MIGHT AS WELL BE OP - Chapter 398: Military Rank

Rocco Di Malvento lived a short, but loving life in his previous world, surrounded by a caring family. Despite suffering from a terminal illness, he found solace in books, especially his favorite BL novel >. But when he dies, he wakes up in an unexpected new life—as the weak, neglected second son of a powerful mafia family.Now reborn in the world of the novel, Rocco finds himself in a terrifying situation: he's the useless younger brother of Sylas, the main protagonist, and likely doomed to die young unless he changes the course of his life. So, what's his plan? Simple—befriend the protagonist, avoid being a spoiled brat, and secretly recruit Sylas's future allies to protect him.First target? Georgio the Hyena, an infamous killer. Rocco's strategy: charm the terrifying man and make him his ally instead of Sylas’s.It's a ridiculous plan, but hey, at least Rocco is trying. Can he survive the mafia world and avoid his tragic fate? He hopes so. After all, he’s just a kid trying to make the most of his second chance!

# HUSBAND-CHASING

Si Mi had been foolish in her past life. She aborted the child she had with her husband just so she could return to her first boyfriend, Fu Xing. Yet, Fu Xing had no intention of reconciling with her, and even ridiculed her for flattering herself. With that, Si Mi felt that she had been abandoned by the world. She wandered the streets dejectedly and was killed by a car that malfunctioned. As her soul floated in midair, she saw her stepsister secretly meeting up with the driver who killed her to give him a large sum of hush money. She even saw her stepmother, who had always doted on her, say, “That girl finally died. At least my efforts weren’t wasted in spoiling her to the point of being brainless and arrogant! My dear daughter, you can finally relax and be with Fu Xing now.” Finally, Si Mi saw her ex-husband attending her funeral, and then took revenge for her death. Her supposedly disfigured husband even removed his mask for the first time before her portrait. The man’s flawless appearance seemed to be a gift from the gods. Every inch of him was meticulously perfect, and he wasn’t as hideous as the rumors painted him to be.

Then, Si Mi lost all senses. When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on a bed naked while a man rammed into her from above. It was her husband, Fu Zhen! She had just attended her own funeral moments ago as a wandering soul, so why was she in Fu Zhen’s bed now and making love to him? It seems that Si Mi was reborn back to the time when she had just married her husband. During this time, she had yet to abort Fu Zhen’s child, and hadn’t yet fallen into her stepmother and stepsister’s scheme! What perplexed Si Mi even more was that she now possessed the power of telekinesis after being reborn. Splendid! She swore not to be toyed with anymore in this life. She would also take revenge! More importantly… she had to compensate Fu Zhen for what she owed him. She would give her best to this man who once loved her deeply.

Ade has lived in an incense burner for over a thousand years, her days spent sleeping. Longing for the outside world she hears about from her fairy friends, her wish is finally granted when a man brings her home, releasing her from the seal. Ade, tears streaming, vows to repay her savior to the fullest extent.Qin Yu, known as the cold and ruthless Third Master Qin of Kyoto, finds his life upended when strange occurrences plague his bedroom after he places an antique incense burner given to him as a New Year's gift there. Chaos ensues, with items displaced and unexplained puddles of water; he even senses something in his bed while half-asleep.One afternoon, Qin Yu comes home early to find a young girl cleaning up spilled milk. The girl, her black hair cascading, her skin porcelain, is startled by his return and tries to flee. Upon being caught and questioned by Qin Yu, she timidly speaks of repaying her debt.To Qin Yu's amusement, she lists her belongings: pearls, antiques, even her savings. None of these interest Qin Yu, who instead sweeps her into his arms and suggests a more personal way of repaying the debt. Terrified, the girl's beautiful fish tail is revealed.

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.