This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange - Chapter 549: One Step Ahead

WARNING: DARK AND MATURE CONTENT. Readers discretion advised.Serena Alaric wanted nothing more than a quiet life, far from the shadows of her family’s dark past. But when masked enforcers storm her home and drag her into the clutches of the Council of Vitae, she learns her blood is the key to a deadly legacy she never asked for.Lucian Draven is the cold and ruthless leader of a powerful mafia syndicate, cursed to endure unimaginable pain. The Council claims Serena is his only salvation. Yet beneath the Council’s polished facade lies a web of lies, experiments, and betrayal that runs far deeper than either of them imagined.Forced into an uneasy alliance and given a time limit to produce an heir, Serena and Lucian must navigate a treacherous world of power and manipulation, where trust is a rare commodity. As they uncover the truth about the Council’s sinister plans, their hatred begins to give way to something unexpected—a bond forged in fire and blood.But with enemies closing in from all sides and time running out, Serena and Lucian must decide: will they fight their fates, or embrace the dangerous connection that could either save them, or destroy them both?

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.

[Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the Dimensional Motel System.][First Mission: A runaway princess—hailed as the most beautiful in the land is being hunted by her step-mother. She was originally headed to the dwarves’ cottage, but the System has rerouted her to your motel instead.][Protect her. Win her trust. And if you manage to woe her, you’ll earn her Affection Points.][Bonus Mission: Sleep with her evil stepmother to unlock more reward]'What kind of weird mission is this? And why does this story sound way too familiar?'

Chi Yan had always had a weak constitution, and ghosts had always tried to kill him. He had tried many ways to change his situation, but it was all futile.

Coincidentally, Third Master Ye of Shiming City passed away, and a priest informed Chi Yan that Third Master Ye possessed the “look of demon,” Carrying a bit of this man’s ashes and installing an altar for him at home could help control the evil spirits around Chi Yan.

Left with no choice, Chi Yan took a gamble. Amazingly, it worked. However he didn’t expect that he’d be instead be haunted by the most persistent ghost of them all.

Obsessed with love, undying resentment, possessed by evil.

- Description from Novelupdates