Have you ever wondered about God? Have you wondered about who created the universe? Have you wondered why you were created/born? Have you wondered who Jesus Christ is? Have you wondered about what life is? Have you been searching, but don't know what you are searching for? The Bible is what I believe is the Truth for Jesus said, "For God so loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." -John 3:16



This is not owned by me, but by the Creator of the stars, skies, seas, and everything in and around them.

It had been two years since they last met. Fang Beidou was dressed in a blue luxurious gown with a jade headdress. He looked so much more mature now that he was sporting a mustache. Beside him was Xu Enda who had a square face and thick eyebrows. Compared to before, he now looked much more muscular and was more finely dressed. It would seem like he had a good life working at the newspaper publishing company and was highly regarded by Fang Beidou.
The people who had gathered at the Hundred Clans Market for work had discerning eyes. As soon as Fang Beidou and Xu Enda were here, they knew both of them were clients and everyone immediately flocked to them.
Yan Liqiang was no exception. When everyone flocked over to both of them, he followed them and squeezed through the crowd too.
"My lord, are you looking to hire someone...?!"
"I'm strong, obedient, and meticulous with my work…!"
"I have a few beautiful servant girls with me, do you want to take a look at them…?!"
"We're not picky with work. We'll take anything as long as we will be fed and be given a few extra copper coins!"
"Brother Xu, Brother Xu! It's me, Liu An! We met here before…!"
Everyone tried hard to sell themselves. Since Xu Enda and his brothers used to look for work in the Hundred Clans Market, those who recognized him tried to worm their way into being friends with him.
Fang Beidou and Xu Enda stopped walking. Fang Beidou scanned the faces around him. He had a normal expression on his face, but his heart was filled by countless questions — Who is the one? Who is the one?
Half a month ago, Fang Beidou received a letter from Yan Liqiang through a falcon post. In the letter, Yan Liqiang gave him a few tasks, including the 'recruitment' he was doing today. Rather than Fang Beidou, it was more like Yan Liqiang wanted this. Fortunately, Fang Beidou had been the one personally handling many matters in the publishing company, especially when it came to recruiting manpower. To avoid giving an opportunity for someone to exploit, he would hand-pick and personally interview the people he would hire. Hence, this wasn't his first time coming to places like the Hundred Clans Market or the Great Enclosure to hire someone.
Up until now, Fang Beidou never understood why Yan Liqiang had him come here to hire people. Even if he didn't, he knew that there was always a good reason behind Yan Liqiang's every action. Therefore, he didn't dare to be negligent.
Fang Beidou reckoned that it was perhaps Yan Liqiang wanted to send someone to the Imperial Capital, so he wanted to use the opportunity of recruitment to give this person an identity to stay in the Imperial Capital. It went without saying that this person must have come with an important mission. Otherwise, Yan Liqiang wouldn't go through this much trouble. Yet, after Fang Beidou scanned the faces around him, he failed to spot anyone special. All these people flocking to him were nothing more than ordinary men who struggled financially.
Was it that his IQ was too low, or the person whom Yan Liqiang arranged wasn't here yet? Fang Beidou muttered in his heart. Just when his gaze swept past Yan Liqiang's disguised face, Yan Liqiang winked at him. Fang Beidou was slightly taken aback before he took another careful look. Although Yan Liqiang didn't really stand out from the crowd and was wearing plain clothes, his left thumb and pinky were slightly bent while he kept his other three fingers straight. Fang Beidou was startled, because this was the secret signal that Yan Liqiang told him before.
Fang Beidou was very experienced. He took another look at Yan Liqiang and realized that his hand had gone back to normal. He stopped staring at him and nodded to Xu Enda, signaling him to begin.
"Ahem, ahem. Everyone…!" Xu Enda cleared his throat. "Our manager is here today to hire a few permanent staff. We will need laborers that are strong, can drive a carriage, take care of horses, and even better, are good with their hands! You will be given two meals a day. There will be a probation period of three months, in which you will be paid seven maces of silver every month. You will be given a raise after you are formally employed!"
Upon hearing Xu Enda's voice, the older women and people who were trying to introduce servants walked away at once, while a few people who knew how to drive carriages and take care of horses stepped forward. A few that walked away also included lazy men who were only looking for short-term work with daily pay. With that money, they would be able to buy food for another two days. As long as they weren't hungry, they would definitely not work. A few of them walked away while muttering, "Turned out to be a long-term job. How troublesome. There's no way I can get alternate days off…:"
With that, the crowd around Fang Beidou and Xu Enda immediately thinned out. With only about twenty people left, Xu Enda started questioning them on things like their name, origin, skills, work background, and background in martial arts.
The remaining people answered his questions honestly, and a few of them even performed two rounds of fist technique on the spot. They looked presentable, flexible, and seemed to be strong. It went without saying that the people who put on a display of the fist technique were those who hadn't even passed the three stages required of a Martial Warrior. Therefore, they were only demonstrating brute force that made them seem a little better than normal people and detered others from bullying them.
In just a flash, it was Yan Liqiang's turn.
He came forward and put on an honest smile. "My name is Wang Shagen [1] from Hui Province. I have driven carriages and cared after horses before. I know fist techniques too and have chased thieves away…"
"Oh, what kind of fist technique do you know?" Xu Enda asked.
"Iron Thread Fist technique!"
"Please demonstrate!"
"Sure!" Yan Liqiang nodded, then stood with a serious face. He exhaled audibly, then punched out and stamped his foot hard on the ground as he began to demonstrate the Iron Thread Fist technique. His movements were rigorous as he kicked up the dust at his feet.
The Iron Thread Fist technique was the most ordinary fist technique, even more so than the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique that he had trained before. In fact, Yan Liqiang was the third to demonstrate this technique.
Fang Beidou silently watched the Yan Liqiang's performance of the Iron Thread Fist technique with his eyebrows raised.
After Yan Liqiang finished his performance, his face was a little red and he was panting. He only stepped away after seeing Xu Enda nodding.
The other few people behind him also took their turns in answering Xu Enda's questions and put on a performance.
By the time they finished interviewing everyone, Xu Enda looked at Fang Beidou. "Manager, what do you think…?"
