A Newbie, Yet the Infinite Game Raises Me to the Heavens

*Dungeon 6: The Noble Academy Hunting Game is under construction! Ji Chengwang accidentally opened the keepsake left behind by his father, who had been missing for many years, and was pulled into a demon game. [Inherit the previous game's progress?] Ji Chengwang didn't look closely and chose yes. [Entering "Highest Difficulty: Crimson."] This time, Ji Chengwang saw clearly: ? The next second, he became one of the six people seated around a bonfire. The other players were all perfectly composed. They had risked their lives in all kinds of high-risk dungeons; some had extraordinary skills, while others had killed countless people, and they were used to scenes like this... Everyone except Ji Chengwang. "Please select a dungeon mode." The bewildered newbie Ji Chengwang thought for a moment, skipped [Survival] and [Confrontation], and voted for what looked like the easiest option: [Investigation]. The other players, seeing the vote: !!! Who the hell was reckless enough to ban the easiest option, Investigation? "Dungeon mode [Investigation] has been removed for all players." The veteran players all sat up uneasily, their guarded gazes turning toward the voter. The young man wore a hood and rested his cheek on one hand, his head tilted. He looked completely at ease. The players wailed inwardly: This is bad. There's an expert in this round. Ji Chengwang, who really didn't dare meet their eyes: ...Uh, nobody told me this was the ban vote? "Welcome to the [Survival] mode dungeon [The Werewolf Is Dead]." When everyone was trapped in a snowbound mountain villa, the other players began introducing themselves, each announcing which demon sponsor was backing them. What sponsors? Agares? Dantalion? Who are these people? When it was Ji Chengwang's turn, he thought briefly, knitting his brows as he tried to bluff his way through: "I'm not allowed to say their name." The other players: !!! Their expressions turned solemn. So that's why... No wonder... This must be the top-ranked player favored by the Old Gods...? Hearing them call him "Easter," Ji Chengwang knew that when you're out in the world, you can give yourself whatever identity you want. He didn't deny it and said calmly, "Just call me Ji Chengwang." When all the light sources suddenly went out and darkness descended, the other players instantly went on high alert, using all kinds of [Blessings] and [Items] to defend themselves. When the lights came back on, only Ji Chengwang was still leaning against the sofa, completely unchanged. The other players: !!! They felt ashamed: A true powerhouse is a true powerhouse... So composed, never revealing his trump cards lightly... Little did they know that Ji Chengwang had logged in with a new account. He had nothing, except for a [Blessing] whose skill name he couldn't even understand. After that, no matter how many newbie-like things Ji Chengwang did one after another, from trying to walk beyond the game's boundaries to approaching a trap that was obviously an evil spirit's magic circle, the people around him looked at him more and more strangely... Their admiration was getting out of hand. They secretly wondered: The expert must have his reasons for doing this. That was, until a hideous evil spirit appeared and someone begged Ji Chengwang to step in. Ji Chengwang might not be a real expert, but he certainly had guts. He fearlessly stepped forward and stood between the shrieking monster and everyone else. But before he could get close, the monster let out a scream ten times more agonized than before and vanished into thin air. The other players came over to cheer for Ji Chengwang. Only Ji Chengwang knew that he hadn't done anything. Looking past the crowd, he suddenly noticed a tall, curly-haired young man who was the only one still standing where he was. Ji Chengwang saw with his own eyes a strange, deep-red mist flicker behind the man. The monster was clearly dissolving in agony, as if being burned by fire. Ji Chengwang grabbed him. "Why did you help me?" The pale, thin young man with curly hair lowered his lashes slightly, then gave a brilliant smile. Leaning in close to Ji Chengwang's ear, he whispered, "I don't want you to die in front of everyone this soon, Easter. I can't afford that embarrassment." Ji Chengwang finally caught on and took a step back: ... "Easter" smiled and took a step forward. Oh, so he'd been using the real guy's secret identity this whole time. Yu Jin had been trapped in the demon game for five whole years. As he overused his Blessings, he gradually lost his humanity. He treated human lives as worthless, lied constantly, and acted recklessly. He had imagined a thousand ways to die in a dungeon, but he'd never thought a newbie would save him. His desire to toy with that person had one day turned into a desire to keep living. He suddenly began to yearn to live alongside someone so good. If he could, he would slaughter the demons who took pleasure in tormenting humanity, because that was what the person wanted. Other max-level experts start from zero. Ji Chengwang is a newbie who was born right into the Demon King's castle. A snowbound mountain villa plagued by disasters, a mysterious cruise ship hosting a gathering of horror novelists, a campus survival game with hidden identities, a live-action role-playing game on hell difficulty... While every veteran player uses [Blessings] and magical items to fight, Ji Chengwang, "unarmed," insists on treating every dungeon step by step like a new player exploring a game... Then he survives one disaster after another, going on a rampage through all kinds of demon games. Some people doubt him, some fear him, but even more worship him as if he were a god. By the time people begin to realize something is wrong, it's already too late. Ji Chengwang keeps pretending... and really does become the strongest. [On the surface, a useless novice who coasts along, but in truth an arrogant, murderous, unhinged male ghost top X On the surface, a cold and aloof tough guy, but in truth a straightforward, innocent bottom with an unusual way of thinking] Before You Read: 1. A power fantasy about a bking, not a typical infinite-flow story. The early chapters use the chuunibyou trope, with side characters making things up on their own while the protagonist does nothing. The bottom has a powerful golden finger, and his growth is gradual. 2. Bottom is the main character, strong x strong, 1v1, happy ending. 