The Phantom's Gambit - Chapter 59: No one is safe

Every novel has a slag character, the one who decides to abandon the protagonist at his lowest, most helpless point, either because he can’t stand the poor guy’s circumstances or for other reasons. But after the protagonist wins his way in life again, they’re the ones who beg with broken sobs to be taken back.

Still, water once spilled can’t be recovered again.

Yet the unlucky Shen Jiayan has been bound to a Water Recovery* System to do just that.

*water recovery – comes from an idiom that means “spilled water can’t be recovered” (English equivalent: there’s no use crying over spilt milk).

- Description from Novelupdates

Lu Qingyan was once the perfect daughter—an obedient, soft-spoken high school girl known for her academic excellence and fragile health. But the one person she loved the most was her older brother—hentle, dazzling, and far too burdened for his age, he was her everything.. No one noticed his silent suffering… until it was too late. The day he took his own life, she shattered.Months later, while saving a child from an oncoming car, Lu Qingyan dies and awakens inside a familiar story: the school novel “A Thorn in the Crown”, one she read during her lowest days.But she’s no longer just a reader.She’s now Lu Qingyan, the infamous younger sister of Lu Mingxuan—the novel’s violent and cold-hearted villain feared across campus. A notorious delinquent, and ironically, the sworn enemy of her favorite character: Wang Jingyuan, the story’s tragic antagonist turned misunderstood villain.In the novel, Lu Qingyan is little more than cannon fodder—a delusional girl who idolizes her brother, gets caught in the crossfire between Lu Mingxuan and Wang Jingyuan, and ends up being dead.Determined to change the plot, she initially plans to curry favor with Wang Jingyuan—to save him from his doomed fate.But everything shifts the moment she lays eyes on Lu Mingxuan.He has her brother’s face.The same weary eyes.The same lonely back.The same silent cry for help no one else hears.And in that moment, Lu Qingyan’s plan shatters.This isn’t just a story anymore.So Lu Qingyan vowed to protect him this time, even if it means dragging her brother out of gang fights, squaring off against entitled rich kids, or defying the other villain himself—Wang Jingyuan, the school’s cold and brilliant golden boy... and Lu Mingxuan's sworn rival.In the original novel, Wang Jingyuan was one of the big villains—the cunning and miserable friend of the male lead. Now, he’s front and center... and watching her a little too closely....Lu Mingxuan always disliked his bootlicking sister, but one day he discovered that she had stopped following him around.Later, he unexpectedly found his sworn enemy, Wang Jingyuan, trapping his sister against the wall and between his arms. With an ambiguous and languid expression, he coaxed in a soft tone, “Just give up on that useless brother of yours. What Lu Mingxuan can give you, I can too.”Lu Qingyan: ???Wang Jingyuan, you dog!!That’s my sister!! Stop daydreaming!!

Fade’s ordinary life ends the moment a blinding white meteor tears through the sky.When he awakens, the world he knew is gone—swallowed by silence and system prompts.Alone in a twisted reality governed by status screens and cryptic rules, he must survive using nothing but instinct, will, and a voice that speaks from beyond the void.Guided by shadows and haunted by memories, Fade walks a path few can return from.But he is not just surviving. He is becoming.“Path of Death: Awakening” is a journey beyond mere survival—into power, mystery, and transformation.A tale where one broken boy becomes something far greater than legend.

A world where awakened individuals with special powers emerge due to a system. At the New Spring Kindergarten infant class, Gru awakens as an S-rank Hunter at the age of 4. Along with this, there is a quest assigned to her… [Quest: A child needs a strong guardian!] Why is a guardian needed? That is because Gru has no mother or father. Gru, who had no family, is adopted by the greatest Hunter in South Korea after many twists and turns, and along with that, new skills are developed… [Let’s try registering a new guardian in the slot!] [Children can earn ‘filial piety points’ through various activities, which can be used in different areas.] Gathering guardians enables faster growth? ‘That’s amazing!’ Alright, I’ll gather all the S-rank guardians!