From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel - Chapter 14: Bluff

Zara Hansley had always believed herself forsaken by the gods due to the terminal illness she was diagnosed with. Every doctor she visited had declared she would not live past her 23rd birthday.Yet, when left with only a few months to live, Zara found out that the root of her illness was a curse, one which she could break. Just like that, she was given a new chance at life—she had to scour the earth for the cure in just a few short months or succumb to her fate.Fate, however, was a funny thing—it brought her to a stranger that would alter the course of her life forever, and his life by her.Born to an ancient family, Amir Frostcrown was cursed to bring misfortune to any female around him. Not only that, he was able to hear the thoughts of others, thus further drawing a line between him and other ordinary folk. As such, while these abilities amassed him an enormous wealth over the years, he was destined to live a loveless life of solitude.That all changed when his and Zara’s paths crossed. As someone that was completely unaffected by his curses and abilities, Amir Frostcrown was immediately intrigued by this dying girl.One dream, one vow, and two curses. That was all it took for Zara to tumble from the world of reality into fantasy. Would she be able to find her cure in time? When secrets are revealed, would Zara and Amir Frostcrown stand the test of time?***“We were fated to be from the beginning!” he amusedly declared as he looked at her dotingly, eyes sparkling and only her image visible in his blue eyes.“I don’t believe in fate!” Zara mumbled softly as she looked to the ground, afraid of facing him and the undeniable truth he spoke of.“But don’t you see?” Amir asked. “Isn’t fate what led us to this very moment?”

Trying to drown her sorrow with alcohol after her boyfriend hooked up with her sister, Ning Qing ran into the rich and powerful Lu Shaoming in a bar. “I need a wife,” Lu said, and the two got their marriage license.

Soon, she who became a pop star won many pretty boys’ hearts. Singlehandedly, he got rid of all her potential flings and acted innocent. Ning Qing bristled, “Lu Shaoming, what happened to staying out of each other’s private life which we talked about?” Turning the light out, he came over her and whispered, “Now our priority is to make a baby.”

In the year 2025, humans awakened with the ability to summon mighty beasts—capable of destroying terrains, breaking the laws of physics, and creating wonders limited only by one's imagination.But before these blessings came a curse.An alien face appeared from nowhere and threatened all life on the planet, leading to the greatest war in human history.In the aftermath, the human race and the alien race were forced into a shaky treaty that could be broken at any time.Years later, tests for summoning abilities began for the next generation. Those who awakened low-grade summoning would be thrown to the gutters, while those who awakened higher got to join great factions after graduating from the academy.Kairos Veyl, the blank, calculating student, pulled his hand from the massive crystal pillar and stared at the large beast before him.“This kid—he just got a LEGENDARY SUMMON.”A legendary summon? The greatest class of summoning. However, with this class came a risk one would have never guessed.

When natural disasters ran rampant, with extreme cold and storms spreading endlessly…When the world mutated, zombies surged like tides, and eerie horrors emerged…When the apocalypse descended, massive Devouring Abysses hundreds of kilometers in diameter began appearing around the globe…When people looked up at the atmospheric cloud layers and saw the slowly emerging corpse of a colossal evil god…From that day, people began to notice that daylight was arriving later and later, until the sun no longer rose, plunging the world into an unending polar night.For survival, on that day, the Apocalypse Radio made its final broadcast to the world:“Everyone, flee eastward—escape to dawn!”…Lin Xian awakened the [Mechanical Heart] ability. He could devour machinery to gain various mysterious skills, scan machines to obtain blueprints for manufacturing, and even use his thoughts to achieve unified control of different machines.Thus, he found a 200-ton heavy gas-powered locomotive, towing specially modified storage, planting, production, medical, and living carriages, and embarked on a 320,000-kilometer journey along the planetary orbital rail—charging eastward toward the dawn!