The morning shift starts at 8. a.m. Summer got off the bus with dark sleepy eyes and order an onion bagel. 

"Morning, Summer. Have you heard that the princess of Marble caught in a car accident last night?" Her colleague Britney popped out of nowhere and dropped the newspaper in front of Summer. 

Marble is the leading retailing group with over one hundred supermarkets national wide. It is the biggest competitor of W-Mart that Summer works in. 

Stuffing the bagel emotionlessly, Summer shot a glance at the newspaper. The scene was quite familiar. 

"I know. I witnessed the crash and called the ambulance for them." Summer bumbled as her mouth was full of bagel. She flushed it down with a cup of coffee before being chocked. 

"What?" Britney looked at Summer, wide-eyed and shocked. She could not believe what she just heard from her bestie. 

To satisfy her curiosity for gossip, Summer took another sip of coffee to gather her energy and told Britney what happened last night. 
"And then?" Britney was in desperate need of more details. 

"Then what? That's all."

"You fool! They are billionaires! The New Money! You save their lives and should be rewarded a blank check for you to write down whatever number you want! With a hell lot of zeros" Britney got excited, "At least a phone number!"

"I'll definitely do that next time." Summer giggled. 

On their way to the supermarket, Summer thought a lot. She whispered to Britney when she was changing her uniform in the restroom. "Don't tell anyone about the accident. The manager would be unhappy about it. I don't want to get involved in any trouble."

Britney nodded and zipped her mouth. 

The W-Mart that Summer works in is surrounded by commercial buildings that shaped the skyline of the big city and several communities of upper classes. The geographic advantage makes it successful. Among all 84 W-Marts, it is the one with the best sales performance in the last three years. The manager of the W-Mart, however, is pretty young. His name is Vincent, 26 years old, tall and fit. He's always the first one to be here and have everything under control until midnight. The success of the W-Mart credits to his diligence, intelligence, and experience. 

8:30 a.m. Every morning, leaders of different departments would gather at Vincent's office at the exact same time, and Vincent does not like anyone being late. Among them, the leader of the marketing department, Emily, was the only one with a big smile.

"Vincent, the princess of Marble was injured badly in a car accident. It was said that Marble had planned to open a new supermarket right opposite to us. But now, their plan was likely to be put off." Emily excitedly delivered the good news to all. 

The accident was a tragedy but all of them were delighted by it. 

"I have to say she deserves it. Marble is jealous of our success and wants to steal cake from our basket. That's the end of being filthy." The leader of the outsourcing team spoke out.

Almost all other leaders agreed with him and felt happy about the accident. Vincent did not say a word but the slight smirk on his face sold him out. A successful businessman would never be kind to his competitor, and Vincent is no exception. 

Being observant, Emily noticed that micro expression and was about to continue, but she chose not to as Vincent put out the cigar. 

"I heard that there was another man in the accident, a friend of the princess and invited from Wall Street. It's said he is a genius with unrivaled business insights. He would be the one to take full charge of the new Marble." Vincent's voice was clear and deep. His words threw a bomb in the room.

"Wall Street?" "Friend?" "Who's that?" "Genius?"… the whole meeting now turned into a heated discussion on a new face. 

"The princess might bring her boyfriend back, hahahah~~~" a burst of loud laughter burst out. 

But not Vincent. "Pay more attention to this guy. We need to get well prepared and smash Marble from the very begging. " He emphasized, "And Emily, investigate that guy and give me a detailed report this afternoon."

"No problem, Vincent." 

When the meeting was dismissed, Summer yawned and fell asleep on her spot. She was too tired to keep her tearful eyes open. Without any support, her body gradually inclined. "Bang" she fell on the floor. 

Summer immediately stood up and sat back to her spot. Luckily, the time was early and there was no one nearby. But when she looked up, she found Vincent and Emily stood right behind, looking in her direction. She immediately blushed and turned back, pretending to analyze sales data with Excel. After a few minutes, she lifted her eyesight only to find both of them had gone. 

"That's close." Summer took a big relief and smiled. 

However, her smile frozen a few minutes later when Emily called her through the internal line to have a small conversation in her office.

It was not the first time for Summer to be here. It was in this room that Emily interviewed her one year ago, and promoted her from an intern to a junior six months ago. But this was the first time that Summer felt nervous. If possible, she really did not want to open that door. However, she had no choice. 

The door was in fact wide open. Emily was not on the seat but standing beside the window, watering the orchid. She shot a smiley glare when Summer knocked and came in. 

"Take a seat."

"Thank you!" Summer was embarrassed and did not dare to look up at Emily. 

"Poor sleep last night?" 

Emily broke the silence. Her voice was not harsh. It seemed that she was not going to say anything with Summer for deconcentrating on work. But this only made Summer more unease and shameful. 

"I would not make such a mistake again, Emily." Summer blushed and her face was more like a crab just taken out from the cooker. 

"Relax. I'm not blaming you for that. I know the power of insomnia." Emily padded Summer's shoulder, "I'm asking you a favor."

"A favor?" Summer was surprised. How can I help the manger? She thought to herself. 

"Yes, I need you to investigate the new general manager of Marble." Summer threw a file right in front of Sumer, "get it done before you get off."

"Okay. I'll do my best." Summer answered without hesitation even though she had no idea of the whole stuff. The moment she closed the door, she regretted it. Her expertise is data analysis rather than due diligence, let alone investigation on a real person. Frustrated as she was, Summer quickly returned to her position and get started. She really wanted to impress Emily. 

"Eric Snow, 28-year-old, graduated from Watton Business School and became the youngest VP in Morgan Stanley; started his own VC two years ago and became a legend ever since." The man is a monster. 

Summer continued browsing and her eyes were caught by a small image. 

"Holy crap" Summer could not help screaming out of course in heart. It's the man in the car crash last night. That rude yet handsome man! 

This excited Summer and she immediately forgot how sleepy she was in the first place. She kept searching and found even more explosive news about Eric.  SMART! HOT! WEALTHY! POWERFUL! The man really kicks other's ass almost from all aspects. No wonder he was driving a Ferrari last night. His gentle and charming voice kept coming into Summer's ears. 

By the time Summer pulled herself back from the information sea in the Internet, it was already 6 p.m. She's running late and had no choice but quickly wrapped the report back to send it to Emily.  She could not work overtime today because she had an appointment with her childhood besties. 

"Received with thanks-Emily". Since the report has been confirmed by Emily, Summer closed the computer, picked up her handbag and dashed out to catch the 6:30 bus.

When the billionaire Snow falls in love with a marketing assistant from his competitor, what will happen? What will Summer do when she finds out it is Snow who's playing the trick?

