Painting of the Nine Immortals - Chapter 905 - Hopelessness

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

What was originally an ordinary day, suddenly became a historical turning point. Enormous, mysterious Cubes appeared all over the world without warning and as if Judgement Day’s spears, inserted themselves into the blue planet.

From inside the enormous Cubes, endless streams of monsters gushed out alike raging tides, utterly defeating the unguarded armies of each state in the blink of an eye.

In order for humanity to preserve its final embers, the heads of states issued orders of retreat, to no longer attack the Cubes but rather to cling to remote cities, which they turned into self-sufficient survivor bases and around which they built 100-meter-tall Walls of Life!

Many years later, while bearing the heavy weight of history, the first expeditionary force brought back a world changing piece of information. The Cubes possessed exceedingly high intelligence and they regularly transmitted mission instructions to humans nearby. The mission rewards were incredible.

Since then, humans rushed out of the confines of the walls and once more set foot on the wasteland!

- Description from Novelupdates

After five years, Ning Xi has returned and is out to take revenge on the sister who turned her parents against her and the childhood sweetheart who betrayed her for her sister. She aims to fulfill her childhood dream and become a famous actress. However, her sister is still out to get her, and she has to avoid all her underhanded schemes.

“I am an evil god. Would you like to make a contract?” In “Phantom Heroes Online,” a VRMMO where in-game currency can be converted to real money, a man, worn out by society, decides to quit his job and earn a living through gaming. In this fantasy world of swords and magic, players contract with advanced AI NPCs, aiding and nurturing them. The protagonist, Zephyr, whimsically tells a young girl a lie, claiming to be her savior. Believing Zephyr to be the “god who rescued her from despair,” the yandere girl transforms into the formidable “Reaper Loli,” a top-tier berserker feared as the “Fanatic” across the continent. She rises to become one of the game’s top players, dominating the leaderboards. Unbeknownst to Zephyr and the other players, their actions in the game are actually leading to saving of another world.