Britney woke up one day in a body that is not hers, memories not hers and family and friends that are strangers for her. She seemed to be in a world just like what her world used to be, there are normal transportation, the same political and financial things are happening, the only strange thing is that there are no Ariana Grande nor every celebrities she knew exists. Coincidentally, Britney really dreams to be a star and this is a big chance for her. She will use every song she knew from her world and use it to be on top!

There is only problem here, her current body cannot sing nor dance. It seems like, being a star is really not for her even to this lifetime that is why, from now on, she will be a great talent seeker. She will create her own agency then.

DISCLAIMERS:
EVERY SONG IS NOT MINE AS YOU CAN SEE. AND I AM AN AMATEUR WRITER SO PLEASE GUIDE ME FOR MY MISTAKES. THANK YOU.

While Xiao Ye was speaking, the both of them had already arrived at the film studio.
Huang Jingjing folded her arms and sat on the sofa in the resting area. She was wearing sunglasses and her face was pale. She was currently throwing a fit, asking, "What kind of rundown place is this? Where's the person who was supposed to help me brew a cup of coffee?"
Xiao Ye hurriedly offered Huang Jingjing a cup of coffee. Huang Jingjing frowned and haughtily took the cup from her. She took a sip. 
"Ptui!"
She spat out the mouthful of coffee and angrily looked at Xiao Ye. "Do you want to burn me to death? Know that if you burn my mouth, Best Actor Shen will get extremely angry!"
Xiao Ye mumbled affirmingly but dared not say any more in case she misinterpreted her words.
Qiao Lian walked up to them, grabbed Xiao Ye's arm and looked at Huang Jingjing saying, "Ms. Huang, it is time for the shoot. Please cooperate with our news agency."
Huang Jingjing laughed coldly, lowered her head and looked at her own fingers. "My makeup hasn't even been done yet. How do you expect to shoot me in this state?"
Qiao Lian said to the stylist, "Hurry up and put on Ms. Huang's makeup."
Huang Jingjing took off her sunglasses, tilted her head and laughed tauntingly.
The expressions of the few people inside the room instantly showed complete astonishment. 
Qiao Lian also frowned.
Huang Jingjing clearly hadn't slept much yesterday. The dark circles around her eyes were way too obvious. They could not be completely hidden, even with foundation. Furthermore, her entire body was swollen — so much so that her face had changed its shape.
Every celebrity knew that if they needed to film a scene or participate in a photoshoot the next day, they should be especially careful about the food they ingested the day before. However, it was clear from Huang Jingjing's current condition that she had paid no mind to the photoshoot today.
The stylist was stunned and completely did not know how to begin. Looking at Qiao Lian, the stylist said, "Ms. Qiao, this-"
Qiao Lian calmly said, "Just apply the makeup normally."
Xiao Ye walked forward and said, "But taking photos in this state will be-"
"Don't worry. Given that Photoshop technology has become so advanced, we can always ask someone to properly airbrush the photo in the post."
This was all they could do for now.
Xiao Ye nodded. However, Huang Jingjing unexpectedly refused to participate in the shoot any further. She immediately stood up in an imposing manner. "Airbrush the photo? How could you say that, you puny reporter? I postponed so many scheduled events to come to this photoshoot. You cannot airbrush today's photos! Or are you implying that the photographer and the stylist of your little news agency are both freelance workers?"
Her words caused the faces of both the photographer and the stylist to turn black.
Xiao Ye hurriedly explained, "Ms. Huang, the photographers and stylists that we hire are the most renowned in the industry-"
"Heh, the most renowned in the industry? If they are truly the best, why is there still a need to airbrush the published photos? All of you are clearly doubting my attractiveness!"
The entire studio fell into absolute silence. Meeting such a person had left everybody completely speechless! 
Bam! Qiao Lian handsomely threw the contract in front of her. "Ms. Huang, when you first signed the contract, it was clearly stated in the terms that you must cooperate with us. So, are you trying to breach the contract now? Fine, pay the penalty, it's up to you."
Huang Jingjing instantly became furious. "Who are you? Do you not know my relationship with Best Actor Shen? How dare you talk to me like that!"
Qiao Lian's lips twitched. She walked forward and said, "So, what is the relationship between you and Best Actor Shen?" 
Huang Jingjing's eyes narrowed and said, "I-"
Before she could finish, she saw Qiao Lian raise her cell phone and switch on the audio recording function. "Ms. Huang, I am a reporter, so you'd better be careful when you are speaking to me. Please tell me exactly what is the relationship between you and Best Actor Shen?"


They say the greatest blessing is marrying the idol you always dreamed of.

But Qiao Lian knows that reality is different...

The Internet claims that Best Actor Shen Liangchuan is a male god who is unaffected by any sexual drive, but Qiao Lian vehemently disagrees. It's a lie!

After finally carrying out the contract, Qiao Lian burst out, "I want a divorce! I don't want such a life!"

Meanwhile, Yu Hao was still on a date with Gu Xiaonan. As they were making their way to the hotel, while acting very lovey-dovey, Yu Hao's cell phone rang.
"Secretary Yin?" Yu Hao murmured aloud and instantly rejected the call after glancing at the caller ID.
"It's so late! Do you think it could be something important?" Gu Xiaonan asked in concern.
As she spoke, she was curled up in Yu Hao's arms. With his beauty in his arms, Yu Hao blurted out a response, without giving it much thought, "I don't care. The most important thing is for me to accompany you. Let's leave the company's business for a later date."
Gu Xiaonan seemed satisfied with this answer. Her arms, which were originally loosely draped around Yu Hao, tightened as she drew him toward her.
"Ah Hao, we're having our wedding in just a few days! Thank you for giving me a home. Although we've lost a child, I promise you that I'll try my best to have another one as soon as possible," she murmured in his ear.
At the thought that his high-quality genes would be inherited by a baby of his own, Yu Hao was so excited that he wanted to throw Gu Xiaonan onto the bed and start making that baby immediately! Unfortunately, just as he was about to step into the hotel, his cell phone rang again.
"This is so annoying!" Yu Hao looked at his phone and realized that the caller was Secretary Yin once again.
What's the matter with this man? Doesn't he realize that his call was rejected just now? What does he want, and what is thinking, calling over and over again? Yu Hao wondered in frustration.
"It's okay. You can pick it up. I'll go check in. Just remember to keep it short." The sensible Gu Xiaonan left a sweet kiss on Yu Hao's face, then turned and walked toward the hotel lobby.
Yu Hao smiled as he answered the ringing cell phone. "Hi, what's the matter? You don't even stop working at night? Don't you know that it's already well past working hours? I haven't given you an extra cent for working overtime, so why do you still work so hard?"
Yu Hao's attitude towards his staff had always been somewhat domineering like this. He believed that insulting his co-workers was an effective method of molding them.
"Pre… President Yu... Something bad has happened!" Secretary Yin gulped hard and swallowed his resentment. After all, now was not the time to argue with Yu Hao about his harsh attitude.
Yu Hao raised his eyebrows as he asked, "What's the matter? Why are you so agitated?"
"Haven't you seen the trending topics, the ones at the top of the list... About Wu Linzhi?" Secretary Yin asked. 
"Hmph! I never pay any attention to those silly pieces of entertainment news. Speak if you have anything important to say. Otherwise, I have things to do." Yu Hao then looked up and waved to Gu Xiaonan, who was looking back at him. He was clearly becoming impatient with Secretary Yin.
"Oh my… Well... I must advise you to pay more attention to these things. After all, Wu Linzhi's domestic entertainment agency is one of our venture capitalists' projects. Ever since Wu Linzhi joined them, they've become our firm's biggest client. So, if it collapses, we will be in big trouble too!" Secretary Yin finished speaking his whole speech in one breath, after which, there was a long silence.
Both he and Yu Hao were speechless. Secretary Yin was speechless because he didn't know what to say or do, and Yu Hao was silent because he was trying to recall what Secretary Yin had just said. He was clearly distracted by his desire to get back to his lady love.
It was not until Gu Xiaonan returned with the room card that Yu Hao finally responded. Wu Linzhi's entertainment agency that Secretary Yin had mentioned was Qi Yang Entertainment, which was the one that owed them the most money.
It turned out that their recent financial reversals were all due to this guy named Wu Linzhi. With Wu Linzhi's departure, as well as the pressure that was coming from his fans, their share prices were plummeting. In fact, they were really facing a total collapse!
Under these circumstances, won't it mean that all of the funds that I have invested in Qi Yang entertainment so far will be lost? Yu Hao wondered in dismay.
His main worry was that the money that had been invested was not entirely his own. He'd borrowed part of it from various moguls and banks. So, if the money was lost, Yu Hao might even face bankruptcy!
"Ah Hao, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale?" Gu Xiaonan asked as she draped her arms around Yu Hao's neck and went close to his ear, letting her fragrance surround him.
Unfortunately, even her beguiling fragrance could not help Yu Hao now. If she'd really wanted to help him, she should have maybe tries using an oxygen mask at that moment!
Saiwei Clubhouse.
As Sheng Jie slipped the cell phone into An Qi's handbag, his actions were natural and skilled. He had obviously done this before. Other than those who knew him well, it would be impossible for anyone to imagine that an ordinary-looking man in gold-framed spectacles, who looked so honest, would make such a shocking move.
"Well, now that Linzhi's matter has been explained, let's talk about the matters that need attention in the photoshoot, An Qi." Leng Jin waved the waiter over and ordered another glass of wine. It seemed like this would be a long talk.
"Photoshoot?" Sheng Jie's eyes widened. Since he was Leng Yuchen's henchman, he was naturally curious about everything that involved An Qi.
"Yes. An Qi promised to be my media platform model this season." Leng Jin said to Sheng Jie, while lifting his glass.
Leng Jin did not know much about Sheng Jie's friendship with An Qi. Specifically, he didn't know whether Sheng Jie's had a personal relationship with her of his own accord, or whether he had been entrusted with the task of befriending An Qi by Leng Yuchen. Therefore, when he was speaking in front of Sheng Jie, Leng Jin was always very cautious, letting Sheng Jie perceive that his relationship with An Qi was unusual, but without making things crystal clear to him.
The purpose for this was to arouse Sheng Jie's suspicion, thus causing Leng Yuchen to become more aware of a crisis. Unlike Leng Yuchen's focus of providing stringent protection for An Qi, Leng Jin's was focused on using An Qi to control Leng Yuchen.
Even though he was unsure of his exact plan at the moment, Leng Jin figured that he would simply stick to his previous plan until he found a better way. Sheng Jie apparently hadn't expected that An Qi and Leng Jin were already close enough to shoot a set of photos for him because of Dong Manman.
Of course, besides Dong Manman, An Qi and Leng Jin had a close relationship during their childhoods. But, because the news about their kidnapping had been blocked by Leng Jin's and Leng Yuchen's parents from leaking out to the public, An Qi didn't want too many people to know about their relationship. She didn't even know how to explain that incident to Leng Yuchen, let alone Sheng Jie, who seemed to be somewhat of a blabbermouth!
Leng Jin deliberately ignored Sheng Jie's surprise and turned to Wu Linzhi, who was scrolling through his phone, and asked, "How are your preparations going? Do you need any help with the contract?"
Wu Linzhi lifted his head and gazed at him, then replied, "You don't have to worry about it at all. The contract I signed with Qi Yang was a freelance contract. Now that something has happened to the company, I can just leave without facing any legal problems whatsoever."
He smiled, then added, "From now on, I am free! Do you want to consider starting your own entertainment agency and sign me, big old designer Leng? I promise to make you tons of money! How about it?"
The corners of Leng Jin's mouth lifted into a smile as he replied, "Stop right there, I wouldn't be able to support a troublesome artist like you! Besides, I'm still the Vice President of the Leng Group, at least in name. So, I don't have time to waste with the likes of you."
Dong Manman shot them both a meaningful glance. As she thought that it was Wu Linzhi who had deliberately sullied Qi Yang's name, and that Qi Yang was the innocent party who had been blamed, she couldn't help but wonder... How can they talk about Qi Yang entertainment so calmly right now?
If it weren't for the fact that she still needed Leng Jin's help for the Paris studio, Dong Manman would probably have picked a big fight with them at this moment!