    第五百八十章 iPad
　　 
　　 iPhone zeros Plus的价格着实让所有人都吃了一惊，但是想到它身上的黑科技，这4999美元的价格又不是无法接受。
　　但是有一点可以肯定的那就是iPhone zeros Plus绝对不是为了一般消费者准备的，肯定都是为了那些不差钱的土豪们准备的。
　　当然还有一个好消息，那就是超级电池已经开始朝着小型化多元化发展日后电池续航的问题将会得到解决，但是绝对不是现在。
　　“iPhone我们已经发布完了，上一次我们带给大家一个好玩的东西叫做行车记录仪获得了无数网友的支持。这次我们依旧带来了一款非常好的东西。”诸葛云笑道。
　　众人闻言顿时好奇起来，上次的行车记录仪确实不错，价格实惠而且还好用，现在基本上有私家车的都会安装上行车记录仪，这年头不怕一万就怕万一，万一运气不好碰上一个碰瓷的，得多少个行车记录仪的钱啊。
　　不过行车记录仪有一个不好的地方就是，硬盘速度是个大问题，完全没法和手机比。
　　不过好在放在车子上，大小不是很重要。
　　战龙科技也推出了高端版本的行车记录仪，里面使用的存储器是用在手机上的，只是价格不是一般的贵。
　　“我带给大家的是平板电脑。是一种小型、方便携带的个人电脑，以触摸屏作为基本的输入设备。其实我说的很大众一点，就是iPhone的放大版，我们称之为我们取了很多名字，我们最后使用了iPad！”其实这个iPad名字早在2003年的时候就被水果给注册了，但是这次使用，战龙科技付出了1200万美金的代价收购了关于iPad的所有版权信息，包括商标、网站等等。
　　 “让我们揭开这神秘的面纱！”说话间一个屏幕很大的数码产品出现在大屏幕上，人们知道，这个就是诸葛云说的iPad。
　　看样子还不错，只是不知道价格几何？！
　　“这就是iPad one，它有一个9.7寸的IPS显示屏，厚度为13.5mm，重量为1.29磅。iPad使用了苹果公司自家的L1处理芯片，当然频率提升到2.1。iPad也支持多点触控，显示效果更是配置了retina技术。
　　内置16至64GB的闪存。电池可提供16小时的续航使用时间”说到这里诸葛云停顿下来，现场回馈的是一阵掌声。
　　这iPad确实挺好的，显示效果非常不错。
　　“我说的续航是联网的情况下看720p视频的续航！，同时它的待机时间最长达一个月的待机能力。”诸葛云再次语不惊人死不休。
　　“我去，这续航可以啊，要知道联网本就非常耗能，看视频的分辨率不同耗能也是不同的，越是高清的视频，耗能越大。在联网的情况下看720视频，估计正常情况下看视频最少20小时。最逆天的就是待机1个月，这才是逆天啊”
　　 “这个牛逼大发了，不知道价格几何？！希望不要太贵啊，不然要跪了！”
　　“这个东西可以啊，如果能够打电话的话就完美了。”
　　看着不错，就是不知道体验如何？！
　　“屏幕好大啊，比iPhone Plus还要大好多，看视频应该很爽！”
　　“我去，这iPad可以啊，不说别的屏幕我是非常喜欢的。”
　　诸葛云继续道“在通信能力方面，iPad Wi-Fi 机种支持Wi-Fi 802.11n规格的无线网络，以及蓝牙（Bluetooth）2.1；同时我们也准备了另外一种版本：Wi-Fi+3G ，此机种同时具备GPS模块。另外，iPad同时内置动态感应器、电子罗盘、喇叭、麦克风。
　　没有3G的相对来说便宜一些，如果对于户外随时随地上网没有要求的，我们推荐是WiFi版，但是如果对随时随地上网有需求的，那么我们推荐WiFi+3G版。
　　触控屏幕、防指印、防刮镀膜、reTina技术让显示效果非常绚丽多彩，给你非一般的享受。
　　同时我们配备的专业的办公软件iwork套装可以让你在平板上就可以完成Word文档、TXT文件编写、PPT制作、Excel的处理等等，让你随时随地都可以办公，当然如果你买了iPad之后不要让你的老板知道，不然的话，我可不保证他会以此压榨你。”诸葛云笑道。
　　台下的观众也纷纷笑了起来。
　　“听诸葛这么一说，这玩意办公还真是方便，不像手机屏幕小不好操作，这个大小操作起来完全不是问题！完全可以替代电脑了。只是接口十个大问题。”
　　“我买了只是看个视频，真心不是来办公的，本来在公司就已经够累的了，还要在路上办公，这不是没事找事吗！话说应急的时候，这玩意处理文件也是可以的。”
　　“办公？！顶多是一个临时性的替代品，真正的操作还是需要电脑来，这玩意打字太累。不过显示效果确实可以。”
　　“不知道价格几何，希望不要太贵，喜欢得不得了。”
　　“wow，这个iPad太赞了，如果他的售价低于1200美金，我就一定拿下！”
　　“这个设计必须赞，战龙科技在屏幕上的工艺和技术绝对是没的说，办公就算了，但是看视频啥的绝对是一个好选择，旅途上用来看个电影电视剧啥的，再好不过了。”
　　·······
　　全球无数关注这次发布会的网友纷纷发表自己的意见，对iPad产生兴趣。
　　有意想要拿下，只是担心价格，毕竟这次iPad的技术和配置和iPhone差别不是太大，尤其是屏幕价格估计不会便宜。
　　普遍定价是不低于1000美金。因为在他们看来，仅仅是屏幕就值很大一笔钱。

穿越至平行空间的陈宇带着一套疯狂娱乐系统。
但是这系统听名字就让陈宇有一种不详的预感。
陈宇：“小优，冒昧问下这系统靠谱不，真不会出现bug啥的随时抽个风吧？！”
小优悠然一笑：“绝对靠谱，而且系统绝对不会出现bug！”
陈宇听着小优意犹未尽的话，有种不祥预感，忐忑道“那你的意思是？！”
小优嘿嘿一笑：“但是我可以保证你的人生绝对会非常bug！”
陈宇：“····”

Just know that I haven't seen any GOT and this is my first novel.  There will not be too much trouble with grammar however, I will struggle with ideas and overall development so please feel free to give me any suggestions.  I have also written this on my phone since my laptop is broken as hell.  "Speech"
'thoughts'

-------------------

This day was by far the most depressing day of Chen's life.  He always tried to stay out of confrontation but sadly, his class wasn't exactly full of the nicest people.  He was 18 and in his last year of college before going to university but because of his laziness, he decided to take an easy course in a college which had a rather terrible reputation.  He wasn't expecting to make friends and he certainly wasn't expecting to make enemies but his college lived up to its reputation.  Chen himself was a rather handsome individual, he looked rather average in the crowd but when focused on, his well defined face and athletic physique truly stood out, not to mention his heterochromia.  He was always annoyed by this since once someone noticed, everyone would be on his case leading to him having to exhaust himself through one of the worst possible ways - Social Interaction - don't get him wrong, Chen loves talking to his friends and other interesting people but his fellow students weren't exactly the most appealing people.  Today was terrible exactly because someone found out about his eyes and it resulted in everyone bothering him. Chen decided to take his time in walking home whilst developing countermeasures for the people who'd barrage him with questions tomorrow.  Chen couldn't brag about much however,  If there was anything Chen had confidence in, it was his ability to fight.  He isn't a brawler but instead a skilled fighter.  He had spent the majority of his childhood researching and perfecting his combat techniques for nothing apart from the reason of betterment.  He was rather annoyed at the fact that anyone with experience could handle someone with obvious advantages in a fight so he decided to make it so that he can beat those who are at the so called 'peak'.  Chen was a genius with shocking potential but thanks to a lack of drive, he doesn't really excel in others eyes leading to the negative thoughts of others, labelling him as a 'waste'.  With enough drive, Chen could easily surpass any current methods of technology and could easily excel but motivating Chen was near impossible.  As Chen was walking home, he'd noticed something slightly off.  He heard screams and although Chen was no hero, he liked to think that he had a good sense of moral code and he was always up for adventure.  So he ran towards the screams.

So, this is going to be another douluo fanfic and it's my first novel so it isn't going to be amazing but hey, maybe you'll enjoy it

Chen never really enjoyed his mundane life.  His one highlight could be his love for fantasy.  The world he escapes to with manga and anime was something he loved.  until he was granted the opportunity to love in his favourite manga - Douluo Dalu 3

