At that moment, in a research office in All Beings Base, Leng Xuantong read the file in his hands over and over again, then said sullenly, "So, apart from those underground gorillas, so many new types of underground creatures have come out. Where the hell are those creatures from? Is there a portal leading from the comic world to here underground? Is the portal bringing all the imagined creatures to our world?" 
He, of course, was only making a metaphor. Those creatures didn't seem to belong to this world indeed. They might not be from the comic world, but no one could tell for sure if there were an unknown world underground or not.
On his left side, Lin Hao was sitting on a chair, leaning against the back of the chair as he sighed with a frown. He couldn't help but complain, "At first, we thought zombies are the most terrifying things in the world, but it turned out that the shortage of food is a lot worse. Then, we found mutated plants and mutated animals. The whole world is mutating, including human beings. And then, the apocalypse happened again. And now, a bunch of strange and powerful creatures have shown up. Why on earth do they all love eating people? Can't they eat plants? Can't they eat anything else?" 
Leng Xuantong gave him a glance and responded to him with a bitter smile, "Otherwise, why are we calling this time the post-apocalyptic era? It's like we've gone back to the primitive time."
Lin Hao looked at Leng Xuantong as he adjusted his expression and said, "Alright, enough of the complaining. How's your research going? Aren't those underground gorillas afraid of that plant root? Will it work for the other underground creatures?"
"No," Leng Xuantong shook his head and said, "It's only effective on the underground gorillas."
Lin Qiao brought back three different types of underground creatures on her way back to the base for Leng Xuantong to do experiments. She brought two types of creatures alive, and the other one type dead. That creature constantly released poisonous gas when it was alive, and the gas was highly harmful to all living beings near them. Therefore, to make Leng Xuantong's works easier, Lin Qiao brought a few dead bodies back. 
Therefore, Leng Xuantong's lab had been very busy since Lin Qiao came back.
Lin Hao turned away with disappointment and looked at Yan Huiguang, who had been sitting on the other side and staying silent all the time. "Mr. Yan, haven't you been making any progress?"
His big sister brought the man back to the base and gave him an independent lab. His assistant was the other man who came to the base together with him.
He remembered hearing from his sister that both the two men reacted strongly when she arranged them to work together. At last, she used violence to make them follow her order. Lin Hao didn't know about the relationship between the two men, but he believed that his sister made the arrangement for a good reason.
Yan Huiguang had his head slightly dropped. His long hair covered a big half of his face, disabling the others from seeing his facial expression. However, one did not need to look at his face to feel the cold vibe coming from him.
Hearing Lin Hao's question, he slightly raised his head and said with a cold smile, "Would human beings need to worry about those creatures if my research could make progress so easily?"
No progress was made, clearly. His tone of speaking just could not be friendly.
Lin Hao looked at him, then turned to make eye-contact with Leng Xuantong. They both made no reaction to Yan Huiguang's tone, because Lin Qiao had warned them about that. She told them he was a man with an eccentric personality.
Thankfully, Lin Qiao had warned them beforehand. If she didn't, the short-tempered Lin Hao could pick up a fight with that man in a minute when the man talked to him with that kind of tone.
However, the man was a level-seven, dual-powered being. The only outcome of Lin Hao fighting him would be him being tortured. If the man was in a bad mood, he might even take his life. 
Therefore, Lin Hao shrugged as he gave the man a fake smile and said, "So… work hard."
As Yan Huiguang's assistant, Shui Mingjun was sitting on the side as well. Hearing what Lin Hao said, he couldn't help but glance at Yan Huiguang and say, "You could have turned into a zombie and never worried about those creatures."
On hearing that, Yan Huiguang's sullen face instantly grew even darker.
Shui Mingjun was satirizing him, because he couldn't even become a zombie now. Last time, he drank the zombie drug, but the zombie lady stopped him from becoming a zombie. After that, he took the drug again and even got himself bitten by zombies, but nothing ever happened to him!
What on earth did that zombie lady do to him?
Yesterday, he studied his own blood, and the result was bizarre. As for those underground creatures that Lin Hao and Leng Xuantong were worried about, he hadn't really started studying them actually. 
Hearing Shui Mingjun's words, he snorted and responded quickly with, "If it weren't for that zombie woman, I'd have become a zombie long ago."
He sounded strongly unhappy about what Lin Qiao had done to him.
Lin Hao and Leng Xuantong looked at him in a weird way. It was the first time they met a man who was so eager to become a zombie. Becoming a zombie meant death, and most human beings feared death.
Leng Xuantong slightly dropped his eyelids; he didn't want to become a zombie. He was grateful for what Lin Qiao helped him to achieve. In her base, he was allowed to let out his zombie wife and son, instead of freezing them like before. Unlike the other zombies outside, they didn't lose their humanity and soul.
Because of Lin Qiao, both his wife and son were behaving well. He got along with them peacefully, and they could even help him with the work. Before, he couldn't even imagine that.
To his surprise, someone would rather become a zombie than being a human being. Well in fact, after knowing all kinds of high-leveled zombies in Lin Qiao's base, Leng Xuantong felt that being a zombie was not so bad.
They were stronger than humans, and they weren't affected by either cold or heat. They didn't need food, because their energy nuclei kept them alive.
Before Lin Hao and Leng Xuantong recovered from the shock caused by Yan Huiguang's zombie dream, Shui Mingjun said coldly, "Yeah, you are just so weak. You are a dual-powered level-seven being, yet you still needed to strengthen yourself by turning into a zombie. Actually, the zombies that you created during your experiment could only keep their original power levels. That was not remarkable."
Lin Hao and Leng Xuantong both turned to Shui Mingjun silently. The look on their faces was a little indescribable. The atmosphere between Shui Mingjun and Yan Huiguang seemed to be a little complicated.
They watched the look on Yan Huiguang's face grow sulkier and sulkier, and felt his vibe became tenser and tenser. Somehow, they felt that something seemed to be happening between those two men.
What was their relationship with each other?


Lin Qiao remembers nothing from the past five years since the post-apocalyptic era began. She wakes up only to find herself having become a newborn, superpowered zombie, in a body that used to belong to an evil and notorious woman!

Having kidnapped a girl and raped her father, the previous host met her demise at the very hands of the conspiracies she courted all her life, leaving Lin Qiao no choice but to deal with the consequences while trying to figure out her own past and the fate of her loved ones. 

As for the little girl’s father, can’t he just have a decent fight? He’s a human being, but why is he biting a zombie? She’s the zombie! She’s the one who’s supposed to bite! 

