The Arcane Emperor - Chapter 78 A Broken Soul

After putting a suggestion to add a mercenary in a bad Murim novel he read, Leo would finish a mission with his NPCs before sleeping. Or so he planned. For some reason, he was transported into the said novel as the extra mercenary added by the author. His loyal NPCs, a yandere secretary, a happy-go-lucky assassin, a sexy puppeteer, and two weapon maniac guys start to become sentient. He lead his mercenary band ’Hallowed Insects’ toward an an unprecedented future in a Murim most turbulent era while enjoying his time. Fortunately, they still have their futuristic equipment with them. Tang Clan have a Poison Dagger, they have a Photon Sword. Shaolin Sect has a Qi Blast, they have a Railgun. And of course... “How much are you willing to pay to employ us? By the way, Demon Sect pay us 50,000 Golds to join their side in the upcoming war.” ... he always sided with the highest bidder.

Qiao Zhenzhen spent a lifetime, only to later realise that she was the true heroine of a novel. According to the original plot, her life was supposed to be smooth sailing and blissful. But the envious transmigrated second female lead played her cards step by step, and took everything away from her!

After experiencing the divorce of her parents, and miserably failing the college entrance examination, she gets kidnapped along with her little follower of a male lead, Chi Shen. In the end, she came out as the only survivor.

Everyone believed that this was a blessing in disguise, not only was her life saved, but the pervert stalking her for the last three years was also gone! A freak like Chi Shen, who had a weird and eccentric personality, always stank of fish and grease, was better off dead. Everyone said that she ought to be grateful, but none of them knew he died protecting her.
Before he took his last breath, his dying words were-

“Don’t be afraid of me.”

That sentence, mixed with the smell of greasy fish and blood, flashed in her dreams every night for the next decade.

Reborn back into the senior year of her highschool, she walked to the youth in the corner, and in front of everyone’s eyes-

“Don’t hideaway in the dark if you don’t want me to be afraid of you.” The youth pursed his lips, his pale face steadily losing color.

Qiao Zhenzhen smiled: Be nice to me, and I shall allow you to stalk~

- Description from Novelupdates

There is nothing in the world that cannot be solved by a transaction, if there is, then make a pure (ang) clean (zang) transaction.

If you say it, you may not believe it. The people who have traded with me are all over the world.

Trading is a great cause that is beneficial to physical and mental health and that people cannot refuse!

- Description from novelbuddy

“The masterminds are cooler than heroes,” I mutter as I stare at the chess pieces before me. It is easier to be the one who sits in the shadows and moves the pieces, likewise deciding the flow of the game.Heroes will foolishly sacrifice their lives for the good cause and villains will sacrifice the world for their own gain, but masterminds will use both the heroes and villains to their own benefit.Why, you ask? Well, that's because I've lost my life once while trying to be a hero so, I don't want that anymore. I'd rather be a mastermind who molds the world as per my convenience and live peacefully. Because, why not?***[Defender of Divine Glory says you are the hope of this world.]What?[Goddess of Wisdom believes that you will be the one to save the world.]Wait, what?![Propose the Grand Duke the idea of a fake marriage.]And, why would I do that?![Stop the assassination of Prince Eric.]Why would I save him?![The candidates for the throne are:... Who will you choose?]Ah! I give up...It seems like a curse that anyone who wishes for a slacker life in Isekai will have to go through the most troublesome things.In my past life, I died because of one rookie mistake but after being transmigrated in the world of fantasy I've gotten an opportunity to start afresh, but unlike the protagonists who look for their love and glory, I'd rather make money and live a life of a slacker.I have magic, I have power and I have money, what else do I need?Well, that was the plan but this damn system is getting on my nerves. I mean who in their sane mind would want to mess with the complicated royal family and political affairs? But that's not all though.I've also become the saviour of this world. Things just can't be anymore worse!Besides, the penalty of failing this quest is...[Failure: Destruction of the World.]It seems like if I screw up in selecting the right person then the destruction that is going to befall the world won't be stopped.If I speak of my reward then it's this vague thing.[Reward: Fulfillment of any wish.]“If that's the case then, I'd rather choose the person who would be the best fit for the throne.”And that's how I decided that I would become the Kingmaker.