16 chapters/week

200 vote = 1 Bouns chapter

(*╹▽╹*)(*^▽^*)

--------
An Qi, a rich heiress, was willing to leave her comfortable life and earn money as a part-timer for her worthless boyfriend. Withstanding long term malnutrition, she finally managed to save enough and flew back from overseas to surprise her boyfriend. However, her surprise was turned into a heartbroken shock.

That night, she lost not only her fiancé, but also her beloved father, childhood bestie and her precious chastity.

Five years later, she came back with her brilliant daughter. All she wanted was to live a peaceful life, but on the day of her return, she was found and embraced by Leng Yuchen, who had been searching for her for five years.

And then, it was time to fight back all sorts of  bitches and white lotuses.
In short, this is a story of the young master from the Leng Family who turned into a super spoiling husband and pampered his wife. As long as it was for An Qi, there was nothing that Leng Yuchen could not do!

"Lee, what makes you so busy these days that you don't even call me anymore?"
"I can call you every day if that's what you want, chief. I just fear that you'd get me more assignments if I do."
"Don't be ridiculous, Lee. You've made a fuss and gone to Central and South America. Besides, the European chapter should make some achievements too."
 
Michael did not sound happy. Youngho knew that he had to be compliant when Michael was salty like this.
 
"I've been working hard not to let down the chapter's status and not to get behind other agents."
"Other agents are only trying to get away from my radar. Lee, I want you to do go Geneva, Switzerland. It looks like Armenians are involved in some troubles."
"As far as I know, isn't there an agent in charge of Switzerland?"
"You know there's going to be a disarmament conference there. All sorts of spies would be gathered there for that. You won't be bored."
"Well, since you're sending us to Switzerland for a free tour, I shouldn't say no to it.
"Don't think about coming back without any results. I won't pay for your trip if you don't get me anything." 
"It sounds like you want me to make a problem."
"Come to the chapter and I'll give you a briefing before you go. Oh, and Eriksson wanted to ask you a favor too. He'll contact you soon."
 
Youngho wondered about what Eriksson would be asking. If he had spoken to Michael already, it must be a huge case.
A few days after, Eriksson came to see Youngho at the office in Baku downtown.
It had been a long since he saw him in person although they occasionally spoke on the phone meanwhile.
 
"Mr. Lee, our agency had made a great profit out of the Colombian rebel's arms deal. It's quite late to say this but I'd like to say thank you for your role in it on behalf of my company. The arms company had given the agency a separate commission but I couldn't take something for you."  
"Well, don't mind it. I'm not interested in extra money other than my own share. Also, I don't want to step on your toes."
"Truly you're a gentleman. Our agency thinks of you as a good business partner."
 
Eriksson was not saying the purpose of his visit but was only flattering Youngho.
 
"Michael already talked about you, so why don't we cut to the chase? You can consider me as a freelance for now."
"Alright Mr. Lee. I know that you're going to Geneva for your assignment. It'd be great if you could work on our job as well when you're there." 
"I'd like to hear what it's all about before I agree."
 
Listening to the agency's secret business meant that one had to take the job already but Youngho still wanted to listen to the business details. Only then, Eriksson took away his smile and began to talk about the point.
 

***

 
"You don't think Michael won't be mad about this, right?" 
"Like I told you, this is what he asked for."
 
Since Youngho could not tell Jongil about the Information Agency, he told him that he was doing a favor for Michael and he would be making money for this.
 
"I understand that it's going to be profitable but I don't want to get involved in dirty works."
"Did we ever do any clean job then? The CIA's job is always meddling in other countries' matters and finding about their classified information."
 
Youngho said this because finding out secrecy was no different from stealing. It was only presumed to be honorable since they belonged to a nation's agency but their job was not so honorable at all.
Youngho and Jongil were crossing the border of Switzerland on ICE Train from Frankfurt.
Geneva had a major office of the United Nations, UNOG, and the headquarters of Conference on Disarmament.
What Eriksson requested was to have a background investigation on an influential French politician who was attending this year's Conference on Disarmament. Since Youngho was going to Geneva, the agency had asked Youngho to do their job. The agency was expecting that the French politician would be involved in a secret deal in Geneva and Youngho's job was to find out about the details of the deal.
Eriksson said that the commission would be based on the value of the information that Youngho will report. Youngho and Jongil were rather welcomed to receive another job since they were assigned to find out about Armenians' movement anyway. Another job was not a big deal for them.
 
"It seems like all the secret agents of the world will be in Switzerland. I hope something fun happens."
 
Jongil was seeking for something exciting. He had been getting tired of taking care of the new immigrants. Moreover, he was being grilled by Szechenyi and Zeynep who wanted to learn how to fly from him. He almost leaped in joy when he heard that he was going on a business trip.
 
"Jongil, don't try to get into anything. It might become an international matter if you get into trouble with other agents."
"They won't be able to tell since we're Asians."
 
Although being Asians could be used as good covers since people did not see them as agents from America, but their appearance could also be an easy target since they stood out.
Their lodging was reserved at a cheap hotel near the Cornavin train station, where many backpackers liked to stay. It was reserved by agent Philip. All of the high-quality hotels' rooms were already taken by the visitors attending the international conference.
 
"Why did Philip reserve this cheap room when he came here in advance. Man, why do we, global-scale spies, have to stay in this kind of hotel?"
"What are you talking about? We're only based in Azerbaijan."
 
Jongil did not care about Youngho's words since he was looking at girls in the lobby.
 
"Man, there must be spies among those beauties."
"Oh yeah? Why don't you announce that you're a global-scale spy and treat them for dinner? Stop talking about nonsense and let's find out how much this hotel is. This hotel must make a lot of money for all those visitors."
"You only care about hotels these days. The five-star hotels here cost double the amount of luxury hotels in Baku. You can't afford any of them, especially if they're in the market now."
 
