I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun - Chapter 1: Welcome Back.

In the distant future on Earth, there was a girl with God-like powers. That girl is the last survivor of the former human race that flourished in ancient times.

The Ancients.

And on that very same Earth, a new breed of humans with the ability to wield Magic emerged.

That girl began to observe the new human race silently.

Sometimes called a God, other times called Satan, that girl continued to observe the new human race.

This is the story of the happenings between the lonely girl and the hardworking new human race.

I’m an imperial uncle; his imperial majesty’s uncle.

Once, someone with nothing better to do took a comprehensive survey of the current dynasty, and summed up the imperial court’s three great cancers.

Wang Qin leads in corruption; the treasury is never full.

Yun Tang favours a few, forming cabals; leading to corruption in our politics.

Prince Huai plays with power, and serves as the head of a hundred poisons — thus causing instability to the throne.

When they talk about the most venomous of vipers, the wicked one who plays with power, the biggest cancer of them all, they’re talking about me: this insignificant prince, Prince Huai, Chengjun.

I can only say that I feel rather hapless in the face of these theories.

In truth, I have been ever dutiful, ever devoted, devoid of intention to monopolise power, and possess even less of a heart to covet the throne. In the entire imperial court, I dare say there is no loyal subject more loyal than I.

But, most tragically, in all the realm, the matter of my being a loyal subject is something that not many would believe.

- Description from Novelupdates

In a galaxy ruled by warlords, guilds, and ancient tech cults, Kai Zareth is just another debt-ridden scavenger—until a legendary system descends upon him.“One Trader per 10,000 light years. One chance to rise.”Selected by the Cosmic Trade Nexus, Kai becomes the sole wielder of the Galactic Exchange System, a multidimensional platform that allows him to buy and sell across parallel worlds, forgotten realms, and alien civilizations.With only 12 hours to complete his first trade—or lose everything—Kai scrambles to make deals in a universe where information is power and one wrong barter could cost your life.From selling enchanted goblin toothbrushes in toxic slums to outwitting rival system users and forging alliances with forgotten races, Kai must build his empire item by item, realm by realm.But in a galaxy where traders kill for profit and system users are hunted like prey, being the Merchant Sovereign might be a bigger curse than a blessing.

After being torn from the only life she knew, 16-year-old Margo is forced into a new home with strangers who call themselves her parents. Haunted by memories of her past and consumed by feelings of isolation, she struggles to adapt to her unfamiliar surroundings. School offers little relief—until she meets Lucien, a mysterious boy who appears just when she needs a friend the most.Gabriel is everything Margo needs: kind, attentive, and always ready to whisk her away from her troubles. Each night, he invites her to secret places—an abandoned playground, a fog-choked garden, a crumbling train station at the edge of town—each more unsettling than the last. Yet with every chilling rendezvous, Margo feels more alive... more seen.But something isn’t right. Gabriel never comes to school during the day. Her adoptive parents never see him. And when they catch her talking to thin air, their concern deepens into fear. They say Gabriel isn't real—that he’s a figment of her imagination. Margo wants to believe them, but Gabriel feels real. More real than anything else in her life.As the nights grow colder and more twisted, Gabriel’s true nature begins to surface. Shadows move where they shouldn’t. Time warps in his presence. And the places they visit seem to echo with whispers from another world. Margo is forced to ask herself: Who—or what—is Gabriel? Why does he only want her? And what will happen on the final night he asks her to come with him?As the line between reality and delusion begins to crumble, Margo must make an impossible choice: stay in a world where she feels loved, or return to one that barely feels real.But one thing is certain—some friendships never let go.