3. Mild horror and cosmic horror. The story is entirely fictional. Some settings are inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos and Solomon's mythology, with original changes made for the plot. +++ Coming Soon: The Savior After the Cyber Apocalypse Insists on Being My Dog: College student Xie Xingzhou lost his parents when he was young. His kind and gentle neighbor, Mr. Qi, was one of the few people who showed him care. After Mr. Qi died unexpectedly, he became the person Xie Xingzhou cherished most. One day, Xie Xingzhou discovered a prophetic letter Mr. Qi had left him, like something from a science fiction novel: within three years, a meteor would fall, artificial intelligence would awaken, humanity would evolve into Sentinels and Guides, and a war between humans and machines would break out, bringing humanity to the brink of annihilation. In his last message, Mr. Qi asked Xie Xingzhou to do something for him. To fulfill the dying wish of the person he had a secret crush on, Xie Xingzhou willingly gave up everything he had. He didn't care if people thought he was stupid or crazy, and kept watch over the meteor crater in the snowy mountains for three whole years. Three years later, Mr. Qi came crawling out of the meteor crater, alive again, and ripped apart the robotic police officers who had come to arrest Xie Xingzhou with his bare hands. Only then did the stunned Xie Xingzhou learn that the other man's past was extraordinary: he was the world's only Dark Sentinel after the cyber apocalypse. He had already lived through an apocalypse once. After being reborn, he had laid out an elaborate plan and faked his own death. In the future, people would call him Qi Xian, "the Savior." Just as Xie Xingzhou was sincerely happy for the person he had a crush on, the newly awakened Mr. Qi turned around with a cigarette in his mouth and lit it, as if only then noticing Xie Xingzhou was there. "Thank you for your contribution to humanity... What was your name again?" After leaving behind a perfunctory word of thanks, the Savior left with the subordinates who had come to pick him up. With his nose red from the cold, Xie Xingzhou was abandoned in the snow. He finally understood: he had just been the Savior's plan B, C, and D, a random choice of cannon fodder. All that gentleness and care had been fake. There was no kind older neighbor called "Mr. Qi". That was just a persona Qi Xian had put on at random. Qi Xian himself was an arrogant egomaniac: obsessive, overbearing, and concerned only with his own interests. Xie Xingzhou's heart died along with his cherished image of Mr. Qi. He could only accept his bad luck and tell himself that these three years had been like looking after a neighbor's dog while they were away. Twenty-four hours later, Qi Xian clutched the lower half of his face, blood pouring from his nose without end. With a dark expression and on the verge of losing it, he grabbed his subordinate by the collar. "You have one hour to find that Guide." His subordinate pointed at himself. "Who? Me?" Forty-eight hours later, at the central tower of the City of Moonbuilding. Xie Xingzhou, a rare unpaired wild Guide, was being forced to go on a matchmaking date. The world-famous Dark Sentinel Qi Xian suddenly stormed into the tower with his armed unit, "Black Swan's Gun." With a cigarette in his mouth, he kicked down the tower's door, wearing a smiling expression. Qi Xian: "Darling, I'm late!" Xie Xingzhou: "Who are you again?" Qi Xian: ... As the world's only Dark Sentinel, Qi Xian hadn't needed a Guide before. All he needed to calm down was a cigarette. Nicotine was his best friend... at least, that was how it had been in his previous life. But after being reborn, he discovered that the little Guide who had watched over him for three years had become the only mental stabilizer compatible with him. For the sake of saving the world, Qi Xian could only swallow his pride and use sweet talk to reclaim and reuse this pawn. Qi Xian: "Come with me. Be my Guide." Xie Xingzhou: "Is that how you ask someone for help?" Qi Xian: ... Qi Xian: Why did I remember this Guide having a pretty good temper? After weighing the pros and cons, Xie Xingzhou decided to agree to work with the Savior and become his temporary partner in a mental bond, for the sake of all humanity, and for the sake of Mr. Qi's face. One day, on the eve of a battle with the villain. Qi Xian: "Why is it so easy for you to get through other people's mental barriers?" Xie Xingzhou: "What's a mental barrier?" Qi Xian: ? Qi Xian was ecstatic: His little charging station was getting more and more pleasing to the eye, and he might even be a Dark Guide. Xie Xingzhou was ecstatic: Saving the world? Way more fun than crushing on a jerk. Qi Xian was steadfast in his resolve. He would sacrifice even himself to save humanity. But he never imagined that one day he would regret for so long having brushed off someone who had sincerely cared for him. Xie Xingzhou always kept an escape route ready, because their relationship of mutual exploitation was fragile, and they could lose each other at any moment. It was as if the times themselves were trying to keep them from coexisting. By the time Xie Xingzhou finally realized something was wrong, it was already too late. The Savior had already put a collar on himself and tied the other end of the leash to Xie Xingzhou's hand. He couldn't run even if he wanted to. Qi Xian: "Don't leave me. Do it for all of humanity, okay?" Xie Xingzhou: ... Is this guy's spirit form really a northwest wolf? Isn't it more like a shameless, clingy stray dog? [An obsessive, arrogant Savior and domineering old Sentinel who is henpecked by his wife X A seemingly harmless, brave, and resilient, flirtatious herbivore Guide who doesn't know he's flirting] Before You Read: 1. Bottom is the main character, Sentinel x Guide, 1v1. 2. Strong x strong. It's really a story about two big shots saving the world and falling in love along the way. 3. The bottom has a golden finger, but it takes a while to activate. Slight harem-protagonist tendencies, so please be aware. 4. The top is reborn and has laid out a grand plan. The romance is slow-burn, but the more obsessed with work he is early on, the more desperately he'll chase his wife later. :P 5. Cyberpunk setting and non-typical Sentinel/Guide dynamics, with many original elements. No connection to any real-world groups or organizations. Any similarities are purely coincidental. Theme: Justice triumphs over evil