Mercenary Harem in Murim Novel - Chapter 178 – Bad Influence

Elara’s first life crashed hard. Cruel tricks ruined her name, broke her dreams, and turned the whole entertainment world against her. Friends betrayed her. Lovers sold her out. Everyone she trusted stabbed her in the back. The pain piled up until she felt trapped with no way out. One night, she couldn’t take it anymore. She walked to the river and ended it all in the cold, quiet water.Later, proof came out. Messages. Recordings. Everything showed she had been framed. People posted apologies online. But it was too late. She was already gone.The universe, though, clearly has a twisted sense of humor.Because somehow, Elara came back. She woke up in her own past, every awful memory still sharp in her head. Right then she made a promise she would never break: protect her gentle grandfather no matter what, and never let anyone push her to that dark place again.This time she steps into the entertainment world with her head high. She trains harder, sings better, fights smarter. The same people who once crushed her? Now they get to feel the pressure.Love? Not happening. Her heart is locked tight. But why is it that as she rises and shines brighter, handsome, powerful men start circling her—guys who never even glanced at her in her previous life were now hovering around her.The actor smiled at her during a press interview, leaned closer, and said softly, “We should have dinner sometime.”The footballer sent flowers so big they blocked her room door.The surgeon she met at a charity event checked her pulse and then forgot to let go of her wrist.The singer she collaborated with kept calling her name during rehearsals, as if the mic could not hear him well enough.Elara stared at the ceiling that night and sighed.She only wanted to sing. Why did everyone look like they wanted to adopt her, date her, or both?But the worst one came after the concert.The lights had just gone off. Her ears were still ringing. Sweat clung to her neck. She had barely stepped backstage when a shadow blocked her path.She looked up.The CEO of the greatest company in Aurelia stood there. The same man who once said her voice was “not worth investing in.” The same man who did not even know her name before rebirth.Now he held her wrist lightly, but firmly.“Let’s talk,” he said.Elara blinked. “About… sponsorship?”“No,” he replied calmly. “About marriage.”Her brain froze.“…What?”“I will give you everything,” he continued, as if asking for a glass of water. “Resources. Protection. Freedom to sing. Become my wife.”Elara stared at him, her mouth open, her thoughts running in circles.This was not how it was supposed to be.Why was the world now skipping steps?NB:This story takes place in a fictional world. Aurelia is a country. Solmere, Veston, and Starfall City are the three capital cities of Aurelia. Other cities, such as Lorien and Crelou, are smaller cities.

It is well known that while most Evil Skills can be mastered quickly, they are accompanied by immense side effects. A slight misstep and you could drive yourself insane or get yourself killed.But what if the side effects could be transferred to your enemies? How exhilarating would it be to cultivate Evil Skills then?In any case, Zou Feng, who transmigrated here, is already having the time of his life.The most evil, most venomous, and most morally corrupt Cultivation Skills? Bring them all on.This Poison Skill will make your entire body fester and become unrecognizable? Cultivate it!Cultivating this Skill will cause you to lose your sanity and become worse than a beast? Cultivate it!A Cultivation Skill that ensures you won't live for more than a year upon mastery? Cultivate it!

Kurokami Haruto, a 16-year-old high school student, lives an ordinary life with his older sister Kurokami Satsuki—a beautiful, gentle nurse who’s… a little too devoted to her little brother.Haruto always dismissed rumors about “Awakened Ones”—people who suddenly gained supernatural powers—as nothing more than internet nonsense. Until one day, after fighting with scoundrels to defend a strange girl, he woke up to a system interface flashing before his eyes:> 《 SYSTEM: “Chosen of the Abyss” Activated 》> • Main Skill: [Moonlight Blade Manifestation] - Summon up to three spectral swords.> • Main skill: [Abyssal Devour] – Absorbs energy from the moon, converting it into personal strengths.> • Hidden Skill (Rare): [Yandere EXP Farm] – Whenever a yandere develops feelings for him, all main skills gain double experience.> • System Service: “Scanning for yanderes within 10 miles… Detected: 1 target:Kurokami Satsuki.”Haruto: “…What is this?! My onee-chan?!”

Marcus was a rising star in finance, until his boss's petty revenge left him fired, and near broke. The woman he loved was gone. His future was a joke, his life adrift, and with nothing left to loseHis only way out was Dominion, the world's first true VRMMO, a game that promises to become humanity's second world, where in-game gold translates to real-world wealth. For Marcus, it wasn't a game; it was a desperate last chance to rebuild his life and support his sister.But on the day of character creation, the system glitched.While other players were assigned random stats, Marcus was given the impossible: Maxed-Out Base Attributes and a legendary, unchangeable Luck stat of 20.The system tried to fix him. It failed.Now, Marcus doesn't play the game. He exploits it. Armed with a broken skill that reveals every secret and a drop rate that makes him instantly rich, he is the statistical anomaly the developers never accounted for.