"This one, this, this, and this, this and this…" Fang Beidou pointed to eight people and of course, Yan Liqiang was one of them. "You people, follow us!"
Yan Liqiang naturally followed Fang Beidou and Xu Enda, and those who were not chosen walked away too.
...
Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang received his first task in the Imperial Capital under his pseudonym of Wang Shagen. He was to guard a courtyard located at the edge of the town at the foot of Mount Longqi in the Imperial Capital. There were a few houses in the courtyard which were used as the publishing company's warehouses. The place was watched during the daytime as there were people moving stuff around, but at night when there was no one else around, he'd have to pay more attention to prevent fires from breaking out and theft.
Yan Liqiang was the only one who would be guarding the courtyard. There were extra rooms there, so Yan Liqiang could live there too. Hence, on the same day, Yan Liqiang carried his luggage on his back and moved into the courtyard after staying the previous few nights in Datong Inn.


The most precious things in the world are priceless. Ordinary men tend to turn a blind eye to this fact. Apart from the treasured air, sunlight, and familial love, there is still one more thing that’s extremely valuable. It’s right beside you and can be easily obtained. But... I wonder whether you can see it?

While being showered by the gazes of other lone wolves, this player, who Kieran once met before, did not panic. Instead, he nodded at all of them to express his presence.
The other lone wolves nodded back at the player.
Obviously, the others knew this player as well.
"Come on, Garwen, tell us what's going on?" Lawless rushed the player.
"Blair, I think it's best that you say it yourself."
The player named Garwen stepped aside and revealed the other player that was following him.
Compared to the firm Garwen, his friend behind him was much more nervous.
Not only was he breathing in a hurry, he was also trembling slightly. When he looked at Kieran, his eyes were evasive.
The evasive gaze piqued Kieran's curiosity.
"Have we met?"
"O-Once. I accepted someone's mission before and was responsible for watching a certain player's room," Blair said with a stutter.
"Someone? A certain room?" 
Kieran squinted his eyes and recalled the battle with the cunning merchant.
The others were also quite familiar with the incident.
Right away, their gazes toward Blair changed.
The already nervous Blair grew even more nervous when he noticed the different gazes on him.
He didn't forget to explain himself though.
"I-I didn't mean anything bad. I was just hired. I don't have anything against you."
"I can prove what he said," Garwen stood up for his friend and assured the crowd.
"Garwen, are you sure?" Lawless asked.
His tone and expression were absent of their usual cheerfulness and humor. The others were also very serious about the topic.
They knew Garwen and were willing to believe in him, but because of that, they worried about one thing that might happen…
Lies!
There were certain reasons why players became lone wolves and played the game solo.
Some were loners by nature, like Kieran.
Some, however, acquired or adopted the loner nature, like the others.
Many of them must have tried to clear dungeon worlds in groups but the final outcome turned them into solo players.
What happened?
The answer was self-explanatory.
The lone wolves that ran dungeon worlds alone did not keep themselves away from reality. Quite the opposite, as they cherished everyone they called friend more than normal people did.
Therefore, they always lingered in Harvest Inn, staying in the place that had friends and allowed them to relax.
None of the lone wolves wished for anything to happen to their beloved ones, neither in terms of people or matter.
"I am sure," Garwen took a deep breath and put emphasis on his assurance.
After that, Garwen took out the oath contract he had prepared beforehand and wrote his name on it. Blair also wrote down his name without a second thought.
Looking at the oath contract with both of their names, the atmosphere in the inn slightly lifted.
Rhino grabbed a glass of wine and went over to Blair.
"Blair? Rhino."
Rhino briefly introduced himself and handed the glass to Blair.
Blair extended his hand towards Rhino for a shake. 
"I'm Blair… Cough Cough!"
He tilted his neck backwards and finished the drink in his hand, but he had drank too fast. Before he could finish the whole drink, he coughed halfway and almost choked.
The scene attracted laughs from the crowd.
The laughs didn't harbour any intent to mock him, just plain laughs of kindness.
Amid the kind laughs, Blair clearly felt the barrier between him and the lone wolves around him swiftly going way.
He was slowly becoming a part of this special group.
Huu!
Blair heaved a long breath.
Although his friend had assured him before, Blair was finally, truly relieved at this moment.
After all, he had to face the Fiery Devil that killed without blinking an eye!
Rumours has it that hundreds to thousands of players died in the devil's hand, and all of them died gruesomely.
Even Broker, who almost ruled the whole city, wasn't his opponent and was forced to rest temporarily to cure his injuries.
Whenever Blair thought about the fact that he had gone against the Fiery Devil in the past, he would feel very sick.
Since then, he had tried to figure out how he could redeem his shallow relationship with Kieran.
He was especially eager to redeem himself now that he had already deviated from his original dungeon clearing methods and become a lone wolf, a solo player. 
He didn't wish to see himself drinking and chatting with friends in Harvest Inn one moment and then getting killed by the devil in the next moment when he was walking out with his friends.
Coincidentally, an opportunity presented itself in front of Blair.
Blair thought he might have to seize the chance, so he told his friend everything.
His friend, on the other hand, did not let him down. Garwen didn't just fully support him, he even thought of a plan to approach the situation, although Blair was quite reluctant to sign that oath contract at first.
After truly turning into a solo player, he hated any kind of restrictions on him, but he still chose to listen to his friend's persuasion.
Now, feeling the kindness around him, Blair was grateful for his choice.
He then sorted his thoughts and said, "I was half a mercenary before this. Aside from completing my own dungeon runs, I would sometimes stop by the transit station to get some easier missions. The mission that required me to watch Sir 2567 was from the station.
"Although I've become a solo player now… a lone wolf, I still keep my habit of paying the transit station a visit to have a looksee. Before I came to the inn, I noticed that someone put a bounty on Sir 2567 in the transit station—the sure kill kind." 
Blair was still very nervous in front of Kieran, but the others didn't care about that, too captivated by Blair's words.
Transit station, a spot similar to a mission board, but the missions came from players themselves.
No information or traces would be left there, only the mission content being revealed, and after the missions were completed, the player who took the mission would get a corresponding pay.
No one could retract the mission's payment though, because when the mission was being published, the publishing player had to sign a contract with the system.
