After their sixth course, they can already see the next course coming. In each person, the waiters placed down two simple Gold Trimmed White Fine Bone China Plates, a Stainless Steel Gravy Boat and refilled their glasses with water.

"Esteemed Guests. Here's our seventh course of the evening, First Main Course - White Meat. Starring on both dishes was the Volaille de Bresse. Also known as the original corn-fed chicken. The history of Bresse Chicken can be traced back as far as 1591. It also became the first live foodstuff to obtain a protected designation of origin certification. The certificated chicken must be reared in Bresse and also only eat food grown in the region" 

"The dish on the first plate is called 'Suprême de volaille de Bresse'. Roasted Chicken Breast Strips on a Tabbouleh malted Barley Garnish and an Onion stuffed with Mushroom Sauce accompanied with a Gravy Boat. The Tabbouleh is a Levantine vegetarian salad made of finely chopped parsley, tomatoes, mint, onion and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper" explained Tim with elegance. 

"The dish on the second plate is called Bresse Chicken with Morel Mushrooms and Jura Vin Jaune. The juicy Chicken Breast served generously with Morel Sauce. Topped with Poached Morel Mushrooms and Vegetables cooked Al Dente harmoniously arranged on the plate. The Morel Sauce was made from  the broth where the chicken simmered. The broth was a fusion of deglazed and reduced White Wine, Jura Vin Jaune, Chicken stock, Onion, Bouquet Garni, Cream, Mustard Leaves, Radish, Marigold Petals and Cider Vinegar" explained Tim as he pointed to the other plate. 

"Please enjoy esteemed guests" smiled Tim as he retreated from the table.


The kids enthusiastically ate the dishes. Elleis tactfully separated the vegetables. Since there's no Cheese Fondue, he experimented the taste by dipping the veggies in the Gravy Boat.

"Not as great as the gooey Cheese but I think I can eat it" commented Elleis when he felt his An Ailey's gaze on him.

Unlike earlier where she eats everything her father holds onto her mouth, baby girl Nielle learned to be cautious. Especially when she recognized it as veggies. Nielle looked over to her brother to observe him. Seeing that he ate it, she also slowly tried to accept it. She licked it first to taste then chewed it gingerly.

As much as it was so comical to see their kids' funny reaction in eating veggies, Ellie and Neil learned their lessons. They can't afford to have the kids traumatized by eating it. Applying what Violet taught them, Neil dipped the veggies to the gravy and also adding a small piece of meat before he held it up for Nielle to eat.


On the other couple's side. Unlike earlier where King took her plates, this time he moved his entire chair and positioned himself right next to Violet while maintaining their holding-hands. Their shoulders touching each other. Less than an arm's length away. Using one hand, King carefully sliced the meat in Violet's plates.

What happens when two unlikely people met each other for the first time? They get married! That's right, they definitely did. They were akin to two parallel lines that weren't supposed to intersect or touch at any given  point in time. But in that fateful moment that they did meet, they were thrust into the world of whirlwind romance.

A handsome, thoughtful and cold-heated man, King Margaux Hendrix, who spent most of his years in unrequited love accidentally met a beautiful, introverted and forlorn woman, Violet Hailey Quinn, who was betrayed by her long time and long distance boyfriend. Two people that when put together were comparable to a dog and a cat. They changed the trajectories of their lives in one moment. Never be the same again.
 
Together, they tread and explored the waters of love, the unknown and uncertainty. Through twists and turns, they gradually fell in love as their adventure called marriage, unfolds. Their encounter created a butterfly effect that seeped into other people's lives and set off chains of events with the resounding click like that of a falling domino. 

-----

The whole story is about two people that shouldn't have met, always at each other's throat, sort of fell in love I think?

Violet: "What sort of? Damn it! We have no choice!!! You wrote us!" 

YoureMySun: "Y-you!!!!! You can't be here! Stop crossing dimensions! You're ruining my synopsis for your story!" 

King: "Can you change the female lead? Someone who's more beautiful and cultured?" 

Violet: "Bastardddddd!! You're dead!!!" 

YoureMySun: "Cut it King! You're not supposed to be here too! Stop agitating Violet, ok?" 

King: "Hahahahaha me? stop? Dream on! I'll annoy the heck out of this woman. Even if it's the last thing I do! Gyahahaha" *evil laugh

Violet: *pulls out bat from somewhere then charged at King

YoureMySun: "Oh my God!!! V where the heck did you even get that! Stop right there!" 

King: "W-woman! I-i know how much you love me so don't you dare hit my face!" 

Violet: "Me love you? You of all people? Only an idiot will fall for you" *said through gnashing her teeth

King: "You're the idiot that fell for me, you know? G-get away from me barbarian!" 

YoureMySun: "You guys left me with no choice" 

*Our dearest author left with no choice, pulls out the magical keypad as she wrote,

YoureMySun: "As Violet was gunning for King, she tripped and fell in his embrace. And end up kissing each other. Then a good samaritan from the story's dimension accidentally throws a rope through the worm hole while trying to catch the running horse. The two got tied in the same position. The samaritan pulled and was shocked to see two people instead of the horse. He blinked then they disappeared, and wondered if he gone crazy. The two was transported to their love nest stuck in that position for the whole day. Until Violet had enough being taken advantage of by King. She ripped the rope and starts bashing King with a pillow. While King's laughters and ouchies reverberates throughout the house. And they lived happily ever after"

*closes keypad, bows in apology to the readers

YoureMySun: "Finally got some peace and quiet. Sighhh... I apologize dearest readers. It's been too lively?" 

"Where was I? Going back" 

They fell in love through twists and turns. Violet, a beautiful, charming, quiet, and a kind girl unexpectedly met King, a handsome, rich, playful and iceberg-man. 

"She's really kind and quiet you know, believe me. It's just that, King happened" 

Join me dear readers in exploring their lives, how they met, what will become of them, their adventures and their story :D

-----

UPDATES:
1 chapter per day


COVER:
'illustrated drawing' by Maha Saleh is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
[https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/be9a743c-0160-4d94-8f40-62f3380e7830] 
Disclaimer: Credits to the amazing artist that created and shared 'illustrated drawing' in Creative Commons.

Seth and his family gets on the boat with Ali and his teams after he retrieved her daughter's urn. Both Seth and Jane decided to cremate her daughter as to not let her suffer anymore. 

Mia has gone through so much. After all the hardship, being alone until the moment she died, as the parent, they decided that Mia would want to have her pride intact. To be seen beautiful even on her deathbed.

Jane sat next to Seth and clutched the urn's casing tightly. Her baby is inside... 

Lucy and Suzy felt like all this is a nightmare. Sitting on the boat together, their eyes fixed on watching the beautiful sea. Just a few days ago, they all were having dinner together, with Mia being her goofy self making their dinner livelier with her chatter. What will their dinner be after this, with Mia is gone? 

All of this time, they have put a lot of hope on the Search and Rescue mission, to find Mia, so that she can return with them, but now, all hope is gone. Mia has left them for real. 

---------------

It takes them 2 hours for them to arrive in South Kona. In the shelter, their cellphones are working again.

Ben quickly tried calling his father back in San Francisco. Its been almost a week since they have been out of reach, and his father might be worried sick. "Hello, Dad, it's me Ben. Yeah, I am fine, Seth and the kids are here too. We are out from Hilo and now we are here with the other survivors in Kona. Umm, dad... Mia is gone."

Ben quickly informed his dad, so that he will not bluntly asked Seth about his daughters when Seth talked to him. Seth's family is still grieving from the loss of Mia. It would be best if his dad could show some compassion when he talked to Seth later. He is hoping that his dad will not scold Seth as much as possible for losing Mia during the disaster. His old man put lots of hope on Mia as the eldest grandkids he has. 

"Mia, my Mia is gone? How did Seth lose her daughter? He is a failure as a father! He can't even keep an eye on her daughter." Ben's father wept through the phone. 

"It's not important anymore how Mia went missing dad. She's gone now. Hmm, well, but the others are doing good. We are not in danger anymore, here in Kona. We-we might stay with you for a few months to come. Mine and Seth's house were all destroyed in the disaster. Can we come over, when the planes are back on?" 

