The Author's POV - Chapter 8: Lock [2]

Cain was living his best life as the leader of CROSS, a gang ruling Zone A, District 4.At 21, thanks to constant cigarettes and booze, he looked older than his years. He didn’t finish college or have a job, but he made a living through “guard fees” from local markets and his shady side business.One night, his life turned upside down when a shooting star crashed through his window, transforming into a cute fairy girl in a pink dress and rabbit hat, who declared herself the Idol-Idol Goddess!Now, Cain has to juggle being a gang leader and a rising idol star. Can he balance both lives without blowing his cover?[RPG System Style. No Harem. Drama. Romance. Face Slapping. Idol. Magical Realism. Urban Setting. Beautiful Female Lead. Strong ML. Smart ML. Handsome ML. Cold ML] XD

Shao Qing’s only regret in life is that she blindly fell in love with a worthless man. She gave up everything for him, but in exchange was run over by his conniving mistress when she was close to her delivery date. Fortunately, Heaven left her a way. Crimson rain fell from the sky, the end of the world arrived, she resurrected in the morgue and gave birth to a little monster. Turning into a half human, half zombie freak; her son neither human, nor monster; they have no other choice but to rely on zombies’ crystal nuclei to develop their special abilities and continue living. This debt, she’ll definitely repay that cheating couple!

Leo had a problem. Don't be like Leo!It wasn't that he was poor. It wasn't that he was unlucky. It was that he had been cursed, or blessed by the Accidental Tycoon System.The rules were deceptively simple. Any money he lost on an investment would be returned to him, doubled. And any money he gained, aside from system reimbursement couldn't be used by him on himself.His life's new mission was crystal clear. He had to go bankrupt.In a high-tech world of S-Rank Heroes, magic, and newly-contacted alien civilizations, this should have been the easiest thing to achieve in the galaxy. He just had to become the biggest, most spectacular loser the universe had ever seen.So, he tried. Oh, how he tried...He threw billions at publishing a dungeon guide written by a 10-year-old. The maps were in crayon, and it listed the final boss as a Big Grumpy Badger.[Breaking: New S-Rank dungeon called 'The Whispering Labyrinth' appears! All high-tech mapping drones fail. A lost F-Rank porter used the crayon guide... and it's 100% accurate. The final boss is a 50-foot divine badger. The Galactic Union has declared the guide a 'holy text' for exploration!]He bought the galaxy's most useless moon, planning to build a 'Museum of Paint'.[Alert: Ancient magical ley-lines discovered under the moon's surface! It's the only place in the universe that can safely grow the 'Star-Lotus,' the key ingredient for immortality!]To the Intergalactic Hero's Guild, the Magic Academies, and the Alien Federations, Leo was the god of investment whose every move was like 5D chess that ordinary people couldn't understand.Heroes would soar with his sponsorship. Alien emperors offered him their daughters' hands in marriage for a single 'tip'.But Leo just stared at his bank account, which now displayed his wealth that he couldn't use on himself, with tears streaming down his face.“Please,” he cried, “I'm trying to fail! Why won't you just let me be poor?!”

The ClockA Divine Object that looms eternally in the sky, casting its silent shadow over every corner of the earth. No one remembers when it first appeared—only that it has always been there. And it ticks.Once every ten years, the hand moves. With it, millions are randomly chosen and sent to another realm, forced to fight for their survival. These chosen few are known as Chronists—individuals granted supernatural abilities by the Clock itself.***Jack has always been seen as a misfit—an odd boy with a strange way of thinking. After a life-changing accident, he finds himself shuffled between psychiatrists, as his parents search for answers they can’t seem to find.But everything changes the day a mysterious woman appears before him.From that moment on, Jack's life begins to unravel—and so does his place in a world far stranger than he ever imagined.