The general contract was as such: I, XXX, will give the payment to players who complete my mission, no lies, no dishonesty, etc.
With the existence of the system contract, the mission boards in the transit stations became reliable.
Kieran knew about the transit stations as well. He was quite clear about it, to be exact, because there was one transit station of a sort in Harvest Inn.
The reputation of this particular transit station spread further than the others in the city.
Not just because this transit station was managed by someone, unlike the other automated ones that were scattered and hidden in the corners of the city, but also because this transit station required a high publishing fee.
Kieran had published once before, but as a wanted person on the board, it was a first for him.
"A sure kill bounty? How much?" Kieran asked with slight interest.
"Five million Points!" Blair answered.
Heavy gasps resounded in the inn instantly.


Welcome to a virtual underground game with no protection, full of lurking players who seek survival, power, and fortune. Kieran chose to enter this VRMMORPG game without hesitation, because he knew this was the only way for him to escape death’s grasp. Can he escape death in real life though, or will he end up dying inside the game? 

There were only ten minutes left until the shareholders meeting was supposed to start. The formerly empty room was now almost completely full.
The attending shareholders were from a diverse mix of businesses and trades. Given the wide variety of publications that Lovewell Publishing put out, this was to be expected.
What was not expected, at least not by Chance, was the diversity he observed in the appearances of the shareholders themselves. Many styles were represented in the room. There was everything from standard businessmen to casually dressed young adults to some rather eccentric individuals in outfits that could almost be considered costumes.
The sight only distracted Chance for so long. At this point, he was starting to worry about Fait's whereabouts since she had not yet returned.
He wasn't questioning her ability to take care of herself but he couldn't help but wonder if everything was going smoothly on her end.
Just as he was getting ready to call her, she strode into the room with Chairman Fischer's secretary following closely behind her.
He put his phone away and watched as the two women made their way over to the table.
"Welcome back, ladies." The chairman greeted them after they sat down.
"Thank you Mr. Fischer. I apologize for the inconvenience that I have caused both you and Miss Linn."
To the chairman's ears, Fait's apology sounded robotic instead of sincere. But since the chairman never had much interaction with her before, he couldn't be sure if she was being sincere or not. Plus, he had already accepted Chance's apology so he forced himself to believe, for appearance's sake, that was just how she was.
He nodded to Fait before he turned his full attention. A quick once over proved that she really was safe and unharmed.
Mostly, he was relieved that she was alright. When he had asked for ideas from his staff that would shake up the new CEO, seduction was the most popular suggestion. Greta had volunteered herself as a sort of sacrifice so he let her give it her best try.
Unfortunately, it would seem that Greta was no match for Fait and he was slightly disappointed to see she was in more conservative attire. This trick of his really had failed. At least for now anyway.
The chairman sighed and then looked over at Chance. He had just stood up to make his way over to the podium.
"Good luck, Mr. CEO."
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman." Chance smiled and walked over to stand behind the podium. He tapped on the microphone a few times to get the attention of the people in the room. They quickly went silent and stared at the unfamiliar face.
Chance never was one to enjoy public speaking. He hated it which was why he had someone else do it for him. These kinds of speaking engagements were especially awful since most of the speech consisted of inflating people's egos through pandering and boot licking.
He let out a small nervous laugh and continued to smile, hoping no one would notice how fake he felt at that moment.
'Well, here goes nothing.' He took a deep breath and started delivering his speech.
"Good evening, folks. I'm sure you are all wondering something along the lines of 'who the heck is this guy?'" He paused for a brief moment to try to feel out how the audience was going to react. Since there was only silence, he went ahead and continued.
"My name is Chance Addison and I am the newly appointed CEO of Lovewell Publishing." He stopped again but this time it was to accommodate the loud murmur that erupted in the crowd.
When the noise died down he once again continued.
"Thank you all for coming this evening. It is a pleasure and an honor to have your interest in this wonderful company..."
Even though his speech lasted maybe five minutes, those five minute felt like an eternity and then some. He was relieved when he finally ended with "and now I am going to turn the floor over to Chairman Fischer and he will conduct the business portion of this meeting."
Chance thanked the audience and stepped back from the podium so the chairman could step forward. After a quick mutual nod, he headed back to his seat.
For the rest of the meeting, Fait and Greta diligently paid attention and were busy taking notes for their bosses and for themselves.
Chance tried to pay attention, he really did but he kept feeling the stares of other people in the room.
He stifled a groan that was forming in his throat before it could be heard. Not only did he have to speak in front of all of them, now the more zealous and aggressive ones were making plans to seek him out once the meeting ended.
How did he know this?
He could see it in the way they looked at him and whispered with those around them. Occasionally they would gesture towards him when they thought he wasn't looking.
When it sounded like the chairman was reaching the end of the agenda, Chance sent a quick text to Fait and hoped she would read it before the meeting ended.
She frowned when she heard her phone buzz and was going to ignore it. He nudged her elbow so she would look at him.
Her frown deepened in annoyance and she raised her eyebrows to ask 'What?'
Chance opened his messages and slid his phone over in front of her so she could read what he had sent.
[Exit strategy?]

'How did I fall this far this fast?' He thought as he swirled the whiskey in his glass. He tilted his head back and downed the rest of his liquor.
He picked the bottle up off of his desk to refill the glass for the nth time. Just a single drop rolled out and fell into the empty vessel.
'Well isn't that just fantastic.'
In a moment of hazy frustration, he hurled the bottle across the office. It wasn't like there was anyone to care about a mess of broken glass anyway. There was no one around to even hear it shatter.
Even he didn't get to hear it shatter.
When that realization hit him, he jerked his head towards the door where he had thrown the bottle.
In the shadows there stood a petite young woman, the bottle in her hands. She appeared to be carefully studying the label and completely disinterested in him.
"Wh-who are you?" Perhaps he had turned around too quickly. The room was starting to sway. He barely managed to sputter out those three words much less put them in the right order.
"How original," the woman rolled her eyes before fixing them on his. "Shouldn't you be asking yourself that very question?"

~~~~~

This is NOT a transmigration or reincarnation story!

