DANMEI Reading List (RAW) Pt. 2

220. How Many Tomorrows There Are

Translator: Oriental Rabbit

Chapters: 88 + 2 Extras

Tags: gong MC, post-apocalyptic/dystopian, survival games, OP MC, twisted shou, class system

Synopsis:

Deeply-closeted Xiaoming has downloaded a zipped file and opened one of the texts at random. He closed it immediately after two pages because he found it way too kinky for his tastes, and can only faintly recall the cannon fodder and the antagonist.

Waking up later, he became that cannon fodder on his way to tomorrow’s killing gauntlet reality show. Failing to return even after reciting the core values a hundred times, he could only pick up his sword. As long as the tragic fate could be rewritten, it’s fine to become tainted or whatever.

Impressions:  Hmm... surprisingly dark, but not angsty. MC and shou is in a love/hate relationship in almost the entire novel. Hmm... 75~85% of it?

MC transmigrates in a dystopian novel set in post-apocalyptic world. Even after rebuilding human society, human morals have already collapsed.  While comatose from transmigration, MC gets sold in a Hunger Games-like reality show where people kill each other for entertainment. It is unacceptable to MC at first but he laters adapts to it and starts planning for FREEDOM!!!

Shou is an Inner City citizen, an aristocrat and the antagonist in the novel. He becomes interested in MC who still have his goodness and morals, and wants to 'taint' him. MC is not a Holy Mother, he knows how to mind his own business, but if you compare him to everyone in the post-apocalyptic world, he is still pretty tame. Anyways, there begins their love/hate relationship. More conspiracies, deceptions and power struggles in between~~

Shou doesn't believe in love, he thinks he is merely interested with MC as a toy, society and the education he received tells him 'love' is merely an illusion, MC is just someone that has pique his interests, he will do whatever it takes to get him but he also knows that his interest will wane after he gets him later. Similarly, MC doesn't believe in shou's love either, he does't think shou is capable of it.

I like that they both missed each other, just when MC is wavering and undefended against shou, shou betrays him and #spoiler installs a chip on his brain. This should be unforgivable for MC cos it infringes on his 'free will' which he keeps fighting about. MC later wakes up from the influence of the chip but by then, he acknowledges that he had already fallen inlove with shou and forgives(?) him for it. And just when MC is thinking of confessing to shou that he is no longer under the influence of the chip but is STILL inlove with him, shou finds out on his own with the worst possible timing.

This has a lot of interesting characters, some Inner City aristocrats, some contestants in the same show as MC, but I can't find a favorite one. Lol. Maybe their #spoiler experimental little bun, although he has little screentime.

Shou is scum, he is possesive, his thought processes very much in line (and sometimes even more vicious) with other Inner City residents. Even after getting together with MC, he is not much influenced by him. Outer City people is still trash in his eyes, their 'son/child' is still just an experimental sample, only MC is special to him. MC is also a special kind of scum, he is a self-aware scum (lol), he knows that he is misusing shou's trust on him, he feels bad about it, but does he stop doing it? No. His fight for freedom is too important to him. He plans to ask for forgiveness afterwards. And shou gives it to him later. (He's even prepared to sacrifice himself/to be used by MC). I guess rather than forgiveness, it was more like, they were even now.

#spoiler Ending is open-ended. It has that 'Everything is just beginnning' kind of feeling. But at least, MC has gained his freedom and his true love shou.

Hmm... I like it. It's...unique. It's very interesting when MC tries to cope with post-apocalyptic values trying to reconcile it with his own worldview. Lots of theory stuff and schools of thought like whether Man is inherently good or evil. Or if there's such a thing as 'free will'. etc. Also, MC's golden finger is downplayed, of course his super strength and other skills comes from there, but at first, it was mostly used for venting his emotions so he won't go crazy in this crazy crazy new world. MC inner thoughts are fun, he almost almost fell into the darkness before he wakes himself up. Lots of internal struggles when it comes to his relationship with shou. Although a dark MC would be good too, but I'm glad he kept his bottomline~~

It's not among my favorites but I'm glad I read it. A fujoshi friend of mine dropped it saying it was too dark, but I feel like its worth the read~