Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord - Chapter 188: The Strange Murlocs

[Ding! Sorceress Beauty Merlin from Camelot has added you to a chat group full of beautiful maidens!][Ding! You've claimed the title of Supreme Demon Lord!][Ding! Fairy Queen Ophelia tagged you in a post!][Ding! Medusa sent you some of her spicy videos, shut your blinds before watching!][Ding! Your dog has been transformed into the Ancient Black Dragon Veligrpyh!]James Kang, once the youngest heir to the multi-trillion-dollar Hart Global Corporation, has everything anyone could dream of: money, luxury, and freedom. But his life is hollow—friends are fake, family distant, and his days are a blur of shallow extravagance.One late, lonely night, James gets a notification:[Congratulations! You have been added to the Ancient Multiverse Chatroom!]Thinking it's some cringy online role-playing game, he decides to entertain himself and plays along, proclaiming himself the “Supreme Demon Lord.”The group, filled with titles like:[Princess of the Azure Seas][Dragon Emperor of Ashvale][Goblin Slayer Supreme][High Priestess of the Sun][Fafnir, the Pet Wyvern]And they seemed hilariously invested in their roles.What starts as a joke takes a bizarre turn.The more James participates, the more he notices strange phenomena: glowing runes on his skin, magic artifacts materializing from nowhere, an elder dragon in his garage, and a sudden mastery of dark magic.Things escalate when a private group chat, run by a perverted female King Arthur, invites him to [The Table of Beauties], a circle of god-tier roleplayers… or so he thinks.Soon, James learns the truth.The chat is an interdimensional nexus connecting real worlds where magic, legends, and gods exist. His casual banter and fake roleplay have turned him into a living, breathing Demon Lord, complete with a castle in Hell, loyal monster armies, and reality-warping powers.To make matters even crazier, his “friends” start visiting Earth, and they’re nothing like he imagined!

Jiang Xichu was Chen Man’s secretary for many years. There was an inevitable dispute in the workplace. On this day, she just had a big fight with Chen Man. Before she passed away, she was stabbed to death by a psychopath who retaliated against society. Not long after her death, Jiang Xichu learned from the civil servants of the underworld that Chen Man didn’t feel guilty and had embezzled her well-deserved salary. Even her funeral was held casually, her colleagues weren’t able to attend and give their condolences. She goes back into the world full of anger and was ready to frighten the heartless woman, Chen Man. When she arrived at Chen Man’s bedroom, she saw Chen Man held an urn full of her ashes, while slowly looking at her pictures when she was alive while looking haggard.

A year later, Chen Man also died. The cause of death: suicide caused by severe depression. Jiang Xichu left Chen Man’s home with a complicated mood. She wanted to go back to the underworld and ask Chen Man about it. However, after stepping out of the home, she was reborn again.

Once again in the world, general manager Chen made her breathless.

Jiang Xichu: …

You little actress girl, you play your two faces very smoothly!

- Description from Novelupdates

Over ten years ago, a Bitcoin was priced at $0.008. Today, it is priced at nearly $100,000!It is a fantasy we've all played in our heads. What if we could go back with all the knowledge we have now and invest in some Bitcoins, perhaps in many Bitcoins?Well this is your chance to live that fantasy through Darren Steele, our MC who suffers a soul shattering betrayal in the hands of his girlfriend and her millionaire father.After a sudden death, he regresses ten years to the past with all his knowledge retained and with the Investor System to guide him.[Ding!][Weekly Quest: Make your first investment!]What! Darren can invest in Bitcoin?!Huh?! The price of one Bitcoin is only $0.08!Since he knows when Bitcoin is going to rise and when it will crash, does that mean he can avoid loss and only make PROFITS?!Indeed! With the Investor System, Darren Steele is going to build his way up the business world as a young investor. Bitcoin will make him a billionaire and he will defeat all his rivals and take down the companies of everyone who once treated him like trash!

On his 20th birthday, Asher's mother confessed something he never expected. After the truth was revealed, she died giving her last blessing to him. That's when Asher found himself all alone, confused about his own identity and worrying about his future.What did she say?-He was someone special?-Someone people would come after?She said he was coming from a very rare but also a very special race called omega where men could get pregnant. Was it real? At first, Asher strictly refused to accept his mother's confession. But in the end, he had to believe it. Because it was the bitter truth.If he was really coming from such a rare race, and had such a special body, did he have to live all his life hiding so he wouldn't get caught and become someone's plaything? Was that the only way to avoid getting the bad ending his father got?Why was he even born as someone like this?! He just wanted a peaceful life.So, it wouldn't be as dangerous as his mother said if he just forgot he was special and lived like a normal person, right? People would not notice. Alas, it's been a long time since people last saw an omega and they must be believing no omega exists now.At least that's what he thought...He thought people might have forgotten about his existence and he would not have to face any problems in the future. Whether he was special or not, he still became a target.When he was kidnapped and auctioned as a slave, he regretted ignoring his mother's last advice.“Don't trust anyone easily. Your safety is in your hands and protecting yourself is your duty.”He could only blame himself and expect for the worst if his special identity was to get revealed and meet the same end as his father did.However, his fate gave him a second chance along with a huge surprise which changed his life for the better.Hopefully, Asher was saved by the so-called 'bloodthirsty monster' duke and brought to his mansion to babysit his spoiled 10-year-old little sister who threw tantrums declaring she wants Asher to pat her head and comfort her.Just to babysit this adorable, little girl. He was safe. His secret was also secured within himself.Thanks to that chaotic sister and brother, Asher's life slowly took new turns and continued with almost no obstacles...till some point.The surprise?The duke happened to have some kind of a 'strange' illness that had no cure.Not long after when Asher discovered it, he ended up becoming the perfect cure for his illness.But how?-Remember? He was 'special'!Where would his specialty as an omega lead his life to?What kind of mysteries would he have to encounter with this duke wishing comfort from him? Will the duke's 'strange' illness ever get healed?How would their story flow to that perfect happy ending with the twist of love landing in the middle of their 'just a deal'?