Gardenia's Heart - Chapter 30: Beacon

Then there’s James Bellini. His nickname? The Angel of Death.The man everyone fears. The man they all whisper about in dark corners. They say he’s merciless, that he has killed more people than anyone in the Circle. No one dares cross him. But there’s a secret, one that no one knows.James Bellini has never killed anyone. Not once.The rumors started because of a misunderstanding, a mistake so deep that even he couldn’t fix it. Now, the entire underworld fears him. Even the other bosses treat him like an equal, like he’s one of them. But the truth? The truth is something only God himself could untangle. And James? He’s just a man caught in the middle of it all.

In the celestial empire, during the ninth year of the Mandate of Heaven,Chaos reigns across the land, and the people suffer.The royal governance collapses, and western barbarians with their pantheon of gods invade.New warlords arise, claiming territories; the Taiping rebels wreak havoc, leading to widespread misery.Calamities like floods, droughts, earthquakes, sandstorms, tornadoes, acid rain, blood moons, and meteor falls occur in succession.Countless demons roam, strange beings thrive, spirits mingle with the inexplicable, and mysterious phenomena arise.In these dark and tumultuous times, Tao Qian opens his eyes to find himself about to be beheaded at the vegetable market...

In a world ravaged by radiation and the remnants of war, Dylan is far from a classic hero. A lieutenant with a tainted past, he's just trying to survive the ruins of a dying world... until the day he wakes up bound and surrounded by the mutilated corpses of his comrades.Captured by monstrous creatures, he soon realizes he’s been transported to another world. A world far more dangerous, far more brutal—where only the strong survive, and even monsters are hunted. Saved in extremis by Maggie, his commanding officer, he begins a desperate escape. Their only hope may lie in their encounter with Élisa, an elf abandoned by her kin, and their discovery of a mysterious power: anima gems—stones imbued with spiritual essence that can enhance body and soul, and unlock the path to awakening.No One under 18 admitted

Several hundred thousand players are trapped in a gritty zombie apocalypse survival game just after game launch. There are hints that deaths in the game might be serving some other terrible purpose in the background of reality…