A Practical Guide to Evil - Chapter Book 2 ex2: Heroic Interlude: Riposte

Yang Yi, along with everyone else, is thrust upon a Maritime Survival Game.Some lucky individuals possess special ships; the Iron Heart is armed to the teeth, the Swift Wind is so fast it’s almost invisible, and the Ironhead charges forward with a massive ram.Only the Nightmare, Yang Yi’s ghost ship, has strange and gory elements.The protagonist’s journey won’t be smooth sailing — this is not a story for the weak-hearted.

Suddenly pulled into a world filled with Specters, Fang Xiu woke up with a unique ability: Reset. Every time he died, time would rewind to the moment before he was killed.In this strange and dangerous world, Fang Xiu could have chosen to hide. Instead he announced to the world, “Yes, I’m a prophet. I can see the future!” As his predictions kept coming true, his title of the Prophet spread around the world.His words became the truth. They became the future.“I have seen the future,” he announced, attracting people from all around the world.His followers took it to the extreme, declaring, “Should the Prophet decree your demise one day, don’t waver, don’t question, just obey. For hesitance only leads to a far graver fate.”During a B-level Specter event, known as [the Spawning]A teammate warned, “The creature is hiding among these villagers. We need to be careful.”Fang Xiu pointed to the last row and commanded, “The one in white. Yes, you. Come out!”In an A-level Specter event, called [Lantern Heads]One teammate warned, “This area is crawling with thousands of Lantern Heads. If they shine their light on you, your head will fall off. The scariest part is the Lantern Heads float unpredictably. It’s impossible for anyone to get across safely. Wait, where’s Fang Xiu?”Another stuttered, “He, he…he’s on the other side!”The first teammate exclaimed in disbelief, “What?! How did he get across?”The other replied: “He…he just walked over.”

Magic is the programming language of the world. But in a fantasy world, nobody has ever heard about programming. That is, nobody except Aurea. Formerly known as Aurora, she was reborn with all the knowledge she brought from Earth.She spent the 40 years of her previous life studying society, science, programming, hermetism, mythology, and alchemy. She died financially broke and emotionally broken, but all her accumulated knowledge and her nerdiness are about to pay off.She starts her life as the daughter of a slave, set against impossible odds from the beginning. But if incantations work as a programming language, then she knows exactly what to do to turn the tables. Words and syntax were the bread and butter of her former life, and material components look more like APIs and plugins.She didn’t meet a Goddess, wasn’t summoned like a hero, didn’t have a System giving her an ability. Instead, she was just dropped there to fend for herself. But with her knowledge, she doesn’t need a cheat skill. She is the cheat herself.

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?