Lin Jiu's vision was bathed in crimson as a piercing alarm exploded in his mind:
[WARNING! Detection of an ultra-dangerous entity approaching!!!]
[Divine Choice System forcibly activated—]
[Option 1: Kneel and beg for mercy (Reward: Shadow Resistance +10%)]
[Option 2: Counter-kill the entity (Reward: Fragment of the Soul-Devouring Demon Art)]
[Option 3: Livestream a distress call (Convert viewership into Revival Tokens)]
Thud!
In an instant.
Lin Jiu’s heart convulsed, the unfamiliar crimson interface and the choices before him snapping him to full alertness.
"Hey... wait a second..."
Lin Jiu swallowed hard, panic seeping through his veins.
He scrambled off the bed, staring at the options on the screen in disbelief.
This had to be a joke, right?
"What ‘ultra-dangerous entity’?!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"System, are you glitching?!"
His face paled. This couldn’t be real.
Just yesterday, he was choosing between bringing a rich girl pearl milk tea or bubble tea.
And now you’re telling me I’m under attack by some monstrous threat?
Huh?
Are you serious?
[Host must choose immediately! Otherwise, the system will enforce a random selection!]
Damn it, this stupid system was always like this.
If you hesitated even a little, it’d pick for you in the most chaotic way possible.
Lin Jiu closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
Wait.
If I were truly doomed, the system wouldn’t give me three options, right?
Which means...
His eyes flew open, gleaming with realization.
Has my destined protagonist’s ascension arc finally arrived?!
He stared at his hands, gulping.
Could it be... that I’ll awaken powers like those martial artists?
Right.
Just look at the options.
Option 1: Kneel and beg—no way, I’m the protagonist, I’d never grovel.
Option 3: Livestream for Revival Tokens? Pfft, have you even read stories? Protagonists like me are unkillable!
So...
"Only Option 2 is left."
Lin Jiu licked his lips, about to tap the second choice when—
Bzzzt—!
Suddenly.
The screen emitted a shrill static noise, followed by a flood of squirming black glyphs crawling over the interface.
Lin Jiu froze, about to demand an explanation when—
[Big... brother...]
[Come play... with us...]
Without warning.
The pitch-black corridor of the abandoned building echoed with the laughter of children.
Lin Jiu’s breath hitched. He turned stiffly toward the sound—
And saw a sight that made his scalp crawl.
There, emerging from the darkness, were twelve ragdolls.
Their grotesque grins stretched ear to ear, their button eyes—oversized and black—glinting with a cold, lifeless sheen, as if fixated on him.
Their mouths gaped unnaturally wide, lined with jagged black teeth, trails of dried crimson liquid oozing from the corners. With every hop, the fluid dripped onto the dusty floor with a nauseating plink.
Their limbs were grotesquely elongated, joints creaking like rusted hinges, their movements jerky and disjointed.
"What... what the hell are these things?!"
Lin Jiu’s heart hammered against his ribs, his legs locked in place as if nailed to the ground.
Sweat stung his eyes, blurring his vision, but he dared not blink—terrified the dolls would lurch forward the moment he did.
[Big brother, play with us...]
Their voices wove through the hollow building, a chorus of whispers that slithered into his mind, gnawing at his sanity.
Their hopping grew frenzied, closing the distance in seconds.
"System! Do something!"
Lin Jiu screamed inwardly. I’m the protagonist!
I can’t die here!
Then.
[Found you~]
A mocking voice dripped from above.
Lin Jiu looked up.
A hulking monstrosity hung inverted from the ceiling beams, its massive form shadowed by a swirling green specter clutching the Ten Thousand Demon Banner.
In the next heartbeat—
Whoosh!
The banner’s fog unfurled into tendrils of inky hair, cocooning Lin Jiu in a suffocating embrace.
As the darkness swallowed him whole, his final thought was sheer disbelief.
This... can’t be happening...
System... system...
[System terminated.......]
Lin Jiu: ???
...
Meanwhile.
Golden City, Financial District.
Boom!
As the Blood Fiend’s massive blade cleaved through the bank vault, the entire financial center shuddered like a torn wound, blood gushing from severed steel beams and staining the glass facades crimson.
On the edge of his blade, coagulated blood formed into a nine-headed serpent, each maw gaping wide, venom dripping from fangs that sizzled as they corroded the ground.
The wealthiest family in Gold City—
Young Master Wang cowered inside a safety deposit box, fingers trembling as he swiped frantically across his phone screen.
His [Ultimate Tycoon System] was blaring warnings, his balance hemorrhaging nine-digit sums every second, as if some unseen force was devouring his fortune.
Just moments ago, he’d been busy wooing a starlet.
Then—out of nowhere—she collapsed, and he found himself under attack.
Forced to flee, he’d taken refuge in what was touted as Gold City’s most secure financial stronghold.
But—
CRASH!
When the monster tore through the bank walls and pried open his hiding place—
This—
This was clearly no sanctuary.
“I’ll transfer it all! Take every penny!” Young Master Wang’s voice cracked with terror as he stared up at the Blood Fiend.
Yet—
“Kill you, and your wealth still belongs to our King.”
The Blood Fiend cracked his neck.
The nine-headed serpent on his blade roared in unison.
The words barely faded—
Before the crimson serpent lunged.
THUD.
Young Master Wang slumped to the floor, his phone screen dead.
The system’s final alert echoed in his ears:
[WARNING! Hostile superior system detected—]
...
High above the city—
Qin Luo treated the night sky as his chessboard.
His long fingers placed black pieces—each one a coalescence of shadow and the stolen fortunes of so-called “Chosen Ones.”
Across the celestial board, swarms of black pieces encircled the white.
“Heh…”
A faint smirk curled Qin Luo’s lips.
Chosen Ones… enjoy your night.
Beside him, a pair of scissors floated—
SNIP. SNIP.
One by one, the threads of destiny tied to those favored by fate were severed.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
. 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!"
ial death, also known as "shè sǐ" in Chinese, generally refers to... well, never mind, it's not important. My name is Ye Cheng, and I'm about to experience social death firsthand. ... 【Host, your mission is to confess your love to the young lady of the Dongfang family, the current student council president, in a way that will be unforgettable for everyone at the freshman ceremony!】 【Host, assist the girl with a sprained ankle in front of you to reach the infirmary, and fulfill the wicked thoughts in your heart!】 【Host, act on your desires and punish the arrogant young lady before you mercilessly!】 【Host, follow your instincts—abandon shameful surrender, begging, or groveling, and ruthlessly criticize the domineering, ill-mannered young lady in front of you!】 【Host...】 Ye Cheng: "Here, here, you take this host role—I quit!" Wait, why is the girl with a sprained ankle the daughter of a mafia boss? And what kind of punishment method is this for the arrogant young lady? Also, who the heck said anything about wicked thoughts in my heart? Come out here, let’s settle this one-on-one!!! ... The haughty student council president, the scheming mafia princess, the fragile yandere young lady, the airheaded maid-in-waiting, the mixed-blood loli/...