Youngho checked the price of a high quality hotel room nearby online and it was much more than 350 dollars a night. It was a global city but it was too expensive.
Since it was close to France, Youngho could hear French on the streets as most of the visitors were French. The prices were very high, so most of the backpackers could not even afford those luxury hotels.
Allegedly, many of the representatives of different nations were also staying in only three-star hotels because there were no more rooms in those luxury hotels. It seemed that having a hotel here would be a good moneymaker.
 

***

 
The reason that Youngho and Jongil were assigned to Geneva was to catch the moment of Armenian military officials' arms deal. They were told to meet Philip who had been staying there ahead of them to work with him but he was still busy as if he was chasing some at the moment. They only got a call from him and he did not contact them yet.
The Conference on Disarmament was meeting to discuss decreasing the number of conventional weapons spread all around the world. The conference had made visible results in the past such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Because it was a conference to reduce military budgets for arms of each nation, many military officials and arms providers paid close attention to the international event.
Because all of them had gathered in the same place, naturally there would be secret deals between interested parties. In fact, there had been many deals to sell and buy manufacturing techniques of cutting-edge weapons in the back alleys of Geneva. Ironically, Geneva had become a black market of arms, which was a completely opposite idea of the one behind the establishment of Disarmament Conference.
Before coming to Geneva, Youngho and Jongil were told to find out about Armenians military officials' movement at the conference at the European chapter. The CIA had obtained the information that Armenian military was trying to buy missiles from a European country. Italy and France were highly possible seller nations. Even if Eriksson had not asked, Youngho had to watch over the representatives of those nations anyway.
As Youngho wondered about how to go about his assignment, Jongil asked,
 
"You don't think that grandma is related to this, do you?"

The 'grandma' meant the Armenian-American extreme nationalist, Tracy of the Lincy Foundation.
 
"Well, I'm not sure. However, as far as I know, she can't be at work in the front even if she might be paying for all this. She can't possibly let down her image by showing her face here."
"Phew, it's getting old. Those nationalists, when will they finally get it?"
 
The conventional cannons or tanks were not a big threat to local war but missiles were a weapon of mass destruction that could reach other regions away from the battlefield. If the Armenian force were planning to buy missiles and attack Azerbaijan, it would be disastrous because Azerbaijan, as well, would demolish Armenia with their cutting-edge weapons and air force power.
It would not be a big deal if the two countries have a local battle but if it became expanded to the point where civilians would also get harmed, the international society would not stay still. All other nations with their own interests would be involved and the escalation would be unavoidable. Then Youngho's businesses and Serbian people would also fall into danger.
In order to stop Armenia making an unfortunate choice, the arms deal must be stopped. If they could catch the evidence of an arms deal, the rest would be taken care of by the heads of each related country politically.
 

***

 
It had been very quiet in Geneva but an incident had occurred last night.
An Italian arms provider and a diplomat were assaulted during the night. The diplomat had died on the spot and the arms provider was in a coma.
The attacker boldly shot the two sitting at a café and hid from the public's eye. It was a shocking accident that a high official of a strong nation Italy was killed in a crowded café.
On the TV news, many speculations were made.
Youngho was also getting an earful from Michael for this incident.
 
"What are you two doing over there? Have you been just touring around the city?"
"It looks like the attacker tried to stop an arms deal but it's difficult to figure out who it is since his method was very amateur."
"You don't think the Azerbaijani government is responsible for this?"
"The Azerbaijani government is not that quick-footed. How would they've been so close to the truth when our agency is only at the point of guessing?"
"Anyway, be careful and focus on French officials."
"Okay. I'll bring you good news next time."
 
Youngho gave a desirable answer to Michael to hang up quickly.
 
Because the inspection was now tighter, Youngho and Jongil hid their pistols inside the leather shoes, which was very uncomfortable.
On the streets, random questioning and inspections were made. Jongil rubbed his ankle and complained.
 
"I'm going to have bruises on my ankles. Can't we just carry flip knives? I don't see many skillful men who could be of a match to us."
"Dude, you need to carry them all just in case. I think Philip is up to something since he hadn't been calling us."
 
At that moment, Philip contacted Youngho.
 
"Lee, where are you now?"
"I'm taking a walk around the Lake Geneva. "
"That's great. Could you come to where I am? I'm at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix near Place Bourg du Four. The Armenians that I've been following had just entered the hotel where the French representatives are staying."
 
Philip had been staking out at the hotel where the French officials were staying. Apart from the truth of their arms deal, now the US would be able to pressure France with the fact that the Armenian military officials had entered where French officials were staying.
They had found the evidence of the two national representatives had met but they had no idea what their contents of negotiation were.
The arms providing nations had agreed on not providing mass destruction weapons to Armenia. If France was to break that rule, Armenia must have suggested a shocking price for the arms.
Youngho could not sit and wait for Armenia to obtain dangerous arms even if the CIA had not commanded him, because it would definitely affect the little kingdom that he had built. He wanted to imprint the idea to the officials and arms providers of all nations that if anyone contacted Armenian military officials, they would suffer great damage. Reading Youngho's face, Jongil also nodded.
The two had attained special power that others did not have and Youngho had a sense of duty that he should stop potential danger with the power.
He did not think deep but he was ready to break the arms deal on the spot. It was to prevent countless people's sacrifice and suffering. It was achievable with a few people's sacrifices today.
Youngho thanked the attacker who shot the Italian official and arms provider in his mind since whatever that would happen at the Hotel de la Paix, the attacker would be considered to be accountable for that. The countless CC-TVs on the streets were already tracking him.

Empire of the Ring is a Korean modern fantasy epic adventure novel that sets in the nations of the Caucasus mountain range which separates Europe and Asia. The nations of Caucasus are regions of many conflicts over territories, ethnicities, and religions. The story begins as Lee Youngho, a warm-hearted Korean merchandiser, takes a business trip to a disputed territory of the Caucasus nations to sell Korean unmanned security systems only to get misconstrued as a spy and caught by Armenian militia. Youngho eventually gets involved with the militia and CIA to help out people of the regions from conflicts and works toward a birth of a new empire in Caucasus.

This is an ongoing novel from Korea with more than 750 chapters as of today. The pace can feel a little bit slow in the beginning but as the story unfolds, you will be drawn into the world of Caucasus. If you are a modern fantasy/adventure lover, you will enjoy learning about different regions and cultures in Eurasia and Eastern Europe as Youngho travels around the places. Happy reading! 

*Disclaimer: The following contains depictions of religion and ethnic disputes. We do not support the author's views, we are only translating and editing the novel. This fictional novel is inspired by real-world people, places, and events — the author has taken these people, places, and events and embellished them as characters with conversations and backgrounds as done in fiction.

