I’ve been thinking about testing a small service for independent artists, creators, and small brands who want to manufacture custom merch in China, but I’m not sure if this is actually something people would find useful.

I’m a native Mandarin speaker based in Canada, so the idea would be to help with things like finding manufacturers, comparing MOQ and pricing, communicating custom requirements, asking about samples, and helping with the back-and-forth with suppliers.

I’m thinking mostly about small-batch products like acrylic charms, keychains, pins, plushies, stationery, packaging, bags, and similar custom merch.

I know there are already platforms like Alibaba and companies like Vograce, so I’m trying to figure out whether the real problem is actually finding manufacturers, or if the bigger pain points are things like communication, MOQ, samples, quality, production timelines, or figuring out which supplier is actually reliable.

If you already make merch, I’d really love to hear your experience.

What has been the hardest part of the manufacturing process for you?

Would having someone bilingual help with sourcing and supplier communication actually be useful, or do you feel like the current options already work well enough?

And if you would use something like this, what kind of help would actually be worth paying for?

I’m still very early in thinking about this, so I’m genuinely looking for honest feedback, including if you think there isn’t much of a market for it.

Also, if anyone here is actually trying to make custom merch right now, I’d be happy to help 2 or 3 people for free as a small test. I can help with the initial supplier search and communication, and I’d mainly use it to see whether this is actually useful in real life.

I’ve been reading unlimited-flow / 无限流 danmei for years, and at some point I started keeping notes because I was forgetting what I had actually read.

So… here they are.

A warning before we begin: my taste is extremely specific.

I love:

• supernatural / horror settings
• clever instances
• actual puzzle-solving
• ensemble casts
• strong worldbuilding
• competent protagonists
• strong/strong dynamics

I’m much less interested in romance than I am in the actual game/instance structure.

And I usually lose interest very quickly when I see:

• ridiculously huge golden fingers / plot armor
• fragile “everyone is obsessed with me” MCs
• livestream audiences constantly screaming about how beautiful the MC is
• everyone else suddenly becoming stupid so the protagonist can look intelligent

So these ratings are not objective literary criticism. They are basically a map of my personal brain.

Also, English titles for Chinese webnovels can vary a lot. I’m using the common fandom/NU title where I know one, and a rough translation otherwise. Corrections are very welcome.

5/5 — I would actually reread these

死亡万花筒 — Kaleidoscope of Death

This was basically my gateway drug into unlimited flow, so yes, I’m biased.

But I still think it does so many things right: the ensemble cast, the way the Doors reveal ugly parts of human nature, the atmosphere, and the fact that some instances feel genuinely mysterious instead of just being “solve puzzle → leave.”

Some of the Doors almost have this strange sacred quality to them.

My favorite arcs are 路佐子, 阿姐鼓, and 雨中女郎.

I tried the drama adaptation and got so annoyed by what they did with 路佐子 that I stopped watching. Having her forgive the people who bullied her absolutely did not work for me.

Still one of my all-time favorites.

地球上线 — The Earth Is Online

The romance? Fine.

The worldbuilding? That is why I’m here.

I love the idea of the entire population suddenly being forced into this bizarre survival/game system, and the dark fairy-tale feeling of the Black Tower is exactly my thing.

The author probably opened a few too many plot threads and didn’t completely close all of them, but I forgive it because the overall world is so much fun.

万有引力 — Forces of Temptation

This is probably one of the closest books to what I personally want from unlimited flow.

Big concepts, good instances, teamwork, and an actual ensemble instead of one genius MC dragging a group of decorative NPCs behind him.

There’s a female POV introduced early on, and I distinctly remember thinking:

>

But I ended up really liking her role.

She gives you the perspective of someone who is basically… normal.

Not everyone dropped into a death game is going to magically become Sherlock Holmes, and I wish more unlimited-flow novels understood that.

薄雾 — Mist

Not really horror, but the author’s brain is terrifying enough.

The first arc with the Ouroboros/time-loop structure is one of the few instances I’ve actually reread.

I was reading some sections almost sentence by sentence because I refused to let the timeline beat me.

Very logical. Very brain-melting.

Also the gong insisting that he is straight is objectively funny.

4.5/5 — Extremely my thing

灵异片演员APP — Supernatural Movie Actor App

I avoided this for a long time because I saw the selfcest premise and went:

Absolutely not.

Then I ran out of unlimited-flow novels.

So naturally I read it.

And unfortunately… it was actually good.

The shou enters the game because he wants to separate from his secondary personality. He’s smart, the pacing is strong, and although his golden finger is definitely large, it somehow stayed inside my personal tolerance zone.

I especially liked the 活人地狱 arc.

我又弄崩了校园怪谈 — I Broke the School Urban Legend Again / I Upended Yet Another Campus Urban Legend

This was my first proper rules-horror novel.

The protagonist’s setup is genuinely interesting, the instances are good, and the romance has a slightly bittersweet feeling that I actually liked.

One of the better rule-horror unlimited-flow stories I’ve read.

卡牌密室 — Card Room

I have a complicated relationship with Die Zhiling because I usually enjoy the plots much more than the romance.

Same situation here.

The card system is fun: clear rooms, earn cards, use those cards later, and if you fail badly enough you get thrown into Nightmare Mode.

The instances carry this for me.

人间试炼游戏 — The Trial Game of Life

When I say “traditional unlimited flow,” this is closer to what I mean.

Actual ensemble cast. Actual game structure. Multiple characters who matter.

I don’t care much for the romance, and the Western-fantasy section goes on for approximately seventeen years, but otherwise this is extremely compatible with my taste.

I’ll update later if I have time.

Update 1:

4/5 — Very good, would recommend

全球高考 — Global Examination

I really like Mu Su Li’s writing.

The prose is great and the characters work for me, but the instances themselves never became particularly scary or mind-blowing.

Still a very solid read.

幸存者偏差 — Survivorship Bias

Good logic, distinctive characters, and I generally like Zhichu.

The romance didn’t really do much for me, though.

This is one of those books where I remember thinking “this is good” while reading it, but years later I can’t immediately name five scenes from it.

欢迎来到噩梦游戏 — Welcome to the Nightmare Game

Old-school unlimited flow.

I love the game mechanics, especially the save/load-style elements.

The romance feels a little strange at first, and some of the writing around female characters also made me go “…hmm.”

But as a game story? Very memorable.

Also this series has existed for approximately my entire adult life and is apparently still going.

角色扮演 — Role-Playing

I started following this around 2018.

It is still not finished.

At this point the real unlimited-flow survival game is waiting for the author to update.

The premise was genuinely unusual when this genre was much smaller. Unfortunately it has been dragged out for so many years that unlimited flow became oversaturated before the story itself finished.

I still have affection for it, though.

Stockholm syndrome, perhaps.

规则类怪谈扮演指南 — A Guide to Role-Playing in Rule-Based Horror Stories

(rough translation)

Rules horror + unlimited flow.

The romance is whatever. The instances are the reason to read it.

I especially liked 弃我去者.

If rule-based horror is your thing, I’d definitely give this one a chance.

Keep posted :)