Perhaps the fainting of ten visitors caused too big a scare. Throughout the whole morning, there was no one else who dared challenge the nameless town again. Everyone stuck obediently to low-level scenarios.
The visitors around the Haunted House gradually calmed down. Chen Ge felt that perhaps one day, the visitors would get used to seeing a few fainted people around the Haunted House entrance.
At 2 pm, a few people who proclaimed that they were from Nightmare Academy sought out Chen Ge. They hauled their colleagues back in their cars. One of them was a pair of twins who personally came to apologize to Chen Ge. Chen Ge very graciously accepted their apology and promised that he would visit them if there was a chance in the future.
After the people from Nightmare Academy left, the students from Jiujiang Medical University came. Most of them were Wang Dan's friends. Once they heard that their friend had fainted again, they all went to look after class was over.
"It's not a big problem—he'll soon wake up." Chen Ge came to this conclusion after inspecting Wang Dan's body. Actually, Wang Dan had already woken up a long time ago. As a senior visitor, his ability to suffer these mental scares was far better than the other visitors. Knowing that Chen Ge was kindly giving him the chance to save his face, Wang Dan soon 'woke' up.
"Wang Dan, you've finally woken up!"
"Did you really dare to challenge a 3.5 scenario? You have my admiration!"
The students from the university surrounded Wang Dan, and they did not think that fainting at Chen Ge's Haunted House was something shameful. In fact, they felt as if they were missing out if they did not faint at Chen Ge's place, like something was missing from their university life.
"Not all is lost." Wang Dan forced a smile on his pale face. He lay in the middle of the crowd and looked surprisingly like a valiant soldier. "I've found the key to this 3.5 scenario!"
Wang Dan struggled to turn to Chen Ge. He raised his hand. "Boss Chen, next time, I will succeed!"
"The scenario is built for you all to experience and clear, so naturally, I will always welcome your return." Chen Ge liked spending time with the students—it made him feel younger. Wang Dan and his girlfriend were taken away by the other students. After they disappeared from Chen Ge's view, they surrounded Wang Dan again.
"Wang Dan, what does a 3.5 scenario look like from the inside? How scary is it?"
"I don't think I need to explain how scary it is if all ten visitors fainted from their tour." Wang Dan was still quite weak, and his legs felt like noodles. "The new scenario is a small town, but the scale is huge. I believe it can fit twenty people for one visitation. The place is filled with traps, and the scariest thing is, as time moves forward, the small town itself changes."
"The town changes on its own?" Yang Chen took out his notebook and started to write. "The difficulty will continue to increase?"
"Yes! Fog rolls out on the streets, the telephone signal will be jammed, and more actors will appear to fill up the streets."
"In other words, to clear this new scenario, we need to move fast and find as many clues as we can before the difficulty rises." Yang Chen jotted down everything that Wang Dan said in the notebook; this was precious information that Wang Dan had risked his 'life' for.
"Yes, other than that, I gained some very important information during this visit." Wang Dan thought about it. "Regarding the exit, I found three clues. They are respectively the fridge at the corner of the kitchen, the morgue at the end of the hospital, and the armoire in the room. So, if we try this again, we only need to focus on the fridge, armoire, and morgue."
"Okay, is there anything else that we need to pay attention to?"
"There's one more. I'm not so sure about it, but I believe it's true." Wang Dan hesitated. "Considering the size of the scenario and the possibility of accidents, Boss Chen set up a safe zone inside the scenario. It is at the center of the town, a hotel."
"A safe zone?"
"Yes, the hotel owner is a middle-aged man. Now that I think about it, he didn't have the presence of the other workers, so he shouldn't have been lying to me." Wang Dan provided another crucial tip.
"This info is too important; it can be a life saver." Yang Chen noted this down and circled it in red like all the other important information.
Chen Ge watched the students walk away before turning to the remaining visitors. "This man in the trench coat has broken the law. I should wait for the police to come get him."
There were too many visitors around for him to call the police. Chen Ge waited until 5 pm when the theme park was about to close and called Lee Sanbao and told him everything. During that period, a few other visitors gradually woke up. Zhang Feng's situation was rather bad, but he recovered quite a bit after Chen Ge sent him to the underground morgue. Feeling ashamed of himself, he slithered away without saying a word.
Shinozaki and his assistant acted strangely though. After they woke up, they sat next to the Haunted House like they were waiting for Chen Ge. At 6:40 pm, after sending the last batch of visitors away, when Chen Ge prepared to close the door, Shinozaki and his assistant ran over.
"Boss Chen!" Shinozaki limped over. His hair was ruffled, and his expression was anxious, looking not even a bit like a master.
"How can I help you?" Chen Ge had quite a good impression of Shinozaki.
"I found this comic page inside your Haunted House." Shinozaki took out a manuscript page from his pocket. When he fainted, he held the page tightly in his hand. "Can I please meet the author? I admire him greatly, and I have something important to discuss with him."
"You wish to meet him?" Chen Ge knew full well that it was Yan Danian who drew that manuscript.
"Yes! I wish to collaborate with him to share his work with the world. Such a genius shouldn't be hiding inside a Haunted House!" Shinozaki was excited. It had been so many years since he had come across a piece of work that could affect him so deeply. Every page was artful, and they contained a unique kind of emotion. They painted a real world through the lens of the weird and supernatural.
"Follow me, the artist has a strange temperament, and I can't guarantee whether he will meet you or not." Chen Ge asked Tong Tong to contact Yan Danian and led Shinozaki and his assistant back underground.
After getting Yan Danian's permission, he decided to arrange this meeting. "The author is inside this bedroom. He doesn't like strangers, so why don't you converse through the curtains?"
Shinozaki was a known comic artist and knew everything within the industry. Even his assistant was a famed professional. They had their own studio and a mature operating system.
Chen Ge stayed to observe initially, but after he confirmed Shinozaki's sincerity in working with Yan Danian and his genuine wish to help Yan Danian share his work with the world, he stood up and left.
This was the moment that Yan Danian was able to grasp his lifelong dream, so Chen Ge naturally would not stay to disturb it. Guarding outside the room, about half an hour later, Chen Ge's black phone suddenly vibrated. He opened it with some curiosity and saw that there was an update to the employee tab.
For Yan Danian, the special power that was a question now turned into a gray term. It was still not useable, but Chen Ge could read its details.
"Wishes Do Come True: The Lesser Red Specter's Strongest Power! The wish in your heart will come into fruition. Usable once every week. Each usage will cause the pages in the comic to decrease by one permanently!
"My life is a comic; every page is my memory. Promises that I cannot hold will be torn down, tossed into the sky, morphing into wind…"


The hearse with the weird odor slowed to a stop before the entrance. The sound of pebbles could be heard bouncing on the ceiling. There were footsteps coming from the corridor, and there seemed to be someone sawing next door. The door knob to the room rattled slightly, and the faucet in the bathroom kept dripping even though it had been screwed shut. There was a rubber ball that rolled on its own underneath the bed. Wet footsteps started to surface one after another on the floor. 
At 3 am, Chen Ge held a cleaver in his hand as he hid beside the room heater. The call he was trying to make was finally answered. "Landlord, is this what you meant by 'the house can be a little crowded at night'‽"

