03 Bringing Chaos to the Game of Love

Causing chaos in a romance game world? Not even the boldest bestselling light novel author would dare to use such an exaggerated premise.

Yet this was precisely to Chen Shang’s taste.

After the rich kid’s twisted modifications, Chen Shang had long since lost all affection for this romance game. The thought that the heroines he’d personally designed had all become mindless devotees fawning over the second male lead made him wish the whole world would simply vanish.

Even without the system’s coercion, Chen Shang had already planned to break the game in his own way.

For instance, he could choose a neutral ending as a background character, and at the grand finale, drive a truck into the wedding hall, sending the second male lead and his deranged admirers flying into the air.

As the game planner, he had a hundred methods to destroy this world.

Yet there was one thing Chen Shang had never figured out—the origin of this “Collapse Core.”

When designing the game, Chen Shang had made “high freedom” its core feature.

The game was highly open-ended; romance was the main line, but far from the only thing a player could do.

Attending events, working part-time, venturing beyond the city to hunt and explore, training and leveling up, searching for hidden treasures… there was so much to do in this game. Many hidden paths could only be discovered by sacrificing time spent courting love interests.

Even if a player wanted to wreak havoc in-game, becoming a five-star model citizen wasn’t entirely out of reach.

But Chen Shang had no memory whatsoever of adding a “Collapse Core” to the game.

“What on earth is the Collapse Core?” Chen Shang muttered to himself.

Suddenly, several lines of text appeared before his eyes:

[In this post-apocalyptic wasteland, Night Axis City is humanity’s last hope, the final beacon of light.]

[Yet beneath its dazzling brilliance, this lighthouse teeters on the brink of collapse, ready to fall at any moment.]

[To live in such a city and devote yourself to romance is the height of absurdity.]

[Moreover, you know full well that no matter how hard you pursue love, everything you do will be for nothing. (smile~)]

[Abandon the tedious comedy of youth! Your task is to give this city a little nudge, to help topple this so-called beacon of hope once and for all.]

[Sow chaos and steer the world off its rails. You will earn Collapse Points, which can be used to enhance yourself. Your goal: to become the Lord of Chaos in this city and destroy this ridiculous world!]

[As for how to increase your Collapse Points, you know what to do~!]

Reading these lines, Chen Shang instinctively touched his chest. Through the thin fabric of his shirt, he could indeed feel a hard object embedded beneath his skin, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.

—Is this thing strapped to my heart? Hopefully it doesn’t come with a “This Side Toward Enemy” marking.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Chen Shang’s lips curled into a smile.

“Well, isn’t that a coincidence. I want to destroy this game too.”

In his past life, it was this very game that led to his death. Now, all that filled his mind was the urge to tear everything down.

Satisfied, he snapped his fingers. The player’s attribute panel appeared before him:

[Name: Chen Shang]

[Age: 16]

[Occupation: Student LV1 / Civilian LV1]

[Base Attributes: Strength 0, Constitution 0, Dexterity 0, Intelligence 0, Inspiration 0, Charisma 0]

[Civil Skills: Eloquence 0, Knowledge 0, Talent 0, Social 0, Etiquette 0, Leadership 0]

[Skills Mastered: None]

[Evaluation: An utterly ordinary high school student, hardly the type any girl would notice.]

...

Though every stat was a zero, that didn’t mean Chen Shang was some atrophied invalid.

In this game, zero simply meant average for his age group—nothing remarkable, nothing lacking.

Right now, forget about causing chaos; even trying to steal something would likely get him caught.

But compared to petty crime, Chen Shang felt he ought to play for higher stakes.

For that, he needed to improve his physical condition as quickly as possible—and find suitable allies.

Suddenly, new lines of text flashed before his eyes:

[To make your mission smoother, the Core has decided to grant you a small novice benefit.]

“Hmm?”

[Injecting Gene Modification Serum 01...]

As this line appeared, a whirring sound came from Chen Shang’s chest.

At once, spasms wracked his muscles, and his brain felt as if it were being jolted by an electric charge.

With a crash, Chen Shang collapsed in agony, hitting the floor with a resounding thud.

A strange energy surged through his body, and a prompt appeared before his eyes, detailing the changes:

[Muscle activity enhanced, body fat reduced: Strength +1.]

[DNA damage from irradiated food partially repaired: Constitution +1.]

[Ligament flexibility optimized: Dexterity +1.]

[Brain potential boosted through microcurrent stimulation: Intelligence +1.]

[Subtle increase in pheromone release frequency: Charisma +1.]

Not long after, hurried footsteps sounded outside his door.

“Brother, are you alright?” Nayuta’s voice came from behind the door, which was swiftly opened.

The girl burst in, only to find Chen Shang half-sitting on the floor, gasping for breath.

Sweat poured down his body as if he’d been drenched. His soaked white shirt had turned nearly transparent, revealing the faint outline of firm muscles underneath.

“B-brother… why are you sweating so much...?”

At the sight, Nayuta’s cheeks flushed red, and she froze in place.

According to the game’s background, Nayuta had lived with her “brother” for years. She shouldn’t have been flustered by such a scene.

Yet for some reason, she found him suddenly handsome, radiating a masculine charm unique to boys in their adolescence.

Watching his sister inexplicably swooning, Chen Shang shot her a cold glare.

“You came in without knocking?”

Nayuta started, hastily waving her hands in explanation. “Ah, sorry! I heard a noise from your room and was worried something happened…”

“I’m fine. You can go now.” Chen Shang ordered.

“S-sorry!” Nayuta spun around and hurried out, closing the door behind her.

Gazing at the newly shut door, Chen Shang flexed his fingers and opened the game panel.

The interface was exactly as he’d designed it, save for the addition of a “Collapse Core” plugin, which tracked his accumulated Collapse Points.

At the moment, however, the total remained at zero—nothing could be exchanged for now.

Chen Shang opened the [Characters] tab. Instantly, rows of character files appeared before him.

This game boasted over a hundred romanceable female characters, theoretically enough to satisfy 99% of galgame players’ preferences.

Unfortunately, in the database, almost all were greyed out and unselectable—only the first file was accessible.

Since the main storyline had yet to begin, Chen Shang had only unlocked “Nayuta” so far.

Notably, Nayuta was one of the easiest heroines to pursue in the entire game—the classic “safety net” found in many multi-heroine romance games.

Not only did she start with 20 affection points, but her built-in “brother complex” meant the threshold for raising her affection was extremely low.

Take just now, for example. Merely glimpsing her “handsome” brother had bumped her affection to 21.

Fortunately, Chen Shang’s cold dismissal had dropped it back down to 20.

Satisfied after reviewing Nayuta’s affection log, Chen Shang nodded to himself.

He had no intention of pursuing any of the hundred heroines listed in the character tab. No matter how hard he tried, they’d all end up chasing after the second male lead in the end.

Especially Nayuta—if he did manage to win her over, her fate would likely be sealed in tragedy.

Romance was the last thing on his mind; all he wanted now was to stir up trouble.

“It’s getting late. I’ll plan things out tomorrow.” With a long sigh, Chen Shang took off his clothes and headed for the shower.

According to the game’s flow, tomorrow he would advance to high school, beginning the “Campus Arc.”