Li Ming saw that Tan Qingqing hadn’t fallen for his trick and had even called his bluff, her face full of disdain. He chuckled, unfazed.
It would’ve been great if she’d taken the bait, but if not…
A thought flashed through Li Ming’s mind as he activated his skill—Heartfelt Sincerity!
Effect: Can be actively cast on a target, making them feel your utmost sincerity, opening their heart, and fostering honesty, quickly gaining their favor. (Effect doubles when used on women; halves when used on men.)
Li Ming cast Heartfelt Sincerity on Tan Qingqing before leisurely continuing his explanation.
“Tan Qingqing, I’m not trying to trick you. I’m genuinely curious—who has the power to get you out of here? And even if you tell me, I don’t have any proof. I’m just a small-time warden—what could I possibly do against someone like that?”
Li Ming spread his hands, signaling that even if he knew, he wouldn’t dare oppose their boss.
“Besides, when the boss comes to get you, they won’t need my permission. A simple transfer order will force me to hand you over. If I refuse, it’s insubordination, right? That’s how it’s always been done—I know the drill. Just satisfy my curiosity, whisper the name to me. It won’t affect your release, and you’ll get to relax for the next two weeks. A win-win, don’t you think? So, what do you say?”
Li Ming coaxed her patiently, watching for the skill’s effect. Tan Qingqing’s expression shifted from disdain and wariness to furrowed brows, deep in thought—clearly, she was starting to trust him a little.
Meanwhile, inside Tan Qingqing’s mind, a battle raged. A little black devil screamed at her—Don’t trust Li Ming! He’s a two-faced bastard! If you believe him, you’ll never leave this prison!
A little white angel, however, smiled gently. Since meeting Li Ming, even though he’s a bit unreliable, he’s kept his promises—a private cell, no invasive exams, even letting you call your family for five whole minutes. He’s trustworthy enough for a small trade. A name in exchange for 15 days of no labor? That’s a steal.
The black devil trembled with rage and shrieked, Think about your 25-year sentence! If you slip up now, you’ll rot in this hellhole for 25 years, breaking your back in labor! Can you handle that?!
Before Tan Qingqing could react, the white angel countered, It’s just a name. What can he do with it? He’s just a measly warden. Humor him, let him learn something new, and maybe he’ll treat you better.
Tan Qingqing’s frown deepened as the two little figures brawled in her head, giving her a splitting headache.
Staring at Li Ming’s honest, earnest face, she felt something was off—but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
She glanced around—armed guards, towering barbed-wire fences, the imposing black walls of Black Mountain Prison, her own prison uniform, and… her aching back.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She had to get out of here. Out of prison! She should be lounging on a custom-made sofa, sipping wine, enjoying a gourmet meal while gazing at the city’s glittering skyline—living the high life!
No. I can’t say a word. Nothing can jeopardize my escape plan!
So what if she had to work? Fine! Fifteen days of labor was nothing compared to 25 years behind bars.
Her resolve hardened. Without answering Li Ming, she turned and walked away.
Li Ming was baffled. What the hell? Did the skill fail? He hurried after her.
“Tan Qingqing, where are you going? You didn’t answer me! Don’t you want to skip labor and relax in your cell?”
“Warden! I love working! I enjoy labor! Please send me back to the factory—I’m ready to reform! No need for special treatment.” Her voice was firm, and no matter how much the white angel in her head protested, she stood her ground.
Even if part of her believed Li Ming, she wouldn’t gamble her future on it. The stakes were too high.
“Uh… you sure?”
“Absolutely!”
“Really no deal?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Warden. I need to get back to work. If my group falls behind schedule, you’ll be held responsible!” She quickened her pace, radiating unshakable determination.
Li Ming could only laugh helplessly as he escorted her back to the factory.
His probing and skill had failed. Tan Qingqing was dead set on keeping that name to herself.
Back at her workstation, Tan Qingqing glared at the mountain of clothes before her, gritted her teeth, and grabbed her scissors. Her hands flew at an unprecedented speed, a stark contrast to her earlier sluggishness.
The deputy warden watching nearby nodded approvingly and said to Li Ming,
“Warden, you’re amazing! Your ideological education is so effective—no wonder you’re the warden! You’re on another level compared to us!”
Li Ming could only laugh bitterly at the praise. He’d tried to offer her a shortcut, and she’d refused—reverse ideological education, really.
Shaking his head, he left the factory area.
Turns out, the skill wasn’t foolproof. Heartfelt Sincerity could foster goodwill and honesty, but when it came to critical secrets, people wouldn’t spill blindly.
Returning to the office building, Li Ming checked the time. Wang Xin and her daughter should’ve cooled off by now—he’d go check on them.
But as he passed the infirmary, Xia Hong stepped out.
“Oh, Warden! What a coincidence!” She greeted him with a bright smile.
“Yeah, what a coincidence! What’s up, Hong?” Li Ming eyed the files in her arms curiously.
“Oh, just delivering these to Xiao Xi!” She fell into step beside him.
“Lin Xi? I haven’t seen her since lunch. What’s she up to?” Li Ming was puzzled.
As warden, he felt like a figurehead—Lin Xi seemed busier than he was.
“Huh? You don’t know? In a few days, we’re holding a dance competition in the prison. Xiao Xi’s busy selecting beauties!” Xia Hong patted the files.
“These are the applications. She’s forming a team to train a group performance. If they do well and place high, she’ll help them apply for sentence reductions. We hold events like this often—you’ll even be a judge!”
Li Ming blinked.
“A… prison girl group?”
…
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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.”
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