As soon as the editor, Yixin, heard Meng Fan's request to review and approve the newly created work, his eyes lit up immediately.
The last two Meng Fan's serialized comics performed really well on the Penguin Animation Network. And Meng Fan was still his junior! But these two comics hanging under his name didn't really have much to do with him, hehe.
Needless to say, "Guide to Campus RoMANce" was over and had not been signed yet. If the contract wasn't signed, the website will definitely not spend resources to promote it. Naturally, it also won't get any copyright. Contrary to what one may expect, there is profit, but it's all in gratuities — and if the gratuities are high, one can get some money.
As for "There's a Spirit Underground", whether it was clicks, recommendations, or sales, they were all extremely abundant during this period. The sales scores, especially, have been hanging on the top of the best-selling list for a long time. But this comic was directly linked to the copyright department, and it had little to do with his editor-in-chief. Talking about gains, as far as Yixin is concerned, its results were the best among the popular best-selling comics.
However, even though these two comics have little to do with him, Yixin still cares about his junior very much, so he will sign his next comic.
It wasn't only his opinion that in terms of painting skills and style, he was well-known in the industry as the top of the top. It was not an exaggeration to say that even if Meng Fan's next comic — given that it is an original and not an adaptation — will have a plot as crappy as a piece of shit, his drawings will still be fiery!
Just like "Guide to Campus RoMANce." The plot was really average, but one cannot resist the great painting skills. No need to even mention the amount of clicks on the cover on the website. Reportedly, many people purchase physical books only because they have a good-looking protagonist and a beautiful cover.
With Meng Fan's painting skills and a little help in writing scripts from some screenwriters, it will become a hot topic in a split second.
Yixin had talked with Meng Fan before and knew that Meng Fan was working on an original comic. Of course, all along he's been waiting to sign up Meng Fan's next work. Not to mention the profits, Yixin obviously hoped to get his hands on the chance to distribute a best-selling comic.
And now, he finally got it!
It's just that when he looked at the back-end, there was only a title and a cover, without any content whatsoever.
He couldn't help the curiosity and asked Meng Fan about it, then he felt the urge to curse.
Where is the content to match the title!
Is this lousy title everything you have to show?!
He asked once again, feeling more panicked. He told Meng Fan that this time he should sign the contract and assured Meng Fan that he would strive for the best conditions for him, but Meng Fan still wasn't convinced.
However, after a moment Meng Fan finally said that if he decides to act on it, Penguin surely will be his first choice.
OK, it's not rubbish. Everything started here; it definitely is the first choice.
At that moment, Yixin was itching to rush to Hangzhou to find Meng Fan and have a good chat, but when he heard that Meng Fan was in Japan... For real...
Can't afford it.
After hanging up the phone, he quickly finished the review.
After reviewing, Yixin habitually opened the comic page to make sure that the review brought success.
A book title and a cover.
Annoyed, he summarized: "This is my first original comic. The upload date is yet to be determined." 
Fun!
Yixin clicked on the "X" button, closing the web page. He stood up and left to make a cup of tea with chrysanthemum and wolfberry in order to calm his nerves, and then sat back in his seat. An editor sitting next to him suddenly gasped in surprise: "Tuck me, ten million in gratuities!"
"What ten million?"
"For the comic!"
Large rewards were broadcasted on the website. In the case of Qidian Chinese Online, it required millions for a reward to be publicized — if you use the app, there will be a treasure box floating — and in the case of Penguin Animation Network, 100,000 is enough to get broadcasted. Of course, if it was worth millions, the broadcasting time will be much longer, and the frequency will also be greater.
There haven't been many rewards for Penguin Animation Network. The 100,000 rewards have happened. Only one one-million reward has been donated so far. Up to date, the reward worth ten million Penguin Coins has not yet occurred.
Until now.
Ten million Penguin Coins equals one hundred Huaxia currency!
"Who's the editor of this "Legend of the Mountains and Seas?" Awesome job!"
"Holy cow, Meng Fan?! This one is Yixin's, right?"
"Meng Fan is publishing a new comic? When?"
"Ah, looks like it's a new project. It has nothing but the cover!"
"Come on, again? Is the site still repeating the broadcast?"
"Yixin, what's the matter?"
All the editors who crowded inside the office looked toward Yixin, but Yixin was dumbstruck. How the duck was he supposed to know what's going on?
He logged in to check and then became even more dumbfounded, as it was Meng Fan's own account that rewarded millions of Penguin Coins to "Legend of the Mountains and Seas!"
Was it an error in the system?
Or did Meng Fan go mad?
No!
It wasn't ten million; it was twenty million!
"Shoot, another golden treasure chest appears!"
An editor next to him checked the app and cried: "Another one, one more, a few more in a row!"
Has the system actually broken down?
Yixin kept violently refreshing the website, but the comic page was loading very slowly. After successfully refreshing the site for a few times, the 20 million announcement was still there.
"Check the back-end!"
Yixin checked the back-end and saw that there have been ten rewards, each worth 10 million.
"Stop, there are no more treasure chests."
"Yixin, look again! How many 10 million rewards have been there in total?"
Yixin refreshed the back-end again, and saw ten times 10 million, that is, 100 million Penguin Coins, which equaled a whole million Huaxia coins.
Yixin was dumbfounded, as were the other editors.
What the duck was it all about?
The one million and ten million rewards appeared in the app. All the app users can see them and many people will grab the treasure chests. After opening them, they will get some coupons, experience and even Penguin Coins. Of course, you need to collect the comic before opening the treasure chest.
Ten gold treasure chests in a flash made "Legends of the Mountains and Seas," which had only a title and a cover, reach the number of more than 200,000 readers.
"I'm a bit confused."
Yixin drank a large mouthful of chrysanthemum wolfberry tea, and then hurriedly called Meng Fan.
"Junior Meng, just now, a lot of rewards have emerged for your new comic. The rewarding user is your account. Are they really your own rewards?"
"Yeah."
After the wave of operations, Meng Fan has finished the [Collector of Millions] mission, obtained the title and most importantly the attributes. Now he had +15 points in Scriptwriting and in Setting, and +34 points in Drawing Skills! After smoothly completing the task, he was in a great mood.
Yixin heard Meng Fan casually admit the fact and continued feeling puzzled. He couldn't understand it.
"Umm, but why did you do that?"
"Can't I reward myself?" Meng Fan asked. "I think I drew pretty well."
Yixin was speechless.
"But have you finished drawing? What, is this million yuan for a cover only? You, you can reward yourself, but what's the point in giving money to the website?"
"Nevertheless, it serves as motivation from me to me," Meng Fan laughed. "Anyway, I see that after giving out the rewards, I got several hundred thousand readers. Whatever then, it's the promotion expenses."
Meng Fan couldn't explain it to Yixin. He could just say he didn't need to explain himself to anyone. Anyway, his explanation was unclear. Everyone could interpret it however they wanted. After a while, he said he needs to take care of something, and then he hung up.
Yixin looked at his colleagues and shrugged helplessly.
"Don't look at me. I understand nothing!"


To reward Meng Fan for his bravery before his heroic death, the cosmos rewarded him with a 'system', sending him back in time to three months ago, alive.

