There Is No World For ■■ - Chapter 120: The Boss, the Uninvited Guest, and… (4)

In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online-a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other-opens its virtual doors, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in the game world by manipulating their brain waves to create a wholly realistic gaming experience.

But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG-a log-out button.

Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, “game over” means certain death-both virtual and real…

August Clementine was once Reacher, a wealthy and thrill-seeking businessman who had everything but satisfaction in life. After a fatal adventure, Reacher awakens on a parallel Earth, in the body of the destitute and troubled 19-year-old August Clementine. With his new identity, August finds himself burdened with debt and responsible for his beloved younger sister, Sophia. Desperate to change their fate, August immerses himself in Enders Light, a cutting-edge VRMMORPG that blurs the line between virtual and reality. In this fantastical game world, players can bring specific items that meet certain requirements into the real world and even gain a fraction of their in-game abilities and strength. Stuck at level 12 and unable to progress past his starting village due to a rare armor shortage, August must rely on his wits and determination. A breakthrough comes when he retrieves a mystical purification stone from a river teeming with magical aqua beasts and uses it to cleanse an ancient, corrupted altar. His reward includes the legendary Fruit of Corruption, a priceless item with the potential to grant supernatural abilities in the real world. Caught between the allure of selling the fruit for financial security and the temptation of gaining extraordinary powers, August must make a choice that will define his and Sophia’s future... “What? I gained the ability to extract any item from the game into the real world without restrictions?”

Xu Jin simply bowed a few times in front of the nine star lanterns and came to this world that could guide the starlight into his body. Then, he bowed again in front of the nine star lanterns...

Tang Qiu was a substitute bride–forced to take her half-sister’s place and marry the young master of the Jiang family, a deformed cripple with less than 6 months left to live.

“Who would have thought that even a sickly whelp like Jiang Shaocheng would find himself a bride?”

“I hear that he’s practically on his deathbed and he’s only marrying the Fengs’ daughter to improve his lifespan.”

Tang Qiu ignored the whispers around her and focused on her husband-to-be, who coughed violently in his wheelchair. At the altar, after they had said their vows, she lifted her veil and knelt in front of Jiang Shaocheng, pressing a hesitant kiss to his lips.

The marriage contract was signed. No matter his physical deformities, he was now her husband.

She wasn’t afraid of the scars that marked his face, nor was she repulsed by him being confined to a wheelchair. Every morning, she made him breakfast, attended to his needs, and thought of little else beyond her duties as a wife.

“Young Master Jiang is a cripple who can’t get it up,” her best friend argued. “When he dies, you’ll still be untouched. You should set your sights higher.”

“A sickly invalid like Jiang Shaocheng can’t give you happiness,” her ex-boyfriend insisted. “I’ll wait for you.”

But Young Master Jiang only scoffed. “I have plenty of time left to be with her.”

Later in their marriage, Jiang Shaocheng wanted to enjoy his little wife in all ways–the press of her lips against his, the brush of skin on skin; the way a husband and wife were supposed to. But Tang Qiu refused him, blushing. “No, we can’t. The doctor says you can’t exert yourself.”

Jiang Shaocheng’s desire was surging through him, a heat in his core that demanded to be satiated. He cursed, I should have gotten rid of that doctor and the wheelchair long ago.

But he yearned to make love to his little wife, and so he revealed his true identity. In the blink of an eye, the deformed cripple transformed into a powerful businessman–tall, dark, and handsome. He quieted Tang Qiu’s protests, his body positioned over hers, his arms caging her as she lay on the bed. His voice was low when he asked, “What about now?”