Forced to Make a Living Through Mukbang in a Survival Game

. [This story is complete~ The illustrations are now available~ Click above to enter the draw~ Hope everyone gets an illustration they like~ If you enjoyed reading, please leave a rating (puppy eyes)]

[I'm writing a new story next door: A Cannon Fodder's Guide to Self-Preservation at the Aristocratic Academy~ Please add it to your favorites if you're interested~]

An Cheng lived an ordinary life for his first twenty years. He thought things would stay that way, until his peaceful existence was shattered: he was pulled into the "Live by Dying" tarot game and given a System that had absolutely nothing to do with escaping: a mukbang System.

Question: Is there anything worse than being pulled into an escape game?

An Cheng: Having an unreliable System.

How unreliable?

An Cheng (with difficulty): It's a mukbang... System.

Legend has it that Live by Dying hates beautiful players who are useless, unable to lift a finger or carry a load. They call people like that Butterflies.

Nothing going for them but their looks.

After witnessing an act of violence with his own eyes, An Cheng looks at the man walking toward him. There's a suspicious liquid on the man's hands.

The man crouches down, drapes a cloak over the frightened An Cheng, pauses, then takes out a handful of candy.

An Cheng (reaching out timidly): Is... is this my last meal?

[001] (scratching his head, deep in thought): That doesn't seem quite right...

Instance One: [Yes or No]

[Under intense pressure, students who find campus life dull start a bizarre game in their dormitory. The story begins pleasantly enough, but things slowly start to go wrong.]

[This school is hiding a terrifying secret.]

[The game won't stop.

Death awaits them.]

The unlucky An Cheng is forced to drink the mysterious liquid in his cup as soon as he enters the game. Once he's finished, the NPC beside him, as if unable to wait, drinks the water left in his cup and says, "It's his turn."

The NPC farthest from him babbles rapidly for a while, then stops.

"Yes or No?"

An Cheng (looking pitiful): C-can't I pick "or"?

This is bad. I've barely arrived, and I've already been shoved into a death trap.

Legend has it that viewers hate clingy, helpless Butterflies who squeal at every step, pant after every run, and latch onto powerful players. They're good for nothing but holding everyone back.

What they love are high-IQ challenges and bloody battles, the [Perfect Prophecy] that goes down in history, and unprecedented ways to clear an instance and S-rank items.

That's what truly brings out the audience's bloodlust and enthusiasm.

And An Cheng, who isn't clever, isn't strong, and has no talent for clearing instances, says, "Maybe I should just ask for a peaceful death."

To make matters worse, An Cheng's System is a mukbang System. He can hardly imagine how many people in the chat will call him a glutton.

But

The baby's too skinny. Eat a little more.

I'd steal all the points from every player in this instance just to buy you food.

Love it, love watching this, 16,876 likes.

An Cheng: These viewers don't seem all that scary.

[001]: Wait, you guys? That's a bit much. (lights a cigarette)

An Cheng: How am I supposed to handle becoming number one in points thanks to mukbang tips?

An Cheng is fragile, but fiercely independent. He knows he's weak, so he stays cautious, plays dumb, and tries to scrape by until the end. But someone interrupts him every single time.

Man (at the end of his patience): Whose leg are you clinging to, anyway?

An Cheng (innocently): I'm clearing the game on my own.

Reading tips:

1. Escape-room puzzles (idiot mode), fake everyone-loves-him, narcissism, gong with split personalities

2. Too many tarot elements in the instances. I make up all the rules as I go.

3. I love dog training, plot twists, and face-slapping. (I'm a simple person.)

Theme: Live well, no matter what.