"Junior Xie Xinyue, I found the treasure site, but there are other participants at the site waiting." Yuan Chun showed Xie Xinyue the images of his drones.
The images show several participants from different federations in various distant locations around a giant wolf made of ice. Some federations had two or three members while others had only one member.
The wolf was the size of a large mansion, its scales were made of frozen crystals. Around the wolf there were a lot of creatures walking around, monkeys, snakes, bears and other types of creatures made of ice. The giant wolf appeared to be the leader of the group of ice creatures.
The number of creatures was around several hundred.
"A rank 5 creature. It must be protecting the treasure. But what kind of treasure is it protecting? " Xie Xinyue came to that conclusion. But she didn't know what kind of treasure could be protected by the giant wolf.
"This is a little difficult to know, but I can say that the treasure is emanating great heat. The drones are showing that under the giant wolf there is something that is emanating a lot of heat. " Yuan Chun looked at the monitor on his arm and saw a red thing under the wolf. Not only below the wolf, but also underground, at the bottom of the ice there was something very red in color. This means that there were two things emanating a lot of heat.
"Senior, do you have any hints about this treasure? Try to raise the camera higher, I would like to see the treasure over the wolf. " Xie Xinyue saw that there was something underground, but she didn't know if it was earth or ice.
"It's all right. Try to see now. It seems that this has attracted many other participants from several countries. " Yuan Chun made the drone fly higher and go over the wolf.
The camera showed something like half a flower, it looked like the flower had two sides, a hot side and a cold side.
"It looks like a Fire and Ice Lotus, but why would there be something like that in that location? Unless what is underground is a very powerful element of the fire element. Underground there must be magma or something. But why isn't it frozen ?? " Xie Xinyue looked at the image format and did her analysis, she came to the conclusion from the image she saw on the screen. But another question arose after looking at the images.
"Sister Xie Xinyue, you may not know, but look. These lines represent the surface, while this represents the subsoil, this line is the middle layer. It seems that we are no longer on top of a block of ice as before. Now, we are on top of the ice, but underneath there is a large piece of land.
"I see ... So beneath all that ice there must be something that is creating a great of heat to make the Fire and Ice Lotus rise." Xie Xinyue came to that conclusion. Despite her indifferent face, she was surprised. If Yuan Chun hadn't talked about it, it would take some time to realize it.
"But why would an ice wolf lie on top of the lotus? Isn't it weak against the heat? " Xie Xinyue asked next.
"This question is difficult to answer. The Fire and Ice Lotus may have some use for this giant ice wolf, but we don't know. It will also be extremely difficult to find that out. " Yuan Chun was not curious about why the wolf was lying on top of the lotus, he wanted to know how they were going to get the lotus. For the treasure was far more important than the ice wolf.
"Senior, do you know how to find out which countries are those other participants?" Xie Xinyue asked as she looked at the projection on the snow. To avoid getting too close to Yuan Chun, Xie Xinyue asked him to do so.
The drones had two types of camera, the thermal ones to see the heat, and the normal ones to see the participants.
"I need to search the database." Yuan Chun started to type on the screen of his arm. Images of the participants' faces began to appear.
"According to the data, around the ice wolf there are a total of eight federations at the site. The participant with the most level is at the level of Advanced Mage level 9 and the highest is Warrior Mage. What??? Warrior Mage??? Did one of them show up here ?? " Yuan Chun was shocked when he read the data about the participants.
The Warrior Mage appears on the place surprised him. Only a few federations had Warrior Mages as a participant, and they were very scarce. The total number of Warrior Mages who were twenty-five years old was very few.
In the competition there were approximately five Warrior Mages. To have found one of these mages in such a place was very unlucky.
"Senior, this Warrior Mage belongs to which federation?" Xie Xinyue was also surprised to find this out.
"According to the information, she is called Alex Gordon and belongs to USANF. But information about her elements is very scarce, we only have information about three elements. The first element is Healing, the second is Darkness and the third is Blue Thunder. Her fourth element must be something related to water for her to be around here "Yuan Chun looked at Alex Gordon's sides. He deduced that she would have some element related to water because she was there.
Each participant was sent to a nearby location of their respective elements. This was to help the participants to become stronger.
"Senior, do you have any plans? Are we going to try to get that lotus or are we going to go our way? "
"Having a Warrior Mage as an opponent is a waste of time, she is much stronger than at least three pairs together. I'm calculating this without adding the very powerful magic equipment that she must have. I looked for information about her.
According to what I found out, she came from a city called Gotham City, former Manhattan City on the USNAF. It seems that an ancestor of the Gordon family liked a DC Comic hero named Batman. He decided to change the name of the city after he became an extremely powerful and influential mage at the USNAF.
According to the story, Manhattan City was called Gotham City by the creator of the comic. The Gordon family is one of the most powerful in the USNAF, they have a lot of mages in politics and in the military. "Yuan Chun was surprised to see Alex Gordon's information, he didn't imagine she had such a powerful background. But he soon calmed down, because it was normal for this to happen.
A Warrior Mage was not something that a person of ordinary background can achieve at such a young age and without any help.
"I see ..." Xie Xinyue found it normal for someone like Alex Gordon to be from a powerful and influential group. She had the same thoughts as Yuan Chun.
"Our situation is a little difficult. They must want to attack the ice wolf, but before that, they need to defeat these several hundred ice creatures. The wolf will also not be easy to defeat, it must have absorbed a lot of cold and hot energy from the lotus. This must have given resistance to its weakness and made it even stronger "
…
While everyone was planning what to do to deal with the wolf and the ice creatures none of them imagined the scene that would happen next.
Auuuuuuuuuu !!!!!!! The giant ice wolf rose, it looked like a majestic and powerful creature. It howled loudly.
A beautiful flower appeared when the wolf got up. A red colored flower with a stem made of blue ice. The petals were small flames in contrast to the frozen stem. This was the Fire and Ice Lotus.
(Fire and Ice Lotus !!!!!!!!!!!!) All participants shouted in their minds when they saw the flower. That was the item they were looking for.
The crowd watching this scene were also shocked by the appearance of the lotus. The big shots hoped that some member of their families or clans would get the lotus. For it was a treasure of very rare and precious cultivation.
The Fire and Ice Lotus can be used for many other purposes besides cultivation, it can also be used as an ingredient to create medicinal pills and elixirs and many other things.
The surrounding ice creatures began to disperse, but not far away. They moved away just a few feet before a few hundred more ice creatures appeared in the snow.
This scene shocked all participants at the place. They didn't know what the giant ice wolf was going to do.
"Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu !!!!" The giant ice wolf howled again. It stepped off the lotus and looked at the flower with its glass eyes.
Suddenly opening its mouth, the giant ice wolf bit the snow. The land around the lotus was devoured by the giant ice wolf.
(Noooooooooooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) All participants shouted in their minds when they saw that scene. The wolf swallowed the flower completely and without any care.


Liu Yang is a young mage who managed to awaken his powers later. Because of this, he was considered trash by others who woke up earlier. On the day of the awakening of his powers, he summoned a beautiful girl who became his partner.

She was beautiful and powerful, all she did was a hundred times as much as he did, but to her, everything he did was the most amazing thing in the world. She didn't have a name, so Liu Yang gave her that name, Liu Xia.

Liu Xia became his master and taught all the principles of magic to Liu Yang, all he needed to know, she taught. And the most important thing in training was her most important principle.

Her principle was: Be frugal when using magic.

Because of this, Liu Yang has always used the least amount of magic power possible when casting his spells.

Always using this principle in his training and life, Liu Yang has been nicknamed the Frugal Mage.

