MTL - Rebirth As a Fatuous and Self-indulgent Ruler - Chapter 12 : The Queen of the Great Palace Banquet is so beautiful

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.

“I curse you to never die in peace!”

Thus, Shang Ke started a never-ending (forced) cycle of constantly throwing away his miserable life.

He would always show himself as a martyr while letting others cry over his death.

It was because of a woman’s curse that Shang Ke was hit by a car and turned into a human vegetable. This led to him becoming bound by an unlucky system in which he was cursed to die. The most unfortunate part was that he never cheated on anyone’s feelings. The reason for why he was cursed by a woman was because of a guy named Qi Chen. Qi Chen was a ladies man, and he would always use Shang Ke as an excuse to break up with any woman that he was with. As a result, Shang Ke was always blamed for the breakups. Since then, the main character could only be forced to cross into different worlds. He would thus experience for himself, the hero’s “thrill”.

- Description from Novelupdates

【Pure Romance + Marriage before Love + Mind Reading + Feel-Good Story + Entertainment Industry】

Shen Tang, a struggling actress, finds herself transported into the pages of a book as the contracted wife of the domineering CEO, Gu Huai’an.

She doesn’t have to fulfill any wifely duties or do much of anything. All she needs to do is occasionally attend family gatherings and create the illusion of a loving couple. In return, she receives a monthly payment of 5 million yuan and stands to gain 200 million yuan when they divorce.

Shen Tang can barely contain her laughter. Could there be such a good deal?

In the book, Shen Tang falls in love with Gu Huai’an and foolishly hopes to turn their contractual marriage into a real one, but in the end, she gains nothing.

Thinking about this outcome, Shen Tang shakes her head and sighs. What a naive girl, unable to see things clearly.

Wouldn’t it be great to live a stable life and walk away with 300 million yuan after two years of marriage?

Shen Tang decides to fully embrace a carefree life.

·

Gu Huai’an gets a second chance at life.

He remembers how Shen Tang messed things up in their previous life.

However, he waits and waits, but Shen Tang remains silent.

He asks the butler, “What has my wife been up to lately?”

The butler awkwardly smiles and says, “Madam spends her days shopping and admiring handsome men.”

Gu Huai’an: …

By a stroke of luck, Gu Huai’an discovers he can hear Shen Tang’s thoughts.

But wait, wasn’t she supposed to be head over heels in love with him? Why has she become…

Initially, Gu Huai’an only wanted to endure the two-year contract period and divorce this woman.

However, later on, he kneels down and humbly pleads, “Tang Tang, can we not get divorced?”