Li Feipeng had been riding high just moments ago, convinced that trampling over the Xu Corporation was within his grasp.
But now, he was utterly terrified.
He had no interest in reading research reports anymore. Instead, he frantically scrolled through his phone, searching for any related news.
Every video he swiped past showed endless lines of people demanding refunds.
Retail locations across the country were packed—not with customers, but with angry crowds returning products.
Then, another bombshell dropped.
A former executive of Flavor Foods exposed Li Feipeng for tax evasion, claiming to have concrete evidence.
The internet erupted.
Shen Wanning’s fan army sprang into action. Once dismissed as mindless followers, they now appeared to be the most rational of all.
Meanwhile, countless casual fans stumbled upon Shen Wanning’s advertisement, and the piano piece featured in it quickly climbed the trending charts.
…
In Yang City, at the Shen Family residence.
Shen Hong stared at the news, his expression grave.
No wonder Xu Shou had been so confident at the previous banquet—he had been holding all the cards from the start.
"Dad! Have you seen the trending topics?"
Shen Wanning, still in her pajamas, rushed downstairs with her phone in hand.
Her face was alight with excitement—her inbox was flooded with apologies.
Shen Hong regarded her calmly. Earlier, when the Feng Family and Flavor Foods had joined forces, he had been genuinely concerned.
If things had gone smoothly, the Feng Family would have surpassed the Shens in no time.
But now, Flavor Foods was in ruins.
And his daughter, purely by chance, had starred in an advertisement for the Xu Family. Perhaps this could be the start of a collaboration.
Assuming, of course, that the Xu Family’s weight-loss drug actually worked.
"I’ve seen it. Wanning… I owe you an apology. You’ve got better foresight than I do." Shen Hong managed a smile.
Shen Wanning puffed her cheeks slightly before finally grinning.
So Xu Mu hadn’t lied to her after all.
…
At this moment, apart from Li Feipeng and Lin Yang, no one was more furious than the Feng Family.
"Damn it!"
Feng Kang hurled an ashtray at the massive TV screen.
Fifty billion in investments, plus another fifty billion in bets—a total of a hundred billion!
This was real money, not just inflated market value.
And the worst part? Half of it would be donated under the Xu Family’s name. It felt worse than swallowing sewage.
"Idiot! What were you thinking, making a bet with Xu Mu?" Feng Kang’s sharp glare bore into Feng Jian.
Feng Jian lowered his head and muttered, "Dad, you were the one who agreed to it in the end."
"You dare talk back?"
Feng Kang flung a wine glass at Feng Jian. "You walked right into their trap! That old fox Xu Shou—damn him!"
…
Feng Yue was in shock. Only after witnessing the entire spectacle did she realize she had been nothing more than a pawn.
She now suspected that the documents Chen Bei had given her from the start were fake.
If Xu Shou could plant a bug on Chen Bei, why wouldn’t he feed her false information?
No wonder Xu Mu hadn’t batted an eye when she warned him—he’d known all along that the weight-loss drug she’d been obsessing over was a sham.
"That Xu Shou… he’s really something else."
CRASH!
Before she could finish, the newly repaired window behind her shattered again.
From the darkness emerged Lin Yang.
"Lin Yang, do you not know how to use a door?" Feng Yue said flatly.
"Use your mother’s door!"
Lin Yang stormed forward and slapped Feng Yue across the face.
The force sent her flying off the couch, landing hard on the carpet.
Her lip split, blood trickling down.
"Feng Yue! You lied to me! You and the Xu Family set me up!"
Lin Yang’s eyes burned with murderous intent. After years as a mercenary abroad, risking his life for every penny, he had just lost billions in one go.
It wasn’t about the money—it was the humiliation. As the so-called "King of Mercenaries," he had suffered defeat after defeat.
"Lin Yang, I was deceived too. Xu Shou anticipated I’d steal the documents—what I got was fake from the start."
Feng Yue clutched her cheek, tears welling in her eyes, but her expression remained fierce.
Lin Yang grabbed her hair, forcing her to look at him. "I don’t believe you."
With that, he dragged her toward the window.
"Lin Yang! What are you doing?" Panic flashed across Feng Yue’s face.
"Xu Mu’s always throwing money at you. You two must be close."
Lin Yang’s voice was icy. "I wanted to deal with him properly, but he forced my hand. Time he learns who he’s messing with."
He hurled Feng Yue out the window.
Below, a middle-aged man caught her effortlessly.
With practiced ease, he wrapped duct tape around her mouth a dozen times before tossing her into a black van.
Lin Yang leaped down from the second floor and slid into the passenger seat.
The driver was the same young man who had once "fixed the router" at Xu Mu’s villa.
"Boss, what’s the plan?" he asked with a grin.
"I’m in the mood to kill," Lin Yang said coldly.
"Got it. Leave it to me."
"No. This is Dragon Nation. I don’t want the Cleaners on your tail."
At the mention of the Cleaners, the young man paled. He’d almost forgotten—this wasn’t the Middle East or Africa.
Here, if a martial artist killed openly, the consequences would be dire.
"I’ll call Nine Fingers. He owes me."
Lin Yang’s tone was indifferent. "That bastard’s done enough evil—if the Cleaners take him out, so be it."
"Nine Fingers? From the Death List’s 18th spot?"
The young man’s eyes widened. "Using someone like that for Xu Mu… isn’t that overkill?"
The Death List was the underground ranking of Dragon Nation’s deadliest assassins—eighteen in total, known as the Eighteen Hells.
Nine Fingers held the 18th spot, a position of immense prestige.
Among the known assassins in Dragon Nation, he was one of the best.
"Xu Mu’s still a corporate heir. Killing him carries risks. I want this done right."
Lin Yang clenched his fist. "Let’s move."
…
Xu Mu wasn’t particularly bothered by the day’s events. He and Ye Tong had their own matters to attend to.
As for the weight-loss drug, the outcome had been certain from the start.
Flavor Foods was finished, and the bet was his.
The rest could be handled by Xu Shou and Xu Ningbing.
His priority was still earning Justice Points to grow stronger.
After his efforts, he’d saved up 3,000 points. He planned to try his luck tomorrow morning—maybe he’d hit the jackpot again.
…
The next day, Xu Mu woke up early, ready to spin the wheel, but his phone buzzed before he could begin.
He frowned. At this hour, it couldn’t be his father again.
Glancing at the screen, his frown deepened.
The caller wasn’t his dad—it was Feng Yue.
He was about to decline when Ye Tong stirred beside him.
"Is it Dad?"
"No. It’s that bar owner from before." Xu Mu showed her the caller ID.
"Answer it. Might be important," Ye Tong murmured sleepily.
"Fine."
Since Ye Tong had already said so, Xu Mu answered the call.
He deliberately put the phone on speaker and asked, "It’s so early in the morning—can’t you let a man sleep?"
"Xu Mu! Your little sweetheart Feng Yue is in my hands. Do you want to save her?"
A low, menacing voice came through the phone.
] [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!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