So I have had the worst day ever. I finally started to get along with my family, and someone shoots me in the back. I am immediately rushed to the hospital to get surgery, but by the time I get there, I had given up on my life. I just sit there lying on the gurney waiting for the bullet fragments to make their way to my heart. I am busy thinking about movies. I start to laugh at the fact that I am dying and all I can think about is the next Marvel movie to come out. As I am laughing I start to convulse as my heart is finally punctured by the bullet fragments. I am conscious for 5 excruciating minutes. During these minutes I think about my life, and who I wish I had helped. " I swear if I can survive this, I will live and help people. I will be there for those I care about. I will help those who can not help themselves. I WILL be someone who matters to them. I will not be someone who stands by. " I lose consciousness after I say these words to myself. When I wake up, I can see that I was surrounded by the people I care most about. I am filled with happiness to see them. I don't know what happened to them but they are crying. I get up to help them up and they just look at me and then I say let's go. We go home and I get to work. I live for 30 years after that day. I cure diseases, Help people who need it. I built homeless shelters. I end up with a large, loving family. We lived in a private mansion in upstate New York. I decide to buy the rights to both marvel and dc. In the end, I ended up with an amazing life and family. I became the head writer and publisher for both comics. I created new characters and flushed  out some old, yet good ones. I made a final event, kind of like crisis on infinite earths, but I called it crisis in infinite multiverses where the perspective speedsters had to vibrate at the exact same frequencies at the same time. As they did that both multiverses collided and changed the histories, so that all hero and villain backstories from both universes were represented. The universes merged. They made a lot of movies about what I did in the companies. I merged them and renamed the company The Marvelous Detective comics. There were a few differences. New York City was split in 2 and manhattan was renamed Gotham City and the rest of the city was called Metropolis. In this new world, they started from the beginning. The avengers never was formed. Shield didn't exist, and neither did Hydra. The storyline did start with tony getting kidnapped. I added a new character based off of my own younger self. I wrote my family into the continuity. I made it so that we were in almost every major event that has ever happened. I gave my character the first system in any comic ever. I called it the marvelous detective. Since I basically owned all entertainment at that time, which made my comics so much more popular. It helped comic book store owners out a lot. With the comic book stores more popular, more people got interested in the sciences. The influx of people into the sciences, many breakthroughs happened. Even geology was popular! All this happened in a matter of years! 15 to be exact. Then I happened to get sick like the day I was shot. There was a meteor shower that day. As my family and I went outside, I clapped twice. All power in a 100 mile radius was turned off. Thank god we don't live near any hospitals. We laid down on the blanket I set up and the meteor shower started. The meteors seemed to be larger than normal. One exploded over our shed. I started to pull my wife inside, and she pulled along the children. I pulled them into the underground safehouse that I had built so my parents could live with us and not annoy us with their personalities. They were initially surprised that we were there. I told them about the exploding meteors,and they immediately opened up the control panel. In the end they sat with the children until I made sure that it was safe for us to leave. My father kept pushing buttons until he found my hidden button. As we sat there I asked what he was doing, and he pushed the button. I ran to my children and grabbed them while my parents glared. I told them that he hit the teleport button. It did work, but with a price. It drained life forces, and  what survived got increased bodies.I explained that it was a prototype and it's issues.The issues are usually deadly.In lieu of the death, it causes mutations, portals, black holes, dismemberment, and suicidal thoughts. As I am tinkering a small black dot starts to form on top of the machine. I make my way to the dot and I hear a voice on the other side. I make my way to the dot and grab it. It immediately began to expand to encompass the whole house. I then heard the same voice say "Welcome to the Serve Your Self Theoretical Energy Manipulation powers. Your S.Y.S.T.E.M.

Backlund, West Borough, within the Odora family's villa.
Emlyn White, who had been summoned, took off his hat and coat and entered the activity room to wait.
In this room, there were a few other Sanguine members who had been called by name to meet the important figure. After surveying the area, Emlyn picked a spot to sit in, right beside a man with a nose so high that it almost seemed deformed.
Adorning his cut face was brown hair and red eyes. He held a comic in his hand, reading through it aimlessly.
He was none other than the Sanguine who had provided Emlyn with the information about the ancient, abandoned castle in Delaire Forest. His name was Ernes Boyar, a viscount.
Emlyn had planned on visiting this viscount in the next couple of days, but he never expected to bump into him here. After some careful consideration, he said in deliberation, "Your Lordship, I would like to know where you obtained the intel regarding the ancient abandoned castle in Delaire Forest."
"Why? Did your client say that there weren't any ancient wraiths?" Ernes Boyar moved his gaze away from his comic and shot Emlyn a glance.
"No, not at all." Emlyn didn't provide an explanation as he stubbornly emphasized his question again. "I'm just very curious of the source. It doesn't seem that simple."
Ernes Boyar closed his comic and nodded slightly.
"It's not a secret. I learned of it from Lord Nibbs. To be frank, I've never heard of this before. I find it hard to imagine that there's such an ancient castle in Delaire Forest."
Lord Nibbs… Emlyn instinctively had some thoughts arise in him.
It's another test…
But isn't such a test too dangerous? It even needed Mr. Fool to resolve it… Emlyn frowned slightly as he recalled the details he had contemplated previously. He probed, "Your Lordship, then why didn't you explore that ancient castle? I remember you being an archaeologist. And during this process, you'll be able to obtain the corresponding Beyonder ingredients of an ancient wraith."
"Lord Nibbs told me that it's very dangerous. One shouldn't approach it unless they're at the level of Earl."
"…" Emlyn's mouth gaped as his expression fell into a daze.
He then held back his anger and asked with a suppressed voice, "Then why didn't you warn me?"
Ernes laughed.
"Isn't it obvious?
"How can a location with Beyonder creatures present, one that's known by us Sanguine, still exist if not for special reasons?"
Emlyn fell into a daze as Ernes added, "Normal reasoning should be like this: Ancient wraiths might exist in some place in Delaire Forest. People have encountered it before, but they were unable to find their origins.
"This means that finding those ancient wraiths is a very difficult and troublesome affair. The time cost exceeds their value, which allows them to live to this day.
"I thought you'd have easily discovered the problem with this reasoning. Likewise for your client. If they had chosen to take action, they must've had possessed the corresponding confidence."
At that instant, Emlyn felt that Viscount Ernes made plenty of sense, and he could hardly rebut him. He believed that it was because he and Miss Magician were too foolish, resulting in her slamming headfirst into danger. It had nothing to do with him.
The next instant, Emlyn felt embarrassed and frustrated, filled with anger towards himself.
Finally, Emlyn figured out another problem:
Regardless of whether the intel exposes any danger or not, Ernes Boyar should've clearly informed me of this point because figuring out the level of danger, the source of danger, and how the danger manifested itself. It held immense importance in the subsequent exploration, one that can't be missed!
He did it on purpose! Emlyn came to a final conclusion as his scarlet eyes narrowed. He raised his chin and said, "Indeed. It's easy to tell, but I'm more curious about the danger lurking in that ancient abandoned castle."
Ernes picked up the black tea that nearly resembled the color of blood and sipped it.
"I'm not sure either. Lord Nibbs didn't mention anything."
Emlyn's expression sank. Just as he was about to make a derisive remark, he suddenly saw Odora Cosmi walk into the activity room and look at him.
"Emlyn, it's time for the meeting."
"Alright." Emlyn reined in his emotions and pressed onto the bottom half of his vest, standing up unhurriedly.
Following him down the stairs underground, he finally couldn't help but softly ask, "Baron Cosmi, who am I actually meeting? How should I address 'Him'?"
Cosmi, who looked like a middle-aged gentleman, didn't hide the truth. He replied with deep respect, "Duke Olmer."
Duke Olmer… Emlyn subconsciously straightened his back and cast his gaze to the lamps on the wall. He appeared to use the reflection of the metal surface to check on his appearance.
"He" was one of the three dukes that held up the Sanguine, an ancient powerhouse who existed before the Cataclysm. His title was "Round Moon," with an age exceeding three thousand years. He had once followed in the footsteps of Ancestor Lilith!
Without a doubt, this was synonymous with the history and glory of the Sanguine!
After passing several secret doors, Emlyn and Cosmi arrived inside a metal-gray hall.
The ground and walls were filled with green grass, flowers, and grain. Insects were crawling between the plants, making Emlyn feel as though he had left the city and arrived somewhere rural. He felt life thriving all around him.
Such a scene didn't seem too odd, but on careful inspection, there were many strange points.
The grass had mouth-like crevices with fibers flying out of them to capture the insects. The flowers used their leaves as hands to harvest pollen for themselves. The grains were heavy, occasionally emitting wailing from inside. There was a myriad spectrum of extraordinary insects. Some had snakes for heads, others birds.
These things grew lusher the closer it was to the middle of the hall. Surrounding the area was a grave filled with exuberant spirits.
Cosmi faced the grave and reverently bowed.
"Your Grace, Emlyn White is here."
"Good afternoon, Your Grace." Emlyn didn't don his usual arrogance and was, in fact, a little flustered.
Inside the grave, a mellow voice which didn't betray its owner's age chuckled. 
"A very outstanding young Sanguine.
"Cosmi, you may leave for now."
"Yes, Your Grace." Cosmi bowed in response and left the metal-gray hall that was filled with freshness.
Emlyn stood there, listening to the mellow voice from the grave.
"In the morning, Nibbs informed me that you obtained the Artificial Vampire Beyonder characteristic that corresponds to the viscount title?"
"Yes, but it has been corrupted and requires purification." Emlyn hadn't mentioned the need to remove the mental corruption in the Beyonder characteristics, because he believed that it was a trivial matter to the Sanguine. At the very least, Baron Cosmi had previously confirmed that it was possible.
Olmer tersely acknowledged.
"Very well. I'll personally purify that characteristic."
"He" paused before saying, "Although the Sanguine enjoy a long life, we will still mature and grow old. There will be new births and deaths. Regardless, nurturing young members is a necessity for any race. As for the excellent talent and outstanding abilities you have recently showcased, they have made you a target we place great importance on. Therefore, I personally came to meet you to give you some tests so as to expedite your growth."
Excellent talent and outstanding abilities… Emlyn raised his chin slightly higher once again.
He then sighed inwardly.
Indeed, just as Mr. Hanged Man determined, there will be a test and mission, as well as an interview… 
Amidst his overflowing emotions, Emlyn replied reverently, "I'm always prepared."
"Not bad," Olmer's mellow voice sounded from the grave. "Your next mission is to find the key members of the Rose School of Thought that are hiding in Backlund. There are very few clues for this, and many situations will require you to carry out the investigation by yourself."
Rose School of Thought? They have a grudge with us Sanguine? They seemed to be taking in some believers of the Primordial Moon? Emlyn actually knew quite a bit about the Rose School of Thought via the Tarot Club, but he deliberately hid this without showcasing it.
"Apart from taking in believers of the Primordial Moon, they have in their possession one of the holy artifacts of us Sanguine. It was something left by the Ancestor. We need to retrieve it." There was a solemnity in Olmer's voice.
Left by the Ancestor… Holy artifact of the Sanguine… Emlyn didn't hesitate to say, "Your Grace, I'll work hard to find the key members of the Rose School of Thought in Backlund."
Olmer's voice turned mellow.
"Very good. Get some of the intel from Cosmi in a while and seek out an incisive point."
Emlyn was already eager to do so, but he still restrained himself, asking in deliberation, "Your Grace, do you know about the abandoned ancient castle in Delaire Forest?"
"You wish to head there? It's very dangerous," Olmer said from inside the grave.
Emlyn didn't explain as he directly asked, "What kind of danger?"
Olmer chuckled.
"That ancient castle might be older than me, even older than Delaire Forest.
"I do not know who built it. I only know that there's something sealed underground, and it hides an immense secret.
"Any creature that approaches it will be in danger of being corrupted by the force within. We once imagined that it has something to do with the Abyss, but a Devil suffered corruption after being thrown into the ancient castle as well, turning crazy and chaotic from his cold and cruel demeanor."
Then why didn't you attempt to open the seal to figure out the situation? Emlyn mumbled inwardly but didn't say a word.
Olmer didn't speak further as "He" ended the conversation and dismissed Emlyn.
…
In the evening, Backlund was covered with dark clouds as a drizzle began falling.
Emlyn White wore a hat and walked under a sheltered veranda, his scarlet eyes locked onto Viscount Ernes Boyar who was browsing some antique stores.
He was upset that Ernes had given him incomplete intelligence, so he had subconsciously tailed him after leaving the Odora villa.
But after a while, he felt lost. He hadn't figured out how to deal with Ernes or how severe a lesson he should teach him.


