Gold Hunting [Wasteland]

[An ambitious, scheming heroine X an indifferent-to-fame-and-fortune nobleman hero]

She finally gets the chance to escape a life spent languishing beneath others,

and become the one holding the knife, not the one on the chopping block, in this chaotic age.

When Sang Shao discovers that a device has been implanted in her, one that lets her control the chips in other people's brains by burning through her own stamina, her first reaction isn't fear, but excitement.

The device is so ridiculously powerful that she can completely change her approach and stop groveling to the base leaders.

So she abandons the resources, status, and connections she worked so hard to accumulate, and walks out of the greenhouse-like base of her own accord.

She lies low among the Gold Hunters, using them as her starting point. She vows to overthrow the old powers at the base and become the new ruler.

As for the man who once gave her warmth and affection, if he's willing to serve her, she doesn't mind granting him status and position and sharing her wealth and glory with him. But if he insists on blocking her path to the top, she doesn't mind adding another bittersweet love to her memories.

[Excerpts from the heroine's words]

1. If I don't crush your dream, mine will be crushed instead.

2. How can you call this selling my soul? Selling your body for money is selling your soul. I use my own abilities to get what I want. I haven't hurt my body or gone against my will. Someone might get hurt along the way, but I didn't hurt them with my own hands. What have I done wrong?

3. I don't know what it means to live with dignity. But I know I want to live like a person, not a bug at everyone else's mercy. So even if I have to fly into the flame, I'm going to fight for my chance!

[Worldbuilding]

This world is desperately short on metal!

The world has become a wasteland. Metal across the entire planet has been severely depleted, and nuclear pollution has destroyed Earth's ecosystem.

The surviving humans, led by the organization Firmament, have built a very small civilization. With no metal, humanity has gradually regressed to a primitive state.

Mechanical ascension is out of reach, so the wealthy seek spiritual fulfillment in game worlds.

The real world is for survival; the game world is where people live. Different games also serve different purposes.

Sandbox games = refuge from the real world

RPGs = learning tools/skill exams

Minigames = tools for stimulating mental power

Romance games = A-side, a balm for the soul; B-side, a tool for strengthening resolve

Sang Shao, formerly a game architect (commonly known as a System), was responsible for guiding users through games safely, civilly, and efficiently. By chance, she gains the ability to control others in the real world by burning through her own stamina, along with a map to find iron.

Did people in this world make something this overpowered?

If not, who left her this dangerous weapon?

If they did, then someone knows exactly where the world's metals are distributed, which means there was once no shortage of metal! Where did it all go?

[Please note]

1. The heroine is not royalty. She is an ordinary person who climbed up from the bottom through her own efforts. She has a past, but no complicated background. Even if you go back ten generations, she is still the most capable one.

2. If the heroine ever tells a bizarre story about her background, she made it up herself.

3. The heroine is extremely attracted to good looks, or rather, good genes. She likes most men because she's attracted to their genes.

4. The ending is guaranteed to be one-on-one, but there's no guarantee the heroine won't make mistakes along the way.

Theme: Waiting isn't the answer. Only taking action brings hope.