"It's not like I did not welcome you guys to come over here, but the thing is, the authority asked us to move out from Cali as soon as possible. They said the San Andreas Fault would  collapse this time." Ben's old man sniffed while he talks. "I don't want to believe them, but somehow I can feel that something is different this time. We experienced quakes more frequently, and I don't know, my gut feeling says that this time, it might be real." 

"You might want to contact your friends living outside Cali if they are willing to take you guys in. I am going to Toronto, back to teaching. The semester is starting, and I need to get back to my apartment and do some cleaning." Ben's father is a Professor at the University of Toronto, and he only went back to California only once a year.  

"Well, okay. That might work too. Then I-I'll called up some other friends, see if we crash over at their house. Then, safe trip dad." Ben's mind went blank when he heard that his old man is going back to Toronto. It is not even time for the school to start yet. 'The old man is probably trying not to meet Seth and the family, after what happened to Mia.' His old man, after all this time, he never changed. Still, he did not know how to express his feelings to his children.

"Seth, dad is not going to be in Cali. We need to find somewhere other than Cali. He mentioned something about-about some danger in San Andreas? Well, all he said that they were asked to evacuate as soon as possible. That place is going to collapse soon I think."

"Wha-What? Ben, did you say they were asked to evacuate? Who are 'they' we are talking about here? Is dad okay?" Seth stutters when he heard Ben mentioned about his dad.

"I am not sure myself. He only mentioned that they were asked to leave Cali as soon as possible, and they said the Fault might collapse soon. Dad is going back to Toronto. So he suggested that we contact our friends for a stayover." Ben was nervous when he speaks to Seth. He did not want to make the already grieving Seth, to noticed his father's indifference, and make Seth sadder than he already is. 

Seth went quiet after Ben finished up his words. Looking up at Jane and his kids, Seth replied. "It's okay, we can go somewhere else. No worries. If Jane wants too, we can even go back to China, my job here in Hawaii is done anyway..." 

"No, not China, my-my... father will not be able to face this. Not right now.. lets-lets go somewhere else... Please." Jane was in a panic when Seth suggested to go to China.

"Ben, can you check with your friend, the one who is working in the army? Can you ask him about what is going on with the evacuation in San Andreas Fault? If dad is not in the house, it is fine. We can still come back and live there." Seth suddenly has an idea to stay at his old house back in San Francisco. They don't have to bother anyone about their stay, they still can stay at the old house.

"Right away, Seth."

Seth stood up and he picked up some food and water from the counter and passed them to his family while Ben makes the call. He is hoping that the situation in California is not as bad as his dad mentioned. Staying at the old house would be best at this moment.

"Seth... I, I don't know how to say this to you. Um, my friend said that we better find some cover. He mentioned about some plates colliding together, and-and he said that he is going to an underground bunker somewhere in Alaska. He said we can follow him there if we have nowhere to go..." Ben tried his best to summarize Jason's words to Seth. Jason mentioned a lot of things that he cannot comprehend, but luckily he managed to catch some important part of the conversation. 

"Well, you are the brother. I will follow whatever you decide. Anywhere is fine Ben. As long as we are together."

This a story on how a family embarks on their journey to survive the impending apocalypse. Seth, Jane, Ben, Lucy, and Suzy struggles in their own way in order to live. 

Surviving in a world full of bureaucracy, and politics need special ways and methods.

Started in Antarctica, down to Hawaii, and then to California, and spreading across the world, it is unstoppable. 
------------------
"Mom! hurry, the volcanoes... it's going to erupt again.." Lucy panicked when the earth down her feet started shaking again.
-----------------
"If I got to be reborn, let us meet again, and I hope this time, we could love each other. You and me, without any restrictions..."
"Yeah, by that time, I hope I can express my love to you without feeling like a pedophile..."
‐----------------

Hello everyone. This would be my first ever novel writing and I hope you will be encouraging me to write more. 

I really like the apocalypse genre, and this is my original writing that came straight from my imaginations alone.

Chapter updates: 
Mon-Thurs = 1 chapter/day
Fri-Sun = 2 chapter/day

Thank You. Please keep supporting me.
Stay tuned for updates everyone. (^__^V)

