Three months after successfully getting a job at a bookstore Mio start developing feelings for his manager. It just so happens Mr.manager feels the same way

**This is a bl novel**

Gun-Ho came back to Yangju and went back to his work at Bangil Gas again.
Once sales were made, Gun-Ho issued electronic tax invoices and added earnings and expenses to <Daily Earnings and Expenses> table in Excel, and then reported it to the owner.
 
Gun-Ho made sure to collect all receipts of every business expense incurred and attached them with glue to the back of an expense form he had purchased from a stationary store in order to properly document them. If there was a client with an outstanding balance for LP gas, Gun-Ho would make a collection phone call to that client as well. He also ran errands for the owner.
"Years of my life will go by like this?"
Gun-Ho was barely making a living; he felt anxious about getting old without saving money.
"It's Wednesday and I don't hear anything from that company in Asan which I had an interview with."
Gun-Ho was constantly checking his smartphone to see if there was any text message from the company. He increased the ringtone of his phone to make sure he didn't miss any calls. There was no phone call, let alone any text message.
"I don't think I got the job. Let's just move on; it is a lost cause. So many smart people are out there. I can't compete with them with my rubbish work experience and qualification. I just have to appreciate the opportunity for having a job interview with them."
Friday came around after Wednesday and Thursday. Gun-Ho gave up on getting a position in the company in Asan. He once again started looking through the newspaper classified section and WorkNet; however, there was no job advertisement which drew Gun-Ho's attention.
"The companies posting a bookkeeper job opening in a newspaper classified section will hire a female, not me. If they hire a male for the job, that's probably because the position is half bookkeeping and half irrelevant chores."
After work, Gun-Ho usually surfed the internet on his laptop in dim light or he went to the PC room in the neighborhood. He felt like he was falling so much farther behind in life compared to his high school friends, which made him feel depressed.
"Won-Chul Jo who is now married should be doing fine, shouldn't he? Byung-Tae Hwang who is working in a research facility of a startup company in Pangyo is getting married soon. He posted about his wedding on Facebook but didn't personally inform me. He could easily find my phone number by contacting Won-Chul or the others."
Gun-Ho drank soju almost every other day, and that increased his alcohol tolerance.
"I am destined to live in the countryside. My life is f*cked up. I have ShinWangJaeWang fate? ShinWangJaeWang my a*s."
 
It had been more than two weeks since Gun-Ho had a job interview with the company in Asan. The memory of the interview was fading away when he received a phone call from that company, a very unexpected one at that.
"Mr. Gun-Ho Goo? How are you? I am the manager of YS Tech in Asan."
"Oh, hi. This is Gun-Ho Goo."
"I am sorry that we took a long time to contact you. You have been hired as our bookkeeper. Can you start on the 1st of next month?"
Gun-Ho came to his senses by this unexpected and sudden phone call.
"Oh, of course, sure. I… I can."
"You have only five days left until the 1st of next month. Can you manage to quit the current job and start a new job with us within five days?"
"Of course, of course. I can certainly do that!"
"Let me tell you then what to bring on your first day of work. You might want to get a pen and a paper."
"Yes, I am ready."
Gun-Ho was so perplexed that he dropped his cell phone while looking for a pen and a paper, and stumbled over the computer power cord.
"You should bring a resident registration, a resident registration abstract showing the status of your military service duty, your highest school diploma, Consent to Collect and Use Personal Data, Identity Assurance Statement, and a work experience certificate letter from your current employer. I will send the forms for the Consent to Collect and Use Personal Data and Identity Assurance Statement to the email address indicated on your resume."
"Okay. I will prepare all those documents and bring them on my first day of work!"
"You can come by 8 AM on the 1st next month. I will see you then."
"Thank you. Thank you."
Gun-Ho felt so grateful to be hired by this company that he repeated "thank you" twice.
"I got it! I got the job!"
Gun-Ho clapped. He felt like he could fly.
"By the way, why did they call me just now? They said they would contact me by last Wednesday."
Gun-Ho sat on the chair and started thinking.
"I guess that the person they hired decided not to work with them, so they hired me instead as a substitute. Of course, I can't be their first choice. Well, they hired me anyway. Let's move to Asan."
Gun-Ho stopped by the Eunhyeon Township Office to get the resident registration and the resident registration abstract on the way to work after collecting bills.
"I can get my college diploma online, but what about the work experience certificate letter? There is no such thing in Bangil Gas. Well, I can find some samples on the internet and make one for me."
After he returned to the office, Gun-Ho drafted a work experience certificate letter referring to some examples he found on the internet.
"I need the boss' stamp to officially seal this letter… I have his stamp for the tax invoices stamping purpose; should I just use it?"
Gun-Ho thought he still should ask the owner for it.
"When he comes back from the gas pipe repairing work, I will carefully inform him."
A little after five o'clock, the owner came back to the office, looking exhausted.
"A*sholes! They tried to bargain for the repairing cost. I should have just left without fixing their pipes. Sh*t!"
The owner slumped down in his chair, looking really tired. Gun-Ho had to tell the owner that he would quit the job, but he couldn't because the owner seemed very tired.
"Gee, it is already half past five. Goo Jooim, you can go home."
Gun-Ho hesitated and the owner looked at him with a question mark on his face.
"What's the matter? Do you have something you want to tell me?"
"Umm… I am so sorry to tell you that I think I have to move to the city where my parents are."
"Why? Because your father is in the hospital?"
"My parents want me to come, and they are old now…"
"Hmmm…"
The owner looked very uncomfortable.
"I will have to find someone again. I really liked you here."
"Well, I've been thinking, and I think your wife can handle the work. You can save money that way."
"My wife? She doesn't even know how to work with a computer."
"She just needs to get the knack of it. She will become better and faster at the job after one or two months of practice."
"I know I can save money… But she always tries to argue with me whenever she is here in the office. That is the problem."
"Haha. That's because she likes you a lot."
"Well, I will have to think about it."
"I will work until the end of this month then."
"You leave that early?"
"My parents are pressing me."
"Oh well, what can I do about it."
"And once I move to the city where my parents live in, I might need a work experience certificate letter from this company."
"A work experience certificate letter? I've never done it before."
"I already drafted the letter. I just need your stamp. You can use the same stamp we use for tax invoices."
"Really? Then you do what you have to do."
"Thank you."
"Go home before it gets dark."
"Thank you."
Gun-Ho walked out of the office and turned his head to look behind him.
"Bangil Gas. I have so many good memories of this factory. The boss and his wife are good-natured people. Once I become successful, I will come and visit them."
It was getting dark; Gun-Ho drove to the Gwangjeok Township Office area where his room was located. He called the landlord to give him the notice to vacate his room.

This is the story of a poor young man whose poverty even shreds apart their family willing to climb his way through society and into the top. A very realistic novel that moves away from fantasy and sci-fi and focuses solely on the issues of society and life.

3rd person POV:

The air in Yorkshire was inevitably a bit special. For both muggles and the wizards. In a small village in south, there laid numerous fields and tiny, little cottages. The folks who resided there wouldn't let their sheep graze on a full moon. 
They heard many howls. Some of their sheep go missing on every full moon day. The folks were scared and never stepped out in nights during that time. Who didn't know of Mrs. John's sheep? The poor things were torn apart.
Since then, there was this unspoken rule to never come out on a full moon. They recollected nothing at all, what happened. Hence they were a little afraid. Afraid of getting cursed.
And Remus John Lupin cannot be anymore thankful for that. This way, he didn't injure any innocent lives.
He sighed and went to his home. It was a tumbledown, semi-derelict cottage. But this was all he had. And he was fine with it.
Living in poverty was not a problem for Lupin. He was… accustomed to it. He had to. Being a werewolf, he couldn't get good jobs. And due to his sickness after every full moon, those hard earned jobs would lost too.
And it happened once again. He lost his job. Again. He didn't know what to do. There were extremely few places that were willing to hire him. And he was kicked out from almost every one of them. The underground had plenty of offers to him. But he didn't prefer them. He'd rather suffer in poverty than to do something that was against his morals.
He wondered why the fate was so cruel to him.
There was a knock on his cracked windows. It was an owl. The one he didn't recognize. Only few people remembered him. And it was not Christmas either. So a letter to him was rare.
He accepted the letter from the owl. The owl was peculiar. It didn't wait till he read the letter. It just flew away after it had given him the letter.
It was a good thing anyway He didn't have owl treats with him.
He examined the letter. It was a pure white envelope with a golden flower seal he knew nothing about. Quite different from the usual parchment. Curiously, he read the letter.
[
To Remus John Lupin,
The Haunted Cottage, Blue fields, South Yorkshire, England.

