Monarch of Gluttony: System of Sin - Chapter 49: 49: Promise

Having a rough life growing up, Wang Tong had numerous dreams of living a better life. However, his alcoholic foster father sells him off as a space settler of the distant planet Norton for some pocket change. Soon after his arrival, the Zergs overran the planet and obliterated its defenses in a matter of minutes. What awaited Tong on Norton was more than just an unbearable environment – its gravity alone was five-times stronger than earth – there were also swarms of bugs, constant hunger, thirst, and desolation.

While he lives a year of total carnage and survival, humanity’s Confederation eventually overcomes the Zergs on Norton and the powerful survivor Wang Tong is given a recommendation to a once famous, but now dying military academy where he begins his life anew.

- Description from Novelupdates

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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Klaus had spent his entire existence as a puppet, bound by the strings of fate. However, a miraculous turn of events granted him a fresh start. The remnants of his former constraints smoldered in the ashes of his past. Now, unshackled and determined, he resolved to forge his destiny according to his own desires. No one, not even a deity, would be spared if they dared obstruct his path. Klaus was ready to wield the sword of vengeance and carve his own fate in the annals of history.

If mercy and kindness can't save the world, then this time, I choose violence. I was reborn in death, like sin under the blazing sun.——Ethan ColeHuff... What’s going on?There’s a flight attendant with a D-cup sleeping next to me!?Did I really get reborn!?Back to fifteen days before the zombie apocalypse game starts!?[Ding! Congratulations, lucky one! You’ve been granted a one-time chance to be reborn, along with a spatial storage ring!][Ding! Please choose: Join the humans or the zombies?]A cheat ability, and a storage ring!?If I choose to be human, I can stockpile supplies, hang out with different women in a safehouse... Isn’t this the perfect start for a post-apocalyptic hero?“So this time, I choose... zombies!”God: “Idiot!!! If I’d known, I would’ve given this rebirth chance to someone else!”