MTL - I Maximize My Item-dropping Rate - Chapter 196 The Arrangement of the Patriarch

The mysterious force known as the Essence Record finally descended upon Earth, tearing the world asunder and reshaping it through chaos and evolution.Cities turned to ruins. Animals mutated. Some humans lost their minds, others became monsters. Only a few survived the Awakening… and were granted the right to evolve.A new world was born, where the old rules meant nothing. The only law that remained was survival—where hesitation equals death.Adam, an ordinary college student, finds himself alone, far from home, in a world no longer built for the weak. His only goal: to find his family—if they’re still alive in this broken world.No god, beast, demon, man or zombie shall stop him. As long as he draws breath, he won’t stop.

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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Dear readers! Without any ads, maybe you will prefer .

Running from her past, Nivritti joins a new job in South Korea as a Script Coordinator in K&Q Media Company. She works for a successful K-pop boyband. On her first day, she is kissed by the leader of that boy band. The problem is, she is five years older than him. Will that kiss grow into a relationship or will be forgotten by both of them?

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She tried to pull her wrists, but she failed. She looked at him and again tried to pull her hands but in vain.

“Yes, you do. You have been licking your lips since you started talking. I think it’s an unconscious gesture that you don’t know about,” informed Kyung-Soo.

“Will you please let go of my hands?” she pulled again but Kyung-Soo tightened his grip.

Without hearing her he continued, “and by distracting, I mean that I really want to hear what you have to say but because of your lips all I can think of is this…

He pulled her wrists pulling her close to him, moved one of his hands on her waist and another one on the back of her neck and softly placed his lips on hers and kissed her.

Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.