Dear Mister Lupin,
It is my pleasure and honour to inform you that you have been recommended to work with Magnolia. 
If you are interested in working with us, please visit your nearest Magnolia branch for the interview by 2nd June, evening.
Further details will be divulged by the supervisor when you reveal this letter. 
Yours Sincerely,
Regina Silvers.
(Head of training and recruitment, Fiore.)
]
Lupin blinked and read the letter again. He checked for any charms on it. There was nothing wrong with it. 
He felt this was all very unreal. Someone recommended him. To work in Magnolia. It felt like a dream.
Because he knew it wasn't likely to happen in reality. But it was true. He could just hope this was not an elaborate prank on him.
If all of this was real, he would need to get this job. Especially if it's from Magnolia. The place he didn't even dare to step in.
Frankly speaking, Magnolia was a store. But not the mundane ones. It's a store which sold nearly everything. From potions to ancient spells, everything could be brought for a price. Except the illegal goods, most probably.
Many people were skeptical but they were soon flabbergasted by it.
Because the store remain a huge mystery. No one knew it's owner(s). But that didn't prevent anyone from going there. It had every single thing they needed. 
There were many rumours about that place. Like how the people who tried to do anything funny were taught a brutal lesson. Like how it had things which didn't exist anywhere else. Like how it even provided many services. Like how it had branches all over the world, etc.
And how it offered 'tickets' to a place called 'Fiore' which was even more magical. It was something that every pureblood sought after.
And Remus got an opportunity to work there. He didn't know what they wanted from him. But he would be regretting it if he didn't give his best shot.

***


Lupin arrived at Leeds. He wore the best set of robes he had. He went towards the Golden Acre Park and sat on a bench with a large Magnolia, similar to the seal on the letter carved on it. And he disappeared from the place and reappeared in front of a store. It was titled MAGNOLIA. It was his first time coming here.
He heard many rumours about this place. But there were no one present.
There was even a closed sign hung on the doors. As he feared, he was played.
As he was about to walk away in disappointment, the letter shone brightly and the lights engulfed him.
Moments later, he was sitting in a nice chair. He noticed there were many people other than him, inside this massive room which contained many chairs. Maybe few thousands.
Few people like him just appeared and the others looked like they've been waiting for a long time.
He decided to wait. After some time, there was a flash next to him. A brunette appeared beside him. She looked comparatively young. She looked at the man and asked awkwardly.
"Um… Hello? Do you have any idea where we are?" She asked with an accent he thought was American.
"Did you receive the Letter?"
"Yeah."
"Then please read it once again. It has some details."
The brunette nodded thankfully and read her letter. It had a note which asked to wait till all the recipients of the letter have arrived.
"Thank you for that."
"Your most welcome."
"Um… I know it sounds meaningless, but are you also here for the interview?"
"Yes. I am."
"Are you, English?"
"From Yorkshire." 
"So you came from England then, huh."
"Yes, I do."
"Oh dear!"
"Anything wrong with that?"
"No… nothing. It's just, I'm from New Jersey, America. I never expected to see an English wizard here."
"You can see all the wizards around the world here."
"Sigh… So the rumours that Magnolia had branches all over the world was true then."
"It seems to be."
There was a strained silence yet again. They both just stayed quiet. They were nervous, too.
Suddenly, there was a table in front of them. It had some food laid on it.
Both of them looked at each other and checked their letters once again. Nothing was there in it.
Instead, there was a little note saying 'Refreshments' on the table.
It was the same with everyone. All had them.
Remus looked at the food on the table. There were some pumpkin pastries, cauldron cakes and his favourite, chocolates.
He grabbed some and started to eat like everyone. The woman beside him too, started eating a serving apple pie.
"What are those?" She asked curiously. 
Remus politely stated all of them, and she did the same. Apparently, they both possessed a sweet tooth. The American Witch introduced herself.
"I'm Chloe Smith. You can call me Chloe."
"Nice to meet you, Chloe. I'm Remus Lupin, call me Remus if you like."
They both chatted for a little. It was uncommon. To meet international wizards or witches unless you have a travel permit.
Chloe was a young witch who worked as an enchanter in New Jersey. She resigned the job and then after sometime, she received the letter too.
They talked about many things. Remus told her about Hogwarts, and she said about Ilvermorny, etc.
After a few hours, the seats were full.
There was an announcement from the centre of the hall.
A huge screen appeared. It revealed the face of a middle aged woman. The woman started speaking.
"I thank all the Wizards and Witches who have come here on our request. I'm Regina Silvers."

"It would be so nice...if we could meet each other once again."
Mia died due to a mistake. It wasn't her fault, not any human's at least.
So as a compensation, she is given the ability of a 'Pancosmic Traveler'
Meaning that she would be reincarnating as she completes her missions...
But is that what she really wants?
Not everyone can leave their past behind.

[the plot is currently in Potterverse.
Mia already completed her missions in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Fairy Tail and Hunger Games]

Note: This is just a fanfic. I do not own Harry Potter or any other works.

Eric was frustrated. He'd been to every major retailer in town and heard the same story. VirtuNet game connectors and preorders for Fate were all sold out. There'd been a huge demand for the game even before the announcement of the Fate Championship Series. But the massive prizes for the tournament, combined with the game's appeal and the relative cheapness of the system meant that there had been a massive rush to buy VirtuNet connectors the day of the announcement. As a result for the last week, he'd been hitting up retailers everywhere; he'd even persuaded his mother to drive him to the next city over in an attempt to purchase one there, only to be met with the same story. VirtuNet connectors were sold out everywhere.  
"Am I really going to be unable to buy a VirtuNet connector?" Eric despaired. It wasn't as if he was alone in his plight. Across the net, there were thousands of people lamenting their inability to purchase the connector. Even Hurricane seemed surprised by the popularity of the game, having released an announcement stating that they'd put in an order for three times the number of connectors from their manufacturer, but it would take another week for them to be available in stores. Four days after Fate released.
To Eric, this was unacceptable. The difference four days could make at an MMO's release was huge. Four days was the difference between being a frontrunner, who could monopolize resources and push around other players, and being a middle of the pack player who got bullied by higher level players. Even if Fate was a different experience, being four days behind was not a prospect Eric relished, especially since Jun would never let him live it down if he was the weakest member on the team.
With a sigh, Eric looked at the number on the screen and dialed it into his Smartwatch. Hearing the soft ring, he crossed his fingers and began to pray.
"Hello?" Came a voice from the other end.
"Hi. I was wondering if you had any VirtuNet connectors in stock," Eric asked.
"Sorry, we're all sold out. We'll be getting some more in next week though." The employee responded.
"Ah okay, thanks anyways," Eric replied as he hung up.
"F***!" He swore, hitting the wall with his fist. 
"Eric?" It was at this moment that his Mother's voice drifted up the stairs. "Can you come downstairs, honey? We have something to talk to you about".
Eric groaned. His parents had been asking him almost daily about his plans for university. He still didn't even have an acceptance letter from any of his serious choices, although he was sure one was coming. Mostly sure at least.

