Empire Ascension: The Rise of the Fated One - Chapter 17: Heroic Welcome

Pet shop owner Tang Wan was accidentally reborn into an interstellar world. When he opened his eyes, he found himself automatically married to a vegetable via the StarNetwork. A social status worth ten billion yuan; but with an unconscious husband, he was unable to withdraw any money. Tang Wan held the empty position of the First Gentleman, but was, in fact, a poor man.

In order to secure his future livelihood, Tang Wan was bound to the “Earth Pet System” and returned to his old business, with the goal of saving money, getting a divorce, and looking for a second spring!

After thousands of years of evolution, Earth’s energy depletion had long been abandoned to the distant corners of the Milky Way. All of the animals in the galaxy had evolved tremendously, and little furry cute ones only lived in textbooks. When Tang Wan and his cute little ones appeared, they became the treasures of the whole universe! The pet shop soon became famous in the interstellar world, and the whole universe lined up to be cat slaves~

Finally surviving past the compulsory marriage period, Tang Wan happily took off the diamond ring worth billions: he can finally sell it for money!

However, Tang Wan could never have imagined that when he sat down at the dining table on a blind date with some fresh meat, the vegetative partner that he had come to an agreement with would suddenly open his eyes.

Gong: I heard you sold your wedding ring for one billion yuan?

Tang Wan reached out and pushed him down on the bed: Open what eyes, quickly close them.

- Description from Novelupdates

Western VRMMO【DEMONDAL】was known for its extremely harsh game system. To begin with, there were no levels. There were no skills. There were no guilds. There was no inventory. There were no convenient system messages or maps of any kind either. It was so needlessly realistic that it was already basically a VR life simulator.

As for anything game-like, it was basically limited to weapon masteries; a proficiency level that you got from using your weapon, as well as physical strength that increased as well. That was it.

It was a fantasy game so there was magic, but forming a contract with a spirit was extremely difficult, and only 1% of the playerbase were magicians.

In this VR game【DEMONDAL】that was ridiculously close to reality, the protagonist Kei who was a well known mounted archery expert, was one day sent to another world with his Russian【DEMONDAL】friend.

The game that was severe to begin with had turned into a reality, and the harshness increased again――

Dove Sterling, an eighteen year old Heiress of one of the biggest Beauty companies in the country.She, one day, under an influence of a drug, given to her by a 'friend' by trick, she spends a night with a complete stranger, whom she doesn't even remember.But days later, why she tries to forget about it, and wants to move on with life, her life comes to a screeching half, when she finds out that she is pregnant!And if all this was any less of a problem, a bunch of people were always on her toes! Waiting for every opportunity to see her suffer.But Dove? she wouldn't ever let them have this luxury.Dante Lancaster, the owner of the world's largest security firm, and the heir of one of the richest families, finds himself head over heels with the unknown woman he had spent his first night with.She was almost itched into his mind. But a thunder broke above his head, when he finds out that, the girl was none other than the granddaughter of his saviour. Someone, he respected dearly.But that did not lessen his craze for her. He was obsessed. And then he learnt that she was pregnant with his child!And that was the moment, that he swore to make her his. But life happened, and things spiralled in such ways, that Dove went abroad, giving birth to her son there, while Dante kept fighting his demons, while keeping an eye on her.And after three years... Fate happened in such ways, that he had to protect her and he incharge of her and her son's safety.So will our Male Lead be able to use his chance and make the woman of his dreams all his, by heart and soul, while the little 'Mommy's protector' doesn't give him a break!His own son is being a trouble for him! Dante had a headache coming from his own blood

Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.