Astral Pet Store (WN) - Chapter 31: Undead Maiden

In the third year of the Republic of China, Yao Zhi was 14 years old and the jewel of the governor’s office.

At that time, the young man next to the marshal’s mansion was still physically disabled and had his feet deep in the mud. Yao Zhi stretched out her hand and tried to help him, but the boy, who looked fierce, shut his eyes and was heartless. Yao Zhi has been the white moonlight of all young men in Beijing since childhood. Her crescent eyes were curved, and her beauty was incomparable.

Shen Xu regarded her as a god in his heart and never dared to put her in the bottom of his heart.

He looked up at the gods on a bright moonlit night, never thinking that one day she would take the initiative and rush into his chest. Yao Zhi, who became the pinnacle of his two lives, grabbed his clothes and said quietly.

“Shen Xu, if you ignore me again, I’ll kiss someone else.” Shen Xu couldn’t suppress his youthful emotions. He held the god’s waist tightly. He had no choice but to beg her repeatedly. “Zhizhi… “

“Don’t leave me,” she said, knowing that he was young and humble and that he had feelings as deep as the sea for her.

She wouldn’t leave. She would be the apex of the young man’s heart and stay together with him.

- Description from Novelupdates

In a world where everyone is a slave, someone is born who cannot be controlled. At the same time, an unstoppable villain rises on a quest for revenge. But the truth is darker than he ever imagined, and now he must face an unbeatable enemy — including himself.***Bruno was a young man born on Earth, the son of an influential modern Emperor. Despite having everything money could buy and receiving the best and most rigorous training to succeed his father, he chose the opposite path, defying his family’s ruthless rule.The price of his innocence? A merciless death and the complete erasure of his existence by the deity controlling his fate. On Earth, the law of the powerful was absolute; a slave could never rebel.But then, he wakes up again.He’s reborn in a world of cultivation, where freedom was promised to those strong enough to claim it. Now, he could soar like a free bird and carve his own destiny... or so he thought.The harsh reality of this new world soon showed him how insignificant he still was. He realized he had only changed masters.The freedom he sought was an illusion. The heavenly laws treated everyone as servants, and their rules were unbreakable. Bruno learned this bitter truth after losing everything that made him happy due to an unjust rule.But who was he to question?Hopeless, Bruno died... and was reborn as Alm, an unstoppable villain. With a soul poisoned by pain and vengeance, he sowed chaos across the universe. Planets were destroyed, countless lives taken, and his name became synonymous with terror.A hero rose to oppose him, wielding a sacred sword of hope. People from all corners of the universe united against Alm, raising their voices and weapons to stop the villain who defied the heavens.But Alm was no longer just fighting for revenge. He was challenging the heavenly laws that sought to control him, fighting fate and all living beings.And against all odds... the sacred sword shattered. The alliance of the entire universe was defeated.The villain won!Now, Alm found himself alone in the empty void of a dead universe, facing his own inner demons. Who could be more ruthless to him than himself?“What have I done?”At that moment, the doors of truth opened to him.Everyone was a puppet of a supreme figure, an entity that manipulated minds and even the heavenly laws.“I will find you, no matter where you are!”Thus, the last emissary of the true Heaven’s Will awakened. Alm, who once only relied on his sheer will and rage, now had a system to guide him. But his opponent was an immortal existence, above even the heavens.The villain who destroyed an entire universe now faced a new beginning. He discovered that the universe he devastated was just a tiny grain of sand in an infinite cosmos, where countless other universes existed.And so begins the legendary tale of the villain’s rise... and the Sacred Round God? A strange Duality of Shadows existed within one person.But this time, he wouldn’t be alone.***To clear up any potential confusion or frustration, here are some key points about the story. I’ll avoid major spoilers, but a few things will be revealed.You might find this concerning at first, but just check the book cover—it shows the main character and his only partner. She first appears at 10 years old, but rest assured, there’s no inappropriate content or early romance.At around 13, SHE starts developing feelings for the protagonist, but he doesn’t respond until she’s an adult. With her determined personality, she tries to seduce him at 17/18, but it doesn’t work. Their relationship only happens much later.The book has nods to other works, with my own spin on them, and focuses on avoiding elements I find problematic in other stories.Lastly, the beautiful book cover was commissioned and created by HDIArt.

“Blue Star 4.0 will begin its maintenance-free update at 12:00 AM on April 1st. The main content and adjustments of this update are as follows.” “New monthly rule ’Active Talent’ added: All players must converse with others for a total of 1000 sentences every day...” When an abrupt notification sound echoed in the ears of all humans on Blue Star. The world faced its cleansing. In every monthly version update, a new rule would descend, which all players had to obey. ... Chen Yi, who had found a massive loophole before the third version update, looked at the six-figure Points Balance in his account and broke into a grin. “Tuberculosis Rabbit, this time we might just rise to the top.”

Jeong Yoo-shin, 23 years old, was suddenly transported to another world.In this world, not only was it impossible to return home, but even survival was uncertain.Black-haired humans were called Barbarian and treated as northern savages.There was only one place where he could gain the strength to survive and find a way to return home: the Great Labyrinth.“I must become stronger to survive. And I will definitely go back.”This is the story of a black-haired human’s fierce struggle for survival in the labyrinth.