Wilderness: I Tame Beasts to Survive - Chapter 25: Terrifying Upright Ape

When Jasmine’s fated mate Elliot rejects her for the Lycan Chairman’s daughter, she is left broken, humiliated and alone. To make matters worse, her father gets arrested for embezzlement, and Jasmine needs to raise ten million to release him.Desperate to save her father from a wrongful conviction, Jasmine takes the only job she can find—tutoring the bratty daughter of a rich werewolf family.But she never expected her employer to be the Lycan chairman himself: Gareth Laken. He is ruthless, dominant… and her ex-mate’s future father-in-law.Gareth thinks she’s a threat. A bitter ex-girlfriend out for revenge, waiting to harm his own daughter. But the more he watches her, the more he sees a woman refusing to be shattered by the world that betrayed her. A woman he can’t stop wanting, despite the huge age difference.Now, Jasmine is caught between two powerful men—one who destroyed her, and one who might destroy everything she has left to protect.Excerpt“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Gareth said, voice low, his towering frame just inches from mine.“I didn’t come here to play,” I shot back, even as my heart pounded. “But you should be asking Elliot why he keeps showing up at my door. I’m not the one chasing ghosts.”His eyes darkened, his gaze dropping to my lips. “He’s not the only one haunted by you.”I froze.I should have walked away.Instead, I whispered, “Then why do you look at me like you want to hate me and kiss me at the same time?”He didn’t answer.But his silence spoke louder than any lie.

The man forsaken by the world, the man a slave to money and the man known as the legendary God of War in the highly popular MMORPG Continent of Magic. With the coming of age, he decides to say goodbye, but the feeble attempt to earn a little something for his time and effort ripples into an effect none could ever have imagined.

Lao Chen was just an old, underpaid security guard in a rundown apartment complex, living a miserable life under a stingy, ungrateful boss.His wife left him, his daughter wanted nothing to do with him, and poverty was his only constant companion.In the end, death came in the form of a drunk driver, leaving him broken and forgotten on the cold pavement.But fate wasn’t done with him. In his final moments, he prayed—desperate, pleading to any deity who would listen.And someone did.The God of Wealth and Love took pity on his wasted life and granted him a second chance.Wake up again as Zhao Yiming, a 25-year-old gambler and alcoholic drowning in debt with nothing but a good face and a strong body to his name, he was given the Affinity Money Maker System—a mysterious power that let him gain wealth and influence by forming relationships, whether as lovers, friends, or even enemies.Before he knew it, he had stumbled his way into unimaginable riches.But things never go as planned. One moment of recklessness—one affair with the wrong woman—led to an unexpected murder.Now, the system has thrown him onto a new path: The Villain Route. With a negative perk that keeps the police off his trail but tightens the noose around his future, Zhao Yiming is faced with an impossible choice.Will he claw his way to the top and become the billionaire he was meant to be? Or will his second life end behind bars, just as tragic as his first?

Leon Vale’s world stopped when the chamber labeled him F-Rank, no spark, just Empty Core.One dozen sparks in a sea of a thousand chances. A near-miracle of failure, somehow flopped harder than flatlining.In Neo-Veridia, strength rules the game, no exceptions. Those who are tough get hailed as champions; others? They're stuck cleaning up messes. Might makes right here, plain and simple.Leon ended up on the ground. That’s where he landed, no surprise there.Later, the red moon climbed into view. Right after, creatures smashed past the shield. His siblings stood near death yet deep in his Empty Core, an old force stirred awake.[ SHADOW EXTRACTION SYSTEM ACTIVATED ]Leon takes energy from whatever he defeats. Each time a creature falls, he gains more strength. As shadows vanish into him, he drifts toward a mystery - something waits in a space beyond places: a seat atop no land, while a voiceless headpiece calls out to him through empty dark.Yet taking what’s not yours brings trouble.On top of everything else, the Evernight Alliance caught wind. Not just vampires - werewolves too. Old creatures that oughta be myths are poking at the city’s walls, messing up dungeon cores, chasing whatever’s pumping out that dark energy signal.Hunting for him.Leon’s stuck in a risky move, quietly getting stronger so he can shield his folks, hitting school while sneaking around to pull out shadows, acting powerless even though some old, grim force now names him successor.That F-Rank tag? Total fake. His Empty Core isn't broken, it fights. Each darkness he swallows drags him nearer to a reality he can’t face yetNot every seat of power fits a hero.Some crowns come from shadows, built on bones.Some kids just inherit stuff whether they like it or not.The Crimson Moon marked the start. What’s coming next? Things are about to heat up.