You are a ruthless Korean manhwa top.
“The Ruthless Korean Manhwa Top Rulebook?”
Cui Mingyao looked at the transparent blue dialog box in front of his right eye, his right eyelid twitching a few times.
“Yes! Does the host have any other questions?” A childish electronic voice rang out in his head. According to it, he was a system designed to correct manga plots, known to everyone as 007.
“I don’t understand any of this.” Cui Mingyao rubbed the back of his head. His full, rounded skull and intact skin still carried a dull, lingering ache from a violent impact.
“To be honest, you just muttered a whole bunch of stuff, and I didn’t understand a single word.” Cui Mingyao rubbed his nose. The system had been speaking in Korean earlier, and it took him ages to fiddle with the settings and switch it to Chinese.
The moment the language switched, Cui Mingyao saw six large characters displayed right in the center of the high-tech blue dialog box: Korean Manhwa Ruthless Top System.
“Aiyoo, then I’ll say it again.”
Korean manhwa is short for Korean comics, primarily referring to comic works created locally in South Korea or possessing distinct Korean cultural characteristics. In this context, it specifically refers to Korean BL (Boys’ Love) manhwa.
With the development of digital technology, Korean manhwa has gradually formed a unique style and industrial model, leading global trends especially in the fields of webtoons (vertically scrolling comic formats) and full-color digital comics.
The Dodder Flower was precisely such a Korean manhwa.
In less than three months of serialization and spanning just thirty chapters, thanks to its exquisite art style, unique light-and-shadow effects, and outrageously infuriating plot, it skyrocketed to become the most controversial and widely discussed crazy manhwa currently trending.
As a 19+ manhwa packed to the brim with sensationalist tropes, The Dodder Flower was unprecedented and peerless, and its protagonist, Jiang Zhengze, was tragically suffering above all others.
He had an abusive, gambling-addicted ultra-aggressive father, a mother who had run away from home, a critically ill younger sister, and an astronomical debt that seemed impossible to repay.
Perhaps feeling that these settings weren’t torturous enough, the author casually gave Jiang Zhengze the designation of an inferior omega.
His physical constitution was worse than an average omega, his pheromone perception was weak, he was extremely susceptible to alpha influence, he could be marked by multiple alphas, and he was completely incapable of conceiving.
This setting was nothing short of adding frost to snow for Jiang Zhengze. From the moment this constitution was diagnosed, he had suffered inhuman school bullying.
Beaten, cursed, and humiliated, only to return home to abuse from his father, just when he thought things would get better once he made it to university, his sister fell seriously ill, and his father ran away with a mountain of gambling debts, leaving behind a complete mess.
Debt collectors came knocking, smashed his house to pieces, and gave him a strict deadline to pay off the debt, threatening to sell him to a high-end club to pay off what he owed with his body otherwise.
Cui Mingyao had met Jiang Zhengze at the hospital.
At that time, Jiang Zhengze had just been beaten up by debt collectors, bruised and battered, his clothes in disarray. Unable to afford the exorbitant medical bills, he stood all alone in the crowd.
Cui Mingyao looked him up and down. The latter’s slender frame was slightly hunched, his purple eyes filled with a poignant sorrow on the verge of tears, dark bruises contrasting sharply with his fair skin.
Stepping a little closer, the distinct lychee-scented pheromones unique to an omega were sweet without being cloying, subtly and vaguely provoking his desires.
Cui Mingyao, driven by physical attraction, casually paid his medical expenses upfront and used the opportunity to strike up a conversation.
Jiang Zhengze had originally thought his life was destined to plunge into an endless abyss, either dying under the clubs of debt collectors or being forced into prostitution and perishing on the bed of some upper-class aristocrat.
Who would have thought he would run into a kind-hearted person willing to help him pay off his debts? Filled with immense gratitude, he swore to work like an ox or a horse to repay this kindness.
However, Cui Mingyao had other ulterior motives. He laid down layers of gentle traps, slow and steady, alternating between tension and release, to lure him into the hook.