With the rising tide of steam power and machinery, who can come close to being a Beyonder? Shrouded in the fog of history and darkness, who or what is the lurking evil that murmurs into our ears?

Waking up to be faced with a string of mysteries, Zhou Mingrui finds himself reincarnated as Klein Moretti in an alternate Victorian era world where he sees a world filled with machinery, cannons, dreadnoughts, airships, difference machines, as well as Potions, Divination, Hexes, Tarot Cards, Sealed Artifacts… 

The Light continues to shine but mystery has never gone far. Follow Klein as he finds himself entangled with the Churches of the world—both orthodox and unorthodox—while he slowly develops newfound powers thanks to the Beyonder potions.

Like the corresponding tarot card, The Fool, which is numbered 0—a number of unlimited potential—this is the legend of "The Fool."

Chp 13


-- Somewhere else in another plane ----


*Plop*

 A man in a black hoodie, plopped out of nowhere. Still holding his self proclaimed pile of comic, looking at his surrounding.

 " Err.... Where is this? " He asked in confusion.

 Looking at the moon, the stars, and the tree around him, he concludes that he is outside and it is in the middle of the night.

 " Oi! Syura! Shiro! Where are you!? "

 This guy is Kuro, one of the Tensa Zangetsus Duo, or we could just call him, Blacky.

 'hmm~?, even my spiritual connection to Syura got cut by that blackhole.'

 Frowning, realizing that his spirit connection with Syura got severed, looks like he can't go back to Syura's mindscape at all, which means he gonna start to fade away if there's not enough energy on him.

 Inspecting himself with by touching here and there, he start to felt really weird by the current situation.

 'my body.... If I were too far away from the source of energy, I should've fade away by now, my body should've look transparent and can't be touched, even by myself. 

 But what is this!? It didn't even fade away, it looks like.... I got a body! a working human body to be exact. If even I got this body, then Shiro must got something the same or more from that card, as for Syura.... the prove that I'm still alive and well, he'll be... at least alive and kicking.'


 Feeling that Shiro and Syura would just be fine, holding his 'holy books' he continued his journey... To the west.

_____________

 Reading his Comic while walking, he suddenly saw some carriage, carrying vegetables, fruits and even some armor. Seeing it he made another conclusion.

 'I really find myself in another world.... 2 times'

 Kuro felt an urge to facepalm himself.

 Looking at where the carriages went, he followed their trail and end up in a long queue to enter a city.

 The city he found were really big, with sky-high wall surrounding it.

 Looking at the wall, he felt a bit familliar with this wall, as if he just read it somewhere.

 'Ah right! It's like that manga I just read. Attack on Titan! But it seems like there's no Titan around here, or maybe I got transported to medieval times, ahh what a nostalgic memory'

 Even though Kuro is one of the Tensa Zangetsu, he's also not Zangetsu at all. Long ago the son of soul king made a clan, called 'Quincy', with his bloodline they could have a heavenly talent for archery, just like what they known for. and Kuro not only come from a common Quincy at that, he's from a pure blood, straight from the founder of every Quincy, and also the son of soul king,  Ychwach very own soul.

 That's why, with his power, he could became a Spirit Soul in Ichigo, and even more.

 Actually he got all of Ychwach memory in him, be it fighting technique, skill, even  memories, That's why he felt a nostalgic sense from seeing this medieval city.

––––––––––––

 "Welcome to Orario city, How many People?"
 
 "1 person"

 " That would be 80 Valis"

 "Here, take the change"

  Giving the city guard some extra valis, Kuro walked into the city. The source for his money is he take some from the city guard himself, the money is from every merchant who bribing the city guard, so with his high control over reiqi(Qi), he use it as a string, then picked the same total amount of money that every merchant gave as a bribe.

