Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 11: Escape (2)

The nascent Chaos had just been carved out, and the barren void welcomed the souls from the Otherworld.As the first soul in the Chaos World, Laine automatically became the God of Spirituality.However, divine power stems from Divine Power, and the existence of spirituality was insignificant; thus, the newly born Laine was extremely weak.With no other choice, to avoid being overturned by the torrents of fate, Laine had to rely on himself.He carved out realms, and birthed lives belonging solely to spirituality.He created sequences, scattering the steps to deification.He wove the Magic Net, enveloping the sky, the oceans, and the land.When the bell of dusk sounded, I raised my divine seat and proclaimed to all beings from the pinnacle of the Spirit Realm:There are two facets to the world, the material and the spiritual.The material belongs to the gods, and the spiritual belongs to me, such is the ultimate truth of all things.

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...

Ye Family goes bankrupt, and her fiancé's family watches coldly.Ye Li signs a contract and marries her fiancé's uncle in a flash marriage.After marriage, Ye Li is determined to repay the debt of one hundred million with interest, hoping to give Fu Yanci freedom so he can be with his true love.When it reaches 5 million, Fu Yanci gets upset.At 50 million, Fu Yanci leaves home for three days.When finally paying off the full one hundred million, Ye Li is cornered by the man: 'Divorce, huh? Sure!!! The family property is yours, and so am I! I'll follow you everywhere!'Ye Li: ......

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.