Guess I’ll Fight to the Bitter End

This is an interstellar danmei novel featuring mecha and supernatural abilities.

Jiang Die was cryogenically frozen because of an illness. When he woke up in the twenty-fourth century, he was free of leukemia. He went to high school, studied hard, played sports, and occasionally fought back against bullies. Three uneventful years of school life passed like that.

Then, in the year he graduated, his adoptive older sister fell gravely ill. Desperate to earn the exorbitant medical costs, Jiang Die had no choice but to turn his attention to the most lucrative path available.

The Combat Champions League, or CCL, is the sporting league with the highest commercial value in the solar system. Joining the CCL means heading to the Rubik's Cube Window at the edge of the solar system, entering it to explore four different alien civilizations, and pushing human civilization past the “blockade” imposed by the Rubik's Cube civilization, so humanity can earn the right to travel beyond the solar system.

By the time Jiang Die joined the CCL, the league had been striving to break through the Rubik's Cube blockade for forty years. Its members were the best of the best, exploring the future on behalf of humanity. Its star players could land contracts worth hundreds of millions and earn the admiration of countless fans.

The league's old legends were nearing the end of their reign, and a new generation of powerhouses was about to rise. As the stars clashed, Jiang Die resolved to brave the arduous road ahead, become the brightest new star among them, and find hope for leaving the solar system.

“Jiang Die is the most unmanageable rookie in history! The most obnoxious newcomer in the CCL!”

“Lang Ge once ruled the entire CCL like a tyrant. Jiang Die questioned the tyrant, defied the tyrant, then became the tyrant himself, even surpassing him. A new idiom was coined for him: challenge, surpass, and outdo!”

“And after defeating Lang Ge, the only rival left who could compete with him for the title of GOAT was Zhuang He.”

“By the way, does anyone still remember that the divisive new star Jiang Die was a shy little bunny when he first joined the league?”

In the eyes of the public, Jiang Die and Zhuang He were the star athletes leading the Earth and Mars divisions. They never met during the regular season, but whenever they faced off in the finals, they fought to the death. They snapped each other's winning streaks and played until they were battered and bloody. Any time they worked together, it was a fluke. Hating each other was only natural.

They were the most famous pair of sports stars in the twenty-fourth century, media darlings destined to be bitter rivals.

A reporter asked, “Is there any chance you'll make peace in this lifetime?”

Jiang Die smiled. “That's unlikely.”

Zhuang He was silent for a long time before replying, “That's right. He hates me.”

They were rivals on the field, yet drawn to each other. Even after an accident brought them together in bed, neither would admit their feelings. They couldn't let go, but couldn't bring themselves to love anyone else either, so all they could do was keep fighting.

A few things to know:

Jiang Die has rare golden blood. After developing leukemia, he couldn't be treated with a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, so he had to be cryogenically frozen from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth century.

The sports featured in this novel: mecha combat and dungeon exploration, with supernatural abilities and a fictional world.

A coming-of-age sports competition story. The main plot follows Jiang Die as he gradually becomes a legend on the field, builds a five-championship dynasty, and becomes the GOAT. Romance is secondary.

Flirtatious, seemingly experienced but actually a romantic novice gong x seemingly gentle, classically beautiful but actually sharp-tongued and fierce shou. Neither has a perfect personality. Readers with strong moral sensibilities, take care.

The gong is six years older than the shou. They love and fight each other, but it's a happy ending. First love and mutual pining. They're evenly matched. Most importantly, they really are bitter, hard-core rivals. I hadn't seen enough novels with truly fierce rivals, so I wrote one myself.

A firm one-on-one pairing. I started this novel just to have this pair fight and sleep together. No pairing changes or reversals.

No controlling fans, extremists, or extreme ideologies. Don't label or stereotype any group of people. Reading should be fun, so move on if it's not for you.

The story will go into detail about how the leads become enemies. I know this may be controversial, but I hadn't seen other rival stories explore this in depth, so I decided to write it for the sake of my personal tastes. The shou and gong officially become enemies in chapter 315; only then will their relationship start to develop. Until then, it will keep deteriorating. The story will also delve into their flaws and darker sides, so once again, reader discretion is advised.

No matter their species, skin color, profession, or gender, every character who does something wrong will face consequences. If another character offends the protagonist, he'll make them pay for it himself, since he's strong and has a fiery temper. If he takes too long to get even, that's because the author isn't updating fast enough or making him retaliate hard enough, so feel free to whip the author into writing more. Sending love!

No character's worldview should be taken as the author's. Seriously, don't. The author is just a person in the real world who writes stories, loves eating bananas, and sometimes imitates monkeys.

The athlete selection system in the story is based on American college sports leagues and professional league drafts.

GOAT: Short for Greatest Of All Time. It describes athletes who are at the very top of their sport in skill, achievements, and influence. As explained by an internet search.

Theme: Stand up to bullying. Never give up your life because of bullying. Hold on to hope and stride boldly toward the future.