After a long while, there was only Zeng Jun left in the room. He stood by the window to smoke. On the ground was the cleaned-up board.
"Sir, Mr. Lin is gone. He wanted me to let you know," the housekeeper knocked to come in and said to Zeng Jun who was by the window.
Not getting a reply from Zeng Jun, the housekeeper closed the door and left.
Zeng Jun took a puff of his cigarette and stared at the slim figure vanishing through the window. His mind was replaying what she just said. 
The public is saying Director Zeng switched to commercial films to cater to the taste of the public, as well as for the money. After all, art films have a very small audience. And Director Zeng, you are not that director who was pure and only wanted to use your work to show your own thoughts anymore. But I think Director Zeng, you are just not convinced. You wanted to tell others, there are many types of films. Art films or commercial ones, they are all just one kind. A truly great director would be able to excel at any type.
Someone told him before, "Ah Jun, I never thought that shooting commercial films is vulgar. I want more people to see my films, my world."
He blew some smoke, his eyes blurry.
Let more people see his world?
Xia Ning walked out of the house. Seeing the white swing inside the garden, she paused her steps. All the old memories came back to her mind. 
The swing was swinging and a tiny figure was pulled into a long shadow by the sun. The whole world was bright with blooming flowers, beautiful and gorgeous.
"Little girl, why are you playing by yourself here?" A long figure showed up behind her, shadowing her.
The little girl turned around and looked at the shadow. "I'm waiting for my mum." She turned back and push her feet on the ground to get higher.
"Your mum's here? Oh, does your mum work in this building?"
"No, my mum's an actress. She's here for an audition."
"The auditioning role is the leading female role. It would be very challenging for your mum to get it. Can you tell me who your mum is?"
"My mum will definitely be able to get it. My mum's name is…"
Xia Ning suddenly returned to her thoughts. Her pupils narrowed a little. She held her bag more tightly and moved her eyes away as she walked towards the parking lot.
Only the sound of her high heels echoed in empty garage. Xia Ning found her car keys and turned her phone on.
But just as she turned on her phone, a call came in.
This was not Qiao Yu, but Enoch.
Thinking she had not told her son about starting to work tomorrow and that they might not be able to see each other for some time, she felt somewhat guilty. She had ignored Enoch too much for her to make it up in this life.
She picked up the call at once.
"Hi Enoch, Mummy needs to go to work and it will be a while before I return. You need to behave and listen to your dad…"
"Xia Ning, it's me." The low voice of a man interrupted Xia Ning's words in the phone.
Xia Ning stopped for a second before she said impatiently, "Qiao Yu, do you think this is funny?!"
She was not answering his calls, so he called using his son's number. Wasn't that crazy?!
"Where are you?" Qiao Yu's voice sounded somewhat unpleasant.
Xia Ning opened the car door and threw her bag in. She sneered. "What's that got to do with you? Don't call me anymore. It's just a waste of my battery." As she spoke, she hung up directly.
Why didn't she realize that he was this annoying before? Like an annoying ghost. Xia Ning frowned and was ready to get in the driver's seat. All of a sudden, a shadow came from behind her.


Three years ago, President Qiao did not hesitate to sign the papers when Xia Ning placed the divorce papers in front of him.

Three years later, she is an up-and-coming star in show biz; watched by the public but knee-deep in scandals.

He is a resolute emperor in the business world; powerful and omnipotent.

Their paths were supposed to be separate and independent, but—

Standing at her door, the legendary ruthless and unyielding diamond bachelor asks for a remarriage. A cute bun appears from behind and gazes at Xia Ning with his big, starry eyes. "Mummy, Daddy will cook, I will warm the bed, please take us in."

Day 126 - 3:42 AM - Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States of America
Atlantic City. It was a city established at the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey during the 1800s as a health resort. It then became known as a resort city with casinos, wide beaches many other features aimed for relaxation and entertainment.
Now, however, the city's bright lights were already gone, and it was nothing but a dead silhouette of a city filled with tall buildings from afar.
After a tiring flight, Mark landed atop a highrise building by the coast. He breathed deeply. It was very tiring trying to flee in that situation that you know when something that you could not handle might appear.
Mark walked towards the edge of the building, sitting down as he looked around the area.
There were other places he could land when he was flying away. From the north, there seemed to be some suburban city. It was the same in the south. However, both areas were not that suitable for hiding. If one was fleeing from something, it was a better choice to find where there were more places to hide.
It was not like something was chasing him, but it was never a bad thing to be careful. After all, who knows? He liked to hide his trump cards and use them at crucial times. The others could be the same. Furthermore, who knew what else the enemies were capable of considering nothing much was known about them.
As Mark looked around, the city was dead quiet. But it did not mean that no activities were happening.
In the first place, Mark did not know where in the world he was right now. The only thing he could think of was somewhere in America because of what he told Spera before opening the portal. He also flew across an ocean towards the west. The outlook of the city also resembled the North American casino cities.
Even the reason why he landed on this specific building was that it stood out quite a bit. This orange-colored, large building with a tall tower seemed to be a multi-purpose tourist site now that he got a closer look at it, even the building connected to several casinos around it.
To the north, there was another casino-hotel that was violet-colored. It was more conspicuous, but Mark avoided that one. It was because one of the activities in the area was there.
Why was Mark aiming for buildings that stood out? Of course, it was because the more conspicuous the hiding place was, the more likely that who or what could be chasing would think less of it. Well, it would not work all the time, but there was still the chance that it would.
Mark sat at the edge of the building but away from anywhere that anyone could see him easily. He was waiting if there was something to happen and was getting ready for another action if needed.
While he did so, Mark was observing that violet-colored casino-hotel.
It was quite surprising to find survivors in a place like this. If one to look below the streets, were was quite an amount of infected. It was something to expect in cities that invested more in tourism.
The outbreak suddenly came, and the tourists that flocked in these areas during the holidays turned into infected.
To say, as a fan of the Zombie Genre, Mark missed seeing a scene like this. After all, they had been spending their time at the base surrounded by greeneries. A zombie-apocalyptic city scenery was more pleasing to Mark's eyes if not for the danger.
Looking back at that building, Mark could see how these people managed to survive. The lower roof of the casino used to be part of rooftop restaurants and a big swimming pool. Since that was the case, they were able to use the rooftop that already had enough facilities to shelter people.
With that as the main camp, they were able to cross a large area using the junctions that connected the buildings.
Mark closed his eyes, enveloping the whole casino he was looking at with his [Emphatic Detection].
"Hmm?"
He detected something unexpected. It might be a coincidence, but who knew?
There was an inheritor among the survivors in that casino-hotel.
Mark could not tell which ability the person inherited. Nevertheless, it was definitely something worthy of checking.
Of course, he had no reason to meet or show himself to the person. As long as he passed Freed's criterion, there was no need for any interaction.
And to say, if he was to evaluate the current state of his survivor camp, it was rather neutral.
Their emotional states were not happy but not that disturbed either. They seemed to be content just by surviving. 
Nevertheless, there seemed to be some problems. That was what Mark thought as the Mutators were together emitting some uneasiness in their conversation.
Mark waited in his position for another hour.
Fortunately, nothing seemed to be tailing him. It would be a bad thing if there were in any case.
Nevertheless, he did not dare go home immediately. Someone might call him being too careful, but it was better than botching things up.
In any case, he already told Spera to open the portal back after a day. Thus, he could stay here and go home later.
While patting the dust off from his pants, Mark stood up. 
The sky already had a glimpse of dawn as he was on the eastern coast. The breeze was cold, but a bit salty. It was something that one could expect when near the ocean.
Still, Mark had quite a jetlag. It was already past lunchtime when the battle started. And yet, here he was now. On the morning of the same day again. The feeling was quite odd.
Mark looked at one of the rings on his fingers, he started sending magical energy at it without trying to activate it.
This ring was one of the pair of rings Mei received from Bathala. The rings that would allow the wearers to teleport to each other.
During the preparation, Mark and Mei already tested it. There seemed to be no repercussion to using it. However, the rings could only be used with a day interval after the last one. It was something like a cooldown as the rings replenish the energy used on their own.
Mark tried replenishing it with his own energy or the crystals. Unfortunately, that was not applicable. He could use it now, and return. Still, he would use this in times of emergency instead. A day might not be too long, but seconds of danger could already cause a catastrophe.
Nevertheless, Mark and Mei found another use for these rings. 
When one ring was activating, the wearer of the other pair would feel a slight vibration to indicate the arrival of the other. However, this vibration would trigger while the ring was preparing the energy being used for transfer and could be canceled before activation.
That, however, led to something like a communication device between Mark and Mei. Using the vibrations with morse code, they could send messages when they were far from each other.
And right now, he was sending a message to Mei that was on the other side of the globe.
***
Day 126 - 3:16 PM - Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Quezon
Past an hour after Mark dragged The Great One through the portal that Spera opened, those that were left at the base were worried.
They did not dare call the others out yet, and they were still waiting for any danger that could appear.
While they did that, they started eliminating the scattered infected outside the base. Without anyone controlling the infected, the infected started to go rampant and even tried to attack the base. 
Fortunately, the base was made to defend against the infected. There were some infected that were troublesome to deal with, but all still fell.
Finally, after waiting for a while, Mei's ring let out a weak vibration.
Translating the code was quite hard, but Mei had no qualms learning it. She was still slow, though. It was not too hard to learn, but it was not something that could be memorized perfectly in a few days.
"Sis, how is he?"
Jaeya asked Mei, who was still receiving Mark's message.
"Gege won." Mei smiled. "He said not to worry about him. It seems like he's in New Jersey right now. He's still looking for any directory or address around."
"New Jersey... Spera really sent him that far." Jaeya said as she looked at Spera, who was currently sleeping. "She's spent, though."
Spera was the MVP when it came to protecting the base this time. In return, however, she immediately fell asleep after the battle. 
From what they could see, Spera spent her magical energy to the last drop. She might have gotten stronger because of Mark. Still, opening a large portal and another that connected to the opposite side of the world would leave her incapacitated afterward.
Not to mention the effort she exerted in order to maintain the large portal from crumbling, her mental stress would surely be heavier than anyone here.
Well, the danger this time had already passed. The next thing they should focus on was to recover.
The surroundings of the base were devastated, after all.
"The old couple will be sad after seeing that."
Jaeya said with a shrug while looking at the already nonexistent crop fields.
"By the way, won't big brother return?"
"Not yet. He's being careful not to drag anything unnecessary back here. Also, the rings are for an emergency." Mei said with a smile as she looked at the ring on her ring finger. "Let's just wait until Spera recover."
***
Day 126 - 3:42 AM - Bally's, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States of America
Inside the office of the casino, the Mutators gathered as they discussed their worries.
These Mutators led this group of survivors holed at the rooftop of Bally's Casino. Every since the start of the outbreak, all of them had been here. No one tried to leave, or rather, no one could leave even if they wanted to. 
They were trapped in this casino.
It was because Atlantic City was one of the worst ground zeros in the state.
The chances that an accident where two passenger airplanes would collide in the air was too small. And yet, it happened above this city before the outbreak started.
Many people witnessed it when two airplanes suddenly stalled and lost control, deviating from their paths and colliding with each other.
That large display of fireworks brought hell to the city as Mutated infected rained from above. Many died from the fall, but most of them managed to live with just broken body parts.
Unlike how the outbreak started at one area in other ground zeros, the ground zero here was the whole city.
Because of that, the military had to abandon the city and destroy all the bridges leading to it. They thought that they could contain the outbreak by trying to isolate it.
That was where they were wrong and the military just ended up trapping the survivors inside the city with nowhere to go.
The survivors here managed to hold on for four months just by scouring the connected casinos and hotels.
But that ended here as their supplies started dwindling.
And of course, no one wanted to go to the streets even if they were Mutators.
It was because, in this city, the Mutated Infected outnumbered the regular ones. 
And in their group, there were only six of them among the one hundred and thirty people they had.
Running for supplies would not only endanger their lives but would not ensure that they would be able to collect enough for everyone.
All that led to this meeting. Among the six, however, there was someone not paying attention and was looking at the wall for some reason.
"Morgan, what are you looking at?"
One of the two women at the meeting asked the man.
"No, its nothing."
Morgan replied. Nevertheless, he was sure that he felt something nostalgic for no apparent reason.