Making his way downstairs, Eric saw his parents sitting on the couch. On the coffee table in front of them was a large white envelope with a familiar crest emblazoned on the front. Eric's heart caught in his chest; he took a peek at his father's face and saw a familiar dark frown. Looking back at the floor quickly, he walked over to the leather recliner and took a seat. His father was a stern man in his mid 40's; a career military officer, he was a man Eric both respected and feared. At 6'2 with a bald head and an imposing countenance, his father was the type of man one envisioned when the phrase, built like a bear was uttered. The slight scruff on his face after a weekend of not shaving did nothing to reduce the fear Eric felt upon realizing he was finally going to have to explain his choice in program to his father.
His mother sat opposite his father, more diminutive than his father, with graying hair and a kind face. Eric sincerely hoped that his mother would be supportive in his choice. Otherwise this was going to be a very long day.
"Yes? I was kind of busy you know," he started, trying to avoid looking at the envelope or his parents, a task made difficult by the lack of any other points of interest in the room. Despite this, Eric made a herculean effort to seem interested in the dust on the windowsill beside him as he spoke.
"A letter came. For you." His father stated matter-of-factly, as if it was just any other letter. If Eric hadn't seen the envelope, he might have even assumed it was a birthday letter, as his birthday was in two days. 
"Oh?" Eric replied carefully.
His father pushed the letter on the table towards him, "It's right there. Why don't you open it?" 
With trembling hands, Eric reached out to pick up the letter. While this was the University he wanted to go to, he had not applied to a program his parents would approve. A fact he had been avoiding by telling himself that maybe he would just be rejected. 
Opening the letter, Eric read the contents to himself. As expected he had been accepted to a major in Game Design with a minor in Economics. He would start in the fall and the room he had requested had been reserved. Putting the letter down, he tried to smile at his parents.
"It looks like I've been accepted. I start in the fall."
"Oh Eric! That's great news! -" 
"For what program?" His father interjected. Cutting his mother off mid-sentence.
"A Major in Game Design and a Minor in Economics - it's an honours program," Eric replied, doing his best to make the program sound as prestigious as possible. It wasn't a lie - the program was actually one of the highest rated game design programs in the country, and the University's Business Faculty, which the Economics minor was a part of, was held in equal esteem. He just hoped his slightly more oldschool father would see it that way.
"Game design?" His father asked, furrowing his brow. "You applied for game design? I thought you told us you were going to apply for something that would give you a future".
Eric swallowed dryly, this was exactly the reason he had been trying to avoid in this conversation. Nervously, he tried to formulate a response, "Well it's a very highly regarded program you know. And games are becoming more popular every year. Just look at how well Fate is doing and that hasn't even been released yet!"
"How many game designers get to work on a game like Fate, rather than pumping out awful mobile game after mobile game as quick money grabs? Do you really think you'll be able to get a job at a place like Hurricane if you go through this program?" His father countered.
Eric faltered. It was true that the odds of him getting a good job in the industry were low, but did his father have to crush his hopes like that? Stealing a glance at his mother, he looked over at her for support, only to notice her doing her share of studying the upholstery as if it contained untold secrets and she was determined to uncover them. The odd thing was that she seemed to enjoy this act as the phantom of a smile could be seen on her face.
"What's so funny, Mummy?" Eric asked, attempting to divert the flow of the conversation.
"Don't change the subject, Eric!" His father said sternly, but his own mask was starting to crack, with a grin slowly spreading across his face.
"What? What's going on? Why are both of smiling like that?" Eric asked, suddenly unsure of the situation.
"Oh Eric! I'm so proud of you! XX University is a great school! Why didn't you tell us you'd applied?" His mother suddenly burst out, jumping up and running over to give him a hug. Eric was now totally lost. The conversation had gone from him being yelled at to him being congratulated and hugged, all within less than a minute.
His father grinned, "You left yourself logged in on the VirtuNet console. We received the email that your application had been received over a month ago, naturally along with the details about the programs you applied for. At first I was a little disappointed, but after we looked into it, we found out that this is actually a great program. It has a high graduate placement rate and the faculty is very highly rated internationally".
Eric breathed out, relief written on his face. "I was really unsure if you guys would approve of it".
"Well the Economics minor definitely helps. You'll still have useful real world skills even if you can't get a job as a game designer after graduation. Do you have a plan for where to stay when you go off in the fall?" his mother asked, finally participating in the conversation.
"Yeah, Griffin and I plan to share a room - he's entering the engineering faculty," Eric replied.
"Oh Griffin's going too?" 
"Yup, we applied at the same time. It says here that our room has been reserved," Eric gestured at the letter as he responded to his father. His father nodded approvingly at this; he always liked to know that a plan existed and was being implemented properly. 
His mother was practically bouncing with excitement as she suddenly jumped up and ran into the front room. Eric peered curiously after her as she returned with a large box in her hands.
"Your mother and I know that you're extremely excited about Fate, and given that we also know how you tend to procrastinate, we decided that as a combined graduation present and early birthday gift we'd get you this". His father said as his mother placed the box on the table.
Trying desperately to temper his growing excitement, Eric grabbed the package and ripped off the carefully folded wrapping paper to reveal a smooth box with the words, 'Hurricane: Fate Special Edition Game Connector (Fate the game is also included, this is a pre launch product and will be unavailable for play until July 16th, 20XX). Seeing this, Eric barely resisted letting loose a real scream of joy, opting instead to jump up and hug his mother as tightly as he could. 
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" He repeated over and over, letting go of his mother and turning to his father who offered him his hand, before pulling him into a quick hug. 
"The clerk told us that you need to set that up if you want to connect when the game goes live on Friday," his mother cautioned him. "Now remember, this is your birthday present, so you're not getting anything else in two days!"
Eric grinned in response. This was already the best gift he'd ever received. The fact that he no longer had to worry about his parents finding out about his college plans combined with this gift relieved him of all the stress he'd been feeling for the past few days.
His father smiled, "Happy early birthday, Eric. Your mother and I are both proud of you. Now then, you've got two hours before dinner to set that up. Also, we're going to be setting some ground rules for its use over the summer. I know you'll be playing that all day and after a long discussion, your mother and I are fine with that." His mother nodded at this with a conflicted look on her face.
"But," his father continued, "In exchange we expect you to have all of your chores and duties around the house done before you get on for the day. That means lawn mowed, house vacuumed, make sure your brothers get breakfast and other meals, your room and bathroom stay clean, and the cat is fed. We also expect you to show up for dinner. Got it?"
Eric nodded. This was exactly the deal he'd hoped to strike. His parents had always been supportive of his dreams. But they'd often expressed skepticism when he said that he wanted to make money using gaming. As long as he made sure to get the stuff around the house done before he got on for the day, he would be fine.
"Deal". He said quickly. 
His father grinned, "Alright, you can escape back to your room now."

Fate, the world's first true virtual MMO. Where realism and fantasy meet. And where fates are shaped and legends are born. 

Hurricane is a famous game studio, but it has been years since they last released a new game. Amidst dwindling sales and news articles discussing its fate, Hurricane holds a press conference in the main auditorium at G3, the world's largest gaming convention for the first time in years. Here they announce that after almost a decade of silence, their new game is finally ready to be revealed. 

Follow as one of the greatest guilds of Fate is born, watch as new players burst onto the scene and old legends re-emerge. Come experience the world of Fate!
-----------------------------------

Release rate:
3 Chapters a week. 
I'll do some extra chapters if we hit top 50 or higher. Probably.
Scheduled releases on:
Mon, Wed, Sat.


More chapters may come if I get enough patrons on patreon. I may also be generous and simply release extra chapters if I feel like it. But don't expect that too often ;)
-----------------------------------

This novel is primarily about gaming in a VRMMO. The MMO is the main setting of the story. There will not be unnecessary drama in real life. There will not be weird subplots about the implications of VR technology. This is a novel about an MMO setting and I plan to keep it that way. Do be warned that the first ten chapters of vol1 (Fate Revealed) is almost entirely worldbuilding and character development. Hopefully everyone can enjoy the first volume all the same!

-----------------------------------

Please review and support the novel! I plan to do my best to keep the quality high ^.^
(And if you could donate, I can spend even more time on the novel and less working on other things :shamelessplug:)

Discord: https://discord.gg/9Xrp5H3
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thegameslighthouse
ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/lighthouse

The Caucasian woman's face was pale as a ghost.

The Asian man coughed out blood once more before finally getting up and pulled out a knife.

"DIANNE, GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Dianne who was hugging Nathan's leg let go immediately and tried to move away.

However, Nathan grabbed her by the neck and raised her up.

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?" said Nathan as he looked at the Asian man and smiled.

"BASTARD! LET HER GO RIGHT NOW!"

"You really like ordering me around, huh."

Nathan grabbed Dianne's left hand and crushed it.

Crack!

"AHHHHH!!!" Dianne screamed.

"YOU!" said the Asian and dashed forward.

However, Nathan shielded himself with Dianne's body, causing the man to stop.

The Asian man gritted his teeth and his eyes were burning with fire.

As much as he wanted to save his little sister, he knew that Nathan was far too powerful.

He already lost his parents during the zombie apocalypse. He couldn't lose his sister as well.

Nathan smiled. 

"The bitch behind me, move to this man's side or I'll break this girl's neck," said Nathan to the Caucasian woman.

"Hannah…" said Dianne weakly.

The Asian man looked at Hannah.

His eyes were pleading.

However, Hannah was frozen from fear.

"Heh~ Still not being cooperative," said Nathan as his hand slowly reached out for Dianne's left ribs.

"HANNAH! PLEASE DO AS HE SAYS!" said the Asian man.

He knelt down and bowed.