Zhang Fan only treated Li Xiao with rehabilitative massaging because she was terrified of surgeries. However, Director Chen of orthopedic department #2 had been completely accurate in his diagnosis of Li Xiao's situation. If it weren't for Zhang Fan's System from the future, performing surgery would have been the only possible way to resolve Li Xiao's back pain. With her current condition, if any orthopedic expert was told to treat her with rehabilitative massaging, they would laugh at you and think you were an idiot. This was because there were plenty of examples out there where improper massaging led to the patient becoming paralyzed.
Later that night, Zhang Fan finally returned to his apartment for the first time in a long while. His apartment was covered in dust, so he cleaned it slightly before sleeping. But, in the middle of the night, his cell phone rang. "Zhang Fan, there's an emergency patient. Want to come?" Zhou Chengfu was currently on the night shift. It was now around 3 a.m., and Zhang Fan was quite sleepy. "I'll be right over, Brother Zhou." Zhang Fan immediately rushed to the hospital after washing his face.
In the nearby Chark City, a villager had been riding a motorcycle together with his wife and child to go visit a relative. He had turned a corner too quickly, and crashed into a large truck parked on the side of the road. The border province was truly large. This Chark City was more than two hundred kilometers away from the bigger Chasu City, yet this still didn't count as "far". The man was the most seriously injured—he had internal bleeding in his head and a fractured skull. The child was riding in the middle and was only shaken, not injured. The woman had been tossed off the motorcycle, so as a result she had severe road rash, and her right humerus bone and collarbone had been shattered. They had been brought to the local hospital in Chark City, where they were given IV drips before directly being sent via ambulance to the much bigger Chasu City Hospital two hundred-plus kilometers away.
The man was currently in the brain surgery department, receiving emergency surgical treatment. The woman was sent to orthopedic department #1. The truck from the accident had been parked in a no-parking zone. Luckily, the truck's owner had full coverage insurance from his business. All doctors would love treating these types of patients as they weren't limited by personal medical insurance, and business insurance would fully cover their treatment costs. The female patient was registered as Zhou Chengfu's, which meant that he could fully decide which medicines and medical equipment would be necessary. Gao Shijun was rather loose on controlling others in his department—the only rule about medical equipment fees he had was that all spine-related treatments needed to be reported to him, and he would determine the medical equipment for those surgeries. Gao Shijun basically let the other doctors freely decide everything else for their own surgeries and medical equipment.
Zhang Fan was the primary surgeon for the woman's surgery. When he saw the medical equipment for the woman's treatment, damn, she would be using only the best imported surgical metal plates. There were two metal plates, which would cost approximately 20,000 yuan. Plus, there was the surgery fees, medicine fees, and hospitalization fees, which meant that the total cost of treatment would exceed 30,000 yuan. "Brother Zhou, will this really be alright?" Zhang Fan asked.
"What?" Zhou Chengfu didn't understand what Zhang Fan meant.
"You're using imported metal plates for the surgery. Won't the medical equipment department give you trouble for this?"
"Not at all. These types of car accident victims are the best type of patient. There won't be any trouble with their medical fees, because it's all covered by insurance. This means that it's easy to use the best and most expensive medical equipment and medicine for them. Just rest assured and begin the surgery."
Since Zhang Fan was the primary surgeon, Wang Yanan also rushed over. Although it was difficult for her to wake up in the middle of the night, she truly loved surgery. Zhou Chengfu was quite nice and knew that Wang Yanan really wanted to improve her surgical skills, so he let Wang Yanan be the primary surgical assistant as he directly went back to his office to sleep. "Zhang Fan, you can go back home and rest right after you finish the surgery. I've already chosen all the necessary medicine, so don't worry about a thing."
"Old Zhou is really black-hearted. He'll definitely use third-rate medicine and report it as the most expensive medicine," Wang Yanan whispered to Zhang Fan after Zhou Chengfu left.
"Forget it, just go wash your hands. Will you or I be doing the disinfecting?" Zhang Fan was unwilling to talk bad about others behind their back. Besides, there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was perform the surgery as best as he could.
Western medicine had already developed for several hundred years, and China had only recently started catching up. Western medicine and medical equipment was simply of higher quality than their Chinese counterparts. It wasn't because China wasn't able to do a good job, but rather because of patent limitations. Even something as tiny as a surgical metal plate with a specific shape, holes, and material would be protected by patents. That was why imported metal plates were better for surgery patients, but of course they would also be more expensive.
The surgery was successful. When the female patient was tossed off the motorcycle, the friction of her skin against the road had absorbed a large portion of the impact, so her bones weren't shattered severely. After the metal plates were inserted successfully, Wang Yanan shouted, "Let me sew up the fascia, muscles, and skin! I came all the way over here in the middle of the night just to sew up some skin! Would you dare to treat me like this!"
There was no helping it. Zhang Fan understood how it was for her. She wouldn't feel at ease staying in the surgical department if she didn't quickly improve her skills. After Wang Yanan began sewing the surgical sutures, the nurse for this operation began complaining. "You guys need to hurry up. I still need to clean up and organize the medical equipment. Orthopedic department #2 has reserved this operating room for a scheduled joint operation this morning, and I still need to disinfect the medical equipment."
Wang Yanan had just started working. Not to mention, her family was fairly well off, so she was somewhat prideful. Not only would she not care about a nurse, she was also disrespectful to Zhou Chengfu. So, she treated the nurses coldly.
Now, this nurse was complaining precisely because she didn't like Wang Yanan! Wang Yanan didn't even have a medical license yet, but since her pride flared up, she felt that a little nurse couldn't make any requests of her like that. She intentionally started sewing slower, which made the nurse even more displeased.
Zhang Fan already knew that Wang Yanan would definitely make things difficult on purpose with her temper. He didn't view himself as a prince on a white horse, but simply wanted to help her out as they worked together. He hurriedly said, "Wang Yanan, try your best to hurry. Little Yi[1], please wait a little longer. I know that you must also be tired because it's the middle of the night. I'll treat you to some meat buns tomorrow at lunch. I guarantee that they'll be delicious."
"Alright, it's a promise. Don't you disappear on me tomorrow." Little Yi was quite happy now, but not because of the meat buns. Zhang Fan and her were both single. She knew that improving a relationship would take time. Zhang Fan had just entered the hospital recently, but he had already become one of the best doctors in orthopedic department #1. His future would definitely be outstanding, so Little Yi was happy to improve her relationship with Zhang Fan.
"You should lengthen the thread, otherwise it'll fall off right when you pull on it," Zhang Fan reminded Wang Yanan as she sewed. He then spoke to Little Yi again. "Relax, I'll definitely treat you. I'm sorry for the trouble. Wang Yanan needs the extra practice. She's still not completely familiar with sewing surgical sutures yet. Everyone has to start out as a newcomer... please understand."
"Of course. Practice is necessary for everyone, there's no rush. It's almost light out, anyways," Little Yi said to Zhang Fan.
Wang Yanan gritted her teeth as she completed the sewing. It wasn't that she was angry, but she felt like she really wanted to snap. She was even more frustrated as she listened to Zhang Fan chatter on with the nurse.
There was no helping it—at a hospital, if you didn't have a medical license, you would have no power. Wang Yanan was still young. She would mature more after working for a few more years and experiencing more things. In working society, not all things would always go according to how you wanted them to.
After the surgery was completed, Zhang Fan and Wang Yanan went to a random empty room and slept there right in their doctor's coats until it was morning. At the daily departmental morning meeting, everyone discussed the scheduled surgeries for the day. Superintendent Huang Yun surprisingly appeared at this meeting. Typically, he would only appear on Mondays to check in. He was typically quite busy, and rarely came to the surgical department to check on something specific.
"Was there an emergency treatment surgery last night?"
"Yes, Superintendent. Here's the medical record." Zhou Chengfu showed the female patient's medical record to the superintendent.
"Aren't the antibiotics used in her treatment of rather high quality?" Huang Yun was the type who spoke nicely and always saved face for his subordinate doctors.
"Some regular anti-inflammatory medicine would have been fine if she only had bone fractures. However, this patient had large amounts of abrasive injuries all over her body from road rash. Her injuries were severely tainted. I was afraid that she would become infected if the disinfecting wasn't done properly. It would be really troublesome if she became infected." Zhou Chengfu was a veteran doctor who was the careful and detailed type. He had long since come up with excuses for the patient's recorded medicine usage.
"Oh, then let's check up on the patient." Huang Yun didn't say anything else. He had also been a surgeon himself before he was superintendent, so he understood how things were. He was acquainted with this patient's relatives, and they had asked him to take extra care for her. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to even know about a single patient like this. There would be thousands of patients per day at a hospital like Chasu City Hospital on a daily basis. It would be impossible for the superintendent to know about every single patient.
After checking up on the patient, Huang Yun reminded the group to take extra good care of her before he left. However, Gao Shijun could tell that something was going on. It seemed highly likely that someone had asked the superintendent to take care of this patient. Otherwise, he never would have come over so early in the morning just to check on her.
Gao Shijun checked the patient's medical record. When he looked at the medical equipment and medicine used, damn! Nothing but the best imported stuff. Of course, since the hospital had such high-quality medical equipment and medicine, the doctors would be allowed to use them. However, there was also the issue of using what was appropriate.
"Doctors, it's time for our meeting. Nurses, go ahead and start your work shifts. Medical specialist doctors, go change the patients' medicine." Gao Shijun entered his director's office. However, Wang Yanan didn't have any realization that she was also only a medical specialist doctor. She already viewed herself as a full-fledged doctor of the orthopedic department, and so she also followed the other doctors into the director's office. Gao Shijun glanced at her, but didn't say anything. This was an issue of face. It was for the sake of her uncle, the Chasu City director of the Bureau of Public Health. Otherwise, she would have been kicked out of the director's office already.
"In today's meeting, I want to talk about something that's going on, not about any specific person. In the past few months, our department has used up more medical equipment than any other department in the entire hospital. Yes, we're also performing the most surgeries, but could everyone please restrain yourselves? Some money isn't that easy to obtain. Everyone needs to work and support themselves and their families. There's nothing wrong with some extra hard work for more income, but if all you care about is money without holding back at all, you're going to overstep certain boundaries and run into trouble sooner or later. Since we're in the profession of doctor, even if I can't ask you all to hold benevolent beliefs, please at least try to maintain kindness in your heart. Don't let money blind you. Don't let money taint your heart black. That's all that I have to say. Please think over this by yourselves."
[1] The nurse's name


One day, Zhang Fan, a poor medical student, receives a medical system from the future. This turns him into a new shining star in the medical field. Along the way, he must face medical corruption, competition, and infighting from other doctors, and even find time for a love life as he strives for the top of the medical field!

