge, and on the surface is a dashing young man in a flying-fish uniform, riding a horse and gathering flowers. In truth, he was reborn from a worldline left behind in the game's closed beta. Coming from a BE worldline where everyone died, Xiao Ran thought people's hearts were as wicked as demons and that no one could be trusted. Yet in the darkness, he found a few faint rays of light beyond those of his friends. The Qihuang Sect's miracle healer, a child in stature but peerless in medicine; the nameless yet omnipresent assassin of the Danxing Pavilion; the Juefa Temple's laid-back, irreverent monk-engineer, a master of mortise-and-tenon construction; and... A mysterious being sealed deep within the imperial city, the nightmare most feared by everyone who lived there. Faced with these people, Xiao Ran is astonished to discover that, to these legendary figures standing at the pinnacle of humanity, a thousand fine horses and priceless furs are no match for a cup of wine back home. Especially the red-clad general who fights bloodily on the frontier. He sees through Xiao Ran's past, yet still reaches out to him. “You save your world, and I'll save mine. Don't worry, we'll both succeed.” His blood-red eyes burn like fire, shining with a resolve no one dares look away from. The filthiest villains and the most mysterious beings become the brightest lights on the battlefield. Where the sea of flames meets the edge of the world, a second sun rises slowly, bearing a brand-new hope. That day, all the players outside the game went wild. [What??? You're telling me this early-game mini-boss is actually a guide character???] [Waaaaah, the black-haired general with icy blue eyes! My fox general, you're covered in death flags!] [Okay, but still, wounded and battle-worn is so hot. Give me more, more, more.] [Stop asking for more, the general's about to die of overwork. Poor guy had to claw his way out of a pile of paperwork to save the younger generation.] [I'm dying, look at those dark circles under the general's eyes. They're just like mine after an all-nighter at work.] [True Dragon Fate Emperor, please save him. My heart aches. Who knew General Linyue, my most hated character at first, would make me eat my words so hard?] [I thought the Dongzhou border general was already his most impressive identity, but this guy's a secret identity wholesaler, one layer after another...] [But I can't afford another pull. What if I don't get the general in this rerun? Waaaaah!] [Nothing for it. Pray to the Cyber Immortals. The general is softhearted, after all.] A sci-fi, apocalyptic full-dive game world, entirely fictional and combining worldbuilding elements without regard for convention, with some Lovecraftian and New Chinese-style elements. Some sects are inspired by several famous wuxia games. The protagonist is a reliable, high-ranking man written to suit my personal tastes, someone who restores your sanity. The male lead features many close, affectionate relationships and friendships with other men. In short, it's the story of someone who transmigrates into a game and becomes a popular character. As he revives himself and saves his friends, he joins the game's protagonist in stopping the boss from bringing about a BE ending and invading reality, while also finding a way back home. Theme: I can't bear to climb high and gaze into the distance, seeing my home far away. The road home lies ahead, and my longing refuses to fade.