"Please… Don't hurt my sister…. Please… We only want to survive…"

Tears started flowing from his eyes.

Seeing the Asian man prostrating and crying, Hannah finally snapped back to reality.

"David…"

Hannah quickly went over to David's side and hugged him.

"Please don't hurt us… We don't mean any harm…" said Hannah and cried as well.

As for Dianne, she started crying as well and weakly said, "Please, mister… I'll do anything you want… Just don't hurt them…"

Looking at their scene, Nathan couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

He felt like he was the villain here.

'No! I'm the victim here! That dog pointed a gun at me while I was at the loo and made me beg!' 

The scene also reminded him of a certain memory…

***

3 years ago.

Nathan, 21 years old.

Liit Town, Muwin.

"Grandpa! Cousin! What are you guys doing here?" a man called out.

Sakhr and Nathan looked towards the direction where the voice was coming from.

It was Maaz, the eldest child of uncle Mabrook and aunt Mariam. And with him was a group of drugged-up and dangerous-looking men.

Maaz was 25 years old. However, despite being older, he was only 5'2" tall and was skinny. Because of that, from what Nathan has heard, he had this Napoleon complex.

Nathan glanced over at the drugged-up and dangerous-looking men.

They too looked at Nathan, sizing him up.

Back in the day, despite Karen's objection, he didn't mind talking to people like this. 

To him, they were the outcast or rebels of society and their devil-may-care outlook kind of intrigued him a little bit.

However, after he graduated and started working, he began to distance himself from such people to protect his image.

In his mind, he wasn't a teenager anymore so he needed to "man-up" or "act right" as they say.

"You drug addict, what are you up to now?" said Sakhr.

Although Sakhr believes that a real man does, say and takes what he wants, he doesn't agree with throwing your life away by doing drugs or engaging in illegal activities. 

Sure, doing drugs once in a while is acceptable. But doing it every day that it affects your physical and mental health? That's a different matter.

To him, what's the use or how can you enjoy the benefits of your success if your body is broken? What was the point if you will only end up inside a coffin or spend your life behind bars?

Maaz smiled and said, "Nice to see you too, grandpa." 

He then looked at Nathan and nodded.

Nathan nodded back as well.

Sakhr snorted.

"We're getting some fresh air," said Nathan.

"Oh, okay. See you guys later. We're going to grab something to eat," Maaz said and started walking towards the church with his crew.

When Maaz and his crew were already a couple of feet away, Maaz stopped and turned.

"Cousin, we're going to Banya city tonight. You should come with us to celebrate."

"Sorry, I can't. I have work later."

"Okay." 

Maaz resumed walking.

"Brat, don't follow the footsteps of that brat," Sakhr said and then sighed. "I only have 3 grandchildren that I know of. And unfortunately, one turned out to be a disappointment. You and Malik are the only decent ones so don't fuck up our family name."

"Wait… what? You have other grandchildren?"

As far as Nathan knows, this grandfather of his only had two children, his father and uncle Mabrook.

Sakhr hit Nathan with his cane.

Pah!

"Ouch!"

"You idiot. With the number of women I've slept with in my life, it wouldn't be a surprise if one of them got pregnant and I wasn't aware of."

Nathan checked his watch.

3:43 pm.

From Monday to Saturday, he usually wakes up around 3:00 pm because his main job is from 5:00 pm - 12:00 am and his part-time job is 2:30 - 5:30 am.

However, his employer at his part-time job was a cool guy and let him take the day off today.

With that, today, he only had to work at his main job.

'I'm going to try to take a 30-minute nap.' Nathan thought. "Grandfather, uncle Mabrook and aunt Mariam are probably looking for us."

"Go tell them to come here."

"Okay."

Nathan got up.

"Brat."

Nathan looked at his grandfather.

"Give me another stick."

Nathan didn't want to argue to he gave his grandfather his pack of cigarettes and lighter.

After returning them to Nathan, Sakhr blew smoke and said, "Go now but take your time." 

***

Nathan and his family got back home.

Maaz didn't come with them.

Nathan climbed up the second floor and went straight to his bed.

He grabbed his phone and set the alarm clock.

'4:30 pm… Okay.'

There were a few messages from his family members that were not here at Liit town.

He decided to ignore them for now and slept.

***

4:30 pm.

Ring… Ring… Ring…

Nathan opened his eyes and grabbed his phone to turn it off.

'I still want to sleep…'

His body felt so weak and heavy from the lack of sleep and food he ate earlier.

He decided to close his eyes for 5 minutes.

A minute or so passed when suddenly…

"Nathan, I made you coffee and a few snacks," said a woman.

It was aunt Mariam.

The room that Nathan shared with Maaz didn't have a door because it was removed by uncle Mabrook about 10 years ago due to Maaz's drug problem. 

Nathan opened his eyes and got up.

"It's downstairs. Do you want me to bring it here?"

"Thanks. I'll just eat them downstairs."

"Okay."

Aunt Mariam left.

Nathan stretched.

He then grabbed his laptop, phone and headphones before heading downstairs.

***

Nathan was at the dining table listening to music on his laptop while checking his email and drinking coffee.

His first work starts at 5:00 pm so he didn't open his message app and was checking his emails in the meantime.

He noticed an email.

It was an email from the company of his main job and was sent just about 4 hours ago.

It was a termination letter.

The reason he was being fired was because the company was facing some financial issues and they had to fire some of its employees.

However, the "bright side" was that his pay was sent right away instead of at the end of the month.

After reading the letter, he opened his message app right away to contact his former employer.

His status wasn't online yet.

Nevertheless, he clicked the profile of his former employer and began typing a message.

[Hi, I just read the email that was sent to me by the company. I don't understand why I'm being fired. I've been producing good articles. In fact, every week, I have one article that's part of the top 5 weekly tech news articles. What's the basis of my termination?]

After sending the message to this former employer, he decided to contact his fellow writers as well that he was friends with in the company.

[Hey, I received a termination letter today and got fired. Did you receive one as well?] 

He sent the same message on all 4 of them -- 3 were females and 1 male.

They all messaged him back.

It turns out, 1 female and the other male were fired as well. 

Also, he couldn't help but notice that the 2 females that were not fired were the beautiful ones. 

And out of the two of them, one rarely writes and doesn't even get her articles at the top 5 weekly tech news articles. 

His former employer finally replied.

The "reason" given to him was the same as written in the termination letter that he received.  

Nathan was about to ask why the writer who rarely writes wasn't fired but decided not to.

It would be no different from begging.

"FUCK!"

Bam!

Nathan slammed his fist on the table, causing his coffee to spill.

Seeing the spill, Nathan grabbed his laptop and phone right away.

"Shit!"

Aunt Mariam rushed to the dining area.

"Nathan, what's wrong?!" 

"Um… Sorry, aunt Mariam. I accidentally bumped the cup and it spilled over all my laptop."

"Oh… Let me help you wipe that."

"Don't worry. I can clean it myself."

"Oh you, it's okay. Just let me do it."

Seeing that she was so persistent, Nathan finally gave in.

However, he couldn't help but feel bad for her.

Sure, she was a housewife just like his mother, but she was too dedicated that he couldn't help but feel bad for her.

If no one knew she was married to uncle Mabrook, they probably would have thought she was the maid or something.

But who was he to question a society's culture?

Who was he to tell his aunt what's right and wrong?

Who was he to tell her how to live her life?

"Thank you," said Nathan.

"It's okay."

He went back to his room.

*********************************************
Author's thoughts:

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading!

To those people who voted with their power stones, I would like to thank these Power Immortal Voters:

• 

To those who want to help this immortal in his path to immortality in writing his first immortal book, you can consider these two other immortal positions:

The first immortal position is to become one of my Immortal Patrons at P-a-t-r-e-o-n and have access to my "chapter drafts" for only $5 a month. 

• https://www.*******.com/Immortal_Shades

Please note that to view my P-a-t-r-e-o-n page, you need to enter the link I posted above and replace the asterisk symbols with the appropriate words. My page doesn't appear on the search list because it's marked with adult content. Moreover, the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when I will publish them here, there will be some edits.

With that, I want to give my special thanks to the Immortal Patron(s) for March 2020:

• Teltaios
• Mandrew Stickem

The second immortal position is becoming an Immortal Donator by sending it to my PayPal address.

• immortalshades123@gmail.com

This Grandmaster Immortal would be eternally grateful to you... *Kowtows 3 times*

Thank you once again and I'll see you in the next chapter.