The deafening applause was much louder than the one the pole dancers had received one year ago in Los Angeles.
"That was so cool! I can eat more later!"
"Exactly! This was a show for men!"
I saw you cast a longing look at the girls' legs! Tommy gazed at the man angrily, but didn't argue.
The curtains fell down. When the Broadway dancers got on the stage, Qin Guan clapped along with his friends from the backstage area.
...
There was no such thing as an endless meal. The leftovers on the buffet signalled the end of the splendid party. Henry though, who was a conscientious man, would never abandon his benefactor as soon as he didn't need his help anymore.
He watched the bold Asian guys chat excitedly backstage, hunched over their plates. The police station had offered the actors a free lunch. Qin Guan had specifically asked for takeaway vegetarian meals for the masters of the Shaolin Temple.
Henry had his reasons for staying there. He wanted to understand the Asian men and achieve unity between the police and the public.
Those conservative Asians were wary around the police. They were inclined to stay away from policemen, so some stores run by Asians had become favorites of local criminals.
The policemen also suffered because of the barrier between different languages, cultures and negotiation methods. Their fear of revenge was greater than their financial loss though, so they zipped their mouths shut instead.
That day was an opportunity for both sides to sit down around the same table and deepen their mutual understanding.
Besides, Henry needed their help. He was interested in applying that mysterious Chinese combat art to everyday police work. He planned on combining it with the standard police training, so he wanted to have a discussion with them about a future cooperation. If possible, he wanted to invite them to work as counselors for the New York Police.
Qin Guan was hoping that they would have a successful collaboration in the future. Promoting martial arts culture all over the world was a common dream after all. They all chimed in casually and had a very productive talk.
Qin Guan had finally finished all his tasks for that year. In the cold winter of 2003, he would return home to enjoy the Spring Festival in China. Their family nests were a warm temptation for both Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei.
During that period, China had opened its gates to the world. They didn't need to bring that many gifts with them, so they flew leisurely to the Beijing Airport. Not long afterwards, they flew to Y city, the seaside town where Qin Guan had been born and raised.
The small city still enjoyed a very slow and quiet life.
...
The first thing they had to do was greet their old friends and relatives. Qin Guan was a star now, so his return was breaking news in the small city, where everyone was friends or relatives with everyone else.
It took him about four days to attend all the dinners he had been invited to by different people. Then he was finally able to settle in and relax.
During peaceful times, people were inclined to cherish the memories of their youth. There were not that many important places in Y city, but some of them were the Nanshan Park, which was perfect for walking outdoors in spring, the Night Fair, and the video game arcade at the Zhenhua Mall.
Each place brought back memories from Qin Guan's school years, when he and his classmates had used to chase each other around on their bikes.
Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei decided to revisit their precious memories, starting from their alma mater.
On the first day of 2004, they went out on a bike ride. The cold wind slapped their faces, but there was a warm spring in their hearts as they headed to the 1st Middle School.
They panted as they got closer.
"Wei!"
"Yes?"
"May I voice a request?"
"Sure!"
"Get down! I can't keep riding anymore. Ah! We are going to fall!"
Qin Guan couldn't mount the long slope with Cong Nianwei sitting behind him.
"You failed! You are impossible!"
"Don't say the word 'fail'! I never tried to carry you on the backseat before. Besides, when you think of the dynamics… Blah blah..."
Cong Nianwei realized that Qin Guan was getting more childish as they got closer to their old school.
"Fine, you are right. Just push!"
"Blah blah..."
"Are you done?"
Of course not! They went around the playground before they left. The gatekeeper watched them as if they were thieves. They were not the right age to be attending the school. Plus, one of them was dressed like a bandit, which made them stand out on the school grounds.
The third time the old man walked by them casually, they left as fast as their feet would allow them. Qin Guan forgot to cherish the memory of his favorite dining hall.
Their first stop had been a failure.


Qin Guan was reborn and sent back to his final semester in High School 18 years ago. Getting a second chance at life, he works hard to turn things around and eventually become a Prince Charming. What will his life be like the second time around? What will he have to go through? How will he succeed in turning from a loser into a Prince Charming? Read this story carefully and find out!

Even though the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation could afford to redesign the core module, Lu Zhou didn't have the time to wait.
Skyglow's working medium and fuel are already replenished. We're so close to launching, and you are telling me now that something is wrong with the core module?
The f*ck?
This is not happening!
Lu Zhou walked up and down the corridor. He made up his mind. He spoke to Director Li through the phone.
"I'm going to Tianjin!"
Director Li paused for a second.
"Why are you going… Are you a space station designer?"
All of the experts at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation can't solve this, even Academician Yuan shook his head. What are you going to do, Lu Zhou?
The main research and development projects at Star Sky Technology were all focused on the ion thruster propulsion system. There wasn't a single engineer at the Institute for Advanced Study who was an expert in space station design.
Lu Zhou said, "I have to see it in person!"
If the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation really decided to disassemble the core module and re-wire the loop heat pipe, it would take at least a year.
Even though Lu Zhou couldn't solve the technical problem, he wanted to go to the scene and see what was going on.
At the bare minimum, he wanted to see the problem with his own eyes.
Seeing how determined Lu Zhou was, Director Li didn't try to persuade him otherwise.
"Okay then… I'll tell the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation not to dismantle the core module yet."
"Okay, thanks."
Lu Zhou hung up the phone before putting it into his pocket. He quickly walked back to the laboratory.
Yang Xu was removing the glass slide from the microscope. He looked at Lu Zhou and paused for a second.
"… What?"
Lu Zhou said solemnly, "Something went wrong at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The launch has to be delayed."
Yang Xu pushed his glasses and asked, "Is the problem serious?"
Even though he wasn't in the aerospace field, as one of the senior members at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study, he still cared about these important matters.
"The problem is serious. I might be gone for a week or two, so you'll have to handle the N-1 research…" Lu Zhou was about to leave when he saw the carbon nanotube fiber samples sitting on the experiment table.
He stared at them for a while before asking, "What is the maximum length we can achieve at the moment?"
Yang Xu said, "Around 1-2mm… Why?"
Without hesitating, Lu Zhou immediately said, "You're flying with me tomorrow!"
Yang Xu: "…?"
…
The atmosphere in Tianjin was gloomy and bleak.
Because of overtime, most of the workers were already in a bad mood. Now that there was the overheating problem, people were feeling even worse.
Especially the engineers, they all had a tired look on their faces.
Sun Yuanpei, the engineer in charge of the Moon Palace project, sat on a small chair outside the factory building. He smoked cigarettes one by one. It seemed like he aged ten years overnight. He didn't even notice Systems Director Zhang walking over.
"… The core module is inside, I'll take you there."
"Okay." Lu Zhou nodded toward Systems Director Zhang and looked at the depressed engineer sitting nearby. He asked, "Who is that?"
"That is the engineer in charge of the space station. He's also in charge of the cooling system."
Lu Zhou had a look of realization in his eyes.
No wonder!
No wonder he looks so depressed.
I'm sure anyone in his position wouldn't feel so good.
Sun Yuanpei noticed the conversation happening near him, and he looked up at Lu Zhou. He then looked back down and continued to smoke the cigarette.
Lu Zhou: "You're Engineer Sun?"
Sun Yuanpei nodded.
"Yeah, I am."
"Have you found a solution?"
Sun Yuanpei had a bitter look on his face. He shook his head and said, "Right now, the only solution is to redesign the loop heat pipe… We should dismantle the module and rebuild it."
Honestly, as a conservative, he didn't really like Lu Zhou.
But right now, he didn't have any face to hate Lu Zhou.
Rather, he hated himself for not being able to discover the problem earlier.
Lu Zhou stared at him for a while before saying, "Put out the cigarette, and show me what's happening inside."
"Okay."
Sun Yuanpei threw away the cigarette butt and slowly stood up. He walked toward the warehouse like a soulless puppet.
Systems Director Zhang looked at Lu Zhou and sighed.
"Don't trigger him… He's in a bad emotional state right now."
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Why would I trigger him?"
Yang Xu, who was following Lu Zhou this whole time, asked, "Should I stay outside? I mean… There are state secrets involved here, right?"
After working with Lu Zhou for so long, the most common term Yang Xu heard Lu Zhou say was "state secret".
This term almost became a trigger for him.
Systems Director Zhang smiled and shook his head.
"It's fine, that thing inside isn't exactly a state secret. Two months ago some primary school children came for a field trip… Come with me."
He took the group of people into the warehouse.
Lu Zhou and Yang Xu followed Systems Director Zhang.
The moment Yang Xu walked into the warehouse, he began to look around curiously.
His research area was materials science. He had never been exposed to the aerospace industry. This stuff was all novel to him.
Lu Zhou wasn't curious at all. He walked straight to the core module that was placed in the center of the warehouse.
The module connection port was open, and it was wide enough for one astronaut to enter through.
However, Lu Zhou didn't go inside. He placed his head inside and look around. He then came out.
"The problem is the loop heat pipe?"
Sun Yuanpei nodded weakly and said, "Yes."
Lu Zhou immediately said, "What about coolants? Have you thought about changing the coolants?"
Sun Yuanpei smiled and shook his head.
"The coolant is glycol/water, which is already an excellent aerospace coolant… Do you really think changing the coolant is going to solve this problem? There's no way. Increasing the injection speed of the coolant, improving glycol water mixture… We have tried everything! The problem is that the excess heat is accumulated in the capillaries of the loop heat pipes. It's impossible to dissipate."
As expected, the problem wasn't that simple.
Lu Zhou had a dignified look on his face. He walked around the core module and began to recall the Debris No.3 lying in his underground laboratory.
Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. He went inside the core module through the left connection port.
He knocked on the heat pipe and asked, "What is this made of?"
Sun Yuanpei, who was standing outside, said, "Copper-aluminium alloy… Why?"
"Nothing, just wondering."
Lu Zhou climbed out of the core module and took two steps back. He looked at Yang Xu, who was muddled, and asked, "Is it possible to electroplate the N-1 material?"
Yang Xu adjusted his glasses and answered the question, "It can be done… What do you plan on plating?"
"Copper."
"Copper?" Yang Xu looked at Lu Zhou. He then looked at the core module and said, "You're planning to…"
Lu Zhou nodded.
"Yep."
Yang Xu contemplated it for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid it's not possible to electroplate the micrometer-sized N-1 on copper plates… Chemical plating should work." 
"Then we'll do chemical plating. You're the expert."
Systems Director Zhang was baffled. He looked at Lu Zhou and asked, "What are you guys talking about?"
Lu Zhou smiled and replied casually, "We're talking about a way to solve this problem!"
After that, he and Yang Xu began to walk out of the warehouse.


