I Couldn’t Set Sail Today

As a corporate s*ave, Zhou Qian is relentlessly exploited by his unscrupulous boss during the day, pressured by his parents to marry at night, and berated by his night school teacher on weekends for his perceived lack of intelligence. On the day Zhou Qian was pulled into the infinite game, he breathed a sigh of relief: Finally. Goodbye, marriage-pushing maniacs; Goodbye, 996 (the Chinese work culture of 9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week); Goodbye, damn night school. Tonight, he’s setting sail! In the first instance of his journey, Zhou Qian boards a terrifying bus with a group of players. When the bus reaches its destination, Zhou Qian is shocked to see his mother. “My precious son, did you think running away from home would help you avoid blind dates?” She grins: “Impossible.” Soon, a terrifying monster NPC is thrown onto Zhou Qian’s bed—his new blind date! In the second instance, the eerie high-rise, Zhou Qian spots his boss among the players. Shiny high-end leather shoes stomp on a monster’s head, and his boss strides towards Zhou Qian amidst the players’ horrified gazes. “Why did you disappear during overtime?” “I heard that people who die here also die outside. Are you trying to cheat us out of death benefits?” “Is the project plan done or not? I’m asking you, is it done or not?!” In the subsequent instance, his boss slaughters all the monsters, and Zhou Qian burns the midnight oil working 996. In the third instance, the endless (bloody) sea of learning, with a 90% death rate, Zhou Qian, who had skipped many classes, encounters his night school teacher. “Qian, come to the teacher,” says the man with a pale face, extending his hand. “!” Zhou Qian abandons any thought of continuing his journey and retreats behind his teammates. But as soon as he approaches, his teammates instinctively step back, creating a gap between them. “?” Why does it seem like they’re more afraid of me? Three years ago, a strange fog drifted through the city. Since then, Zhou Qian noticed that some people around him seemed abnormal. Later, when he got pulled into the infinite game, all the players cursed the cunning, cruel, and terrifying NPCs. Only Zhou Qian sighed with genuine relief: “Finally, normal people.” Yet everyone else looked at him with unspeakable expressions and nodded: “Yes, you’re the most normal.” Outwardly honest and modest, but actually stunningly handsome and highly intelligent, the beautiful shou vs. the madman who’s consistently insane, the heretic gong.