MTL - Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master - Chapter 20 Black lotus

A princess's duty is to be beautiful, quiet, not loud, to be seen and not to be heard, which was how Dahlia lived most of her life. Bound by the expectations of her title, she spent years trying to prove to her father that she was more than just a princess and capable of being more than an ornament in his court but each time she never got the chance. Instead, she was forced into a marriage of convenience with the bravest knight in all the kingdom, Reagan Hawthorne.Dahlia thought she would use this marriage to escape the brutal crutches of her father and glide out of her cage but Reagan’s cold disdain was an unexpected prison of its own. While he waged wars on distant lands, she stayed behind, holding his household together and protecting the people he seemed to ignore. But Dahlia carried a dangerous secret. By day, she was the perfect wife. By night, she became the “Black Knight,” a masked vigilante fighting for justice in the shadows.Reagan returned, ready to focus on his personal mission: avenging his father’s death. To him, Dahlia was just another pawn in his plans—a spoiled princess he needed to tolerate. But as cracks began to form in her perfect façade, Reagan couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to his wife than met the eye.Now, with enemies circling closer and their secrets threatening to collide, Dahlia and Reagan must confront the lies they’ve told themselves and each other. But when masks fall and truths are revealed, will their fragile bond withstand the storm—or will it shatter beyond repair?One wound. One secret. One night that changes everything.

As a gold medal manager, Li Xiwu is courted no matter where he goes in the circle.

As Mrs. Pei, anyone in the aristocratic circle had to greet her politely when they saw her.

She is a celebrity mentor and a wealthy wife, who doesn’t envy Li Xiwu?

Only Li Xiwu knows best: she is just a substitute for Bai Yueguang in Mr. Pei’s heart, and all the scenery has nothing to do with her.

…

After working as a double for a long time, it was boring and easy to lose herself. After realizing it, Li Xiwu began to think about how to get a lot of divorce property from Mr. Pei.

But when she was concentrating on earning divorce property, the mother-in-law who didn’t want to see her rushed to invite her to appear on the variety show of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and promised to give her a large sum of money.

Li Xiwu raised his chin: “Wealth and wealth are sought in danger, if you say it, you will do it!”

At the beginning, the mother-in-law tried every means to embarrass Li Xiwu on the show, and netizens called out: The worst daughter-in-law of a wealthy family!

Later, the mother-in-law was inseparable from Li Xiwu on the show, and she wanted to show off that her daughter-in-law was Li Xiwu to everyone. Netizens shouted: Li Xiwu’s mother-in-law is the one who really slaps her face!

Li Xiwu didn’t expect that she would become popular in the variety show of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

I thought I would be able to get a smooth divorce after returning from the show, but after the variety show was recorded, the mother-in-law called Mr. Pei: “If you dare to divorce my baby, I will not recognize you as a son and sever the relationship between mother and child!”

Mr. Pei:?

- Description from novelbuddy

“Any who don the title of 'king' or anything of the sort in my presence is nothing more than an ignorant fool. This is my land and I shall be reclaiming it soon. I am Cacophony, the Vampire Empress!”As those words left her lips, every cell in my body reacted. It was unreal—no, it was otherworldly. Her beauty, her power, and her overwhelming arrogance. It might've been then that I realized that my normal life had ended.How did it come to this?Ah, it was curiosity. Yes, a deathly curiosity brought me to that graveyard that day.It was there that I stumbled upon her coffin. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing then, and even now I have no idea what possessed me to touch it—that single moment changed the course of history for the entire world. I found myself delving into a completely unknown world.Should I regret it? Maybe. But the truth is, I don't.Exploring the world’s hidden secrets, forging unexpected bonds, and living alongside the revived empress—it’s exciting.“Even if it's wrong, I think I'm going to enjoy every moment of it.”

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.