After suffering from a heat stroke while working under the scorching heat of summer, Lu Zhou, a hardworking but poor university student, somehow becomes the owner of an advanced technological system. With the cheat given by the system, his university life changes overnight. 
  
A Master's degree? Easy. 
  
PhD? Not a problem.   
  
From a nobody, he quickly becomes a huge celebrity in the world of science. With the missions given by the system, he is on his way to winning a Nobel Prize.   

"System, can points be exchanged for money?"
  
"No."
  
"F**k, what use are you then!?"
  
"This system will make you the ultimate scholar, the kind that lords over all of humanity. What use will money be to you?"

These plates were very beautiful; they had a brilliant color, and looked both charming and elegant. They felt delicate in Li Du's hands and he was unwilling to put them down.
He was not feeling particularly excited about them as he did not think they were very precious. Otherwise, the little bug would have had a reaction to them.
He used the time travel ability and many past scenarios appeared before him:
Someone wearing a T-shirt was waving and drawing on the plate. There was the image of a green pine tree, and he saw that the design was exactly that of the plate he was holding in his hands.
Needless to say, these were imitations. The genuine item would be from the Qing Dynasty, and nobody would have been wearing T-shirts then. Furthermore, the wording on the T-shirt was "Dash to Japan Island. Catch **** alive…"
He was meticulous, and took a good look at the plates and vases. They were fakes and had been produced only recently. They were not considered junk but definitely not worth any money.
After sighing a few times, he put the plates into a bag, planning to show them to Zhang Kai before taking photos of them.
He was sure these were worthless fakes but would not be able to explain this fact to Zhang Kai. After all, he had already said that he knew nothing about famille rose.
He could only photograph them and then get someone to verify before sharing the outcome with him. He would let him identify the plates and vases in the photograph, in case he was suspected of switching them with fakes to trick him.
Hans and the other treasure hunters were circling around the Alien Motorcycle. When he got back, Godzilla and Big Quinn had already cleaned up storage unit 54 with the shotguns.
Li Du waved at him. "Put the motorcycle onto the truck, we should go."
Hans had not had enough fun yet. He knew that once on the road outside, Li Du would not allow him to ride the bike. Hence, he pretended that he did not hear him and turned around midway to continue riding his bike.
Li Du was amused; he waved him over. "Are you some veteran? Come here, I've got some good stuff to show you."
Hans could not continue to pretend that he didn't hear him; he asked cautiously, "What stuff? I still want to ride the bike." Like a kid who had just gotten a toy he loved, he felt as though he could not part with the motorcycle.
Li Du said, "I won't lie to you, it's really good stuff. Come quick."
Hans walked over to the truck doubtfully, and then saw the beautiful porcelain ware.
All of a sudden, he gasped, "God! God!"
Li Du said, "China porcelain, palace treasures, magnificent famille rose!"
Hans said excitedly, "This... this is real? Real stuff? China china?"
The country and the type of porcelain were both referred to as "china," except the former started with an uppercase letter and the latter with a lowercase letter. They sounded the same when spoken and so when Hans said them both together, it sounded amusing.
Li Du laughed along, "No, these are fakes."
Hans was dumbfounded. "Huh? You were pulling my leg earlier?"
"Really," Li Du laughed, "these are fake, worthless. Well, doesn't this prove that life's full of ups and downs?"
It did not prove anything; Hans was going to explode in anger. "You lied, where's the good stuff?"
Li Du waved at Big Quinn; he pulled out a gun from underneath the seat and passed it to him.
Hans was a little disappointed to see this brown, wooden shotgun. "Oh, not bad, Remington 700BDL. An old gun, but well-kept."
"How much can it sell for?" Li Du asked.
"Looking at its quality, maybe 1,000 dollars if we can find the right buyer." Hans did not sound that interested.
Li Du was disappointed. "So low?
"It's not low, buddy," Hans said. "Without a gunsight, a brand new M40A1 would cost only 800 dollars. This type, the 700BDL, is of slightly higher value, but as it's secondhand, and also common, it can't fetch a high price!"
Li Du said, "Well, I thought we could make a fortune, since we've got 10 of these guns."
Hans was surprised. "Ten?"
Li Du nodded. "Yes, why?"　　
Hans explained, "Better take them out and register them at the storage company and local police station. D*mmit, if we were to get checked on the road, the police could arrest us!"
Li Du had thought that Americans had the freedom to own guns. They had even bought machine gun cannons before without any issues. It appeared that it was not that way.
Hans was responsible for settling the paperwork, and so while he did the registration, Li Du moved the motorcycle onto the truck, and left it with the other treasure hunters.
When Hans returned with the documents and saw that the motorcycle was gone, he sulked. "Where is my Alien? Let it out."
Li Du said crossly, "You wanted to ride it on the road?"
Defeated, Hans said, "I'll ride it slow, okay?"
"No way. Let Stephen check it first and get rid of that head. Only when we confirm there is no problem can you then ride it on the road." Li Du was adamant about this, and would not let it rest.
This bike's exterior was too ferocious-looking. Besides, there was the warning of its last owner having died in an accident on the bike. He did not wish for the same fate to befall Hans.
They had reaped their rewards and could leave for home, but Li Du was not willing to. He had not toured the place; since it was a tourist destination, how could they leave without taking a look around?
Knowing that he wanted to tour around, Hans nodded. "It's also true that autumn is a great time to visit Page's various attractions. We also have a fishing machine that we can use to fish at Lake Powell. Besides, I have to make a trip to Old Oraibi."
Hence, the treasure hunters who were also preparing to return home, also stopped and asked to stay on with Li Du to sightsee.
Almost all of them had more or less made money at this auction.
Except for the storage units with the motorcycle and shotguns, Li Du had pointed out the rest of them to his fellow treasure hunters and had shared their estimated value so that they would have a better idea.
Between nations, although they may not be allies forever, they could still continue to seek mutual benefits from their relationship. It was the same between people: the motivation to benefit is paramount, especially when they were just starting to form a relationship.
Turis said, "I'm also not going back. What's the point in going back when it's already so late? It's too dangerous to take the road at night, so I'm staying here."
The treasure hunters would usually return home on the day the auction ended to save on motel expenses as well as to prevent their things in the car from being stolen.
Three or four dozen of them answered Li Du's call to stay.
The next day, he rented a car to visit the various attractions. In the end, most of them tagged along. Olly said, "Actually, I've never been to Page."
Of course, their main motive was to deepen their friendship with Li Du.
This was the charm of the US dollar: it could transform someone from being a former reject to the being most popular person around.
In addition, the Flagstaff treasure hunters not only welcomed Li Du, they even followed his lead.


They love gold, and they love silver. Even more so, they love gems that dazzle, like stars across the skies. 
Firearms, jewelleries, and precious metals; A collector’s world will not be complete without antiques.  
Storage auctions, old goods trade, re-estate sales and gold-digging. But the truth is, if one wants to make money, then the supreme way is through searching for the legendary treasures. 
Holding the fort, there’s an ocelot, a wolf, and an Andes condor. At the side, there’s a loyal hound, an irascible ape, and an African honey badger. Who said that you can only rely on humans when treasure hunting?! 

In the two months since Alkasha had shown Elektra how to access her subconscious, the assassin had improved by leaps and bounds in more than just her ability to use Chi.