~~~~~

If those you trusted most had betrayed you and you had lost everything and someone offered you a second chance, would you be willing to take it?

Would you still be able to trust others?

Chance L. Addison has seemingly hit rock bottom when he is offered an unlikely opportunity to start over. Not only can he get back to where he was before, he can have his status elevated further to become one of the most wealthy and successful tycoons in the world.

But first he is at a small publishing company?

What secrets could he be keeping? And what secrets are his saviors keeping from him?

~~~~~

Hello Readers,

This is the first web novel I've ever written!

I kind of suck at writing synopses so I apologize for that...

If you are enjoying my story so far please add it to your library and vote! Or comment! Or leave a review! Or rate a chapter! Or share it with your friends!

I really appreciate the support and feedback is always welcome! :)

Thanks so much for reading!
-TheExtraDoor

Lana and her friends winded up at some club and it was Karaoke night.  They sat at a high table that was centred in the middle of the pub and were having a good time so far.

"We have to go up there and sing a t least one song!" Both her friends approved of the request, and commended the resolution.

"Actually..I don't think I can.." Lana bit down on her lip.

"Noo..you can't back out now." Liv shook her head, her ponytail swishing from side to side.

"We've already submitted our names and-"

"You and Lisa can go ahead. I'm too sober for this.."

"Fine.."Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen. I hope you're all having a great time? If not it's about to get better! Because up next we have a special guest appearance." The MC announced. "He's America's tamed bad-boy-the one-the only-Jordan Carter!!" 

The audience roared as they swarmed to the front and gave him a standing ovation. Lisa and Liv jumped up and down in excitement and couldn't stop smiling. 

Lana's eyes almost popped out of her head as her eyes flew to the stage. And as sure as her name was Lana Logan-Carter, the man that graced her dreams one time too many, was standing right in front of them. 

"How are you doing Tommy's Pub!?" Jordan's mesmerizing voice wafted through the club and everyone was transfixed. He was dressed in a white casual jacket and black jeans. His hair fell over his forehead and his blue eyes scanned the room and landed on the object of his desire. He winked at her and Lana's heart stopped beating temporarily as she sucked in her breath.  The air was electric as their eyes locked and everyone else ceased to exist but just the two of them. 

He broke the gaze reluctantly and turned his attention to his guitar.  "I wrote this song for my one and only..the love of my life..the girl that makes my world a better place." He adjusted his mic and the guys in the crowd cat-whistled.  "Lana this is for you." 

Jordan sang his heart out and had poured out his deepest thoughts into the song. It was his hope that she would get what he was trying to communicate to her through the song. Lana was close to tears when he was done. 

The applause was deafening and Jordan took a humble bow. "Thank you! Thank you all so much!" 

When the noise had died down he spoke once again. "It gives me great pleasure to introduce the next artist that is going to join me on stage for the next song. He is a legend in his own right; my mentor and a very good friend. I owe him big time because I have called in one too many favors..please give it up for my boy-Kyle Kinley!!" This was responded to by a roar of satisfaction from the crowd below. They went into a frenzy and some of them even tried to clamber onto the stage. Fortunately, security was on standby and managed to contain the overzealous fans. 

Screams were heard all over the bar and Kyle and Jordan just stood there grinning, holding their guitars; waiting for the masses to quiet down.  Jordan gave Kyle the signal as they positioned themselves on the high stools provided. Their voices broke out into a beautiful melody that serenaded their listeners and left them in awe.

Lana couldn't keep the tears back anymore so she ran out of the club. She needed air. She should have known that Jordan would do some grand gesture to win her back. But she was confused and didn't know how to deal with all the emotions bubbling inside of her. Jordan noticed her rushing out and went after her. He found her sitting on the beach watching the waves kissing the shore. 

He sat down next to her and they sat there in silence for a while. She didn't know what to say and waited for him to take the lead. He didn't know where to begin so he just said the first thought that came into his head. 

"Karaoke?" He didn't wait for her to respond but broke out into song, his voice echoed across the sea as it was carried by the wind. 

I don't know if I can yell any louder
How many time I've kicked you outta here?
Or said something insulting?
I can be so mean when I wanna be
I am capable of really anything
I can cut you into pieces

When my heart is, broken
Please don't leave me
Please don't leave me
I'm always saying how I don't need you
But it's always gonna come right back to this
Please, don't leave me

Lana picked up on the second verse.

How did I become so obnoxious?
What is it with you that makes me act like this?
I've never been this nasty
Can't you tell that this is all just a contest?
The one that wins will be the one that hits the hardest
But baby I don't mean it
I mean it, I promise

Jordan:  

Please don't leave me
Please don't leave me
I'm always saying how I don't need you
But it's always gonna come right back to this
Please, don't leave me

I forgot to say out loud how beautiful you really are to me
I can't be without, you're my perfect little punching bag
And I need you, I'm sorry.

Please, please don't leave me
Baby, please don't leave me
No, don't leave me
Please don't leave me

He cupped her face and kissed her gently and she responded. "Can I ask you something? If you weren't mistakenly married to me would you have done it under different circumstances? Would you have married me if we had been given a  chance to have a normal relationship? Like normal people? Would you have loved me for me and not because I was your childhood crush and an pop idol?"

"I..I don't know Carter..I think so.." she lifted her shoulders slightly and furrowed her brows.

"After I showed you the real me..and not the person you first met..would you still want to marry me? The real me?" He was a trifle subdued, with a troubled look in his blue eyes. "Please answer me? Be honest..would you?

"Honestly..?" Her brown eyes rested on the face of the man beside her. "Yes. Yes, Carter. I would have married you anyway."

Jordan drew in his breath anxiously and turned to her. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious??" she replied, in a tone of disbelief.

"Not to me.." he pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"Because I love you, Jordan Carter!" She sprang to her feet and looked down at him. He rose to her level and massaged his forehead. 

"Then why did you run baby? Why didn't you stay and give me a chance to explain?"  

"Because...I thought-"

"You still don't trust me." He stated the unspoken truth. "I know." He pursed his lips.

"I have trust issues okay?"