It was just a normal morning but it was unknown to many that the apocalypse already started.

The origin was not determined but the infected started to appear after a cosmic event happened just outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.

The people and animals turned into man-eating mutants and zombies while some of the lucky ones gained superhuman abilities. Every living creature that had not "turned" started to evolve as the whole world was affected by the Mutagen. 

Follow Mark, an Otaku, a Gamer and a Shut-in that got trapped in the middle of the apocalypse due to an uncanny reason. Using his unconventional thinking, knowledge and abilities, how far can he go in surviving the apocalypse filled with zombies, mutated beings and dangerous people as a survivor in an overpopulated country?

"Is it not time for us to move yet? The fourth phase is about to start. They do not look like they are going to be able to hold on for much longer." A nervous guild representative said. Nine different guilds joined hands in this operation and out of the nine, his guild was the weakest. If it was not for the rewards he was promised, the guild representative would never have joined such a risky operation.

The end prize was Venetia, but it was impossible to divide the town between the different guilds. Venetia would be valuable only if it was owned by a single guild. An agreement was signed between the different guilds. For now, Dystopia would claim ownership of the town and one week later, the guilds would fight each other to decide who would be the final owner of the town. The rest of the guilds who participated would be rewarded with a portion of the town's revenue and a few rare items from the winning guild.

"It is already the fourth time you are saying that. Don't look down on these NPCs. They can last for a little while longer. The mayor did not even come out of her office yet. It shows that she is confident in her monsters." Excel answered with a tinge of annoyance.

"I am certain the mayor must have reserve troops waiting inside. At this rate it will be better to just give up and join the battle. Look at how many Undead there are. If we joined in, we would have already collected thousands of 'Wish Bones' and other items." Endless commented while swinging his blade at the wind to vent himself. He glanced at Excel, but the latter did not seem to react.

The guild representatives could only bitterly smile as Endless pointed out what they had missed. As they did not participate in the battle, they had no rights to collect the drops of the Undead. It was heart-wrenching to watch the weaker players collect all these drops under their eyes.

All the guilds were working together, spreading their members around the empire to cover the most towns as possible. They funnelled all the loot they collected into a single member who would then redeem the most valuable items from the special shop. 

Any player could access the shop simply by opening their interface. An additional tab was added where the players could see the available items. At the top of the list were unique items that could only be exchanged once among all the players in all the ten servers and already, a few items had disappeared. 

There were three types of loot that could be used for exchange: Wish Bones that dropped from bone monsters like skeletons, Imbued flesh that dropped from flesh monsters like zombies and Corrupted Souls that dropped from phantom like monsters the wraiths and ghosts. 

It was clear that the top rewards required the collaboration of many players to obtain. The best rewards were growing weapons that could be infinitely upgraded. These were extremely rare items but unexpectedly, a large range of weapons, one for each battle style and class showed up. However, the players needed at least a million of each type of drops to redeem even one weapon. And yet, two weapons had already disappeared. The Sceptre of Amaranth that suited the Black Mages and the Spear of Dragneel designed for Spearmen had already been redeemed.

Aside from the top tier rewards, many first-tier rewards had also been redeemed. The guild representatives were in contact with their superiors at all time, monitoring which item was being redeemed. This applied a lot of pressure on the guilds; in the hands of an elite, each item could turn into a weapon of mass destruction. 

"Talk for you. I have more than a thousand members sitting here doing nothing. If I did not follow your stupid plan, I could have gathered tens of thousands of drops. Now, all these precious drops are being shared among these useless players." Albatross grunted. His guild, Blue Lagoon, had yet to redeem any valuable reward. They were aiming for the top weapons but upon seeing that two weapons had been redeemed, worry rose in their heart. It meant that the top guilds were already able to redeem these weapons. Soon, all of them would be gone but Blue Lagoon was still far from being able to redeem one. Blue Lagoon was an extremely powerful guild but if it was unable to get their hands on any of those weapons, their standing would inevitably fall. 

"No need to be so aggressive. Don't you see that I also have a thousand members sitting there? We are all suffering from the same penalty. Blame your guild's inability." Excel replied back sharply. How could she not feel the stress building up? The messages kept flowing in the group chat of the leaders of Dystopia. Despite being the acknowledged number one guild, they were not the one who collected the weapons. They were supposed to know everything about the event; all the tips and tricks to maximise the number of drops they obtained and yet, they had failed to redeem a weapon first.

"D*mn! It is just frustrating to stay here doing nothing. I would rather much be fighting these Undead. Almost eight hours have passed but Blue Lagoon has yet to collect enough drops for a weapon. I suppose that one of the guilds who redeemed the two weapons is Dystopia, right?" Albatross said with a defeated expression.

All the guild representatives turned their attention to Excel. She was the one who remained the calmest during the entire progress of the event. In their eyes, it meant that Dystopia had an edge over them and had already collected a top tier reward.

Excel could feel the stares of the guild representatives. They were all waiting for her to acknowledge Dystopia's superiority over the other guilds. Excel's expression darkened; as much as she wanted to lie, it would be pointless to do so. Sooner or later, the real owner of the two weapons would come out. She could only bite her lips as she replied quietly. "It was not us."

"What?"

"It was not you?"

The guild representatives exclaimed in surprise. Her words brought a wave of turmoil among the representatives. If even Dystopia was not the first to collect the weapons, which guild was able to accomplish such a feat. From Albatross' words, they could safely infer that it was not Blue Lagoon and judging by Endless' disgruntled expression, it was not Vultex either.