Her first spar with Natasha after she had figured out how to enter a meditative state where she was both aware of the real world and deeply connected to her subconscious had to be seen to be believed. The two of them had always been poetry in motion when they fought and both had mastered unarmed combat to what I had considered the absolute pinnacle of possibility but as they fought that time I became aware of just how much further you could go.

Elektra was steadily and visible getting better with every punch, every kick, every block, every counter. Murakami and Alexandra had each gone to K'un-Lun almost thirty-six hundred years ago and when they had been banished both were already some of the best martial artists around, since then they had both expanded and refined those skills as they picked up (and mastered) countless other styles and invented their own. More importantly in many ways, both had the relatively unique advantage of being able to learn from even fatal mistakes and of being able to spar against one another with lethal intent. Even without any Chi use those two could beat Natasha, Matt Murdock, or pretty much any other near peak human, like a red headed stepchild. They had no flaws and would, without even thinking about it, shift styles seamlessly within combat to whatever was the most perfect counter to their opponent's style.

And that was all bleeding through as the spar continued. The fight had started with the two of them on relatively even ground, with Natasha having a slight if detectable advantage. By minute five that advantage had disappeared, by minute seven it was clear that Elektra was the more skilled, by minute fifteen it was obvious that Elektra had shifted it into a teaching spar and was taking the opportunity to show Natasha how to improve.

When they eventually stopped, hours later, Natasha had a huge smile on her face as she said "This is such bullshit. I love it. You are going to be in this ring every free moment we have though, Elektra because I learned more in the past three hours fighting you than I have in the past decade of my normal training."

Elektra laughed "Gladly. It is nice when the student becomes the master."

In the two months since then, spars like the one that had just ended became a nearly daily occurrence for them

Natasha laughed at a joke of Elektra's that I didn't catch as they left the ring and said "Any progress on figuring out Chi?"

Elektra sighed, the levity gone for the moment, "Less than I would like. The fighting comes easy when we spar, it's like the move or counter just pops into my head whenever I see it or it would be the correct choice and once it does the knowledge just becomes part of me like it was always there. The languages are the same way, a relative handful of samples of a language and the translation or a few words spoken and it just seems to click and suddenly I'm fluent."

"But the Chi?" Natasha prompted quietly.

Elektra shook her head in frustration "No, once I find the key for it I think it will come just as easily as the rest but finding whatever will prompt the instincts into life isn't something I figured out yet."

Natasha wrapped her in a quick hug and said: "You'll figure it out, and with the bastard on ice Matt is fine for now."

"I know, but it still frustrates me." the younger women replied.

I gave a slight cough, interrupting the moment before saying, "I'm guessing there also hasn't been much progress with accessing their actual memories as opposed to just their instincts then?"

"No, just disjointed flashes." she answered before shifting the topic "Any progress on planning our war against the Hand?"

I gave a nod of agreement as the three of us started heading towards the cafeteria "Some. I think that we should try and rip them out of New York first."

"Why?" Elektra promoted, even as it was clear that elation was warring with the expert strategist in her.

"First, because it will better protect Matt." I said, holding up a hand to stop her retort before it left her lips I continued "Elektra, regardless of all other considerations you are one of us and you care about him deeply. That means the rest of us have to care about him because something happening to him will hurt you. If you want to be all pragmatic, something happening to him would greatly affect your morale and you are one of our primary field operatives so keeping you mentally together is a high priority."

Natasha nodded her agreement as she said: "He's right Elektra, you know how important focus is in combat."

Elektra sighed, clearly fully willing to be convinced on this topic, and said "Fine, what's the second reason though?"

"Because the Hand clearly wants it." I replied before explaining my reasoning "You were there at last weeks Black Thorn meeting - Madam Gao and Murakami's new right hand, Yonsu, both approached Fisk about getting into business together. That is two of the five Fingers operating in the same city in concert. Then you have what we got from that underboss we grabbed with Stick, Alexandra has started shifting resources from London to somewhere else for the first time in a century."

"And I've been busy infiltrating over the past few days, a lot of those assets are flowing into New York City. Between the immigration, FBI, and MI-5 records I got access to, it looks like she has moved at least a thousand people, and not just hitters. Cooks, musicians, even her housekeeping staff have been between Heathrow and JFK half a dozen times in the past three months." Natasha contributed.

"So that makes at least three of the Fingers interested in the City, meaning that they want something." I finished.

Elektra nodded agreement before sighing and saying "And then there is me. We know that the previous Iron Fist never left K'un-Lun so they obviously didn't decide to create me because he was giving them trouble. That means they either expect trouble or are planning something so important that they want every resource they can get to ensure success. Fine, it looks like New York is a focus of theirs. Next reason?"

"Resources, both ours and theirs. It's come to my attention that Madam Gao is basically running Rand Enterprises." I responded.

"WHAT? I knew they had resources but a major multinational conglomerate is under their thumb? I thought the Meachum's had that all sewn up since the Rand's died, don't they control like seventy percent of its stock?" Elektra exclaimed in shock.

I nodded and said "I figure that they have multiple major corporations under their control, but in the case of Rand it is precisely because of the Meachum's that they have that control. It seems that Madame Gao cut a deal with Harold Meachum to resurrect him after his funeral in exchange for his basically being her puppet, and through him, she pulls Ward Meachum's strings. And thanks to Natasha," I nodded at the redhead as we grabbed plates of food, "we got access to Rand's servers."

I opened a portal to the dining room in my quarters, Elektra saying "Anything interesting in them?" as we passed through.

"Only that I think Meachum was dealing with the Hand even earlier and I think he had the entire Rand family killed." Natasha said dryly as she went to the wine rack and asked: "Is the '96 Riesling good with you?"

"Yeah, that was a good batch. And since Elektra seems to have lost her words there are no objections." I answered for the both of us.

Elektra shook her head slightly "Yeah, that's fine, but what is this about him killing the Rands?"

As I cut my steak I explained what we had found, directed by a little judicious meta knowledge on my part, "Well it seems that Rand Enterprises was up to some dirty business in China, in partnership with a front company that traces back to Madam Gao through a few dozen shells. Given the purchase and delivery orders for chemicals and lab equipment along with the employee and shipping manifests it looks like they were developing synthetic drugs of some kind."

Natasha picked up the explanation as I started to eat "And the server access logs and corporate records show that Wendell Rand was looking into it while everything involving this project was being run and overseen by Harold. Shortly thereafter Wendell decides to take his family on vacation to China and files a flight plan for an airport only three hours drive from the facility. On the way, his plane met a tragic accident and was lost in the mountains, all the Rand's presumed dead."

As she took a bite I finished up, "It's interesting to note that Wendell was to be met at the airport by a full security detail from Executive Solutions, not Rand Enterprises and that ES had their entire stable of operators on the ground in that area of China at that time."

"So you think that Harold was working with the Hand under the table, Wendell got suspicious enough to hire an entire army of mercenaries to make sure that no one objected when he went to investigate, and Harold had him killed when he caught wind of it?" Elektra summarized.

"Pretty much. To return to the main point though, the Hand has major resources in NYC that are vulnerable and we already have our own resources to build up. Fisk is a useful but ultimately disposable tool and through him, we control almost sixty percent of New York's underworld now. Raith Industries has a major presence with Raith Financial having just completed its new headquarters on Wall Street, and Wolfram & Heart is a respected law firm now with lots of connections." I said, thinking about the three billion dollar skyscraper that had been a royal pain in the ass to build given my desire for some modifications that wouldn't show up on any blueprints and the law firm that I had first created way back in 2001 in preparation for this particular fight.

With Natasha's ability to infiltrate and our computer resources, insider trading was a walk in the park and so Raith Financial had taken the markets by storm over the past five years. Wolfram & Heart likewise had its reputation helped along by a little less than legal help. While it was much more selective in its clientele than its namesake, and no one working there knew about the helping hand they received, the reality was that they benefited greatly from our extra legal help.

Elektra was silent for a few minutes as she ate, before nodding decisively and saying "Ok, I agreed that New York seems like a good place to really start our war. I take it you have at least a tentative plan?"