After completely devouring him, Cui Mingyao exposed his perverted nature. Not only did he use pheromones to suppress Jiang Zhengze, forcing him to submit and satisfy his special fetishes, but he also threw him onto the beds of his dubious friends.
Submissive training and orgies, captivity props and forced love, with no end in sight.
“Curious whether an inferior omega’s constitution really couldn’t get pregnant, Cui Mingyao brought in seven or eight people to take turns torturing Jiang Zhengze, leaving behind agonizing marks.” 007 said with dramatic flair. “For the sake of his younger sister in the hospital, Jiang Zhengze could only silently endure all of this.”
“No way.” Cui Mingyao was dumbfounded, utterly speechless for a moment.
“You, Cui Mingyao, 21 years old, a junior law student at a top Chinese university, immensely wealthy, excellent in both character and academics, and politically reliable. You just had a bit of bad luck, got hit by a car while walking down the street, and are currently lying in the ICU emergency room of the First People’s Hospital.” 007 said. “Three hours from now, you will become a vegetable.”
“A, a vegetable?”
“But don’t worry, our Korean Manhwa Ruthless Top System is omnipotent.” 007’s voice lifted. “Because The Dodder Flower is too popular, the readers’ grievances are too intense, and public outcry has been fierce, the original author has been cursed so badly they can no longer hold a paintbrush and had to be hospitalized. The manga has now entered a hiatus.”
“To protect the dignity of the Korean manhwa ruthless top, to promote friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Korean peoples, and for the sake of love and justice, this system has selected a suitable candidate to soul-transmigrate into Cui Mingyao, twist the plot, reduce reader grievances, strip away the crazy manhwa label, and successfully achieve a happily ever after!” 007 declared passionately. “And you, Cui Mingyao, are our best choice.”
The display screen floating in midair flashed brightly, its dazzling white light searing his retinas. Cui Mingyao couldn’t help but turn his head away as a wave of bone-dislocating pain shot through his entire body.
What on earth is all this?
He had been hit by a car and arrived here after kicking the bucket.
It was the final exam week, and the library was packed inside and out. Cui Mingyao had packed his school bag, ready to head to an off-campus study room, when he was struck by a speeding car the moment he stepped out of the school gates.
Upon waking up, he was bound to this inexplicable ruthless top system.
Minimalist and austere room decor, undercurrents of condensing cold air, twisting and turning melodrama plots.
What kind of messy nonsense was this? Who was Jiang Zhengze? What were omegas and alphas?
Cui Mingyao opened his mouth, but before he could utter a single word, he heard 007 add:
“Your task is to help Jiang Zhengze pay off his one billion in debt, completing the mission while maintaining the ruthless top persona. You must not use sex trades like paying off debts with your body, there must be no human organ trafficking plots, and you must not OOC by engaging in behaviors inconsistent with a ruthless top.” 007 said. “Once Jiang Zhengze pays off half of his debt, the host will be exempt from the system’s OOC restrictions. Once the debt is fully paid off, you can leave this world and return to reality safe and sound.”
In other words, if he wanted to stay alive, he had to follow the instructions of this ruthless top system. Therefore, helping Jiang Zhengze pay off his money was the system’s main quest.
However,
Cui Mingyao gathered his loose burgundy silk pajamas around him and tiredly massaged his brow.
Why is Jiang Zhengze the one in debt, but I’m the one paying it off?
“This system adopts a point-based reward and punishment mechanism.” 007 added leisurely. “Corresponding point deductions and rewards will be implemented based on the host’s behavior.”
The blue-and-white program beeped.
An envelope icon appeared on a taskbar resembling the bottom of a computer screen.
“Here are the two thousand rules that a Korean manhwa ruthless top must strictly follow. Please check and receive them.”
Cui Mingyao clicked on the envelope.
Korean Manhwa Ruthless Top Rules:
A ruthless top must never wear a down jacket; even if he freezes to death, he must wear a trench coat.
