MTL - Human Shackles - Chapter 20 Mudslide

No sign in, no punch card.

Do not rely on breathing, do not rely on walking, do not rely on heartbeat.

The system is produced in one step

- Description from novelbuddy

“In a land far to the east, there exists a strange store that has rejected a three Michelin star rating multiple times.

The prices are expensive. A combo set of soup and egg fried rice costs 288 RMB. Oh, I forgot it also includes a side dish of pickles. Even so, very many people line up to wait.

That place does not accept reservations. It only lets in people who are waiting in line there. Countless people make special trips to line up there. Of course, there’s nowhere to park planes or cars.

Their service is so terrible, the customers have to serve their own dishes and grab their own bowls and chopsticks, and they even have to wipe down their own tables! God, the boss is simply crazy.”

—《 Michelin Gourmet Magazine》

- Description from Novelupdates

Gu Jin crossed into a novel as the supporting character and best friend of the main female lead, Cheng Xin.

Cheng Xin was frequently surrounded by men of status and quality. As Gu Jin was the female lead’s dearest friend, she doesn’t mind settling for the leftover meager soup if the female lead chose to eat the meat. The two sisters believed they’d enjoy this friendship for a lifetime.

But just as she was ready to latch firmly unto Cheng Xin’s golden thigh, she discovered the body she crossed into had memories of future events beyond the novel’s plot, finding out that her marriage would end in utter failure.

The female lead, Cheng Xin who often quarrelled with the male protagonist would head over to Shao Chong for comfort even though Shao Chong was married to Gu Jin. And after several incidences, Gu Jin advised Shao Chong to have a sense of propriety as her spouse but he told her not to think too much about it, claiming that he only maintained a pure friendship with Cheng Xin.

On the day Gu Jin was kidnapped, her good husband stayed by her cousin’s side and accompanied her to the hospital.

When Gu Jin transmigrated into this new world and learned of the truth, she did not wish to waste this new life as a supporting role for her cousin as the previous soul had done. She’d not live a life as a spectator in someone else’s love story. No. She would be the protagonist of her own romance in this new life.

- Description from Novelupdates

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.