"You didn't even tell me that you're carrying my child-"

"It's our child, Carter!"

"You could have told me, Lana! Don't you think I have a right to know?"

"Why? So you could run again?!" she spat out and her remark cut like a knife. 

"I guess I deserve that.. but people change Lana-"

"So suddenly you're ready to be a father? Are you Carter?" she asked, skeptically. 

"I..I don't know..I'm still trying to get my head around it-"

"Well, you've got about seven months to figure it out. Is that enough time for you to grasp the fact that we are having a child? Huh?!"

"Baby..that's not fair and you know it.." he countered. "I'm being honest with you! Would you rather I lied?  I'm still trying to be a proper husband and now I have to be a father. It took me a bit of time to come to terms with it okay?"

"Then what do you want me to do Carter? Huh?!" she started to cry again. 

"Marry me!" he bent down on one knee and pulled out a blinding diamond ring. "Marry me, Lana Logan? Let's have a fresh start? We can figure this along as we go.. What do you say, baby?" His eyes gleamed out at her expectantly.  He raised his head and she looked towards the ring with longing as she said.

"I can't. Not if you're not ready to accept our baby.. I'm sorry Carter..." she grabbed her shoes from the sand and walked backwards, giving him a silent goodbye. Then finally broke into a run; leaving him hunched in the sand. 


(Please Don't Leave Me PINK lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC)

A young girl wins a contest that lets her go on tour with her music idol. It's a dream come true but she doesn't know what lies ahead isn't all roses and candy.

Xu Mei wrote her name and phone number on a sheet of paper and gave it to the girl.
«I will pay for the laundry service, at least,» she whispered so that the people in the surrounding wouldn't hear. Seeing that nothing was going on anymore, the crowd returned to the activities they were intent in before the drama had started. «Let's go to the restroom now. Let's see what we can do with this stain...» Xu Mei continued and pulled the other's arm gently.
The latter followed her, folding the paper and putting it away in the purse. «I don't need you to pay for anything, girl! I already told you it's not your fault.»
«That one was my future sister-in-law. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have started that show.»
«She doesn't like you at all,» the girl uttered. «She's cunning, though. You can't imagine how much I wanted to smash her face.»
«I can imagine,» Xu Mei answered, smiling mischievously.
«Don't get me wrong, I don't know your brother and all, but he must be blind to be with that woman!»
Xu Mei chuckled and felt understood, for once.
«She even asked you whether you sneaked in. In front of all those people, what's worse!»
«I don't have friends in the entertainment circle, so it is quite surprising to find me here,» Xu Mei confessed. «But I didn't sneak in if you're doubting.»
«It's not easy to sneak in here, and everyone knows that... What's your name, by the way?» the girl asked while opening the restroom's door.
«I am Xu Mei. And you?»
Before she could answer, they found two girls in front of the mirror in the bathroom. They were fixing their make-up and didn't pay attention to them. Xu Mei marched in and found a towel. She watered it using the tap of the bathtub, to not bother the girls.
«It's a pity for your dress,» Xu Mei said while trying to clean up the cloth as thoroughly as she could. «In my experience, it's quite hard to remove this kind of stain without ruining the fabric...»
«Don't worry, it's fine. I'll ask someone to bring another one, it's not a big deal.»
«But it's important for you!» Xu Mei sentenced.
«The story about the eighteenth birthday? Well, it is true,» the girl whispered. «But my daddy gifted me a dozen dresses that day.» She shrugged and continued to rub the clothing.
«Don't use too much strength,» Xu Mei warned her, but the girl simply rolled her eyes and took out her phone to write a message. «You haven't told me your name yet,» she reminded her.
«I am Hu Yanfang, but you can call me Fang if you want.»
«Then you can call me Mei,» Xu Mei uttered, slightly blushing. She wasn't used to befriending people, especially girls.
They were interrupted by the noise of an object falling on the floor. The two girls turned simultaneously and observed the make-up scattered on the ground. Only when Xu Mei rose her eyes, she recognised the girl in front of her.
«Mhm... Lu... Lu something,» she uttered coldly. Xu Mei thought that publishing the photos with those delinquents was enough to erase her from the scene. So, Xu Mei had simply forgotten her name as it was not relevant anymore. «Ah, I don't remember!»
Her casual tone and relaxed behaviour made the girl in front of her even more scared. «You... You are...» she whispered like she was talking to a ghost.
«Yes,» Xu Mei answered simply.
Hu Yanfang chuckled, thinking that the girl was another one surprised to find Xu Mei at the party, but the following words she uttered made her choke.
«I am alive. Surprised, uh?»
Xu Mei turned to her new friend that was coughing and gently patted on her back. Maybe she should have been more careful with her words. She hoped that Hu Yanfang wouldn't run away in fear, though.
She forced herself to laugh briefly before declaring: «it's a joke!»
However, instead of seeing a relieved expression, she found a mix of surprise, worry and a bit of curiosity in the girl's eyes. It looked like it didn't work.
«If it's a joke...» the girl uttered, with doubt. «Why is she in that state?»
Xu Mei turned to the other girl and noticed that she was panicking. Her friend had supposedly finished with her make-up and had gone out of the restroom. There were only the three of them in there, at that moment.
Xu mei decided to finish her talk with the girl and explain everything to Hu Yanfang later. «I was too merciful with you, in fact. I should have published your best photos on Weibo. That way, I would have been sure to not see you again.»
«Oh, that's so cool!» Hu Yanfang exclaimed. Xu Mei tilted her head, surprised yet glad that she wasn't afraid nor scornful.
«I...» the other girl voiced. «I didn't do anything! It was not my fault.»
«You didn't do anything? Well, that must be why I stopped after publishing that video alone. You didn't call for those gangsters. Yet, you didn't help me too. It looked like a good idea, in the beginning. Am I right?»
«I couldn't foresee it was going to progress in that direction!» the girl, pale as a ghost, stuttered. She clenched the sink to sustain herself as her knees where shaking.
«So what? You didn't take responsibility for your actions. Do you want to know what happened after you and your damn friend ran away?» Xu Mei continued with a cold, heartless voice. Her glacial expression froze the blood in the veins. Her smooth actions were worse than yelling in anger or destroying things in the room would have been.
