HALF: Dead nor Alive - Chapter 31

The extraordinaire has disrupted the silence of the world and ever since then, technology has taken a different path.

When humans find a path for evolution in the dark, I’ll remove my ribs, burn my heart and burn the midnight oil to become their pioneer.

This is the process of a gamer manipulating the world.

Mini world of endless fun awaits.

- Description from Novelupdates

The daughter of a healthcare company's CEO, Ines Jackson was in an arranged relationship that was soon supposed to turn into a marriage.However, her fiancé, Trevor Harrington, was physically abusing her and using her only for her family’s status.One night, while running away from him as he chased her in a drunken rage, she bumped into a guy…not just any guy, but a famous boxer: Raphael Giovanni, whom she had never heard of personally.He saved Ines from Trevor, and in her rush for safety, she offered him a marriage in return.Unbeknownst to Ines, Raphael knew her father, who was responsible for his mother’s health issues and eventually her death.Seeking revenge, Raphael agreed to the marriage. But little did he know that the heiress would become more than just a part of his revenge plan.“You can’t love me…monsters like me don’t live enough to experience love.”

When Evelyn’s loser fiance steals her company's secrets and elopes with her prostitute mother, she finds herself facing impending bankruptcy. But unexpected help comes in the form of an unusual offer from her business rival and ex-boyfriend, Alexander Langford.“Bear my children, Eve, and I’ll save this precious company of yours.”To everyone else, Alexander is the heir to a billion dollar fortune, and the acting industry’s handsome darling. But to Evelyn, he is nothing more than a cold-hearted, arrogant man she dumped for being a compulsive liar years ago - but unknown to her, he has never lied about his love.How could Alexander miss the golden chance to hit two birds with one stone? He gets his inheritance, and a family with the love of his life. Now, if only dear Evelyn would stop thinking the worst of him…[Strong female lead x doting male lead.][EXCERPT]“You’re out of your mind,” Eve snaps. “You could have any woman in this world, and you want ME to be the mother of your children?!”“Why not? You’re smart, savvy, and fucking hot,” Alex says as he takes a step forward, trapping her body between his muscular arms. His dark blue eyes gaze deep into hers with unbridled lust. “I want our children to have the best from both of us. Our children could take over the world.”“There is no ‘our’,” Eve says coldly, pushing him away. “I will be the surrogate for your children. This is nothing but a business deal. There is NO love in this contract. But in exchange, you need to do something else.”“And what is it?”“Help me take down my ex-fiance. That bastard deserves to die after fucking my mom and ruining my life.”Alex chuckles. “It’s a deal then, sweetheart.”It was nothing but a business deal at first. But what if the line between business, love, and hatred were getting blurry as they got entangled too far and too long?[Power couple, slow burn, getting back together.]

One scam package,That's all it took to drag the 17-year-old Cail into the world of the void....He thought he had ordered a limited-edition sneakers. But what came was a shady-looking package on his front gate. It smelled like rotten egg and sulfur. Inside the package was a strange box.It's filled with eccentric junk. They looked very intricate and mysterious. He thought, “I probably got someone else's package, a package from someone that was very interested in mysticism.”An old coin, a cracked compass, a ring with an ugly center stone, and some other weird looking trinkets.So he did what any broke student would do:He sold it. He figured someone might want them for cosplay or something. Well, except the gold-rimmed glasses that seemed to fit him very well.“Damn, I paid 7,000 nu for that sneaker; I better get something out from this scam package.”Then all hell broke loose. Strange people started approaching him.People brought that junk. Very strange people wearing suspicious get up trying to buy those stuff in the sketchiest manner possible.As he kept selling, he realized that the box was refilling, it seemed to have an endless supply of those strange stuff. Those people called it 'artifacts'.Then one day he woke up with a strange tattoo on his arm; inside the tattoo was an independent space containing the box. It is basically inseparable from him.“I didn't ask for any of this to happen. But now, strange people come to me with desperate offers. Money, memories, and even soul.”He's just trying to survive high school while earning some money!He had no idea what was going on, but apparently, this thing that he got? It's not just an artifact. It's a contract.As Cail navagates school life, part-time jobs, and otherworldly clients, he starts asking the real question:When did I become an artifact dealer?!By day, he is just an ordinary student, a NPC character.And by night? He is The Dealer. Selling ancient items and dealing with people that he probably shouldn't be talking to.“Since I'm already in this mess, might as well profit off of it.”