Desolate Era - Book 1, Chapter 17 - Buying a Weapon

“You are offering me a marriage of convenience, but princess… there's nothing convenient about me.”

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Izabelle had underestimated the fire she thought she was going to play with tonight. But how could she ever have foreseen that the man she had happened to come across with does not play with just a small fire, but a whole inferno?

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Excerpt:

“You going through this marriage with me might as well be like you digging your own grave. Because the moment you start to want more from me, I will divorce you. And the moment you break your promise and try to fight me… I will ruin you and break you apart completely. Mercilessly. You will regret ever meeting this devil tonight.” His threat was given in the same soft but cold voice.

But Elle did not even flinch. Her gaze never faltered either. This man was ruthless, and she knew that clearly. His eyes that moment promised nightmares and darkness without any promise of respite.

But no matter what he says now, it would still not change her decision. She truly had no other choice.

“I understand now…” she said quietly, steeling herself. “Since you don't trust that I will keep my word, how about we do this? You prepare the divorce documents beforehand now and I'll sign it. That way, once you decide to divorce me in the future, the papers would already have been signed and there would be no way I can trouble you about it. You would just need to send it to the lawyers and have it notarized.”

A heavy silence reigned before his quiet disbelieving laugh broke the silence.

“I'm at a loss for words, Princess Izabelle.” He looked wickedly amused. But then he started nodding in approval. “Fine, princess. I will marry you.”

He was tired of being broke. Tired of pretending. Tired of watching others win a game he didn't even understand.But when a failed job interview leads Alex into the world of a mysterious millionaire, he’s thrown into a hidden war, one where money isn't just earned… it's engineered.Guided by Uncle Raymond, a man with a dark past and deep wisdom, Alex begins to discover the suppressed history and secret systems behind money, from cowries to crypto, banks, black markets, and so on. He learns that wealth isn't something you chase... it's something you attract by understanding value.But then, Alex stumbles upon The Sovereign Circle, a group of elite powerbrokers who don't just make money... they control its very definition and rig the system for profit. Raymond? He’s unknowingly tied to them.Being torn between exposing the truth and protecting the man who changed his life, Alex faces a final test: Will he play the game like everyone else or will he rewrite the rules?***This is a story for anyone who has ever asked, “Is there more to money than making it?”

He was persuaded into playing the VRMMO 「Trailblazer」 or TB for short by his cheerful childhood friend Miyu.

But Wataru faced Miyu, who was full of motivation and said this.

「Then, I’ll be the rearguard. Shinto priest? I’ll take this one」

「What!? You are not going to fight next to me!? And you call yourself a man!?」

For some time she would become one of the top players and start getting called Hero.

So Wataru had to deal with being an extra.

But, during a certain PvP event, a strange nickname was attached to Wataru.

That, he was actually the 「Hero’s true self」.

In the second year of the apocalypse, Du Yue died alone, killed by apathy and exposure to extreme weather. Somehow, she opened her eyes to find herself not only alive, but also back when it was three months before the apocalypse. Despite the surprise, she thought about the upcoming disasters and upheavals. First, it was the fog that carried a virus that stayed for a month.

Then, global temperatures rose to over 120 degrees, evaporating most of the world’s water and melting all the icebergs. After that were level-10 earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis, permanent eclipse, and avid rain… and that was not all, because after global warming, came global freezing. As temperatures dropped to below negative fifty, the savagery humans displayed was far worse than any imagined horrors like zombies! Knowing what was coming, Du Yue sold off her family property and used the pocket dimension her mother left her to hoard as many resources as possible, so that she could survive the apocalypse. Meat? Grain? Oil? Spices? Weather gear?

She bought everything! Steaks, French fries, spaghetti, and canned food must all be stocked up! To He Xing, the male lead, she was a god and the key to surviving the apocalypse! Having thought of the apocalypse, Du Yue sold off her family property and used the pocket dimension her mother left her to hoard as many resources as possible, so that she could survive the apocalypse. Meat? Grain? Oil? Spices? Weather gear? She bought everything! Steaks, french fries, spaghetti and canned food must all be stocked up! To He Xing, the male lead, she is a god and the key to surviving the apocalypse!