Stunning Edge - Chapter 185

A 21st-century tech manager, accidentally thrust into the body of Emperor Commodus—yes, the infamous villain played by Joaquin Phoenix—has one goal: not to die like him.Armed with his wits and a hyper-intelligent AI on a solar-powered laptop, he must navigate the treacherous politics of ancient Rome. Everyone, including his own sister, expects the arrogant, decadent tyrant. Instead, they find a calculating reformer. But as he tries to avert the fall of the empire, he discovers that being a “good” emperor might be even more dangerous than being the monster everyone is waiting for.

Lin Xinlan, who possessed both spatial and wood manipulation abilities, was betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend. They had drugged her and sent her to a laboratory to become a test specimen all for the sake of a month’s worth of food supply. Having suffered both physical and mental torture, she chose to self-destruct, taking the lab researchers down with her! When she woke up again, she found herself in another era as a twelve-year-old girl named Lin Yuelan.When Lin Yuelan was nine years old, a Taoist who had been begging for water asserted that she would grow up to jinx her husband! Rumors spread and the assertion of her jinxing her husband turned into jinxing her parents, to her relatives, then her friends, and eventually she was said to be a jinx of the world. Her grandparents, uncles, and awful relatives were terrified of being jinxed to death, so they resolutely severed ties with nine-year-old Lin Yuelan. They removed her from the family register and made her live on her own. Her foolish father had obeyed the clan’s wishes, her mother was a crying mess, and her siblings couldn’t do anything to help. Being separated from the family at nine years old, she was given a shabby and shaky little hut, one paddy field, and two dry fields as severance compensation. From then on, the Lin family had nothing to do with Lin Yuelan, and Lin Yuelan became a girl with no background. She warily reached the age of twelve, but accidentally offended the village’s bully. The bully’s comrade eventually beat her to death, and that allowed Lin Xinlan to transmigrate onto her.“I have spatial abilities, and the world will be mine! Watch as I, Lin Xinlan, command authority wherever I go, and become a supreme being!”

The mastermind leads and controls everything from behind the scenes.“Buy up all the food supplies entering Milan. Let’s starve them to death.”Cutting off the enemy army’s logistics is fundamental.“Give some money to that family and have them betray properly.”I scatter the enemy even before the war begins.I am the Black Merchant in Another World.

Nova scrambled backwards, panting hard, her short locks clinging to her damp forehead as she watched this predator stalk towards her. The vibrant and lively forest hushed, almost holding its breath to watch the scene unfold. Great, she had an audience for what would surely be a gruesome death.Death looked... a little... rugged and in nothing but a loin cloth, defined by slabs of muscle, a trail of hair leading down to such a small piece of cloth to hide a large-A spine-chilling growl snapped her gaze back up to meet his golden-red eyes, fiery, and intense, glaring at Nova as he slammed his hands either side of her head. Pieces of bark crumbled down from the impact.“I told you not to run...” He threatened, his eyes piercing hers, his voice more guttural than she'd heard from any male. His eyes clenched shut as his body trembled. “My instinct is to always stalk, always chase... until I get what I want..”Their faces were inches apart. She could feel his hot breath fanning her face. The forest was humid and hot, and his body was so close to hers that it was almost unbearable. The gruff voice, those words and the intensity of those eyes that reminded her of sunsets caused goosebumps to flourish across her arms.“What do you want?” Nova swallowed, not recognising her voice. She was so out of her depth. His chest rumbled, and more bark crumbled down from behind her head.“You...”Her breath hitched.“To. Do. As. You're. Told.”Paradise was what Nova Winslow was promised when her boyfriend whisked her away to Isla De Tayun, the perfect getaway for their busy lives. It was untouched, pristine, a hidden gem.But it had remained that way for a reason. The island doesn’t want visitors. And neither do the natives.What should have been a romantic retreat, drinking from coconuts and lounging on white-sandy beaches together, turns into a holiday from hell.Mid-argument with her soon-to-be ex, Nova stumbles into a lake. When she resurfaces, her boyfriend, the path she came from, and the resort have vanished.Alone, stranded, and with little survival skills, Nova has only a wet phone with no signal, a pair of heels, and an irrational fear of bats—which are everywhere. She is out of her depth when she falls into a mystical world of beasts.Hunted by tribesmen, stalked by beasts that shouldn't exist, and hearing animals speak, she has no choice but to trust the wild beast the forest itself fears—Yoa, a wanted man. Together, they flee the tribes pursuing them all while battling her growing attraction to Yoa.Can she survive the wild and make it back to her civilised life? Or will she lose herself to the untamed world—and to the man who belongs to it?