A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands - Chapter 1Book : : Strands of Fate

When Xu Ying woke up in the post-apocalyptic world, she found herself back at eighteen years old in her previous life!Luckily, her portable space was filled with spoils from raiding supermarkets, including clothing, food, shelter, and various weapons and medicines.This made Xu Ying ecstatic.In an era of scarce resources and poverty, she had enough to ensure her family lived a good life.While other families favored sons over daughters, Xu's family had always cherished Xu Ying as their precious jewel. Having squandered a good hand in her previous life, she was determined to do better this time by kicking scumbags to the curb and tearing down the 'green tea' women, all while protecting her family and incidentally snagging the toughest man in the village!Huo Chen had a solitary nature and fearsome appearance, causing children to cry at the sight of him, but Xu Ying, who had honed her skills during the apocalypse, was not afraid of the notoriously fierce man at all.Xu Ying: What do you want to do? We're just partners.Huo Chen: You think you can seduce me and then run? No way.

“Come here, little one!” “No way!”

What to do when the wife is angry? The big-shot CEO is filthy rich, showering her with extravagant displays of love every day! Today a luxury car, tomorrow a mansion, the day after a private jet…

In a media interview: “What was the most expensive gift you have given your wife?” “So far, our son!” “You treat your wife so well, she must surely love you!” CEO laughs confidently, “Without a doubt!”

Arriving home, his delicate wife throws a divorce contract at him, “Dongfang Yu, sign this!”

“Hai Xiaotang, all you think about is divorce. Don’t think I can’t handle you!” The CEO, full of fury, cracks his knuckles, “A washboard, an abacus, a keyboard, a durian…choose one!”

“Durian!” The CEO ends up kneeling on the durian with a thud!

‘Royal Roader,’ the game that I ruled as an overlord was ending its service. Shit! It was my life’s only pleasure.

The last day! I used all of my strength and in-game connections to defeat the final boss monster, Demon Heros.

As a reward, I earned a Marble of Wishes.[Please state your wish.]My wish? [Royal Roader’s renewal as reality.]I was just joking. I really only wrote it as a joke…

Derek Carter never asked for a System, an apocalypse, or the pressure of being humanity’s so-called “last hope.”He was just trying to survive the daily struggles of being an orphan in Paleview City—dodging bullies, scraping together meals, and lying his way into school. Life was already hard enough.Then, one day, a blue screen pops into his vision:[Warning: The world is doomed. Try not to die.]Yeah, great. Just what he needed—cryptic doomsday messages and no instruction manual.Now, monsters are creeping into the city, reality is unraveling, and Damien’s “legendary” starting stats are barely above zero. The System promises him power, but there's just one tiny problem—he’s never won a fight in his life.Armed with sarcasm, questionable decision-making skills, and the sheer refusal to die, Damien is about to embark on the worst (and possibly last) adventure of his life. Because if the world really is ending… he’s at least going to make it someone else’s problem first.After all, heroes are overrated—survivors get to tell the story.