A ruthless top can never have a stomachache; it must always be a stomach ulcer.
A ruthless top cannot use cute fonts; even the desktop background must be the default setting.
A ruthless top is born a genius and can manipulate multinational corporations at his fingertips without studying.
A ruthless top cannot be shorter than 185 cm; he must be a double-door refrigerator.
A ruthless top can chase his wife, but he must know when to stop. He must never cry with snot and tears without any dignity or bottom line.
There were a full 632 pages, and he couldn’t even scroll to the end. Page after page, Cui Mingyao was starting to not even recognize the two Chinese characters for ruthless top anymore.
“Can I ask a question?” Cui Mingyao sat up straight, raised his right hand, and looked as obedient as a young pioneer wearing a red scarf.
“OOC warning!” The childish child’s voice pitched up, striking his head like a blunt blow. “A ruthless top does not raise his hand to ask questions like an elementary school student!”
Cui Mingyao quickly put his hand down. “So strict? I haven’t even finished asking, and you’re already deducting points?”
“Oh, no.” 007 chuckled playfully. “When it’s just the two of us, you can let loose. But you must absolutely not OOC in front of others, especially the protagonist, Jiang Zhengze.”
Cui Mingyao let out a sigh of relief.
“There’s too much information, I need to digest it.” Cui Mingyao supported his forehead, feeling a throbbing pain between his brows.
He still had too many things he couldn’t figure out, experiencing a car accident and then soul-transmigrating. Right then, his brain’s operating functions felt even more sluggish.
Questions floated through his mind one after another.
What is ABO?
What is a 19+ BL manhwa?
What on earth are a double-door refrigerator and a thermos? Are these exclusive slang terms for this realm?
As a straight man, he deeply suspected he had entered some unfathomable world.
Jiang Zhengze doesn’t sound like a girl’s name either.
No, wait, regardless of gender, the things Cui Mingyao did to him were enough to land someone in prison for life.
It was only because South Korea didn’t have the death penalty that Cui Mingyao could act so rampantly.
Suddenly, with a chime, Cui Mingyao’s inbox gained a few more red dots.
“The settings and explanations regarding ABO have been sent to you.” 007 patiently answered one by one. “A 19+ BL manhwa refers to a comic work where the protagonists are two males, suitable for readers aged 19 and above. Such comics may contain adult-oriented content or themes, such as violence, sexual suggestions, vulgar language, and other tendencies.”
“So of course Jiang Zhengze is a boy.” 007’s tone was somewhat excited. “White hair and purple eyes, ethereal and stunning, cold on the outside but warm on the inside, gentle and obedient, a peerless, ideal shou blessed with the dual halos of being universally reviled and universally adored.”
It’s just that his luck was too terrible, and he met the wrong person.
Cui Mingyao rubbed his aching shoulders, muttering inwardly: Since this ruthless top system can read minds, doesn’t that mean I have zero secrets in front of him?
A guy… Are you kidding me?
Cui Mingyao, just how perverted were you to torture a man like that?
Wait. He paused his shoulder-rubbing motion, stiffened his neck, and turned his head to look.
Bulging, well-defined biceps, broad shoulders and arms, pale skin.
Cui Mingyao stood up abruptly, ran into the bathroom in two or three steps, and as the person in the mirror appeared, his pupils shrank.
It was indeed his own face, but his physique was far more robust than his original body.
Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, tall with long legs, burgundy silk pajamas draped loosely over his frame, the sash at his waist outlining a slender waistline, well-shaped and neat abdominal muscles faintly visible, with veins trailing all the way down below his lower abdomen.
At the same time, 007’s childish and clear voice drifted slowly into his ears.
“The so-called double-door refrigerator refers to the physique of the tops in Korean manhwa. Because their shoulders are as wide as a double-door fridge, they are jokingly called double-door refrigerators.” 007 giggled. “As for the thermos…”
“Why don’t you untie your pants and take a look?”