Lin Yu slowly exhaled smoke and white breath, quietly waiting for the cold wind to dry the sweat on his body.
Now that he’d calmed down and thought it over carefully, this outcome was unexpected yet made perfect sense. With Black Tiger’s loyalty-bound personality, only his family could have held him back like this.
"Reasonable."
Lin Yu nodded, his doubts now resolved.
Black Tiger seemed even more dejected. He took a deep drag of his cigarette before letting out a self-deprecating laugh, smoke curling from his nose and lips. His voice was thick with resignation as he said,
"Truth is, I never had a choice."
"Before me, Wang Xing and the others had already been won over by Zhao She."
"By the time he approached me, I was probably the only one left in the Black Blood Gang still standing by Brother Yuan’s side."
Lin Yu frowned, puzzled. "How did none of you notice him eating away at you like this?"
Black Tiger aside, at the very least, Li Yuan wasn’t so foolish as to let his power be hollowed out without realizing it!
Black Tiger stared at the familiar alley he’d walked countless times, his voice heavy with exhaustion.
"Brother Yuan was always wary of him."
"But it didn’t matter."
"Every move Zhao She made was out in the open—no excuses to stop him, no way to block him."
"Bit by bit, his influence grew until even Brother Yuan didn’t dare confront him outright."
Lin Yu’s interest was piqued. "How’d he pull that off? Break it down for me."
Black Tiger didn’t refuse. He took another drag before continuing,
"When he joined, the Black Blood Gang was on the verge of collapse."
"People were either running or injured—only the core members were left holding the line."
"After he joined, he somehow drove a wedge between the Fire Scorpions and the out-of-town gangs, making the outsiders pull out."
"Then he asked Brother Yuan for money—said he needed to recruit new members to rebuild the gang."
"Even though the outsiders had left, the Fire Scorpions were still watching us, ready to finish us off at any moment."
"At a time like that, you think Brother Yuan could refuse?"
"Even though he suspected Zhao She might use the money for his own ends—that the new recruits would only answer to him—he had no choice."
"If Brother Yuan didn’t want to slink out of H City in disgrace, he had to hand over the cash and let Zhao She rebuild the ranks."
"And just as Brother Yuan feared, the new recruits Zhao She brought in barely listened to us. They only obeyed Zhao She."
"That’s when Brother Yuan sat us down and said we couldn’t let Zhao She keep expanding—otherwise, he’d take over the Black Blood Gang sooner or later."
"We were still figuring out how to deal with him when—"
Here, Black Tiger paused and turned to Lin Yu.
"You know about that incident, right?"
Lin Yu nodded. He knew—the hotel explosion that wiped out half the Fire Scorpions’ leadership.
Seeing Lin Yu’s confirmation, Black Tiger didn’t elaborate. He turned back to the alley, took another drag, and said,
"That mess ruined all our plans."
"He was just too ruthless."
"So ruthless that even some of our own started fearing him—some even admired him, wanted to ditch Brother Yuan and follow him instead."
"After that, we’d already lost."
"Even if we could’ve still fought him then, our people’s loyalty was gone. What were we supposed to fight him with?"
"After that, he picked us off one by one."
"Offered Wang Xing money."
"Promised Liu Mahua status."
"He had a sharp eye—knew exactly what each person’s weakness was."
"Then he got to me."
"He didn’t say a word to me. Just had my wife and daughter—hidden in another city—and my parents from the countryside ‘invited’ over. Then he took a nice family photo for us."
Black Tiger’s hand trembled slightly as he held the cigarette.
He forced himself to steady it, taking a moment to compose himself before continuing, his voice thick with pain.
"I failed Brother Yuan."
"If there’d been even the slightest chance he could win, I’d have fought alongside him to the end."
"But there was no hope left."
"I was the last one to leave him in the entire Black Blood Gang."
Hearing this, Lin Yu felt a mix of emotions, his wariness toward Zhao She growing even stronger.
Never let your guard down.
This man was truly terrifying.
Out of old camaraderie, Lin Yu stepped forward and patted Black Tiger’s shoulder.
"Don’t blame yourself."
"Some things are like a tidal wave—you can’t change them. Keeping your family safe is already more than enough."
Black Tiger didn’t respond, his face still twisted with guilt, as if he couldn’t forgive himself.
Seeing his words had no effect, Lin Yu didn’t push further. Instead, he casually asked,
"What’s your plan now?"
"Gonna find another line of work?"
"Or stick with this life?"
Black Tiger shook his head, exhaustion weighing on his voice.
"I’m done with this life."
"And it’s not even an option anymore."
"Zhao She won’t keep people like us around."
"I got off easy."
"At least he’ll give me what he promised."
"But as for Wang Xing and Liu Mahua..."
Black Tiger let out a cold laugh, his tone dripping with disdain.
"If they’ve got any brains left, they’ll bow out quietly."
"Otherwise..."
He left the threat hanging with another scoff.
Lin Yu understood. Zhao She had no intention of honoring his promises now that the game was won.
Makes sense.
Why waste money after you’ve already beaten the final boss?
Now that he’d satisfied his damned curiosity about the Black Blood Gang’s downfall, Lin Yu was ready to leave.
With this much money in hand, he was over the moon.
Even after paying back Qing Mo’s 500,000, he’d still have another 500,000 left!
That was enough not just for four years of college—if he budgeted carefully, he might even cover Tang Manman’s bride price with it!
Wait…
Does this world even have bride prices?
Never really paid attention…
Hope not!
Lin Yu flicked his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it under his heel.
After standing in the cold wind for a while, he shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to leave.
"Litt—"
"Yu-ye."
Huh?
Lin Yu spun around, startled by the unexpectedly grandiose title.
Black Tiger’s face was a mix of discomfort and defeat, as if the words tasted bitter in his mouth.
But he swallowed his pride and cautiously asked,
"What about… Brother Yuan?"
Lin Yu fell silent for a moment before finally choosing to speak frankly:
"It’s up to fate now."
Those few short words shattered Black Tiger’s composure. He covered his dark-skinned face with a large hand, murmuring over and over in a choked voice:
"Thank you... thank you..."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