I nodded, sipped my wine, and said "I do. I think that its time Elektra Natchios makes her mark on the Big Apple. A little judicious records modification since you joined us five months back has shifted approximately a billion dollars worth of my assets into your name, more than enough that your purchase of Wolfram & Heart won't raise any financial eyebrows. Especially when they hire Matt Murdock shortly afterwords and you put him in charge of the pro bono division with a very healthy budget, everyone who investigates will just think the smitten heiress with more money than sense is blowing money on her boy toy."

Elektra coughed as she choked on her wine, "You gave me a billion dollars?!"

I shrugged "It's just money and you needed a legitimate cover. I've always planned on having you take a public role, we need to diversify our public operations away from Raith Industries and me and that means a public face who is in the know and won't raise suspicions. I planned to have Natasha here take the role back when I recruited her but SHIELD, HYDRA, and various intelligence agencies have her picture so until we can get Extremis up and running we can't have her publicly associated with our legal operations."

"Fine, although sometime soon, we are going to have to sit down so you can brief me in on everything you've been up to." she said, and waited until I nodded my agreement before continuing, "Ok, I publicly head to NYC as the newest heiress and socialite on the scene and establish myself as a player. Makes sense but I figured you had more in mind."

Natasha spoke then "We grab Harold Meachum and stuff him in one of the nicer prison bunkers here on Mars. Instead of the Hand using him to control Rand Enterprises, we do. Then we start cleaning out the people they have infiltrated and replace them with our own from Black Thorn, that should help Fisk out without tying him to any of our legitimate business and any investigation that the Meachum's or anyone else ever carries out will lead back to him being the one to kidnap Harold. At least in time."

"Denying the Hand a major resource, helping our pawn, and directing attention away from us. I like it. Now let's work on the details." Elektra said, leading the way into the sitting room.

*Emperor Tippy* 

Premise:
I saw A Twelve Step Program to Omnipotence and frankly, I thought it did pretty much everything wrong with an SI story. So I decided to do it better. And yes, this is still going to be a power fantasy wank fest - it will just be one that doesn't require absurd ass pull "luck" to work out.

*Chapter update*
--- 5 chapters every day--- 
---May update more---

Walking around the artificial rockery, Fangzheng felt the world in front of him brighten up.
Behind the rockery was a verdant lawn, and behind that, there was a stone house that looked like it came out of a fairy tale. The house was perfectly integrated into nature. The roof was covered with green grass and trees. The circular windows weren't big, and the entire Windhouse resembled a magical world from a fairy tale. Every part of the building had something unique about it. It was really beautiful, and there was a charm to it.
Phelps chose a room. It didn't appear very large from the outside, but it was quite spacious on the inside. It had a long, wide table that could seat more than ten people.
Phelps said generously, "Master, as long as we don't talk shop, you can eat as much as you want. Eat your fill!"
Fangzheng smiled. "In that case, This Penniless Monk will not stand on ceremony. Patron, don't worry. This Penniless Monk doesn't eat meat, only vegetables."
Phelps smiled even more happily. Although Windhouse's vegetarian dishes were expensive, vegetables were just vegetables. No matter how expensive they were, they weren't more expensive than meat. Besides, he knew very well that Chinese monks didn't drink alcohol either. This would save him a huge sum of money.
The more he thought about it, the happier he became. He appeared to be very pleased. He said to the waiter, "Serve all your vegetarian dishes and let the master taste them!"
"Sure thing, Mr. Phelps." The waiter immediately responded and left.
Phelps leaned back into his chair and said in a rather relaxed manner, "Master, don't hold back when the food arrives. Eat as much as you want."
Fangzheng said, "Thank you, Patron. This Penniless Monk will let loose with the eating."
"Haha, that's the spirit. As for money, don't worry. Actually, I'm a major shareholder of this restaurant. You can eat as much as you want." Phelps laughed.
Fangzheng took a glance at Red Boy who chuckled in return. He instantly understood what Fangzheng meant.
Soon, the dishes were served.
As expected of a high-class restaurant, the plating was very artistic. In the middle of a huge plate, there was a serving that was enough for two to three bites. This was one dish.
Fangzheng, who was from Northeast China, subconsciously pursed his lips when he saw the amount of food. "Patron, in Northeast China, we eat with basins. There's just too little here."
Phelps rolled his eyes at Fangzheng, thinking, "What a lack of class!"
However, he said, "It's good food. You can eat less of every dish but have more variety. That's what true pleasure is. Master, let loose on the food. Although each dish might not be a lot, we have plenty of variety. Eat to your heart's content."
Fangzheng nodded and began eating.
Fangzheng couldn't help but marvel as he took a mouthful of the food. "This taste is truly excellent."
"That's for sure. All the chefs here are top chefs." Phelps laughed.
Although Fangzheng did things in a slow and composed manner, his every move was somewhat Zen-like. Such a monk's actions were indeed beautiful. Even the natural charm within resembled the traditions of the Way of Tea. It was pleasing to the eyes.
But Fangzheng's disciple stopped Phelps from smiling.
Red Boy grasped his chopsticks, and each time Fangzheng took his share of a dish, Red Boy would immediately pick whatever remained. Then, he would open his mouth wide and swallow it all!
Fangzheng looked slow, but his movements weren't slow. Red Boy followed closely behind.
In no time, all thirty-six dishes were finished.
Although each dish didn't have a lot of food, most people would be full from eating thirty-six dishes.
However, the duo didn't seem satiated. Red Boy even licked his lips and said, "Is this the appetizer before the main meal? The serving is a little too small."
Phelps had claimed that they could eat their fill; therefore, he immediately made someone serve more dishes. However, while the dishes were served, Red Boy would sweep right through them. Even when Fangzheng stopped eating, Red Boy continued ravenously, having no intention of stopping.
Towards the end, Phelps couldn't remain calm anymore. He looked at the mountain of plates that were as tall as a person and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He got the waiter to quickly clear the plates and then added, "Increase the quantity served. Fill every plate!"
There was nothing he could do about it. With Red Boy clearing each plate with one mouthful, there was no way the serving of dishes could keep up with the clearing of plates. As the chairman of the Gaia Group, how could he allow an empty table when he was treating someone? Besides, he also understood that the quantity was lacking per dish, and the food was being served too slowly. With Red Boy eating so quickly, he would be able to digest while waiting for new dishes to be served.
Therefore, as a calculative businessman, Phelps's plan was to serve large plates of food and fill him up at once. It would save him money!
Soon after the waiter left, large plates with copious amounts of food were served.
Indeed, Red Boy was clearly taken aback when a large plate of food was served. Only when the table was filled with food did he grin. "There's so many people. I'm a little embarrassed."
Phelps sneered inwardly. Embarrassed? Why didn't I see your embarrassment before? I'm afraid you won't be able to eat anymore, right?
Thus, Phelps said with a smile, "All of you can leave."
The waiters left.
Phelps said to himself, "Let's see how much more you can eat!"
Red Boy smiled bashfully at Phelps when he saw everyone had left. Imagining that Red Boy was afraid, Phelps said with a sinister smile, "Eat. It's not good for children to waste food."
Red Boy said, "Alright, I want to be a good child!"
With that, he opened his mouth.
Phelps's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets! He saw the huge mouth open so wide that the corner of his mouth cracked open all the way to his ears. When Red Boy opened his mouth, half of his head was opening and closing! At the same time, Red Boy grabbed a plate of vegetables and threw the plate into his mouth. Once the mouth closed, crisp cracking sounds could be heard.
But Phelps felt his scalp go numb. His entire body turned cold. This was a problem!
Red Boy ignored the dumbfounded Phelps and stuffed a plate of food into his mouth. In the blink of an eye, the entire table of dishes was finished!
Red Boy patted his belly and revealed his sharp canine teeth at Phelps. He said bashfully, "Patron, I'm not full yet. Where's the food?"
Phelps wiped the sweat off his forehead. He suddenly realized that his little schemes had backfired.
However, at that moment, he had no other choice. He was afraid that he would be eaten by the little demon if he disagreed! Therefore, he hurriedly ordered for more dishes to be served.
As a result, Phelps saw plates being served and disappearing one by one. The child was like a bottomless pit that could never be satiated.
An hour passed, and Red Boy was still eating.
Phelps wiped his sweat.
Two hours later, Red Boy was still eating.
Phelps was about to cry.
Half a day later, a waiter came over and whispered, "Mr. Phelps, we have almost run out of food…"
After wiping the sweat from his head, Phelps looked at Red Boy and said, "Little Venerable One."
When there were outsiders, Red Boy would rest for a moment. When he heard Phelps call out to him, he wore a radiant smile as he looked at him and said, "Patron, I'm not full yet… As you must know, once a person is hungry, they can eat everything."