The guild representatives eyed each other, going from the strongest to the weakest guild. Yet, none of them seem to be confident enough to say that their guild redeemed one of the weapons.

"Who could it be? A guild from another server? One that is even stronger than Dystopia?"

The guild representatives quickly started to communicate with their own guilds, informing them that it was not Dystopia who redeemed the weapons. 

While they were busy speculating, a player came running from the town and stopped in front of the nine guild representatives. "Sorry to interrupt you but the mayor has just left her office. She is making her way to North side of the city, to the city wall."

"…"

"I see. Then, let us go and meet her. I guess it is right time to probe the situation." Excel broke the awkward atmosphere.

…

"Boom Boom Boom!"

As the fourth phase of the Night of Macabre started, loud rumbles sounded in the distance. The ground shook with each rumble. A huge wave of Undead appeared; on top of the previous Undead, Poltergeists, Soul Remnants and Decayed Carcasses joined the fray.

"Boom!"

Still, the rumble did not stop. All the monsters could feel the threatening aura making its way toward Venetia. It was another Boss Monster that was accompanying the wave of Undead. In the distance, a large pair of eyes could be seen partially hidden by the fog. The eyes were empty and soulless. Judging by the height of the eyes, the incoming creature was at least a giant! This time, it was coming from the East and would crash into Mars and the troops of the Temple.

"How is it looking?" Iris anxiously asked. She could feel the ground shaking with each rumble. The footsteps of the creature were enough to bring fear into the defenders. 

"Fighting the waves of Undead is still fine for now. Although the strength of the Undead increased, the interval between each wave also increased. At first, waves of Undead emerged from the fog every three minutes but now, the interval increased to ten minutes." Neptune reported. She casted a lot of spells during the last few hours but did not look exhausted. It was all thanks to the buffs given by the Blue Moon which greatly helped spellcasters like her.

"What about the huge boss?"

"We don't know yet. We don't even know which monster it is, but Mars should be able to handle it. Based on the rumbles we are hearing; the creature must be quite slow. You don't have to worry about it."

Iris nodded in silence. She could see how tired her monsters were. Fighting for eight hours straight took a toll on the monsters but thanks to the huge supply of potions she previously bought from the dungeon shop, they should be able to hold for a few more hours.

The only positive note about the Night of Macabre was the enormous amount of DP she was collecting. All the powerful players and NPCs who stayed in Venetia were generating a lot of DP. Furthermore, endless waves of Undead that were being slaughtered by the defenders. Iris' total DP count already rose to 2.8 million DP in just eight hours.

Soon, the mysterious creature emerged from the fog, revealing its hideous figure to the defenders of Venetia. It was a level 50 Flesh Tyrant. The Flesh Tyrant was a creature following the same bloodline as the Abominations. It was a giant made of flesh; an amalgam of various dead creatures vulgarly patched together. It was 20m tall, dragging a large shipwreck behind as a weapon. 

"Boom!"

The Flesh Tyrant continued to advance toward Venetia. Each step left a giant mark on the ground. Worthy of being a boss monster, just its presence alone afflicted all the defenders with a powerful debuff: "Intimidated". It reduced all the stats of the surrounding creatures by one.

"Are you sure it is going to be fine? It is a level 50 Boss Monster." Iris exclaimed with worry. 

"Mars is also at level 50. He can deal with the Flesh Tyrant. And remember, compared to the wild Boss Monsters, we are wearing a full set of equipment. We are much stronger than wild monsters. Even Karyn, who is at level 43 can deal with it because of her unique title. With her extreme agility, she can abuse the Flesh Tyrant's weakness, its speed." Ceres reassured her.

"But what worries me is that there are still four more hours to go. The first Boss Monsters was a Bone Drake at level 40 who appeared at the fourth hour. The second one is a level 50 Flesh Tyrant who appeared at the eighth hour. Looking at the pattern… We should expect a level 60 Boss Monster near the end of the Night of Macabre. Even Venus, who's at level 53 might have trouble fighting back."

Iris and the surrounding monsters fell silent upon hearing Ceres. The situation was indeed not ideal. 'I have almost 3 million DP. Maybe I can buy something in the dungeon shop that will help the monsters.'

'The defensive weapons like cannons are already out of the picture. Because they required complex engineering work, they cannot be directly bought in the dungeon shop. Should I buy a new monster? But even with 3 million DP I cannot buy a level 60 monster. Should I buy something to help alleviate the fatigue of the monsters? Because of the guild players' actions, my monsters had to waste a lot more energy.'

'Speaking of the devil…'

As Iris was browsing through the list of available items in the dungeon shop, she noticed some movements in the corner of her eyes. There was a large group of players making her way towards the city wall. Leading them was a player named Excel.

Iris frowned lightly. She was naturally aware of the players' plan; their secret gathering did not go unnoticed by the monsters. Although they bought the land plots and could construct their own private areas; at the end of the day, these land plots were still within Iris' dungeon. With the power of her dungeon core, she could watch any area of her dungeon. The players were unaware of their lack of privacy.

Not only did Iris know about the guild representatives' combined operation, she also knew about the guilds' individual plans. She saw her mother, Vanity receiving harsh criticism for failing to recruit her into Blue Lagoon. All the guilds without exception had been scheming to obtain Venetia and kick the others out. But a scheme known by the enemy was completely useless.

"Miss Iris. I know you are busy because of the event but will it be possible to have a word?" Excel shouted from the stairs leading to the top of the city wall. Two Elphames were guarding the stairs, not allowing any non-monsters from going up. While the Elphames were far weaker than the Lionmen, being only level 26, Excel and the other players did not dare to fight them yet.

Iris turned her attention to the players; her eyes met Excel's. 'Are they going to pull the trigger now? Venus and the other succubi should be nearby. As long as we deal with them quickly, the church will not be alerted. They should all be busy on the other side of the town.'

"What is it? Are you here to explain why you and your guild members are not on the battlefield despite accepting the defence quest? I hope you realise that there is a penalty for failing the quest."

After being betrayed, framed and kicked down to the ground, our protagonist was sentenced to life imprisonment. But a few days later, a global disaster occurred, people from all nations migrated to underground refuges.

As a prisoner, he thought his life was over, abandoned by everyone. However, he wakes up, greeted by Gaia, the person responsible for New Earth.

New Earth was a second chance for him, watch as he builds up his own dungeon and become known by all as the Emperor of Madness

Note that this is a slow novel and dungeon building only takes place after 40 chapters

[Note: I am also posting this novel on RoyalRoadLegends: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/18115/new-earth--the-dungeon-of-madness]

Here's an edited version available on Amazon: 
Book 1: https://amzn.to/2MwyMBG
Book 2: https://amzn.to/2U9R6lp
Book 3: https://amzn.to/2UdVbVx

Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/nikostar2

Morning quickly turned into afternoon for Imperial as Yue Ling and Lu Tian arrives at Uncle Zhi's shop.
Stepping out of the car, the couple dressed in casual wear since neither were going to work.
Yue Ling turn to the man and faintly smiles.
"The place is in a mess. Be careful where you step."
Lu Tian nod his head. However, it is not him who he is worried about, but her. He had tried to persuade her to stay home since the dust may harm her body, but she kept insisting on coming. 
Walking through the hallway inside the rundown building, both individuals put on a mask as there was dust everywhere.
Approaching the main entrance, the once metal door that secured the shop was no longer standing in its place.
As Yue Ling enters the shop, she sighs in pity at the sight of it, while Lu Tian stopped at the door.
Yue Ling had already told the situation beforehand, but when he saw the inside of the shop, he was stunned to the ground.
He thought it was only the items that were destroyed, but not only were the shelves destroyed, even the concrete walls were smashes with a sledgehammer.
Whoever it was must have some kind of malicious feelings towards Uncle Zhi.
Lifting his leg, he takes a step forward. However, to his surprise, not only was Yue Ling's team already here, but even his assistant was here.
"Boss! You made it!"
Xu Long was also wearing a mask as he seemed to be lifting a piece of broken wood that was part of a shelf when he saw his boss enter.
He carried the piece of wood to a corner of the shop and drops it with the rest of the things gathered.
Walking over to Lu Tian, his eyes turned into an upside-down crescent as one can see that he is smiling despite the mask covering his mouth.
Staring at his assistant, Lu Tian did not return a smile. His natural cold eyes moves away from Xu Long then to the others moving all the broken things.
"How did it go?"
Just as Xu Long nears his boss, hearing the question, he sighs inside and shook his head.
"Liu Shan informed me this morning after you called. When I arrived, we tried to search for the culprit, but we were all led to a dead end. This person made sure that none of the camera's picked up their figure, let alone shadow."
Saying this, his brows furrow and he pout his lip. Leaning towards his boss, he whispers.
"Do you think this has something to do with Black Dragon?"
Lu Tian was analyzing the situation when he heard Xu Long's sudden questions. His brows slightly furrow for a quick second then he shook his head.
"Chu Qiang is not the type to pull something like this."
Looking in the direction of his wife, he ponders in thought.
He (Lu Tian) may have put Chu Li Xiang behind bars, but knowing how Chu Qiang is, the man will never steep so low as to vandalize a person's shop.
If he (Chu Qiang) was the one behind this, he would have done so face to face and not hide in dark.
Besides, many know that Chu Qiang and Chu Li Xiang may be brothers, but both are not on good terms. With the younger brother out of the picture, it give Chu Qiang more time to relax and deal with his own problems.
Thinking this, his eyes narrow into the unknown and his thoughts continue.
But who would do this to Uncle Zhi?
Chu Li Xiang is the only person who was after them. He is already put behind bars, so…
His eyes subconsciously lands on his wife who is talking to Uncle Zhi about something.
He couldn't help but wonder, could someone be after his wife?
This person must have known that Uncle Zhi is associated with her, thus leading them to vandalize his shop.
Could this be a warning?
His eyes shift away from his wife to the scene again.
"Check every person in Imperial. Find out if there are any suspicious activities."
Hearing the order, Xu Long tilt his head in confusion. Why would his boss want to check every person in Imperial?
However, he sighs inside. An order is an order.
"Alright, I will get to it."
Just as he turned away to go back to what he was doing he was suddenly stopped by Lu Tian's deep voice.
"Send our location to Wolf Team."
As Lu Tian's words fell, he removes his coat and set it aside with the rest of everyone's coats.
Walking in the direction of an area where no one has gotten to, he pulls up the sleeves of his sweater and picks up the broken pieces of woods.
Xu Long stood in his place and stares at his boss. He isn't surprise to see the man helping out since this is not a first.
Although Lu Tian is known for his cleanliness, he will lend a helping hand to those he knows.
Averting his eyes away, Xu Long continues in his steps to the area that he was working on. He didn't forget to take his phone out and sends their location to the members of Wolf Team.
The more people they have to help clean this place up, the sooner they can search for the culprit.
Oblivious to the discussion between boss and assistant, Yue Ling busied herself listening to what Uncle Zhi has to say.
As their conversation near its end, Uncle Zhi hands her a piece of paper. It was not a full sheet of paper but a small note paper.
"I found this in the backroom today. It was put where the confidential information were supposed to be."
Yue Ling looks down at the paper and she crease her brows. Taking it from Uncle Zhi, she reads what was written.
'0000'
Staring at the written zeros, she does not speak her mind but stares at the paper.
"What does it mean? Liu Shan and the rest are unable to identify it."
Uncle Zhi couldn't help but asks as he stares at Yue Ling's expression. He couldn't figure it out and neither did Liu Shan or Alpha Team. However, if it's her, he knows she has some kind of idea.
After a long minute, Yue Ling finally answers the man.
"Midnight."
Her voice was low, but it still echoes inside the shop for everyone to hear.
Each person stops what they were doing and turn in her direction with a confused expression.
When Uncle Zhi found the note, he had asked each one of them, but they were not too sure as to what it meant. Their only thought at the time was, why would someone leave a note with only four zeros?
However, hearing Yue Ling's words, everything made sense. The four zeros are written based on the 24-hour time.
Uncle Zhi furrow his brows and scratch his nape. He stares at the note paper and asks.
"What does this person mean by midnight?"
"They will be striking again at midnight."
This time, it was not Yue Ling who answered, but Lu Tian.
He had stopped what he was doing. His figure walks towards his wife and Uncle Zhi.
Reaching her side, he slowly takes the note paper from her and looks down at it.
"Everyone here will have to take precautions."
As Lu Tian's words fell, the expression on everyone's face drained of all colors. However, it was not themselves who they were worried about, but one person in particular.
Lian Ni Shang who stood in the closest distance to her boss walks toward the woman.
"Boss."
Her eyes held worry as she stops on the other side of Yue Ling.
Liu Shan had told them that she was pregnant, so they should not bother her too much or it will put a lot of stress on her. However...
Turning to look at the woman, Yue Ling sighs inside. She caught a glimpse of her team looking in her direction and sighs again.
"I'll be fine."
She smiles reassuringly to them and points to the man standing on her other side.
"I have him."
Looking at Yue Ling then to Lu Tian, everyone sighed in relief. How could they have forgotten that Lu Tian is not some useless being. With him by her side, no harm will happen to her.
However, thinking about the man's words, they cannot be too relaxed. The note clearly meant midnight, but it can be the midnight of any day.
Even if Yue Ling is not the person being target, she is with child and the one who will be put at a greater risk more than anyone else.
Lu Tian stares at his wife for a long minute then to the note in his hand. His eyes darken dangerously with no ounce of mercy in them.
He had told Xu Long to search for this unknown person, but now that it involves the safety of his wife and child, he will personally track down this person who is asking for death.


Han Yue Ling, a peerless beauty with a great personality, but she carries a lot of secrets. 

She loved a man for 10 years, but on the day of her wedding, fate decided to play a cruel joke on her and take the man away. 

Three years later, she decides to move away. 

She stumbles upon Lu Tian, the ruthless and cold CEO of Lu Corps. Thinking it was just an accident, she stumbles upon him again and again. 

Before she knew it, the man is already living with her!

Is this an unexpected second chance at love? Will she be able to love again?

------------------

[Note to readers: 

Please be courteous towards other readers. If you don't like this novel, feel free to move on to the next one.

Thank you, author.]