"BYE, Tay. Pupunta na po ako sa UP."
Hinalikan ni Jemaikha ang amang si Elpidio sa noo. Nakataray ito dahil sa liver cancer na natuklasan nila noong taon. "Enrollment na ba ninyo? Pasensiya ka na kung wala akong maiaabot sa iyo," anitong hirap magsalita. 
"Okay na po iyon. Basta po magpagaling kayo."
Sa isang linggo pa ang enrollment niya pero kailangan niyang magtanong-tanong sa mga professor at kakilala kung may maiaalok na trabaho sa kanya ang mga ito. Wala pa rin kasing sagot sa pinost niya sa bulletin board.
"Ikaw na ang nagtatrabaho para sa atin," malungkot na sabi nito. 
"Tatay, huwag po kayong magi-guilty. Alam ko naman na kung gugustuhin ninyo, kayo ang magtaguyod sa amin. Magagawa po ninyo ulit iyan paggaling ninyo. Hindi naman ako tumigil sa pag-aral, di po ba? Scholar pa rin ako. Honor pa si Robin."
She was running out of options. Gusto niyang makapagtrabaho bilang freelance translator kung saan di niya kailangang pumasok sa opisina. Niyayaya na siya ng mga kaklase na maging online translator pero tinanggihan niya dahil priority niya ang pag-aaral. Nakita kasi niya kung paanong di nakakapasok ang iba sa mga ito klase dahil mas priority na ang pagtatrabaho. At ilan sa mga ito ang titigil na sa pag-aaral. Ang matataas na grades niya ang nagpapasaya sa ama niya kaya ayaw niyang sukuan ang pag-aaral. 
"O! Magdadrama po ba kayo na mag-ama? Ang aga namang telenovela. Umalis ka na at baka ma-traffic ka pa," pagtataboy ng tiyahin ni Paloma sa kanya. 
Maayos ang buhay nila dati hanggang magkasakit ang ama niya. Ngayon ay tiyahin na nila ang katuwang. Mula sa probinsiya ay lumuwas ito para tumulong sa pag-aalaga sa tatay niya at sa kanilang magkapatid. May bukid na pinauupahan ang tiyahin niya sa probinsiya at iyon ang pantustos sa pagpapagamot sa tatay niya.
"Kayo na po ang bahala sa Tatay. Tulungan mo si Tiya dito," bilin niya sa kapatid na naglilinis ng sahig. "Baka mamaya kasama ka sa mga tambay diyan sa kanto na ang ginawa lang maghapon ay mag-abang ng magagandang babae."
"Oo, Ate. Magbabait ako. Ikaw ang magbabait. Baka bigla kang mag-boyfriend," panunukso ng kapatid sa kanya.
Pinanlakihan niya ito ng mata at inambaan ng suntok bago lumabas ng bahay. Wala na ngang makain, magbo-boyfriend pa. She didn't have the luxury to date. Mahalaga sa kanya ang pag-aaral niya. She loved UP. Bata pa lang siya ay doon na niya pangarap mag-aral. At excited na siyang bumalik sa eskwelahan. 
May kasama ring pag-aalinlangan dahil kailangan niya ng trabaho. Nagpatulong na siya sa mga kakilala at nag-ask ng recommendation sa agency ng professor niya.
Dasal lang. Magkakaroon din iyan. Samahan lang ng dasal. 
Pagbaba sa jeep sa overpass sa Philcoa ay naglakad siya papunta sa terminal ng jeep papasok ng UP. Natigilan siya nang makita ang isang matangkad na lalaki na pinagkakaguluhan ng mga batang kalye. Pawang nakalahad ang kamay ng mga ito sa lalaki. Madudungis ang mga ito, nakayapak ang iba at parang ilang araw nang hindi naliligo. 
"Son Gokou, give me money!" sabi ng isang bata at naggayahan na na ang iba. 
"Me! Me! I want money," anang isa pa.
Hindi sana papansinin ni Jemaikha ang mga ito dahil normal naman nang pagkulumpunan ng mga batang kalye ang mga nagbibigay ng limos sa mga ito. Kapag nagbigay sa isang batang kalye, maggagayahan din ang iba. Hanggang mapagmasdan niyang mabuti kung sino ang pinagkakaguluhan ng mga batang kalye - si Hiro. 
Tatlong araw na ang nagdaan mula nang makulong sila sa elevator. Akala niya ay hindi na sila magkikita ulit. Anong ginagawa nito sa Philcoa? Mag-isa lang ba ito? Nasaan ang bruhang girlfriend nito?
"Food only. Okay?" anang lalaki at inabutan ng cupcake ang mga ito. May feeding program ba ang lalaki?
Napansin ni Jemaikha na may mga batang dismayado sa natanggap na pagkain. "Money! I want money," sabi ng isa at inabot ang bag ni Hiro. 
"Hoy! Hoy! Hoy!" sabi ng lalaki at pumihit nang maramdaman na may kumukuha ng bag nito. Hindi marahil nito alam kung paano sasawayin ang mga bata. 
"Hoy, bata!" bulyaw ni Jemaikha at lumapit sa mga ito. "Anong ginagawa ninyo? Binigyan na kayo ng pagkain, kailangan pang pati pera? Di man lang kayo mag-thank you?" 
"Pero marami naman siyang pera. Bigyan na lang niya kami," sabi ng pinakamalaki sa mga bata na sa tantiya niya ay nasa dose na. 
"Huwag na kayong manghingi at mapasasalamat kayo! Gusto ba ninyo huwag na kayong makaulit na bigyan?" tanong niya at pinanlakihan ng mata ang mga ito. Umiling ang mga ito. "Sabihin ninyo, "arigatou gozaimasu"." At yumuko.
"Arigatou," sabay-sabay na sabi ng mga bata at nagsiyuko rin gaya niya. 
Ngumiti si Hiro. "Douitashimashite," sabi naman ng lalaki at ginulo pa ang buhok ng ibang bata. 
Bumanat pa ang pinakamalaki sa mga ito. "Maraming salamat, Kuya. Ang sungit ng girlfriend mo." At biglang nagtatakbo palayo. Nagtawanan ang ibang bata at nagsunuran sa tumatayong leader ng mga ito.
"At ang mga lokong ito. Halika nga dito. Bumalik ka!" bulyaw niya at inambaan ito ng suntok.
"Omoishiroi desu (You are funny)," sabi ni Hiro na lalong gumuwapo habang tumatawa. 
Nakakatawa daw siya. Siya na nga ang nasabihan ng masungit dahil sa pagtatanggol dito, ginawa pa siyang katatawanan. Uminit tuloy ang ulo ni Jemaikha. Hindi man lang nito naisip kung gaano kadelikado ang wallet nito kanina. Nagagawa pa nitong tumawa.

A collaboration of Sofia and Sonia Francesca.


Stallion Riding Club is an exclusive club for the rich, successful, gorgeous, and famous men in the Philippines. Nestled in Tagaytay, women dream of entering their secret paradise and capture their heart.


Sofia's stories will be featured on this post. Each story will be posted per volume. Sonia Francesca's books will be preview only or teaser only.

Video preview of Stallion Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOASTI9xb-A

***Photo credits to the owner of the photo


To get a printed books with pre-order option and autograph: https://www.facebook.com/Myprecioustresures
Shopee (with free delivery and COD option in Philippines): www.shopee.ph/sofiaphr

To get complete ebook: www.preciouspagesebookstore.com.ph
Keep in touch via Facebook: Sofia PHR Page




Here's the official list of Stallion Boys:

1. Juan "Jubei" Bernardo IV
2. Eneru Villasis
3. Gregory Alfred "Gino" Santayana
4. Suichiro "Hiro" Hinata
5. Reigan Baltazar
6. Neiji Villaraza
7. Yue Anthony "Yuan" Zheng
8. Gabryel Hinasan
9. Brandon James "Brad" Alonzo Crawford
10. Rodjan Sta Maria
11. Kaiser Montezor
12. Yozack Florencio
13. Renzell "Zell" Zapanta
14. Emrei Rafiq
15. Romanov Querido
16. Jason Erwin "Jed" Dean
17. Crawford Oreña
18. Kester Mondragon
19. Phillipe Jacobs "PJ"
20. Eiraun Jimuel "Eiji" Romero
21. Rolf Guzman
22. Beiron Rafiq
23. Reichen Alleje
24-25. Reid Alleje
26. Peter Paul "Pipo" De Vera
27. Cedric Johannson "Johann" Cristobal
28. Daniel "Daboi" Bustamante
29. Angelo Exel Formosa
30. Gianpaolo Aragon
31. Thyago Palacios
32. Icen Villazanta
33. Hayden Anthony Illano
34. Rozen Aldeguer
35. Joziah Gatchalian
36. Cloudio "Cloud" Montañez
37. Eizhiro Figuerao
38. Zantino Roberto "Zairo" Montevedra III
39. Hans Cervantes
40. Baxter Saavedra
41. Mark Ashley Camello
42. Danilo Ricardo "Danrick" Tezzoro
43. Richard Don Robles
44. Ricos Caderao
45. Lee Shin Yang
46-47. Myco Gosiaco
48. Reiven Alleje
49. Ian Jack Salmentar
50-51. Trigger Samaniego
52-53. Jigger Samaniego