 So he just felt that, well... 'I'll just return this 100 valis to you' type of thinking in his head. 

 As for the rest of valis that he got. ' well, just consider it as a donation~' The reincarnated Quincy thought to himself with a clasped hand.

 Even though his control is good, his strength has a really big drop, he didn't even have a tenth of his former power.

 "Looks like it's the effects of this human body can't contain my full power, but the potential...." Kuro murmured to himself.


 He walk into the bustling street, full of people with armor and weapon. Just remembered the city name, he made another conclusion.

 'looks like this Oreo city is the reason for why that snack is named so. Will there be any Milo city? Doritos city?' Kuro tought in wonder. Remembering that snack he ate in Syura's house while  reading the 'treasures', it's really good, especially when you have a glass of milk at the same time.

alas maybe he just didn't heard clearly that the city he's in is called Orario city, not Oreo.

 With more than enough money in hand, he start to collect some information just like in his past. That means going to underground organization, and the like.

 Going there meant a lot of risk, be it stealed, robbed, or even killed. for the criminals, they call it heaven, for the common... They call it the slum, not every slum have an underground organization though.

 ––––––––––––––––

 " Aaaaaahhhhhh~~~~ " Scream of excitement echoed in the sky.

This is Shiro, falling from the sky. The reason?, Well, he just teleported just right in the air.

 Soon, the excitement on his face fell, and his face became even paler than usual.

 "What! How come I don't have any control on my Qi at all!"

 With his non-existance control of his reiqi, he started to feel scared, and this is the frirst time he felt scared in his life.

 "I can't even use any Air Steps, Dammit!"

 And soon Shiro crashed into the ground in highspeed.

*Booom*

 Feeling dizzy and numb, Shiro slowly get up from his position with his right hand on his forehead massaging his head from the fall.

 Looking at his now bloodied hand, he screamed in anger.

"Where the actual f*ck am I! "

' even my defesive technique, Hierro, are nearly useless here.'

Looking at the crater behind him, he felt even more angry.

"Just this fall cause me this much damage! Sh*t!  Take this!

Feeling irked, Shiro shoot a cero at it, to make it much more grand.

Particles of energy slowly gathered on the tip of his finger.

Slowly

Slowly

Slowly

 he lost his temper once again.

" now I can't even charge a freakin' Cero! Great! " He said in sarcasm.

Tidying his long white-silvery hair, he start to move to nearby trees.

Even though he's reckless, he's not stupid. He knew that it would cause an unwanted attention, and with the sudden realize that he lost his power, he choose to retreat and watch it from a far.

Soon people gathered at the crater, but there's only a few of them, just when he about to take action, he suddenly felt movement behind them. Feeling the group behind them: 'seems like they're a scout? To check what's ahead of the group first? They're quite carefull' he muttered.

He felt an urge to kidnap one of them and ask for where he is in right now, but...

 *sigh* Now, he just noticed that the sky, is not a sky at all, it's like a bunch of diamond that fill up the sky, while also emits light from it. And when he looks at the edge of the diamond, he could see that the diamond is being supported by the wall around it, making this place look like a fully caged world. 

"Real Dungeon, hah!? Looks like that card is a real deal, speaking of the card, where is it right now?"

Feeling confused, he tried to search for the card, but there's not even a trace of it on him.

'Ah well, maybe it's only a one time use card.'

With that tought in mind, he started to search for some fun, in the dungeon.


 If Syura saw what happened to both, he'll probably ask to himself: 'Am I the protagonist or these two guys! Darn!'

What will you do when you crossed to another world with your house?

Chat with friends?

getting stronger?

go for some adventure?

or become a salted fish in your house?

Well, why not all?

Or is it?


wallp: 室内ガーデニング | ふぃーる＠コミティアそ17a

Eto woke up, the sun's rays were piercing through the large hotel windows. She was still a bit drowsy from last night and her memories were slowly returned to her. Feeling some external heat around her waist, legs, and head she saw a pair of arms and legs wrapped around her. She realized she was in Haruto's embrace.

Strangely, she did not dislike it. She liked the gentle warmth and feeling of comfort and relaxation. From her youth, she had to kill and cannibalize ghouls in the 24th ward or she would have been eaten. That environment nurtured her to become unable to trust anyone, until now. For some strange reason, she felt she could trust Haruto with her deepest, darkest secret and it would be ok.

The gentle warmth was nice and refreshing. Her gaze turned to his face, a smile so small she almost missed it was there. It was a different smile from when she met him at first. This smile felt real. This smile was incredibly handsome and she felt butterflies in her stomach even though she was older than him.

Last night came to her mind and she immediately wanted to bury herself under the covers and disappear and never be seen again. She could not believe she was so... lustful. It was her first time yet she did not feel any pain, that was unusual according to what she knew. What she did not know was that were it not for Taint, she would be feeling some pain after Haruto's rough pounding.

She did not know the reason behind his smile, neither did she know the reason behind her inexplicable strange trust in Haruto. 

Closing her eyes, she basked in the warmth of his embrace, she felt like all her worries of the uncertainty of the future had disappeared. She cuddled him, wanting this feeling to last forever.

The instant the thought crossed her mind it was like a delayed switch. Haruto's legs moved, and she could tell he was going to wake soon from his movement, or maybe it was the low groan. 

His eyes opened and his sight was covered with a head of hair, as he was still waking up he was disoriented. He tightened his hold on the person who was in his embrace. 

"I love you," he whispered gently. Eto heard him and was shocked before the butterflies returned and she felt her cheeks warm up, knowing she was blushing. 

"Mayumi." It seemed that he had not finished his sentence previously and Eto felt the butterflies disappear, and the blood that was rushing to her cheeks ran away, leaving her skin paler than it usually was.

Blinking twice, Haruto realized who was actually in his embrace. 

Without a second thought, he got up from the bed and noticed he was unclean. He entered the bathroom and turned the shower on. Minutes later he exited, wearing his towel around his waist, he walked to pick up the pieces of clothing which were scattered around the hotel room and he had to settle for his ripped shirt as Eto had torn it last night.

He wore his pants and socks before he walked towards an armchair in the corner. He liked the style of the chair and leaned back as he waited for Eto to admit she was awake. 

"I know you are awake already," tired of waiting he spoke.

"I knew you knew that. I just felt lazy and wanted to lie down for longer." Eto seemed normal, she mentally conversed with herself. Saying things like, 'why are you jealous, you have only known him for a couple of hours.' and 'you will never see him again.' and more.

Haruto instantly destroyed her self-preparation by speaking 5 words.

"I want to join Aogiri." What made it worse was that he was looking at her stoically. He did not react to seeing her naked.

Getting rid of her unnecessary thoughts she hesitated before speaking. 

"Why?" he expected this question and replied with ease. "There is a goal that I have in this world. I want to join because my goal is not possible to be completed solo." 

"What is your goal? Why do you think Aogiri is what you need to complete it?"

"You do not need to know my goal for it does not benefit you." He was speaking coldly, but he was not frowning. Eto did not know why, but she felt pained as he behaved like this normally, she did not care for other's attitude towards her.

"Anyway, is there a way for me to gain a reputation across the entire world as a ghoul?"

"Raid the CCG HQ and live-stream it? That is all I have if you want a worldwide reputation." She responded to his question.

"What if I wanted a reputation in just Japan?" 

"That is easy, there is an underground arena where you can fight other ghouls." 

"Where?"

"19th Ward under a comic shop."

