Mission Reward: Greater Restoration! Rapidly recover from non-fatal injuries. Usage limit: once per day.
Failure Penalty: All acquired skills will be revoked.
After quickly reviewing the mission details, Li Ming felt slightly relieved. Unlike previous mandatory missions with unbearable penalties, this one wasn’t as strict.
The worst outcome would just be losing all his skills.
He counted them—only five in total:
1. Heart’s Insight! The ability to sense when someone is lying to him.
2. Aura of Authority! A commanding presence that naturally intimidates others.
3. The physical prowess and combat skills of a special forces soldier!
4. Sincerity’s Touch! The power to make others feel his absolute genuineness.
5. Vigilance Aura! Detects living beings within a 200-meter radius when in an excited state.
These skills were incredibly powerful, and Li Ming was reluctant to lose them. But… perhaps he could reinterpret the mission to make life in prison more comfortable for her?
That… might just work.
After a moment’s thought, Li Ming spoke to Tan Chengcheng, who was slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Miss Tan, stop crying. I have a compromise—would you like to hear it?"
Tan Chengcheng, still drowning in sorrow, suddenly jerked upright at his words, her chest heaving dramatically with the movement.
Li Ming’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to her.
"Warden Li… What did you say? What kind of compromise? Please, tell me! I’ll do anything!" Tan Chengcheng, sensing a shift in his tone, clung to the sliver of hope.
"Ahem… I’ve been thinking… Getting your sister out of prison is impossible, but… I can make her time there easier," Li Ming said, tearing his eyes away and taking a sip from his glass.
"At Black Mountain Prison, inmates work five days a week, with one rest day and one day for skill training. Aside from public holidays, everyone must work on schedule. Tan Qingqing was exhausted yesterday, so I didn’t send her to the factory today. If you reframe it—she’s just staying inside without freedom—she might not resist as much. That’s the best I can do..."
"Also… you mentioned someone framed you for fraud. If the case can be overturned, her sentence might be reduced. Plus, our prison offers sentence-reduction programs and activities. If your sister cooperates, she won’t have to serve the full term."
By now, Tan Chengcheng understood Li Ming’s proposal and furrowed her brows, weighing the options.
If there was truly no way to free her sister, this compromise might be the best solution.
If the case could be overturned, her sister might not even serve much time. With that thought, Tan Chengcheng finally nodded.
"Warden Li… I… I agree. But my sister… she’s never done hard labor in her life. You must take good care of her. Whether it’s money or… anything else… just name it, and I’ll do my best..."
She slumped into her chair, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Li Ming.
Compared to Zhang Wenhai, she trusted Li Ming more—not just because of his youth and mystery, but because he had principles.
Whether it was money or the bodies of the two sisters, these were conditions Zhang Wenhai would have accepted without hesitation. But Li Ming remained completely unmoved.
"I understand... Don’t worry. When I return to the prison, you should come with me during visitation hours and explain things to her clearly. She needs to accept reality. Otherwise, with her moping around every day, life in prison will be unbearable for her," Li Ming instructed.
Tan Chengcheng nodded. There was no other choice...
"Warden Li... Please, have some food. Tianyi Villa is under my name—you’re welcome to visit anytime. If you like it, I’ll give the villa to you!" Tan Chengcheng picked up some dishes and placed them in Li Ming’s bowl, her tone ingratiating.
"No... I can’t accept that. I don’t take rewards for no reason. I helped you, but not for this..." Li Ming took a bite and smiled.
With a compromise in place, Li Ming felt relieved, and his appetite returned.
"Then... since you’ve helped us so much... how can I repay you? Just... name it." Tan Chengcheng’s face flushed slightly, as if certain thoughts had crossed her mind.
"Hey, don’t misunderstand me. That’s definitely not what I meant! Cough cough!" Seeing Tan Chengcheng’s lowered head and reddened cheeks, Li Ming immediately realized his words had been misconstrued.
He truly hadn’t intended to extract anything from Tan Chengcheng in exchange for his help—he was just fulfilling a task.
Once she agreed to his compromise, the mission was complete, and the reward had already been delivered. He had gotten what he wanted.
Yet Tan Chengcheng nodded as if she understood.
"Warden... don’t worry. I know you’re concerned I might use this to blackmail you, but I promise I won’t! I’ve never had a boyfriend before... you’re my first man. As long as Qingqing lives comfortably in prison, I’m willing. This private room has no surveillance—not a single word we say will leave here."
"It’s late outside... You... should stay the night... and leave tomorrow."
Tan Chengcheng’s face burned with embarrassment, her voice growing softer. Clearly, inviting a man to stay overnight was too much for a young woman like her—even a wealthy businesswoman! At this moment, she was as bashful as any ordinary girl.
"Cough cough! You’ve really misunderstood... There’s no need for this! If I took advantage of your gratitude, how would I be any different from Zhang Wenhai?" Li Ming explained with a bitter smile.
"By the way... I haven’t asked you yet. Did you go to Zhang Wenhai again?"
Hearing this, Tan Chengcheng felt even more grateful to Li Ming, convinced she had chosen the right person.
"Yes... but I only sent him a message. I told him I’d only agree to his conditions if he could actually get Qingqing out and bring her to me. I’m not foolish enough to give myself to him first." She pulled out her phone and showed Li Ming the message.
Li Ming glanced at it and nodded.
"No wonder Zhang Wenhai called me earlier, trying to sound me out. So that’s what happened..."
Before he could finish, Tan Chengcheng’s phone suddenly dinged—
A new message arrived. Both Li Ming and Tan Chengcheng looked down.
Coincidentally, it was from Zhang Wenhai!
"Miss Tan, there's progress on the matter you mentioned. The warden of Black Mountain Prison is a close friend of mine. Let's discuss it in person—tonight at 11, I've reserved a private dining room at Jade Pavilion. We’ll meet then, no excuses..."
Tan Chengcheng: "???"
Li Ming: "…!"
...
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