Somewhere in Prosperous Fountain Hotel was a huge Roman column. An old porter with white gloves and a greasy middle-aged man with a condom in his pocket welcomed guests. Everything about the place just highlighted one thing: I'm expensive!
The Average wage earner could not afford to stay in Prosperous Fountain Hotel, but doctors who frequently came and went were already used to hotels of this standard.
"It's well-organized." The surgeon from the south praised him as he registered for his nametag at the reception.
The resident doctor sitting at the other end of the sign-in desk smiled, using the words that Huo Congjun had him rehearse eight hundred times. "Our Yun Hua Hospital Emergency Medical Center is holding such an event ourselves for the first time, if there is anything unsatisfactory, please do let us know. "
The surgeon on the opposite side did indeed understand what he was trying to say. "Oh, so you guys organized it yourself? Why not let a pharmaceutical sales company do it?"
The resident doctor answered with a smile, "Our Department Director Huo wants it to be simple."
"So stupid?"
The resident doctor smiled even more and bowed slightly. "Please take your identity card and confidently check in at the hotel front desk ..."
The participating surgeon smiled, waved his hand, and left.
The resident doctor let out a sigh. In the operating theater, he had to be bullied by senior doctors, and when he came out to be a receptionist for an event, he had to also be bullied by senior doctors...
"Teacher Li, if you are tired, take a break. We will take care of the remaining registered guests." An intern buttered up the resident doctor.
Resident Doctor Li acknowledged what he said with a hum and obviously could not say that this was what he was used to. He just smiled and said, "Then I'll take some rest for a while. I've also been operating for a full day since yesterday."
"Okay, Teacher Li, take a break. If there's anything, we'll call you," the intern responded sweetly.
Resident Doctor Li rubbed his waist contentedly and went to the office in the back to play with his phone.
The remaining three interns continued to busy themselves with check-ins, arrange materials, and were proficient and efficient. As one performed these miscellaneous tasks for a long time, one would gain experience. If one was even a little smarter, one could improve his efficiency and become a proud and capable general admin.
Huo Congjun inspected the territory as he patrolled Prosperous Fountain Hotel.
He was taking small steps slowly, like an experienced old wolf.
Next to him was Chief Physician Tao, who was about to retire.
Chief Physician Tao put an arm on Huo Congjun's shoulder, and said solemnly, "We still spent a bit of money even if someone is funding it. If no one is funding it, would we really spend half of our funds on this?"
"Isn't it good if someone funded us? This shows that our Yun Hua Emergency Medical Center has a good reputation, and the name of our medical center is also gaining traction." Huo Congjun looked a little smug. After hearing that Wang Chuanwen had decided to subsidize their event, Huo Congjun found that it was neither good for him to reject it, and nor was he willing to sponsor the money required for the event, so he kept tirelessly making several phone calls. He unexpectedly received more funding so that not only did the Emergency Medical Center not have to spend a single cent, but the seminar would be classier.
This kind of funding from non-medical companies was more complicated for hospitals, but the increase in effect and fame would be compounded.
Old Huo was not afraid of trouble, he was just afraid that not enough ears would hear about this seminar, and he was taking advantage of a pharmaceutical sales company, which forced him to be nicer to them.
Of course, he did not think much about the latter. The shameless Emergency Department director found it easy to just take up all the pharmaceutical sales companies' fundings. However, fame was really something that he had to work on, bit by bit. 
At that moment, what Huo Congjun cared about the most was to have his center obtain a proper title for itself. 
The Yun Hua Hospital Emergency Medical Center was the only emergency center in Changxi Province. When this brand was hung up, it would have many benefits, but one could not just wait for the benefits to come. One would need to work for it.
For example, the power to manage the ambulances from the emergency command center was something that an emergency center cared about greatly. In some cities in China, the management of the emergency command center belonged to a special department under the Health Bureau, while in some cities, it can be managed by a tertiary Grade A hospital. Sometimes, in certain cities, the emergency command center was only responsible for sending the patients, and they would just hand off the responsibility of arguing with other parties to other departments. 
As for whether local hospitals wanted to select patients, receive more patients, or reject more patients, that was something they would have better control over if they had the authority to control the emergency command center. 
Huo Congjun naturally wanted to be the father of all Emergency Departments in the province. If possible, it would not matter if he led the Emergency Departments in multiple provinces. It was difficult to be a dad for a newborn baby, but if he had a few adults as his sons (read: underlings), would he not be able to take care of them (read: command them as he wanted)?
He could act like he was right now, and he felt even better about the seminar right now because he had private funding.
"So, you have to perform top-level surgeries before you can gobble up all the people at the top of the pyramid." Huo Congjun recalled his experience over the past few days and could not help laughing. "I don't think you've seen it before, but there are those who have to pay their connections when they ask them for a favor."
As Huo Congjun spoke, he burst out laughing, and his voice sent tremors across the lobby of Prosperous Fountain Hotel. 
Several doctors who just entered the door heard the sound and turned around automatically to sit on the couch in the lobby silently as they waited for the sound to pass. 
However, not everyone was afraid of Huo Congjun.
A hearty laughter came from the door. "The first person I see as I enter is Department Director Huo. When Department Director Huo is happy, I'm happy as well."
"Hospital Director Bo, you're here." Huo Congjun stopped laughing. 
Chief Physician Tao, who had his hand on Huo Congjun's shoulders, clearly felt that the muscles on Huo Congjun's shoulders had stiffened.
"I'm an uninvited guest." Hospital Director Bo came forward with a chuckle. He was a tall and handsome middle-aged man.
"There's no such thing as an uninvited guest. All guests are welcomed." Huo Congjun's tone was somewhat idnigant. 
When Hospital Director Bo handed over his business card, Chief Physician Tao immediately knew why. The man was from Junan Clinic.
Junan Clinic was a well-known private clinic in the industry. Unlike ordinary private hospitals, Junan Clinic was actually more like a medical intermediary agency, but its ability to connect with multiple hospitals in many countries to fight for world-class treatment for their patients was already unusual. 
On the other hand, compared to purely medical intermediaries, Junan Clinic had medical qualifications and the qualifications and ability to perform major surgeries. Therefore, it can also invite foreign senior doctors to fly to China. In fact, many of the foreign freelance surgeons invited by many hospitals only managed to contact those surgeons because of Junan Clinic. Through this relationship, Junan would contact the domestic freelance surgeons again and again, and made money by the hourly fees of the surgeons using their wards and operating theaters...
It could be said that it was a medical institution that turned a medical business into an intermediary business and a real estate business.
For such private clinics, the impact was relatively large for old-school public hospitals personnel, regardless of whether it was a substantial impact or a conceptual impact.
 Chief Physician Tao could not help but glance at Huo Congjun.
Old Huo was from a military hospital, and his thought processes were even more conservative...
"Hospital Director Bo is the person in charge of Junan Clinic?" Chief Physician Tao probed for an answer. 
Huo Congjun acknowledged and said, "We have studied together."
"Hospital Director Bo looks really young." Chief Physician Tao praised the guest politely.
Hospital Director Bo nodded with a smile, "I'm a few months older than Department Director Huo. I think I look young because I have too much free time in my hands."
Huo Congjun's face instantly became dark, and he asked succinctly, "You didn't just come here for a reunion, right?"
"Well, I took a fancy for your Doctor Ling," Hospital Director Bo said calmly.
Huo Congjun's facial expression changed immediately.
"I have an operation and would like to invite Doctor Ling to perform it." The next sentence from Hospital Director Bo made Huo Congjun relax once more. 
When he heard that he was only inviting Ling Ran for a surgery, Huo Congjun's expression immediately relaxed, and he said affirmatively, "No! I don't care about how the dogs at the Health Bureau thinks by allowing Junan to operate the way it does, but Ling Ran will not perform your operation."
"You really won't let him?"
"He's not doing it!"
"If he doesn't do it, I'll go to the General Surgery Department of the provincial hospital. To be frank, how many cases of combined liver and stomach radical operation can be performed in a province? If both of you rushed to do it, you can't even train your surgery team." Hospital Director Bo smiled. He was an expert in this sort of situation. 
Huo Congjun showed a fierce look.
Hospital Director Bo was not afraid.
Huo Congjun smiled suddenly, but his gaze was still fierce, but he showed his white, shiny teeth, and said, "I want to see who dares to do it."
Hospital Director Bo also laughed, "Combined stomach and liver radical surgery is very difficult, but as long as we give people a chance, they will be able to master it after practicing it a few times."
Huo Congjun, "If he can live past his second morbidity and mortality meeting, I will write my surname backwards."
Hospital Director Bo was tongue-tied, and he could not help but lower his head, 'Where's my walkthrough for such a situation?'


