Monroe - Chapter Twenty-Nine. The boys are back in town.

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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He called me his ruin. Then he made me one.Alpha Shiloh's rejection wasn’t just a scar—it was a betrayal. He left me shattered. Broken. And I had to rebuild myself in silence.I almost forgot the way his touch once burned like salvation.Now he’s back.Not to beg forgiveness. To bargain. A deadly mission, he says. He promises freedom.But then presence ignites my wolf into a frenzy. She thrashes, desperate to claim him again. But I remember the coldness in his eyes when he exiled me. The way the pack turned their backs as I crawled into the wilderness, half-dead and wholly broken. Hate simmers hotter than desire.Yet here I am, bargaining with the devil who shattered me. Every moment we share is a lie. He doesn’t know about the shadows I’ve fed, the truth I’ve buried.Or the child.One whisper of its existence, and the pack will paint the forest with my blood.But the closer we get to completing his mission, the harder it is to hide… from him, or from the part of me that still craves him.Freedom has a price.So does vengeance.And I’m not sure which will destroy me first.

She gave up her wealth and power to save her husband and his company when they were on the brink of extinction.However he repaid her by bringing home his childhood sweetheart and divorcing her! He insulted her, called her names, a cheap lowly bitch and a gold-digger. Her sister in law treated her like trash, her mother in law called her a scheming fox who wanted to climb the social ladder.Fine! Divorce so it is then!Left without a single penny, she applied for a job and became a waitress. Who would know she bumped into her ex husband and his new fiancée there?!But there was another man whose business contract she accidentally discarded.That mysterious man came to her with a condition.“You made me lost a very important business contract, now you must pay,”“How much? I don't have money. I'm not for sale either,” the girl raised her chin arrogantly.“Become my fake girlfriend. I need a woman to please my grandfather,” Shentu Jing said. His charming dark eyes seemed to be tempting her, luring her into an abyss.But when she arrived in front of his grandfather, he announced her as his fiancée!“I thought you said I was your girlfriend!” Qin Zhuzhu glared daggers at him.“Sorry, now you are my wife,” the man's peach blossom eyes gazed at her lovingly.Who is this mysterious husband of hers?One day her phone rang with a notification of the latest financial news. There, she saw a man similar to her husband. Her husband is the richest Tycoon in the capital???!!!

There was nothing left to lose in his life.He had lived as a hero. He had started at the bottom and worked his way up to the top, at the end he become the best, yet he had always been betrayed by those he had tried to protect.Humanity did not deserve his protection.When everything went out and he could no longer even hope to beg for his life, he could do nothing but look up at the blood-red sky among the corpses of demons and angels.He wished for one more chance, just one more chance.And when that chance was given to him, he swore that he would change everything. He would no longer be a hero to save people, but an anti-hero to save the world.Sacrificing hundreds of people to save an elf, poisoning hundreds of people to save a group of half-demons.He didn't care about any of that anymore, he would protect those he cared about and send everything else to hell.Not even the gods or goddesses could stop him.