"Which comic shop in the 19th Ward?"

"There is only one."

"Alright," he nodded and stood up and put his shoes on, walking towards the door.

"One last thing, can I access the roof from the elevator?" Eto had a strange look on her face but eventually nodded.

He opened the door and took a step.

"Wait!" Eto did not know why she said that she realized she needed a question to ask and the events of last night came to her mind unintentionally.

"Last night... why?"

Haruto looked at her as though she had just said the funniest joke ever before he did chuckle a little.

"You drugged yourself, originally I was just going to have the conversation we just had, but then there was an unexpected situation. If I did not do what I did, your mind would have crumbled. That's all. Ciao." He waved before closing the door.

He was walking down the corridor and put his hand on his chest to try and calm down his beating heart. He felt so weird. In his head, he only saw Eto as an attractive woman yet now, he was still thinking about her as he got onto the lift. It took all he had to maintain a straight face. What was even weirder was that he wanted to see her again by a coincidence for some reason.

Inside the hotel room, Eto had one hand on her breast, with her other hand she touched herself. Even though he was so cold, even though he acted like he was disinterested with her, she could not stop her flowing juices. In her mind, the scenes from last night replayed on repeat. Even while he was in front of her. It took all she had to not try and jump on him.

(DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A GENERIC FANFIC WHERE THE MC WAS GOOD WHEN HE LIVED SO GETS WISHES. I AM TRYING TO USE THE ALREADY CREATED STORIES AND WORLDS AND MAKE SOMETHING OF MY OWN USING MY OWN CONCEPTS THAT I CREATED. Enjoy)

Haruto was a normal boy, living a normal life.  If getting severely ill multiple times a month was considered normal.

One day, he was reading a manga whilst walking home when an ad popped up.

"If you had to die, in which way would you?"

Taking an interest, Haruto thought of something funny. In his mind, he remembered the scene where a popular streamer Ninja told a kid to 'Die in a fucking fire.' so, Haruto typed that. 

He was about to close the ad without accepting it, but a man bumped into him causing him to accept the answer to the question. It did not seem like something happened so he was fine.

That day, Haruto's body never left his home, his soul, however, did.

Ten minutes have passed since that time. Ever since I got Dues ex machina right on the first guess and spoiled his smug mood, Danny has kept silent like some kind of stupid, little, anime kid. Well, not that I don't understand how it spoils the mood when someone guesses the right answer to a question you thought they won't be able to answer. Still, he needs to stop making Nobita faces here. I mean, at the start I had activated Reverse UNO 'trap' card and was feeling bad for him like Shizuka does (I don't even know what that card actually does, if it even really exists; but I'm a fictional character so you can't do anything to me). But at this point, I have deactivated it (i.e., I have stopped holding my impulses) and have basically become Suneo – barely holding my laughter in right now.

"By the way," I try to strike up a conversation to distract myself from the urge to laugh, "How long will it take to reach the place we are going to?"

We are in a car. From the fact that we are both high-school students, you can guess that neither of us is old enough to have a license. So, obviously, we are breaking some pretty damn important laws right now. But regardless, we had to do it for the sake of the benefits it offers, like radio channels where a boob joke comes every minute - no, I mean, the speed. Yes, the speed that a car offers is far greater than anything we may have been able to manage on our own. Of course, that's the actual reason for stealing a car.

"How long are you going to sulk?" I ask in disappointment after realizing that no response came by the time I finished monologuing an entire paragraph. "I mean, it's not like you were suddenly going to stop being the comic-relief-character who needs to be made fun of for the sake of the story. You were bound to have an experience or two like that sooner or later."

"Tsk!" Danny clicks his tongue and says, "Comic-relief-character is a term for those stories that aren't just comedy themselves."

Well, he has a point but we are straying from the topic by talking about stuff like that. And I like to stick to the topic, unless I get an urge to give a reference, which happens every other minute. Anyway,

 "How long, Danny?" How long till we reach the destination?

"10."

"Miles?"

"Nope."

"Kilometers?"

"Nope."

"Minutes?"

"Nope."

Yare! Yare!

I have a bad feeling about this. While I think that, I find myself casually flying off to bump into the headliner.

BUMP!

"OW!" I say while holding my head in pain.

"Sorry about that." He says in a not-sorry-at-all voice, "I meant 10 seconds."

*****

Ten minutes have passed since that time. Ever since I took my revenge against him by making his head bump into the headliner, Irium has kept silent like some kind of stupid, little, anime kid. Well, not that I don't understand how it spoils the mood when someone does something like that to take out their own frustration and make your good mood turn sour. Still, he needs to stop making Nobita faces here. I mean, at the start I had activated Reverse UNO 'trap' card and was feeling bad for him like Shizuka does (I also don't even know what that card actually does, if it even really exists; but I'm a fictional character too so you can't do anything to me). But at this point, I have deactivated it (i.e., I have stopped holding my impulses) and have basically become Suneo – barely holding my laughter in right now.

"You are never getting monologue privileges again, you bastard! You are just copying my lines." He says with a dejected face.

I don't know if his Nobita mood is still there or not. And as I wonder about that while we are in the lift, heading down the 10th underground floor,

"People aren't enjoying your monologues, get out of here!" he says like the tyrant of a protagonist he is.

*****

Okay, now I'm back to monologue like I should have been throughout. I don't even know where the author's brain went when he decided to give this idiot the right to monologue, but it seems he regained his cerebral capabilities.

Good, good! You can't do this kind of thing in that A High Kick's Harlot Dream or whatever it is called. Don't lose your brain or Irium will remain the only story you'll able to write, author!

"Bastard! Have you no heart? Let me, one of the most important characters of the story, have monologuing privileges sometimes."

"Being the Leorio for my Gon does not make you an important character, idiot!" I chide him with my arms folded, "You need to be as well as written as Leorio to have importance."

And yes, Leorio is a well-written character. Fight me!

"Maybe you can become as well-written as Gon and then act all high and mighty." He chides me back, also with folded arms.

"Sorry, the author isn't that capable!" I say in a grim voice as the words of truth escape my mouth.

We look at each other as we realize that neither of us can reach the level of those two and, we go to the corner and crouch down in despair as a funny sound effect echoes in our mind.

Actually, why are we doing this? Why does any anime character, when they get depressed, first go to the side, then crouch down and then keep sitting in that position. What is with this weirdness, damnit!?

And then we suddenly hear from our back, a voice of an adult woman,

"EH!" she says in surprise as she looks at us. "What the heck are you two doing in my elevator?"

Whoever this woman is, she has some guts to talk to us when we are depressed like this.

"What do you mean 'your elevator'?" Danny says with a cold expression without even bothering to look at her.

"Huh, is this elevator owner by your grandma or something?" I say coldly and abusively, also without bothering to look at her.

"Uh, well," the woman, in response to the two strikes that have been made, with the pressure of the third strike happening rising on her, says, "Yes, my grandma is the one who technically owns this elevator."

Wait! What!?

We look back to see the face of the woman we just casually tried to verbally abuse and,

"Ah, well," to the angry face of the woman, Danny replies in a nervous voice, "How's it going, Dues-san?"

*****

"What do you say? Want to have a dance with the darkness?"
-Dues ex machina

The 'god' told him that the world was lost without her, she told him so right after she destroyed everything. But he, Irium Glice, denies what she says.

So she gave him a proposal - a chance to prove his point - to see everything that she had seen and then deny her words. That is what began the journey through the darkest corners of the world, a journey that would change everything forever. 

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