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

The stars were shining brightly, and the rivers of light lit up the pitch-black universe. Every twinkling star was immeasurably far away, and every star represented a race, a civilization, a dream. It was like a landing plane flying past a brightly lit city, forming both a majestic and lively sight.
Looking through the spaceship's window, the contours on Planet Golden Gate gradually became finer and clearer. Spaceships of all different shapes and sizes could be seen taking off and landing on this Godoran colony. It was as though the prosperity of the planet could be spread out in the sky, and those looking from afar could also feel this sense of prosperity.
This was a type of middle-sized, long-distance spaceship. It was a commonly seen model with its exterior made from a grayish allow. Its hyperdrive engine was also a common one, and it had an inferior grade electromagnetic shield. The official selling price of the spaceship was around 750,000 to 900,000 Enas, and a second-hand spaceship would be about thirty percent cheaper. If one had good ties with the factory that manufactured the spaceship, it could even be purchased for 170,000 Enas. On the spaceship, there was a bright yellow royal crown decal, and this was a spaceship for rent belonging to the Royal Crown Galactic Travel Agency.
This Travel Agency had just signed a long-term loan contract for thirteen spaceships with the Black Star Mercenary Group a month ago. The rental fee was far lower than the selling price of the spaceship, but it still was not cheap.
At that moment, this spaceship, which temporarily belonged to the Black Star Mercenary Group, had a few dozen mercenaries on it and was flying toward Planet Golden Gate. They were the mercenaries who had recently been hired by the Black Star Mercenary Group a few months prior.
During his one year of preparation, after Han Xiao completed the construction of his assembly lines, he had made use of his fame to hire a few hundred freelance mercenaries to build up the strength of his mercenary group and increase the NPC resources of his mercenary group. The new members were then restructured into different teams to make it easier to command them.
Herlous and the others alone would not be enough to deal with the Mutation Disaster. Presently, Han Xiao no longer needed to restrict the size of his mercenary group, so the more the merrier. The Great Mechanic Han would never be stingy in investing in his mercenary group. With a large stack of bills in his pocket, Han Xiao would not feel good if he did not spend any money.
"Black Star suddenly gathered all of us. Are we going on a large mission?"
"We are Floating Dragon's force in name. Could it be that the Dragon Emperor has an order for us?"
"I tried asking around, and nobody knows what Black Star wants. Even the officers aren't sure."
"All the others have arrived already, and we are the latest. I hope we didn't delay anything."
As the mercenaries were chatting, the spaceship landed at the port nearest to the base. Stepping out of the spaceship, dozens of mercenaries disembarked, and not too long later, they stopped in front of a gigantic base. The base was built on an octagonal plot of land and was surrounded by automatic cannon towers made from alloy walls.
The style of the base was like a gigantic metal castle with its shiny black exterior reflecting the sun's rays. Numerous metal buildings were joint together with ten or so cone shaped rooftops pointing toward the sky, looking like they were fries in a box. The buildings were all angular, and they had the precision of a machine. Apart from the grayish metal color, white and red paint could be seen extending out along the edges of the buildings to add some color to the otherwise heavy base. Together with the blue indication lights that were scattered all over the base, the entire base had a high-tech feeling to anyone who walked in.
This was the result of one year of hard work. Black Star's first base!
All the mercenaries came in front of the door, and a complicated identification panel popped out on the interface. After they were all verified that they belonged to the Black Star Mercenary Group, the door of the base began to slowly open, and a voice sounded from the interface.
"Identification complete, hum… Welcome back, hum…"
"Phillip, how's your day?" a mercenary joked with the interface.
"Currently working, hum… Cannot chat casually, hum…"
All of them then walked into the base. The interior of the base was not complicated. The center of the base was a large empty space with bridges leading toward the different regions of the base. It was like a beehive, and this middle region was called the 'mouthpiece' by the mercenaries.
The base was truly too large. Even a million people would not be able to fill it up completely, and the mercenary group only had a few hundred people at the moment. Thus, the interior of the base was extremely spacious.
These mercenaries walked toward the main hall while chatting, their voices echoing in the large hall.
When they entered the main hall of the base, they saw that a few hundred people were already waiting there. They were all waiting silently with the atmosphere solemn. These merrily chatting mercenaries immediately stopped their laughter and chatter and gathered behind the other mercenaries.
The few hundred people in the main hall were the present members of the mercenary group. They were clad in different kinds of armor and had either melee or ranged weapons on their backs. They were tall, short, fat, skinny, human, and beast; however, they all had something in common. They were all emanating the sharpness of an elite warrior, and every single one of them had survived hundreds of battles.
In front of the crowd, Black Star's officers were standing in a row with their backs facing the crowd. Herlous was clad in a light blue armor, Aroshia was glowing all over, the three Volga brothers looked as though they had been made from the same mold, and three other new officers who joined a few months ago. As for Feidin and Sylvia, they were standing further away.
At that moment, the metal ground that was in front of the crowd opened up, and a human figure rose up on an elevator. His black overcoat fluttered in the wind, and he had a necklace made from compressed orbs. Furthermore, he was still wearing a pure black mask that covered his face.
It was Han Xiao.
After a year, Han Xiao had changed his outfit into something more striking, and he had mimicked the Germinal Organization leader in wearing a mask. He felt that he was more handsome this way.
I am someone who owns his own property after all, and my coolness factor should go up a little at least. Furthermore, this black mask is actually equipment.
The moment that he appeared, everyone's gaze was immediately fixed on him.
"Is everyone here?"
Han Xiao's gaze swept over everyone present. He had hired these mercenaries personally, and Floating Dragon's reputation was truly useful. The majority of those present were lone wolves with pretty impressive combat prowess. They were all extremely reliable. All of the mercenaries before him could be split into three different categories. The first category would be mercenaries who did not belong to any mercenary group before this. The second category would be those who belonged to the Sunil Division. The third category would be a 'War League', which one of the new officers had brought with him.
After the base was constructed, Han Xiao did not stay in the base but took the time to visit other planets and hired three new officers based on his memories. These were characters who had been famous in his previous life.
Sehrinde, a Sunil Grade B Pugilist. He was dressed in a white hood. While the material of the hood seemed soft, it had a defensive inscription inscribed in it. His face was hidden under the shadow of the hood, and two large blades could be seen hanging on his waist. He would be able to unsheathe those blades at any time, and when Han Xiao first met him, Han Xiao had almost thought that he had come out from a certain popular assassination game.
He was another Grade B Super who belonged to the Guardian Faction of the Sunil civilization. When Fernas left Sunil, Sehrinde did not leave together. Sehrinde had a quiet personality, and his personality was just like his swift and queer Pugilist subclass. He was like an assassin hidden in the darkness and a sharp contrast to Herlous' open Pugilist style.
With Herlous making the introduction, Han Xiao had managed to find the lonesome Sehrinde and issued an invitation to him. As the reputation of the Black Star Mercenary Group grew, more and more Sunil Supers became willing to join Black Star. It was safe, and they could earn a lot of money. It could also be said that Han Xiao was offering them protection. Under Herlous' persuasion, Sehrinde had accepted Han Xiao's invitation and begun working together with him.
Presently, the Sunil Division was led by Herlous and Sehrinde.
The second new officer was Ginette Colin, a female space human. She was a Grade B Cannon Master and carried various kinds of heavy firearms all over her body. The thick layer of machinery covered her tall, sexy figure. It was her creed to worship firepower over anything else.
Ginette was a pretty famous lone wolf mercenary. In Han Xiao's previous life, she had joined Sky Ring Army and become a famous leading figure of the army. Han Xiao had spotted her name when he was going through the list of freelance mercenaries and thus decided to pull Ginette into his mercenary group while she was still alone.
The process naturally had not been an easy one. Ginette had an explosive temper and cursed at both the heavens and the earth. She did not even place Floating Dragon in her sights. Han Xiao had thus come up with a small plan and purposely intervened in one of Ginette's missions. With the both of them on opposing sides, they had naturally ended up fighting. After Han Xiao beat her terribly a couple of times, Ginette had finally submitted and joined the Black Star Mercenary Group.
Han Xiao had promised to provide her with heavy firearms at a low price. With Ginette's hobby of collecting all different kinds of weapons, she had immediately accepted his proposal.
The third officer had an even greater origin. He was a main character class figure. Han Xiao had spent a great deal of effort before finally being able to con him into joining. Just like how he had conned Herlous back then.
Harmon Rockfall Sonodin. He was a Luhan Beastman and was more than three meters tall. His entire body was covered in hair, and he looked a little like a bear. His appearance was still pretty adorable, but he actually belonged to a clan of ferocious fighters. The Luhan Beastmen had their own civilization, and it was located in a different Star Cluster. Their governance method was an alliance system between all the different tribes. Harmon was one of the candidates for the next tribal chief of the Rockfall Tribe.
While the Luhan Beastman was a galactic civilization, they preserved their battle loving, boorish, and warlike tradition. When the tribe wanted to decide the next chief, they would not vote for the new chief peacefully but settle it with a battle. All the candidates would be chased out from their mother planet and sent to random planets. They would have to train themselves up in the galaxy and also build up their own 'War League'. When the designated time arrived, they would then take all of their troops back to their mother planet to participate in the battle to determine the chief. In other words, it was similar to the fight between princes for authority.
Harmon was a main character, and his storyline was to aid him in snatching the position of tribal chief. When he was conning Harmon, Han Xiao had activated this mission. This mission was simple and violent. He had to fight from the start to the end. After the players completed this mission in his previous life, the process had become a dungeon, and they would be able to gain a Dungeon Crystal from doing daily missions at the Rockfall Tribe. Thus, Han Xiao could remember the mission clearly.
The way to hire Harmon was naturally to agree to an ancient ceremony and become part of his War League. Harmon was not alone, and he brought the subordinates in his War League, dozens of powerful Luhan Beastman, to join the mercenary group.
Harmon had the strength of a Grade B Super, and his Esper ability was very simply to strengthen his body and cause the muscles on his entire body to expand.
While his Esper ability was extremely singular, Harmon was proficient in many different weapons and was a warrior with exquisite battle techniques. Han Xiao had taken a look at Harmon's attributes before, and Harmon had six rare subclass that belonged to the [Warrior] class.
The addition of the three new officers provided the mercenary group with fresh blood. Han Xiao had more and more capable subordinates under him, and the rewards that his faction could give out had also increased greatly.
Currently, the highest mission reward that Han Xiao could give out was 1,000,000 experience, and his Daily Reward Limit was over twenty times that. This meant that if he issued a faction mission, he could give out more than 20,000,000 experience to the players. Hiring NPC characters was all to better attract players.
Opening up his communicator, Han Xiao looked at his mercenary group's introduction.
_____________________
Black Star Mercenary Group
Credibility Rating: 1,018 (High)
Scale: 417 members
Grade D: 47
Grade C: 359 members
Grade B: 11
Missions Completed: 82
Main Activity Area: Colton Star Cluster
History:
[Sunil Defense Battle]
[Silver Rescue Operation]
[Capture of Purple Gem Civilization's Head Of Rebels "Pilipelapa Wasasa"]
[Battle of Noriosse]
[78 more missions… (Expand/Collapse)]
Creator: Black Star—Han Xiao
Creation date: Galaxy Calendar Year 688, 02 October
Summary: A medium sized mercenary group with a good name and very high credibility. Completed hiring missions with high ratings multiple times. Work together with many large-scale mercenary groups. Field Team under the Dragon Emperor. Base is located on Planet Golden Gate. Mercenary captain Black Star aided Godora in killing a Calamity Grade Super in Noriosse. Reliable.
_____________________
Today is the day of Version 2.0's release. I have waited almost a year for this day. My manpower should be sufficient.
Han Xiao nodded in his head.
Over the past year, Han Xiao had done many things and made ample preparations. He had constructed a total of twenty-three assembly lines, and his 4,500,000 Enas had almost all been spent, with only about 1,100,000 Enas remaining. The majority of his money had been spent on materials, and his assembly line had been churning out equipment without stopping. His warehouse already had a mountain of equipment at the moment.
The loan had already exceeded the first interest free year. According to Rockfess' requirement, he would have to start paying interest if his loan period was more than a year. Han Xiao was waiting to earn a huge sum of money from the players.
His experience on the interface had already fallen below 100,000,000 points, and Han Xiao was still level 116. He had spent all of his experience on gambling for blueprints and raising the level of his skills. He was currently in dire need of experience points. He still had a Mission Completion Card in his hands, and if he had sufficient experience points, he could even advance directly and charge to level 140. It would be a lie to say that he did not look forward to that.
Keeping his thoughts to himself, Han Xiao looked at the mercenaries present and said, "I have gathered everyone today for a large-scale mission. My home planet is undergoing a calamity, and their sights are only limited to that of their planet. They aren't able to see what we can see, and we are their only hope."
The mercenaries all began looking at each other.
Black Star's home planet?
That backward planet called Planet Aquamarine?
"I will fight for you just like you will fight for me." Harmon hammered his chest with his fist.
"I will be by your side just like before," Herlous proclaimed.
All the mercenaries in the hall also began to express their support.
Looking at the time, it was about right.
Han Xiao opened the interface and waited quietly.
After a short wait, a new notification appeared.
_____________________
Version 2.0 is now open.
Fetching data… Fetching data done!
Player Forum Open
Welcome to 'Galaxy' Version 2.0!
_____________________
After preparing for such a long time, Version 2.0 is finally here!
Han Xiao's eyes glowed as he walked toward the door.
A few hundred elites followed behind him majestically.
"Let's go!"


