As Lin Xi and Xia Hong waited anxiously, Li Ming was lost in a long dream.
In the dream, he had become the protagonist of a novel, controlled by a merciless author who forced him into bizarre situations. Fortunately, he was quick-witted enough to complete each task assigned to him, steadily growing stronger through the rewards until he eventually became a superhuman existence, breaking free from the author’s control and returning to the real world.
Before Li Ming could even rejoice in the dream, a sharp pain pierced his mind, accompanied by chaotic voices that blurred the line between reality and illusion—until finally…
"Li Ming!! Wake up! Li Ming!!"
Lin Xi’s voice cut through the haze, pulling him out of the dream.
Li Ming slowly opened his eyes to see Lin Xi and Xia Hong standing beside him, their faces etched with worry.
"Li Ming! Thank goodness! You’re finally awake!!"
Lin Xi grabbed his hand, shaking it excitedly.
"Good! Aside from the earlier spike in heart rate, all his vitals are stable. He should be fine," Xia Hong said, relieved as she checked the monitor’s readings.
"Huh?? Why am I lying here? What happened?"
Li Ming sat up, utterly confused.
His last memory was stepping off the elevator—he remembered he was just about to introduce himself, so how did he end up in a hospital bed?
"You… you suddenly passed out for no reason. Thank goodness you woke up! Otherwise, how would I explain this to your parents?" Lin Xi patted her chest, visibly shaken.
"What? I fainted? I don’t remember anything!" Li Ming was even more baffled. How could he just collapse out of nowhere?
"Could it be that you were too nervous? Maybe your mind went blank and you just dropped?" Xia Hong chimed in.
"Nervous? Well, yeah, I was nervous, but not enough to faint!" Li Ming scratched his head, recalling the strange dream he’d just had.
"Well, the monitor shows nothing wrong with you. How do you feel? Any discomfort?" Xia Hong asked, concerned.
"None… I feel completely normal." Li Ming stood up and stretched, finding nothing out of the ordinary.
"Good! Then it’s nothing. Just a false alarm—carry on as usual."
Xia Hong figured the guy had just panicked and blacked out. Physically strong as an ox, yet mentally fragile—what a contrast.
"Glad you’re okay. Do you need more rest, or should we head to the cell block? It’s your first day as warden—time to introduce you to everyone."
Lin Xi had also relaxed, chalking it up to nerves. She’d take him to a proper hospital for a checkup next time they went out for supplies.
"Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go. After fainting like that, I bet they all think I’m a joke. Ugh." Li Ming scratched his head, embarrassed.
What a way to make a first impression—collapsing in front of everyone. How was he supposed to command respect as the warden now?
"Tch! Forget that. Just don’t faint again when you see the inmates." Lin Xi led him downstairs, adding, "Our Black Mountain Women’s Prison houses serious criminals—everyone here is serving at least 15 years, with many on life sentences or death row. Don’t underestimate them. Given half a chance, they’d try to escape. And since you’re a man… well, some of the more desperate ones might look at you like a piece of meat. Be careful."
As they passed female guards who greeted them, Li Ming followed Lin Xi through the prison’s main gate.
Li Ming had never known much about prisons before, but now he saw just how many layers of security there were.
Beyond the main entrance, the first checkpoint was an electronic gate—no keyhole, just a camera linked to the surveillance room in the admin building.
Lin Xi waved at the camera, and the gate slid open.
Past it was another electronic gate, leading to the inmates’ recreational yard. To Li Ming, it looked no different from his old college campus’s field.
This gate used facial recognition. After a quick setup, Lin Xi added Li Ming’s profile, and they proceeded through the yard’s access corridor.
At the end stood a heavy steel door. Lin Xi keyed in a code, and as the door groaned open, an oppressive atmosphere seeped out.
"This is where the inmates live. The code for this door changes daily—only you and I have access. Updates are sent to your office computer, so don’t forget to check."
"Further in are the keys to each cell block. They’re physical keys, with backups only in my office. The rest are held by the block officers."
Li Ming took a deep breath. The prison’s security was staggering—electronic gates, codes, facial recognition, surveillance-controlled doors. With so many measures, escape seemed impossible.
Still, curiosity got the better of him. "Lin Xi, what if there’s a blackout? All these high-tech gates would fail, right?"
Lin Xi smirked, unfazed as they stepped into the cell block. "No worries. The prison has three backup generators buried underground. If the power goes out, all doors lock automatically—no one’s getting out. Plus, the floors are wired with low-voltage current. If inmates riot, they’ll be zapped and subdued instantly."
"Whoa! That’s hardcore! But wouldn’t the guards get shocked too?"
"Those inside would, but reinforcements wear insulated boots. The voltage isn’t lethal—just enough to knock sense into people. You should try it sometime. A little zap wakes you right up—feels great." Lin Xi winked.
"Well, well, look who’s here—the new male warden. Pretty boy, ain’tcha?" A towering inmate with tattooed arms sneered, her grin dripping with mischief.
"What? Where? Oh my god!! A real man! And he’s hot!! I love him already!"
"Ha! Finally, some testosterone! I was startin’ to crave women! Can’t have him, but damn, I’ll enjoy the view! Hey, handsome! Come play with us!"
"A man!! An actual man!!"
"Kid! How old are ya? Ever been with a woman? Let big sis teach ya a thing or two! Hahaha!"
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
le for a sister-in-law. But Xu Mu couldn’t bring himself to rejoice. The reason? He had transmigrated into the brainless villain of a novel—one who abused his wife, forced the Dragon King’s sister to live in a doghouse, and ended up having his ashes scattered upon the Dragon King’s return. Fortunately, Xu Mu awakened the "Justice System," and he was determined to rewrite his doomed fate. A wife should be cherished, and of course, his sister-in-law deserved to sleep in the villa’s cozy bed. When the Dragon King finally returned, he was greeted by a loving and harmonious family. Xu Mu soon realized that aside from the Dragon King, countless other protagonists began emerging—all targeting him—forcing him to fight back. You have a few breathtakingly beautiful senior sisters? Sorry, but they’re my senior sisters now. You’re a retired soldier king searching for your first love? Too bad—your "white moonlight" already sees me as hers. …
with Taming My Adopted Niece) (Multiple Heroines + Power Fantasy) Before transmigrating, Wang Jianqiang suffered greatly from novels with no female leads. Holding firm to the belief that "women only slow down my blade," he stubbornly maintained his virginity even after decades in the Sect of Dual Cultivation. In his twilight years, with his cultivation stagnant at the third level of Qi Refining, he finally succumbed and "rewarded" himself once—triggering the awakening of the Godly Cultivation System. From then on, he realized women might actually be his lucky stars on the path to immortality. Deciding to indulge freely and savor life, he found his ungrateful adopted niece knocking at his door...
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
