Dead on Mars - Chapter 164 - Sol Two Hundred and Eighty-Two, Kunlun Station

Nora is shattered a month before her wedding when she uncovers her fiancé's deceitful affair. As she manages this betrayal, she discovers a deep ploy to hinder her from claiming her rightful inheritance. Devastated but determined, Nora takes a daring step to regain control of her life. Enter Demetri 'The Demon' to those who know him, a formidable man barely known to her, who offers her protection and support in return for a contract marriage to satisfy him. In a twist of fate, Nora marries Demetri to claim her inheritance and fight those who plotted against her. But as she battles her own family and Demetri's many rivals, will she be able to keep from falling for the man known to crush people beneath his booted heel.Excerpt:She had forgotten that the man was intimidating and directly challenged him.Rather than speaking, Demetri rose from his seat and approached her deliberately. Although it was a mere few steps, time seemed to stretch for Nora. When he was almost within touching distance, his hand gently landed on her knee, moving it sideways. His touch moved with a hint of a caress, and he stepped between her open legs. Nora sat there in frozen silence, her eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.Catching her chin between his fingers, he tilted her face upwards and spoke unhurriedly,“ You are my wife.”She nodded her head slowly in affirmation while his thumb slowly traced her lip. “I have given you time to gather your emotions.”Another nod. Nora's nervousness made her lick her lips, acutely aware of his intense gaze fixed upon them.“Your reason for the marriage was to secure your inheritance and get away from under your mother's thumb.”“Yes...” Nora whispered in confusion. Her confusion was not about his statement but about the bewildering sensations coursing through her. What was happening with her?”It's time for you to fulfil your end of the contract, yes?“ He continued.”Yes,“ Nora whispered breathlessly. Why was she breathless? Had the oxygen level in the house dropped? Was the air suddenly thinning?Abruptly, his hand left her face, and she watched as he drew closer. It was then that Nora comprehended what was unfolding. All those tantalizing, heart-pounding kisses she had read about in novels were about to possibly become her reality.But the anticipated kiss didn't happen. Instead, he paused near her and commanded, ”Kiss me.“

In a land where ancient families are as common as the stars, the weight of millennia-old legacies brings not only honor but also the chains of rigid traditions. Here, bloodlines are the cornerstone of power, the unyielding foundation for climbing the ladder of authority.But what hope does the descendant of a mere hunter have in such a world? How can they claim a seat at the table in this grand feast of ambition and betrayal? Is it through the fragmented remnants of a cheat ability from the game For Honor, now warped and unrecognizable? A fleeting glimpse into an uncertain future? Or perhaps a stroke of intangible, invisible luck?The stage is set, the pieces are moving—will this unlikely contender rise, or will they become just another casualty of the Game of Thrones?

“The world’s not fair, but fairness doesn’t pay the bills. You don’t wait for a handout — you build your own damn ladder, one step at a time.”Ethan Grey’s life was built on ambition, hard work, and hope — until a single accusation destroyed it all.Framed by his ruthless boss, Ethan loses his job, his reputation, and is left drowning in half a million dollars of debt.Cast aside by a society that thrives on crushing the weak, he’s at rock bottom with no way out.But in his darkest moment, something extraordinary happens. A mysterious system awakens, offering Ethan a second chance — but with rules.[Congratulations, You have awakened the Harem Investment System]It can’t make him rich overnight, and it won’t give him shortcuts. Instead, it points him toward physical investments: crumbling properties, broken-down machines, and forgotten treasures.Each one is a gamble, but with every success, the system rewards him with newfound skills and opportunities.

Ye Yang, a straight man from Northeast China, transmigrated into a novel about court fights, became a concubine, and was bound to a system, which could put on view the favorability score of the main characters.

On condition that the emperor’s favorability score was too high, he’d fall in love with Ye Yang. However, if his favorability score was too low, he’d be mercilessly killed. In order to protect his life and chastity, Ye Yang forced himself to create his own persona, repeatedly switching between the personality of an unrefined man from Northeast China and the first beauty of the harem.

Yet, things were getting worse and worse. At first, he let the favorability score of the dog emperor drop. Later, the score began increasing rapidly. Watching how the favorability score was about to skyrocket, Ye Yang panicked.

He wore a gold chain and raised a mink, silencing all of the imperial concubines of the harem. Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +1.

He had a snowball fight with the dog emperor and pushed him into a snowdrift. Both of them caught a cold. Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +10.

The mink he raised thought out a plan for Feng Luan to renovate the imperial study room worth of more than 10.000 taels of silver. The imperial study was so horrible that one could hardly bear to look at it.

Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +100.

What’s going on! Are you still a straight man!

……

The longer Ye Yang lived in degradation, the more he felt that the dog emperor was different from what he initially thought.

At his feet the ground was covered in blood and bones, but behind him was the delightful scenery of the prosperous world, and the coming of all nations.

A few years later, he helped Ye Yang up the stairs and gazed into the distance. He saw a myriad of twinkling lights, bustling, bright and beautiful.

And Feng Luan whispered in his ear.

“My dear Imperial Concubine, look.”

“This is our country.”

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