What do you do when you wake up and find yourself inside the very game that you love? 
What do you do when you realize you that you have not only become an NPC - you have even been thrown back in time to before the game even launched! 
What will happen when our protagonist's two realities coincide? 
Han Xiao was a professional power leveler before his transmigration. Using his past life's knowledge, Han Xiao sweeps through the universe as he prepares for the arrival of the players. This is definitely not your typical transmigration novel.

It was easy to buy a computer. Furthermore, Kimura Kazuki did not buy a used computer when he was at Akihabara. Instead, he bought a brand new laptop with amazing performance.
He disregarded Furuhashi Sakurakyu's request to take a stroll around Akihabara and also ignored her request for him to buy a desktop with top performance.
2080TI, 9900K… he did not understand any of those. Whenever she saw a new product, she would ask for it. She had never considered that he was living in such a cramped room. How would he have any extra money to buy unnecessary worldly possessions?
Furthermore, if he did buy a desktop computer, he would also need an internet cable to connect the computer to the internet. It would take a few more days to complete the process. A laptop would be less troublesome, and Wi-Fi would suffice.
Eventually, Furuhashi Sakurakyu gave up. She found out that he was an unyielding man who was also very stubborn and assertive. Besides, he was always efficient to act on something once he set his goals.
Actually, all of these characteristics were his strengths, but they also made Kimura Kazuki a boring person.
When he decided to buy a computer at Akihabara, he focused on his errand and immediately headed home after he bought a computer. She could not persuade him, but she reckoned that they should at least stroll around Akihabara. She glanced around the area, realizing that apart from advertisement billboards, there had not been many changes in Akihabara for the past ten years. It would be utterly impossible to notice any difference without looking at the details. After all, any alteration to the details could lead to changes. 
On their way home, Furuhashi Sakurakyu sulked for a brief moment. Then, she began to talk to Kimura Kazuki on random topics. She was apparently a person who could not stand boredom.
Kimura Kazuki was puzzled as this woman seemed to have gone through a tremendous change in her personality since her return from Kageyama Park. She no longer carried the elegant demeanor that she had back when she was at the Nakagawa's residence. Now, she acted similar to ordinary teenage girls, despite being in her adulthood.
However, he did not ask her about this. Nonetheless, everyone showed a different side when they were with different people. Maybe this was just her true self.
Once he was back at home, Kimura Kazuki turned on the laptop and began to surf the internet after he connected the laptop to the Wi-Fi.
The laptop's performance was rather good. In a rented room like this, this laptop would be considered as the most valuable item in the whole place. The internet speed was fast, and the hardware condition was excellent. Hence, it only took a little time for the webpages to load.
Kimura Kazuki bought the computer for two main reasons, his translation work and the spirit-resting website, which he had previously discussed with Chiba Shiori. Otherwise, he would prefer to get a used laptop from a flea market and never consider getting a new computer. 
While Kimura Kazuki was at Akihide High School yesterday, he cast the Vision Spell on Chiba Shiori. Then, Chiba Shiori mentioned about the spirit-resting website, prompting Kimura Kazuki to prepare a computer to use as a web server.
Kimura Kazuki was dedicated to set up the spirit-resting website.
This website might mark the beginning of his successful future, and Chiba Shiori was the reason why he wanted to train his subordinates. However, his plan had to be carried out carefully. If the spirit-resting website could thrive, he would probably develop a bright future. However, at this moment, his priority was to secure an online translation job.
In this era, most of the job openings were posted on the internet, and translation jobs were no exception. Of course, this situation was only applicable to written translation. Currently, Japan had plenty of translation websites. To work as a part-time translator, a person had to first register as a member. They would then be recruited as one of the team members, and their pay would be calculated by per 1000 words.
Currently, the standard pay for freelance translators would be approximately 3000 yen per 1000 words for them to translate Japanese text to English. On the other hand, they would get about 2500 yen for English to Japanese translation work. However, the prices were subjected to changes based on the translator's standards, the difficulties of the texts, and the market's demands.
For part-time translators who possessed no qualification certificate, they would be offered an even lower price.
If they intended to obtain a qualification certificate, JLPT and JTest were the two prestigious exams as they both were officially recognized. However, Kimura Kazuki was only working as a part-time translator. His chances would naturally be widened with a qualification certificate, but not having a qualification certificate would have little effect on his job. 
Among all the relevant translation websites he had searched for, he soon picked and entered one of the sites. 
This website generally worked on a project basis. First, the registered members had to print and sign on both the contract and mutual nondisclosure agreement, mailed it to the company before they could eventually accept individual projects that were posted on the website and began their translation job. Besides, the prices for each project were transparent.
While Kimura Kazuki was occupied, focusing on the computer screen, Furuhashi Sakurakyu was watching him from aside. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Are you looking for a translation job?"
"Yes."
"If that's the case…" Furuhashi Sakurakyu interrupted, "You should check out the honyaku-zumi.net."
"The honyaku-zumi.net?" Kimura Kazuki was puzzled. He had never heard of this website. Then, he quickly realized that Furuhashi Sakurakyu had been hibernating for a decade. The translation agency that was probably famous 10 years ago might have already shut down.
"Just go on honyaku-zumi.net and have a look," At that moment, Furuhashi Sakurakyu finally realized that her knowledge about the website was 10 years old. However, she remembered that the owner of Honyaku-zumi & Co. was her friend. With her friend's capability, honyaku-zumi.net Translation Agency couldn't run out of business.
This time, Kimura Kazuki did not ignore her suggestion. He searched for honyaku-zumi.net. To his surprise, the website really existed. Once he entered honyaku-zumi.net's webpage, he was welcomed by the organized layout on the front page. The sky blue interface was aesthetic and appeared soothing. The latest changes to the website were done only three days ago. It seemed like the website was still operating.
"Seemingly, the website is still running," Furuhashi Sakurakyu said proudly, "Honyaku-zumi & Co. is a small company, but their works are delicate. Hence, they are rather well-known in the industry. Of course, that was all in the past, and I'm not sure about their current reputation."
Listening to her chatter, Kimura Kazuki was browsing the website at the same time. After he completed the registration, he discovered that the site had the same essential functions as the other translation websites. It also provided jobs on a project basis. However, if he wanted to work for honyaku-zumi.net as a part-time translator, he was required to take an online recruitment test. After he submitted the test, his work would be graded.
Some of the projects listed on the website required translators with a specific grade and standard. He quickly ran through the website and noticed that the translators with higher grades were offered higher pay.
Kimura Kazuki marveled at the recruitment process of the website. Once he was registered as a member, he was required to take the recruitment test, which was actually an exam to grade the translators.
Within the stipulated time frame, he was required to complete the comprehension and listening tests. The difficulty would increase as he progressed through the tests. 
He had never encountered a recruitment test on other websites. Instead, they usually implemented the credit system. The credits of the translators would be deducted if they failed to submit their work by the due dates or presented a shoddy work. Once their credits had been completely debited, they would be blacklisted by the website. 
Comparing honyaku-zumi.net to the other translation websites, a majority of projects on usual translation websites were simple, requiring only the basic translation skills. But, the projects on honyaku-zumi.net required delicate yet excellent translation skills. Hence, Kimura Kazuki naturally preferred honyaku-zumi.net.
In his previous life, he was a man hailed from Huaxia, and his mother tongue was Chinese. After he turned into Kimura Kazuki, he became fluent in Japanese. Therefore, this website would be suitable for him.
For the coming hours, Kimura Kazuki sat still in front of his laptop, taking the recruitment test on honyaku-zumi.net. Furuhashi Sakurakyu had to borrow Kimura Kazuki's mobile phone to kill her time.
Kimura Kazuki did not reject her request. He passed her his mobile phone, in exchange for peace of mind. Nonetheless, he did not have anything private on his phone.
Later, Kimura Kazuki continued to sit facing the laptop, while Furuhashi Sakurakyu lay on the bed, playing with his phone. Neither of them was interrupting each other.
As Furuhashi Sakurakyu read about all the information in this current era from the internet, her curiosity about today's world continued to grow. However, her energy was quickly depleted as she was overwhelmed by all the new information. Soon, she began to feel sleepy.
Even though a specter did not need to sleep, but she could sleep if she wanted to. After all, sleeping would recharge her energy.
When she looked at the clock, it was already nine o'clock at night. Yet, Kimura Kazuki was still answering the recruitment test.
Furuhashi Sakurakyu rolled her eyes at him and intended to turn off the phone. However, she accidentally pressed the wrong button and entered his mailbox.
The next moment, she saw the names of Furuhashi Harunaka, Furuhashi Natsui, Furuhashi Akino, and Furuhashi Fuyuno. She quickly rose from the bed, and her sleepiness had instantly gone away.


