Cannon Fire Arc - Chapter 126 - 38 "Who Holds the Colorful Ribbon in the Sky Dance" (3000 votes bonus chapter)

Scarlett's world collapses when she is drugged and forced to marry an old, filthy-rich widower with five children.

Trying to escape her seemingly inescapable troubles, she accepts an offer of a one-year contract marriage with a mysterious gentleman. He promises this will get her out of her hostile-arranged marriage problems. She took the offer.

If everything goes well, she will be a free and independent woman in one year...

However, many things take an unexpected turn. The contract marriage made Scarlett's life feel like she was riding a rollercoaster. A mix of exhilaration, dreaded inferno, and joyful heaven.

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Only a crazy person would accept his offer. And right now, she does not fall into that category. Her mind is still sane.

“Please don't get me wrong. I'm just trying to help myself. And at the same time helping you.”

Scarlett was even more confused.

“I know my problem is complicated. But, I think being married to a man I just met, without love, feels weird...” She said.

“This is not a real marriage but a contract marriage that you can set up to your advantage. And also mine.”

Scarlett listened silently; inside, she was shocked and a bit perplexed.

Xander crossed his arms over his chest while looking into Scarlett's eyes. He continued, “As I said before, I will help you, and at the same time, you will help me. I don't need to explain what my problem is. But, I assure you, if you agree to do a contract marriage with me, then your problems will be solved. So what do you think!?”

Scarlett was in no hurry to speak. She slowly raised her head and said, “So I can put any clauses I want in the contract?”

The man nods, saying, “As long as it doesn't hurt me.”

She offered a handshake to Xander, “Okay. You got a deal!”

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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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“Mr. Hu Lai, today’s football forwards like you who can only score goals are getting narrower and narrower … But nevertheless, you have achieved dazzling achievements. What is your secret to success?”

On a winter afternoon, Hu Lai showed reporters from all over the world the honor he had just received, and some reporters asked him such questions.

Facing the eyes cast by the reporters, Hu Lai’s thoughts returned to the afternoon when he was in high school. He stood alone beside the stadium to watch other students play games. They did not let him play, thinking he was here to make trouble.

He also thought of what the coach said to him with a straight face: “Hu Lai, if you can’t pay ten times the effort of others, your talent is just worthless stones.” And a disdainful voice: “Modern football The demands on the center are getting higher and more comprehensive. What’s the use of shooting only? ”

In the end, his thoughts were frozen at that time, and the night was already looming in the eastern sky. In the middle of the abandoned vacant land covered with grass, a girl said to him very seriously: “Hu Lai, you are actually gifted. , And a great talent! Because you know where the goal is! ”
Hu Lai stared at the girl’s eyes, and saw the sunset behind him from those eyes.

The sunlight is reflected in the pupils, flowing, burning, condensing into a halo, as if to melt yourself in this light.

Hu Lai, who withdrew his thoughts, returned to this warm winter afternoon, facing the excited reporters, he smiled slightly: “Because I know, the goal is there.”

- Description from Qidian

As long as the land is square, Yan Bicheng should divide the world into four parts.
The dark organization “Ruyimen” has abducted children for many years, trained them as assassin agents, and sent them to the families of various countries for use in order to collect a lot of secrets, and gradually extended their evil hands to the court.
Feng Xiaoya, the favored minister of the King of Yan, suffers from bone melting disease. She is unparalleled in her “sickness and beauty”. For some reason, she abandons the eleventh wife, Qiu Jiang, and puts her under house arrest in the mountains. Qiu Jiang, who has forgotten his past, fled alone on a stormy night. After several twists and turns, on the way back, he met Yi Fei, the third prince of Cheng who was in trouble in a foreign land.
One wants to regain memory, the other wants to regain the throne. The two people who are incompatible with each other walk side by side towards Cheng in a bloody storm… but they find that the Ruyi Gate, which has been entrenched in Chengjing for a hundred years like a poisonous snake, seems to have undergone an unknown shock… …
The situation of the Four Kingdoms is back, and there is only one goal – to eradicate the evil organization Ruyimen!
However, as Qiu Jiang’s memory slowly recovered, a unparalleled secret finally surfaced…
Mrs. Ruyi, who is it? There is another mystery behind Ji Ying’s death?
What is the purpose of this return journey after a narrow escape, and where does it go?

- Description from novelbuddy