The Male Lead’s Substitute Wife - Chapter 400

Ji Chen Ai has always wanted to be a good person until he was physically disabled for some reason.

When he is being neglected by his parents, Ji Chen Ai just smiles. When he is being bullied by his brother, Ji Chen Ai just smiles. However, when someone pushes him and his wheelchair down the stairs, Ji Chen Ai can’t smile anymore.

But why is it during this time, that something came out suddenly and tells him that he must be a good person?!

System: Our goal is — No! More! Bad! People!

- Description from Novelupdates

Zong Shou woke up from a dream and realised that he had time traveled back ten thousand years, to an era before the God Emperor was had appeared in the world.

Akashi was a boy so beautiful it seemed the gods had sculpted him with a touch of mischief and a dash of fragility. He wasn’t handsome in the rugged, masculine way of knights or warriors. No—his beauty was softer, captivating in its innocence. His frame was small, almost delicate, and his pale skin looked as if it had never known hardship, kissed only by the gentle sunlight of his village fields.With wide, striking black eyes that shimmered like obsidian under moonlight, and hair the color of a calm, endless ocean, Akashi possessed a charm that defied age, status, or reason. He didn’t know it, but his very existence pulled at the hearts of those who saw him—like an untouched gem waiting to be claimed.And yet, he had been untouched for a reason. Akashi had never known life beyond the boundaries of his village. He grew up surrounded by warm smiles and familiar voices. Every elder knew his name. Every child wanted to play by his side. His days were simple, his heart untouched by cruelty.But peace is a fragile thing.One night, it shattered.The sky turned crimson. Screams tore through the quiet air. Fires devoured homes. Demons—twisted beasts of shadow and rage—descended without warning. They killed with a hunger that could not be reasoned with.By morning, the village was gone.Ashes, corpses, and silence were all that remained.And Akashi… Akashi was alone.The last heartbeat in a graveyard of memories.He wandered for days, hollow and dazed, until rough hands seized him. Chains replaced freedom. Smiles were replaced by cold appraisals. And so, the boy once adored by all became something else—something to be sold.A slave.At the capital's grand auction house, he was stripped, washed, and displayed like merchandise. His beauty caused a stir. Whispers spread like wildfire.“Look at those eyes...”“That hair... Is it dyed? No, it’s real...”“So delicate... Is he even human?”To them, he was no longer a boy with a heart, but a prize to possess. A fantasy in fragile form.He stood on the stage, trembling slightly, barely able to process what was happening. The voices of the crowd blurred together—hungry, leering, filled with desire and greed. The auctioneer’s booming voice called out the bids as if Akashi were nothing more than a fine vase or a rare jewel.The numbers climbed quickly. Too quickly. Akashi’s knees weakened beneath the weight of invisible eyes drinking him in. He stared at the marble floor, trying not to cry.Then, suddenly, the room fell silent.A voice—deep, commanding, and heartbreakingly beautiful—cut through the air like silk over steel.“Fifteen thousand gold.”Time seemed to pause.Every head turned.At the back of the room, standing beneath the golden chandelier, was a woman unlike any other.She wore a flowing red gown that hugged her form like it was crafted by the gods themselves. Her long, golden hair shimmered like strands of sunlight, cascading over her shoulders with effortless grace. Her eyes, cold and blue as a glacier’s heart, stared ahead with quiet power.Even the nobles drew back. This was no ordinary bidder.It was one of the Princesses of the Three Great Kingdoms.Whispers erupted anew—but no one dared challenge her offer.Who would?She stood like royalty incarnate, a goddess who walked among mortals, and she had just claimed Akashi as her own.The boy raised his head slowly, unsure of whether to feel fear or relief. His eyes met hers—just for a second—and something in his chest shifted. She didn’t smile. She didn’t leer. Her gaze was unreadable.But it was powerful. Absolute.And it made his knees weak for an entirely new reason.He didn’t know her name. Not yet.But she had bought him.And somewhere deep inside, something told him—his life was never going to be the same.

It was the year 2169. The apocalypse finally arrived.

Global warming, zombies, nuclear war, all at once. Just one tipping point and the world itself would crumble.

Then, Nova Corp, a hegemon of the corporate world, seemingly convinced the global super powers into doing the impossible: Taking everyone online.

And they did. Everyone, poor or rich, was taken into the VRMMORPG: World Online.

A fantasy world where anything was possible. A utopia, unlike everything that the real world was.

But what was supposed to become a method of existence, became a battleground for supremacy. Companies, world powers, and the rich battled to become the greatest.

The disparity between the poor and the rich grew. There was no justice in this world. It took Darwin's words further than any other.

Jake, as poor as one could get, was caught in the rift, torn apart by the unfair system.

He was a dog of the Shadow King Guild, and even though he was absolutely loyal, in the end, the guild cut him off.

He was without an anchor and left in the cruel world. He knew no Utopia like the others.

But one day, when he opened his eyes, nothing was the same anymore.

Opening his eyes, he found himself ten years in the past. He was done being the henchman now. He was not going to let himself be used anymore.

Now, it was time for him to fight back. So what if the strongest were going to stand in his way? He was going to be unstoppable.