In the rural northeastern mountainous regions stands a tiny Buddhist temple, named One Finger Temple. It isn't a large one but it is extremely miraculous.

The temple has rice that emanates an aromatic fragrance.

The temple has sweet and refreshing water that rivals ambrosia.

The temple has Buddhas that grant wishes to the sincere.

The temple isn't large but it has everything. The temple isn't large but it has flourishing incense offerings that far exceed all temples. The temple isn't large but it attracts both citizens and foreigners that line up overnight…

The temple has a bald but handsome monk. Every day, he would bawl, "I want to renounce asceticism! I want to marry a chick that's not too pretty, have a cute baby, and lead a stable life!"

This book is a casual novel that introduces various Chinese traditional customs, as well as Buddhist ones. It strives to be a positive book, allowing people to reflect on how they should live their lives and treat others.

Lu Shu gave chase in the direction of the forest. The old priest, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and resting, opened his eyes again and said to Lu Shu's back, "No need to chase him, you are not even at Class C. Impossible to beat him."
"Without a fight, how would we know?" Lu Shu sped up and rushed headlong into the forest, to be instantly engulfed by the bizarre splendour of the shimmering forest. Chen Baili suddenly felt that something seemed to be amiss, why are the weird trees not attacking Lu Shu? Still, Lu Shu was too fast, like the wind between branches, and it seemed as if the trees were making futile attempts at seizing him.
Chen Baili carried on with his resting in the lotus position. However, the image of the youth saying how would they know without a fight kept swirling in his mind.
If time could be turned back, he himself was probably like that too, utterly unafraid of anything. Chen Baili suddenly felt that perhaps the one he should pass on his skills to should be Lu Shu rather than Lu Xiaoyu.
Only thing is, he did not know if time was still on his side.
…
Lu Shu looked at the direction his compass was pointing to while racing madly through the forest. Gradually, he even began to feel himself closing in speedily with a pulsing energy emanating from the forest ahead.
The other person not only gave up expending energy by attempting to burrow and hide underground, but had also began to slow down.
All of a sudden, Lu Shu felt that something was not quite right. The person's energy pulse had vanished suddenly.
A split second later, Lu Shu suddenly saw that the earth beside him started advancing towards him like a tornado. The gritty sands were razor sharp and instantly pulverized any leaf or branch they came into contact with.
The opponent actually wanted to turn around to finish him off!
In an instant, Lu Shu had whipped out his Celestial Cloak for protection. His right leg took a small step forward as Lu Shu sent a punch straight into the sand tornado.
The sparkling leaves of the monster trees started to break into pieces before Lu Shu's eyes. The starlights within were initially strewn about on the Celestial Map, but suddenly coalesced rapidly and flowed out as a galactic stream towards the fist.
Nothing was held back in this punch!
A thunderous roar resonated as Lu Shu's hair stood on end. The surrounding branches shook wildly as if in a hurricane and an initially cool air started to become hot and dry.
This was a showdown between two experts, with the usually much-feared monster trees reduced to playing foil.
The sand landed pattering on the Celestial Cloak and one by one, were reduced to powder.
Only now did Lu Shu have a clear look at the white person before him. Lu Shu was no longer concerned about the distress points of his back-end income recorder. A small hole on the person's waist was gushing blood steadily and his face was deathly pale.
The person's garment was probably torn to pieces during his fight with Chen Baili. Lu Shu took a closer look at his waist. His skin appeared as though protected by a fine cover of sand, yet was forcefully pierced through with Chen Baili's little green sword to produce the bloodied wound.
Now, the layer of sand over his wound was frighteningly cracked like a tortoise shell under the sun. On his chin was another small area which was equally cracked and frightfully gruesome.
The person seemed to be surprised that Lu Shu could fend off his ambush and display such physical prowess; and even possessing a mysterious energy cloak for protection!
One must be aware that possessing a protective armor is a means only given to practitioners Class C and above. The saying that a Class C master fears no firearm was exactly due to this. A typical firearm not imbued with magical powers would find it impossible to penetrate a protective armor in one try.
However, why was it that the power and form of this armor was unheard of?
After exchanging blows, the Class B white master already understood that in his current state, he could not afford to even take down this extraordinary youth!
One must know that his aim was never anyone else but Chen Baili! Somebody had presented him with an ancient earth system artefact in exchange for Chen Baili's head. If not for the double temptation of the Matrix Eye and the artefact, why would he have bothered!
If he were to let Chen Baili lick his wound in peace while he had to fight with another worthy opponent, the situation would not be to his advantage at all.
This remains was like a colossal prison between heaven and earth. It would be impossible to find a way out without getting hold of the Matrix Eye. If Chen Baili were to recover earlier than expected, and he had to fight him without first obtaining the Matrix Eye, his trip to China this time round would become extremely perilous.
Moreover, from what he understood about Chen Baili, it was highly probable that Chen would fight to his last breath to keep him here!
Lu Shu chased the white man down the forest among the trees. All of a sudden, before the person could decide on how to act, Lu Shu already made his first move. The Corpsedog emerged with a deafening roar and rushed straight for the opponent's head!
The trees that Lu Shu and the white man were taking cover behind cracked loudly as they were penetrated by the Corpsedog as if they were simply matchsticks.
The white master's heart skipped a beat. Flying sword, the move unique to China!
A massive amount of sand were swept up behind the white man. The individual grains of sand flew like bullets towards the Corpsedog, trying to block it. For a moment, loud crashed could be heard reverberating through the forest.
If one were to only hear the sound, he or she would have thought that it was bullets hitting steel plates. However, it was actually the sand hitting the Corpsedog dagger!
When an individual strength could be comparable to a human form and deal massive damage to a lethal weapon, it was horrifying indeed!
However, the white man was still badly hurt. Killing an average Class C would not have been an issue, but Lu Shu was no typical Class C!
The Corpsedog's speed was cut by the onslaught of sand but still continued its way towards the opponent.
As he was running, the white expert tilted his head to the right and the Corpsedog glanced his cheek, leaving a bloody cut. Inexplicably, he felt that the sharpness of the sword was much more fearsome than that of Chen Baili's.
With the new scar as the centre, the skin surrounding it began to crack once again.
However, just as he thought that things have ended, the white man suddenly felt… the soul in his body seemed to be sealed by something, making him instantaneously melancholic, as if the sword took away all his happiness. He even began to think about his death, and how would his family deal with it!
He was seized with anxiety, what move is this?
At his level, he could feel, faintly, that the damage inflicted upon him by the sword was not irreparable; but at the moment, he simply could not liven his mood, as if being laid a curse by Lu Shu!
Must not be careless, something is wrong with this sword!
He used all his strength to control the sand. The layer of sand armour on his body came off and streamed onto his palm like rivulets of whiteness. Raising his hand, the sand swept forth towards the Corpsedog.
Lu Shu was about to make the Corpsedog to turn back when he noticed a stony white frost condensing on the sword, making it more and more difficult to be controlled!
I have underestimated this Class B expert, so many tricks up his sleeves!


Magical energy has come to this world; Lu Shu could only stare as one powerhouse after another appear.

Looking at his own peculiar ability, he exhaled a breath of cold air.

Dog balls!

...

This is a story of how Lu Shu used poisonous chicken soup to become the Demon King

Translator Synopsis:

This is the story of an orphan, Lu Shu. He is not any regular orphan, but a metahuman experiencing the changes in himself, his country and the world during the dawn of the magical era. Watch as Lu Shu embarks on a journey to hone his peculiar abilities together with his sister, the adorable and charismatic Lu Xiaoyu. Along the way, they’ll encounter supernatural events, obstacles and even the most powerful people in their country. How will Lu Shu make the best of his abilities and oust his never-ending list of rivals and opponents?

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