"I am a Chosen One! I refuse to bow down to society! Society must bow down to me!" 


Nathan is your average 24-year old man. Just like everyone else, he experienced both pain and happiness in his life which shaped him into the man who he is. 


One day, God unleashed a zombie apocalypse and gave humanity the System that allows them to level-up, forever changing the world. And among the humans, there are beings called Chosen Ones who are slightly better off than the average humans. 


Follow the journey of a man who slowly descends into madness as he survives in a zombie apocalypse and rises to power. 


Author's note: I took some ideas from the novel [God and Devil World].

So this is the next day. I already getting ready to the job place. I'm so excited about this job. Aside from the paid I get, I could play the the piano again.
I haven't touched a piano since I moved here. And this is just the beginning. The beginning of a new life and new me.
"You ready, baby?" I asked while I fix his hair. He loved his hair done.
"Yes." He stands up on the bed and smiles.
"Let's go then." I grabbed my bag and his. I reached out my hand for him to take and we go out to start the day.
We walked to the bus stop and waited for the bus. Regina gave me all the detail about my new job. Poor girl has to print it out for me because I have no access to the internet.
I promise myself to buy a new phone when I get my first check. Because now I need it.
The bus came and Leo and I get in. Leo takes the window seat as always and I sit beside him.  All the time riding to the work place, Leo is looking out the window.
Fifteen minutes later, the bus stopped at the nearest bus stop around the job place.
I scoop Leo in my arms and I make my way to the restaurant that I should be right now.
My job started at 10, she told me so. I'm just following what she told me.
LUZ DE LA LUNA.
The letter is printed in bold on top of the entrance. The entrance is guarded by two guards. Wearing a black uniform and a walkie-talkie in hand.
"Can I help you, Ma'am?" One of the guards asked me.
"I'm a new worker here. Mr. Marcel hire me to work here." I explained, my hand is keep holding Leo's small hand.
"May I see your pass?" He asked.
"I don't have a pass yet. But I have a guarantee letter to show you." Just then I remember the letter Regina gave me. I think it would be useful, so I bring it with me.
"Okay, can I see it?"
"Yes." I quickly let go of Leo's hand and dig into my bag. I found the piece of paper and instantly give it to him.
I watch and wait for him to read the letter. After he's done, he handed the letter back to me.
"Go straight to the back and the manager is in the office." He told me as he let me in.
I followed his instruction and found a room with an office tagged on the door.
I knock on the door and look down to see Leo. He is just looking around the kitchen. I think he is mesmerized by how amazing the kitchen looked and when we passed the hall, it's not fully set up but the patterns are really nice.
The door in front of me opened and I saw a man standing before the door.
"You must be Ella." He pointed at me.
"Yes, sir." I answered.
"Come in." He gestured to come in.
I walk in to the office with Leo. It's not that big, but it holds everything like files and other things.
"Take a seat." He pointed to the seat in front of the desk. I do as I'm told and he sits down on his own seat.
"Mr. Santiago informed me that there will be a new employee. And I am very enthusiastic to hear there will be a new pianist here. Because we've been searching for a pianist since the last one quit."
"May I ask why they quit?" I asked carefully. I know that I'm out of line for a new employee. But I'm just curious about the history of this restaurant.
"He's just too old to do the job anymore." He waved in dismiss while chuckling.
"Oh." I just smile awkwardly.
"So I see you have a child." His eyes goes to Leo's who is sitting beside me. I just can nod my head and smile.
"Mr. Santiago give you tolerance for a month to bring this little guy to work. So you have to settle the things before that and we could do our job in order." I nodded.
"Your son can stay here while you are on your shift. I will give you the uniform. What's your size?" He asked. His is already standing up and walking to a kind type of closet.
"38." He gets the uniform and give them to me. The uniform is still new because it's wrapped in a plastic bag. So I know it's new.
"You can work today." He declared.
"Thank you." I smiled and nodded my head at him.
"Call me Joe. Everyone call me Joe, no Mister thing." He chilled the atmosphere and stand up before walking out of the office.
"Leo, you listen to Mommy, okay? Mommy's gonna work out there, but you have to stay here until mommy is coming to get you. Do you understand?" I tried to tell make him understand the situation right now.
"I be here alone? No mommy?" He asks.
"Yes, but I will be picking you here in no time. Okay?" I give him an assurance smile.
"Okay." I know it's hard for him to say this. Because he is always by my side every single time. And this might be the first time I won't see him for hours.
"Be good for mommy, okay?" I ruffled his hair softly before placing a kiss on his forehead.
Once I make sure that he will be fine here by himself. I walked out of the office to the locker room. Joe gave me the key just before he walked out.
As I make my way to the locker room. My eyes met unexpected grey eyes that I craved since I saw them for the first time.
I didn't expect to see him here today, let alone today, not even after he gave me the job.
I keep on walking, but every time I stole a glance to him. His eyes are still on me, watching me. When he is talking to the manager, Joe. I wonder how he does that.

Ella Maria is a woman, the strongest woman for going through a rocky life.

Because of some courage, she then decided to do what's best for her and her son's life. She left.

She built a new life with her son, struggling to have a better life. She met Marcel, a billionaire that have everything except love.

Will Marcel accept her when she suddenly walked in to his life with a problems followed?

On a small road surrounded by a thick forest, a man could be seen walking at a relaxed pase, this scene could be considered normal if you ignored certain factors, like for example, if you look up you could see a cloudy dark sky, from time to time you could spot flashes followed by sounds of thunder, the hour was long past dusk, not exactly the time to go for a walk, not the weather either, you may be thinking that just those two point are not enough to be considered outside the normal range, but what if we add the the wooden signs that are nailed on some of trees along the way, with messages like "Go back" and "Stay away", maybe purposely ignoring such a messages or not being able to read them thanks to the darkness, does not make him "normal". Such a man or rather, young man upon closer inspection, it's walking aimless on this road which is filled with layers of leaves and over grown weeds, clear signs of abandonment or just lack of regular pruning.

"This path is endless, knowing that it would take this long to find the place, I would have departed earlier"

Even though the young man was complaining in his speech, he did not walk faster, it was not until the weather worsened that he started to hurry up. Of course, such a time hardly helped, the clouds could not hold the water any longer and finally, it started to rain, the young man, without an umbrella got drenched in a couple of minutes.

"This weather does not make this easier, I don't think I am lost, I followed this road and there are not forked paths, or maybe I had to turn at some point and the path is is hidden or the wooden sign fell?"

Even knowing all that, he continued going the same way, until he spotted some light far away, finally coming across some sign of civilization he hoped that at least there was a place to cover from the rain.

*********************************************

It was usually a team of two that guarded this section, but due a lack of manpower, today he had to work the night shift on his own, he was called Anthony, and he started a couple of days ago, so he lacked what you would call experience on this field of work, thanks to that, he got the short stick working alone, but he could not complain since he needed the job, they pay was good enough and there was not much to do, this post was facing the middle of nowhere, so there were little chances to do anything at all. Like any other normal night, he sat reading a book, it started to rain, but such a thing hardly affected him since he was immersed into the story, and that may be the reason he did not notice someone getting close to the window until he came knocking.

"Hello there, Mister Guard, do not panic, I am not a suspicious person"

As expected, he was startled, and he was in panic, after all, under normal circumstances you would get startled if someone breaks your focus, now it happened under this situation, and the guy even had the gals to say he was not suspicious, you would not expect something like that.

"Waahh!, Who-o are you-u?"

After expectaculary falling of his chair, he did his best to stand up as fast as possible and get his breathing under control, then he tried to ask the guy his indentity, but his voice still failed him a little.

(I should probably act like I saw nothing, I feel bad for the guy, it was kind of my fault after all)

"I am sorry for coming here without notice, I was looking for a place, but I got lost during my walk and it started to rain, I saw a light and I thought I could take cover here"

To say that Anthony was not feeling this guy was suspicious would be a lie, but he thought that what the guy said made sense, so he used his radio to let the other guards know before answering the guy.

"This place is private property, although I understand your point Sir, this is not a place  you can enter as you please, you could get arrested."

Anthony started to recall a few facts now that his mind started to call down, this place was located ina forest in the middle of nowhere, so the owner of this land had a wire fence around the terrain of property, this helped to keep certain wild animals at bay, this is something that you usually would not cross, so... the guy had to cross that fence to get here, but it did not look like he had a hard time, there are different kinds of wired fences, but the one they had here was rather talk, and barely had space for a hand to pass through it, much less a person, this made him more suspicious.