Miss Lu gulped nervously. That girl in front of her had nothing to do with the one she met at that café. That was not a plain, useless miss that didn't know her place. That was a merciless beast, with claws and fangs ready to attack.

Xu Mei is the granddaughter of the Prime Minister. Her father died in an accident years ago, and her mother was chased away from the Xu family. She joined the Insurgents, whose head has an unseen talent for getting information that makes him look like an oracle that can see the future.
One day, she is delivered as a ’gift’ to the main political adversary of her grandfather, Lin Longwei.
He is handsome and powerful, and resisting at his charisma is nearly impossible. While they fall in love with each other, the war between Government and Insurgents gets violent, involving mafia bosses and quantum physics.
In a world that changes faster and faster, can two people find a spot where to enjoy love and peace?

In the afternoon, Yun Hua was washed down by a torrential rain.
Yun Hua Hospital's white building sparkled against the backdrop of the blue sky. The steel-made words [Yun Hua Hospital] on top of the roof also looked brand-new after the rain
The large advertisement that covered the front façade of the medical technology building was about laparoscopic surgery. During the thunderstorm, the surgical instrument the doctor held in his hand—clad in a blue glove—looked like an evil professor's weapon. However, with the fair weather right now, it looked like the toy of an an innocent teenage boy.
Family cars slowly exited the parking lot one by one, and the space in front of the hospital building which was extremely crowded a few hours ago began to empty out.
Ling Ran drove his little Volkswagen Jetta straight into the Emergency Department's parking section in the hospital's basement. The parking lots around him were all filled up. Just by seeing how none of the parking lots in the middle that had blue lines around them were empty, he knew that all the chief physicians and associate chief physicians were at work. It was obvious that yesterday was a peaceful day in the Emergency Department.
The Emergency Medicine building was perpetually filled with patients, their family members, and busy medical staff.
Ling Ran greeted everyone as he walked. He was quite used to this kind of situation. This was especially true when he was still a student. On the first day of every term, on his way to and from class, there would be countless girls saying and doing all kinds of weird things.
The people in Yun Hua Hospital were obviously a lot more rational compared to the ones in school. Perhaps because he was not away long, no one stopped him in his tracks to pass him letters or flowers.
Ling Ran arrived at the office without problems. When he saw that Department Director Huo was not around, he greeted a few doctors who had stayed behind in the office to take care of things before he sat down in his chair and leaned comfortably against the backrest. He then turned on his computer to catch up with the department's latest updates.
Meanwhile, in a WeChat group, which he did not know had existed, post after post appeared at lightning speed.
[#location# Doctor Ling just arrived at the parking lot.]
[His little Volkswagen Jetta is so adorable.]
[It looks well-washed.]
[Doctor Ling must really like this car. How I wish that I could see the way Doctor Ling is drenched in sweat when he washes his car.]
[Wow, with this hot weather, he'll probably have to take off his shirt if he's drenched in sweat.]
[#location# He just entered the Emergency Medicine building.]
[We'll finally get to see Doctor Ling again.]
[I'm so anxious.]
[I showed his picture to my friends from the provincial hospital some time ago. They stopped showing off the doctors in their hospital after that.]
[#location# He just arrived at the office.]
[It's time to throw the die!]
[Let's go!]
.....
The office door was slowly pushed open. The young nurse, Su Mengxue, craned her neck as she walked into the office. She held two journals. Pleasantly surprised, she called out, "Doctor Ling, you're really here!"
"I just arrived." Ling Ran wore a very relaxed expression. When he was in the Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Center, he always felt very anxious when he saw the large number of vacant beds. He was less anxious when he was in Yun Hua Hospital. The difference was probably like that of eating at a buffet, and eating in one's own house.
"It's great that you are back, Doctor Ling." Su Mengxue sighed softly, emanating the youthful aura exclusive to young girls.
"Do you want some yogurt?" Ling Ran took out a bottle of yogurt from the drawer under his table and handed it to Su Mengxue.
"Mm-hm." Su Mengxue only remembered her mission after she took the yogurt from Ling Ran's hand. She quickly said, "Doctor Ling, your research papers are published."
As she said that, she placed the two journals she held in her bosom before Ling Ran. They were already a little warm from her body temperature.
The one on top was the [Chinese Journal of Hand Surgery], while the one at the bottom was the [Chinese Manipulation and Rehabilitation Medical Journal].
The wings of small paper cranes peeked out from both of the journals, and their bodies were slipped in between the pages of the journal, functioning as bookmarks. Ling Ran saw his research papers the moment he flipped open both journals.
His thesis, [The Key Points of Chiropractic Manipulation for the Cervical Spine: Exploration of 450 Cases Using Spinal Back Manipulation], was published in the [Chinese Manipulation and Rehabilitation Medical Journal]. The journal was extremely uninfluential, and the only benefit one could gain from being published there was the fact that they got published. But when it came to career advancement and increasing the number of dissertations one published, the journal's uninfluential nature would not be of much effect. It would still be counted as a published thesis, and for clinicians who did not have many opportunities to publish their papers, it was considered a mediocre achievement.
However, it was a different story when it came to the [Chinese Journal of Hand Surgery]. Even though an Article Influence Score of 0.45—which meant that every year, one out of two dissertations would be cited once—was not considered high, its score was considered quite good when it came to a Mandarin journal. Clinical medicine journals with an Article Influence Score of over 1.0 in China could be counted on one hand. Most importantly, it was a journal under China, so when those in the field brought it up, they would feel incredibly prideful. [The Key Points of the M-Tang Technique: Exploration of 368 Cases Using the M-Tang Technique] was not an extremely excellent thesis to begin with, and it was a considerably good choice to publish it in the [Chinese Journal of Hand Surgery].
Of course, for young doctors, publishing any research paper was a very precious achievement.
Many hospitals including Yun Hua Hospital followed a rating system when it came to promoting their doctors to higher positions. There were various criteria when it came to the addition and deduction of points.