A part of me thought that Garm might actually retaliate against me and Azuma because of his imminent defeat, but the man didn't rise to the title of great general by being careless with his soldiers. 
Even if he stuck around to try and defeat my unit, Edo's unit had already broken his back, and without him leading the charge, they would get wiped out. 
He gambled. He lost. Now, he was willing to move on. If nothing else, I could respect that about him. 
"It seems playtime is over, boy…" Garm reached a hand forward, and like Azuma's spear, his greatsword flew back to him. "Tell my niece she's won this round… but this victory will cost her dearly." 
Just like that, Garm sheathed his greatsword and walked away from us. I would watch his retreating back up until the Black Rider arrived with an extra mount for him to ride on. She gave me one steely-eyed glare, but like Garm, she didn't attack me anymore either. 
Together, they rallied their frontline troops and charged back to the rear to rescue what remained of their flank. 
The crisis averted, I limped over to Azuma and checked to see if he was breathing. 
His eyes were close and his face was bloody and bruised but his chest heaved up and down. Looks like Garm had only knocked him out.
I realized then that Azuma had gotten much weaker since I first met him. The Azuma of then could have fought toe to toe with Garm without mine or Ty's help. But that was before when he just couldn't die no matter what wound you inflicted on him. The Azuma of now was frailer, and I'd like to think it was just cancer keeping him down. I was afraid to think it was we who were holding him back from his potential. 
My brow furrowed. "Ty?"
"He-here," he answered groggily. 
"Could you make an ice pack for Azuma?" I asked. "And can someone call Ian for me!"
Ian Grimmjaw never arrived. It was Tina Lovegood—the ax-wielding, curly-haired, and glasses-wearing teammate of Luca—who answered my summons. It was also she who informed me that Ian had passed away. He'd been skewered by a pike in the throat from an assailant who'd gotten a lucky shot. 
I lowered my head in frustration. My brow furrowed even more. This was the nature of our job. We were warriors. But, whether they were my teammate or an enemy I slew myself, every death stung all the same after the battle was over. I doubt I'd ever stop feeling that way, and I hoped I never would. 
Tina and a few other Ravagers helped me get Azuma and Ty back to the rear while our frontline, under Arah's guidance, continued to hound the enemy's heel. 
Aura told me that she'd gotten the report that we'd successfully pushed Garm's forces back on all the other routes thanks to the leadership of our squad leaders. In fact, it wasn't just Edo's troops who were in the midst of attacking Garm as we spoke. Both Liu Xiang's and Thom Blackthorn's units were also part of the assault. 
Yet, despite the nearly six thousand troops attacking their flank, Garm managed to lead the remainder of his forces into breaking through Edo's lines, thereby escaping the pincer attack and fleeing back past the mouth of the gorge. 
"One thing's bothering me though," I said. 
"What?" Aura asked as she dabbed a wet cloth onto Azuma's brow. The concern on her face at our injured comrade was touching to see. 
"He chased us all the way south… why was he so quick to flee now?" I asked. 
Aura shrugged. "I'm not sure… maybe he was too pressed for time?" 
She was half-right as it turned out. 
Back when we'd repelled the attacks of Garm's reserve army, I'd sent Fila on a mission to Great General Grimthorn and Darah with a message explaining the details of Garm's betrayal. And despite a lack of physical evidence of his betrayal at the time, the word of the princess of the Trickster Pavilion and her Sense Knight was taken into consideration. 
The truth, however, was far simpler than that. The ruling council had already decided at the time to strip Garm of his title, and so they'd already had an army in reserve, ready to charge west at a moment's notice. Darah had been tasked with this job. 
As soon as she got my message, she marched west with a seventy-thousand strong army from central along with a writ from the council that would take away all Garm's authority. Although no one believed Garm would step down quietly, and Darah had expected a battle. 
A battle did occur, but not with Garm. The battle came in the form of a fifty-thousand strong Scarlet Moon army that had been waiting in the northern wastes of the Westersand Desert to make their move. 
They intercepted Darah's march and stalled her long enough for Garm to return to his forces, gather those loyal to him, and then flee north to lands outside the Trickster��s territory. 
Of course, I wasn't aware of most of this until the next night. I'd hear about it later from Fila who'd had a message from Darah telling me, "You suck! How could you let Garm escape your clutches when he was already within your reach?" 
Nope, that message came later. At the moment, I was too busy leading the remainder of my borrowed army south and away from the Westersand Desert. 
After we'd exited the southern mountain range, our unit and Liu Xiang's army of pilgrims would finally part ways but not before I insisted that Arah come with us. I expected them to disagree but they were quick to let her go actually. 
"Kitsune has admirable performed two of the three tasks we'd set for her," Liu Xiang. 
"Two of the three?" I asked. 
"Help them connect with you and assist in the training of their army," Arah said while she raised two fingers. "Luckily, I managed to hit two birds with one stone. Train their army in a real battle plus help them team up with you." 
She turned her two raised fingers into the peace sign and showed it to me. 
"And the third?" I asked, still unsure about this deal she made with them. 
"The third will come later," Liu Xiang answered. "To fulfill Kitsune's contract, we require that you meet with our leader, the Charlatan, in the near future." 
"Kitsune's contract?" I asked again. 
This was turning into a round of twenty-one questions. There were too many things about the Pilgrimage and Arah's situation that I just didn't know about. 
"She contracted us to bring her into the Fayne," Liu Xiang explained. "We knew she was a close acquaintance of yours and deemed it a good investment."
I set Arah my best imitation of the Rock's smoldering gaze. 
"You made a deal with them just to jump into the Fayne?" I wrapped my arms around my chest. "Are you insane?" 
"You wouldn't take me," she shot back. "I had to find an alternative… I wasn't about to let you and Ty get into trouble while waiting helplessly at home like some damsel in distress, Dean!" 
I sighed. We'd had this argument a number of times already on two different worlds no less. 
"If I meet with this Charlatan… you'll release Arah's contract?" I asked Liu Xiang. "What does that mean, exactly?"
"The price for coming to the Fayne through our services is worth this much." Liu Xiang brought out a roll of parchment and unfurled it so he could show me the number. "As you can see, it isn't a small sum at all." 
My eyes were as round as Oreos. 
"Th-this price… Isn't it extortion," I reasoned. "No way could a high school girl pay that much money…"
Ty, who'd been standing quietly between me and Arah leaned over to me to get a look at the parchment. "S-so many zeros…" 
I turned on Arah and slapped at the paper in Liu Xiang's hand. 
"And you accepted this kind of deal?" I asked incredulously. 
"The things they asked of me were pretty easy to accomplish. So why wouldn't I?" Arah just shrugged. Then her brow furrowed. "Unless you're saying you won't meet with the Charlatan?" 
"Of course I'll meet with him," I said without hesitating. "How else am I going to keep you from acquiring such a huge debt?"
It was only for a moment, but Arah smiled after I'd said what I said. 
"Thanks, Dean," she said in a voice that was barely a whisper. 
"Alright, Liu Xiang, when do we meet your boss?" I continued. 
"We will contact you at a later date," he replied. 
"And that's all you want?" I pressed. "For me to meet him?" 
"Well," Liu Xiang's eyes darted toward Aura. "We would like you to bring your brother and the princess as well."
He raised his hands in surrender before we could protest.
"The Charlatan only seeks a discussion… we have no plans to harm you or your friends," he promised.
"Alright," Aura answered for me. "I'll go if it means helping Arah."
And with that proclamation, we parted ways with the Pilgrimage. They continued in a western direction while we traveled southeast. 
"Where are we going? Arah asked. 
I looked up at the night sky. Idunn was barely past its zenith which meant dawn would take a while longer to arrive. That wasn't an issue though. We had another hearth we could all rest in. 
"Home," I answered.


Dean Dapper leads two lives. By day, he’s your average teenager enduring the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the mundane human world. By night, however, he’s the reluctant commander of the Foolhardies, a group of troublemakers fighting in a war of succession that’s been ongoing for nearly five hundred years!

A Fifteen-year-old battling mythical fairy-tale beings may sound foolhardy, but Dean isn’t in this for himself. His younger brother Luca faces a life of slavery in the fairy realm, and only Dean’s fight to become the clan hero might rescue Luca from his grim fate. Luckily, Dean finds a valuable ally in Aurana, a princess of the clan with her own political ambitions of her family claiming the empty throne.

Strategic battles, magic sword fights, the underbelly of fairy politics, and raging teen hormones—it’s all in a night’s work for Dean, Luca, Aurana, and the rest of the Foolhardies.

[UPDATE] Pausing on daily chapter releases this June 2020 on account of spending part of my writing time editing the work from the beginning. Please expect even better prose and tighter pacing from chapters 1 to 220 soon. It all starts with 1. After I'm done with that, daily chapters will resume. But don't worry, chapters will still come out weekly. It just won't be daily for now. 

RELEASE SCHEDULE: 1 chapter daily at 10-11 PM Hong Kong time.

want to read more of my works? check out GAME MASTER OF SOULS (ML-Fantasy/Game) only on Webnovel. 

Want to buy me a cup of coffee? A gift on the novel page will do the trick. :D

Follow me on Twitter "@WhoisGDCruz" for all the Foolhardies news that doesn't fit in the Author's note of each chapter. :p