"Sir, I have a few questions to ask if you don't mind. Would you please state your name, your reason for being here, and lastly how did you exactly get here?"

"I don't mind, but... Could you let me in?, It's rather cold out here..."

*********************************************

The guardroom consisted of a room with a wide window facing the west where I came walking from, in that room you could see a long table with a radio and a small tv, the guardroom also had a small bedroom with one bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen that had a table and two chairs, one on which I was currently taking a seat while I drink a cup of coffee.

"I let you in for two reasons, one is that I can not let you wander around here on your own, the second is that I wish to hear the answer of my previous questions"

"Oh, yes... thank you for the coffee by the way, it helps to keep me warm, sorry for the wet floor"

"It would be troublesome if you were to claim to have gotten sick during my care so I am just doing my job, and stop trying to avoid the questions"

This security guard tries to act tougher than he is, he let a stranger in quite easily and even offered me some coffee, even when he maintains a strict face a voice he seems to still be concerned for my well-being, although he continues to question me , well, he is trying to do his job, may as well answer, since I also have some questions.

"I got here by walking, my reason... well, I have to get to a certain place, but you could call bad luck, I got lost, I recall following the directions just as they told me, but as you can see, I could not find the place"

"There are no many "places" you could go around here, many of these properties are from the same owner, and they do get that many visits, if what you say is true, we could just make a call to ask about it and this incident could past as a simple accident, but that is if it's true though..."

I could only wryly smile at that, I had no signal here so I could not call anyone, and I am still not sure if they would come for me, I took a certain job, and technically I am not the person they "expect", I was just hired to take their place this one time.

"That still leaves to un-answered questions, your name and how you got into this property, this place is surrounded by fences, getting here is not an easy task for a simple and plain lost guy... judging by your clothing I doubt you are hiding the necessary tools, of course you could've just abandoned them"

"About that... the fence had a hole with enough for and adult to pass through, I was just lucky"

"I would not call someone who got lost "lucky" though"

"I guess not"

I could only emit a wry laugh at that, now.. name, I guess I should take over my role starting now, I cannot be certain if this person is related or not to my job.

"Now, as for my name, it is Sid, Sid Grayworth"

"I see, Mr. Grayworth then, I have called for reinforcements a minute ago, they will get here soon enough, while we await for them, I would like to hear about the rough location of your so called "entry" through the fence, we still need to check that"

"Well, If you go..."

**********************************************

About ten minutes was what it took for the other guard to get here. Since I have not a good grasp of the location of their base location, I can not say if they took a while or not, my clothing is wet so I would like if they hurried, but I don't think I am in position to ask for such a thing. Two guards came on a vehicle I could not distinguish thanks to the rain, one of the guards could be described as an old guy, easy to spot due his white hair, he appears to be their superior, although I can not be certain without knowing how their ranking system works, the other guy, or not, the guard was a woman, with short hair, she also seems like the type of person who stays a lot in the gym, I can see that she got quite the muscle, I feel slightly bad for confusing her with a guy just because she stays fit, while I was thinking that it seems the guard that was working into this post, I think he got called "Anthony" by the white haired old man, was filling them with the details, and they were almost done. As they turn to face me, the woman spoke.

"You..."

"I am sorry"

"Why do you apologize?"

That was careless of me, since I was thinking about my previous rides thoughts, the first thing that came to me was to apologize the woman. Now they are are looking with a confused gaze. The lack of dinner and the long walk made my mind somewhat sluggish.

"I mean, I am causing you troubles, so I thought I should express my apologies"

"Enough,  We would like that you cooperated and came with us, if what you told us is true, this situation should be solved with just a call, please come this way, you can hardly get any signal this far in the woods, so e
we will take to a place with working phones"

There is no other choice, I am currently lost, so I will have to go with them, I just hope that the process won't take too long, otherwise I would fail to get in time.

"I don't mind, but I would appreciate a bit haste, my clothing is wet and I may catch a cold if I remain like this for too long"

"Then please come this way"

"Wait a moment please"

As I turn, I face the guard name Anthony.

"Let me apologize once more for the trouble I caused, I also wish to thank you for the coffee, now I have to leave, if you will excuse me"

After that, I finally follow the two guard outside. I noticed a quite odd thing, the white haired has not spoken to me even once, I wonder if he is just cautious or maybe he does not like to talk more than what he needs to. Anyways, I need to get a change of clothes if possible, I would rather not get sick. While I was taken to the vehicle, I could finally notice in what kind of ride they came, it was a Jeep Wrangler, I guess they use this kind of vehicle taking in count the terrain. Hopelly there won't be that many gaps and bumps on the road. As I walk, I can help but mutter.

"I am hungry..."
 *********************************************
 
 As I watch my superiors take the guy with them, I can finally sigh of relief.
 
 "So much for a peaceful night..."
 
 I did not expect any kind of people to suddenly appear out of nowhere today, from what I've heard from my coworkers, this hardly happens, I just had bad luck, I got quite the scare, although it might have not been bad luck, that Sid guy did not try to harm me even when I had not taken notice of his presence, he did not take advantage of it.
 
 "Hopefully, I won't find another person intruding here again"
 
 ********************************************
 
 As soon as I got in the vehicle, the other two took their seats, I was on the back, while they were on the front, the guard woman took the passenger seat and put her seatbealt skillfully quick, I wonder why. At that time, I really should've followed suit.
 
 ********************************************
 
 After getting of the vehicle, I can only say I felt relief, I did not expect that the old guard would like to speed up that much even though it was raining, I really thought we were going to crash along the way, not to mention the countless bumps, we did jump quite a bit too, my head can still feel a slightly pain from me hitting with the Jeep roof. Anyways, I finally arrived the place they were talking about, it's a four story building, with the shape of a huge cube, although I could pay more attention since the Jeep parked in an adjacent to the building garage, we got out, and they lead the way inside, after I got in, I barely saw other people, considering the time, they shift ended, or they lacking people, not that it will change anything, I took the opportunity to ask for a change of clothes, the old guard when upstairs as soon as he got to the building, while I stayed with another young woman and young man, probably receptionists, as for the the guard woman, she went to pick a change of clothes for me, I wonder if it's alright that they left me here alone with these two, the other guards seemed to be armed, but I am not sure if these two carry any weapons, security seems quite lax around here, there are not that many cameras. As I was having iddle thoughts, I got called by the guard who came back.
 
 "We only have this kind of clothes, over there is the males changing room, get changed so we could go to my superiors office to talk, take this bag, put your wet clothing in here, and do not leave any valuable behind"
 
 I could only do as she said, the so called changing room was at the end of the hall. As I changed I was taking a new look at the only things I brought with me; a key chain with my car keys, that reminds me that I left my poor car in the middle of nowhere, a cigarette box, it seems my client smokes, since I have to act as him, I need to carry these, there is also a lighter, the same reason as before for this one, a small lantern, I'm always carrying one of this, there is a small notepad, the same as before with this one, my phone, although it had no signal until recently, I can notice that it is no longer like that, there is finally some signal, and lastly, an envelope, luckily I kept the envelope dry, it could complicate my job if it were to be damaged, the invitation my client received is inside.
 
 ********************************************
 
I am currently wearing a guards spare uniform, it's a size bigger, but at least I am warming up, after I finished getting change they took me to an office on the second floor, the white haired guard was there, and for the looks of things, it's his office. He was sitting behind his desk, I took the seat in front and as I did, for the first time since we met he spoke to me.

"I heard the story, we have not verified about the hole in the fence, but that would have to wait, you had mentioned you got lost by looking for a place, Could you describe the place, or tell us the name?"

Finally, I have been waiting for a chance to ask about this.

"I received an invitation from, Mr. Raymond Kingwood, from the invitation letter I looked for the address, the place should be nearby, asking people they told me to follow an old road, but as you can see, it lead to me getting lost"

When he heard about the letter, or maybe the name of the person, he reacted by raising his left eyebrow, the biggest change of expression I saw since I met the guy. As I thought of that he asked.

"Could I perhaps see that letter?"

"Yes, I have it right here"

I took the letter and gave it to him. While he read the letter I could read that he almost seemed to smile, but as soon as it appeared it was gone. When he finish reading he put down the letter on his desk and told me this.

"You certainly had quite adventure, as I read the address for the place you are looking for, I seem to recall, an abandoned road that was located west of this property, it looks like you took the long route, young man"

For the way he talks, I really seem to have taken the long road, but at least I...