Basically, if a doctor were to carry out all of his normal tasks, work overtime when he was required to, obey his leaders, not make any mistakes or receive any complaints, then he would be able to score between seventy-five and eighty points. Most of the time, a doctor needed to score around eighty-five points to receive a promotion. That would be when publishing a research paper, receiving a bonus, making a research breakthrough, and so on come into the picture.
For an ordinary doctor, the publication of two dissertations would be an opportunity for them to get an immediate promotion, or to get onto the fast-track and get promoted several times.
However, whether it was in ordinary or core journals, it was very tiring for a doctor to publish two research papers. Very few doctors from ordinary regional hospitals were able to do this.
With the workload of an ordinary doctor, unless one paid other people to write his research paper, or bullied younger doctors into writing it for him, he would only be able to write around two research papers every five years—without neglecting the regular tasks he needed to perform to get enough points for a promotion. 
At this moment, Su Mengxue gazed at Ling Ran in awe and said, "Doctor Ling, you're seriously amazing to have written two research papers in one go."
"I received help from quite a lot of people," Ling Ran answered honestly.
Su Mengxue blinked as she said earnestly, "As the saying goes: a just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust cause finds little."
When the other doctors in the office heard this, they were shocked speechless. 'What? Can this saying be applied to such a situation…?'
When they saw such a beautiful young nurse gazing at Ling Ran in admiration and racking her brain for words to praise him, even middle-aged doctors wanted to lament at the unfairness of this world.
"Doctor Ling, I'm going to take my leave now." Su Mengxue waved her hand reluctantly. She looked extremely adorable.
Ling Ran nodded with a smile and took out a bar of chocolate from his drawer in passing. He handed it to Su Mengxue and said with a smile, "I got this from Shanghai. Why don't you give it a try?"
"Mm-hm." Su Mengxue's heart was as sweet as honey as she walked vivaciously out of the office.
Ling Ran lowered his head to read his research papers. They were only slightly edited, and the meaning and structures were basically retained. Compared to other research papers from the same issue, his research papers were roughly of an average level. Research papers related to clinical medicine were basically just summaries of experiences, and were rarely groundbreaking.
The doctors in the office congratulated him one after another. Some of them were just following the crowd, while some of them were truly envious.
For most doctors, writing a research paper was even harder than performing a hundred surgeries. Writing two was totally out of the question.
*Ring, ring...*
The office phone rang, jumbling up everyone's train of thought once more.
One of them answered the call. He hummed a few times in acknowledgement while his expression became solemn.
The doctor hung up the phone and said, "There was a public emergency. Everyone must report to the resuscitation room now."
"How serious is it?" All the doctors stood up.
"Level 3, relatively serious."
Public emergencies were divided into levels. Level 1 was for extremely serious emergencies, Level 2 for serious emergencies, and Level 3 for relatively serious emergencies.
A relatively serious emergency indicated that three people were either dead or in critical condition. In a city like Yun Hua, even though cases like these needed to be handled earnestly, it was not a very uncommon situation.
According to the requirements of Yun Hua Hospital, all medical staff in the Emergency Department must be mobilized when such an emergency occurred. Aside from that, when other departments received news about it, they must also immediately dispatch relevant doctors to the Emergency Department.
Ling Ran placed the journal in his hand on the table, grabbed a large white coat, and followed the others as they walked quickly. When he arrived at the resuscitation room, he saw that a crowd of doctors were gathered there. They were all waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
Huo Congjun stood at the forefront of the crowd. He had a determined gaze, and his large white coat looked like a cape as it swayed along to the breeze from the air-conditioner.
The great superiors of the department such as Department Associate Director Du and Chief Physician Tao stood beside him, while young and strong attending physicians like Zhao Leyi and Zuo Liangcai flanked the superiors. They looked well-trained.
Doctor Zhou and a few resident doctors stood in the corner of the room. Doctor Zhou knelt on a one-legged stool and put half his body weight on it. With his head lowered, he looked at his cellphone with one eye, and observed the situation around him with the other eye.
Ling Ran immediately walked over and tapped Doctor Zhou's shoulder from the back as a greeting.
Doctor Zhou was so shocked that he almost dropped his phone. When he turned and saw Ling Ran, he snapped, "You come back without gifts, and give me a scare instead?"
"I bought some Shanghai local specialties from Taobao. They'll be arriving in the afternoon." When it came to buying gifts, Ling Ran was still quite experienced.
Doctor Zhou's lips twitched. "You're going to be spending a lot of money, let me tell you that."
"Academician Zhu paid me surgery fees. Each was more than a hundred RMB."
"How much can you do with one hundred…" Doctor Zhou paused and realized that something was not quite right. He asked, "How much did you receive in total?"
"31,555 RMB," Ling Ran answered precisely.
"You did three hundred surgeries?!" Doctor Zhou felt tired just thinking about it.
"Not that many. Some of the surgeries paid more. I did less than two hundred surgeries in total," Ling Ran said as if it was nothing special. He then asked, "Do you know what emergency this is?"
Doctor Zhou scratched his chin and whispered, "From what I heard, a robber drove against traffic during his escape and crashed into a sedan. The three people in the sedan died on the spot, while the robber was injured. He's being sent here now."
"Oh…" Ling Ran looked at the crowd of doctors around him and said, "So, we're not actually needed here?"
Doctor Zhou said assuredly, "I'm definitely not needed—"
"Ling Ran!" Huo Congjun knew that Ling Ran had returned, so he called out loudly, "Come here and receive the patient with us."
　　


Ling Ran, a med school senior, begins to see the world like a game UI. He uses it to pave his way towards graduation, a residency, becoming the greatest doctor in the world... And finally getting a Transformer from his newbie packs? Maybe. We don't know yet.

The sound of the propeller whizzed in the air, and five transport helicopters arrived above the 7th Institute.
Looking at the dense crowd below, Horvat's skull felt numb. He was ready to enter combat when he was dispatched, but there were no militants at the scene at all.
Other than the wreckage and shambles, he only saw protestors that had already rushed inside, as well as media vans from the media outlets around the world.
"Sir?" The mercenary sitting next to him looked at him with eyes of inquiry.
After hesitating for a moment, Horvat pressed on the headset and made an order: "Lower the height, prepare for a rope drop."
Five helicopters hovered in front of the main entrance of the institute, and dozens of special forces landed on the ground using ropes.
