Virtual World: Close Combat Mage - Chapter 169 - Black Clothed, Masked Man

Jaden Cross is a young man trying to survive in the shadows of Neo-Lagos, a futuristic city where the poor live in broken homes and forgotten slums. Orphaned at six and forced to grow up fast, Jaden spends his days fixing scraps and dreaming of a better world—a world he believes he’ll never see.Until one night, everything changes.A mysterious glowing orb appears in the sky and connects with Jaden’s mind, activating the Tech Architect System—a powerful, sci-fi interface that gives him access to futuristic blueprints, instant-building tools, and system quests that reward him for solving real-world problems.His first quest? Restore power to his neighborhood using solar microgrids.Soon, Jaden is building cooling shelters, clean energy systems, and AI-run apartments—one project at a time. But with each success, he draws more attention. The city’s leaders want to control him. A rival from the tech underworld wants to steal the system. And darker forces are watching from the skies, waiting for the Architect to grow.Armed with only his mind, his hands, and the Tech Architect System, Jaden must rise from the ruins of poverty and become the builder of a new future.But in a city full of secrets, will he remain its hero… or become its biggest threat?

After his tragic life ended, Aleron expected to reincarnate or transmigrate, but instead, he was transported with his body and summoned as a hero...only to enter a new hell as he had trash stats and couldn't activate his Divine Blessing, prompting the King to extract his boon.He was tortured and onward to being buried alive with his soul ravaged after they removed his Divine Blessing. But all was not lost as Aleron found he had the Ultimate Gacha System at the death's door and initiated his first summon in the Lords of Arcane banner.[Congratulations! You have summoned Darzax the Graveborn, the Sorcerer of Death and Necromancy.]

Being a nobody from a poor district of the Federation, Nick is a sixteen year old boy just trying to find his place in the world. When he finally gets his shot to enter the Beast Domain upon turning sixteen, he jumps at the opportunity to finally make something of himself — to carve out his own future.His goal? Survive. Hunt. Earn enough money to finally support his little sister back home and bring them out of poverty.But to a naïve young boy like Nick, the world is far more sinister than it seems — leaving him no choice but to adapt or die.To a poor young man like Nick, though, there was only one choice he could make.Follow Nick as he navigates these obstacles and carves out a future for himself and his sister, all while uncovering the various mysteries that shroud his worldview in darkness.

Jiang Dao died extremely heroically in the apocalyptic world war. He never thought that he would have a chance to open his eyes again.

He traveled through, into a danmei book he had read, and became a vicious villain in the book.

Jiang Dao thought to himself: “After more than ten years of fighting for my life in the last days, I’m tired, so what am I fighting for? It’s better to be a vase. Use my face to finish the brokerage contract, and then find a corner in the world with beautiful scenery and live a peaceful life of growing vegetables, cooking, and raising cats and dogs…”

So, he returned the role that the original owner had snatched from the protagonist shou on the spot.

Unexpectedly, in the variety show that started shooting the next day, Jiang Dao performed a shoulder toss and threw the current number one kung fu actor, Chu Yinlong, to the ground.

Chu Yinlong: Boy, you have successfully caught my attention. My new movie, the villain, can fight, you come.

Jiang Dao: …Sorry, I’m just a vase.

————

In a later interview.

A reporter asked Chu Yinlong: “How would you rate your perfect partner, Mr. Jiang Dao?”

Chu Yinlong replied: “A vase.”

Reporter: “How can a kung fu superstar as famous as him be a vase?”

Chu Yinlong: “Diamond vase. Precious, beautiful, hard enough.”

- Description from Novelupdates