Time travelling from the majestic era after the Recuperation of Reiki, he became Kimura Kazuki, a 16-year-old high school student in Japan, one year before the Reiki Recuperation.

Tentatively, he set out to hone himself to the bone, burning candles at both ends to stockpile resources in preparation for the imminent Recuperation of Reiki. His goal was to be many steps ahead of all humanity when the time comes.

However, it seemed like fate had decided to play a cruel trick on him.

One year later, the Recuperation of Reiki... did not happen as expected.


       Lieutenant Commander Juan Gonzalez took another set of readings of the upcoming system and then moved back to the mid-section of the Kerkes, the small GIA ship that was basically a converted light cargo ship.  It only took a minute to make his way to the center compartment that served as the ship's mess, sick bay and conference room.  With the ship on autopilot, he was able to gather his entire team at the one table in the center.  Around the table clockwise from Juan was Simon Moore, a former specialist with the GIA who worked freelance for any intelligence agency that would hire him.  His specialties were weapons and Alien tactics.  Next was Dr. Frank Jensen, an advisor to military intelligence and an expert on alien cultures.  After him was Private Laura Beels, a medic fresh out of boot camp and still very wet behind the ears.  A little too young for Juan's taste, but a medic was required on all deep space missions, and he didn't have a seasoned one at the ready.  With their limited timetable he had to go with someone who could be quickly vetted and cleared.  Her youth and having never been off-world made Private Beel ideal.  Last was Lieutenant Julie Bass, their pilot, who had flown with Juan since flight school.  Her small stature and girl-next-door looks fooled most as she was one of the sharpest pilots Juan had ever flown with and as skilled at hand to hand combat as any man.
Juan dimmed the lights and switched on the holographic chart, which sparked, flickered and burned out.  He turned the lights back up and put his coffee cup back down on the table.  "I thought this tub was only supposed to look like a piece of crap?"
Simon Moore cocked his head and shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't an unexpected result of company equipment and quipped, "When they go for realism they spare no expense."
Juan pulled out a tube and from it pulled out a roll of plastic nearly as large as the table and rolled it out.   With a couple of taps on it, a three-dimensional image appeared of a star chart and a positioning grid showing coordinates.  "Okay," he started. "This is a level three surveillance and reconnaissance op.  We will be following the trade routes through the Virgo nebula strings.  We'll stop off at Phelis Prime, the Groic Moon's III and IV and Debrose triad station.  Our cover story is that we are selling Terran spices and buying seed and samplings for agriculture expansion for a Terran colonist project.  This will give us plausibility to inquire from those we encounter if there are any reasons we should not venture into the Sa'larie Zones."
Simon nodded, "It's always the traders and merchants that know what's happening in the universe, long before the politicians.  Good call Skipper."
"Thank you, Mr. Moore, and its Gonzales or Commander, not Skipper, Understood?"
"Sure, no problem Boss."
Juan's eyes darted over at Julie.  She could tell he was frustrated by the lack of protocol found amongst civilians.  She gave him a look that indicated that he knew what he was getting into.  He took a breath and moved on.
"We will continue in as deep as we can until we have the info we need, then we will report back."
Frank leaned back on the metal stool that was an extension of the table and shook his head.  "With all due respect Sir, this is a fool's errand.  Command has more than enough evidence to know the Sa'larie won't stop at their old borders.  The politicians are just dragging their feet until the Sa'larie actually attack one of our worlds or colonies, so they don't get blamed for starting another war."
PTE Beels decided to speak up in defense of the politicians. "You can't blame them for being cautious.  The war lasted over 20 years at a cost of over 7 billion lives."
"With 500 million lost in the first year while we were trying to mobilize our forces to fight a war we should have seen coming, but refused to prepare for," Simon quickly came back at her.  He didn't like being lectured by a girl who was too young to remember anything about the war.

Juan put an end to the discussions with a look to Simon and then directed his comments to PTE Beels.  "I know that there are some politicians that have been saying in the media that the military is looking for any excuse to boost our budget and our reckless actions could cause the very war they want to avoid or something to that effect, right?" She didn't say a word, but the look on her face told him that he had hit the nail on the head. "The fact is PTE Beels; we are all veterans of the last war.  We put our lives on the line every day for years and watched our friends die right next to us.  They may not like the idea of another war, but it terrifies us."  Juan could see conflict and self-doubt on her face as she looked like a deer surrounded by hunters.  He sat down on one of the stools to give her some higher ground as she was still standing.  "The only thing that frightens us more than fighting another war is being unprepared for another attack." He gave her a chance for rebuttal, but she didn't take it.  She just looked down at her hands.  "This is your first deep space assignment, isn't it?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Look, a successful fact-finding mission is one that sees no combat.  So do your job, and I'll do mine, which is to get us home without a scratch.  Okay?"
"Yes, Sir."
Juan rolled up the plastic sheet and said, "Alright.  That's it for now.  We have about thirteen hours before our first stop, so get some rest and enjoy the downtime while we have it."
He headed up to the bridge which wasn't much more than a four-seat cockpit; two pilot seats up front and two computer stations that could be used for most ship functions from navigation to basic engineering.  Julie followed and secured the hatch behind her, giving them privacy.
"A little hard on the kid," she said as she stepped up behind his seat and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Maybe, but I don't need anyone on our team questioning our mission."
"Even me?"
Juan looked up at her with something of a stunned expression.  "You?"
"Don't worry Commander; I know my duty.  I just don't think we're going to find anything."
"Why?"
She rubbed the knot in his neck that always needed attention.  "We're looking for proof that a highly intelligent race is building an armada to wage war.  They have an entire galaxy to conceal their efforts in.  I just don't think we will find any proof until they are ready to show the rest of the universe."
"You're probably right.  But it doesn't mean we shouldn't try.  If we can find the proof, it can mean the difference in putting up a worthy defense or being conquered overnight.
The muscles in his neck and shoulders were tighter than she had ever felt them be before.  Their relationship had gradually morphed from best friends to lovers in such a gradual way that they had never discussed the change or what it meant.   It was something that was weighing on her mind, but it was never the right time to discuss it.  The right time might never come.  Truth was she didn't know for sure how she felt, if she was in love with him, or just comfortable.  Drama was the last thing either of them needed going into a mission; so she held her tongue and rubbed his shoulders as it was the one and only practical thing she could do just then.








Author:
Matthew O. Duncan is part of the resurgence of Old School Sci-fi.  His books are a mix of Military Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, and Mystery weaved together with non-stop action.  Matt started his writing career as a playwright. He won a number of awards and had his plays produced on local stages.  He put his pen down in the late ’90s but picked it up again in 2011.

O’Hara never wanted to be a hero. He was a combat pilot only because his skills made him the best and Earth needed men like him to fight the enemy amongst the stars. Living a life a service and duty, alone in a cockpit suited him well, but fate had other plans for him. Shot down over an alien planet he was saved by a beautiful and mysterious woman named Katreena. He soon learns that the world is populated by people who seemed to have been lost by time and controlled by stones that the people believe to be divine magic. Wanting only to return to his fleet, he discovers that he has more than a passing connection with the world’s people, a love that resurrects a heart long thought dead and a decisive battle to the war that followed him.

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