The protesters had already rushed into the institute, and ambulances and fire trucks surrounded the entrance. Stretchers and cameras mixed with the crowd and made the scene particularly chaotic. Police dispatched from nearby were trying to control the situation and remove unrelated individuals and the media from the institute, but they were ineffective against the angry protesters and aggressive reporters.
Sargent Dover leaned against the police car with his hand on his forehead. He brought over a hundred police forces, but they still had a minimal impact on the protestors who had already rushed into the institute.
Obviously, the reporters found something in the research institute. Body bags labeled with numbers were lined up in the open space in front of the institute. The director of the institute, who had a bruised nose, was lifted into an ambulance. The protesters questioned who the police should arrest. The police also asked the police chief the same question. Dover didn't know the answer, so he could only resort to reporting to his superior.
However, until now, his superior hadn't given him any clear instructions. He just repeated the sentence: "Control the situation."
With heavily-armed mercenaries, Horvat walked to Dover's side and showed him the documents to enter the restricted zone... The documents were unnecessary since the restricted zone was already filled with protestors who couldn't be moved.
"Where is Carol?" Horvat glanced at the protesting crowd and lowered his voice.
"You're talking about the director of the institute? He was carried to the ambulance." Dover raised his chin and pointed to the ambulance next to him. "He looks a bit miserable; you should be mentally prepared... when we retrieved him from the protesters, we almost didn't recognize him."
Horvat's eyebrows twitched and he walked in the direction of the ambulance.
Looking at the mercenaries rushing into the crowd, the protesters looked at them with hostility.
"Arrow? Where is our 9th Anti-Terrorist Brigade? When did Peter outsource 'anti-terrorism' to military contractors?"
"Who knows? Maybe next time, they will even outsource the ballots."
"Ah, then I have to sign up for a printing factory to bid."
Without paying attention to the protesters, Horvat pushed aside the protestors in front of him, walked to the ambulance, showed the medical staff his documents, and pulled Carol out of the ambulance. The sound of the bolts scared off the protestors who were preparing to rush forward. They formed a human wall and retreated in the direction of the helicopter.
"Sh*t, this guy got messed up." The stretcher was pushed into the transport helicopter while a mercenary whispered.
"As long as he's the right one." Horvat glanced at him and told the medic to handle the director's wounds then turned back to the crowd.
Although he was miserable, Carol fortunately still had some air left in him or it would be difficult for him to answer to his superior.
In addition to the director of the institute, other researchers surrounded by protestors were waiting for rescue. When Horvat rescued key researchers from the locked office, he returned to the helicopter and Carol, who was almost on his last breath, woke up.
Horvat sat down beside him and stared into his eyes.
"Where is Jeff? How come I didn't see him?"
"Jeff..." It took a while for Carol's concussed brain to recall the owner of the name.
Coughing violently, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his violently pumping chest.
"He was taken away by the militants."
"How could that be with Jeff's skills?" a mercenary interrupted.
Horvat frowned, raised his hand to cut the mercenary off and persisted further.
"Tell me all the details."
"The militants broke into the underground research institute's security system and opened the alloy door. The last mercenaries and the militants exchanged fire in the corridor in front of the main entrance, and Jeff took me to the office at the back of the lab. Then..."
"And then?"
Recalling the tragedy that occurred an hour ago, Carol was frightened. Suppressing his fear, he narrated what happened with great discomfort.
"Then they quickly pushed the front door and threw a grenade inside. Jeff and the other three got down, but the grenade didn't explode. There was only a very faint static noise then they couldn't crawl back up. They were knocked out by the militants who rushed through the door. If I'm not wrong, that should've bee—"
"EMP" Horvat muttered to himself and spoke the three letters for him.
Located in the Finnish manor, Carmen quietly listened to the report from his phone.
The 7th Institute was attacked by the militant army organization claiming to be the "People's Liberation Front." They released a video of the battle at the research institute, not only publishing evidence of human experiments to the whole world but also letting in the protestors.
"The traces of EMP weapons were found on the scene," Johnson said with a dignified look.
Whenever these three letters were mentioned, it wasn't difficult to guess who was behind this. All Celestial Trade possessed were non-nuclear EMP weapons. However, Carmen didn't expect that not only did they reduce the size of their EMPs to non-guided support rockets, but they also further reduced it to a portable grenade.
After listening to Johnson's report, Carmen didn't speak. After a long silence, he picked up the phone and called the Krupp Group to tell them that the 'Lightning' exoskeleton required EMP protection then hung up.
After being neglected for a long time, Johnson waited for Carmen to finish calling then he hesitated for a moment before asking: "...What should we do now?"
"I'll give you all of Arrow's resources in Frankberg. Find them and kill them in their cradle. "
"Roger."
Johnson lowered his head then left with quick steps.
Looking at the closed door, Carmen gritted his teeth in anger. He gazed at the Golden Apple on the table sullenly and said, word by word, "You will pay for your stupidity."


After the nuclear war, ruins stretch across the landscape in the apocalypse.
If you accidentally survived on the wasteland, then you must be ready to face the endless hunger, ceaseless dangers, the mad zombies at night, and the peculiar mutant creatures that are the aftermath of constant radiation.
But for Jiang Chen, this place is heaven.
Mansions standing tall, luxurious cars parked on the street, high tech products and gold abandoned everywhere.
What? You were the president of a game development company before the war? You were responsible for the development of the 3D virtual reality online multiplayer game? Well, that’s great, why don’t you come work for me. Your salary is two pieces of bread a day.
iPhone? Ultra thin design? Don’t you see that the phone I invented is thinner than a condom?
Aircraft carrier? Fighter jets? Oh, I have those things as well, but they are designed for space combat.
Watch the story of Jiang Chen, who possesses the ability to travel through space and time, as he witnesses the creation of an empire stretched across space and time... 


crowd publishing

alone in crowd

The Unwanted Crowd

Bible (CSB-Holman Publishing)

Silver Overlord

The Devil's Cage

Second Chance Addison

Falling For The Bad-boy Superstar

Unexpected Gift

Great Doctor Ling Ran

I have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World

People search crowd publishing also like: