MTL - Steel, Guns and the Industrial Party Across the World - Chapter 12 Desperate neighbors

In the Year 30XX… Humans have long been discovering the wonders of the universe and exploring the great galaxies beyond the milky way.

They are not alone.

The universe is primal and untamed with civilisations pitted against one another in battles to decided life and death.

Mankind is one of the weakest races but have discovered cultivation techniques that morph their bodies and grant them unimaginable power.

Sui Meng was just an ordinary girl who woke up in the body of sixteen year old Sophie Peterlor.

Sophie is the half human hybrid of a prestigious duke house but faces discrimination based on her racial heritage and apparent lack of cultivation talent.

This changes when Sophie discovers a cultivation manual hidden in the necklace given by her late mother.

'Spider Whisper Art'

Sometimes power comes with a price…

Lin Xing has the ability to turn back time.Whenever he faces a life-threatening danger, he would return to the past.He falls to his death, and returns 5 seconds earlier.He is killed by a falling object, and returns 1 minute earlier.He is struck down by a dump truck, and returns 20 minutes earlier.Then one day... he finds himself having returned to one year ago.

The Fake Life of a Villainess: Reincarnated as a villainous noblewoman, you become an experience bag for the protagonist on their journey. You are the target of the maid’s revenge, your half-sister takes away everything that belongs to you, and the grand princess who cared for you for many years finally loses hope and abandons you. The Real Life of a Villainess: You clean up the mess left behind by the protagonist when they disappear. And in their place, you teach her that as a maid, she shouldn’t always be thinking about…

“The world’s not fair, but fairness doesn’t pay the bills. You don’t wait for a handout — you build your own damn ladder, one step at a time.”Ethan Grey’s life was built on ambition, hard work, and hope — until a single accusation destroyed it all.Framed by his ruthless boss, Ethan loses his job, his reputation, and is left drowning in half a million dollars of debt.Cast aside by a society that thrives on crushing the weak, he’s at rock bottom with no way out.But in his darkest moment, something extraordinary happens. A mysterious system awakens, offering Ethan a second chance — but with rules.[Congratulations, You have awakened the Harem Investment System]It can’t make him rich overnight, and it won’t give him shortcuts. Instead, it points him toward physical investments: crumbling properties, broken-down machines, and forgotten treasures.Each one is a gamble, but with every success, the system rewards him with newfound skills and opportunities.