Eternal Thief - Chapter 21: Black Fox

“I have to squander; otherwise, won’t it be a waste of my parent’s talent at earning money?” Hong Dali answers a reporter’s question matter-of-factly.

Just after the interview ends, Hong Dali opens the Great Prodigal System’s interface and looks at the various good stuff displayed in it. Stroking his chin, he mumbles to himself, “I just need to squander 200 billion yuan more to exchange for the blueprint of the core technology, Engine Destruction, found in the strongest humanoid mecha weapon, Neo Granzon. Looks like I’ll have to work harder!”

“I want to splurge! I want to squander!”

- Description from Novelupdates

Xiao Rou, a girl growing up in a poor countryside family, finds that she’s actually the daughter of a wealthy couple. Her mother had mistaken another girl for her back at the hospital. Thinking she would change from an ugly duckling to a noble swan and live happily ever after with her real family, reality strikes her in the face.

Philip never expected his new life to be so… complicated. When a tragic accident in the modern metropolis of Bortinto abruptly ends his struggle for survival, he wakes up as the scandal-ridden heir of a ducal house in a world where magic and science coexist. Any fantasies of an easy, heroic life vanish the moment he realizes that the estate that he is tasked with managing is drowning in debt, and his reputation has been shredded by rumors involving his predecessor’s broken engagement to the socialite Lady Rosetta—the granddaughter of a prince.Even as he scrambles to rebuild his estate’s fortunes—grappling with contaminated land, mounting debts, and shrewed industrialists—he unearths troubling secrets about the original Philip’s heartbreak and suicide. A dark, hidden force seems intent on wiping him out for an unknown reason. As conspiracies emerge linking Lady Rosetta’s departure to these shadowy machinations, Philip struggles to separate ally from adversary, not knowing why this power in high places is so bent on destroying him.Meanwhile, the realm teeters on the brink of monumental change. Technological and social revolutions collide with century-old magical traditions, and war drums thunder on the distant borders. Armed with his modern knowledge of finance—now fused with the kingdom’s burgeoning industrial innovations—Philip attempts to ride the trends and transform his estate into a beacon of prosperity and secure his heirship to the ducal title. Yet each small triumph only attracts more enemies.Tasked by the System with cultivating a supernatural entity while uncovering the real reason behind Lady Rosetta’s canceled engagement and the original Philip’s tragic end, he must also shield those he grows to care about from the looming threats. Will he harness the synergy of magic, technology, and commerce to steer his estate toward greatness, or will malevolent forces quash his second chance at life? Will his second chance at life end the same tragic way as his first?

Beatrice Da Ville was supposed to be the villainess. A spoiled, arrogant noblewoman who terrorized the heroine, only to be executed for her crimes. At least, that’s how the story was supposed to go.But when a 21st-century woman wakes up in Beatrice’s body, she has zero intention of following the original plot. Execution? Betrayal? A bloody downfall? Absolutely not. She just wants to keep her head down, avoid drama, and live a long, peaceful life.Unfortunately, her unbothered attitude, modern slang, and sheer survival instincts keep catching the attention of all the wrong people. The nobles think she’s a genius, the royal family is amused, and worst of all—the cold Crown Prince Francois Montague, who was supposed to fall for the heroine, won’t stop watching her.Meanwhile, the original heroine, Johanna Lockhart, starts to realize that her perfect fairytale is slipping away. The world that once adored her now whispers about Beatrice instead. And the more she loses, the more dangerous she becomes.With a fate that refuses to let her go, a jealous heroine turning villainous, and an infuriatingly handsome prince who definitely didn’t love her in the original story, Beatrice has one goal.Survive. Thrive. And absolutely, under no circumstances, follow the script.