"For the look on your face, you arrived at the answer, you came to the right place, this is the property of Mr. Raymond Kingwood, as one of his workers, I, welcome you, Mr. Sid Grayworth.

As he said that I could see a small smirk on his face, I am not sure why, but I feel like it appeared when he said my "name", it's been only an hour since I got here but I already feel tired, really, this job seems like it will be a lot tougher.

I hope to write different stories, or as the title points out, tales. I am a total amateur at writing, and I am not that good at English, that's why I would like to apologize for any misspell, and I would also like to ask for any kind opinion regarding my stories.

This year brought a lot to Joy's life🤔, she watched Clair dying on😢 New Year Eve, She started feeling for Drake💖, She got a friend in Embrey😇 and She suffered Lisa's hate.

A month has passed, Summer has begun in the city of Mariana. Joy tried too hard to get a job so that she could leave the Job in the Hospital and she would not have to see Drake and Embrey every day because It makes her feel sad and betrayed, but wherever, she applied, it was always a No.

 It seems like her destiny wants her to work in the hospital for some more time.

But Drake and Embrey's lie broke her, She could not believe that the person she likes, the person she trusted and believed that now there was someone with whom she could share her pain, her sorrows, her happiness, had lied to her.

Joy was so devastated by this. She promised herself that she won't ever talk to both of them.
Drake and Embrey were feeling bad too, for lying to Joy. 
When Embrey has a change of heart, Drake forgives her and they became friends again and were trying to get Joy's forgiveness.
 
  After what happened, Joy handled herself, she wiped her tears and went to her work, she did not even try to listen to their Exlapnatoin. 
After finishing her night shift Joy walked to home.
 As Joy arrives at the front porch of her house, she sees that the door is locked.
" Why there a lock here? Is not Lisa home? wondered Joy as she took out the Key to open the Door.
"Lisa? Lisa?" called Joy, but there was no answer. Joy was a little worried that Where would Lisa go at This Hour?
Joy Tried to call her, but she won't answer, As soon as Joey sat on the couch wondering where Lisa went, she saw a letter lying on the dining table, Joy went to the table to pick up the letter.
  She picked up the letter and opened it, It was from Lisa.
It says, 

" Sister,
   I am going on a one month trip with my friends, I took the money from your drawer and your card for the trip, I had left some money in the drawer, I could not wait until you come, and I know if I  had asked you, you would not have let me go, So I am going, Don't worry about me, and Don't call me after reading this, I would be back by your birthday. There is something from the past month that I did not tell you, but I will tell you everything after coming back from the trip".

"Lisa"

As Joy Read the Letter, she picked her phone and tried calling Lisa, but there was no answer, she messaged her, but there were no replies.
" Where did she go😟? Why did not she tell me? How could you do this Lisa? You should have told me? who's gonna take care of you there?" said Joy as she sat on the chair in shock😟😞.

Lisa left home for the trip, without telling Joy, that made Joy so worried about her. But she does not know Where Lisa went because Lisa did not want her to tell, where she was going.
But there was nothing Joy could do, SHe does not know Where Lisa was, Lisa was not picking her calls or messages, all Joy could do was to wait for this Month to end.

Two weeks passed, all Joy could think was of Lisa, How she was, is she doing Fine? has she eaten?
Drake and Embrey already made Joy so sad, Now Lisa's doing just added more sadness to Joy life.

Before Joy had Drake, she could have talked about this to him and could have felt a little better, but Now after what happened at his office, she does not want him to know anything about her. she was dealing with all of this alone.

Joy was doing her cleaning work on the 11th-floor wondering in dismay, " Only two more weeks are left, and then Lisa would be Back, Without her, Even home feels like a strange place, Once she would be back, Everything would be fine".

As Joy was lost in her thoughts, Embrey came running to Joy and calling her name out loudly in the corridor. 
Joy saw Embrey and she turned to the other side and starts to leave as she does not want to talk to her.
" Joy? Joy? Please stop, there something I.. Said Embrey, but Before she could complete her sentence, Joy Interrupted and said, " I don't want to talk to you, Embrey? there's nothing left to talk Embrey, so please just go and do your work and let me do mine".

And Joy turned again to leave, but Embrey held her hand and stopped her with force and said, " Joy, Just Listen, Okay? It's not about me or Drake, I came here to tell you that, You need to come with me, you need to see this? Joy, Please".

But What is It Embrey asked Joy, but Embrey Held Joy's hand force so she won't let it go, and took the elevator the 14th Floor, she came out of the Elevator and took Joy to the Door of her Mama's room, where Drake was Standing.  
As Drake saw Joy, a smile spread over his face, He tries to say something, but Joy Interrupted her and said, " Why you brought me to My Mama's room? Embrey, What is happening? Will you tell me? Please?" asked Joy.
" Joy, calm down, and come inside with me, said Drake smiling.
Joy went inside and looked at her mother and said, " What is it, Drake? Now please tell me? Is something wrong? Mama Is all right😟? right? said Joy as she got worried about why Drake asked her to come to her Mama's room.

" Joy,  While I was examining her, I Noticed her monitor was beeping, Her rate was increasing from low and There was some Improvement in her Brain activity, See this? Do you know what It means, Joy?" said Drake.
Joy looked at Drake with Hope in her eyes and said, " It means, Mama is getting better? Huh? Drake? tell me? asked Joy.
" Yes, Joy, You are right, since 4 years, she never showed any signs, but today, theses signs tell, that she is recovering, there's an improvement , and that means " said Drake smiling😇😇.

" That means? What does that mean? Drake? Asked Joy interrupting him in the middle.
" That, She is getting better, and if she continues recovering at this rate, then she might wake up Joy, She might wake up, said Drake looking at Joy with a smile on his face.

Today, when Joy heard this, there were no limits to her happiness, her Eyes got filled with tears of joy, she could not find words to express her happiness, she sat beside her mother, held her hand  and said, " Oh!! Mama, I knew, My heart always knew that You would get better one day, you would wake up  one day, Thank you, Mama, Thank you."
" Drake, Mama is getting Better Drake, Mama is getting Better", said Joy with tears in her eyes.

Joy was so happy😄😄 that for a moment forgot😶 that she has not forgiven Drake and Embrey for what they did and she just ran into his arms and hugged him tightly💕💕 and said," Mama, would wake up Drake, Mama would wake up, I am so happy, Drake, I am so happy😇😄".

Drake knew how wonderful that moment was for Joy, He didn't resist himself and Hugged her back💖 and said, " Yes, Joy, She would, She has to, for you?"

Joy remains in his arm for a moment, until she does not remember that she was angry with him.
Joy separated herself from Drake's arms. the air got so awkward 😶😶in there, they could not meet their eyes🙄🙄, they tried to look the other way.
 
Joy went out of the room, Joy was so feeling so good, She was happy😌 that despite so many bad things, something good happened. As Joy left the room, Embrey followed her as she thought that may talking to Joy right now would be good, she might listen to her.
Joy took the elevator and went to the rooftop, she sat on the bench, there were tears of joy in her eyes. 
Embrey came and sat beside Joy. As Embrey sat beside her Joy, Joy looked at her and said, " Embrey? what are you doing here?"
" Embrey hesitated at first and then said, " Joy, I want to talk to you, Please?" 
" Joy was so happy that she does not want to ruin her happiness, arguing with Embrey.
She looked at Embrey and said, " Embrey, I know what you want to talk about, I forgive you Embrey, Today, you and Drake gave me the happiest moment of my life, I am so happy and I don't want to do something bad today, So, I forgive you both,  but don't ever think that we could go back to the way we used to be, Embrey. tell Drake also, that I forgive him because he treated my mother, and now she is getting better, so for her, I forgive you both," said Joy with a peaceful smile on her face.
And Before Embrey could say anything else, she just left to her work in joy.

now Joy has no worries, she thought that, when Lisa would return, she would be so happy to hear that Mama is getting better, she is recovering, everything would be okay again.

Even Though Joy forgive Both Drake and Embrey, but nothing was same, Joy still would avoid Drake.
the Only things Joy had in her mind was her mama's recovery and Lisa's return, she thinks that now finally everything was going to be normal again in her life.

days were passing by, and Joy was waiting eagerly for Lisa's coming back home from her trip, she messaged her many times, but there were no replies.

Finally, It was the end of the week, Lisa was going to come back home tomorrow, Joy was so happy, that When Lisa would be home It would be so great again, the home would feel like home to her.

