Failure Means Death

A novel published on December 31, 1980, became a global sensation throughout the 1980s. Its popularity was so massive that it lasted well into the 2020s, leading to multiple adaptations: movies, dramas, comics, and even an Otome game. Viviana Carsten, a 60-year-old chairwoman of a massive electronics conglomerate with five major subsidiaries, was obsessed with the novel as a teenager. When it was turned into an Otome game (a reverse harem dating sim), she couldn’t resist checking it out. The game had five difficulty modes, ranging from very easy to very hard. It turned out her grandniece was also obsessed with the game. When she realized the Otome game was based on Viviana’s favorite novel, she played through all the modes, ending with the notorious “very hard” mode. There was even a $10 million prize for anyone who could beat it. The catch? Each reset cost $1,000, and the game was brutally difficult. The twist? Someone hacked the game’s hardest mode. Originally, you’d start with -20% affection from each male lead, but the hack made it -80%. The objective in every mode was to reach 100% affection from all the male leads, but starting from -80%? Practically impossible. Especially when each of the male leads is dangerous and influential, and a single mistake could mean death. Viviana, being rich and stubborn, tried the game herself. She got so hooked she forgot to sleep, ignored work, and completely abandoned her perfectionist lifestyle. Then one day, without realizing it, she passed out… and woke up inside the game, as the villainess. Her first word? “Shit.” Now stuck in the brutal “very hard” mode, Viviana has to survive in a world where everyone wants her dead. Welcome to Viviana’s survival story, trapped inside an insane reverse harem Otome game. Happy gaming!