Want to chat about the Foolhardies? I'm on Discord: GD_Cruz#3598

Dave walked into the pub or tavern as the old man called it. The place was a perfect replica of the bar that Nick hung out in. A long bar lined one of the walls and there was a stage built inside, for musicians or anyone interested in pitching a show for the tavern's guests.
Thick wooden pillars supported the ceiling, and there were several tables all over the place with small chairs for the customers.
Nick was wiping a glass with a white cloth as he smiled at Dave.
"Welcome, kid," Nick said.
In front of him, two undead were enjoying ale that Nick must have served to them. There were even a few other human NPCs sipping beer from wooden mugs. The undead and the NPCs nodded at Dave when he entered.
"Hello Nick, seems like you're having fun." Dave said.
"Nah, the fun has yet to begin. I'll be doing an audition soon. Want to join in?" Nick asked.
"What audition?" Dave asked and got next to the bar.
Nick served Dave a mug full of foaming beer. And said, "Musical audition. You know, remember the old days. I told you before, I used to hold sick concerts here."
"Sorry, I'm tone-deaf. But I know someone who might be interested," Dave said smiling. He thought about Vanessa, she could enjoy singing here. But the situation between the two was still awkward, so it was better he tells Lone and she would tell her. Dave wanted to talk to the girl again hoping she wouldn't be mad at him.
"Very well give them this for me." Nick handed Dave a sealed letter.
Dave pocketed the letter and asked, "So, mind telling me what's going on with the Clash of Gods thingy? You kinda rattled the world and then went on your way." Dave sipped from his beer and wiped some foam that was stuck to his nose.
The taste was pretty close to the real thing. Conquest was a state-of-the-art technology that mimicked real-life experience to its fullest. It could even translate ones and zeros to one of the world's best beer brands. Quite amazing and frightening at the same time.
 "Like I said before, the young gods have started to move. I don't know what pushed them to take action but I'm not liking it one bit." Nick said and served another mug of ale to the undead sitting against the bar.
"Yeah, I met another of them this morning." Dave said, "Nasty monk. Quite a hypocrite too." Dave said.
Nick frowned, "You mean yet another Demi-God tried to take your ring?"
"Yeah. He failed, heck, Dortha beat the shit out of him too." Dave said chugging another time from the beer.
Nick remained quiet for a few moments and said, "Kid, you must win the Clash of Gods."
"I'm planning to do the best I can, Nick. I can't promise you anything. The world is pretty big, and I'm certainly not the best," Dave said matter of factly.
He knew that his character was currently one of the strongest, if not the strongest in the world of Conquest. But that was it, there could be other people who had the skill and experience to be catch up to him and with a bit of luck, they could beat him.
Nick sighed and said, "I know that, but that's not an excus-"
Dave cut Nick off saying," I didn't say I'll lay down and let anyone walk all over me, Nick. I'll fight, anything and anyone with my full strength. Heck, I don't want to lose my Legacy to anyone that's for sure. And I do want to upgrade it. I won't let anyone take what is mine easily, Nick. If anyone wants what's mine, they'll have to fight me for it. Be it player or demi-god."
Nick smiled saying. "That's what I want to hear, kid. Good. Now I'd like to tell you something. There seems to be a Demon on the loose," Nick said.
"Yeah, The Undead King and Ramsha told me about him. I don't know if I can beat him." Dave said.
"If you meet him, run," Nick said in a monotone.
"Ho, that's new. You telling me to run. I mean, you kinda sent me to the jaws of death many times on your quests. Heck, I had to go through the wilds while under-leveled, face dragons, necromancers, fight off armies and now, you're telling me to run when facing this…demon.  I killed a Chosen, I can do it again." Dave said.
Nick smiled and said, "Right. I didn't think about this."
"What do you mean?" Dave asked.
"You, Kis'Shtiengbrah. You grew arrogant," Nick said.
This was the first time Nick the Undead God called Dave by his character name. It felt a bit strange. But arrogance, Dave didn't feel like it. He was strong and had the strength to prove it, that's what he thought.
"You grew complacent with your power. You're thinking you can take on the world now. You think no one can stop you. Right, you and your underlings. Well, Iit's about time I show you how wrong you are. Come with me," Nick said and waved a hand opening a black vortex behind Dave leading to some mysterious place.
Before Dave could protest, the vortex sucked him in and Nick followed behind, leaving the undead and NPCs in the tavern.
Dave appeared on a wide platform. The area looked exactly like the place in Limbo where Dave fought in the Clash of Gods. Only the platform he stood on was dozens of times wider.
Dave looked down. He was wearing his Doom Knight armor instead of the Death Knight armor he had on.
A notification appeared in front of Dave.
***
You are currently in a simulation created by the God of Undeath.
Death does not carry over to the real world.
All of your skills' cooldowns have been reset.
You cannot gain EXP while on the training grounds.
A new option has been added to your character. You can visit the Devin Training Grounds whenever you wish.
***
"So, what I'm gonna fight you now?" Dave asked.
"Huh, you wish. I can splatter you with a sneeze." Nick said in a grin.
Dave remembered the day when Nick used the "bad words" when he was next to Demiurg in space. The world itself seemed to shake and shudder in fear of the small Undeath God.
'Yeah, he probably can.' Dave smiled to himself.
"So, why did you bring me here? If it isn't to fight you." Dave asked.
"This is a place where you can summon the entities you have fought and slain before. You can fight them again to enhance your battle experience. Want to try?" Nick asked.
Dave thought for a moment and said, "Yeah, why not."
"Good," Nick waved a hand, and hundreds of projections materialized in front of Dave.
There were wolves, felines and undead, the creatures Dave had killed when he first started. Then the ethereal projections turned a notch stronger. Showing Yetis, creatures of the Wilds, like the Were-Tigers, even a Prong Fiend was there.
Another lineup of projections Dave now believed to be souls. These were the strongest. They were mostly unique creatures. There was a Sworn Stalwart, and Ashkar was there in his hideous form, Leonard, Didrik, the boss of the First Raid Zone of the Underworld, and even Lakhbar, the boss of the third raid zone. The Kraken was there and even a few Manticores.
"Choose one," The Undeath God spoke.
"I guess you want me to pick Lakhbar again?" Dave asked.
"Yep, so, you think you can win again?" Nick asked.
Dave took a breath and said, "Yeah, let's try again!"
Nick disappeared from the area, and the ethereal form of Lakhbar hardened into a physical form.
Dave inspected the boss monster he already slain once before.
***
Lakhbar (Chosen of the Demon King) -Soul-Projected-
Raid Boss
Level: 450
Tier: Epic
Base damage: 85,000-90,000
Danger Level: ☠☠☠☠☠
HP: 200,000
PD: 150,000
MD:150,000
Skills:
[Blessed One]
·    Skills can only work once on Lakhbar.
·    Revives stronger after death. Each death Increases the base HP pool by 100% HP.
·    Lakhbar can revive 10 times.
Lore
The chosen of the Ash King, Lakhbar was appointed a king in the place of the deceased Pharaoh. His aim is to offer tribute to the Ash King and supply him with soldiers, magic and wealth to empower the Ash King's demonic army.
***
The man in white robes, had his eyes closed and stood in the middle of the arena. It seemed that until Dave made the first move, he would stay there.
Dave took a breath and pulled out Deadra's Sword and Shield from his inventory.
"Guess I'll have to see if I can win without luck this time."
Dave took a step forward, and the boss creature opened his eyes. Lakhbar didn't speak, but dashed toward Dave with claws pointed ahead.
Dave dodged the attack and sent the gigantic sword in a wide swing toward Lakhbar. The sword smashed into the man in white breaking ribs and sending him rolling down the ground.
-200,000 HP
Dave had used the skill he learned from [Dortha] to empower his attack. He lost a bit of HP, but the [Vigorous] passive kicked in and replenished his lost HP.
"Right, first Death, nine more to go! Stand up!" Dave shouted, and so did the boss. This time horns grew up his head and hands emerged from his sides as Lakhbar grew larger, giving Dave a weird sense of Deja Vu.
Dave charged again at the boss. This battle was bound to be a long and hard one. But Dave wasn't in a hurry anyway.


Three years ago Conquest was released, redefining virtual reality and gaming. 
‘An entire world on a server. Dive in and play the RPG to end all others; explore, create, conquer. LIVE!’ 
It became an overnight phenomena worldwide. 
Dave Ruster grew up without a family to speak of, he had few friends and fewer prospects. He lives in the same small town where he graduated from high school, and works long hours at a low-paying job that barely pays for rent and the food on his table. He can’t afford college, but at least he is not out on the streets. 
His life is going nowhere, stuck on a treadmill. 
Until chance, karma, or providence, call it whatever you believe in, intervenes. Suddenly, David’s circumstances change. 
Injured and unable to work, he’s about to lose what little he has. His fate balances where crisis and opportunity go hand in hand.
He can risk it all, seizing the opportunity to make circumstances work for him, potentially going further and higher than he ever dreamed. Or he can accept his fate and watch life from the sidelines 
Join Dave as he puts all his aspirations and hopes, all that he is, into the game he always wanted to play, Conquest!  
It will be a journey of adventure and discovery, victory and loss, as he strives to create a new future for himself, in-the-game and In Real Life.


**** Story is currently being proofed by our Lord Sambraga! (chapters 54+) so please bear with the mediocre quality of writing in the first chaps, it gets much better later on!****

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