Lisa would be back tomorrow, Joy was happy that now everything would be normal again.
But Why did Lisa left her? She said She wanted to talk about something, What was it? was it Something good? was she thinking of apologising to Joy for being rude to her? or was there something else?

you never know when life's gonna hit you hard, and when it hit, things turn upside down.
The Protagonist in the story went through so much she never thought she would have to. and it made her what she is today.
She is scared to love, but would her destiny prevail love in her life and would make her fall in love or her destiny has chosen something worse for her.
To know Please support and read my novel
There's a lot you would find in the story, Romance, revenge, Family and the Most Important Love.

After that, He Ying asked Lu Zhou a lot of questions on behalf of the audience, and Lu Zhou responded to them one by one.
This included how controllable fusion technology would affect the lives of ordinary people.
And what kind of positive impacts the energy breakthrough would have on the nation's economy.
Also, Lu Zhou's own personal future plans…
Of course, Lu Zhou obviously didn't talk about any sensitive technology topics.
Once they were done with the interview, some people would edit the content of the program before the program would be officially broadcasted. They would edit out those sensitive topics.
Of course, since these things were handled by the professional production team, Lu Zhou didn't have to worry about it.
In the second half of the interview, during the audience interactive session, an 11-year-old girl walked on stage. She stood next to Lu Zhou while holding a large bouquet of clove pinks. 
She stared at Lu Zhou with her big, bright eyes as she handed out the bouquet in her hand.
"My teacher told us that you should put the flowers in a vase, next to your bedside table. This will make you feel better. Grandpa said that you used knowledge to help a lot of people, he wants you to get better. Also, I want to become a scientist like you when I grow up…"
It wasn't easy for the little girl to say all this, especially while holding a large bunch of flowers.
The young girl took a deep breath. She looked absolutely adorable.
"Thank you for your clove pink!"
Lu Zhou smiled and took the flowers from her hand. Even though he knew this was probably arranged by the show production team, he still smiled and said gratuitously, "Smelling the flower is already making me feel a lot better. Remember to tell your teacher I said thank you!"
The little girl blushed and nodded. She then turned around and ran off stage.
The audience erupted in applause.
In the midst of the applause, the show also came to an end.
Lu Zhou left the studio and went into the green room.
After He Ying expressed her gratitude to Lu Zhou on behalf of the production team, she continued to speak, "Professor Lu, are you free later?"
Lu Zhou: "Why, what's up?"
He Ying smiled and said, "Nothing much, I just wanted to grab food with you or something."
"Let's get food another day. I'm afraid Doctor Yan won't let me eat anything before I leave the hospital," Lu Zhou said with a smile.
Yan Yan, who was standing behind him, didn't say anything. However, she obviously agreed.
Even though she didn't have the power to control Lu Zhou's actions, as his personal doctor, she was still responsible for all of his health concerns.
Even though He Ying was a little disappointed, she still smiled. "Okay then, another day it is."
After Lu Zhou left the TV studio, he went back into his car. He was surprised to find out that the 301 Hospital guards that followed him here were gone. Instead, in came Wang Peng, who he hadn't seen for three days.
Lu Zhou was sitting in the back seat. He looked at the familiar face through the rearview mirror and said, "I thought you went home for the holidays."
Wang Peng made a helpless expression.
"No holidays for me, I'll probably lose my end-of-year bonus as well."
Forget about the end-of-year bonus.
If it weren't for his previous excellent record, he would be in even more trouble right now.
He had been constantly berated by the higher-ups over the past few days.
"No end-of-year bonus? Why…" Lu Zhou suddenly realized something and awkwardly said, "It's not because of me, right?"
Wang Peng smiled and didn't say anything.
It was quite difficult for him to answer this question.
Of course, he didn't complain about the punishment. After all, it was his job to protect Lu Zhou. And now, it seemed like he had failed his job.
However, Lu Zhou, who knew the real reason of why he was sick, felt somewhat guilty. After all, he wasn't poisoned or malnourished into a coma or something. It was purely because he leveled up his discipline. His brain couldn't handle the information overload… 
Lu Zhou decided he should do something to compensate for this.
"Oh, I see, I'll write a letter for you and explain the situation to the higher-ups."
Wang Peng was suddenly anxious, and he said, "Oh please don't, please don't do this."
Lu Zhou said, "No, this isn't your fault. It's mainly because I didn't take care of my body…"
Suddenly, Yan Yan interrupted him.
"His department has rules and regulations. If someone said that he made a mistake, then he made a mistake. There's no debate about that… If you really write a letter for him, not only will it not help him, but it will give him more trouble."
She was also punished in the same regard.
The reason why she wasn't fired from her current position was that 301 Hospital couldn't find any evidence of malnourishment.
This was also the reason why Wang Peng was able to get his job back. There was simply no evidence of sabotage.
Even though Yan Yan's father was a veteran, she didn't get any type of special treatment.
And she never expected Lu Zhou to get her out of this trouble.
Lu Zhou began to realize the situations they were in, so he decided not to write the letter.
Even though he still felt kind of guilty, it was what it was.
At most, he would just compensate them later…
Lu Zhou returned to 301 Hospital and was about to go upstairs for his daily medical checkup. However, when he walked into the main building, he saw Academician Wang waiting at the front entrance.
Academician Wang's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Zhou, and he smiled as he walked over.
"How are you? Do you feel better?"
"I feel a lot better." Lu Zhou smiled and said, "It's almost Chinese New Year. Are you not going back to your hometown?"
"I was born and raised in Beijing, where am I supposed to go? My hometown is one metro stop away." When Academician Wang saw that Lu Zhou could walk on his own, he nodded in relief. He said, "I'm relieved that your condition is getting better. You have no idea how many people were worried about you." 
Lu Zhou smiled awkwardly and said, "I feel really bad."
"Don't say that! We're the ones who should be feeling bad." Academician Wang sighed and said, "Controllable fusion isn't an easy thing to accomplish. Especially when it comes to coordinating various research departments. Most of the critical research projects were done by you alone. Honestly… I and the old guys at the Chinese Academy of Sciences feel quite guilty."
"I'm just doing my best, no big deal." Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Plus, my health is getting a lot better now."
Academician Wang sighed and said, "I'm glad you think that way. Also, there's one thing I have to tell you. While you were in a coma, we tried to achieve fusion ignition a couple more times. The STAR-2 demonstration reactor is looking good. The higher-ups personally made demands to implement the grid connection and supply electricity to the 80 million residents in the Jiangsu province!"
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "It's going to be connected? That's fantastic!"
Academician Wang smiled and said, "Yeah, it's really amazing. I didn't expect to live to see this day. But, there's another favor I have to ask you."
Lu Zhou frowned and said, "Is there a problem with the demonstration reactor?"
That's not possible!
Even the system recognized the success of the fusion ignition.
"It's not the demonstration reactor." Academician Wang quickly explained, "It's just that after it's connected to the grid, we can't keep calling it its code name, right? After all, this is the world's first demonstration reactor. The higher-ups asked us for a new name. I don't really care about these kinds of things, so I'm asking you, the chief designer."
Academician Wang smiled and said, "How about you think of a beautiful name for the reactor? If you really can't think of anything, you can use your own name. This is a good opportunity to leave your name in history."
"Let's not use my name. It sounds weird." Lu Zhou coughed and said, "I'll think about it."
Academician Wang said, "Okay then, you think about it. I have a couple of examples here."
Lu Zhou: "What examples do you have?"
"Oh, like Houyi, Jinwu, Daohuozhe, Suiren, etcetera. There's also the more westernized Prometheus. These were all decided through votes by the people in the army department. You can decide which one you like." 
After thinking for a long time, Lu Zhou said, "Let's call it Pangu[1]."
Academician Wang: "Pangu?"
"Yeah." Lu Zhou nodded.
He had actually thought about this for a while.
Not only would the controllable fusion breakthrough revolutionize the energy industry, but it would change the entire world.
In some sense, the birth of this demonstration reactor was the second creation of the world.
"If you think that's a good name, then so be it." Academician Wang smiled and said, "Okay then, I'm not going to stay here for long. I'll submit this name to the higher-ups and you should get some rest. The people at the demonstration reactor site are still waiting for your return. We still haven't hosted a fusion ignition celebration party yet. We've been looking forward to this for the whole of last year."
Lu Zhou smiled and nodded.
"Ok, I promise we'll have the party soon."
[1] Chinese myth, creator of the world.


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?"

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